Newly Summoned Demoness - Chapter 38 – Alpha (Patreon)

Lightning began to spark as the glow from the [Alpha Ralfot] intensified. It barreled through the cavern towards them, sending tremors through the cavern floor with each impact of its hooves. Elania’s heart hammered in her chest, but she kept her gaze fixed on the charging beast, studying its movement.

She’d faced Darkwalkers, Razorscales, and Rockbears, but this [Alpha Ralfot] was a wholly different beast than the normal Ralfots she had hunted before. It was colossal, probably large enough to give challenge to the [Manzitore]. She could feel the magical energy pouring off of it like an aura of some sort, and the sparking lightning looked dangerous.

It also explained why there wasn’t any [Glow-Moss] in the cavern.

“Scatter!” Taniel barked; his voice was nearly drowned out by the beast’s challenging cries.

The novices needed no more prompting and sprinted down the path the group had arrived from. Joren took up a fighting stance and stepped forward. Taniel’s prayer beads came out.

They were going to fight this thing? Elania swallowed as she sprang into action, her legs carrying her rapidly to the side of the cavern with a speed that surprised even herself. Double checking her [Power] she confirmed she hadn’t really used any for the move. Was that [Body Conditioning] at work?

The [Alpha Ralfot] seemed to focus on Joren as the closest target, so that allowed her to maneuver freely.

Joren stood his ground with a determined expression. He slapped his palms together and a yellow glow appeared around them. The light spread to surround his entire body. Elania still wasn’t sure how smart he was to take on the rampaging lightning-bull-alpha-whatever head on.

She drew a javelin from her pack and gauged the needed trajectory, but Joren began to sprint forward before she could line up a shot. She was going to need to get closer to make sure she didn’t risk hitting him, so she jumped forward as well, coming in from the side.

Just before the [Alpha Ralfot] and Joren collided, a massive golden brick wall snapped into existence. Taniel’s chant reached a crescendo, and he shook the prayer beads in his hands, causing the wall to slide right into the bull’s face.

It was like the beast had run smack dab into a solid wall; it crunched into it heavily before bouncing off and slamming into the floor. The bull’s massive body dug up rock and flung it in the opposite direction as it skidded to a stop. Joren was right there to take advantage. He jumped into the air and landed with a kick, then began a rapid flurry into the beast’s side.

It was a furious assault, but Elania couldn’t help but feel it wasn’t doing enough damage. Joren was absolutely dwarfed by the beast; he was standing on its neck and slamming the punches towards where she assumed anatomy had placed its spine, but…

No time to think. She arrived and jumped up herself, not throwing her javelin but charging it with [Power] and jamming it into the [Alpha Ralfot]’s side. The soft wood smoked as she regulated the [Power] flow to the highest level she could without incinerating the fragile weapon. Sizzling blood streamed out in bursts that were in beat with the thing’s heart.

The Alpha was not deterred; it rolled back onto its feet and let out a furious “Moobaa!” that would have been funny if it wasn’t coming from a building sized monster. It whipped around, sending Joren flying away, and she had to decide whether to let go and get flung off or use both hands to hold on to the javelin sticking out of its side.

Elania decided to hold on; the beast bucked and jolted. It wanted her dislodged and moved to slam her into the cavern wall. She stuck out her feet and pulsed her own [Power] into the limbs, and when they struck she kicked off, sending a piercing shockwave through the wall that sent them flying back into the center of the cavern.

Side-stepping wasn’t a Ralfot specialty and the beast nearly toppled over. It gave her time to reach behind her back and grab another javelin. She reinforced it with [Power] then stabbed it in the side again.

The beast was not happy. It turned and centered its rage on Joren and charged. Rather than stay still, Elania yanked her first javelin out, releasing a torrent of blood spray. Then she forced herself up to jab the beast again. The second javelin came out, and she began to work her way up its back. She wasn’t sure where she was going, other than up.

Right up until the beast reached Joren and lowered its horns for a slashing sweep. Taniel’s holy shield thing flashed into existence again, right in front of the attack. The small surface area and physics joined forces to apply a tremendous force on the horn; all the weight from the charge came to a sudden stop in much too short of a time.

There was a resounding crack as the impacting horn snapped. The [Alpha Ralfot] somersaulted into the air, taking her for a spin with it. Before they landed, she realized it was going to land right on top of her.

A split-second decision flashed in her mind. Jump free and dodge or attack.

The earlier conversation about powerful things fighting coming down to a battle of attrition flickered.

Who the fuck had time for that?

Elania shoved more [Power] into the javelins until they flashed into two pure shafts of energy. She pictured them as razor sharp swords. The blades elongated inside the Alpha, then she pulled them apart sideways, making two enormous gashes that cleaved through the flesh like bloody canyons.

Flipping back, she kicked off the beast’s flesh, hurling herself toward the ground, twisting mid-air to land on her heels. Crouch transformed into a powerful jump as she slammed the energy swords together to form a solid beam of energy. Picturing a knight’s lance with a guard that covered her entire body, she slammed into the [Alpha] from below, punching through its torso.

A geyser of blood and viscera erupted out of the things back as she punched through, the spray falling like rain all around as she slammed into the ceiling. Her energy weapon dissipated, and she realized she’d near burnt herself out with the attack.

[Power: 23/252]

Gravity took back control, and she spread her legs and arms out like a squirrel to slow down her fall. Air whipped all around her as the stone floor rapidly came to meet her. She closed her eyes and curled up into a ball at the very end, only for there to be no impact.

A golden hand enveloped her and turned her into a feather before gently setting her down. Her head snapped to Taniel, who was staring at her while doing one of his prayer things. He’d helped her! Elation filled her until the [Alpha Ralfot] let out a snort, causing her to whirl around and jump back.

How was the thing not dead? Was it seriously still going after having half its internals splattered onto the ceiling?

It started to try to rise when Joren’s glowing yellow foot slammed into its skull. The blow bounced the thing’s head on the rock, smashing a small crater into the cavern. Taniel raised his prayer beads and started to go all chanty again, and the glowing points formed on the bull’s body.

Joren jumped between each one, slamming a fist or kick into each spot, causing a shockwave of power to blow through each one. It seemed like the yellow marks Taniel made caused each hit on that exact location to turn into something like a critical hit.

It was very effective. The [Alpha Ralfot] went limp on its side, dead or dying.

[Your party has defeated an Alpha Ralfot!]

[You have gained multiple levels!]

Dead then, she corrected mentally.

Joren slid off the thing’s torso and landed on his feet. She took the moment to restore her panting to normal breathing as her lungs worked to keep up. Everything felt heavy and her entire body tingled from the excess discharge of [Power] that had left her nearly drained. Gravity felt like it was trying to reclaim her as she finally stood up.

“Wow…that thing was…big,” Elania panted.

Joren nodded. “Alpha monsters are very dangerous evolution of more normal creatures. I am surprised we found one so close to the city, though.”

“Well, we took it down, but I’m really drained,” Elania replied. She turned to look at the massive corpse as she considered whether absorbing it was… safe.

Taniel jumped in front of her, an angry expression appearing on his face. “Stay back, demon. This one isn’t for you.”

She froze and stared at him. Hadn’t she helped take it down? Anger coursed through her in response to him just assuming there wasn’t a discussion on what they would do with it!

He turned and strode up to the beast’s mouth, then climbed into its mouth, striding up its limp tongue. When he reached near the back of its throat, he raised his hands and began to chant. A bloody lump lowered itself from the flesh and then ripped its way through the sinew.

It was a massive golden orb. When it lowered to Taniel’s palms, it began to glow and then shrank itself down to something the size of a baseball.

Annoyance warred with curiosity as she stared at the glowing gold orb that looked like it was made of solid gold. “What the heck is that?”

Joren frowned. “It’s a monster core, a high grade one that—”

“Not for you to know, Demon!” Taniel shouted. He whirled around, his face twisted in an apoplectic hatred. “You should know your place!”

Her eyes widened as he sprinted down the tongue and jumped at her. Reflexes dulled by her low [Power] she wasn’t able to dodge the fist that slammed into her face. Hard. The blow lifted her into the air, and she flew backward and slammed into a rock with a crunch. She rolled onto her side as she hit the ground and started to get back up when she realized her nose and front teeth were a bloody, shattered mess.

She spit out the tooth shards as hot liquid and pain filled her mouth. He’d tried to kill her! “Fu-ffk—yu!”

He reached her and swung again with his free hand, the other holding onto the orb protectively. She ducked under the strike and slammed her knee into his chest. He flew back but landed on his feet. If it had been Joren, she was afraid she’d be dead, but Taniel wasn’t as strong in a fisticuff.

“What the hell are you two doing!” Joren shouted at them both.

Taniel ignored him and lunged at her again. She deflected the blow, then made one of her own only for him to parry it. Her [Improvised Combat] skill was clearly inferior to whatever martial arts training he had and her boxing like moves were deflected at every turn while a plethora of kicks and chops struck her from every direction.

Suddenly, he grappled her wrist and locked her elbow joint before forcing her forward and slamming her already bloodied face into the ground. She let out a scream and rolled, snapping her joint painfully but allowing her to wrap a leg around him and force him into a straddle.

She was low on power, but she was still far, far stronger than an unenhanced human. Taniel was a monk, but he seemed to be a spellcaster-type. She slammed her forehead into his face. Twice.

A yellow orb formed between them and slammed into her chest, knocking her off of him. She landed painfully on her fractured arm, skipping several meters before rolling onto her feet to face him. The monk finished standing back up, staring back at her with his now bloodied face.

Elania reached up to her chest and focused on the mana shard. It was way, way past time for her to pull a drag of power out of it. Before she could do so, Joren jumped in between them.

Taniel attacked anyway, ignoring his fellow monk completely. When Joren moved and intercepted, Taniel’s fist stopped a few centimeters from the other monk’s face.

“Peace, brother, unless you mean to kill me,” he said.

She wasn’t sure how Joren’s voice was so calm.

But somehow, it worked. Taniel was frozen in place, a kaleidoscope of emotions running across his face. Joren reached out and took the golden orb that was clutched in Taniel’s fingers. As soon as the connection was broken, Taniel collapsed like a rag-doll.

Joren sat down, cross-legged, and held the orb up in his palms. A flash of light filled it, then it suddenly clarified, the golden color dissolving until the core was completely transparent with a single golden grape in the center.

Her shoulder vibrated and then popped loudly as the joint forced itself back into place on its own, eliciting a pained ‘Argh!’ from her. The rest of the bones in her shattered arm knit themselves back together as well. Her face throbbed painfully as she felt the buildup and then eruption of new teeth.

The novices arrived and stared at the scene in horror.

Joren let out a pained sigh. “Are you alright, Elania?”

Her eyes flickered to him, her expression guarded. “No.”

Dragging power from the mana shard now, and be ready for a fight? That would be a massive drain on it, consuming half the stored power. She glanced at the [Alpha Ralfot] corpse and then stood and started walking toward it in a hurry.

Joren called out to her. “Elania?”

She ignored him and grabbed the dead bull’s unbroken horn.

[Absorb the lingering Power from Alpha Ralfot?]

The message was different from the normal animals she’d hunted. It was the same message the Bone Demon had given her. She took it.

[You have absorbed 445 Power!]

[Your body has reached the limit of its capacity for Power!]

[Find a stronger body or reduce your current Power!]

[Your body has far exceeded the limit of its capacity for Power!]

[Your body is experiencing extreme thermal degradation!]

[Your body is slightly adapting.]

[Due to your high Power, Regeneration is enhanced!]

[Power: 468/264]

Elania screamed as all her senses caught fire at once. The Alpha turned into a blanket of golden light motes that blanketed her, threatening to consume her entirely.

She’d literally turned into a glowing human torch of energy.

In the back of her mind, in the small part that wasn’t writhing in agony from the pain, she thought that maybe deciding things via attrition wouldn’t be so bad.