55 55 Sandracons Part 2 (2/2)

In one fluid movement, she flicked her wrist and grabbed the longer end of the handle to turn the glaive into the exposed stomach of the Sandracon, slicing it down the middle for its entire flight. Innards had spilled just in front of Striga but she gave it no heed, unlike the Sandracons. Their hunger reaching a peak even they can't suppress. The allure of fresh food whetted their appetites once again, re-igniting that burning fervour they came in with.

She dashed forward, casting a support spell on herself, [Haste], speeding herself up. She cast a series of spells using her dangerous body movements in between dodging and slashing at the Sandracons which defied her on their home ground. While she was impeded by the slowing sand, they were only empowered.

The spells Striga cast concurrently on herself had given her a nickname in the Grimbay area. The local mercs, and even some of the villagers had seen her in this state a couple of times, gaining respect and fear for their [Monster Specialist] captain. They called it the 'Witching Hour' for Striga would become a nightmare for the entire hour in this state.

She cast [Unholy Strength], [Ghost Step], [Great Arc Control], [Arc Reactor], [Levitate].

A series of flashes and sparks set themselves ablaze around her. [Arc Reactor] generating a field of static and flashes of lightning around her, raising her hair from her shoulders into a headpiece that resembled a witches hat.

She lifted off of the floor, hovering a few centimeters above ground. She landed back down and bounced a few times from foot to foot, testing her new balance and stance. She flashed forward, a streak of lighting following her unnatural speed. [Ghost Step] enabling her to accelerate herself to an insane speed immediately, disappearing like a ghost.

She quickly circumvented a few Sandracons that were preparing to delve back down into the sand, and used [Great Arc Control] to seize the lightning field surrounding her, and bend it towards her targets with just the extension of her arm. The lighting rode her arm as if bending her to will, completely not damaging her body in the process.

The lightning flashed and exploded hitting one of the Sandracons square in its gaping maw, blowing out it's skull with the single blast. The nearby Sandracon couldn't keep it in and dove straight to the new corpse which had tastily just appeared beside it.

She continued casting the lightning bolts at the Sandracons which had yet to fully realise she was behind them, killing 3 more in the space of a few blinks of an eyes.

Knowing something was wrong, even with their maddening hunger, they dove back down underground. Even if Striga was in her heightened Witching Hour, she couldn't follow them under the sand. The Sandracons used an odd magic that didn't move the sand itself, but made it viscous like water to only their touch, allowing them to dive and hunt unhindered.

She turned her attention to Donis, who had just dodged once again, clearly sweating and running for his dear life. She almost screamed when she saw another Sandracon quickly emerge from the sand, underneath where the previous one was just diving into.

It made a clean hit into Donis, tearing into his arm, ripping it messily off. Infuriated, Striga flashed once again, using the full extend and power of [Ghost Step]. She ran straight to Donis, making it to him before he even had time to hit the floor.

She looked at him, and he looked back, uncertain as to why she had such a panic stricken face. She continued running not allowing Donis to come down from his adrenaline rush. If he realised his arm was missing, he might go into shock and put them both into danger.

She couldn't allow them to fail, nor could she allow herself to let another student die under her. She knew they'd stop chasing her within seconds, as they realise they can't catch up to her, and the smell of their fallen brothers awakens their hunger once again.

Once they covered about 100m, the Sandracons stopped chasing and turned tail to feast on their brothers and sisters. Striga still fuming beyond belief, put Donis back down and cast one of her only Debuff-only skills, [Sleep]. He couldn't help her anymore, and to be honest, he did more than she expected. Surviving this long against enemies that far outscale him was already a miracle.

She ripped his shirt and wrapped it tightly around his shoulder stump, creating a really quick tourniquet. She pulled out a [Greater Healing Potion], splashed some on the stump, and the rest into his mouth. It cost her a great deal of Erzi to acquire such a powerful healing potion, but she didn't care if it meant saving this boys life.

Putting him down Striga stood up and flashed once again. She didn't stop running until the Sandracons were within meters of her. Her glaive, Corpse Carver, screamed in delight as it slashed across the pitiful distance between them. Void Lightning infused the weapon, giving it a domineering glow that seemed to almost smile as the lightning coursed through it.

5 Sandracons had just been split in half, the lightning scorching the meat and searing the skin. They had no idea what just hit them, but they knew when an apex predator was staring them down and right now, they knew of fear that dominated their hunger.

The Witch only laughed.