blueteamnovel Chapter 54 Being Hunted? (edited)
Chapter 54 Being Hunted? (edited)
Lillian stared dazedly at the campfire, watching as it burned through the dry sticks gathered from the violet tree, crackling.
She then let out a tired yawn. (2)
'Damn... what time is it? Is it night or day?' Lillian scratched her head, pondering, 'With the light from that hole, I assume it's currently day...' (3)
"Tired?"
Lillian raised her eyes from the fire, looking at Marionette, who was staring at her with her usual neutral expression, except she seemed to catch a curious glint in her eyes.
"Just a tad bit..." Lillian muttered.
"I see... you should rest while it's still peaceful. I'll keep watch." Marionette offered.
Lillian tilted her head, "Are you sure?" (3)
Marionette nodded slowly, her gaze lingering on for a brief moment before shifting back to the crackling flames.
Lillian smiled softly at her, "Well then... I'll be taking a short nap for now. Do wake me up if anything happens." (2)
Marionette gave a brief nod in response.
Lillian gently patted the rough ground of the stone before laying her back against it, shuffling her body a bit to get into a comfortable position before lowering her eyelids.
Her chest rose and fell slowly—her breathing became rhythmic.
Marionette stared at Lillian's steady, slow breathing before flickering her gaze to the left, narrowing her eyes sharply.
***
As the harmonious crackling of the campfire continued to resound quietly, the groaning of a certain white-haired girl resounded as well. Lillian's eyes slowly fluttered awake, feeling rejuvenated from a sleep that lasted...
'How long did I even sleep for...'
As her eyes slowly adjusted to her surroundings, she was instantly met with Marionette's face staring down over her to the side.
Lillian widened her eyes and instantly rolled to the side, flustered and alarmed by such an unexpected sight. (2)
"What's with you and leaning in!?"
Lillian shivered at the thought of facing a Brawler again—a dozen, in fact. (2)
Although she was a tad bit more confident in being able to beat one, knowing that just aiming for their heads instead of their body would be the best way to kill them, it was still a bit nerve-wracking.
"Wait... did you say a hundred or so Catacomb Dwellers?" Lillian asked before panicking, "Why're there so many of them!? Their carapace is already troublesome enough to deal with, and now you're telling me there's nearly a hundred of them!? And why are they even here!?" (20)
She thought back to how her rapier only left a shallow cut on their surprisingly hard yet thin carapace.
Marionette shrugged indifferently.
"I did. And who knows... perhaps if you didn't let those two Dwellers out of your sight, we may not be in this situation." She said, skewering another that appeared from the darkness.
Pushing herself up, Marionette stretched her arm out to the side, creating a massive battle axe roughly around the same size as her with two sharp axeheads.
Lillian sighed, standing up as well and summoning her rapier in her right hand and her lantern in her left. (2)
Not only that, but she also summoned out her newly acquired chestplate she had gotten from the Catacomb Brawler.
Lillian then asked tensely, "Can't we just run?" (2)
Marionette tilted her head side to side, thinking, "We could. But if we would like to entertain the Gods overseeing our Trial, we would have to be bold with our actions."
Lillian dropped her arms to her side, hunching over and staring at Marionette with an apprehensive expression, "What you say is right... but I reeeally don't want to face an entire army of humanoid insects." (12)
"Too bad. We don't exactly have an option in this if we would like to reap the highest benefits this Trial can offer. And who knows... you may even receive a Shard from this battle."
Marionette then turned to Lillian, staring at her chest plate that looked oddly familiar to something she had previously seen.
"Did you receive a Shard from a Catacomb Dweller?"
"Well, actually, this is from a Brawler—"
Just as she finished that sentence, a Catacomb Brawler suddenly appeared behind her, charging with all four of its arms stretched out to her.
Lillian was then pushed out of the way by Marionette, watching as she brought down the edge of her battle axe onto its head, splitting it down the middle and slamming its body into the ground.
She then raised the sharp, two-headed axe off the now-deceased Catacomb Brawler, staring down at its nearly halved body.
Resting the shaft of her battle axe on her shoulder, she twisted her head back to Lillian, "Do try not to lower your guard. I might get too busy later on..."