I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 302: Breaking the Roar

Alicia begins her assault on the black haelions.

She moves from one gun to another, firing in quick succession.

But the haelions’ shells are hard and thick. The heartstone guns don’t leave a mark. No matter how many times she fires, from whatever angle, she cannot hurt them.

Frustration builds quickly.

"ARGH!" she yells, venting, and unleashes a Wind Slash at the haelion facing her.

"Huh?"

The haelion bleeds.

Alicia narrows her eyes, focusing.

Wind Slash cuts through the shell.

A sneer spreads across her face.

Finally.

She steps out from her hiding spot and launches a barrage of Wind Slashes at the injured haelion.

She doesn’t care about being seen using magic anymore.

There’s only one thing in her mind.

Kill.

The more Wind Slashes she sends, the more natural it feels. She stops thinking.

She just moves.

One strike misses—

Or so she thinks.

The Wind Slash hits the air and—

Vibrates.

It didn’t miss.

It struck the roar.

The sound wave ripples, distorted, and the haelions flinch. The feedback disorients them.

Alicia’s eyes widen.

So that’s how you do it. Disrupt the roar. They’re not immune to it.

She exhales sharply, relief cutting through her tension.

Finally, something works.

She focuses on one haelion.

With her Wind, she disrupts the incoming roar. The haelion staggers again, its movements faltering.

She repeats it, pushing more Wind into the air, distorting the waves again and again until the creature falters completely, falling out of sync with the others.

It stops roaring.

Not enough. I need to kill it.

Alicia moves in, closing the distance, and directs her Wind toward its short neck.

She wants it severed.

The neck splits.

Blood spills.

Her attacks grow more vicious.

The haelion struggles, trying to move, but its body refuses to respond, still affected by the earlier disruption.

Alicia is moments away from finishing it—

When screams erupt from the camp.

She whips her head around.

Her heart drops.

The shield is gone.

Completely gone.

The survivors scatter in every direction, panic breaking whatever order remained.

But the haelions are faster.

Their tongues lash through the air, snatching people one by one.

"NO!" Alicia screams as she sees the boy, lifeless just moments ago, get yanked away.

She runs.

Chasing the tongue.

Throwing Wind Slashes desperately, trying to reach him—

Trying to save him.

"Let him go, you monster!" Alicia rushes forward, yelling.

The boy is pulled through the air, so terrified he cannot even make a sound.

"Argh!" Alicia shouts as she runs, launching Wind Slashes in rapid succession.

She pushes harder, faster, closing the distance.

The boy is about to be swallowed.

Alicia jumps.

Mid-air, she releases several Wind Slashes. They strike the tongue, slicing into it.

The grip loosens.

The boy drops.

Alicia drops with him.

They hit the ground almost at the same time.

Alicia rolls, then reaches out and catches the boy, pulling him into her arms.

She gets up and runs, putting as much distance as she can between them and the haelion, searching for any safe spot.

A sharp swish cuts through the air behind her.

She knows.

Another tongue is coming.

She does not look back.

She runs.

Her footing slips.

She trips over a rock.

They crash to the ground.

Hard.

Pain shoots through her ankle as it twists.

Alicia gasps. She tries to get up, but her leg refuses to cooperate.

She cannot run.

Not while carrying the boy.

She pulls him close and shields him with her body, bracing herself.

Waiting.

For the tongue to take them.

A shriek pierces the air.

Alicia looks up.

The tongue is burning.

"Alicia! This way!"

She turns sharply.

Arthur is there, inside a Pod, firing at the haelions, forcing them back.

Saving her.

Saving the boy.

Alicia exhales, the tension breaking out of her in one breath.

She presses a quick kiss to the boy’s head, then pushes herself up and limps toward the rescue team.

------------------------------

When Arthur and his team enter the dungeon, the first thing they see is chaos.

People are running in all directions, trying to escape the snapping tongues.

"What the hell are those?" Liam asks, disgusted.

Ethan and J.C. are no better.

They are just as stunned.

All the dungeons they have entered so far were nothing like this. None were mutated. None were this chaotic.

Arthur takes immediate command.

"Save those people. Get them out of here! Ethan, J.C., work with the two officers. Grab as many as you can and move!"

"Liam, let’s go. We take down the haelions!"

Everyone moves at once, following his orders.

Arthur’s eyes catch Alicia on the ground. Her body shields a boy, and above them, a long tongue lashes down at terrifying speed.

He reacts instantly.

He fires.

The Pod’s heartstone attack slams into the writhing tongue.

It does nothing.

Arthur clenches his teeth.

He adds Fire.

The next shots burn.

The tongue recoils.

It works.

Arthur immediately sends a message to Liam.

Magic.

Liam adjusts without hesitation, infusing mana into his attacks. Their firepower becomes far more effective.

Alicia reaches them, limping.

"You’re injured. Take the boy out and stay out," Arthur says.

Alicia shakes her head. "Maeve can heal me. Watch those tongues. They’ll snatch you and eat you. I’ll be back."

She turns and moves away.

Arthur watches her go, then switches his comm to Liam.

"Tongues. Those are tongues."

"Tongues? Ew!" Liam fires more aggressively.

Even with mana-infused attacks, the haelions’ shells are incredibly tough.

And more are coming.

The red and black haelions have thicker, longer, stronger tongues.

The black haelions use their roars.

Now the two types move together.

Coordinated.

Targeting Arthur and Liam.

The biggest threats.

------------------------------

Ethan runs, carrying a woman away from the snapping tongues.

Her arms cling tightly to him, her breath uneven with panic.

Something catches his foot.

He stumbles.

The woman slips from his grasp and falls, screaming.

Ethan twists his body and reaches out, shielding her head before it hits the ground.

They land hard.

For a moment, both of them are stunned.

Then Ethan helps her up, steadying her.

As he does, he glances down at what tripped him.

His eyes widen.

"Hawk!"

Hawk lies unconscious on the ground, covered in what looks like a blanket.

That is why the haelions have not snatched him.

He is hidden in plain sight.

Someone covered him on purpose.

Ethan immediately opens a comm to J.C.

"I found Hawk. He’s here. Still alive."

They need to get him out.

J.C. responds, slightly out of breath, "Got it. I’ll grab him after I drop this one."

Ethan nods, even though J.C. cannot see him.

He adjusts the blanket over Hawk, making sure it still covers him completely.

Then he turns back to the woman, helping her move.

Step by step.

Out of the dungeon.

------------------------------

"Chief!" DEU officers greet Alicia as she steps out of the dungeon.

Alicia says nothing.

Outside, the night has fallen, but it cannot hide the destruction. Alicia stands there, completely stunned, speechless as she takes in the devastation around her.

"Alicia!" Julian calls, hurrying toward her.

"You okay?" he asks, concern clear in his voice.

Alicia does not answer.

Her eyes keep moving, scanning everything.

"What... what happened?" she asks, still in shock.

Julian quickly fills her in.

Alicia listens in silence, her gaze still drifting across the ruins.

Her heart twists.

She knows this district.

She loves Jade Lantern District.

Some of her favorite restaurants are here.

Were.

They were here.

Most of them are gone now.

"Alicia?" Julian calls softly, pulling her back.

"Huh?" She looks at him.

"We need to fix that." He points at her swollen ankle.

Alicia follows his gesture and looks down.

"Yeah, we do," she says quietly.

She shakes herself, forcing focus back.

"I need to find Maeve. I need her to fix this so I can go back in," she says.

Julian nods. "I’ll take you."

They head toward the temporary medical tent.

Along the way, Alicia tells Julian everything about the dungeon.

"Even heartstone weapons are useless? Only magic works? Then how are Arthur and Liam killing those haelions?" Julian asks, concerned.

"They’ll figure it out," Alicia replies.

Julian exhales slowly. "I’ll inform them through Resya. I’ll connect everyone."

"Resya?" Alicia asks. She has not heard of it.

"It’s an independent communication system I developed for Rhaenas. It uses mana instead of heartstones," Julian explains quickly.

"You can share it with Maeve."

Alicia nods, then suddenly remembers something.

"Don’t connect Thea," she says. "It might distract her. We don’t know what she’s doing right now, but I have a feeling she’s fighting too."

Julian nods without hesitation. "Understood."

"Maeve," he calls as soon as they spot her.

Maeve looks up from a patient.

"Alicia! Thank God you’re okay!"

She hurries over and notices Alicia’s limp.

Her eyes meet Alicia’s.

Understanding passes between them.

Maeve nods.

"This way."

Julian steps aside and opens Resya’s interface, connecting the others.

He explains why Thea is not included. Arthur can be heard sighing loudly through the comm.

Julian repeats everything Alicia told him.

"Alicia, feel free to add anything."

Alicia’s voice comes through, steady.

"No. You’ve covered everything, Julian. And I’m going back in."

"We need to get everyone else out of the dungeon and keep them out," Arthur says. "Otherwise, we can’t use magic freely to deal with these creatures."

"And we need to move fast. These haelions are coordinating their attacks."