Starting With SSS-rank: I Get A New Skill Every Livestream-Chapter 91: About to die?

Things were escalating. Amanda could tell from the sheer number of monsters she was forced to face at once that chaos was unfolding everywhere.

Her mind kept drifting back to that one person inside the resort. There was a high chance Kyle had already sensed what was happening here, but he couldn’t act freely without exposing his secret identity.

And with all the exits sealed, escape wasn’t an option either. He was trapped inside.

That meant it was Amanda’s duty to keep the danger within her sight.

DOOOOM

Another Majin exploded the moment it landed within the zone of her earlier strike.

Amanda’s skill, Delayed Impact, allowed her to trigger an attack moments after it had been delivered.

There was no fixed timing. She could activate it a second later or even ten seconds after the strike, though there was still a limit to how long she could delay it.

"Amanda, to your left," Layena called out.

Amanda moved instantly, charging straight at the incoming salamander.

It was Majin-ranked. It sensed her just as quickly.

She fucking hated lizards.

With a snicker, she drew her knife and slashed.

The creature slipped away from the attack, twisting its body mid-air as its heavy tail came crashing toward her.

Amanda grinned.

Snap

BLAAAH!

Foul blood burst into the air as the beast’s tail was severed by the delayed strike of the Nightwalker.

The salamander shrieked in pain, and Amanda seized the moment. She rushed forward, leapt high, and landed atop its head.

The creature thrashed wildly, trying to throw her off.

Amanda clicked her tongue and raised her foot, ready to drive her heel into its skull.

Then she heard it. Heavy stomps, closing in from behind.

She turned just in time to see a pair of massive arms swinging toward her.

’Shit!’

She was about to retreat or force the strike through, but then—

TNNG

A series of sound spirals crashed down on the monster, disrupting its movement.

Clutching its head, it roared in agony, but only for a moment.

An axe came down next, splitting into its skull, wielded by a familiar short-haired girl.

Amanda exhaled, "Thanks, Hannah."

Hannah didn’t reply immediately. She slammed the creature to the ground and drove her axe into its skull again and again before finally nodding. "Don’t mention it." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Don’t stand there," Layena’s voice cut through the chaos from a distance.

The two exchanged a glance. Then Hannah moved toward the center, while Amanda broke off to the left.

The saying "the more, the merrier" had no place here. With every passing second, the growing swarm of monsters was crushing what little hope they had left.

.....

"This should be it," Kyle muttered under his breath as he reached the room he had seen in the register earlier. Layena had been assigned the one at the far end of the gallery. With the chaos outside, no one paid attention when he slipped away with the data register.

He slowly pushed the door open. Thankfully, the room was empty. Everyone had gone for dinner after the lecture, and then everything spiraled into this mess.

His gaze swept across the room before settling on one bed. It had the least amount of belongings on it.

That must be hers.

Taking a quiet breath, he moved closer and began rummaging through her bag.

He came across things he definitely shouldn’t have seen. For a brief second, he paused. Her choice of underwear was... nothing like her usual composed persona. Bold and quite unexpected.

He clicked his tongue and looked away, not lingering on it any longer. His hands continued their search, pulling out item after item.

Then he found it.

A small photograph.

It was Layena, standing beside none other than Veronica.

’She really looks up to her,’ Kyle thought, a brief smile tugging at his lips. He carefully placed the picture aside.

His patience was thinning. He was just about to empty the entire bag to check if there was anything even remotely resembling a tracker when—

He froze.

His entire body went rigid, his heartbeat spiking in an instant.

The presence.

It felt as if something had stripped away his emotions, leaving him hollow, detached, and cold.

Whatever had appeared... it was ominous beyond words.

And then the system spoke, confirming his fear.

[Ghouls have appeared, host. And more than one at that.]

Kyle clicked his tongue. There was no time for caution now.

.....

[A few moments earlier]

"AAAAAHHHHH!!"

BOOOOOOOOMM

A guttural scream ripped through the battlefield, followed by a massive explosion from the far side of the resort.

All three women heard it. Even Clara, still inside, putting people to sleep one by one, froze at the sound.

There was no mistaking it.

"Ethan..." Hannah muttered, her mind going blank.

"Hannah!" Layena called out, but it was already too late.

SQUELCH

Something tore through her stomach.

Her eyes widened as her gaze slowly dropped.

An imp hovered before her, its elongated claws buried deep inside her abdomen.

Blood surged up her throat, but she forced it down, refusing to let it spill. Her hand shot forward, gripping the imp’s head.

Her expression twisted.

From the center of her brows, spiraling waves of sound erupted and slammed into the creature.

The imp’s skull shattered instantly.

"Haa..." Hannah staggered back, her shirt rapidly soaking red with blood.

Amanda clicked her tongue.

In a single motion, she unleashed over ten slashes at once, forming a protective ring around Hannah.

She rushed forward, and everything in her path fell.

Bodies dropped the moment they stepped into the zones where her delayed strikes waited.

Dhak

Before she could collapse, Amanda caught Hannah by the shoulders and slowly lowered her to her knees.

Her grip tightened.

Something was wrong.

Ripping the front of Hannah’s shirt open, Amanda exposed the wound and her breath hitched.

It wasn’t just a stab.

The flesh around the puncture wasn’t bleeding the way it should. Instead, it looked... eaten away. The edges of the wound were paling, losing color, as if life itself was being drained out of it. Thin, vein-like streaks of grey spread outward from the injury, crawling across her skin in slow, deliberate lines.

Absence.

It wasn’t just damage. It was corroding her.

The muscle around the wound twitched weakly, then stilled. The blood that did surface was dark and sluggish, as though even it had lost the will to flow.

"Hannah..." Amanda’s voice dropped, tight.

Since she didn’t have any idea they would be facing an attack of this level, Amanda didn’t carry any equipment with her. Shit!

"Take her away, now!" Layena’s voice cut through the chaos. "I’ll hold things here. Heal her and come back as soon as you can."

Amanda hesitated.

Layena was already surrounded by dozens of monsters, and more kept pouring out from the rifts without end. Leaving her alone in this situation felt wrong.

But staying with Hannah like this was no better.

It would only cost another life.

In the end, Amanda bit down on her lower lip and lifted Hannah into her arms.

"Don’t die, Layena," she muttered under her breath before turning away from the battlefield.

°°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. I hope the battle scenes aren’t confusing or bland too much. No battle arcs would be stretched so don’t worry. Drop a comment.