Yandere Levelling in Her World-Chapter 159 - 160: Ambush

The overgrown road stretched ahead like a forgotten vein in the district. Towering trees twisted through cracked asphalt, their roots bulging like serpents under the sand-dusted path.

Vines choked the skeletons of skyscrapers, turning the once-mighty city into a labyrinth of green ruin.

Nina swung her massive greatsword in a final, crushing arc, cleaving through the ethereal form of the Mistral Wisp. The ghostly insect like creature shimmered and dissolved into wisps of fog, its mind-bending illusions fading with a faint wail. "Little fuckers are trying to mess with our heads," Nina muttered, wiping sweat from her brow. "I can't go crazy here."

Beside her, Kyouka prowled like a hunter on the scent, her sharp eyes darting from shadow to shadow. She sniffed the air, ears twitching under her hood. "Ren's close. I can feel it. Just gotta push through this mess."

Astrid walked a step behind, her dual axes glistning in the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy. "You two are like bloodhounds. What's the plan if—"

Kyouka froze mid-step, her body tensing like a coiled spring. "What?" Astrid asked, gripping her weapons tighter.

"We're surrounded," Kyouka whispered, her voice low and lethal.

Astrid scanned the treeline, seeing nothing but leaves and ruins. "I don't see—"

BOOM! An explosion erupted beside her, sending dirt and debris flying. Astrid leaped aside, rolling to her feet with Kyouka already in motion. "What the hell was that?"

As the dust cleared, figures emerged from the foliage from several buildings, ten women in sleek camo suits, their faces masked, weapons humming with energy. They blended seamlessly with the overgrown environment, but now they stood exposed, eyes cold and calculating.

Astrid's eyes widened. "Ambush?"

Nina spat on the ground, her grip tightening on her greatsword. "That fucking snake bitch didn't waste time. This is General Kazami's handiwork, one of the most terrifying women I know. I knew her words were bullshit."

Astrid nodded grimly. "Well, this much is expected. Those government bitches won't let us form our own communities. Even after all this destruction, they're still the same old power-hungry scum. But we don't have time for this crap. We need to find Ren fast."

Nina's face twisted into a snarl. "If we're gonna find him, we kill everyone here. No hesitation." Her eyes burned with fury. "Every second we waste puts Ren's life in danger. Let's end this quick!"

Kyouka didn't wait for more words. Dagger flashing in her hand, she lunged at the nearest soldier, a woman with glowing veins under her skin, crackling with electricity.

The electric woman Volt, dodged with a burst of speed, her body arcing with lightning. "Target get ready to neutralize," Volt sneered, hurling a bolt that singed the air.

Kyouka twisted mid-air, her enhanced senses letting her predict the strike. She countered with a flurry of stabs, forcing Volt back. "You call that power? I've seen sparks from a campfire hit harder!"

Meanwhile, Nina charged into the fray like a bull, her greatsword sweeping wide. Two soldiers converged on her: one with shadowy tendrils writhing from her palms, and another who manipulated wind into razor-sharp gusts.

"Die, you oversized brute!" Shadow user yelled, lashing out with inky blackness that tried to ensnare Nina's legs.

Nina laughed maniacally. "Oversized? I'll show you oversized!" She stomped the ground, shattering the tendrils with raw force, then swung her blade in a horizontal arc. Gale Fury countered by summoning a whirlwind barrier, but Nina's strike powered through, sending Gale user flying into a tree with a crack.

"Not bad," Gale coughed, blood trickling from her lip. "But try this!" She unleashed a tornado funnel, pulling debris toward Nina.

Nina planted her feet, muscles bulging. "Bring it!" She cleaved straight through the vortex, the wind dispersing in a howl.

Astrid, ever the tactician, hung back for a moment, assessing. Three soldiers targeted her: one who could phase through objects like a ghost (Phantom), another with telekinetic lifts (Mind), and a third who summoned explosive orbs(Boom).

"Surround and crush!" Mind barked, hurling chunks of ruined building at Astrid with her mind.

Astrid smirked, remembering Lan Jia's face, the one person who'd make her fight without question. "When it comes to people we love, we really act on impulse, don't we?" She hurled one axe toward a nearby crumbling wall where Boom hid. The axe embedded and detonated on impact, forcing Boom Witch into the open with a yelp.

"Gotcha!" Astrid shouted, charging. Phantom phased through her swing, reappearing behind for a backstab. But Astrid anticipated, spinning with her second axe to clip the phantom's shoulder. "Can't phase forever!"

Boom recovered, lobbing orbs that exploded in mid-air. "Eat this, axe freak!"

Astrid dodged, grabbing a vine to swing over the blasts. "Freak? Says the bomb throwing maniac!" She landed and unleashed a combo, her axes whirling like twin storms.

The battle escalated into pure chaos but that didn't last long.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently. Cracks spiderwebbed through the sand and roots.

"What the hell is going on?" Nina demanded, steadying herself.

The earth heaved, and with a deafening roar, a colossal creature burst forth, a mountain-like behemoth of rock and twisted vines, eyes glowing red, towering over the ruins like a living landslide.

Everyone froze, the air thick with primal threat. "Well, fuck me," Nina muttered. "What kind of monster did we just awake?"

***

Ren's eyes fluttered open to a wet, rhythmic sound like someone slurping soup too eagerly. His vision swam, then sharpened on a curtain of short black hair hovering inches from his face. A woman's lips were pressed against his, soft but insistent.

Panic surged. He tried to jerk away, only to find his wrists and ankles bound tightly to a creaky wooden bedframe with coarse rope. He thrashed, grunting into the kiss.

The woman felt the struggle and pulled back with a soft pop. She straightened, revealing a sharp, pale face framed by jet-black hair cropped close to her scalp. An eyepatch covered her left eye, the black leather stark against her skin. For a split second, with his sight still blurry, Ren's heart hammered, he'd thought a man was kissing him.

"Whoa, boy, calm down," she said, raising both hands. Her voice was low, almost amused. "I'm not raping you. Relax."

Ren glared, chest heaving. "Then why the hell am I tied up and why were you—"

"Sucking face with you?" She smirked. "I was sucking excess energy out of you. You went into power overdrive. Another minute and you'd have cooked yourself from the inside."

Ren blinked, trying to piece together the fog in his head. The last thing he remembered clearly was the blinding rush of release, deep inside the Faceless Woman. Arakawa Mei, he corrected himself now. After that… nothing.

He tugged at the ropes again. "And the ropes?"

The woman sighed, crossing her arms. "You were thrashing like a rabid dog when I dragged you in here. Didn't want you hurting yourself...or me while I worked."

Ren glanced around the dim room: cracked plaster walls, a single flickering lantern, the faint smell of incense. "Where am I? How did I even get here?"

"That's not the problem right now." She leaned closer, her single visible eye narrowing. "The problem is you're dying."

Ren's breath caught. "What?"

"I've never seen anything like it," she muttered, almost to herself. "I've drained power from people for plenty of reasons, greed, revenge, survival. Several different motives, none of them noble. But through all of that…"

She gestured at his chest as if she could see straight through him. "I haven't seen anything this strange. Vast. Foreign. It's trying to fuse with your body, but it can't. It's tearing you apart instead."

Ren swallowed hard. His skin did feel strangely hot, like embers under the surface. "So… what am I supposed to do?"

The woman met his gaze, expression grim. "Only one way you'll recover."

"Tell me."

"You have to die."

Ren stared at her, waiting for the punchline. When none came, his voice cracked. "HUH?"

"I wish I was." She sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under her weight. "The energy won't settle while you're alive and resisting it. If your heart stops, even for a few moments the flood might finally merge or leave your body properly."

"What's the point of all this if I die?" Ren laughed, a dry, frantic sound. "You're insane."

"Probably," she admitted, shrugging. "But I'm also the only one here who knows what's happening to you. I've done it before—stopped hearts, restarted them. Controlled deaths."

Ren's mouth went dry. "Why help me? You said you never help anyone."

She looked away, toward the lantern flame. "I don't know. Maybe I'm curious. Maybe I'm bored. Or maybe I was promised something."

Silence stretched between them, broken only by the faint creak of rope as Ren tested his bonds again.

"So," she said finally, turning back to him. "Do we do this the easy way, or do I wait until you burn out on your own?"

Ren closed his eyes, heart pounding against the storm inside him.

"Untie me first," he rasped.

She arched a brow. "So you can run?"

"So I can choose."

The woman studied him for a long moment. Then, with a quiet huff, she reached for the knots at his wrists.

"Fine. But if you try anything stupid, I'll knock you out and finish the job anyway."

The first rope loosened. Ren took a shaky breath.

"Tell me your name," he said.

She paused, fingers still on the rope. A faint smile tugged at her lips.

"You can call me Drain," she answered. "And you'd better decide fast, Ren. You're running out of time. Your options are dying or dying!"