Delta, the strange plant woman in front of me, drove her thorned vines towards me. I backed away, but wasn’t fast enough to avoid its grasp. Its restricting grip had me locked in place, not even an inch of freedom to move.

  What’s up with this monstrous strength…? My mind went blank. A significant portion of my HP had dropped. She’s draining my…health points!

  As the last of my strength withered from my body, I felt the last spec of hope die out, and my body gave in. There was no point fighting it. She had me beat in strength and power.

  {Warning}

  {You have suffered a massive loss of HP}

  {You will forfeit your life unless you fight back}

  Huh? The system’s still going on like there’s a chance. Come on, Oracle, surely you see the odds are stacked against me. This Delta woman is waaaaay too strong! The thought practically screamed out. Even when I was a lowly golem in my cave fighting the Arachnids, I never had such a bad matchup–

  My mouth hung open as I recalled an idea. The HP bar in the bottom corner of my vision drained from its dull green into a murky orange. Before long, it was already red, signalling that I was close to death. I had only a few minutes, no, seconds before it’d hit zero.

  That’s right, those arachnids were able to drain my HP too. If I remember correctly, they weren’t too durable when attacked directly.

  My body filled with a faint white glow as a sudden burst of strength exploded forth from deep in my chest. I charged through the vines, breaking them with staggered bursts. I wasn’t sure when I’d stop, so I put everything I had behind it and tackled her at full force.

  Bulldoze!!!

  Upon impact, a sudden beep alerted me to the halo bar of health that wrapped over her head. It was only a small chunk, but I managed to cut down her HP somewhat.

  She took damage, which meant it wasn’t impossible. If I played my cards right, there might be a way to take her down.

  “That’s it, Atlas– That’s the way!” She screamed through her smile.

  Delta reeled back her arm for a punch, but was met with a barrage of green blasts to the face. They streaked through the air like swift bullets and sent her flying back behind a trail of smoke.

  That power has to be Veyra.

  She let out heavy pants as she drew another arrow. Emerald glow wrapped over her arrow as it sank deeper into the bowstring, ready to be fired. A heavy trail of mana circled it, and right as Delta turned her attention back on Veyra, she fired it off.

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  (Thanks, Veyra! I owe you one.)

  “I’m glad I could help.” She nodded back, then quickly drew another arrow. Her face suddenly creased. Delta stood up from the smoke and cracked stone, unscathed.

  “Look out behind–”

  “Don’t you dare interrupt my playtime with Atlas!”

  Delta’s roar cracked the ground around her as she whipped the arrow out of the air with her hand. It was a display of monstrous strength that sent shivers throughout my body every time I saw it. Seriously, how could anyone get that strong?

  (No, Delta, don’t take it out on them! Just tell us what you want. I still don’t know why you’re attacking us?)

  She stopped, her hand still raised over her shoulder for a punch. Her cheeks flushed from the smile she shot in my direction.

  “You don’t know? That’s awful! Truly sad. I feel so sorry for you. Well, not really~” Delta held up her hand, and with a wave of her wrist, the mist around us completely disappeared. It all looked so effortless for her, as if it were nothing but a trivial chore. “You know my master. Yeah, yeah, I’m sure that’s why you’re here. I won’t let anyone hurt Master, though!”

  (Your master? We’re just here to explore the ruins. We never wanted to mess with anyone, we promise!)

  I was sure of it now. If I told her the truth, she’d only continue attack us. Maybe if we stretched the truth a little, we could get Delta to back off. Maybe even help us through? Either way, it finally felt like I was making some headway talking to her. If I tried a bit harder, maybe we’d get out of there without needing to fight after all.

  “Really? You mean it?” Her eyes softened.

  (I swear to you. We had no idea where we were in the first place, how could we know your master was ever here?)

  The look in her eyes was nothing short of inhuman. A pale gaze void of any light or compassion stared back at me. I instinctively moved back, and her eyes narrowed.

  “You’re lying.”

  An overwhelming presence washed over me, as if I’d be consumed at any moment by it. It took all I had just to stay standing under that glare.

  H-how did she…?” I dropped my gaze to the floor.

  She mentioned before that they were demon eyes, but I didn’t think she meant it literally. After making eye contact, I was sure that she meant every word of it. Those eyes weren’t anything other than what she called them. They were the eyes of a creature that had no room for humanity in its heart. No concept of wrong or right, love or compassion. A demon.

  As if matching her demonic gaze, Delta’s entire face went deadly serious. Even her tone of voice dropped a few levels to a near monotone pitch.

  “I can see through your lies. I decided to have fun with you since I found you a little entertaining, but that’s over now. I haven’t spoken to anyone else in so long. I was lonely. I thought you’d fix that, but you’re just a liar.” Delta’s wicked smile crept up and consumed her expressionless face. “Master was right. He’s always right after all. He said everyone was a liar. That I’d only be tricked and hurt if I spared worthless lives like yours… Yeah, yeah, I'd better just kill you after all.”

  Delta’s hand extended out again, and the glowing rose appeared in front of her, levitating in the air. Its bright glow, thanks to the massive surge of mana that flowed out of her, took shape into a budding rose.

  “Atlas!!!”

  “Master!”

  The glowing rose swirled in place as magic gathered at its centre and began to bud. A powerful pink light swallowed the area between us, and I was blinded.

  “Do me a favour, Atlas.” A cold tone clenched over her words, “Die.”