Chapter 234: Realization
[: 3rd POV :]
With his communication, they had formed an independent party where it consisted of a total of 7 members including Sasha.
"What's your name?" He questioned.
"My name is Sasha" She replied.
"Well, I guess we can hunt together for a while"
The man smiled, but something about his smile irks Sasha.
She couldn't find the words to explain, but she was rather uncomfortable with it.
"I'm Daegal, and the guy beside me is Vincent, and the two guys behind are Cedric and Alister"
He introduced himself and the party.
"The 2 women behind are our mages and their names are Mera and Leah," He said.
"We're a 6-man party, but unfortunately, one of our members had an emergency leave" He explained.
"So, we need one more to fill out numbers
"I see"
He added and Sasha nodded.
"You see, we are not the kind of people who would force someone to join us, so we are really glad you accepted"
"But, what are your skills?" Daegal curiously asked.
At this point, Sasha didn't know whether to reveal her abilities or not.
She knew at times revealing a a player's skills would provide a weakness.
"I guess you can say it's more of mage skills"
She lied as she didn't want anyone to know about her skills.
"Oh, so you're a mage" Daegal commented.
"Then, you can go and stand at the front, and we'll provide support from the side," He said.
"Ok..."
Sasha agreed, however, she was a little bit confused as to why would they ask her to stay in front.
In most cases, mages would stay all the way at the back whereas Tanks would be at the front, and fighters would be in the middle.
Hence, she was confused as to why she was ordered to stay at the front where she could be injured injuries.
Having said that, Sasha thought they must be using a different strategy, hence, she didn't suspect their intentions.
"We're going to kill dozens of monsters" He explained.
"Alright...",
Sasha nodded and she stood at the front.
"Alright then, let's start hunting!" Daegal declared.
'I guess I'll just do my own thing' She thought.
However, as the fight began, something was quite suspicious.
'Why are the monsters attacking me?' She questioned.
Even though, some of the monsters were focused on Daegal and his team, most of the monsters were occasionally attacking her.
"Umm...is there a reason why the monsters are attacking me?" She asked.
"Oh, it's nothing, it's just how monsters are"
Daegal smiled suspiciously before he looked forward and there was a hint of a smile.
However, since this was the first time Sasha had hunted with a party, she didn't suspect anything yet.
And as she watched them killing the monsters, she was amazed to see their fighting prowess.
'They are amazing'
The way they were able to move around and coordinate their attacks, Sasha was impressed.
But what she didn't notice was that the group was not actually killing the monsters but rather, they were simply dodging and running around.
Moreover, she also didn't notice that the monsters were only targeting her.
'I think this will be an experience'
As Sasha was in awe, she failed to notice the danger lurking.
Suddenly, as Daegal and his party had finished their 'battle' against the monster, they turned around and looked at Sasha.
"Now that the monsters are gone, I think it's time for you to go and get the drop" He smiled.
"Alright" Sasha had no issue and she went to get the drop.
However, as she turned around, she didn't notice Daegal's hand moving and his eyes were filled with greed.
"Sorry, but you're just another prey for us" He grinned widely.
Immediately, the mages behind had cast an AOE attack and a sphere of lightning was heading straight to her.
Sasha was in shock, but luckily, she had reflexively used her Ribbon of Fate on time.
Immediately, a ribbon was connected to the lightning and with her instincts, Sasha pulled the string, and the lightning disappeared.
But the battle was far from over.
"Damn, why did the Lightning disappear!?" Daegal questioned with a panicked face.
"Quickly, surround her" He quickly ordered.
"And make sure to aim your magic attack at her"
Daegal and his team were panicking and didn't expect her to survive their attack.
"Tch, so you have a shield," Daegal said.
"Don't worry, we just need to find a hole in her defense and we'll easily kill her" He smirked with confidence.
But, the moment the mages had cast their spell, Sasha had noticed a red fate string connected to them.
'A red fate string' She immediately realised what it was and her lips had formed a grin.
'Now, it's my turn to get revenge'
With her anger surging and her blood boiling, Sasha quickly pulled the fate strings.
The result was quite brutal.
Both the mages were instantly torn into pieces and the remaining 4 were horrified.
Before the Mages could even scream in pain, their bodies had turned into an unrecognisable state.
It was twisted in a way that it was impossible to happen.
It was as though, they were a handkerchief that had been squeezed till the last drop of water had left.
"W-What the hell!?"
Daegal body dropped to the floor as he realized that something was wrong.
On the other hand, Sasha couldn't believe that she had killed 2 humans.
Her heart was pounding and her breathing was heavy.
'Did I just do that?' She asked herself.
She was overwhelmed and her emotions were mixed.
She was excited, angry, and sad at the same time.
'Did I have to kill them?' She wondered.
However, as she looked at the corpses lying on the ground, her stomach was churning and she wanted to vomit.
But as the guilt was slowly creeping in, Sasha knew that it was a necessity.
'I had to do it' She believed so.
After all, she couldn't let herself get killed by these assholes.
But, at the same time, the guilt was still there.
'Will I be able to live with this?' She wondered.
But as she saw the drop in front of her, she couldn't help but feel a little bit happy.
'I need to be stronger, and I have to survive'
She reminded herself.
With her emotions mixed and her feelings conflicted Sasha had to learn to accept what had happened.
'If the situation was a little bit different and if I didn't possess the skill, I would have died long ago' She thought.
She knew that she was lucky, and her ability was her life-saver.
She knew that the world was filled with many dangers and she couldn't let her guard down.
The feeling of death had lingered, and the guilt was still present, but Sasha had decided that it was necessary.
'If I don't fight, I'll die, and I'm not ready to die' She declared.
Once again, Sasha realized that even if she was strong, it wouldn't mean there wouldn't be danger.
At this moment, her heart and mind were strengthened by the conviction that she had to kill to survive.
Seeing that there were 4 more people, Sasha pulled the strings, and three of their bodies were twisted.
They were dead before they could even realise it.
"W-Who are you!?" Daegal, the last man standing, pointed his finger and questioned with fear all over his face.
He was trembling uncomfortably and he even peed on the floor.
However, there was no shame, instead, there was even more fear.
He couldn't believe it.
One moment, he was about to kill her, but now, it was his turn to die.
He was helpless, and his team was killed in an instant.
'Is this a monster!? He thought.
"Who am I it's not important" Sasha said.
"What's important for you is that, what comes around goes around" Sasha smiled.
However, as Daegal was about to beg, Sasha had pulled his fate strings.
As the strings had broken, his arms and legs were torn and separated from his body.
He didn't die immediately and he had to experience the pain of his limbs being torn apart.
Daegal screamed in agony as blood spurted out.
"Please...have mercy" He begged with tears all over his face and he didn't care what was the cost.
His only concern was to live.
Moreover, he was losing his blood and his life was about to end in a few minutes.
But instead of answering, Sasha grinned and her heart had become as hard as a stone.
Eventually, she pulled the final fate string and his head was decapitated.
The sight was horrid and bloody, but Sasha didn't care.
'I'm still not used to this' She sighed.
'Even though I should feel guilty and disgusted, I don't feel any of those emotions now' She thought.
'I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing'
"But it had to be done" She declared loudly as she gazed at the dead corpse with cold eyes.