'...0…'
The butcher finished the countdown on his communication channel and emptied the contents in the vials in his mouth by tilting his head upwards.
The ranger had stopped caring about her safety. She had kept a dense layer of arrow rain around her so that she could stay safe until Ronny was killed.
That carelessness towards her own life had enabled the butcher to make his plan work against Hilda. Despite the fact that she was a ranger - a class whose long-range spells could allow her to take so many countermeasures against him.
The butcher stopped executing his time element spells and replaced them with different spells in his repertoire.
'Blitz Bolt
Blitz Shield
Blitz Shield
Fire snake'
A series of blasts occurred behind the butcher's back. There were a few small blast noises followed by a much louder, more potent one.
The butcher didn't look behind his back when he heard the blasts go off. He flashed a wide grin and contacted his demon beast in his head:
'Hehe! Reen, you know what to do.'
The butcher remembered what Hilda had said to him as he was approaching her. He couldn't help strengthening his resolve in his head before he dealt a final blow to his opponent
'Will we find our salvation in death? I should just accept my fate and die with you?
It is presumptuous of you to think that death will give you salvation when you have never died. I have died so I know. It's not a place I want to visit ever again.
Abomination as I may be, I'm at least not stupid enough to think of such suicidal thoughts. If straying away from humanity can give me the power I want, then I shall walk further on this path than anyone.
Heh! I can indeed help you though if you want to get to your happy place.'
Hilda saw that the butcher was smiling at her as he came within a few meters of distance from her. She was preparing to confront him verbally. But she observed that a small, slimy mass had flown over her head and stopped her speech.
She wanted to see what it was but the confrontation with Ronny was almost upon her. So she ignored a small mass that she couldn't sense anything out of and concentrated all her senses on the butcher.
The fire snakes appeared first around Ronny amid the rain of acidic arrows, then shot forth ahead of their caster. Their mana bodies would get damaged by the acidic arrows. But the butcher's mana would soon heal the damaged parts.
Ronny knew his mana consumption when he got close to Hilda would be enormous. The fire snakes were an instrumental part of his escape plan. So he had to maintain their existence amid the shower of acidic arrows.
That's why he had drunk a bunch of F-Rank mana potions at the same time without worrying about their repercussions. That gave him the ability to retain the fire snakes and execute all his other spells at the same time.
"You think your pet snakes can stop me? I told you, your death is as inevitable as mine.
It makes my job a lot easier now that you're in my range. Pay for killing Ashton with your life. Hahaha!"
Hilda said and felt exhilarated. Now that the butcher was in range, all she had to do was drop the giant ball of acid that was barely hovering over their heads. This would end both their lives.
The fire snakes walked past Hilda and marched on behind her back instead of attacking her. Hilda had a blank face after she saw that the fire snakes weren't meant to attack her.
The ranger didn't understand what Ronny was aiming at. But not that it mattered to her.
The butcher charged his weapons with his offensive spell and approached the ranger who was practically defenceless without the crossbow in her hand.
She aimed her crossbow amusingly at her opponent and fired a barrage of water-element arrows. The butcher deflected those arrows effortlessly with his weapons before closing the distance for good.
Pinchuk!
Hilda's heart was pierced from her front by the butcher's first attack. He didn't stop there. He cut through the ranger's torso with his weapon arts while using his defensive spell to fend off the severe acidic arrow shower.
In addition, the butcher cut both of Hilda's arms before tearing open her guts. Since she had cast a forbidden spell, her defensive mana layer was almost drained. So it became easier for the butcher to cut her up the way he wanted.
But even after facing such a brutal assault, Hilda couldn't help laughing with the greatest joy she had felt in a while.
"You think killing me would solve your problems, Ronny? Look up and think again. Hahaha!"
The butcher continued with his attack and pierced Hilda's Adam's apple. Then stored his weapons in his storage.
"Bitch, you think I wouldn't take countermeasures against such a giant bomb hanging over my head? I've been listening to you yapping about nonsensical stuff all this time. Didn't you get tired?
Now let me give you some advice of my own as my farewell gift. In your next life, don't wait for someone to kill your loved one to realize what you wanted to do all along.
And in the next life, don't practise a ranking technique that makes your body resemble that of a shredded gorilla. Sure, we do look for other qualities after getting to know you. But ample boobs and big butts… that's what men are in for at first sight. We are shallow like that.
Byebye!"
Hilda was left to crash on the spot by the butcher. He started running behind her without looking back.
The ranger wanted to hold her pierced neck with her hands for comfort but they were no longer attached to her shoulders. But even with that condition she couldn't help but smile. She saw her opponent making futile attempts to escape from the radius of the acid bomb that was soon going to fall on both of them.
Hilda adjusted her dying self and watched where Ronny was headed.