Page 73 of House of Lilith

Where the creatures are — since this is obviously some kind of monster hunt — that I still do not know.

But I don’t plan on standing here, waiting for them to appear. So, as I watch Romanov jump from one pointy tip to the other, I make a run for it.

I leap over the chasm and I land on the other side, sensing a couple of players following me.

And it’s just as one of them, a Grimm shifter, whizzes past me, I spot the first one break off from the cliff.

I stand straight, my eyes zeroing in. It’s a large bird the color of the stone around us, imitating the shade and the texture so well, it almost serves like an invisibility cloak.

I find temporary shelter behind one of the cliff walls, peering out. My eyebrows pull down as I watch the bird do a slow circle in the direction of the shifter. Why is he just standing there, waiting for it to attack?

No, I think as I zoom in on him. His eyes are fixed on the bird, one hand raised to shield himself from the sun. He looks as if he’s here sightseeing, not fucking fighting. Add to that the fact that he seems to be smiling…

Sure, it’s just a bird, I think to myself, but cockiness will only get you killed.

And just as I think that, I spot the guy freeze and my eyes dart back to the bird and I see it’s not a regular bird after all.

I see it once it opens its mouth.Mouth, not beak. My muscles tensing up, I only have time to notice the bat head before the mouth starts releasing a sickening ringing sound, so loud and high-pitched at the same time, it disorients me completely.

Once the call dies down and I manage to snap out of it, I see the guy stumbling on his feet as the bat bird propels itself towards him. I spot a flash of teeth shooting up from the lower jaw and the next thing I know, the guy is being impaled and lifted high above the ground. Blood curdles in my veins. He’s screaming and he’s frantically tapping his shirt with his hand.

Tappingout, I think to myself. And just as I do, the bat bird disappears and the Box zaps him out of the Ring.

I glance left and right, seeing other players looking just as tense from their hiding spots. I’m sure we’re all thinking the same. This one might be a bit trickier than the last.

*

It’s a moment too late that I notice one of them flying straight at me. I’m near the center of the circle, where the cliffs are denser, but I don’t have time to dart into hiding.

The bat bird is already opening its mouth and if I let it screech, I’ll be left paralyzed for at least a couple of seconds.

So I stand straighter, I aim, I fling the chainshot and I watch it wrap itself around the creature’s neck.

My heart thudding in my chest, I wait for the sound, but there’s only silence.

My muscles relax a bit before I notice it spread its wings and start spinning around, untangling the chainshot until it’s sent flying through the air.

When I see it come straight at me, I duck, gluing myself to the ground. And that leaves me with no weapon, but as I stare into the cold, hard stone beneath me, I think I’m lucky I survived. And judging by the sounds of fighting all around me, most of the other students are still way back, me, Romanov and her asshole prince at the front.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t have to try harder.

So I don’t give my aching muscles even a minute of rest. I push myself off the ground and I keep moving.

I kill another one.

And another one.

Then a third one attacks.

I fight it off, slamming the chainshot so hard into its neck, it gets sent flying back, fails to produce any sound and disappears out of my line of sight. I hear sounds of struggle from my left and I freeze. It’s her, my fox sniffing wildly in her direction, urging me to go there.

It’s the very next second that I feel something slam into me, a pang of nauseating pain shooting through my ribs on the right side. The next thing I know, I’m being pushed backwards, one of that same creature’s teeth threatening to impale me.

I lift the chainshot and I fling it down, the hard metal ball crashing into the bat bird’s head, cracking its skull.

It slides off me and straight to the ground.

It hurts like fucking hell, I think as I press my palm onto my ribs, my mind immediately rushing back to those sounds I heard.

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