Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 378

378

Counterattack

Thud, thud.

Red blood dripped onto the ground, forming small puddles.

A normal person would have collapsed from excessive bleeding long ago, but the woman, covered in wounds, merely frowned as she stood.

“…”

Enri subtly examined her body.

A body that had never been scratched by any blade was now utterly tattered.

She was only holding on thanks to the Saintess’s Blessing; otherwise, she would have collapsed from blood loss, gazed at the hazy world, and died.

The ones who had cut and torn her body, once as hard as steel, were not the knights the kingdom boasted about.

A beast with eyes gleaming in the darkness, making a sound that was both soft and sharp.

Nyaaaang.

To someone unaware of the situation, it would sound like the cute cry of a stray cat.

“Damn it.”

To Enri, who had been turned into rags by that beast, it sounded like the roar of a monster, savoring the taste of blood as it sliced off pieces of its prey.

“Isn’t it amusing?

The space you were so proud of, now a small hunting ground just for you.”

Lucia, in terrible condition from the fierce battle with Enri, chuckled and mocked her. Having cast healing magic, as one would expect from the daughter of Lido, she had almost completely recovered.

A blatant taunt, implying ‘come and get me if you dare’.

Enri was furious, but she couldn’t move rashly.

If she moved even a little more and had her tendons properly severed by the beast, she would be beaten to a pulp by that woman who fought with martial arts, just like herself.

The situation was already bad enough with the cat nibbling away at her, exploiting her weaknesses. If she took a direct hit when she could barely defend or move, it would be the end, no matter how much the Saintess’s Blessing protected her.

“…How did you figure it out?”

She was dumbfounded and resentful.

Until now, others either didn’t realize it until they died, or they noticed the biggest weakness of her ‘space’ right before their death. But the woman in front of her had figured it out in no time and was using it to her advantage.

“It wasn’t difficult.

When our cute cat revealed herself, you could have dealt with me, who was injured, more easily and quickly than her, but you strangely fixated on Lia.”

“Nyaaang.

She clung to me so much, she smelled musty!”

Lia’s voice, though her form was unseen, clearly echoed from somewhere.

The cat’s cry, mixed with the dark night, was so eerie it sent shivers down her spine.

“Damn it…”

She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth, but nothing changed.

The Saintess’s Blessing within her remained silent, perhaps not expecting that the opponent would immediately notice her weakness and play with her like this.

‘How did things end up like this?’

At first, everything was in her favor.

The beast woman had given up her stealth and appeared to save the woman who was fighting her.

Her movements were incredibly fast, and she even said that the Saintess’s Blessing within that beast was very similar to theirs, so she tried to break her ankle to subdue her troublesome speed.

She didn’t necessarily have to catch her with her own hands.

Being fast meant that even a slight misstep could have a big impact, and she had the Saintess’s Blessing that could easily create such variables.

When the opponent approached, she could simply strike the ground, causing a massive tremor that would block everything approaching and completely disrupt their balance.

The woman who had taken a hit while fighting her wouldn’t be able to move easily, so she would quickly catch and kill this annoying cat first.

That was Enri’s decision, and it seemed reasonable.

‘Lia!

Avoid that woman’s attacks at all costs!’

That was until the woman, casting the difficult healing magic without any incantations, stood up and shouted.

At Lucia’s shout, Lia immediately perked up her ears and focused on getting out of Enri’s attack range instead of attacking her.

Enri was the one who was flustered. The fact that the dying woman had gotten up was a problem, but the words she had spoken were the biggest problem for Enri.

‘No way, it can’t be.’

Enri, who thought that they wouldn’t realize the weakness of her ability, or that they would only notice it much later, felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

Immediately, Lucia lunged at Enri.

Enri managed to punch her in the abdomen, but Lucia, swallowing her scream, managed to grab Enri.

‘Lia!’

At Lucia’s call, a blue afterimage flashed through the darkness.

At the same time, a long scar appeared on Enri’s back, and blood splattered. Enri, who had been ambushed, tried to shake Lucia off, but Lucia insisted on grappling, trying to confirm something.

And after a while, as Enri retreated, bleeding from Lia’s attack, Lucia wiped the blood from her lips and muttered, ‘I understand now.’

She had figured out the weakness of Enri’s ‘space’, which at first glance could only be described as a death trap that perfectly ensnared the enemy without any gaps.

“It’s a simple principle.

Just like preparing a powerful magic requires more mana and time.

Even if the Saintess’s Blessing is unique, we are not gods, are we?

It can’t be perfect, and it can’t be without flaws.”

Even the formidable Kim Yuhyun had weaknesses.

However, those weaknesses weren’t in terms of power, but there were still gaps.

Lucia realized that the only enemies that could be trapped in her space, from which no one could escape thanks to the power of the Saintess’s Blessing, were those who had been hit by Enri’s attacks.

Otherwise, there was no need for her to leave her alone and try to catch only Lia.

They were each other’s counters.

Enri would lose if she gave Lia, who was much faster than her, a wide space to move in. Conversely, she could win if she narrowed the space and cornered her.

On the other hand, Lia could defeat Enri by using her speed in a wide space, gradually chipping away at her.

However, if she was grabbed and couldn’t use her space, her speed would be useless and she would be defeated.

‘…I have to do something.’

Both she and that woman could deflect some of the damage through their guard.

In that situation, the claws flying in from an unexpected gap were threatening enough, and the increasing amount of blood flowing out would eventually catch up to her.

She had to make a move, she had to catch both of them at the same time, or at least land an attack on that damn cat to trap her in her space.

The problem was that Lucia wasn’t just watching.

If she threw a feint to catch Lia, Lucia would immediately see through it and land a direct hit. If she looked away, her body might be crushed before she could catch the cat.

‘In the end, there’s only one way left…’

Clench.

It was all or nothing. She had already lost her composure and now had to risk her life.

Giving up some flesh wouldn’t be enough.

She had to give up at least half of her body to get what she wanted.

She had to proceed in that way to trick that martial artist woman, even for a moment, and lead her down the path Enri wanted.

Nyaaang!

Perhaps thinking that the moment she was thinking was an opening, the cat’s cry was heard from somewhere, and at the same time, two blue eyes glowed in the darkness.

Claws, sharper than blades, flew at a speed that would make even ordinary people and agile elves sweat.

‘Come on, come!’

Taking a clumsy stance would obviously be noticed.

She had to lure this beast, which was only looking for a chance to cut off its prey’s breath, by pretending to barely avoid the attack and then collapsing.

The moment of attack, the very moment when it could bite the enemy’s neck, was also the moment when it became most vulnerable.

That was how Enri had caught countless monsters with only her hands and feet, and the beast woman was no different.

The moment it slowed down to prepare for the next attack was the moment it would be trapped in her trap.

Whoosh!

The first attack barely grazed Enri’s neck.

If it had been a little deeper, her blood vessels would have been severed, and she would have collapsed from the continuous bleeding.

Enri gritted her teeth and deliberately lost her balance.

Her body faltered for a moment, exposing her flank to the next attack.

‘Not yet.’

Not yet, not yet.

If she gave the impression of being attacked like this, the beast would obviously sense something was wrong.

There was also another woman who would rush at her as soon as she lost her balance.

Gritting her teeth, Enri swung her hand, intending to get rid of Lucia first.

Lucia was hit directly in the face, but she still managed to kick Enri in the side.

“Kuh!”

Normally, she would have endured the pain and tried to regain her balance immediately.

But at this moment, she had to show that she couldn’t withstand the attack any longer and was faltering.

Because this was the perfect timing that Enri had been aiming for.

“Nyaang!”

The claws emitting a blue light pierced her stomach.

It seemed that she intended to cut through her flesh and organs.

Go ahead, do as you please.

Because the moment you stab your claws into my belly is the moment I wanted.

Thud!

A burning sensation spread from her abdomen, and soon a terrible pain ran down her spine and up to her head.

It was an attack that would make her lose consciousness immediately, but Enri gritted her teeth until they bled and endured it.

“Got you.”

“Nya, nyaang?”

Lucia was still relatively far away.

It was enough to attack this hateful cat.

Enri thought so, smiled, and pulled back her fist before throwing it.

Smack!

With a sound, Lia’s neck twisted, and blood splattered.

Lia, who had been constantly evading Enri’s attacks and launching surprise attacks, had been hit by a powerful punch to the face.

‘It landed!’

She had finally succeeded in trapping this annoying cat in her trap.

Her attack had finally landed, and the counterattack was about to begin.

No matter how fast, no matter how stealthy, if the space was limited, she could knock her out with one heavy blow.

Thinking so, she was about to attack again when Enri felt something was wrong.

Something, something was wrong.

Too wrong.

These beasts, who liked to secretly exploit the enemy’s weaknesses, would try to get out of there and find another gap if their efforts were in vain.

Because they lacked strength in a head-on fight, and their stamina didn’t support them.

But this cat woman was different.

Even though blood was streaming from her nose and lips, and her lips were torn from the impact, she didn’t erase her smile. Instead, she was tightly gripping Enri’s fist.

“Nyaang.

Did you think I was the main attacker and Lucia was watching my back?”

“…?”

“Too bad.

In fact, I’m the bait, and Lucia is the real deal.”

“Wh, what?”

The moment Enri heard Lia’s words, she felt goosebumps all over her body.

Come to think of it, Lucia’s recovery from her attack was too slow.

Normally, she would have rushed at her as soon as she saw that this cat woman had been caught, but she had just realized that her heavy blow hadn’t come yet.

Thud, thud!

“Lucia is a little slow in preparing.”

Her strength was relatively lacking compared to Enri, but that was only true when fighting head-on. In a close-quarters situation where she couldn’t freely extend her arms and legs, Lia could still hold Enri.

Buzz!

The Saintess’s Blessing within her urgently sent a warning signal.

Look to your side, look to your side.

Check out the terrifying thing coming towards you.

Enri barely turned her head to check her side, and soon she realized that what they were aiming for wasn’t just to gradually wear her down and exhaust her.

Coo-goo-goo!

The one she thought was the main attacker was just bait.

The one she thought was a shield was just a screen to launch a giant spear from behind.

Enri, who had focused all her attention on attacking Lia, could do nothing but watch Lucia rush at her with red and blue magic condensed in her right hand.

No matter how much the Saintess’s Blessing screamed and warned her to avoid, it was natural that she couldn’t do what she couldn’t do.

Right now, this cat woman was waiting until the attack reached her, and then she wrapped her arms and legs around Enri’s arms and legs, holding her tightly and showing no signs of letting go.

Even if she tried to turn her body and use this cat as a shield, she would pull Enri’s body back, disrupt her balance, and then grab her from behind again, making it impossible.

In the meantime, Lucia was rapidly closing the distance.

Unlike Enri, who couldn’t move her body at all, she had secured enough space and pulled back her fist, which contained an aura that made her shudder just by looking at it, and opened her mouth.

“Your light and justice that you talk about so much.

It’s disgusting.”

True light doesn’t show off; it just warmly illuminates everyone.

True justice impartially punishes, but also pities the target.

Even if the light and justice they speak of look good on the surface,

inside, it’s just full of disgusting filth.

“I’ll execute that great justice now.”

Thwack-Kwaaang!

“Nyaaaaang!”

Thanks to that, a cat was launched into the dark sky.

―――――――Author’s Notes―――――――

Naro-ho launch