Lord of Annihilation

"..*Huff*....*Huff*...Dammit! Why...are they....still chasing after me!" Olivia cursed through her panting breath.

Turning her head back slightly, she noticed the large horde of Fjord Beasts intently chasing her. The eyes of the beasts glowed with an ominous glow, as they looked at her retreating body.

While still being inexperienced, Olivia could clearly feel the murderous intent emanating from them. Their message was clear- To not rest until they had killed this human.

BANG!

A large ice lance, carrying the strength of a Peak Level Stage 1 suddenly landed next to Olivia's body. Having caught the shadow of the attack from the corner of her eyes, she had prepared in advance to dodge the attack.

Unfortunately, while the mind willed it, the body could not obey. Olivia's body barely moved when the attack fell near her. The indirect force released by the ice lance landed on her body, injuring her internally.

A tremendous amount of force was transferred onto her chest, as she felt her ribs crack. Her lungs were squeezed as Olivia spit a mouthful of blood.

Her already deathly pale face turned a shade whiter.

Her eyes had already blurred and her body had no strength left within. Running and evading the attacks for the last 15 minutes, Olivia could no longer feel her legs. Only the pain of the most recent attack was keeping her awake and the fear of death kept her moving forward.

Indeed. It had been 15 minutes since the beast horde had been chasing her. An outcome that none among the trio had foreseen.

Going back a few minutes. After Olivia had attacked the large Fjord Beast, she had immediately withdrawn and succeeded in drawing away from the attention of the majority of the beasts.

Attacks flew towards her, but she managed to dodge them, before retreating past the 100m distance. Just to be on the safer side, Olivia had continued to run all the way past the small mound, after which she relaxed her tired body having reached safety.

But little did she know, the so-called safety lasted for a mere 30 seconds. The large horde of beasts unexpectedly left their territory and had continued in their chase against Olivia.

Against a large number of Mid Level and Peak Level Stage 1 beings, whom even Lucius would have no chance to survive against if he was to face them directly. Olivia had no choice but to run.

Pulling together her tired body and exhausted soul, she persevered and ran. 

And ran. And ran. And continued running.

The large mountain was already distant, as the large stretches of ice-covered plains extended in front of her eyes. With Olivia running at the very front, the beast horde followed behind her. The Peak Level Stage 1 beasts with the [Peircing Lance] were at the very forefront of the group, followed by the beasts with the [Ice Shell] soul.

Their eyes overflowed with thick, murderous intent and single-minded zeal.

Her current soul power was at 5% and could not be used anymore. With each step she took and every second that passed without rest, her body's condition was rapidly falling apart. 

Olivia's leg muscles had been pushed beyond their limits and had already torn. She no longer felt the cold surrounding her, or the throbbing ache in her lungs, as it expanded and contracted. Only the needle-like piercing pain of her exhausted muscles, coupled with the small shards of ice that had penetrated her flesh was felt within her mind.

Olivia could feel it. She could no longer continue.

'Am...I...going to die?' while she did not want to accept it, reality was quite harsh.

Her iron-like will, which had allowed her to persevere fall falling apart. In the end, her will cannot provide her the strength to keep moving, it was something intangible after all. 

A burst of soundless laughter sounded within her mind. She wanted to shout, to scream, to curse at the hopelessness of her situation. Alas, she had no strength remaining. Opening her mouth meant she would throw up more blood.

'Ah...this is the end for me?'

As for screaming for help and hoping that Lucius would hear it. Hoping for him to come and save her. The thought never crossed her mind. 

The moment she had decided to follow Lucius on his journey, she had promised herself that she would never fall behind. To continue advancing until she would stand next to him and become someone he could rely upon.

Becoming a burden once more. Olivia would rather die than let that happen.

'To die at the hands of some insignificant beasts. I'm pathetic.' 

They say that before a star's death, it would burst with infinite radiance. It would shine at its highest brightness, before crossing into oblivion.

This radiance came to Olivia at this moment. The pain, the stress, the tiredness, all of them disappeared from her mind, leaving behind absolute clarity.

'pathetic...I'm so pathetic!.....ARGH!!!' she let out a crazed scream within her mind. 

At this instant of clarity, the accumulated feelings of pressure, stress, exhaustion, the fear of death, gathered together and exploded. At this moment, something broke inside Oliva.

A stream of dark violet energy burst forth from the center of her soul and moved through her body. Olivia's sapphire blue irises disappeared and were replaced by dark-violet color.

'pathetic! pathetic! pathetic! SO PATHETIC!'

'IF I AM TO DIE! I SHALL DRAG THESE WRETCHED BEASTS DOWN WITH ME!' she bellowed.

Unfortunately, she was still a Mid Level Stage 1 being. One that was in the final moments of her death. 

Taking advantage of this moment of clarity, she started to rationally think.

'I don't have any strength. Even If I did, I cannot win against these beasts in direct combat.'

'Thinking back, this entire situation seems wrong.'

'According to Lucius' words, these beasts weren't supposed to leave their territory, and having come to know his personality, he wouldn't lie about such things.'

'No matter how strong they are, they are but living beasts in the end. Considering their weight and build, they should have grown exhausted by the chase. But looking back, the ones chasing at the forefront seem to be filled with strength.'

Olivia's mind rapidly analyzed and her violet eyes glowed with realization.

'The ones chasing me at the forefront are being cycled with the ones in the back! Replacing the tired beasts with the ones rested in the back, they are able to constantly catch up to me!'

She let out a low, long breath as she came to a conclusion.

'They are being led by a leader. One with enough intelligence to come up with this tactic.'

'How do I defeat them?....' just as she was thinking of a method to defeat the horde of beasts, Olivia's eyes involuntarily darted to the sides.

A long narrow, valley, could be seen, some distance away on her left side. Her eyes brightened, as a brilliant plan formed within her mind.

A beautiful smile rose to her face as she thought to herself.

'Hahaha! Excellent! Truly excellent!' 

Without wasting a single second, she immediately turned and started to head towards the dark, ice valley.

-------------------

Inside the mausoleum. 

With his left eye being black and his right eye shining in crimson, Lucius calmly watched as the 23 Forgotten surround him. Multiple pitch-black tentacles rose from within his shadow, as he readied himself to fight against multiple opponents.

『A child?』『Human?』 『No this one feels different.』『What are those pitch-black tentacles?』

Multiple sounds originating from black armored beings were heard around him. Their tones were filled with curiosity and their eyes were filled with interest.

Lucius understood that he couldn't afford to lose the initiative in this fight. As such, he immediately moved to attack.

He used the ability that he was the most confident in. His speed.

With a fierce stomp on the ground, Lucius' figure suddenly flicked in their vision and disappeared from his spot. In an instant, his body appeared behind one of the Forgotten with a wide build and punched out with all his strength.

Due to the wide build of this Forgotten coupled with the suddenness of Lucius' actions, his punch landed onto the body of the Forgotten.

BANG!

With the loud sound of impact, the floor beneath their feet cracked, as the black mist constituting the entity's legs disappeared. A single punch had destroyed its lower body!

However, seeing this result Lucius did not dare relax. He knew this was simply a temporary effect and immediately moved onto his next target. The white lines in his vision, suddenly turned red as multiple attacks headed towards his body.

Swords, Spears, Cudgels, Hammers, multiple weapons were launched towards his body, with each attack being 'perfect'.

However, this did not matter to Lucius. Moving the different parts of his body minimally and taking a single step back, the redlines in his vision instantly disappeared and were replaced with white. 

His opponents were astonished and Lucius made full use of this opportunity, Controlling his tentacles, he executed a scythe technique.

[Dance of the Death God: Second Moevemt- Shred]

His soul power exploded as his scythe headed towards the Forgotten.