Chapter 1817: The Crimson-Haired Huntress
Benladra found herself cornered by the mysterious woman, someone that claimed to have come for revenge after Benladra and her family slaughtered "her boys" most likely referring to the thugs and bandits they had hunted.
"Is she really the boss of all those thugs?!" she wondered. "But what kind of ability does she have? She can even trap me within something... My mom is still fighting, as if unaware I'm away from her. This is odd!"
As Benladra struggled to realize what was truly happening and the nature of the powers of the red-haired alien woman, the woman walked towards her, pointing her rifle at her.
From within her body, a powerful crimson red aura surged, encompassing her entire body and reinforcing it with greater strength and power.
Her body grew stronger, faster, and more durable within mere seconds. She wasn't just a mere Esper, but someone that had reached an even higher level of power and control over psychic powers.
"You're a tough nut to crack..."
The red-haired cowboy woman walked towards Benladra calmly and composed, she smiled at the dragon girl, as she pointed the rifle at her.
"Well, I like having my fun."
BAAANG!
Another shot came forward, only a couple of meters away from Benladra! The girl rapidly prioritized protecting her chest and her head, encompassing herself with her living Domain, Starly.
FLUOSH!
Once the bullets of the rifle reached her, however, a huge explosion of crimson light and flames engulfed her completely, burning through her surroundings and everything else. BOOOM!
Starly, however, managed to protect Benladra even if her own mass became thinner and smaller, the living Domain quickly feed on her energies and regrew its gaseous body anew.
"An interesting little pet you've got there..." the woman smiled.
"Just who are you?!" Benladra asked, trying to protect the unconscious Emil at all cost. "How come mom doesn't realize I'm away from her?! She doesn't even realize we're fighting...!"
"It's part of what I can do," shrugged the woman. "One of the reasons nobody has survived fighting me ever since I awakened as an Esper is because of this ability. You're within an endless cage made out of my own mind. You will never get out. The only way they'll find you is dead, girl."
"So this is a Psychic Ability...!" Benladra thought. "Could it be some sort of domain that simply blocks our existence from the minds of anybody within a certain range? But even our presences and physical matter, even the sound we produce, everything is nullified and made completely invisible?! This Trial is going from pretty easy to super hard out of nowhere!"
"It's a pity I have to kill a whole family, but you shouldn't have killed my boys," said the
woman.
"Y-Your boys were a bunch of sickos that scammed people and killed innocents!" said Benladra. "Why would you blame us so much for doing justice?!"
"Justice... you say?" the woman laughed. "What is justice, my little white flower? Justice is nothing but a societal construct to justify the massacre of the poor, the unfortunate, and the desperate. All of them are simply the leftovers left behind of a corrupt society. One built upon lies, built upon greed and endless hunger for more money. My boys weren't good people, no. But they were MY boys, they were MY family, and the moment you touched them, the moment you killed them... you started something against me."
"If you thought that surrounding yourself with sick people that raped, robbed, and killed innocents was what gave you the feeling of having a family... then you're just delusional," said Benladra, smiling defiantly. "I know what's having a wonderful family... one that'll always love me for real. They're not sick in the head either or are much better than your boys." "Ah, is that so?" the red-haired woman caressed her weapon. "Pity I'll have to destroy and slaughter your perfect family, sweetie."
Although her words and mannerism didn't really show it, Benladra knew the woman had grown enraged when she was made to face the truth about "her family" and what they truly
were.
For how calm she was, within her, she was hiding an endlessly surging anger born from her narcissism and her selfishness.
"This little bitch dares to call my family monsters? I'll show her what a real monster is!"
Imbuing crimson Psychic Energy into her gun, she fired the rifle several times in a row within the frame of a couple of seconds, speeding up her attack as she slowed down the perception of time within Benladra's mind.
"Goodbye." She smiled. "{Bullet Time}"
BAANG! BAANG! BAANG! BAANG! BAANG!
Five explosive bullets erupted with crimson flames and blinding light over Benladra, whose perception of time was decreased fivefold, the limit of this woman's powers.
"Aaaagh!"
The consecutive explosions and the piercing power of the bullets easily blew up her scales, sending the girl flying away as the woman laughed.
"Hahahaha! You're so tough!" laughed the woman. "Still alive after that?"
The woman walked towards Benladra, noticing the huge wounds in her arms and legs... but not her face or chest.
"She was fast enough to prevent lethal damage again?!" she thought. "But I've slowed her down five times!"
"Hahh... Hahh..." Benladra gasped for air as her wounds rapidly regenerated. "My turn!"
FLUOSH!
Her entire body erupted with tremendous amounts of Holiness and Starlight Energies, transforming and then expanding into a huge domain.
"Hmm?!"
The woman quickly stepped back as she evaded the incoming light, pointing her rifle at Benladra and firing several bullets at her with explosive flames.
BAANG! BAANG! BAANG!
The bullets pierced through Benladra's expanding aura and domain, but that didn't stop her
as she quickly summoned dozens of miniature stars and beams of light, unleashing an all-out
magic attack.
"What kind of Esper Ability is this?!" the woman screamed.
"RAAAHHH!"
Benladra didn't even respond, opening her jaws and releasing a blazing breath against her while she distracted her with her magic.
BOOOM!
"Ngh?!"
The woman's entire body suddenly changed appearance as reflecting, almost transparent scales appeared across her skin, protecting her from the damage.
"This power is not... enough!"
With a furious roar, her crimson psychic aura erupted into the ceiling, transforming into
gigantic crimson spikes.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!