Saki dashed forward below the giant bug as they faced each other in a close fight. Both of its frontal limbs rose in the skies and launched down in an attempt to crush her, but missed. Reaching below the giant bug, Saki looked up and swung her sword up, where the bug was most vulnerable. "Grr...!" She grunts as her blade cuts through its skin, leaving a long laceration and a pained crying of the bug. 'Beetle Leader takes 16 damage!'
The giant bug fell on its back and twitched violently as it fought the immense pain from its wound. "Yeah! Take that!" Saki yells at the giant bug with a wide grin. "Too reckless, Saki!" Abigail yells from the side, interrupting her triumph. Shizuku glanced over her shoulder and asked. "Is it over?" Then she saw the giant bug still moving. "It's still alive! One single health point left, Miss Nisshin!" She yells and focuses back on the smaller bugs in front of her.
Saki nodded and just as she approached, the giant bug managed to get back up and stood with trembling limbs. Saki stops in her tracks and readies her sword. "You can't just lie down and give up, can't you?!" She yells at the struggling bug. Abigail glances at the giant bug, watching the situation. In the battle interface, a text appears 'Colony Offense' Upon reading it, Saki looked around and saw the bugs became tranced, their buzzing became erratic and their movement swift and wild. And just within seconds, Shizuku and Abigail faced difficulty in holding off the bugs. They began to swarm them and some went to face Saki, letting out threatening buzzes.
"Chief! Abby! Are you alright?!" She yells past the bugs but there are too many bugs buzzing and crying in anger, she has to defeat the bugs standing in her way. She readies her sword and executes her skill. "Cleave the enemies apart!" She swings her sword wide, causing damage to the bugs. 'Bug D takes 16 damage!' 'Bug C takes 16 damage!' 'Bug B takes 16 damage!' 'Bug A takes 15 damage!'
Bug A lunges to bite Saki's arm, but she steps to the side and swings her sword up in the skies. However, upon connecting with the bug, it latches itself into the blade. 'Bug A takes 9 damage!' Causing Saki to lose her balance and stumble towards her sword which was weighed down by the bug. "Hey, what the-!" Bug B quickly latches on her as Bug A weighs down on her sword, rendering her unable to swing. "Gah...!" She stumbles sidewards as the other bug latches on her body while she still maintains her grip on her sword.
Latching on her body, Bug B bites into her shoulder. 'Saki takes 16 damage!' Its bite was amplified by its trance to harm by their leader's direct order and continued to crunch through her flesh. 'Saki takes 16 damage!' "AAAHH...!!!" Saki screams in agony, tears gushing out of her clutching eyes in an instant, her body instinctively trying to pull away from the bug to no avail.
Bug A continues to weigh down her sword, causing her to lose her grip on it, and brings both of her hands to push Bug B instead, but its limb stubbornly clings to her body and its jaw still stuck on her bleeding shoulder. Bug C lunges in and bites into her leg. 'Saki takes 12 damage!' "AAAAAHH....!!!" Saki lost her balance to the intense pain in her right leg and fell on her back, screaming in agony. The remaining bugs attempt to swarm to finish her as she lays on the ground.
"With collected spirit comes with a definite volley of strikes!" A sudden blow of wind drove the bugs away, blood splattering everywhere. Saki could only close her eyes as the bugs' blood sprayed over her body. "Saki...! Saki!" Abigail stands guard in front of her weakened state on the ground. "Saki! Oh no... Saki..." She glances behind her to see Saki barely moving, she felt rising tears in her eyes and held it all back.
Shizuku stumbles back towards Abigail's side while blocking off a lunging bug. "Damn...!" She then noticed Abigail on her side, glancing over her shoulder. She followed her gaze towards Saki. "Oh dear... Miss Nisshin..." She gasped at the sight of Saki's weakened state. "Chief... The guards are dead... We're the only ones left" Her gaze darted to Abigail, who had a grim look on her face, then looked around. No more guards were fighting, only bug monsters were visible around the village facing their direction. Some of them are standing guard around their wounded leader.
Shizuku closed her eyes, she muttered in a remorseful tone. "I've gotten careless..." Then opens her eyes to face the bugs threatening to kill them. "This has gone too far and wrong... I'm sorry, my lady, but I must do this..." She said, causing Abigail to turn to her with a confused gaze. Suddenly, she hovered above, and Abigail followed her rising figure. The bugs also turned their attention to her figure above and buzzed aggressively.
Abigail felt the rising power from Shizuku that overwhelmed the entire village, including herself. Shizuku's braided hair breaks loose and sways freely in the air along with her surging power. With a regretful expression on her face, she closes her eyes and casts her spell. "The Wraiths of the Unholy spreads their veil upon the living!" Her expression suddenly switched to a maddened one, her hair glowed into a ghastly, translucent appearance, and her glowing white eyes focused on the bugs below. Suddenly, the entire village was engulfed by her immense power. The bugs began to cry and buzz with fear, twitching and darting around them.
Saki was suddenly shaken awake by the sudden change in her emotions. A lingering fear, a despair that she never thought she could ever feel. Doubts, uncertainties, and terror consumed her mind. She began to sweat, her instinct activating, causing her to dart around, only to see the surroundings of the village shrouded in darkness, adding to her stress. Her eyes then landed on Abigail. Just as she did, Abigail snaps to her. She looked terrified, Saki could hear her gasping for air and see the terror that overtook her reasoning. She could tell that Abigail had no idea what was going on, clueless just like her. The face of her friend twisting into frantic fear caused her to heighten her own.
Suddenly, Abigail hurriedly steps back as she maintains her wary gaze at Saki. With a shaking voice, she muttered. "You... You shouldn't be moving, you're... You're wounded... No, dead, but... Why are you... Oh, the blasphemy, the taboo..." She begins to whisper deluded rambling, causing Saki to be even more agitated. Looking past Abigail's spot, she could see the terrifying appearance of the bugs, but she quickly noticed how they were fearing something, causing her to dart around to see whatever it was.
Saki began to crawl back desperately, fearing that something might come to her, a slimy mass crushing her body, the jaws of the bug monsters piercing her skin, the massive swarm of the bugs overwhelming her village, the whispers, and gossip. She continues to feel everything all together until her back hits a wall, causing her to gasp for air rapidly and jump forward while looking at the wall. Feeling trapped, she forced herself to stand but fell back down. She felt an immense pain in her right leg and followed with her gaze towards it. Down there, she was missing her right leg and a great amount of blood was gushing out, causing her to almost throw up. She gasps for air and cries desperately.
"No... No...!" She whispered as she shook her head in denial of the situation. She looked around helplessly, only to see Abigail again, whose gaze never left her. "How are you still moving...? You're not normal...!" Abigail raised her voice slightly at her. Saki felt a great guilt by her words that she had no idea why. It was a hell of chaining fear, a fear from one passed to others, a never-ending torment of darkness.