Angel Monarch

It was finally night again. Sera ate the rest of her meat and continued her journey. If she kept walking without stopping, she would reach Havel by noon.

Well at least in a perfect world she would, which this certainly wasn't. Looking at the horde of monsters passing below her she was thinking of just, fuck it and fly off but that would likely be a death sentence.

There were 100s of creatures walking, none of them the same kind, but all of them absentminded.

'Some Horror is controlling them if I have to guess.'

Sera has been sitting on the same branch for the past hour, when she heard the first of the monsters. Luckily the end was already in sight. In 20 minutes she was walking again.

'I won't make it until next nightfall so I might as well hunt another monster tomorrow. I will be a bit more prepared for the city at least.'

Sera kept walking and hiding until the Sun was up, then she began looking for a prey. It took her hours but she finally found one she could kill. It was a Tainted of the 3rd Tier named Shadow Leopard.

Sera even silently followed it as much as she could. She spent an hour studying its abilities. What she learned was that it's really hard to track a monster that becomes close to invisible in the shadows. Luckily it wasn't actively hunting, she probably would have lost it in seconds otherwise.

'Okay I think I learned enough, but I can't leave it to make a trap somewhere else. I would only find it again when it attacks me. It's better to just ambush it here.'

Deciding on the pros and cons of the ambush and thinking of every possible scenario, Sera turned Clear Mind on and suddenly everything became clearer. She was ready to take on the Shadow Leopard.

She began to sneak upon the monster but when she got to around 15 meters from it the leopard disappeared into the shadows. Expecting a move like that Sera lit up the whole area with her light, dispersing every shadow in the vicinity.

The leopard appeared 5 meters to the left, looking very confused. Not wasting a second Sera turned on her wings ability and attacked the beast. The monster died without knowing what hit it.

"Angel Monarch! You have killed a Shadow Leopard, a Tainted of the 3rd Tier! Your Soul is Nourished!"

Sera butchered it as quickly as possible and ran away from the ambush site. After a couple of minutes the sound of trees being destroyed could be heard from there.

'Some creatures saw might light show and went to say hi. How cute. I hope they kill each other.'

After getting far enough that the sounds couldn't be heard anymore, she stopped to prepare the food she got. After eating her fill she followed her routine and dismissed all her items and lay on the monster pelt.

In a couple of hours her Essence reserves were full and she was ready for the final stretch to the city. The Sun was setting so it was time to move out.

'I should reach the cities proximity by dawn. If everything goes according to plan of course. Yeah, it definitely will, like every other time.'

Sera was slowly moving through the woods, looking for signs of danger. She didn't turn of Clear Mind, as it turns out it doesn't drain Essence, but prevents it from replenishing.

'I really can't imagine what the other Heritage could be if this is the first one.'

This ability of hers was really amazing, she could see further and more clearly, hear in frequencies she couldn't before and can make out sounds that were further away.

Her smelling improved as well unfortunately, it would be great if she didn't smell goddamn awful. First time she turned on her ability outside of combat she nearly vomited, it took an hour to get used to it.

And she didn't even scratch the surface with its combat possibilities. Keeping a clear mind in battle is possible the most important advantage someone can have.

While thinking about her Heritage, Sera made quick progress.

'How much further is the city? Is there even going to be a city there or just the broken corpse of one? Well, there is only one way to find out.'

After hiding on a tree from some predator for another hour or so, and then walking for another, the forest began to change.

Dawn was approaching, the tops of the trees are already got hit by the first rays of the new day. But what Sera noticed is that the forest started to clear up.

As she was walking the trees became more wide spread from each other.

'I must be getting close to the city!'

With hurried steps she approached the end of the forest. Of course she didn't stopped looking for danger but with the help of Clear Mind that became very easy.

Finally Sera saw it. There, a bit further away the line of trees stopped. She slowed down her steps and stopped at the threshold of the forest.

Sera gazed back once, then taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a second she moved past the trees and looked forward.

There on the horizon was a city. Well at least it was a city once now probably only monsters live inside of it. That didn't take away of its beauty. As the morning Sun hit the side of the buildings, Sera's only thought was: 'I made it!'

She felt on her knees, laughing. She laughed so hard that had to lay down on her back. She was laughing for minutes now but at some point it turned into crying.

"I made it... Great... Is this what life is? Constant struggle to stay alive? What's the point... There has to be more to it...

Otherwise it would be pointless..."

Sera dismissed these philosophical thoughts. This wasn't the time and place for them. Getting up from the ground she gazed at the city, then started walking towards it.