"Ugh! Argh!!", Bojorn groaned.

The brute's entire body appeared paralyzed as he stood rooted to the spot like a tree. The rippling and explosive muscles that adorned his massive upper body twitched and convulsed with vigor and they appeared as if countless worms had begun crawling underneath the skin. It sent waves of pain through the chieftain's mind resulting in an uncomfortable headache that made him feel dizzy. Even standing upright appeared to be tough and the man could only lean atop his giant sword as a stand for support.

"Thank goodness..." Shreya heaved a sigh. "I had thought you boasted a passive poison immunity for a while. It made me worry about its effectiveness since the very beginning," she said with a bitter smile. The huntress was not in any better condition and was barely able to clutch her swords because of an unnaturally weak grip.

Shreya could only lament at her lack of preparation as she slowly advanced further. Had there been enough time for such, this battle would have concluded long ago. Due to the surprise element of the bandit raid, she could not concoct a more potent and deadly poison that could kill a living being in minutes. The one Bojorn is afflicted with is only a poison of paralysis that disrupted an organism's nervous system, making its muscle coordination go disarray.

It was a commonly used hunter's solution that would dissolve away within the body after a certain amount of time. After all, no sane hunter would want to sell or consume poisoned meat and hence they generally refrained from preparing sure kill potions, unlike an assassin. Shreya had concocted this paralyzing potion for her supposed expedition in the woods scheduled for the next day, but it wasn't necessary anymore since the cause of the monster's restlessness now stood convulsing right in front of her.

The huntress didn't dawdle in her regret any further before increasing her pace. She needed to deal the finishing blow on the man before the effects of the poison wear off. Gritting her teeth, Shreya dragged her exhausted body towards the trembling bandit in the distance.

"You bitch! What have you done!"

Bojorn's visage appeared extremely ugly and perplexed as of the moment. The dull glisten of a major dilemma flashed past his eyes that gazed at the approaching huntress. It took a fair amount of time before it was wiped out by a fiendish glow of fury within the man's bloodshot pupils as if he had made a decision.

"Very well woman," a menacing growl escaped the chieftain's throat that incited an ill-foreboding within Shreya's heart. "I shall let you experience...true wrath!", he sucked in a heavy gale of air.

"HAAAAAAH!!"

A furious shout that resembled the angry roar of an archaic beast shook the entire region. Deep, scarlet coloured mist rose like tidal waves from within the bandit's body that had bulked up by another level and increased his entire size, making him even taller than the sledgehammer giant. Cracks spread along the rocky soil under his massive feet, seemingly not being able to bear the sheer weight of his body. His eyes had turned a similar scarlet red and visible fumes of anger shot out from within his flaring nostrils like an angry bull as he glared at the surprised huntress ahead.

'Oh no!'

Shreya who had flinched back a step after hearing the vicious roar, dashed forwards in an instant with all her might, brushing away any of the thoughts into the back of her head. She knew, the moment when the bandit's strange transformation would conclude, she will be facing something completely different and...terrifying.

"Hah!"

The huntress ignored the devastating aura that had materialized for a dozen feet around the chieftain. It was a form of weapon in itself, boring into Shreya's skin like daggers and she reckoned no normal human could even stay conscious, let alone fight under this malignant presence. In an attempt to end this once and for all, she pounced upwards aiming to pierce the giant's throat with her short sword, but unfortunately, she was a step too late in her execution.

baam!

"Arghh!"

Bojorn swung down his now-massive bear-like hand that swatted away the archer like a housefly. The huntress was hit right in the forearms, which she had brought up to put guard just in time before she flew backward like a cannonball, dragging and rolling through the hard and rocky terrain for a couple of dozen meters. Dust and smoke covered the perimeters around the spot she had halted in the distance and a massive trail was dug up on the surface as a result.

"Ugh! Argh!" Shreya moaned in pain, the bones in her trembling arms that were coated with deep bluish mist screamed with crippling agony.

A wave of immense dread assaulted her heart under the tyrannical pressure of extreme fury that the giant bandit emanated out. Never in life had she thought that she would come face to face against one of these infamous angry slaughter machines. Under the favor of Zygorath, The God of Might and Valor, they who rampage through the blood-soaked battlefields as the physical embodiment of 'wrath' themselves. They who were fabled and feared throughout the lands of Eucleia...

The Berserkers!!

For the first time since the start of this disastrous night, a tinge of despair and helplessness appeared upon the huntress' visage. The ending she had struggled so hard to achieve was thrashed away by the wheels of destiny as if mocking at her efforts. Looking at the massive ball of crimson fury staring at her, Shreya wondered if this was how the village men had felt when they had thrown their lives to those vicious savages.

The situation Shreya had assumed she had grasped suddenly seemed fuzzy. She could not even remotely infer a reason as to why has such a legendary character had fallen into the vile clutches of banditry. But she was not presented with even a single second to organize her rampant thoughts before...

ROAR!

With another earth-shaking roar, Bojorn bolted forwards as he disfigured the entire field with his massive and bulky strides, swinging down his sword upon the sprawled huntress.

BOOM!

"Ughh!"

Shreya had avoided the obvious slash by a large margin, but even then she was flung away for a few meters just by the outwards shock produced by the explosion, landing with a heavy thud! The strength behind this attack was almost three to four times greater than normal and a massive crater was created at the point the metal hunk impacted on the ground.

The mad giant didn't give Shreya enough time to steady herself as he instantly launched himself near with another stride, bringing down the sword with disastrous momentum.

KABOOM!

Another tremendous explosion rang throughout the region shaking the hills in the distance. The ground had caved in instantly creating another gigantic crater with a vicious outburst of shards of soil and as once again Shreya was flung outwards from the shock wave, this time barely able to land upon her feet.

The similar scene repeated for another half a dozen times that entirely changed the appearance of the wide grassy field. Each swing of the berserker was so terrifying that even if it connected with nothing and only cut through the air, the topsoil was eroded just by the ferocious winds it created. It looked like the sword swings were breaking the fabric of space itself and any normal person without any special protection would simply disintegrate if they were present close enough.

"Hah! Hah! Hah!"

A battered and bloody Shreya was currently gasping for breath in the distance. She was able to survive those horrific attacks only due to the blue aura mist coating around and strengthening her physique. The bruises and cuts all over were a result of high-speed rock projectiles that drilled into her leather armor like bullets after each explosion.

Her forearms were no longer in a state to hold weapons and the swords she had dropped during her frantic dodging had already flown away to god knows where. The jet black hair was in a total mess, the front bangs sticking onto her sweaty forehead and her muscles screamed, devouring any oxygen within the blood that made her heavy and erratic breathing resemble a patient with lung failure. This was the most miserable state she had ever found herself since her departure from her native lands, but even in this desperate situation, the huntress had not given up at the fight as she had finally found a silver lining along the dark clouds.

Although the berserker state drastically increased the bandit's strength and had suppressed the paralyzing poison, his muscle coordination was still erratic. The man's agility had dropped even further, only being able to rush in straight lines and perform powerful, but obvious sword blows. It was barely enough for the exhausted Shreya to remain in the fight.

The monstrous increase in strength must come at a price like a natural law of cause and effect. For berserkers, it is the post-battle state that weakens them to a large degree as a backlash. Adding in the effects of the paralyzing poison, one could imagine the state Bojorn would end up in after the berserker awakening is canceled. Shreya had grasped onto that reasoning so as to last as long as possible, inciting a game of cat and mouse with the mad giant.

"grrr...Don't think you can outsmart me, woman. grrr!" Bojorn growled, viciously glaring at the huntress as if he had figured out her plan.

'He can even maintain his sanity!?'

In typical legends, berserkers are said to have forsaken all rationality in their awakened forms. Many times they can be a double-edged sword in the battlefield since they can't differentiate friends from foe, crushing them down all alike. It takes extreme amounts of willpower for one to maintain his rationality. After all, it is the power bestowed by a god.

"Are you sure you are a berserker? There's no way Zygorath would favor one such champion of his that had fallen to the likes of a petty criminal," Shreya mocked with a smile of contempt.

"What did you say!!"

The less rationality Bojorn maintained, the easier it is for Shreya to fight him and she didn't miss any chance to rile him up.

"Your god had forsaken you, hasn't he?"

"!!!"

"I wouldn't have been alive facing against a true berserker for so long. Most likely, this power is just an imitation your body preserved after your god had discarded you. Isn't it?"

ROAAR!

"Woman! I'll skin you alive!"

The provocation seemed to have hit the mark right at the sore spot as the bandit appeared crazed with his face warped in fury before darting ahead like a mad man.

'This is the best chance I can create!'

Shreya too, unlike the previous encounters, sprinted towards the maddened scarlet mass. The two forces once again neared each other at frightening speeds, creating another brilliant spectacle under the shining moonlight.

SWISH!

As usual, the chieftain swung the massive sword horizontally with tremendous might. The swing was short, compact, and devastating. The winds it generated were already hitting Shreya before even the sword neared her.

stomp!

But this time the huntress didn't attempt to dodge roll into the swing. Instead, blue mist churned out from her legs before she pushed down with all of her remaining strength, launching herself a dozen meters above the ground. The sword swished through, bisecting empty air in the spot she stood an instant before.

Shreya did an almost impossible maneuver while airborne as she brought forth the compact silver bow strapped on her back and unfolded it with a kacha! Twisting her body, she turned to face the giant below as she pulled back the empty bowstring.

screeeeee!

The moment she had reached the highest point in the arc, a transparent arrow astonishingly materialized out of nowhere, bringing forth sharp and screeching winds around it. The ethereal arrow vibrated with a high pitched ear piercing whistle that could make any normal person go deaf in a moment. The scene created a perfect painting of a graceful beauty against a monstrous beast.

Bojorn's scarlet pupils constricted to dots as he glanced at the crackling projectile formed within the longbow. The berserker instincts took over his body in an instant as he immediately swung down the giant sword with all strength he could muster.

KABOOOOOOOOOM!

The shock wave from the sound barrier being destroyed, mixed with the deafening collision created the biggest explosion the night had witnessed. The whistle of the traveling arrow could barely be heard before it instantly collided with the massive sword that was swung atop it.

boom! boom! crack! crash!

The explosion was so massive that it engulfed all the other smaller craters formed around into forming one large massive depression on the field that preceded the village. One could imagine the area turning into a magnificent pond after the wet monsoon recedes, but whether or not anyone can enjoy it poses a different question.

Shreya who had flown far away from the recoil landed on the ground with a bone creaking thud! She wasn't able to muster any further strength as she tried to get up to her feet and only a bitter expression of sorrow and despair loomed upon her exasperated face. She knew she had failed even at this golden chance.

Far away, the massive body of the bandit slowly came into view from within the smokescreen. Blood poured from all over his physique, vicious cuts running alongside as shards of rocks bore into the skin like knives. His state appeared even more miserable than Shreya's but the scarlet light in his eyes hadn't dimmed in the slightest as he made his way towards the sprawled huntress.

"grr...I refuse to believe you also have the talent to materialize mana in an instant like a wizard. That must the bow's ability...grrr. What a precious artifact!

"Too bad your match up was unlucky...grrr. This sword is forged from pure Adamantite and it makes for the best defense against magic-based attacks......grrrr. It definitely cannot be pierced by a mana arrow," Bojorn proudly explained his swords' uniqueness. A very small depression could be seen on the thick blade where the arrow had impacted, nicking it for an inch or two.

"Pffft...hahaha!" an unusual chuckle escaped Shreya's mouth.

A sword that gigantic made entirely out of Adamantite ore? One of the toughest metal in existence? What a joke!

Shreya felt like cursing the gods for giving her such a fate. Even moving seemed like a chore at this point. She had already done enough, hasn't she? It was finally the time to rest. With her love's untimely demise had that left her alone with two kids to fend for, every day she had felt troubled and burdened, rethinking her life choices over and over? Going through all of that mental pain and torture alone, she had enough of it.

Legas was a brilliant kid. He was far more of a genius than she ever was at his age. He maintained a rational and calm mind under any situation and had absorbed her skills within no time like a sponge. She was certain the boy was not dumb enough to display heroism and by now he would have already escaped into the forest with Lora. Shreya was assured that both of them would survive this tragedy and become amazing individuals in the future. She would not have to worry anymore. She could finally let go.

'Just what would Lora remark, looking at this pitiful mother of hers?'

Bojorn had already reached beside the huntress, ready to deliver the final blow.

"...Poor girl would probably say something like 'Okay! Have fun mommy, say hello to father!'," a voice suddenly answered from within her mind. Shreya had a slight smile on her lips after hearing the Lora like words. 'Such an innocent soul.'

'Then what would Legas say?' she asked the strange voice, while the giant bandit lifted the massive sword above his head.

"What's there to think about," the voice replied. "With the smuggest smile on his face, he would probably repeat...

'Don't even think of giving up on life, right?'...hehe!"

"Pfft....that devil spawn," a peal of bright laughter escaped Shreya's mouth as she watched the giant blade closing in on her with tremendous force and in that instant...

her exhaustion vanished like smoke...

her wounds started healing at a rapid pace visible to the naked eye...

extremely faint, dark thread-like markings appeared all over her outstretched feeble arm that welcomed the giant blade.

poof!

The slender wrists grasped the massive sword, halting it just above her body as all of it's ferocious momentum was instantly canceled much to the bandit's surprise. The ground below had cracked apart like glass under the shock transferred, but the huntress' alluring hands astonishingly hadn't budged in the slightest.

Shreya had easily blocked the berserkers' attack with a single-arm, as her atmosphere had begun to undertake a strange transformation.