Bunny Girl Evolution [A Monster Evolution LitRPG]

The scene Elise saw when she made it back to the underground tunnels was not quite the worst case scenario she had been worried about, but it was a close second. Jag was covered in blood and passed out on the ground, his feline face contorted in immense pain. Penelope had a hole in her stomach and seemed barely conscious, collapsing to the ground right as Elise arrived. Hans was nowhere to be seen. Around them were at least 30 corpses, and nearly a hundred prisoners who ranged from unconscious to barely crawling.

And in the middle of it all was a vampire, unscathed and wearing a maniacal smile. Elise wasn’t entirely sure how strong Hans or Jag were, but she knew roughly how strong Penelope was, and that the other two were an order of magnitude stronger. Anyone who could take out all three without a scratch was not someone Elise had any hope of handling.

She wanted to run away. Even with Lily and the mysterious Nigel at her back, she doubted they would be able to win. Lily was only in 7th tier, same as Jag and Hans, and Nigel was completely untrustworthy. She wouldn’t be surprised if the three guards decided to stab them in the back and join the other vampire. Without her divine aether, she would probably die.

But at the same time, she wanted nothing more than to charge in recklessly, giving her all to kill the vampire and hopefully save Penelope and Jag in the process. It was foolish, and she knew it, but the rage boiling inside her was so strong she had to hold herself back from doing anything. Their opponent seemed to be in top condition, and hadn’t made any moves yet. Moving first without notifying her allies would be disastrous.

“She’s dying,” muttered Lily behind her.

I can see that, Elise wanted to snap as she stared at Penelope’s unmoving form.

The knight was still alive, though only barely. Her wounds were deep and her breathing was shallow.

“Lily?” said the other vampire. “Rose? Have you both betrayed us?”

“Betrayal implies some level of trust,” replied Lily coldly. “But if we were trusted, then we wouldn’t have had so many restrictions placed on us. No, Daisy, this is just us breaking free.”

“Semantics,” said Daisy dismissively. “Surrender and submit again and I’ll let you live.”

“No,” said Lily. “You surrender and submit, and we might try to save your life.”

What? thought Elise.

“Save my life?” asked Daisy, letting out a light hysterical laugh. “Do I look like I’m in danger?”

“Yes,” said Lily. “Look at yourself. You’re overdrawn. Even with a lake of blood, you’ll be dead by morning. You need a proper soul healer.”

She’s dying, Elise repeated mentally, realizing what Lily had meant earlier.

That realization brought clarity to her mind, and she was able to mentally disconnect from her emotions for a moment. She could still feel the rage rising, ready to unleash it on her foe, but she was able to think logically enough to come up with a plan.

If it was true that Daisy was dying, that changed things. Suddenly, the risk of the guards’ betrayal was gone. Perhaps not entirely, but she doubted they would try to help Daisy if they knew she would die and they would lose their protection. She still wasn’t sure how useful they’d actually be, but at the very least, they might serve as meat shields.

How pragmatic, said a voice in her mind.

She brushed it aside. She had no time for intrusive thoughts. As cold as it may have been, these guards worked for the Blood Syndicate until recently. They must have witnessed countless heinous crimes, and yet they did nothing. They might have even been just as bad as the people they served. Under different circumstances, she would consider more carefully, and probably be even a bit disgusted at herself for even considering sacrificing someone, but at the moment, she thought that if she could save Penelope and Jag, she would gladly give the lives of the guards.

“I’ve never been better,” said Daisy with a wild look in her eyes. “I have a Domain! I’m on the verge of taking the next step! I will surpass even her!”

At the word “Domain”, Elise’s face paled. “Domain” was synonymous with 9th tier, as far as she was aware, and if Daisy was really 9th tier, did they really stand a chance?

Stop! she told herself.

Of course they stood a chance. They had to stand a chance. Even if they couldn’t beat a 9th tier on their own, maybe they didn’t have to. Maybe they could just distract her while extracting the wounded, or even wear her down until she died on her own.

“You won’t live long enough,” said Lily, this time with a hint of uncertainty.

“If we fight her, will she die faster?” she asked Lily with {Whisper}.

She looked up at the other vampire, who made eye contact and gave a small nod.

“Then let’s go.”

She glanced at Penelope who was still hanging on, then turned her attention to Jag, and felt her heart skip a beat. Jag wasn’t breathing. Lily was already nodding in response to Elise’s last statement, but she nearly jumped at the next one.

“Now!” said Elise to the entire group.

The two weaker guards didn’t react immediately, but Nigel stepped forward, confidently drawing his sword. Maia dove to the side, sending mana to put out the light-emitting manastones as she melded into the shadows. The moment she recovered from her shock, Lily fired a jet of concentrated water straight at Daisy’s throat. Only after that did the other two guards finally move.

Daisy was in the middle of saying something megalomaniacal when they started moving, but she stopped mid-sentence and started giggling as she leaned to the side to avoid Lily’s attack.

“I see,” she said. “So you have chosen PAIN!”

She spread her arms wide, and suddenly, Elise felt like the skin was being peeled off her hands. She inhaled sharply and gritted her teeth, trying to ignore it, but the feeling only grew stronger and more real. She could feel it travel down her fingers and onto her palm, stopping at each joint before suddenly ripping down a bit further, the inconsistency only making the experience worse.

The others weren’t much better off. Nigel froze mid-step and started shaking, while the two guards right behind him fell to the ground and started screaming. It seemed that their mental defenses were weak. Lily’s next spell faltered and she let out a small peep of pain. Maia’s invisibility was undone, and she fell to one knee. On the ground at Daisy’s feet, Penelope groaned, and Jag twitched. With the twitch, Elise felt a surge of hope. She had started to double over from the pain, but she forced herself upright, and cast {Magic Missile} at the enemy vampire.

She dodged it, but it was enough to end whatever skill she was using to cause pain like that. Nigel immediately stepped forward and swung his mana-charged sword at her. Elise used {Suggest} at the same time, making Daisy feel an attack from behind was coming. It barely worked, but the delay was just enough that Daisy didn’t quite dodge in time, and his blade cut into her shoulder as she retreated back. However, this didn’t seem to faze her. In fact, it only seemed to energize her more, and the wound started healing at a visible rate as she pointed a finger at the guard.

This time, his resistance was not quite enough. A small grunt escaped him, and he started to bend over. Even worse, the vampire’s wound started healing even faster while the effect was active. This skill was only single target though, leaving the others free to disrupt it. Elise tried another {Suggest}, though the vampire seemed ready for this one, and barely reacted. Then, a blade of water aiming to cut Daisy in half vertically flew just past Nigel while at the same time, Maia suddenly appeared, a dark blade aimed at the woman’s throat.

For the first time, Daisy used mana, creating a shield to stop Maia’s attack and deflect Lily’s. Elise gasped audibly when the deflected water blade passed by Penelope, just barely missing her.

“Careful!” she shouted.

Lily didn’t respond, already casting another spell, though this one at least wasn’t shaped in a way that she risked hitting anyone on the ground. Her jet of water shot forward, aimed at Daisy’s chest, coinciding this time with not only a {Suggest} and {Magic Missile} from Elise and an attack from Maia, but also a swing from Nigel.

Rather than try to block or dodge, Daisy did something that Elise did not at all expect: she turned into a cloud of red mist. Lily dashed forward, hand outstretched, as if trying to grab it, but the mist drifted back only a few feet before turning back into a woman. A jet of water shot out of Lily’s outstretched hand, but Daisy ducked it, and when she stood back up, she was holding Penelope by the neck, using her as a shield against Nigel’s next strike.

“No!” screamed Elise.

Nigel’s blade barely stopped in time, and immediately after, Daisy used the area-of-effect pain skill again. It was stronger than the first time, and Elise felt as though every inch of her body was being stabbed with hot needles. Maia, who had been in the middle of an attack, once again fell to her knees. The two weaker guards still had not fully recovered from the first attack, and were back on the ground, writhing in pain, with the man even cutting his arm open on his own sword. Jag didn’t react this time.

Elise’s panic grew even further as she realized that they didn’t even have time to fight. Seeing how Daisy fought, she was certain that, though it would be painful, they would eventually be able to whittle her down. Whatever the mental attack that caused the pain was was powerful, but beyond that she didn’t actually seem too strong. She didn’t feel like a 9th tier.

However, they wouldn’t be able to finish her off quickly enough for Elise to start healing Jag. There was only one option: she needed to get him into Astrid’s Star. Between her supplies, the bones of the Grays, and Kaia, it was over half full, but she had some confidence that Jag would still fit, if only barely. First, she needed to reach him though.

Nigel managed to take a step to the side, despite the pain, stabbing toward Daisy. She dodged the clumsy strike easily, but once again, her concentration was broken. Elise used {Dart} to move forward as soon as she was free, approaching Jag, but was forced to stop her movement to dodge a thin spear of blood coming from Daisy’s finger. The spear slid right past her, piercing her cloak, and grazing her shoulder. It probably only drew a few drops of blood, but Elise immediately doubled over, feeling as though her entire arm had been blown off.

She heard the battle rage on around her as her vision went white from the pain, and as it cleared and she started moving again, she was struck by yet another wave of pain. Both of the weaker guards were unconscious by now, and even Maia was struggling to get up. The only ones left standing were Elise, Nigel, and Lily, though Lily didn’t look too good either. Once again, Jag didn’t react.

Seeing him still unmoving on the ground, Elise was filled with a surge of anger, allowing her to momentarily ignore the pain and surge forward. Another blood spear came, but she was ready, and managed to just barely misdirect it as she fell to her knees before the unmoving monster. Right before she put her hands on it, another spear came. She tried to misdirect it again, but unfortunately this one wasn’t aimed at her.

Right before her, Jag was struck directly in the chest, right where his heart should be. Or one of them, at least. Elise was pretty sure he had two hearts. Regardless, it wasn’t good, and seeing the attack filled Elise with even more rage than before. She put her hands on him and he immediately was pulled into Astrid’s Star. There was barely any room left in the extradimensional space, but for now, he was safe. Or at least stable. She could now devote her full attention to Daisy and the knight she was using as a shield.

Right as Elise stood back up, the battle paused. Daisy was holding Penelope up by the neck with one hand, and pointing her fingers at the knight’s throat with the other.

“Attack me and she dies!” said Daisy gleefully.

Elise hesitated, unsure what to do, then another wave of pain hit.

Does she just want us to sit here and accept the torture? thought Elise angrily.

The pain increased, feeling as though the skill’s effects had been stacked. Lily fell to the ground this time, gasping for air, and Nigel, whose mental defense seemed the best of all of them, started shaking. Elise could barely think and couldn’t move, but she didn’t know what she would do, even if she could move. Any attack would result in Penelope’s death, and without the divine aether, there was no way her mental skills would be strong enough.

Another wave of pain hit, making Elise collapse to one knee, but oddly, it also brought a moment of mental clarity. Pain was an emotion, right? Perhaps emotion wasn’t the right word, but it was something that would work with {Suggest}, right? She had already tried with similar feelings. Primal feelings like fear and hunger actually seemed to be incredibly effective. Pain should be no different. Best of all, as the vampire’s skill made it feel as though her body was constantly being torn apart and reconstructed, she had a perfect emotional source.

With great effort, she managed to lift her head, looking into the eyes of her maniacal foe, and managed to squeeze out a single use of the skill.

Pain.

Daisy flinched, and suddenly, the pain disappeared.

Pain! Elise sent again, this time much stronger.

The vampire winced, and even dropped Penelope in surprise. At the same time, a System message appeared in front of Elise.

[ You have discovered a hidden Skill Quest: {Forced Feeling} ]

Elise processed the words “Skill Quest” and “Forced Feeling” in a split second and mentally summoned the quest description as she sent another attack at the vampire.

Pain!

Ding!

“S-stop that!” shouted Daisy, taking a step back.

She countered with a wave of pain of her own, but it was weaker this time, and Elise was able to power through and read the description of the Skill Quest, as well as the new notification that appeared a moment later.

[ {Forced Feeling} (Skill Quest): Use {Suggest} as an attack ]

[ Progress: 1/1 ]

[ Reward: {Forced Feeling} skill ]

[ You have completed the Skill Quest {Forced Feeling}! You have unlocked the skill {Forced Feeling}! ]

Elise didn’t need more than a second to understand what had happened, or how the skill worked before she immediately used it.

PAIN!

Daisy screamed.

Not 10 seconds after the first explosion took out a section of the seats, a series of smaller explosions went off around the edge of the arena, and with a final flicker, the barrier locking Nick and the drake in the arena vanished. Nick stared at the drake for a few seconds before the monster turned away.

Drakes were not sapient, but they weren’t stupid either. It recognized that Nick was not a foe it could defeat unscathed. It would still win, most likely, but with the option of freedom now presented to it, it wasn’t going to give it up on the off chance it would lose. If Nick didn’t use {Berserk}, he estimated he had at most a 10% chance of winning. He had landed some solid blows already, but none were fatal, and the monster was learning. It wouldn’t fall for the same tactics twice, and a single solid hit on him would be fatal. Still, even that 10% was apparently too much risk for the drake.

It turned toward the stands, which were now full of screaming crowds flooding toward the exits, and it unleashed a stream of white-hot flames on one of the densest ones. Nick winced as he heard their screams of pain, but he felt no sympathy for them.

He ran toward the tower, but didn’t start climbing yet, worried that the drake would take advantage of his vulnerability when he started. Instead, he looked around at the odd chaos happening around him. It was clear that the Blood Syndicate was being attacked, but he could not tell by who, nor what their goal was. There were strange monsters all around, but rather than attacking humans like the drake did, they seemed to be corralling them, guiding them toward the exits.

Nick recognized none of them. He had seen plenty of fey and demons and such imprisoned at the Syndicate, but none in any positions of authority, or holding the kind of power these ones displayed. One of them conjured a shield of mana, somehow entirely nullifying the drake’s breath. The drake blinked a few times in confusion, but soon decided it wasn’t worth dealing with the fey that had made that shield, and flew up and out of the arena.

Nick was a bit uncertain about going to rescue Bianca with so many strange creatures around, but with the immediate threat gone he had no reason to delay. He made it to the top of the tower twenty seconds later and tore the metal bars off one of the windows and climbed inside.

“Bianca!” he called.

Her eyes fluttered open, looking at him in joy, but her {Mana Circulation} faltered, and she quickly closed her eyes again and got back to work. Nick rushed to her side, putting his hand on her stomach and feeling for her central core. With his new {Aether Sense}, he could tell that it was not just the vampiric mana, but also the aether that was running wild within, trying to forcibly change Bianca’s body into something else.

Nick quickly sat her up and jumped on the bed behind her. Her circulation almost failed again, but she managed to keep it going, and even maneuver herself into a lotus position as Nick lifted her shirt and placed his hand on her back. He took a deep breath, and then tried to mimic what Rose had done for him a month prior.

Using {Aether Absorption}, a skill he hadn’t yet had a chance to properly experiment with, he tried drawing out the foreign aether from within his fiancee’s body. At first, it didn’t seem to want to move. He pushed the skill harder, forcing it to bend with his will, hearing the ding of a level up, and the aether got a bit closer. A minute later, he finally was able to touch on it, and immediately grunted in pain.

The aether that entered him started trying to do the same to him, riling up his mana and changing his body. Then, something strange happened. Nick felt {Vampire-Bane} activate on its own, and suddenly his own aether started attacking the foreign aether. He smiled as he drew more inside of him, destroying that as well, but his smile soon faded again as he kept drawing, and the aether within Bianca barely calmed.

Whatever the Lady had done to her, it was more potent than what had been done to him. Either that, or Rose had drawn out a lot more than he thought she had. Either way, it was going to be a tough road, and based on the sounds he heard from outside the tower, the chaos was far from over. He was confident he could save Bianca… eventually. But that was only assuming that they didn’t get interrupted. And that he didn’t run out of his own aether before he finished.