While still in the air, Dennis released the two spider chaleons’ tongues, letting them lunge at Ivan and the others. Dennis zipped all the way behind Hyunjin, who turned to see Dennis passing him.
"Hey... what the hell!" Hyunjin yelled.
"Sorry, feel free to fight the crawlers chasing ," Dennis replied.
"Damn it!"
Hyunjin looked back forward; he imdiately directed his knives toward the third spider chaleon that was still chasing Dennis and was now pouncing on him. Dennis, landing in the rear, finally let out a sigh of relief. He saw Ivan, Sasha, Minji, and Hyunjin busy fighting the massive, feral, and enraged spider chaleons, which were attacking with the zeal of patriots defending their country.
Dennis took a breath and exhaled, trying to calm his racing heart while thinking of his next move, but suddenly,
[Watch out Master, sniper.]
"Clang," Dennis turned his head to the side and raised his hand; a bullet imdiately slamd into his wrist guard. He saw Akira shooting at him from the tower roof. Dennis instantly ran to seek cover from Akira’s line of fire.
"Thwap... thwap," Akira fired two more tis, but Dennis took cover behind a rock. Then "clang," several knives flew toward him, which he imdiately deflected to the ground. Apparently, Hyunjin—even while fighting a spider chaleon—had found the ti to hurl knives at Dennis with a face full of fury and resentnt.
[It seems you are hated, Master.]
"Tell about it. Please tell my wife to make her move; the enemy’s attention is focused on the monsters and . Hurry," Dennis replied.
[Understood Master, watch out, there is an attack coming.]
Suddenly, Dennis felt a wave of heat on his back. He imdiately lunged forward while grabbing two of Hyunjin’s knives off the ground. "Blam," the rock behind him shattered into pieces. Dennis turned to see Brad, who had pierced through the stone like a teor and landed in front of him, sword in hand, his body shrouded in an aura like fire that looked incredibly hot. Brad’s face was livid; he stared at Dennis as if he were ready to kill him.
"Well, well... if it isn’t Bella’s husband," Dennis mocked, grinning.
"Shut up... you’ve got so nerve coming here alone. I’ll grant your wish, I’m going to destroy you. I’ve had enough of the humiliation I’ve endured because of you," Brad scread, pointing his sword at Dennis.
"Okay, bring it on," Dennis teased, intentionally provoking him.
"Gyaaaaah!"
Brad, his body still shrouded in energy, lunged at Dennis with a swing of his sword. Dennis crossed the two knives in his hands, "clang," parrying the blade. He imdiately kicked at Brad’s stomach, but Brad blocked by raising his knee. Upon landing, Brad swung his sword again toward Dennis’s head. Dennis swiftly raised his arm and caught the blade with his gauntlet, then countered by thrusting a knife toward Brad’s face, which Brad managed to evade. After exchanging several blows, both leaped back to maintain their distance.
Brad imdiately dropped back into his stance, lowering his center of gravity and pointing the tip of his sword at Dennis. His face was livid, but his eyes were locked onto Dennis, who looked relaxed despite his slightly heavy breathing from the exertion of dragging the crawlers.
"Brad, help us fight these crawlers... they’re Rank B!" Sasha shouted, leaping backward.
"Shut up, stay out of this!" Brad yelled back.
Sasha imdiately went silent, thrusting her spear at the spider chaleon in front of her while dodging its leg strikes and acid web fire. Her face was tight with annoyance, and she shot a cynical glare at Brad. anwhile, Brad grew even more heated, relentlessly attacking Dennis.
Dennis parried every strike with ease, throwing in counterattacks ant to provoke him further, pushing Brad to sink deeper into his own emotions and rage—exactly as Dennis had planned. With Brad constantly pressing the attack, Akira couldn’t get a clear shot at him.
***
anwhile, on the other side of the island—specifically in the rocky hill fields—Gary and Kimberly looked at each other in confusion. They were watching Daisy, who stood frozen in front of them, motionless with a blank expression and her gaze fixed straight ahead.
"Daisy? What’s up?" Gary asked.
"Hey... Daisy, what’s wrong with you?" Kimberly added, placing a hand on Daisy’s shoulder.
Startled, Daisy flinched and turned to look at Gary and Kimberly, who were standing behind her looking bewildered.
"We have to move in and attack... right now. We need to hit the tower and go straight for the flag," Daisy said.
"Huh... what do you an? We just charge in like that?" Gary asked.
"Don’t joke around, Daisy," Kimberly added.
"It’s true, Dennis is already there. He’s tearing their base apart—I can feel it, seriously," Daisy said, trying to convince her two friends.
Gary and Kimberly looked at each other again, then back at Daisy’s face. She looked so hopeful, her eyes sparkling, and it was clear she wouldn’t accept any answer other than "okay, let’s go."
"Wait, wait... how do you know Dennis is already there? We can’t exactly communicate with each other," Gary said.
"I... I just know. You know how it is—when your partner is in trouble, your heart starts racing and you just imdiately know they’re in a ss," Daisy replied.
"Oh boy... Daisy, you can’t just rely on feelings in a situation like this. If we were out in the real world and not a simulation, one wrong move and we’re dead. There’s no communication out there either, right? If we get separated, all we can do is pray that the others are okay and keep pushing forward to finish the mission," Kimberly replied.
"Please, just trust . Dennis and I are connected physically and spiritually. I know if sothing is wrong with him, and vice versa—if I were in danger, he’d definitely co for . Co on... trust ," Daisy replied, truly pleading now.
Gary and Kimberly grew even more confused, truly studying Daisy’s face as she looked at them pleadingly. anwhile, inside Daisy’s head, personalities number two through seven were already forcing her to go imdiately, telling her to leave her two friends behind if necessary and move forward alone because they would support her. Daisy looked conflicted as she stared at her friends, but finally, seeing the two of them weren’t moving, she spun around and sprinted off.
"Hey, Daisy!" Gary shouted.
"Oh, for crying out loud..." Kimberly muttered.
Whether they liked it or not, the two of them ran after Daisy as she bolted toward the southern tower, which wasn’t far from their location.
***
"Clang,"
anwhile, Dennis was still locked in combat with Brad. "Skrieeek," Dennis glanced over and saw that Ivan had already killed one of the three spider chaleons and was now helping Sasha face the second one. Hyunjin was still leaping around, hurling his energy knives while dodging acid web fire, supported by Minji, who was busy hacking off several of the spider chaleon’s legs.
"Crap, they’ve almost finished off the crawlers I brought with . Hey Sami, you told my wife already, right?" Dennis asked in his head while parrying and dodging Brad’s increasingly feral attacks.
[I have. She is currently heading toward the tower.]
"Good... looks like it’s ti for to finish off this clown," Dennis muttered.
Dennis stopped and leaped away, then took a breath and—"blood lust"—he activated his skill. Instantly, his body was shrouded in a blood-like energy aura and his muscles surged with power, but his eyes turned crimson, and it was clear he had lost his grip on consciousness. Brad lunged at him, swinging his sword toward Dennis’s head, but "tap," Dennis caught Brad’s blade. "Clang," the crush of his grip shattered the steel, making Brad’s eyes go wide with a sudden mix of shock and terror. Before he could even land, "boom," Dennis drove the two knives in his hands into Brad’s chest, followed by a punch that landed right after the blades sank in, sending Brad flying backward.
"Da... damn it... damn it... damn it!" Brad scread as the two energy-infused knives remained lodged in his chest while he hurtled toward the cliffside ravine.
"Pyash," Brad instantly vanished into dust of light because he had been killed instantly and booted from the simulation. Dennis’s body continued to grow larger; he gripped his head with both hands, then stared up at the sky with crimson eyes and a red energy shrouding his entire form.
"Graaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Dennis let out a roar. Ivan, Sasha, Hyunjin, Minji, and Akira imdiately turned to see the transford, powerful Dennis, their faces etched with shock even as they continued to battle the spider chaleons. anwhile, Daisy—running with Gary and Kimberly trailing behind—also heard Dennis’s booming roar.
"Honey... he’s using that move... I have to hurry," Daisy said to herself while she kept running.
"Yes, hurry, why is he using that move... oh man... if it gets desperate, let out, I have to stop him," number six said in her head.
"Yes, I know," Daisy replied in her head.
Daisy sprinted even faster toward the southern fortress, with Gary and Kimberly continuing to trail behind her.
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