Valerie slowly rose to her feet, her legs trembling beneath her as she supported herself on her cane. A droplet of water dripped onto the back of her head, causing Valerie to look at it in confusion before she slowly raised her hand to her face and swiped it against her cheek.

When she pulled her hand away, they were stained with more clear, salty liquid.

Valerie’s breath trembled slightly as she stared at her tear stained fingers, before she lifted her eyes to he creature that was slicing through vines and batting away the undead that were attacking it, all whilst it was being harassed by dozens of illusions to overwhelm its senses.

Even their healer was chanting softly, causing the undead’s weapons to glow with a pale light that caused them to sizzle whenever they stabbed into the horrible creature, is it finally got a taste of its own acidic treatment from the blessed weapons.

The only ones left out were Lucy, who was digging herself out of the wall, and Valerie. Useless, feeble Valerie.

She had never been closer to death than in that moment right there. Not when she was being threatened by Bai Yin, before she was enthralled, and not even when she thought she was going to die when she transformed.

Those were still uncertain, possibilities. That... thing, that was death. Certain, agonising and slow death. And it was just a hair away from her, multiple times.

She had been facing down death for her entire life, and had truly thought she was ready for it. Yet this one moment of being face to face with it, had broken her. She was helpless. She couldn’t run. If that thing came for her again, she wouldn’t be able to run.

Valerie’s breath trembled again, and her eyes glazed over as she stared off into space, before she grit her teeth and clenched her fist tight. So tight, that a new liquid stained her fingers and trickled down her palm.

No. She wouldn’t be able to run. But that didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to run. She was not a coward. She was not helpless. So what if her legs didn’t work? She had other ways to get around, and if none of those worked and she got swallowed, she would claw her way out from the inside.

However, as much as Valerie felt that and wanted to reaffirm herself. The fact that she was not Belladonna was obvious to her. Belladonna would have had no trouble getting out of the way and showing that miserable thing who was boss. Belladonna didn’t have the same issues that Valerie did, and they had a completely different fighting style.

Then again... who was to say that she couldn’t combine the two?

Slamming her cane down, Valerie’s bloodline flared to life as she sent out a burst of magnetic power that launched her cane into the air, and dragged her into the skies with it. Before her ascent lost its momentum, a flame rune appeared beneath the cane and let loose a quick burst of dazzling orange flames that sent Valerie flying through the air.

She grit her teeth, pointing her cane in different directions as she let out more bursts of flames. Each one changed her direction and gave her a new leap forwards through the air, as Valerie’s free hand drew runes in the air.

The runes followed her bobbing, drunken path through the air, as she crafted a new spell and rapidly calculated the different parameters for it, all whilst she was sailing towards the creature.

Once last burst of flames sent Valerie high into the air, almost reaching the same height that Ren was flying, before she started to plummet on a direct course towards the horrible thing.

"Figg, Pin it down! Vez, Give it something to look at! Everyone clear the room, it’s gonna be a splash zone!" Valerie shouted into her earpiece, as the wind whipped through her hair and the ground rapidly rose to meet her.

Staring at this thing, Valerie’s heart still thundered in her chest, her palms were still slick with sweat and blood, and her breathing still trembled. Every part of her wanted to run, as she couldn’t help but remember the panicked, helpless feeling she had felt in front of it.

But Valerie channelled all of those feelings into her hand, as she thrust it forwards and grabbed the spell circle in a knuckle whitening fist.

With the force of her mana being pumped into it, the spell lit up in her hand, and golden veins exploded over Valerie’s forearm like her arm was shattered stone. At the same moment, a shield formed above the creature’s head.

It was a shield exactly like the one she had previously used, but this one was not in the shape of a panicked bubble. But instead took the form of a colossal golden fist.

More vines burst from speeds at unnatural speeds, immediately spearing themselves through the torso and limbs of the unnatural abomination, as dozens of eyes suddenly manifested themselves in the air.

Every single eye on the creatures body, of which there were dozens in all sorts of locations, was faced with one of these floating eyes, which were pitch black bar for the crimson red irises that glowed with an ancient power.

Although they were mere fabrications of the eyes Elise had seen so many times and studied so thoroughly, they were perfect enough that just a hint of the true power oozed from the glowing eyes. Just enough to halt its movements and pause its mind for a split second.

More than enough time for Valerie to thrust her hand downwards as she plummeted, as the colossal fist in the sky thrust itself down in turn.

The creature lifted one of its clawed arms, trying to block the golden hand, only for it to be mercilessly crushed beneath it like a worthless bug, underneath the hand of God.

Valerie hit the ground, grunting and bouncing as she did so, as she rolled a few times before finally stopping. However she quickly clambered to all fours, raised her fist high and slammed it down again. Over and over, her bare knuckles slammed against the stone beneath her, which rumbled with every strike, as the golden fist echoed her movements perfectly.

The Golden Fist sizzled as it was splattered with more blood, while Valerie’s knuckles tore open and splattered blood across the stones. However she kept going. Over and over, smashing her bare knuckles against the stone as tears streamed down her cheeks for reasons she couldn’t comprehend.

Valerie stared at the ground beneath her, stained with a mixture of blood and tears, as she constantly slammed her fist into it. Blood trickled through the gaps in the stones, beginning to pool beneath her stomach, before it suddenly rose up.

It took the form of three razor sharp talons, which rose slowly from the blood, before suddenly thrusting upwards. They pierced through the bulletproof vest like it was paper, both sides of it, as well as the tender flesh in between.