Written by **EYRAM**
Seraphina, from the offset went about killing creatures of the elite rank, these were a piece of cake for her now that she was an earl, and soon she came across a creature she knew to be another earl, it looked like a humanoid alligator, and remained in a resting state while in the water.
She brandished her bronze sword and struck him, hard on his scaly back, but its skin was way too sturdy, and hence she went ahead for the next best thing, she heated the water to burn away at its skin.
But the crocodile did not remain idle, it went ahead for an attack, spiking its tail sending the hot water back to its sender, but Seraphina agilely missed it by just a small margin then took on the offensive again this time creating under water earth spikes to hit it's less sturdy under belly.
The creature wailed, then some green gooey substance spilled out of its nose as it went ahead for yet another attack, this time with its tail again. Facing a dual attack Serena had no other choice than to go on the defensive she created multiple earth walls, but the green substance went through them like a hot knife through butter, she went ahead for another attack this time combining the earth and soil to send larva at the oncoming attack.
She managed to neutralize it but after using their strongest skill both participants were tired, but Seraphina forced through and used her sword to hit it, which would have usually done nothing, but this time she just sliced it through a single scale, right underneath the area it covered, the mushy flesh like substance;
It wailed yet again, and with it a small amount of the green liquid was exposed, learning from experience she avoided it, but at that time the humanoid alligator was too weak to fight hence, she went in for the kill.
After a challenging hunt she needed to regain her energy and left with not a better option she grilled the alligator meat over open flame, in a clearing at the forest. Then she sat silently as she ate the frankly horrible tasting meat.
…
Somewhere elsewhere Serena's investigation shed light upon many things she had missed before and one of the most prominent factors was none other than the clone mechanism.
If she could develop upon that idea, and find some form of power source for her mother's body just like what Gus once gave her, would she not be nursed back to health like the clone?
But there were many things that needed to be done, she could never do something so dangerous to her mother without proving its credibility, but there was the problem of other people not wanting to be used as a test subject.
But if this plan worked, she would have her mother not just back in her proximity but heathy and probably happy once again, that smile in the portrait she only saw on her face when she visited her after being busy for a long time, those were the days where all she had to worry about was settling hospital bills and making scholarship worthy grades.
Now things were much more complicated and she did not have the time to live in the past, at that moment what was present needed to be dealt with, for a better future.
The next day arrived, and with it she announced for her next release she would need some people to volunteer to be test subjects, stated the risks and everything involved on a wavier for them to sign before the process.
Her employees, especially those in the Legal department were concerned for her reputation, but for Serena, all she wanted at that very moment was to get pocket-sized power sources.
She had no other choice but to ask her father for help on this one, and if that was not viable there were her mom's things in the basement.
She drove the race car from Elaine's garage to the mansion, and inside she went straight to her dad who was in disarray yet again for misplacing Seraphina,
She comforted him, telling him she had been away from home several times and she would eventually come back when she gets tired of living apart.
Then once her father calmed down, she asked him the question that brought her here all the way from her quite little neighborhood towards the bustling central city square of Ravenswood.
"Jack…"
"So, now you're above calling me dad"
"Does it matter"
"Yes, to me it does"
"Whatever, I came here because I wanted to know of some sources of energy, that are concentrated, not something artificial, the supernatural kind."
"Well, there are many, including a Vampire's blood stone, since Vampires do not have blood, all that blood is stored in the center of their torso, after death they can be carved out and used."
"Any other"
"I also know of monster energy cores, the humanoid monsters that fill the woods surrounding Ravensville were not always supernatural, that is yet another doing we can accredit to the former mayor, he took out balls full of energy from a distant planet that naturally created it. He too it and after realizing its abilities he mutated several beasts in the area to protect Ravensville from external attacks and ambushes, the only way in or out that was actually safe was the way humans used"
"Wow, so how can I get these cores, do I have to travel to a distant planet"
"You can do that or hunt the nearby monsters and carve out their cores, but I have to warn you, the stronger a monster is the weaker its core would be, if you find a new born, its core would be at its strongest"
"I guess I have to start the hunt then"
"But wait, what do you need them for"
"I don't think you can hear this without my success, if I fail it would devastate you so it's better you remain in the dark"
Serena changed into sportswear that was in her old closet, and noticed though it fit it was much baggier than the last time she wore it and it also felt much shorter, meaning she lost weight and grew taller.
When Serena entered the woods, she slain every Elite she saw and carved out their cores, which was easier said than done, first she slain them with just one attack, but then spent minutes locating their cores which were all placed at relatively different places. Overtime she got better at locating spots that actually harbored cores and carving them out.
…
Somewhere in the deep end of the forest was Seraphina, battling a multitude of Elite ranked snake beings, they were all slithery, and looked just like heather, she could not focus on killing them or she would be killed.
But Seraphina quickly realized that if she made them lose enough blood they would turn to nothing but humans, and die, so her focus was making open wounds, and she mainly used the earth element to create sharp spikes and focused on slicing areas with multiple veins.
Hence, if someone looked from an outside perspective it looked like she was a one-man army, every attack she set out to place caused more blood to spill, it was a high paced battle and she was severely outnumbered, she knew this strategy would not support her till the end but decided on going with killing as many as she could before falling.
…
Elsewhere, with time Serena found more and more energy cores, and was getting closer and closer to the swampy parts of the forest, when one of her eyes lit an extremely dim yellow only, she noticed, and with it some strands on her hair, but she knew that she had not released enough power to light them up.
That meant that the one using the power was Seraphina, and since they were in proximity, their powers were linked, and she was in an active battle, hence Serena made her way to where her sister was relying on constantly checking the strength of the connection they shared.
Soon, she found herself in the center of this high paced war her sister single handedly taking on an entire army, full of elites, and since those were her target she decided helping was not beyond her.
But then she realized the semblance the race had to Heather, and how she mysteriously disappeared came over her mind yet again, soon her sister was pushing through the last bits of her stamina and Serena could see that, so hence went ahead with the initiative to lend her help towards her twin.
She dashed in a fraction of a second to her sister, she hair and eyes becoming yellow, as she began to slain every monster in her way, in just one attack. Seraphina angrily reckoned
"What are you doing in the area?" Serena smiled,
"I came here to steal something located in every special elite"
"Well then go find your own army"
"What did I ever do to you to get your animosity to the point where even help from me is something you'd throw away"
"Right now, I am on a journey to grow stronger and the only way to do that is break through my limitations"
By the time she finished that statement, the whole war ground was cleared, only leaving countless dead bodies and twin sisters, one tired and one active. Serena locked at her and smiled,
"I guess this means goodbye for a while"
"Yes, it does"
"I wish you all the best" and with that final statement she was on and along towards her house, while Seraphina searched for a habitable place to spend the night.