The Spare's Second Chance in Apocalypse-Chapter 50: Ch : Do you want to get better?- Part 3

Zara lunged at the Bloodfang Predator, her dagger slicing through the air like a blur.

The surge of power from Amplify made her feel unstoppable—but also wildly unbalanced. Every time she moved, it was like her body wasn’t quite under her control.

Her strength had increased so much that when she swung, she overcompensated, nearly throwing herself off balance.

"Damn it. Selene, this boost is messing with my balance!"

She hissed, barely dodging a swipe from the monster’s claws.

Selene frowned, watching Zara slip and struggle.

’She’s not used to this level of power yet.’

If Zara couldn’t adjust fast enough, they’d both be in trouble.

Selene’s eyes flickered toward the ground, and an idea struck her. She quickly bent down and grabbed a handful of small rocks.

It wasn’t much, but it would serve as a distraction.

"Alright, big guy! Time to see how much you can take."

Selene muttered before chucking a rock at the Bloodfang’s head.

Thud!

The rock smacked against its skull, and the monster immediately turned toward her, snarling.

"Yeah, that’s right! Look at me, ugly!"

Selene taunted, throwing another rock.

It worked. The Bloodfang roared in frustration and charged straight for Selene. She took a deep breath and darted away, narrowly avoiding its attack.

Thanks to her training, she was fast on her feet, ducking and weaving to avoid the monster’s claws.

Meanwhile, Zara was slowly adjusting. She took deep breaths, rolling her shoulders and feeling the way her body moved with the increased strength.

’Okay... okay, I think I got it now.’

With a final steadying breath, she tightened her grip on her weapon and grinned.

"I’m good now, Selene! I’m coming in!"

She called out.

Selene exhaled in relief at those words, her body relaxing for just a second.

A second too long.

She didn’t notice the monster’s sudden shift in movement until it was too late.

’Shit—!’

Her foot clipped against a jagged rock on the ground, and she stumbled.

Her heart slammed against her ribs as she realized she wasn’t fast enough to dodge the monster this time.

The Bloodfang lunged, claws gleaming with deadly intent.

Before it could strike—

BOOM!

A blur of motion shot through the air, and suddenly, Zara was there.

With a mighty leap, she tackled the Bloodfang from the side, her dagger piercing through its skull.

The impact sent them both crashing to the ground in a heap of limbs and monstrous blood.

The Bloodfang let out one last, gurgling growl before it finally went still.

Panting, Zara pulled her dagger free and stood up, completely drenched in thick, dark monster blood. She turned to look at Selene, who was also covered in the disgusting mess.

They stared at each other for a moment.

"...I reek."

Zara finally muttered.

Selene groaned, wiping at her face to no avail.

"We both do."

They sighed in unison.

"Let’s go home."

Selene said.

"And take a long bath."

Zara added.

______

Selene and Zara trudged toward the house, their clothes still soaked with the thick, metallic-smelling monster blood.

Every step felt disgusting, the sticky fluid clinging to their skin.

When they reached the door, Selene rang the bell, and within seconds, it swung open to reveal Ethan standing there.

The moment he took one look at them, he burst out laughing.

"Oh hell no! What happened to you two?! Did you decide to take a swim in the dungeon’s sewage system?" fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Ethan doubled over, his arms wrapped around his stomach as he laughed like he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

Selene and Zara stood motionless, their faces unreadable.

Ethan wiped away a fake tear of laughter.

"Wow. This is gold—"

Before they could step inside, he suddenly raised a hand, stopping them.

"Hold up. You’re not coming in like that."

Selene narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

Ethan smirked and leaned against the doorframe.

"We do have a rule about keeping this place clean, remember? And right now..."

He dramatically waved a hand in front of his nose.

Zara groaned in frustration.

"Ethan, we just got back. We don’t need your—"

"Hey, I don’t want to hear you complain later. You should just listen to me."

But neither of them wanted to argue—because if they stepped inside like this, they would be the ones scrubbing the floors for hours.

"...Fine. Let’s just get this over with."

Selene muttered, crossing her arms.

Ethan grinned like a child on Christmas morning.

"Perfect."

A few moments later, Selene and Zara found themselves standing outside in the courtyard, arms wrapped around themselves as Ethan turned on the hose.

"Alright, ladies. Brace yourselves"

He said, lifting the hose with a wicked grin.

Before they could protest, cold water blasted them full force.

"Aaagh—Ethan, you asshole!"

Zara shrieked, shielding her face as the powerful stream of water hit her.

Selene gasped as the freezing water drenched her from head to toe. She clenched her fists, glaring at Ethan as she shivered.

"Could you at least make it warm?!"

Ethan feigned a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm... nope."

Zara cursed under her breath, while Selene stood still, seething.

Ethan had way too much fun spraying them down, laughing every time one of them yelled or cursed at him.

But then, in the middle of his fun, he caught sight of Selene’s face—her sharp glare, her deepening frown, the pure rage radiating off of her.

His laughter faltered.

"...Uh. Alright, alright. No need to glare daggers at me, I was just—""

Ethan shifted, suddenly aware of how silent Selene had become. He cleared his throat and hesitated before trying to lighten the mood.

Selene cut him off, her voice cold.

"Ethan."

Ethan immediately shut up.

The weight of her gaze made him feel like he had actually done something wrong. He hesitated, then sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"...Okay, okay, my bad. I was messing around too much. I’m sorry."

Zara and Orion—who had wandered outside to watch the commotion—both froze at Ethan’s words.

"...Did he just apologize?"

Orion muttered, eyes wide.

Zara looked just as stunned.

"I didn’t even know Ethan knew how to say sorry."

Meanwhile, Selene stared at Ethan, unimpressed. She wasn’t in the mood to accept his apology right away.

"I need some time to get over this," she said flatly before turning away.

Ethan blinked.

"Wha—Come on, I apologized!"