Chapter 157

Breathing hard, Saber leaned against the vine-tree, trying to catch her breath as her heart throbbed in her chest like a drum. It had taken a massive leap just to get out of the way, and she had unconsciously drawn on her Core for a burst of strength, unknowingly using Mana Burst for the first time to enhance her physical capabilities. Nevertheless, with her lack of control, she had overdone it, and she could feel her back aching all over, with her lower legs numb after slamming into the tree on her back from jumping too hard. She also felt several pulled muscles from twisting too harshly, but she could only grit her teeth and bear it, to avoid the boggart finding out where she was.

Keeping quiet, she peeked out from behind the tree slightly, seeing the boggart look from left to right as it scanned the area for any sign of her. She quickly shuffled back behind the tree, doing her best to not strain her body while remaining quiet.

Staring at the pile of rubble and the tree blocking the exit, she knew it was impossible to get through for her. The rocks were far too large for her to move, even with her newfound strength, and though she could see a small gap at the top of the pile, she would have to move a few more pieces of rubble to have a chance to slip through, and she doubted the boggart would give her the chance to do so.

Perhaps...she could trick the boggart into hitting the rubble and scattering it? She could hear it shuffling around closer to the rubble, its feet thudding against the ground heavily as it came close to her position. If she popped out and stood next to the pile of rubble, maybe it would-

*DON*

The world turned black and white, pain searing through her torso, her voice screaming like there was no tomorrow.

Then she was back.

She was already flying through the air before she knew it, her instincts kicking in and moving her legs automatically as she kicked off against the ground and away from the vine-tree, before the boggarts gnarled hand tore through it, shredding it like paper. The wind from the swipe blew Saber even further, sending her crashing into a wall and landing on the ground on a pile. If her instinct hadn't kicked in when it had, her upper body would have been sprayed on the walls in a picture of gore.

Her Magic Core may have helped her body strengthen herself, a thread of hope that allowed her to survive, but with it active all the time, she couldn't hide her magical signature. For the boggart, it was a simple matter to find her again in the room as long as she didn't learn how to mask herself or shut down the Core. Either option was impossible for her, with no way to immediately learn how to mask her signature, and shutting down the Core meaning decreased strength and speed, in turn meaning that she'd get hit much more easily by the boggart.

Dazed, she half-limped, half-dragged her body sideways against the wall, getting a half a step before falling down on purpose as the boggart charged at her, getting onto her knees and crawling through its legs as its hands slammed into the stone above her head, her blonde head ruffled from the wind. The claw dug into the stone, cracks forming as they sank deeply into the wall.

Lurching forward, she gathered her wits and ran as fast she could before the boggart could pull its claws out, the adrenaline lending her a burst of speed. She managed to get several steps away before the boggart ripped free its hand with brute strength, a shower of rocks spraying Saber's back as she ran.

The pulled muscles and the bruises on her back from slamming into the tree earlier slowed her down, the boggart swinging around face her before she could take more than ten steps. Sensing that she couldn't get away in time, she sank lower, her knees bending as she placed the wooden sword on her side, completely covering her left side vertically as she placed it alongside her upper arm, the flat of the blade touching her shoulder. Instead of getting further away, she took a step forward towards the boggart.

With a tremendous bang, she was sent flying into the air, the wooden sword, or what was left of it, floating along with her as she traveled to the wall again. With a crack, her shoulder hit the wall first, followed by the rest of her body, then gravity took over and her body slid down. Her step forward had taken her closer to the boggarts forearm, avoiding getting gored by the claws, but she had still taken a hefty amount of physical damage no matter how much she had braced herself for the blow.

The light of the crystals hurt her eyes, her head throbbing as she tried to clear the blurred images swinging in front of her eyes, everything wiggling and wobbling in all the wrong ways. Her body throbbed like one massive bruise, with her muscles aching as she turned her body, the parts she was pressing on hurting more and more. Adrenalin was still pumping through her body, but it was quickly fading, the trauma from being flung into a wall disorienting her and shaking up her body badly, the cuts and bruises all over her body further adding salt to the internal injuries.

Miraculously, not a bone in her body was broken, though quite a few of them were close. The Core in her body was working overtime, performing emergency first-aid on many of her wounds both external and internal, as well as strengthening her organs by instinct the instant before she got hit, maintaining it until she hit the wall. With her inexperience in using the Core, she was experiencing fatigue from channelling energy through her body as well besides the injuries plaguing her body.

Lying on the ground, she was unable to do little else except groan and mutter as she tried to get up, but her body refused to obey her. Coughing, red liquid spat out of her mouth, dripping onto the earth and turning it muddy. Though she was gifted with a Magic Core and a strong human body, with training as soon as she was able to, she just couldn't defeat it, her abilities as a child too lacking to surpass a hurdle so high.

The boggart stepped closer slowly, no longer wary once it saw its prey incapacitated. It wondered how to take her Magic Core, the memory of the energy she was releasing in the forest when it was out of control, making the boggart salivate. It had feigned losing track of Saber, then attacked while her guard was down, pursuing her closely until she was out of energy. Now that she was barely able to move, it could take its time.

Lying on the ground, Saber struggled to keep her eyes open as the boggart closed in on her, the ground rumbling with each step as it came closer and closer, its shape filling her entire field of vision.

Turning on her side, she looked around, spotting the wooden sword next to her, with only a third of the blade left attached to the handle, the edge ending in splinters. It was basically just a useless piece of wood at this point, but nevertheless Saber still forced her arm to move, her bruised shoulders whining in protest with her joints creaking as she stretched the arm towards the handle, her fingers managing to close on the handle and bringing it close to her body as the boggart stood above her body.

A hot wind blew down on her face, the stench of its breath hitting her face as she lay there on the ground, her hand weakly raising the broken half of her practice sword at the boggart, shuffling her body to face it even though she could barely move without pain coursing through her nerves and lighting her muscles on fire.

Lowering itself, it placed its hand over Sabers frail body, its claws and palm completely covering her as it closed on her body, lifting her up in the air while ignoring her weak hits on its leathery skin with her broken sword.

Eating a person normally wouldn't let one take another person's Magic Circuits, unless one had an ability that specifically allowed for such a scenario, or the Magic Circuits were designed in such a manner. However, for the Magic Core that ran within Sabers blood, it was a bit different. Siegfried gained a skin of invulnerability from bathing in the dragon he slew, with the sole exception being the patch of skin where a leaf had fallen. As Saber's Magic Core stemmed from the blood of dragons running through her veins, it was possible to attempt to acquire it through direct ingestion of her whole body.

Mordred had acquired a similar level of mana output through her lineage linking her to Saber, the same blood flowing in Mordred as well. The blood of dragons inherited by the traitor granted her the same factor of dragon, and with proper training she was able to reach a similar level of Mana Burst as her father given enough time.

Of course, it was a long shot, but it wasn't like the boggart knew of any other method. Despite its cunning, and its nature as a Phantasmal Beast, it wasn't as knowledgeable as a magus on such things. All it could think of was the benefits it would reaping from acquiring a Magic Core of such quality. It's instincts called on it to sate its hunger on her, the dragon rich blood an ample treat for it.

Opening its mouth, the stench of flesh and saliva filling Sabers nose, it dropped her. Flailing her arms weakly, she couldn't even scream as she fell, only weak cry leaving her throat as she watched the ceiling grow distant before she closed her eyes against her impending fate.

In a final act of defiance, she thrust out her hand clutching the broken sword, hoping to scratch or impale it on her way down through its mouth, so weak and disoriented as she fell that she couldn't even entertain the thought of throwing it.

The unhinged jaws snapped shut, a ring of finality ringing out as the fangs of its mouth knocked against each other.