Salvos (A Monster Evolution LitRPG)
Chapter 737: Sally

737. Sally

Rachel’s vision was a blur. Her head was hammering, and her entire body was numb. She could barely process anything that was going on around her, both due to the injuries she had sustained, but also from the high speed she was traveling.

Was she dying? Maybe.

But Rachel didn’t place much of a thought on that fact. Instead, her head lolled to the side, looking past the swarm of [Ancient Centinels] that was giving chase to her. She saw a flaming figure in the far distance, facing off with a towering monster of distortion.

“S-Sal—”

Rachel started. But then a beam of light shot past her, cutting through the swarm of [Ancient Centinels] chasing after her. The foremost [Ancient Centinels] dropped to the ground, and their bodies began to evaporate as their relentless pursuit of her slowed. Even more spells shot out into the rest of the swarm of other Centinels giving chase to her.

“This way!”

The familiar voice of Clayton Skyshredder called out. And the silver figure carrying Rachel immediately flew to the side, heading in the direction of the voice.

But even still, as the the swarm of Centinels were barraged by a deluge of magical spells, slowing their approach, Rachel’s attention was fixed to the flaming figure in the distance.

Rachel croaked out as her eyes began to flutter shut, darkness overcoming her. The young girl felt pain in her heart as she uttered out a weak breath.

“Please don’t die.”

[The B̵͖͇̲̲̱̗̆͐̈͜r̵̨̧̧̡̲̥̰̗̺͎̘͎̰̱̿̇͋̆̌̈́͌̎̇͗͠ŏ̸̧̢̙͍͕̺͙̖͕̺̾̆͗̊̋̈̋ͅo̷̡̯͉̪̜̺̬̦̫͕͉͂̀͋ͅd̶̛̝͉̟̦͕̙͇͕̈́̇͌ͅm̶̪̄̓͒̏͆͑̈́̈́̾̉͝͝ô̶͕̤̳̼̜͔͇͈̤̎͂̿̑́̑ͅt̶͕̖̗̭̫̰͈̦̉̽͒̂̊̏͋̿͂͠h̵̳̼̮͑͜ẽ̵̘̥̞̭̟͂̍̆͆̀r̵͕͓̱̞̉͒̿̿͋̿͌͆̈ That Remains - Lvl. 238]

Somehow, Sally could now see the Matriarch Centinel’s levels. She didn’t know what happened to cause this— what spurred her to be able to use [Identification] on an enemy that was supposed to be beyond her range of appraising.

But that was the least of her concerns right now, so she spent no more than a moment’s thought wondering how this was possible. Instead, she stared up at the new form of the Progenitor of Secely’s Centinels.

A form of corruption. Distorted and twisted. The Matriarch Centinel had an elongated and undulating body of corruption taking the shape of a giant centipede, and her true body formed a head with its arms poking out like a pair of mandibles.

Did I do that? Sally thought to herself for a moment, staring at the Matriarch Centinel’s form. Then she shook her head. No— this is just like back at the Bloodied Gulf…

Sally recalled Salvos’s battle with that [Ancient Centinel] in the Bloodied Gulf all those years ago. That [Ancient Centinel] had transformed, overtaken by an innate corruption. The same thing was true here with the Matriarch Centinel.

Did that mean that all Centinels had a hint of corruption in their essence? Perhaps. But the answer to that question didn’t matter for no. What mattered was—

The Matriarch Centinel shrieked. It was a distorted cry that shook the entire landscape, causing rifts in space to open up all around her. She turned her gaze towards Sally, before unleashing a beam of corruption down that ripped through the air.

Sally braced herself, focusing her [My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends] in front of her to stop the attack. And as the blast struck her aura of invulnerability… another vision flashed in her mind.

The crimson dome overhead began to glow bright. I watched as a spell circle took shape there, spreading out a dozen miles wide. [The Great Agarus] ignored this, opening its mouth once again. Another black hole took shape there as it broke another one of the Beast’s few remaining heads.

And I saw the pentagram take shape in the sky. The Beast let out a final roar, and that was when I heard the blaring of [Angelic Premonition] in my head. I spun around, cursing to myself as I reached for my pocket space.

“Shit—”

Sally blinked, forcing herself back into reality as she caught a glimpse of the sparking flames fading away right before her. Was her [My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends] coming to an end? No— that was not possible. It still had a while to go. That meant…

The Matriarch Centinel’s attack was eating through the aura of invulnerability.

Sally gritted her teeth as she spread her wings wide and shot forward, flying straight into the oncoming beam of iridescent light. If Sally chose to flee right at this moment, she would be able to survive.

She would be able to live.

But then Rachel would die. Mavos Academy would be destroyed. Oriur, Novis, and Bellum… Salvos’s children… Sally’s children would die.

And Sally couldn’t allow that.

So she flew straight for the Matriarch Centinel, even as her [My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends] began to fail against the oncoming attack. And right as Sally reached her target, she placed a palm on the underbelly of the giant centipede of corruption, before focusing on the space around them.

In an instant, the world shifted. The Matriarch Centinel screeched as Sally blinked. But no longer did the reverberating voice of the giant corrupted centipede shake the landscape. Instead, it echoed quietly in an empty world.

In—

My head snapped up as I brought a hand to the air. Immediately, I opened a rift straight into my pocket space. And as I stepped through that door-like hole in space, I was not greeted by the empty and dark glass-like world that I was normally limited to.

Instead, my feet sank into a carpet of grass. And instead of being greeted by the darkness of the fold between the planes, I saw a blue sky overhead. Clouds were drifting by as I swept my gaze over my surroundings.

“Huh.”

I stood atop a grass knoll, surrounded from all sides by an empty plains. And when I focused, raising my hand, the world changed.

It was [The World Of My Mind].

Sally tumbled down into the pocket space alongside the Matriarch Centinel. The two of them fell atop a grassy hill, the latter’s attack dissipating as she looked around in confusion. In that moment of reprieve, Sally took the opportunity to break away with [Rapid Disengage].

Instantly, Sally appeared on the other side of the pocket space, dozens of miles away from the Matriarch Centinel. But even though she was very much in the clear right now, Sally knew she had only a moment’s reprieve before she was assailed once again.

So she acted fast. She focused on the fabric of this reality she had created. Even if she barely understood how she was doing any of this, she instinctively knew what the best course of action was right now.

Sally raised her hands as the grass beneath her feet began to evaporate. The very fabric of space that she had created began to morph and shift, before erupting into a tsunami of corruption.

Looking up, Sally sent this wave of corruption straight at the Matriarch Centinel. It was Sally’s own world, after all. She could do anything she wanted here. So she unleashed this outpouring corruption down into the Progenitor of Secely’s Centinels.

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Sally hoped that this onslaught of attacks would be enough to at least slow the Matriarch Centinel. She thought that this would distract the Matriarch Centinel long enough for Sally to escape alongside Rachel alive.

But even as this wave of corruption fell upon the Matriarch Centinel, she didn’t slow. Instead, she swam through the wave as she screamed in a chittering voice that was unlike how she spoke before.

I̵͇̋ ̵̯͋H̸͚̏Ą̷̿V̵̘̈Ȅ̸̠ ̷̺̈́F̶̟͆O̷̻̅Ù̵̝G̵̗̑H̴͔͆Ṱ̸́ ̷̤̕T̴͔͋Ḧ̸͖E̶̮̕ ̴̮͝E̴̩̽N̷͕̄D̶̝͛ ̷͚̈́Ö̴̟́F̶̞͂ ̸͉͛Ṱ̸̈́H̷̪͛Ě̵͍ ̸̡̊W̸̹͛O̵̜͐R̶̙̀Ļ̶̓D̷͈̂!̷͖̊”̴̧̋

̵̟̪̥̖̈́̆̔̀͐́̈́̕͠The Matriarch Centinel swam through the corrupted landscape, heading straight for Sally faster than even [The Great Agarus] had moved. Sally gritted her teeth as she opened up a rift behind her, all the while the Matriarch Centinel screamed.

̴̩̂“̶͔̔I̷͈͑ ̴͚͗W̶̨͗Ǎ̷̘S̵̯͝ ̸͓̑B̵̪͂Ő̸̦R̷̘͝N̷̦̄ ̸̙̅I̶͓̊Ń̶͈ ̵͎̎T̴̼̽H̵͍̚E̵͇̊ ̸͔̅C̷̰̔O̶̲͐R̷̯̍R̴͓͒U̷̠̚P̵͔̔T̶̡̀Í̶̘O̵̬͌N̴͍̈́.̷̙̀ ̴̗̌I̷̼̿ ̵͇̑W̷̰͑Ä̸̙́S̷̛͓ ̵̜̐R̵̮̂Â̷͍I̷̪̓S̷̘̔E̸̲̋D̴̳̎ ̸̟͝Ṱ̴̈́O̵̰͝ ̷̬͑B̷̯͗Á̵̫Ț̶̅T̵͉̿L̶̗̉E̴̢̒ ̸̟͂A̵͚͛G̴̜͠A̶̺̅I̸͇͝Ṋ̵̆S̸̮̔T̷̠͑ ̶͍̆Ȉ̵̢T̶͔̈.̵͍̏ ̶̩͝I̷̳͒ ̶̞̇D̸̗͊I̶̳͒D̷̩̃ ̴͙͑Ǹ̷͇O̷͖͝T̶̬̈́ ̶̜͗Ķ̵̈N̴̖͌O̷̺̍W̶̙̿ ̵͎̇W̷̞̾H̴̢͑Ȧ̴̡T̵̫̋ ̷̞͑B̶̡̋E̸̢̋Y̷̦̕Ó̴͍N̸̞͋D̷̞̚ ̷̪̚T̴̨͗H̵͓̀E̷͆͜ ̶̠̈Ȩ̸̿N̶͙͆Ḏ̷̈́ ̴̖̌O̵̳̾F̸̭̊ ̸̣́T̷̲̊H̸͍͘E̷̝̾ ̴̡̔W̷̻̎Ô̷̪R̶͚̎Ḽ̴̄D̴̛͙ ̵̯̕W̵̛̼A̸͎̎Ś̴̙ ̸̠̋U̴̲̚N̷̫̈́T̷̺̉I̶̚ͅL̸͙̀ ̶̤̔Í̷̥ ̶͈̈́H̸̛̬A̶̼͘D̴̻͊ ̷̭͂Ḅ̷͆E̴̥̎C̶̼͑O̴̥̐M̶̙͗È̸̹ ̷͇̉A̸̟͝ ̷̖̓B̷̞̎R̷̡̆O̸͈͑O̴̭̎D̵̹͘M̵̍͜Ȯ̸̭T̶͕͋H̷̡̊Ë̴̲R̷̠̋!̷̦̕”̴͎̌

̸̢͕̪͙͉̣͖͇̦͖̻͖̰̐̓̊̄͒͝Using [Riftwalk], Sally immediately escaped from her [The World Of My Mind], barely moving faster than the rapidly approaching Matriarch Centinel. But even as Sally stepped back out into the Nexeus, watching the rift close behind her, she heard the echoes of the Matriarch Centinel’s voice.

And space itself seemed to crack where the rift had been. Sally immediately flew out of the way as a hole ripped open through the planes, followed by the Matriarch Centinel barreling out and screaming.

̸̧̣͈̥̣̳̩̗̤͍͖̯͓̿̒̊̂̐͊͊͆͊“̷͓̝̩̖̓͛D̷̗̝̯̜̙̙̥̭̰̱̈͛̾̀̈́̎̇̂̂̚Ơ̴̢̥̝̻̻̭̤̭̩̫̱̗̠̂ ̶̞̻̮̉̓̒̉͝Y̴̖͕̭͙̯̟̪̌̄́́͑̈́̒͒̕Ô̸͓̹͉̮͇̥͈̱͎̤̮̰͑̓̋̇U̷̢̢̨̧͉̼̩͐̓͑̽͐͜ ̸̢͖̞̯̦̠͎͇͓̍͑̓ͅT̸̨͚̖̩̙͉̲́̈́̍͗̆̅̅̆̕̕͜R̵̢͙͉͚͑̿̆͐̍̄̔̕U̸̙̫͖̓̓̀̎̊̅͆̏͂̈̔̚̕Ļ̸̣̝͓̼͎̝͎̥͆̐̍̓̽̈́͂̚͝ͅY̷̜̖̋̌̓͗̈́ ̸̢͕̩͓̫̳͔̳̣̗̖̳̝̽̽̂̑̿̄́̾͗́̆͊̕͘̚ͅͅT̴̢̤̪͓̼̟̫͉̠̖̣́͒̔͋͂̚H̴̝͆̿͊̔I̶̩̮̠̰͕̙̓̾̌̃͝Ņ̵̼̫̮̳̥̙̲̝̭̣̓̾Ḱ̸̘̞̌̀̽̽͌̏͗͛͋͘͝ ̵̥͗̆̕Ỵ̴̬̙̯̤̼̱̊́͊̀̈̑̄̈́̎͌͘͝Ǫ̸̪̲̩̮̯̪͕̩̱̺̻͓̅Ü̷̢͔͚̱͍̘̤̱̇͐̏̀̅̽̕̕͝ͅ ̶̭̀͗͑͆͑͊̂C̸̡̧̳̝̘̱̠͈͉̗̰̻̀͐̒̑͗̓͛̈́̓̚A̴̺̟̲̫̘͉͚̻̲͙͕̖͍̎̐̋̇̾̽̾͊̌͆́͋̂͋͘ͅǸ̶̰̮̳̻̯̳̞̫̖̭̝̮̞̦͉͗̀̎̔̈́̃̋ ̷̨̧̢̘̭͍̤͇̞̫̞̯̝̩̈́̔̿̃̾̂́̚̚͘ͅS̴̛͍͙̓̇̀̑͂͝T̸̖̆̅̇̄̍̅͗Ò̸̮͙̮̑̚̕̚͜ͅP̷̧̛̫̫̲͍̬͍̯̦͈̤̱̂̈́̐̈́̈́̒̀͒̌͆͆͜ ̶̢̝̥̫̬̜̮̹̾̌́̐͒̅̈́͘͘M̵̜̳̻̩̬̣̥̹̥̑̑͑̎̏̚͝E̵̢̛̟̰̪̳̫̦͉̺̳̙͙̟̤͒̓̏̿̽̍̀̀̊͒̽̇́͠ ̵̬͓̠̬̹͎͍̳̬̖̝͚͆͒͜ͅW̵̧̮̘̗͖͖̠̓̔͗̎͛͠I̷̧̢̥͔̳̍̔̈́̔̕͜T̵̢̻͗́̒͐͐͑̏͊̿͒H̸̘̟̝͕̓̃̀ ̴̧̡̥̯̣̘̯̘̫͓̲̪͐͆̏̀T̴̠͓̣̘̹̬̳̟͎̣̀̂H̸̛̜͔̣̰̎͂͂̋̃͛̀̿͛͋̂̚͠Į̴̛̞͈͚̣̗͚̠̹͆̿̋͌̉̆̈́̆̉̕̕͠ͅS̴̢̺̦̜̲̬̹̟̰̖̈́̀͝ ̵͔̱̘̩̣̬̰̲̖̈͐̾̀̀̓̄̓̐̅͗̎̕P̶̝̮͚̜̮͎̿̀̅̈́̊͊̽̓̅͂͘͘͠ͅA̸̘͒̿̄͗̇͗̀̆̊̾̂̄̈́T̴̰̪̝̦̯͚̙͚͖̦͕͓̊̈́̈̎̽̋͌̈́̈̀͘͜͠Ĥ̸̘͕͇̀́̈́̈́͑̌̅͋̓̑͘͘Ȩ̶̛̥̖̹̤͎̈́̓͋̀̎́͋͐̈́̚T̴̡͓͎̬̻̟̮̯̱̾̂͜I̴̛̹͛̂̀̑̂̓̎͛̐̊̍͠͠C̴̼͔̖̻͓̀̀ ̴̨̫̪̲̖̗̮͎͈̣̭͍̖̇̕Ť̴̡̡̯̝̟̭̣̪̫̦̪̭̏̀̀R̸̤̥̱̈̎͊̈́̿̌̏͐́Ą̸͇͕̺̙͚̘̑̽̂̌P̶̫̻̺̻̐̈̃́̀͊͐̈̃́͂̌̔͆ ̷͎̫̝͉̜̣̩͎̆̃̈́̾̓̇́̅͗̋͘͝Y̵̡̨̬̯̘̿̍̒̐͊̌̐̌̓̚͝͝͠O̸̡̖̣̤̣̒́̀̆͌́̿͋̇̚͝͝͝͠Ų̷̱͚̘̄͒́̽̑͐̇̎́̆̆͌̉̌͑ ̸̹̻͓̹̪̥̹̣͈͚̽̽̐̉͋̄͜ͅḨ̵̢̢̛̲͈̮͎͎͇̟̱̼̺͌̅̈̿̾̿̿̀̈́͒͘̚͜A̷̲͑́̀̆͌̀̒̑͠͝V̵̢͎̣̙̱̀̾͒̋E̷̞̣͋͐͌̐͐͗̈́̿͠͝͠ ̷̮̩̞͉͋͒̉̐̀̿S̸̖͝Ė̸̲̭͊̿͆̈́̚͠͝T̸̛̞̹̜͎̞̭̜̞̃̅̈́́͠?̷̡̿͛̇̈́͒”̸̧̳̗̻̘̜̱̙̠͖̱̬̋̃̃̾̆͛̏͂̒́

̵̡̨̢̡͕̩̰̤͈̳͕͔̲͛̔͐͋̎̅̉̿̅̒̚͜And all Sally could do was try to fly away as the Matriarch Centinel gave chase, all the while various visions continued to flash in her mind.

“Manos… how could you do this?”

I glared up at the Executioner through gritted teeth as he grinned back at me. Next to him, Chordus just gave him an approving look, alongside the other leaders of the various remaining legions.

“You tricked me, you bastard!”

I screamed, only for Manos to heft his waraxe over his shoulder.

“Well, serves you right for being such a fool for trusting me, the leader of the Deathsquad Hunters—”

“[Claw Of Corruption]!”

Sally swiped a hand down at Matriarch Centinel as they both took to the sky. But the Grand Skill served to only slow the approach of the giant centipede of corruption.

Even still, Sally moved faster. Faster than she did before. Faster than she thought was possible with what she was capable of doing. With each passing moment, she was growing stronger. She was reaching heights she never thought was possible.

And why? Perhaps it was because of the Dreaded Goblet. But Sally could tell that her connection with Salvos was somehow growing stronger.

That they were slowly syncing back together.

“That is…?”

I blinked as I stared at the beam of crimson light shooting up to the dark clouds hovering in the crimson sky above. I looked towards Haec who wore a horrified expression on his face. And before he even spoke, I knew what this meant.

“The ritual is starting…”

Haec spoke softly, before he turned to me. I bit my lower lip, and he shook his head.

“That means we have to act. Now—”

Right now, Sally was fast enough to even track the Matriarch Centinel’s movement. Which was ridiculous, considering she could barely even follow the Matriarch Centinel’s movement before this transformation.

But that was because Sally had only been Level 150 back then.

What level was she? No— what level was Salvos even at this very moment? Level 190? Higher?

Whatever level Salvos was right now, Sally was the same level. But despite this… it didn’t make a difference.

It only delayed the inevitable.

Sally unhinged her jaw and glanced back at the charging Matriarch Centinel.

“̵͓̃[̶͙̌C̸͍̆ǒ̷̲r̴͍̈́ȑ̷̙u̴̻̍p̷̓ͅt̵̺̐ę̵̾ḑ̵͌ ̵̝̾D̶̡̛ḯ̸̡ṽ̵̳i̸͖͛n̵̘͂ě̵͓ ̶̡͊D̶̗̔r̸̖͗a̸̜͑g̷͔̕o̸̰͂n̶͇̽’̸̲̅s̸̜̀ ̸͓̾B̷̺̉r̴͍͝e̵̱̾a̵͖͗t̴̬̕h̷̪̃]̸͓̀!̴̖̃”̶̦̓

Every trick Sally tried. Every Skill that she was suddenly gifted to her. All of it was in vain in the face of such an overwhelmingly powerful enemy. There was nothing that could be done.

The Matriarch Centinel simply laughed in the face of the wave of fire and corruption, brushing it off like it was nothing, before continuing to charge at Sally.

And that was why Sally knew she was going to die.

But she didn’t want to die.

She didn’t have a heart, and yet, she felt it racing in fear at the prospect of being caught and destroyed.

She liked her existence. She enjoyed being able to do whatever she wanted. She enjoyed talking to her friends, while helping those she cared about.

But…

She was just a clone, right?

It didn’t matter if she died. In fact, she was made to die— to protect Novis, Bellum, and Oriur with her life.

To do everything that she could to ensure that Salvos’s companions and friends were safe for when Salvos inevitably returned.

So Sally’s life didn’t matter.

It wasn’t meant to matter. Her feelings didn’t matter. Right now, as long as she ensured that Rachel survived, that was all that mattered.

Right?

Sally closed her eyes as she was struck by the Matriarch Centinel. Her aura of invulnerability protecting her flickered, almost breaking from the impact of that attack. And Sally was sent flying back into a nearby forest.

A giant crater opened up where she landed, as the shockwave from her crash caused all the trees in the forest to collapse from the impact.

“But—”

A tear formed in Sally’s eyes, sliding down her flaming cheek as she whimpered.

“But I don’t want to die.”

Sally looked up at the Matriarch Centinel. The Progenitor of Secely’s Centinels was preparing another beam of corruption to blast down at the Salvos clone. And Sally could only close her eyes as she braced herself for her death that was soon to come.

And a final vision flashed in Sally’s mind as the blast engulfed her being.

“This is our only chance of stopping the ritual.”

I closed my eyes, looking away from my first companion. He cried out as he reached for me.

“Salvos, you can’t do this!”

But I ignored him as I resolved myself.

“I’m sorry—”

What was the difference between Sally and Salvos?

Rachel had posed the question to Sally earlier, and it had upset the Salvos clone. She hadn’t wanted to think about it, because it was uncomfortable to even think about. But now, as Sally lay there, her entire being engulfed by the crushing beam of corruption, her aura of invulnerability slowly peeling away, she decided to mull over it.

Perhaps the difference between them was in their goals. Salvos wanted to protect her companions and her identity, while Sally… wanted to protect her companions and her identity.

So that couldn’t be the case. They had the same goals, even if they went about it differently.

Then perhaps the distinction between Sally and Salvos came purely from Sally’s autonomy. After all, Sally had free will. She could do whatever she wanted, right?

Except, here she was, going to die doing exactly what she had been told to do by Salvos.

So what was the difference between them? What was the difference between Sally and Salvos?

Sally opened her eyes as the last of the visions playing out in her mind came to an end. And slowly, she rose to her feet, even as chunks of her body where her [My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends] failed began to flake away.

And Sally finally knew what the difference between her and Salvos was supposed to be.

Salvos? Well, she is always meant to survive. She is not supposed to die. No matter what, she had to live.

But Sally? Even if she wanted to live. Even if she didn’t want to die. Even if she was afraid of what would happen to her when she returned to Salvos as memories…

Sally could always die. And that was what was going to happen here.

But if she was going to die, she was going to do everything she could to bring down the Matriarch Centinel. So she strode forward as she reached for something within her.

A Grand Skill.

Salvos’s latest Grand Skill.

And as Sally strode forward, her [Angelic Wings] shifted into something else. But she barely paid attention to them. Her body seemed to change as she began to flap her wings behind her back.

Her aura of invulnerability was failing. Half her body was already destroyed. But even still—

Sally soared.

She shot up towards the Matriarch Centinel, flying straight through the corrupted beam that was ripping apart her body. As she drew closer to her target, she uttered the words of the Grand Skill, the tail end of what she said drowned out by the screeching of the Matriarch Centinel.

“[I Am…]”

And as Sally reached the Matriarch Centinel, she could only close her eyes and whisper one final thing.

“I’m sorry, Rachel.”

With that, Sally crashed into the Progenitor of Secely’s Centinels. For a moment, nothing happened. But after a second passed, the two figures exploded like a star in the sky, shining a million times brighter than the sun.

And then there was nothing.

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