New Powers

The sun starts to hit Shina's face, blinding her on top of the tree. She slowly lifts herself off the branch.

That was an unsatisfactory sleep.

She yawns before jumping off the branch into the air, her eyes scanning the campsite in front of her.

There are three awake.

The remaining members were in their tents, having to rise where the sun doesn't shine for the weak. Shina, however, can use this as a perfect opportunity.

Goddess, today I won't do my ritual; you will see your devoted follower become exactly what you desired for all this time.

She floats above the trees of the forest, her palm extending out, feeling an invisible force stopping her from going further, the barrier that Hatake discovered earlier ringing towards her.

Shina puts out her hand; the black orb with its faint pale light manifests in her palm before she presses it onto the barrier; the effects were as expected. It began to dissipate like every other magic she touches with her power.

Floating into the now destroyed barrier, the fields underneath her flow softly within the wind; she lowers herself, hovering just above the grass, just in case there could be something waiting to trap her.

A strong bell rings across the open field. “Everyone, we have an intruder.”

Her ear could pick up a faint sound of footsteps starting to get rowdy from the campsite.

Kill them.

A hoarse voice rang inside as her thoughts spiralled towards her enemies, a hunger taking over slightly. It was the moment she had waited for after all. It was hard to resist what took over so long ago.

I will kill them all and steal all their power, not even because I need it but because I want to kill them.

A maniacal laugh escapes her mouth. The Shina that was calculating and cold was turning completely to the opposite side, which was definitely worrying for her.

I have an urge to do this; I can't back down now.

She hovers towards the campsite, seeing fourteen people lined up facing her. The first to approach was a young man, his bright red hair shining across the campsite, the leader, of course.

“You can't think that you could get rid of us alone, unless you have a trap waiting.” His tone was confident at their combined power.

Without even replying, Shina dashes into the air towards him. Her palm manifests the orb preparing to claim its first victim. The young man in front of her, dressed in plain clothing and blooming with his red hair, instantly tenses up before waving towards his teammate.

In an instant, a pink gel-like substance emerges from behind him like a tsunami wave crashing at the beach.

That might be useful.

She puts out her hand in front of her, and the gel-like wave gets absorbed into her like it was just a side dish.

They all gasp in surprise. Before the red-haired man takes a step forward and throws out a spinning blade. It seemed to have manifested from nothing.

Weapon creation, which explains how they were geared so well – I will make good use of it.

Shina, seeing the blade coming towards her, shining underneath the rising sun, instantly grabs it like it was a cheap knock-off.

She throws it to the side using her full power, the force sending it across the field into the forest. “You should just give up.”

There wasn't any acceptance in her words; they all stood unwavering despite her show of power. The red-haired man manifests more blades as all of them swirl around his body. She could count to five. Shina doesn't wait; she just rushes straight at him, putting her palm out.

He throws the blades towards her, all of them being absorbed; it was nothing compared to what she could accomplish if she took that power for herself and mastered it.

Finally, I begin.

The orb touches the man's stomach as his body dissipates in an instant, her thoughts quickly going through the shock he felt.

She's powerful, too powerful.

Shina shakes it off before seeing a pink-haired girl who was hiding behind the man. She quickly pulls out her palm, tapping that girl, causing her to dissipate. The rest of the group instantly dispersed away from her, knowing the danger.

I don't want to die.

She shakes off the thoughts again; they would only worsen after all.

Blade creation, tsunami gel. Time to put good use of these new powers. I don't want to stand around these insignificant people after all; they are just food.

She puts her hands on the floor before a massive pink gel wave emerges from the ground towards her left; it was big enough to cover their entire lower body. There were five group members, all too forgettable for her to even consider watching.

The gel trapped two as the others dodged. Shina quickly runs up to them, seeing the gel take effect, and glares across from them.

The first victim she stood against was a young girl with short brown hair and in school uniform clothing she couldn't identify; her glasses tried to hide the fear behind Shina's death stare. It didn't matter to her, however.

Want to go home, Mom, Dad, I'm sorry for leaving you.

Her words echoed across Shina's mind; the burden was stacking despite her cold outward appearance.

Instinct takeover. Any unseen danger will be formed into an instinct-like response to avoid if possible.

The power activates automatically as her body instinctively dodges to the side; a sharp crystal brushes her shoulder before quickly expanding on her shoulder.

The other girl, stuck in the gel, laughs out; her attack managed to finally do something against the beast trying to kill them all.

“You're not invincible,” she laughed out louder.

Shina walks up to her before grabbing the expanding crystal on her shoulder and crunching it into pieces. The girl's expression instantly turns sour as she realises it did not affect her. Not giving her a moment to spare, she sees the black orb put against her face before disappearing in an instant.

I need more.

Shina laughs internally; her power is growing tremendously. The beasts within her were taking over her mind; it was always going to come back to her. The hunt was her biggest mistake.