Humans can only use about 30% of their real muscle strength, even less for normal people. The brain limits this to keep the body safe. Only trained athletes or fighters can push close to that limit.
But Maruti is different. She has something called Ultra Instinct. When she faints in battle, her body goes into a sleep-like state. In this mode, she feels no pain, and her muscles can use almost 80-90% of their strength. Her instincts and essence stone powers also become super sharp.
If Esdeath had triggered Maruti's Ultra Instinct, the fight against Ujjain would've been easier. But when ujjain unleashed his killer move and after taking it head on, Maruti went unconsciousness—Maruti didn't enter this state.
Why?
For Ultra Instinct to activate, Maruti needs to faint from something like exhaustion, dehydration, hallucinations, or normal injuries. But Ujjain's attack wasn't normal. He hit her so hard that it sent her into deep unconsciousness, skipping the window for Ultra Instinct to kick in.
There was still a small chance it could've activated since luck plays a role, but it didn't this time. And honestly, it was a good thing.
"If her Ultra Instinct had activated, sure, she'd have beaten Ujjain easily," Esdeath thought. "But after him, she might've turned on me too. In that state, everyone around her—friend or foe—becomes an enemy." Esdeath thought.
Maruti's right cheek was swollen so badly it looked like a balloon ready to burst. She had taken Ujjain's killer move straight to her face, and it was a miracle she was even alive. The pain was unbearable, but she gritted her teeth and kept going.
After what felt like forever, Maruti finally stumbled out of the chaotic battle arena. The moment she crossed the threshold, Mourya's suffocating aura lifted, and she felt like a massive weight had been taken off her chest.
Her body immediately felt lighter, and her speed increased drastically. She didn't waste any time and activated a movement-type essence stone. Her shoes erupted in red flames, propelling her forward at three times her usual speed.
BOOM!...
A powerful attack whizzed past her, barely missing her by inches. It tore through everything in its path, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Maruti's heart leaped into her throat, but she didn't stop.
The village around them was a warzone. Awakened warriors clashed against each other, while normal barbarians fought tooth and nail. The air was filled with the sound of clashing weapons, roaring magic, and agonized screams. Water surged like waves, fireballs rained from the sky, and sharp crystals burst out of the ground. Houses were ablaze, and bodies littered the streets.
"This place is insane!" Maruti shouted, her voice barely audible over the chaos. "Aren't there tons of illusions in this village? How are we supposed to escape in this mess?"
"Relax!" Esdeath replied with a smirk, despite clinging weakly to Maruti's back. "Since the battle began, all the illusions have been deactivated. It would be a disaster if their own soldiers got caught in their traps. I planned this chaos so the illusions would stop and we could escape!"
Maruti glanced around, dodging flying debris and stray attacks. "And which way do we go?"
"Head straight east! I know a shortcut that leads back to the capital!" Esdeath instructed, her voice steady despite the pandemonium.
Maruti darted through the chaos like a fish slipping through dangerous waters. Her instincts were on high alert, her eyes darting left and right to spot incoming attacks. Every few moments, she would yell out the structures and scenery around her, and Esdeath would guide her where to go next.
"Turn left!" Esdeath shouted.
"Got it!" Maruti swerved, narrowly avoiding a collapsing building.
Twenty grueling minutes passed like this, with Maruti weaving through the chaos. She was panting heavily, her legs trembling from the strain, but they had already covered half the distance.
"We've come so far already, but are you sure this is a good idea?" Maruti gasped as they reached a quieter part of the village. "It's night! We're bound to run into beast groups in the forest!"
They had finally left the heart of the battle behind. The sounds of clashing metal and screaming were distant now, and the cold night air brushed against Maruti's sweat-drenched skin. She stopped to catch her breath, her body shaking from exhaustion.
"Don't worry," Esdeath reassured her. "We're almost there. Once we leave the village, you'll see a massive cave. That cave connects to the outside of the forest, and it's only about two hundred meters from the capital's border!"
They finally made it out of the village. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard as Maruti had expected. The most difficult part had been scheming against Rowan and Mourya, and fighting Ujjain. But now, all those challenges were behind them. Compared to that, escaping the village seemed almost… easy.
The only real danger during their escape had been Mourya's attacks. His strikes didn't just aim for enemies—they destroyed everything in their path. Massive explosions, shattered large houses, and torn ground marked where his power had landed. Maruti had narrowly dodged his attacks several times, her heart pounding in her chest each time she came too close.
Half the village was already in ruins, but none of that mattered to Esdeath or Maruti. Their focus was only on survival.
As they left the chaos behind, their ears kept ringing from the sounds of the battlefield—clashing weapons, roaring magic, and panicked screams still echoing in their minds. The silence of the forest felt unnatural, almost eerie after the deafening noise.
Just as Esdeath had said, Maruti finally came across the cave. It was massive, with spiral-shaped walls that looked like they twisted endlessly into the darkness. The entrance was cold, unwelcoming, and completely black, with no light at all coming from within.
"Huff… Finally here, huh?" Maruti let out a tired chuckle, her shoulders slumping as she wiped the sweat from her brow. She stepped forward, ready to enter the cave. "Let's get this over with!"
But before she could take another step, Esdeath grabbed her arm sharply.
"Wait. Don't go!" Esdeath's voice was firm, her grip unyielding.
Maruti blinked, confused. "What? What's wrong?"
Esdeath's face turned serious, her blind eyes narrowing as if she could see something Maruti couldn't. "There's a monster inside," she said quietly, her tone grave. "An Enomaly-type one."
Esdeath's eyes were gone—completely blind. Darkness was all she had left. Yet, despite that, she didn't feel helpless. She had Her "Eagle Eyes" skill allowed her to sense and see the flow of mana
It might seem strange. After all, how could someone without eyes see anything at all? But here's the thing—if you've studied a bit of science, you'd know something fascinating. It's not your eyes that truly see; it's your brain. Your eyes are just the middlemen, passing along the information.
Esdeath didn't need middlemen anymore. Her connection to mana had grown so strong that she could sense the mana directly through it.
At first, all she could feel was endless blackness, cold and suffocating. But then, as she focused, she saw it—if "seeing" was the right word. A faint, neon-green glow began to form in her mind. It wasn't light in the normal sense. It was mana.
And only one type of beings have neon green mana–Anomaly Class.
"So what?" Maruti said, her voice full of confidence. "You've already lost so much blood, let's kill whoever's inside and get you to a healer to treat you!"
She spoke without any hesitation, her eyes filled with determination. Fear wasn't something that bothered Maruti in battle. She was used to facing enemies head-on.
Esdeath gritted her teeth, looking more tired than ever. "Tch... It's not that I don't want to," she replied, wincing slightly. "Anomaly-class monsters have the lowest IQ, but they don't die easily. They're a real pain. If it's not some Anomaly King inside, though, it might not be as bad."
Maruti wasn't having it. She raised her chin in defiance, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Then I'll definitely go!" she shouted, her voice filled with fire as she rushed forward into the dark cave without another word.
"Hey! Stop! Don't go!" Esdeath called out, but it was too late. She punched Maruti lightly on the back, but Maruti didn't even flinch. She was already too far ahead.
Inside the cave, it was pitch black. The kind of darkness that felt like it could swallow you whole. But as they moved deeper, glowing crystals began to light up the walls, casting eerie, shimmering light. The further they walked, the brighter the cave became, until it felt almost like walking through a strange, glowing forest.
After a few minutes, they stumbled upon a small pond. The water looked clear and fresh, a welcome sight in the midst of their exhaustion. Esdeath felt dizzy from the blood loss.Maruti, despite her injuries,still full of energy, knelt by the water first, drinking deeply, then handed Esdeath some. The cool liquid helped, but it didn't do much to ease the growing weakness in her body.
Maruti glanced at her, concern flickering in her eyes. "You good?" she asked, though her voice still held its usual strength.
Esdeath nodded, though she didn't feel it. The blood loss made her feel like her whole body was shutting down. "Just tired," she muttered, pushing through the dizziness.
Without waiting for Esdeath to say much more, Maruti carefully lifted her onto her back again, and they continued on. Time passed, and the deeper they went into the cave, the quieter it became. Hours stretched on. The minutes seemed to slip away unnoticed. It was around 9 PM when they first entered, but now, it was past midnight.
The cave stretched on endlessly, winding and twisting, and with every step, Esdeath couldn't help but wonder if there was anything inside at all. "Was I wrong?" she thought to herself, her voice quiet in her mind. "There are no monsters here... Was I just imagining things? Even In the game, there were very less chances for monsters to be here.... Maybe I was wrong to worry so much."
The two of them had already passed halfway through the cave. Esdeath could tell they were close to the end, even though it was now 2 AM. They were almost there.
But suddenly, Maruti stopped. Her sharp eyes scanned the darkness ahead, and she saw something moving. A shadow, just out of reach. Someone, emerging from the blackness.
It was a man—or at least, it had been a man once. His flesh was rotten, sagging off his bones like it had been left to decay for years. His tattered clothes clung to him in shreds, barely covering his zombie like frame.
But the most interesting thing about him wasn't his rotting body. It was the fact that he had no head.
The man was headless. His neck ended in a jagged stump, oozing a faint green mist. Yet, in his right hand, he clutched his own severed head, holding it like a grotesque trophy. And the head—despite being detached—had its eyes wide open.
He was an anomaly-class monster....."The Beheaded Man."