Apocalypse Baby

Chapter 181 - 181: Guilt?

Freya's eyes locked onto Xeno as he walked toward her.

But this wasn't the Xeno she once knew.

His body was pale and lifeless, his eyes hollow, his movements unnatural.

Undead.

The Nightmare was playing tricks, twisting his form—trying to make her hesitate.

Trying to make her feel guilty for killing him.

Xeno raised his bow, fingers moving with eerie precision as he notched an arrow.

Freya's grip on her blade tightened.

She wasn't falling for this.

WHOOSH!

The first arrow flew.

She twisted her body, barely dodging it as a second one whizzed past her ear.

Then a third.

Tch.

Without wasting another second, she charged forward.

Her body vanished into the shadows—stealth mode.

Xeno's undead eyes darted around,

It swung hard.

Freya blocked—but the sheer power of the strike swatted her arms wide open.

Her grip tightened. She clicked her teeth in frustration.

The undead pressed on, launching another heavy slash.

She twisted her wrist and parried, forcing its blade to the side.

There! An opening.

Without thinking, she lunged forward, her dagger aimed right at its face.

But then, she hesitated.

Just for a split second.

And that was all it needed.

Undead Xeno's bony fingers snatched her wrist mid-strike.

With unnatural strength, it twisted, pulled, and—

FLIP!

Freya's body whipped through the air, and before she could react—

THUD!

She slammed into the ground, breath knocked from her lungs.

Undead Xeno's blade then plunged downward, aiming to end it.

But Freya spun on the ground, twisting her body at the last second.

Using the momentum, she hooked her leg behind the undead's knee and yanked hard.

THUD!

Undead Xeno collapsed to one knee.

Before it could react, Freya snapped her foot up, kicking it square in the chest.

The force sent it skidding back, buying her a moment.

She pushed off the ground, rising to her feet.

But as soon as she did, a blade came screaming toward her face.

Her instincts kicked in.

She jerked her head to the side, barely weaving past the attack—

The blade grazed her ear, a sharp sting following in its wake.

No time to recover.

The undead lunged again, pressing the assault.

Freya met its attack head-on, her daggers flashing as they clashed.

Steel against steel.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Each strike rattled her arms, the sheer weight behind Xeno's attacks making her hands throb in pain.

This wasn't like before.

The real Xeno had relied on his bow, keeping his distance.

But this one?

This Xeno was relentless in close combat.

Freya blocked a strike, her arms straining under the force.

But before she could counter, the undead lunged forward.

Its bony fingers clamped around her wrists, yanking her straight into its path.

Then...

CRACK!

A skull-shattering headbutt smashed into her face.

"Ugh!"

Freya cried out, pain exploding through her skull as blood sprayed from her nose.

She stumbled backward, her vision blurring.

Then, she lost her footing.

Her back slammed against the ground, the cold surface jolting her senses.

Undead Xeno let out an evil grin, its blade raising high, then it stabbed downward, aiming to finish her.

Freya's instincts kicked in.

She rolled hard to the side.

SHNK!

The blade pierced the ground just inches from where she lay.

Without hesitation, she pushed off the ground and bolted.

"Coward."

The undead sneered, its voice dripping with mockery as it sprinted after her.

It could tell.

Freya had hesitated before.

And if it kept taunting her, whispering doubts into her mind—

She would hesitate again.

The undead pressed on, its hollow voice dripping with accusation.

"Admit it. You killed me because you needed Nightmare points. Nothing else."

Freya froze mid-step.

For a brief second, one of her arms disappeared.

Undead Xeno's empty eyes narrowed.

Then, she slowly turned to face it, a grin spreading across her lips.

"Did I?"

A chill ran through the undead.

Something felt wrong.

It instinctively halted, sensing an unseen threat...

CLANG!