Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

“These must be part of the unique type of monsters that emerge from Canvas Bleed Dungeons…!” Elena said. “Girls, get ready to fight!”

“As she said, everyone, let’s not waste time. There are plenty of them. Watch out for any strange abilities they may possess!” Matsuo warned.

“Got it!” Erika roared.

Three monstrous paintings charged straight at her. They resembled elongated and twisted humans with grotesque faces and mouths opened wide.

“Damn bastards, come at me!”

“GRUUUUOOOHHHHHH!”

The creatures attacked, but Erika swiftly dodged their long, flexible claws.

Or so she thought.

“Huh?!”

The claws stretched endlessly and chased after her. Before she could react, they caught her, covering her body in slashing wounds.

“Ouch! Hey! What the hell?! Okay, that’s it with you!”

Erika had little patience. She had wanted to play along, but these things were clearly cheating. She unleashed her Aura, primarily composed of pure Ki, and charged forward.

RUMBLE!

The ground beneath her shattered as she reached the painting monsters. In her half-wolf form, she slashed them apart with her long werewolf claws.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Unlike the dinosaur they had fought earlier, these were smaller and weaker monsters. Once she cut them into many pieces, they could not regenerate in time. They exploded into colorful ink and died on the spot.

They left behind glistening, multicolored crystals, exactly what the group had come looking for. These crystals could provide vast amounts of energy, or they could be sold or used as materials to create magic weapons, armor, and more.

“Wow, shiny.”

As she marveled at the vibrant colors, more paintings charged at her and the rest of the team, preventing her from relaxing for even a second.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

“YEEHAW!”

A group of four cowboys riding horses made of abstract paintings galloped around them, firing their guns wildly.

“Ugh?!”

Frank groaned as he defended Elena and Harumi. The bullets pierced through his armor and magic barriers, striking his arm.

“Be careful! Their weapons can pierce armor and magic like it’s nothing!”

“Frank! Are you okay?!” Harumi asked.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I can heal myself,” Frank replied.

His aura surged as he summoned his Celestial Spear once more and channeled a mysterious angelic power that quickly healed his wounds.

Elena had grown quite curious about his powers and how he could do such a thing. Was he an angel? A saint of some sort? Or something else entirely? She would have to find out later. Right now, things were far too dire.

“Okay, first we take down the cowboys!” Elena ordered.

“Then we deal with the rest,” Harumi nodded.

The rest of the team handled several other strange paintings. The simpler stretchy ones did not take long to defeat, but the more conceptual ones, embodying entire landscapes, were far more bizarre.

“What the hell is this?!” Elisa gasped.

“It’s like it’s twisting this dimension or something!” Monica said.

Three landscape paintings attacked them: one of a forest, another of a mountain, and the last of a night sky.

All three transformed into abstract masses of living paint, twisted and distorted even further. Black and demonic trees surged forward, aiming to impale their bodies. A gigantic mountain rose up as stone and debris rained down on them. The night itself became a shadow specter that spread darkness, seeking to harm their souls and curse them.

“I guess it’s time we bring our friend here, right Monica?” Elisa asked.

“I-I guess so!” Monica nodded.

Both girls quickly combined their auras. Something began to emerge from the empty air. The three landscape paintings did not seem to notice until the space above the girls cracked open, revealing a portal.

From that portal, a pair of sharp red eyes glanced out, followed by a monstrous roar.

“GRYYAAARRRR!”

A black and gold three-headed dragon suddenly stepped through. It had reduced its size to preserve energy and fit inside the distorted museum, yet it was still as large as the dinosaur they had fought earlier.

“Obsidian, fight for us please!”

“Yeah!”

“Hey, he’s technically my familiar!” Anna complained from a distance as she summoned all her other familiars to join the fight.

“Nuh-uh, we contracted him together, all three of us! He’s too strong for you to contract alone anyway!” Elisa laughed.

“He’s our shared familiar! Hehe!” Monica giggled.

While the girls bantered, Obsidian used his giant draconic claws to tear apart the twisted domains of the landscape paintings. Their elemental attacks vanished almost instantly.

“ROOOAAR!”

The beast unleashed a powerful roar and released black thunder from all three jaws, completely decimating the paintings until nothing remained but small, colorful crystal cores.

“Woah, right! I forgot you girls had that thing!” Matsuo said.

“You really did tame one of these new paint monsters then!” Harumi added.

“But how is this a paint? It looks like a giant dragon!” Erika screamed as Obsidian glared at her. “Hey, wait! I’m not food!”

She panicked and dodged his jaws, but his three masters only laughed.

“Don’t worry, he was just trying to lick you,” Monica laughed.

“He’s very affectionate, you know,” Elisa added.

“Nnngh, damn brats!” Erika clenched her teeth.

She quickly avoided several incoming attacks from behind, below, and above. The stretchy paintings were coming for her again.

“Ugh, again with you guys?! I’m going to tear you to shreds!”

As she charged at them, Elena and Harumi dodged bullets flying at incredible speeds while closing in on the galloping cowboys.

“YEEHAAAW!”

One of the cowboys charged straight at Elena on his horse.

“NEIGH!”

The horse’s legs were about to crush her, but Elena was faster. She swung her katana in a single smooth draw and cut through both the cowboy and the horse.

SLAAASH!

Faint white light flashed from her sword for a brief moment. Harumi watched in surprise as Elena dispatched the monster in mere seconds.

“Was that…?!” Harumi wondered.

“Indeed, that was a millenary technique, Master,” Yasuke responded. “Your friend Elena seems to be an incredible swordswoman!”

“Hoh…” Harumi smiled as she pulled a pair of black and red knives from her shadows. “It almost feels like she’s different from before. Was she training?”

RUMBLE!

Harumi cut through the sound barrier in a single step, showcasing her vastly superior vampiric physique, abilities, and senses. She left Elena behind and swung her knives at the cowboy paintings.

Bullets rushed toward her, but her knives parried or sliced them apart with ease. Then she leaped high into the air and landed directly on one cowboy’s head, crushing him into the ground with both legs.

The cowboys struggled and fired at point-blank range.

Harumi took the hits without flinching. The wounds that should have torn through her barely affected her. The holes in her stomach regenerated almost instantly.

“Frank is too overprotective of me because I am his girlfriend, but we vampires do not have to worry about the weapons you humans have made.”

Harumi revealed more of her often-hidden vampiric nature. She smiled coldly and stabbed the two cowboys until they died, vomiting colorful ink everywhere. Their bodies slowly melted into puddles of ink, leaving behind the precious crystals.

Meanwhile, Elena cut through the fourth cowboy using her katana drawing technique. She swiftly shifted her stances according to every threat she faced.

From Fire, to Wind, to Mist, to Earth, she moved, attacked, and defended with effortless grace.

In one fluid motion, she sliced through the cowboy’s entire body and split him apart.

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