Reborn: Apocalypse Ready. War Goddess by My Side novel Chapter 5

The Bloodfang Rat charged straight at them with its massive jaws wide open.
Steven reacted almost entirely on instinct.
He shoved Bianca and Vanessa away with all his strength.
This was the instinct he'd built over decades as an Awakened.
The Bloodfang Rat turned and started to lunge at him.
Steven pushed his body to its absolute limit, exploding forward with every ounce of strength he had as he dropped into a slide, barely dodging the beast's attack by a hair.
The Bloodfang Rat crashed past him.
Then immediately turned its head and locked onto the three of them again.
Steven knew he had to take the initiative now. Otherwise, either Vanessa or Bianca would definitely die here.
And now he finally understood why Bianca had disappeared for an entire week in his previous life.
This had to be the night both of her parents died at the hands of the Bloodfang Rats.
That was why she'd spent the rest of her life alone, with no family left beside her.
Why she'd thrown herself into slaughtering beasts like her life depended on it.
With no time to think, Steven burst forward and charged directly at the Bloodfang Rat.
He knew the odds were completely stacked against him. But he still had to do it.
From his waist, he pulled out a short dagger that gleamed coldly in the darkness.
It was the weapon his grandfather, Brian Fisher, had given him for self-defense.
He gripped the dagger in a forward attack stance.
A killing posture refined through decades of combat experience.
In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of the Bloodfang Rat.
The Bloodfang Rat spread its claws wide and lunged straight at Steven.
Its razor-sharp claws tore toward him.
Steven seized the opening, stomped hard off the ground, twisted sideways into a roll, and slid behind the Bloodfang Rat.
Then he drove the dagger down hard.
The blade ripped through the creature's hide, carving a long, bloody wound across its rear flank as blood splashed out.
The pain instantly drove the Bloodfang Rat berserk.
It let out a shrill screech.
Now, its full attention was locked onto Steven alone.
It charged at him again in a frenzy.
Steven stayed calm. At a time like this, panic meant death. He had to stay focused and accurately predict the Bloodfang Rat's attack patterns.
With his current physical condition, if the Bloodfang Rat caught even one opening, he was dead.
He pushed himself to dodge with everything he had while searching for chances to strike back.
Thankfully, the dagger Brian had given him was no ordinary weapon. It could actually slice through the hide of a level 1 Bloodfang Rat with ease.
That gave him a chance to survive.
Man and beast clashed wildly beneath the cover of night as darkness slowly swallowed their visibility.
Meanwhile, Vanessa quickly crawled over to Bianca after falling to the ground earlier.
Bianca was still completely frozen, overwhelmed with panic.
Her mind replayed nothing but the horrifying image of Howard being bitten by the Bloodfang Rat.
"Bianca! Bianca!"
Vanessa shook her hard.
Only then did Bianca finally snap out of her shock.
"Mom! He..." Tears streamed down Bianca's face.
Vanessa was crying just as hard. She knew very well that her drunken husband was most likely already dead.
"Bianca, we need to go now. We have to find help. Steven..."
Hearing that, Bianca suddenly came back to her senses.
She immediately looked toward Steven, who was still desperately fighting the Bloodfang Rat.
Anxious panic filled her chest. If not for her family's mess, Steven never would've gotten dragged into something this dangerous.
"Steven! Watch out!"
As Bianca watched the brutal battle between man and beast, shock flooded her heart.
Steven can actually hold out this long?
How is that even possible?
Is Steven really only a B-rank in combat?
Impossible. Even the A-rank students at school probably can't do what he's doing right now.
In the darkness, Steven looked like a completely different person.
Again and again, he left fresh wounds across the Bloodfang Rat's body.
Thankfully, Bloodfang Rats had low intelligence and fought almost entirely on instinct.
If it had been a different kind of beast, Steven probably would've already been in serious trouble since he still hadn't awakened his Divine Sigil.
Blood poured nonstop from the Bloodfang Rat's body.
Steven himself was already gasping heavily for breath.
He was exhausted. His current body simply couldn't keep up anymore.
Then, in the next instant, the crazed Bloodfang Rat whipped its tail violently toward Steven.
The strike came like a savage steel whip and slammed directly into Steven's chest.
Bang!
Steven was sent flying more than ten yards away.
"Ah! Steven!" Bianca cried out in horror.
She ran toward Steven without caring about anything else.
Steven coughed up a mouthful of blood as his entire body trembled violently, the crushing pain in his chest making his vision blur.
Damn it, am I really going to die to this thing right after reincarnating?
He stared darkly at the Bloodfang Rat.
Then he saw Bianca running toward him.
Steven panicked instantly.
"Don't come over here! Run!"
The Bloodfang Rat let out a sharp screech and locked onto Bianca instead. It seemed to realize that Steven was difficult to deal with and decided to switch targets.
The moment Steven noticed that, he forced himself back to his feet like a madman and sprinted toward Bianca.
The Bloodfang Rat moved too.
It charged straight toward Bianca.
At that moment, Vanessa completely lost her composure.
"Bianca!!"
Bianca finally realized the Bloodfang Rat was rushing directly at her.
Her face turned deathly pale.
As she watched the Bloodfang Rat, towering two or three heads above her, leap toward her.
Her mind went blank. Despair swallowed her whole. Am I really gonna die here tonight?
"Move!"
Steven's sharp shout snapped her out of her daze.
Then Bianca saw Steven slam himself into the Bloodfang Rat from the side.
He forcibly knocked the beast slightly off course.
Man and beast crashed to the ground right beside Bianca.
Her face was white as paper, frozen completely in place.
But the Bloodfang Rat's tail whipped across violently and sent Bianca flying.
Bianca spat out blood the instant she hit the ground.
At that moment, Steven's eyes turned bloodshot.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
Steven raised the dagger and drove it wildly toward the Bloodfang Rat's heart.
At the same instant, the Bloodfang Rat opened its jaws and bit directly into his shoulder.
Crunch!
The dagger plunged into the Bloodfang Rat's heart, and Steven viciously twisted the blade several times.
The unbearable pain drove the Bloodfang Rat completely insane.
Still clamped onto Steven's shoulder, it lifted him high into the air, trying to smash him to death.
But its heart had already been shredded apart. Its strength rapidly faded.
After convulsing several times, the Bloodfang Rat collapsed to the ground with Steven still in its jaws as the savage crimson glow slowly faded from its eyes.
The Bloodfang Rat's body twitched weakly on the ground a few more times before finally going still.
Vanessa stared at the bloody mess around her.
Then she ran toward Bianca like she'd lost her mind.
"Bianca!!"
Vanessa hurriedly helped Bianca back up.
Blood trickled from the corner of Bianca's mouth, her face pale and weak as she looked toward Steven.
"S-Steven..."
Vanessa sobbed uncontrollably.
Bianca struggled to stand and tried to go toward Steven.
Steven lay on the ground with the Bloodfang Rat's fangs still piercing through his shoulder, the agonizing pain nearly knocking him unconscious.
But he couldn't pass out. He knew there was no guarantee that more Bloodfang Rats weren't nearby. The smell of blood could easily lure more over.
Using his free hand with great difficulty, he pried apart the Bloodfang Rat's jaws.
The wet sound of fangs being pulled from flesh echoed clearly through the night.
Gritting his teeth tightly, he ignored the blood pouring from his shoulder.
Then he forced himself back to his feet.
His entire upper body was already soaked red with blood.
Pulling the dagger free, he staggered step by step toward Bianca.
Bianca burst into tears.
"Steven!"
Seeing that Bianca was alright, Steven finally relaxed slightly.
He lifted a hand, wanting to touch her face and comfort her, but his movement stopped halfway. It felt like crossing a line he hadn't earned yet.
Bianca noticed too. A sudden spark jolted through her, and she quickly grabbed his hand herself.
Steven gave a bitter smile. "You okay?"
Tears flooded Bianca's eyes as she shook her head repeatedly. "I'm fine."
Steven's face was deathly pale. "We need to go."
Vanessa hurriedly supported both Steven and Bianca as they prepared to leave.
Then the black-robed Peter suddenly appeared and immediately saw the dead Bloodfang Rat lying nearby.
Then he looked at Steven and the others, shock flashing through his heart.
Dead?
And they actually survived?
"Olivia, notify Darlene to come to my location immediately. Civilians are injured. Both Bloodfang Rats have been eliminated!"
Hearing that, Steven turned his head with difficulty and glanced at the black-robed Peter.
Finally, he relaxed.
Then everything went black, and he collapsed unconscious on the spot.
"Steven!!"
"Steven!!"