Wonderful Insane World-Chapter 73: Animal Obsession

Élisa’s POV

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Before they even realized it, not a single enemy was left standing.

Élisa was the last to finish off a demonling, driving both daggers into the creature’s temples as it writhed on the ground. It spasmed one last time... then went still.

But at that exact moment, a high-pitched whistle split the air.

Élisa hit the ground in a feral reflex.

The whip sliced through the space just above her head and cracked farther off, with a sharp snap as violent as a gunshot.

Her eyes widened in horror. She sprang up, frantically searching for Dylan and Maggie.

And what she saw froze her in place.

Farther away, Dylan stood upright, a deep red gash slashed across his chest. His machete was split in two — sliced clean, like butter. His eyes looked distant, stunned. Maggie, meanwhile, had thrown herself flat just in time.

But all around them...

The trees.

Sliced in half, as if made of paper.

One by one, they began to collapse with a dull rumble, a chaotic crash of splintering wood and cracking branches.

And there — in the distance — Élisa saw the tall silhouette of the horned demonling.

Its thin tail slowly retracted, still vibrating from the blow it had just delivered.

This one wasn’t like the others.

It didn’t look possessed. Not even bothered by the death of its kin.

On the contrary.

Its laugh had changed.

Sharper. More shrill.

More maniacal.

Élisa felt her heart hammering in her chest like an anvil under a smith’s strike.

That laugh...

It wasn’t just cruel. Or mocking.

It was the laugh of someone who knew exactly what they were doing. And who knew they were going to win.

She gripped her daggers, palms slick, breath short.

For a split second, her thoughts flicked to Dylan — charming Dylan, who should’ve been panicking after being grazed by that slicing whip, whose machete had been cut clean like it was nothing. And to Maggie, already rolling to the side, getting back into position.

They had survived an entire swarm of these freaks.

But this thing? This was something else.

A leader, maybe. Or worse... Élisa couldn’t pretend to understand what this abomination was.

All she knew was that it was dangerous.

She took a step. Just one.

Enough for it to notice.

The creature turned its head slowly toward her, a twisted smile spread across its cracked lips, fangs glinting in the light filtered through the falling canopy. Its horns pulsed, as if echoing the beat of some invisible heart.

Élisa didn’t move.

Instinct screamed at her to stay still.

But something deeper burned within — like every part of her wanted to run.

But right now, that wasn’t the best option.

Turning her back on a creature like this — one that could turn its tail into a whip, extend it at will, slice trees like straw — would be suicide.

And then —

Something yanked her violently back by the collar. She stumbled, startled.

It was a strong, iron-tight grip.

She realized it was Maggie who had grabbed her.

Élisa opened her mouth to protest, but already, next to her, Dylan was running. Limping slightly, but still fast.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she shouted, panicked, not daring to turn her back on the creature whose tail was already twitching like a blade ready to strike.

"We need as many obstacles as possible between us and that freak!" Maggie yelled over the din.

And just then, Maggie suddenly dove to the ground, dragging Élisa down with her.

"GET DOWN!!!" Dylan roared, throwing himself flat without a second thought.

Another whipcrack tore the air.

Faster than lightning.

The tail cut through the space they’d just occupied half a second earlier. It slammed into a trunk behind them, which exploded like glass under pressure.

Shards of bark flew. A rain of splinters fell over them like a storm of debris, as they rolled to avoid the falling trunk.

As they heard the whip’s hiss retracting, the three of them sprang up at once and bolted. No words. No time to think.

They plunged deeper into the forest, branches lashing their faces, roots reaching to trip them at every step.

Élisa’s heart was pounding out of control.

But not just from fear.

From rage.

They’d risked everything to survive that swarm of beasts, and even then, they wouldn’t get a single damn anima gem to show for it.

But she had no time to dwell on it.

Behind them, silence fell.

A silence more terrifying than the screams.

Until a crack echoed.

Then another.

The whipping had stopped.

The creature wasn’t swinging its tail anymore.

It was running.

No — leaping.

Using the vines like grappling hooks, it launched itself from tree to tree — fast, precise, relentless. Each landing shook the canopy above their heads. Dead leaves rained down like autumn had come early.

"Shit, it’s chasing us like a goddamn rabid monkey!" Dylan spat between ragged breaths.

"Shut up and run!" Maggie snapped, not even looking back.

A whistle slashed the air — closer this time.

A vine snapped taut above their heads, then broke with a sharp crack.

The demonling had missed a grab.

But not for long.

Élisa could feel it. It was gaining.

Her eyes darted around in panic.

They wouldn’t last much longer out in the open.

"There!" she shouted suddenly.

She pointed toward a denser section of the forest. The trees there grew so close together they almost merged, tangled in thorny vines.

Not welcoming in the slightest.

But maybe — just maybe — it wouldn’t be any easier for the creature.

Without waiting for a reply, she veered off, daggers clenched in her sweat-slicked hands.

The others followed, breath short, adrenaline and spiritual essence their only fuel.

Behind them, the demonling let out a high-pitched cackle.

A twisted, unnatural sound that echoed between the trunks like a blade scraping against stone.

It wasn’t letting go.

As if it was driven not by anger...

But by hunger. Or some perverse obsession.

An animalistic, terrifying urge to catch them.