Isher Notra

"This is my nightmare all over again..."

Stella, Lien, Hanaken, and Kreef scouted ahead for any movements from Yuki-onna's puppet army, marching throughout the artificial winter. The Human's boots compressed the snow with loud crunches, only surpassed by the Oni's gigantic bare feet, which formed craters worthy of study for meteoritics. Yes, there is a science to study meteors alone. Why wouldn't there be?

After Stella was put to sleep by the Baku for the thousandth time, her dream, which was so brief she couldn't remember a sliver of it, was consumed by him, granting her a long period of rest for her mind within the limitless confines of the void of her conscience. After all those hours of action with dreadful thoughts of her future in between, she welcomed the nothingness like a sweet, old, lonely grandma welcoming strangers to her home.

Afterward, she had woken up to the sound of the tragic victims of winter being freed from their icy bindings by the fire-breathing, somewhat recovered Basan, who carefully exhaled their flames powerfully but concentrated in a single spot like a blowtorch so it could cut the frozen shell open without piercing deep enough to hit fur or feathers.

A shame the Triple F couldn't recover fast enough to join their assault. At least they had backup when things inevitably became dicey, though anyone would prefer a more reliable lineup.

Speaking of, the lack of news about the Knight fanned the flames of restlessness in Stella by the second. A few hours earlier, while they were on their way to the cavern, the Trouble Troop mentioned their reunion with Asra and Lien's mother and what the duo were about to do before going their separate ways.

Fighting Yuki-onna herself on their own? Fucking why, Asra...?

"Shit..." she muttered, berating herself for only thinking about her guardian at this moment. He took it upon himself to waste his little free time tutoring Stella physically and intellectually. At this point, she cared for him deeply, second only to her beloved Lien.

What if... What if last night was the last time she'd see him?

The freezing cold, combined with overpowering dread, began to catch up to the Human girl's body, which was more than familiar with the overwhelming void of warmth night after night. Still, she could only take it so far, as proven by her constant need to brace herself for warmth.

She could've reached out to her furry girlfriend, who hopped in the snow while bearing a gleeful smile, reveling in how the flakes that formed the wintery blanket spread through her coat. Only the thought made the Human's body conjure some heat by itself...

However, her pride could not allow it, not while the hulking wall of red muscles in front of her strode unshaken by the cold hell. Damn you, Ogre/Oni physiology! How dare you push her to unhealthy patterns?!

Regardless, her discomfort was nothing compared to what transpired behind the quartet. Gentō and Venghaan were locked in a verbal match ever since they saw a black bird flying by and started discussing whether it was a raven or a large-billed crow. The escalation of the "argument" was as snappy as Asra's Lightspeed.

Ugh. Stella could still hear them, even from a distance. Poor Hanaken and Lien...

"I'VE LIVED THROUGH 640 YEARS! I'VE SEEN ENOUGH RAVENS TO CALL A MURDER A MASSACRE!!!" Gentō screamed at the top of his lungs. "THAT BIRD IS A FEW INCHES TOO SMALL TO BE ONE!"

"YOUR AGE ONLY MAKES YOUR VISION ALL THE MORE UNRELIABLE, YOU OLD FART! I'M SURPRISED YOU CAN EVEN KEEP YOUR BOWELS TOGETHER!" The general followed suit.

The dream stealer audibly gasped. "LET ME TELL YOU, I'M AT THE PRIME OF MY LIFE IN BAKU YEARS!"

"That's what I've said to my grandpa on his deathbed. Doesn't make it true!"

"Oh, I bet he made a great chicken curry once he perished!"

"Oh, you fu-"

And they were wrestling in the snow... Goody...

At least, it was entertaining. Besides, the passion in the buffoons' eyes as they bit/pecked each other's ankles looked somewhat romantic...

Ah, she missed Locci. Another dear friend, and his life was on the line, alongside Euraidd and Hufen...

...

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

......

Hanaken's whistle pulled Stella back from her introspective pity party. How much time did she waste on spectating?

"You'd better pick a group to stick close to, kid!" the Oni warned, already standing tall alongside Kreef and Lien at the top of a hill. "Also, Chikukei is in full view! Better warn Dumb and Dumbass while you're there!"

Stella considered disturbing the quarreling couple, now standing inches apart, locked in a soul-draining stare competition. Meanwhile, the rest of the Basan walked past them without batting an eye, not even for their general.

On second thought, they can resolve their differences in the background for the good of everyone else's sanity.

Lacing Saniya on the soles of her boots, Stella anchored her feet on the sloping terrain with low-level earth magic, prompting her to effortlessly traverse up the hill. Her eyes lowered to see the whitened rows of shriveled fire lilies - the open wound that vibrantly festered over Mother Earth was now cauterized and left as faint scar tissue, a tragic reminder of the past. Out of respect, the Human refrained from stepping on the beautiful flora, her guilt building and rippling through the pits of her conscience with each meter crossed.

That feeling reached a natural zenith once she joined the other sentries at the hilltop and...

...

She witnessed the tragically rapid decline of the Great City of Bamboo.

Chikukei's plaza, once full of movement and noise, was emptied, making the red tiles' pattern visible: a fierce-looking Basan head with a flame-shaped crest—the same sigil emblazoned on the Gunka Army's armor. The green hills and most of the buildings were overtaken by winter white, except for the grand Coop of the Chōkō, whose golden statue remained the sole beacon of hope for the return of a brighter, recent past.

"T-To do all this in less than a day..." Kreef whispered, trembling with cold while clinging and coiling around Hanaken's arm.

"I loathe that wench, but still..." The Oni scoffed. "Horrifying..."

Stella wrapped her arms tighter around herself, her eyes never leaving Chikukei. "Where are the puppets?"

"Can't you see the tiny blue spots on the plaza?" The brute pointed to the distance.

The Human narrowed her eyes, adjusting her search to the Oni's instructions. A few blue glints caught her sight, which were soon discerned as either Yuki-onna's walking constructs or statues of fallen guards.

"How do we know they're not the poor bastards Yuki froze?" Stella questioned.

Lien's foot restlessly tapped on the snow, her ears and tail frantically darting to all sides. "It's hard to tell. I can feel a faint signature that seems like Yuki-onna's, but there are so many other Saniya close to it!"

"I think that's the residents," Stella assumed.

Hanaken nodded as a couple of Basan guards finally caught up to them, their stares weary and anxious.

"That might be it." The Oni smiled while her titanic hand patted the pup's head. "Sensing any Saniya from this distance is something else, pup! Well done!"

Lien giggled in response, her tail wagging with such eagerness that a wave of jealousy crashed upon Stella with the might of Poseidon.

"Okay!" The Human pushed Hanaken's wrist away with both hands, exerting a similar effort to when she trained her core strength against Dwayne. "Holy shit. Are you made out of rocks?"

"I wish!" The Oni cackled, carrying a puckish intent in her voice. "Curb your jealousy, kid! As if I'd be interested in a puny runt like her!"

"You think I want to be with Ms. Hanaken?" Lien broke into a lengthy, reverberating laughter that never seemed to cease. Stella's eyes met Hanaken's, whose expression was a mask of awkwardness.

"Hurtful," the brute muttered as Kreef disentangled himself from her arm, then hovered around the pup with concerned eyes.

Her chest heaved rapidly as she fell to her knees on the snow, then lay down before finally soothing herself.

"That's the roughest rejection I've seen someone else go through," Kreef commented.

"Someone else?" Stella raised an eyebrow, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Kreef's eyes widened as he stared at the floor, his elongated body trembling and his claws slowly snapping. "Dating in the Nexus is worse than being subjected to Tizohi's wrath."

"Tell me about it." Hanaken crossed her arms, scoffing. "I still remember the aquatic wench that put me through the wringer before my gigantification kicked in..."

"I got some experience with aquatic windbags myself," Stella interjected, wanting to be included. "She wasn't that bad in the end, though."

"Lucky you." The Oni sighed, slumping her shoulders as she looked around the Gunka Army. "What is taking the two damsels so long-"

Everyone sprang as a rotund blur yelled to the high heavens.

"SAVIOR OF CHIKUKEI, INCOMING!!!"

Gentō, naked as the day he was born, rolled down the hill, a layer of snow clinging onto his fur, growing thicker as he picked up speed until he was encased inside a gigantic snowball!

Element of surprise? Poppycock!

"Is he gonna stop?" Stella questioned.

Suddenly, Venghaan sprinted past her, following his boyfriend-rival downhill, his voice ringing loud and proud.

"SOLDIERS! JOIN US IN MELTING THIS FROZEN HELL!!!"

The Gunka Army quickly complied, straightening their posture as their gloomy demeanor was replaced promptly by dutiful discipline before they heeded their general.

The sentries... observed, completely motionless.

"Should we follow them?" Lien bolted back to her feet.

Hanaken lazily waved her hand. "Nah. Let the boys have their fun."

The snowball ceased at the center of Chikukei's barren plaza. Quickly, tiny specs of blue light coalesced onto it, and the doubts about their identity were utterly gone, reduced to atoms.

The Oni sat down. "We'll be in the eye of the storm. Better let it calm down a little bit."

Stella joined her. "You sure about-"

Countless light beams broke through the spherical snow shell, followed by a mighty, mesmerizing explosion of pink and purple Saniya! It sent a shockwave that struck all the way to their location, forcing Stella to hold tight to the Oni's meaty biceps!

"FUCK!"

Lien anchored herself to the floor with her claws, standing on all fours while Kreef... Uh...

Well, he couldn't react fast enough, pushed back to Namadi-knows-where.

...

Stella hoped that the Baku bastard survived long enough for her to stomp his balls into a paste.