Isher Notra

Gentō:

He finally comprehended the distress he caused every time he flipped those cows as a prank. Thankfully, a red, horned, built like a damn mountain herdswoman ran to save his sorry fanny, much to the plaza tiles' dismay.

"Reminds me every time you pranked Mr. Akov by flipping his cattle," Hanaken observed, smiling while reversing him back to his feet with ease. Even with limitless power, he wasn't short on weaknesses to supply his need for comrades. Such was life...

"I thought the exact same thing!" Gentō's trunk wrapped around a broken ice blade and removed it from his thick hide. "You have the exact same build as him nowadays!"

"Aw. That's the nicest thing you've said to me..." The Oni put her hand on her chest, stretching the other towards a charging puppet. It quickly had an interesting encounter with a sneaky earth pillar, bashing its face on it before a massive rock fell from the sky and terminated its sorry existence. "I could get used to the gentler Gentō."

"You'd better earn this side of me, dear!" the Baku cackled, drenching his voice in dignity as he basked in the chaos around him. However, his grin was turned upside down when he glimpsed a black, tendrilled dome at the foot of one of Chikukei's hills.

"The sorceress's lackey!" Gentō cried, huffing a cloud of sparkly smoke. "With me, Hanaken!"

Before his hoof left the floor, the ground beneath shook violently, enough for the imposing duo of beefcakes to brace themselves lest they suffer an embarrassing fall. A gargantuan Saniya signature appeared at the edges of his natural radar, intensifying alarmingly.

"SAVE YOURSELF, HANAKEN! I'LL HOLD-"

He shut himself up as his hooves left the tiles, his comrade's arms lifting him atop her head, bolting out of danger. Unfortunately, her horns wouldn't stop poking his belly, much to his discomfort.

"I'M NOT A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS, YOU ROBUST CLOD!" Gentō flailed his snout in the air like an elder shaking his fists at some whippersnappers. "NO ONE PUTS FEAR IN THE MIGHTY-"

A colossal worm, covered in vines, roots, and fire lilies, especially the gigantic one replacing its head, burst to the surface, forming a crater that rivaled the damage Gentō did a few minutes ago. The monster breathed a dreadful stream of flames from its "mouth." Once the infernal beacon captured everyone's attention, including the puppets, the bland sky took on a mesmerizing tone of orange.

"Holdmeimscared," he whimpered.

"It would be my pleasure, but..." the Oni murmured as she raised her tree trunks for arms higher, then bent them as if about to throw her companion.

"W-W-Wait!" His legs wobbled with despair. "What are you doing?! That didn't work against-"

"Nah. I'm feeling this will be different." She chuckled before roaring at the top of her lungs. "BAKU BOMB! COMING UP!!!"

And so, the almighty beast of nightmares was thrown at an even more enormous monster whose flower head rapidly focused on the incoming, living projectile!

Gentō's heart hammered when he saw the faux worm's elongated mouth, similar to a fruit fly's proboscis, liberating a cloud of smoke as an immense quantity of Saniya gathered inside.

Nevertheless, he was face-to-face with either humiliating defeat or the most glorious triumph that would be engraved in the hearts and minds of everyone in Sayama! It was make-or-break for his reputation!

"YOU DON'T FEAR ME, WORM?!" His Saniya erupted, circling him as momentum guided him towards the beast like a comet! "ALLOW ME TO EDUCATE YOU!!!"

Right before he could collide with it, a potent blaze shot from its "mouth," engulfing his vision.

Hari-onagu:

At long last... After a MONTH, Hari could fix the fatal flaw that derailed her dear friend's scheme. And to think that monster would deliver herself to them on a silver platter!

...

That did not make the slightest sense now that Hari had a brief moment of reflection. The Human's eyes flared with determination rather than surrender, even though she hid under her companion's shield. Was she delusional enough to think she could make a difference against them? Against Yuki-onna, especially now?!

No. Something must have been happening beyond what the Yūrei's senses could perceive. A cruel scheme, a trap to enclose her if she grew too reckless. Those girls were nothing but bait...

...

......

Or, perhaps... the intent was to make her think that... so they could buy their allies time? Making a plainly bad strategy as a cover to something grander...

Tch. Should Hari play it safe or go all out? Even if she opted for the latter, she would need to relocate that devil somewhere the pup couldn't follow. Otherwise, Yuki wouldn't forgive her for putting a child under such trauma.

Then again, would Yuki be bothered by it anymore? Even Hari had to admit she couldn't recognize her closest friend, practically a sister, for longer than she could admit.

How far did this ecological terrorism go from scarring children for life, anyway? Those thoughts sent tremors throughout her being, enough to match the actual earthquakes her partner's construct made all over Chikukei.

.........

The pale maiden's eyes focused on her shaking hands while the internal monologue took hold of her senses. However, like the rest of her body, they stiffened once she relocated her attention back to her target... and only a hole in the floor was found.

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"No!" she shrieked, flying towards the crater with anxiety-filled resolve. How could she have left them-

A hand grasped her ankle, firmly holding her in place. With nerves at their breaking point, she instinctively turned her head to see the culprit - a slim Wolf's paw poking out between tiles.

No time for reaction was granted as the Yūrei wailed in agony from a horrifying pain in her gut! Her eyes glimpsed the accursed golden glow emanating from the demon brat's fist, pressuring her blood and bile to evacuate from her mouth.

Alas, this was the one weakness of her species that her hair was supposed to cover for. Their physical integrity, especially their resilience, was a complete joke. Since Hari-onagu rarely allowed herself to be caught off-guard, any direct strike on her scrawny body was fatal.

She cursed herself and her thoughts for this terminal failure, flying high in the air and wrapping herself in her mane in time to block what was definitely an air magic projectile, judging by the very familiar, subtle noise it made upon impact with her natural shield.

"You think I will allow you two to nake a fool out of ne for the second tine!?" Hari-onagu growled, her Saniya gathering in her gut, dulling the pain while she opened a small crack in her cocoon. "You foolish nongrels!"

Impatient to allow herself to heal completely, unwilling to give those miscreants one more second of advantage, her hair opened into a storm of black needles aimed directly at the Human!

Still, fate had an infuriating way to pull the rug under her feet. A monumental pile of Yuki-onna's ice puppets (only their severed limbs) flew in her barrage's path.

Hari's eye twitched. "WHO?!"

She was pushed aside by a speedy bullet striking her mane, the impact nullified by her steel-hard hair.

"Hello, ma'am!" The screechy voice of the Amikiri rang, followed by the irksome sound of his pincers constantly snapping. "Sorry to say, but I did not miss you!"

Hari groaned, the tips of her hair undulating and drifting slowly towards him. "The feeling is nutual..."

Before the tendrils wrapped around the flying nuisance, he clad himself in a veil of lime-green energy, dashing away from her mane with speed her eyes barely perceived. Still, she was too accustomed to sparring against true wind magic masters like the many generations of the White Steel clan to let herself be caught against his pecking attacks. Nevertheless, he was too nimble for her to get a firm grip, even with the countless weapons tied to her scalp.

"As far as nuisances go, you're not that weak!" Her hair split into four portions, her strands interweaving to form denser, more durable blades. "Take the traise and go defore I disnemder you!"

Of course, the jester wouldn't let up, bursting in wisps of green Saniya before lunging at her on all sides. Hari-onagu's follicular weapons repeatedly clashed against his beak, sparks flying upon friction as they danced frantically in the sky!

Finally, after one clumsy thrust, which he missed embarrassingly, Hari gained space to claim dominance in their clash, bombarding him with four natural blades at once!

With the advantage, she allowed her eyes to glimpse how her allies were faring on the ground for a split second. Although the numbers of Yuki-onna's ice puppets were reduced to about twenty, Hibagon's monstrous fire lily worm remained strong, ravaging the city with infernal fire blasts. The Baku, perceivable by his potent aura, rode and clung onto it for his dear life.

As planned, the bard distracted the most dangerous threat while she was left responsible for the decisive blow. How embarrassing to think her roadblock was the incompetent Amikiri, who was dealt with a single lightning spell from Captain Tash a month ago. The Human wasn't the only one who benefited from the free time...

Nevertheless, that was a moot point since the crustacean was finally pushed against a coop's wall, one of the buildings that housed Chikukei's population. She dived towards him, her eyes bleeding joy like a falcon, finding the right angle to strike its prey out of the air!

Alas, if only it would be that easy...

A huge rock, glowing bright with golden Saniya enveloping it, flew in her direction, forcing her to cleave it into two perfect halves with a single swing of one blade of hers!

Once again, the subtle noise of air being unnaturally dislocated as a magic projectile prickled her hearing before she positioned her deadly lock in its direction. However, what surprised her was the nature of the attack: a curling pup rotating at incredible momentum, inches from the impact!

These kids became bolder with each generation!

As if not enough to rile Hari up, the tween Wolf's curling attack, reminiscent of her uncle's technique to an irritating extent, relocated in midair, darting in multiple directions! The pale maiden pushed her reflexes to the limit to keep up with the child's pacing!

At first, it was but a distracting, irksome, yet uncomplicated task. However, once a barrage of Saniya-laced rocks was repeatedly flung at Hari, complementing each of the pup's advances, it became too much to bear. Each time, the stones rained upon her in a different direction. How in the world was the Human moving so fast!?

"NOT. ENOUGH!" Hari-onagu loudly proclaimed, cocooning herself in her own follicles. If the pup wanted to waste all her energy in these games, the Yūrei would gladly oblige!

...

......

Strange. Hari could not feel any attempt to strike her. Tizohi almighty, what if this was-

A potent pressure enveloped her, followed by the Amikiri's screeches.

"WE GOT HER!"

No!

"What are you waiting for?!" the Human shouted. "Move her away!"

As requested, the hairy Monoke felt the momentum of the crustacean transporting it to who knows where. She quickly compelled her hair to burst open and repel those pests. Unfortunately, the Amikiri's elongated body was long enough to press most of her natural shield.

The fatal issue lay in the weakness of her "Kera-steel" technique. Once she hardened her hair strands, they were forced to remain stagnant, or else the spell was negated. That meant if she tried to compel her hair to disperse those imbeciles, the Amikiri's "embrace" would reach and suffocate her. She could feel his strength through her follicles - enough to crush her bones the moment he grasped her. Besides, the damage would already be done if she tried to pierce his scales with a thousand black needles for a fatal blow.

In summary, she faced two choices: Ensure the demise of a couple of her enemies... or live to see another day.

Although she couldn't tell for sure that she'd end the Human and the Amikiri in the first scenario, Hari wasn't as committed to the Tizohi's Chosen's cause to plunge herself into certain death. She was here for Yuki, not for some sense of justice.

...

But wait. Her mind was struck with a third option, once unbound by desperation. All that strain the Amikiri pushed himself through to contain her would eventually lead him to exhaustion. While the same could be said for her, her technique wasn't nearly as draining after thousands of years of refinement. Compared to a greenhorn like him, who must have been put through real Saniya training for the first time, they were not cut from the same cloth.

Yes, she was not out of the game yet. She was only put on the bench for posteriority...

"I can barely sense any Saniya from Chikukei here!" the pup interjected.

"That means we're in the clear! Kreef, you can land now!" the devil in child's skin cried.

"Oh, thank you!" Already panting, the flying crustacean wailed as he slowly descended to ground level. Hari couldn't help but sigh in relief as her dainty feet found solace in the cold snow, almost as if Yuki was there to give her fortitude through this setback.

That was all that this blunder was - a distraction from the inevitable. Unless the odds blessed the trio of kidnappers with backup from the remnants of the Lycan Squad or other lucky guards, it was a matter of time before Hari-onagu could rejoin the fray and hunt the Human down!

Speaking of the devil...

"How much gas do you have in the tank?" she asked.

"I-I don't know!" Kreef answered between his uneven breaths. "Two minutes?! Three, at most!"

"Huh. What should we do till we wait?" the captain's daughter questioned, her voice casual, as if she wasn't facing a dangerous terrorist who could dice her partner into countless pieces!

...So, that was how Hari saw herself now. Took long enough to admit, but here she was. Depressing, to say the least.

"We... wait," the Human replied, followed by the noise of crushed snow. "We will need all the time we can get."

"Yup!" The same crunch as before. "I'll stay alert, boss!"

Were they... sitting on their asses while waiting for Hari? Even though the Human had the PERFECT chance to escape?!

Those idiotic fu-