Isher Notra

Hanaken:

That might have been the weirdest rodeo she had ever seen.

Her Baku companion, now almost as tall as her while walking on all fours, awkwardly rode a colossal serpent-like being made out of plants, not too dissimilar from the giant bamboo wolf he had fought a month ago, by attaching his tusks to the artificial beast. Meanwhile, it slithered throughout Chikukei's enormous plaza, desecrating the place with unbound destruction. The soles of her feet tingled with each devastating tremor caused when the worm's tail slammed on the ground, pushing away the entire battalion of Basan soldiers and Yuki-onna puppets. How depressing to see her enemies resorting to friendly fire.

Of all the folks from Yuki-onna's posse, the Oni loathed the thought of clashing against the Daien for the second time the most, even before he had shown such raw power with his latest creation. His techniques were too flexible and unpredictable with each subsequent encounter to create a definite countermeasure.

Sweat dripped from her cheek as she watched Gentō's aura fluctuating in intensity like a dying candle. The fool had burned through most of his Saniya reserves in less than a minute when he demolished ninety percent of the puppet army. Impressive as it was that he still performed this well, it was only a matter of time before he met his limit.

Sure enough, that wall was met when the Baku pulled off his last trump card - right after his aura's brightness peaked, a colossal purple cloud quickly swallowed the monstrous construct and slowly severed its contact with the floor! He had expelled trillions of microscopic energy particles, which together had enough strength to lift a beast as tall as any building in Chikukei.

The tremors were resolved, but the beast's fire-breathing remained as lethal as ever, repelling any Gunka Army soldier with a wall of conflagration thrice the Oni's size!

The bard was going above and beyond to not claim any lives. Murder is a humorous line to not cross after committing the mother of all terrorist acts.

"Damn it..." She sealed her fists while her muscles swelled and throbbed. "H-How can I even stand up against this thing?!"

The memories of Yuki-onna's ambush on her and her comrades resurfaced. The helplessness claimed a larger territory within her mind, fueling the frustration surging through her veins. She thought these insecurities ended once she started her gigantification phase. Even if the titan's fire breath wasn't much of an issue for her extremely temperature-resistant Oni skin, its sheer mass and power made it impossible for her to compete. She was nothing but an ant close to a mountain.

...

On second thought, perhaps the Oni shouldn't brush off ants so quickly. Not only did a single one possess strength vastly superior to its weight, but its true potential came from its numbers! And now, all she could see around her was a rag-tag group of scared, scrambled, fire-breathing ants desperate for guidance!

And the loudest of them all was mere inches from her.

"IMBECILES! REGROUP! TO ME!"

The Basan soldiers returned to their leader one by one, visibly spent but nowhere near their state back in the cavern. However, Hanaken noticed that there were two fewer than before.

"Have you seen Obeg and Korban?!" Venghaan marched around them, demanding answers with urgency.

A Basan trooper, leaner than his cohorts, puffed his chest and opened one of his wings. "They were both taken by the puppets, sir! I've seen them being relocated to the Fuyu Coop!"

Venghaan bawked loudly, sending a short stream of fire upon a tile, strong enough to melt it into a sizzling puddle. "That's just what we needed! Fewer men!!!"

The Oni shook her head, deciding to let her despair be privy only to herself, aggravated by no sign from her Baku comrade after his Saniya cloud stunt.

...

......

It seemed like the spell's use had outlived itself. The shimmering purple was slowly replaced by a sickening tone of green. The cloud itself was swelling and rippling in a restless rhythm.

"HEY!" she yelled at the Basan, who quickly paid attention to her. "Your break is over!" She pointed at the monster. "Look!"

The general shook upon watching the twilight of their brief respite. "SOLDIERS! WITH ME!" The small flock dashed to surround Hanaken, their orange and red Saniya erupting as if she were standing amidst ceremonial pyres.

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The forest green layer of energy pushed the outer purple cloud to the limit, its shadow looming over half of the city. It didn't take a genius to realize the reaction that would transpire once that balloon finally popped.

"GUNKA PYRE FORMATION: SPIRAL!!!" Venghaan bawked, his voice like a thousand daggers in the Oni's sensitive ear, conjuring an enormous barrier that covered them all. Then, a fiery vortex surrounded the spell, too bright and broad to glimpse what occurred before them.

"NO!!!" Hanaken roared. "Gentō's still out there, you fools! We-"

"The Baku took responsibility for this siege if you recall!" the general retorted. "I'm sorry, but not everyone will survive a conflict of this magnitude!"

Oh, that pompous, cowardly CHICKEN!

"Let me OUT!" she demanded, stomping her foot down. "If you're not gonna do something, allow ME!"

Venghaan gasped. "You belong in an asylum! Are you aware of the damage that amount of energy will bring you?! You might as well write your own obituary!"

Hanaken wasn't listening to a word from the bastard's beak. His screeches energized her anger. Her stomps became more and more powerful, tipping the balance of everyone around her.

"HE IS MY BEST FRIEND! IT'S MY CHOICE!!!" Tears trickle down her cheeks. "I CAN'T FAIL HIM AGAIN! PLEASE!!!"

Venghaan's eyes softened, a shred of compassion seeping through, which broke Hanaken from the haze. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Sincerely, I know this isn't fair. But your friend won't be happy when you join him in the shadows for an avoidable demise." He placed the tip of his wing on his chest, closing his eyes solemnly. "We honor the dead through living, not following in their footsteps."

Hanaken... couldn't find a way to twist his reasoning to fuel her suicidal will. Such wise words coming from the pretentious general strongly blindsided her.

She wasn't sure what to do with herself. She was the one who launched her best friend at the worm in the first place. His blood would be splattered on her hands as well...

That was until an earthquake threatened the stability of her own legs. Forest green light beams pierced through the Gunka Army's flames as faint wisps.

"Brace yourself, Oni!" Venghaan's aura flared, the barrier shimmering in response.

After regaining her touch on the sensitive world, Hanaken shook her head. "No. I'll do better." She walked to the dome and pressed her palm on its warm surface. Transferring her Saniya and adding to the spell's output, she could at least ensure fewer casualties at the end of the day. That was what Gentō would've done. His paper-thin ego aside, he only wanted to contribute to society as a hero.

Perhaps Hanaken should pursue that in his honor. Hah. What a silly thought.

Thankfully, the shockwave never directly struck the protective spell. What the bard intended, it mattered little to none.

Hanaken's heart raced as the flames and the dome flickered away, expecting a gargantuan crater before her eyes.

As the group carefully trod forward, the Oni saw that her expectation was accurate - a hollow large and deep enough to swallow every building in the city at once. Gentō just couldn't have survived the blast.

However, a "little" caveat inhabited it in the beast's stead when they stood at the edge. About fifteen tinier variants slithered over the remnants of their progenitor, forming a rotation circle around what everyone could assume was either Gentō or the bard himself.

A slow, alluring symphony caught her ears. No doubts left.

Hanaken's stomach became an empty pit of nerves. All her tunneled vision could grasp was that the bastard who took her best friend away from her was right over there. Her blood ran hot from the raging emotions that fermented a storm within her head.

"YOU'RE DEAD!!!" She jumped into the pit, a crimson aura seeping through every pore as momentum brought her faster to deepen the hole even further beyond!

Once she crashed down like a god of destruction banished from the heavens, Hanaken erupted her Saniya, her cries wild and primal, like a bear's.

Her mind was reduced to her basest urges, able to conjure only growls and bellows from her vocal cords as she charged toward one of the colossal worm's offspring. It launched a jet of fire toward her, but her Oni physiology allowed her to negate it with her bare hands!

"DIE!!!" Hanaken groaned as she grasped the tinier beast's flowery head between her massive red hands, then pressed her mighty foot on its elongated torso before pulling the overgrown fire lily clean off! Her frustration only boiled stronger when no blood or guts spilled from the worm.

Two worms this time, tackled her off her feet at once. With excess adrenaline pumping in her veins, the pain was an abstract concept for her now.

Before the red beast could reach the moving flamethrowers, a golden flash overtook her vision entirely, finally putting her march to a halt.

She flailed her arms blindly, thinking it to be another trick from her nemesis. However, a familiar voice rang with warmth, hope, and vigor!

"LIGHTSPEED BARRAGE!!!"

She opened her eyes immediately. Around two fallen constructs, a golden cape broke her unyielding rage with its familiarity.

"The roar of battle has summoned justice's brightest champion!" He pulled off his signature pose, supporting himself on one leg. "The Silver Knight has responded to this maiden's battle spirit! I will avenge the shining city you've desecrated!"

The two worms stood up again. Hanaken finally noticed a rune on each one's side - two semi-circles, touching back-to-back, glowing brightly in the same green as the bard's Saniya. As the sigil glimmered brighter, a few pieces from the dead construct coalesced into the twins, adding to their mass, which forced them to grow almost double their size. Fantastic.

The armored hero turned back towards Hanaken. "Ready, Captain!?"

"Captain?"

"Don't embarrass me too much." Hanaken jolted, spooked by Captain Tash's surprise appearance beside her. In hindsight, it shouldn't be too shocking, but her brain was a scrambled mess at the moment, so...

The grizzled Wolf passed her, trading a quick glance. "You coming? More hands, the better."

At last, the Oni's vision broadened, glimpsing the Gunka Army valiantly holding their own against three worms that had also enlarged substantially with combined magic flamethrowers from their beaks, Saniya barriers, and kicks laced with fire.

Hanaken took a deep breath. While she paid attention to the Knight and the captain fighting the two monstrous plant golems with awkward sync, she recalled the sensation from Yuki-onna's ambush at her posse, concentrating the tingling heat into her fist.

''For Gentō." A glorious blaze burst from her pores, coating her knuckle. "FOR THE TROUBLE TROOP!!!"