Isher Notra

Hari-onagu:

How much time would this take? Why was this punk's stamina so troublesome?!

At least Hari remained in the comfort of her follicle weapons and shields. Even if the cold snow stung her toes, she could patiently wait for her opportunity all day. Nonetheless, a grin spread across her face as she felt the Amikiri's hold on her slipping.

"Damn, Kreef. You're holding her longer than I thought!" The Human chimed in after a few minutes of quiet, save for the flying snake-lobster's rasped breaths.

"T-Thanks! I can't believe it either!" Kreef's screechy tone weakened with each word spoken. "Do you girls have a plan for this one?"

"You mean other than survive and hope for the best?" She scoffed. "Fuck no."

"WHAT?! THEN WHY DID YOU CONVINCE ME TO LEAD HER HERE?! NO ONE IS COMING TO HELP US!" And his voice returned, ravishing the Yūrei's eardrums. She squirmed and shook from agony, pondering for a second if she should allow him to end her miserable life at once.

"Yeah, yeah... You don't need to scream, dude." The Human sighed. "It's tough enough that the bard is there with whatever the fuck he summoned. The least we can do is ensure that the lady isn't there to make things worse!"

"And I can make her pay for wrapping me in her crazy hair!" The pup interjected. "It's a win-win!"

Outstanding. The last thing Hari needed was a feud with a third Wolf, who carried the same blood as the previous two, no less! At least she couldn't mess up defeating a little pup!

...Could she? Admittedly, her ego has suffered much bruising over the past month...

"You're acting so... careless for someone who's the target in all this," Kreef commented, his voice betraying his loud dumbfoundedness. "Are you drunk? Hit your head on a rock?"

Hari couldn't help but join in his inquisitiveness. Why would the Human herself throw herself into this mess before they had claimed every single soldier as a hostage? Even if she was pressured by Pantsti's elders or even the queen herself, that brat had no excuse to escape once Kreef had restrained the hairy maiden for a substantial amount of time.

Why did her motives sound... noble? In a drastically foolish way, of course, but selfless, nonetheless.

...

The Human finally spoke after a few seconds, probably reflecting to conjure a sugarcoated excuse.

"Look, I'm here to help y'all in any way necessary. Chikukei is a cold mess because of me. So many Monoke are scared or frozen into statues because they couldn't find another way to get folks' attention. If I have to die by this bitch, or her friend, or those furry freaks, so be it! At least, I'm dying on my own terms..."

......

.........

The Human's tone wasn't brimming with resolve or fighting spirit. Instead, it carried a quiet determination mixed with... acceptance.

............

Shadows take her. Why did that demonic girl sound so convincing?

"H-HEY! Let's not throw the D-word around so soon!" The pup summoned the most forced laughter she had heard in centuries. "We trained a whole month for this! Don't underestimate us!"

The Human huffed. "Lien, look. I know-"

"Don't!" Lien's tone was sharp and resolute, sending even shivers down the cocooned Yūrei's spine. The pup's resemblance to her progenitor was clear as crystal. "You can shush now. I'm not letting you go. No matter how many Yūrei try to take you from me! We're not just packmates, we're GIRLFRIENDS!!!"

She sounded so brave, yet so innocent. Most importantly, Hari-onagu could practically hear the depths of the Wolf's adoration for the Human. Did she truly have what it took to shatter the pup's heart? She knew how deep the death of a loved one cut into one's soul - her father, friendships she forged for thousands of years, all washed away by tides upon tides of blood and steel. For a Yūrei, it was hard to grasp such a bond forming in a single month, but perhaps that must be what short-lived beings lived through.

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However, the fear that this Human was using poor Lien's feelings for her benefit couldn't stop ramming into Hari's skull. This was precisely the root of her best friend's endless grief. While the war raged on, she had lost count of the embraces - the words of comfort and encouragement, trying her best to stitch Yuki-onna's heart to a salvageable state. And yet, all that became of the ice-wielding maiden was a totem of scorn. Hari-onagu could've blamed this on the war that pushed Yuki to this violent self. Nonetheless, in the end, she could only see herself every time she reflected on the topic.

Yuki-onna needed this. She needed to protect her people once Queen Malka lost her edge. How could Hari deny her this path for peace of mind? Or worse, allowing that pup to tread a similar path?

...

More words broke through the hair chrysalis.

"I love you, Lien." Sobs. Not the pup's or Kreef's. "I fucking love you so, so much..."

Lien's giggle echoed sweetly in her ears. "I love you too, Stella."

......

That simple interaction cut deep through Hari's decisiveness.

Hanaken:

"BURN TO ASHES!!!"

Her flaming fist carved its way through a worm's head! Finally! After help from The Silver Knight and Captain Tash to keep it down, Hanaken slew another beast of fire and wood!

Two down, thirteen left to go. Far away, the remaining monsters were being handled by the Basan soldiers and the Triple F Squad, the latter finally joining the fray after regaining a fraction of their stamina in the cave. Venghaan's fire breath sizzled half a worm's torso, strengthened by the Crow and Owl guards' wind spell. Meanwhile, his subordinates and the remaining Wolves displaced the earth. They erected towering walls to scatter the oppressive number of fire lily-head constructs.

But then, the rune on each worm's side started to glow again. The mortal remains of their fallen sibling were summoned and shared with every survivor, even regenerating pieces of the wounded and burned ones. The powered-up worms broke free from the earthy shackles, their fiery breaths now directly competing with Venghaan's.

Hanaken's frustrations flared like wildfire. "What's making these things stronger?! From where is the bard taking Saniya to do this?!"

The Silver Knight, alongside the Wolf captain, repelled the worm charging towards her with a combined wind spell coming from their palms, sending it reeling over the dirt.

"I saw something similar when we fought his tree monsters a few weeks back," Tash mentioned before taking a deep breath and steadying her fighting stance. Meanwhile, the worm started to emanate smoke from its carpel. "But this is something else. They're not only adding the physical mass of the fallen worms but the Saniya stored inside them as well..."

The Wolf summoned a small shield, barely large enough to redirect the fire spell away from them. However, Hanaken sprinted between them and caught the jet of flames with her bare hand!

"Right," Tash's realization came in a dispirited whisper. "Oni skin."

While the heat was far from an issue, the sheer volume of flames at such a high velocity threatened to tear the Oni's bones. "Argh! This... is... nothing!" She used her other hand to spread the projectile's impact. After a few more seconds, she pushed through until the pseudo-worm was pushed aside by a golden light. "Told you..." she muttered between rasped breaths.

The Silver Knight appeared before her, closing the distance in a second. "Wow! Hold your horses, lady!" He gently tapped her forearm. "You can't keep relying on your natural resistances to act as a meat shield! The sheer impact of the spell can severely hurt you!"

She huffed, her eyes squinting at the pesky ache. "You don't say..."

"Take a rest to recover those arms," he instructed, facing back at the slithering, persistent creature. "Besides, I've realized how these monstrosities work."

Hanaken's eyes widened in curiosity. Captain Tash slowly approached his side, questioning. "What's the catch with those freaks?"

"The symbol on their side is a link rune, built to share a Saniya pool between those worm constructs. Once one is down, the bard injects its mass into the others so they can withstand the sudden burst of energy, doubling their power."

Tash stroked her forehead. "So if we keep tearing those apart, their siblings will only become more powerful?" She growled. "The only way we can stop this is by finding the bard, but his Saniya is too scattered among those worms. I can't locate him unless you buy time for me to concentrate!"

Shivers coursed through Hanaken's spine as she watched four worms closing in on the trio's location. She was always up for a tough, long, fair fight. Unfortunately, one of those conditions couldn't apply here.

The Silver Knight jumped closer to the Oni. "It comes down to the two of us, Hanaken!" He flashed a thumbs-up. "Let our burning fists pierce through these dulled hearts!"

Hanaken sighed, his cheesy words reminding her of whatever eccentric drivel Gentō would've said in this scenario. By Tizohi's antlers, what would she say to Kreef? How could she stand tall and look him in the eye?

...

Allowing those worms to send her to the shadows was very compelling at the moment...

The Wolf captain smiled as she sat down, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes. "Took you long enough."

Hanaken's jaw hung slightly open in confusion. What in the-

Orange and blue fireballs flew past them and struck the wooden hide of one worm, sending it tumbling into another.

"Hey, hey! Don't get the party started without us!" One of Capt. Tash's comrades, the golden-furred mage, casually twirled his staff beside his twin. Smoke still stemmed from the crystals encrusted in both weapons' tips.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?!" The Knight's voice never carried more enthusiasm than now. "But where are-"

"Over here, featherhead!" On the opposite side, the shorter one stood before a fallen worm, which was kept at bay by the largest, black-furred guard pressing its head on the floor. "Nice to see you idiots still howling around!"

Yes! Finally, the fairness in combat has returned! Hope has rushed back to her hands, crushing the pain into a foolish delusion!

With all this backup, Tash would have more than enough time to detect that fucking Daien. And once she did...

Hanaken would personally make him atone.