Isher Notra

Kreef:

He was not built for this.

A truth he kept repeating to himself since the start of Yuki-onna's trap. And now, the very atmosphere screamed, reverberating beneath his scales, saturated with turquoise might.

An intimidatingly large rune was carved at the center of a clearing, emitting such potent energy that it circled it, forming a translucent dome. Kreef could hear the rustling trees responding to Saniya's oppressive rhythm, flailing desperately for their lives.

The sky grew darker. Fantastic. That shadowy bug freak surely wasn't enough...

The Amikiri slapped himself repeatedly for reminding himself of them. That shadow-weaving magic, then the cryptic talk about divine will... There was no conceivable way they were truly...

...

The plucky duo of hot-blooded girls knelt before the dome, their palms firmly attached to the ground. Clearly, they were muttering something amongst themselves, making Kreef ponder about bolting the hell outta there and hoping they'd have it covered or hovering closer to eavesdrop.

If you're asking what decision he made, remember, he never had the most acute sense of self-preservation. Let's hope this was for the better this time.

"We can't," Lien whispered, gesturing an oval shape with two paws. "Most of the shield is beneath the surface. What we see now is nothing."

Stella stroked her chin, scowling. "And are you POSITIVE the dome is too thick for us to break?" She pressed both hands on the protective spell, sighing while standing up.

The pup nodded.

"Fuck!" The Human slammed her entire body, shoulder first, onto the dome. No damage was visible unless you count the girl herself, reeling and hissing from recoil, clutching the spearhead of her foolish assault.

"Okay," Stella muttered between breaths. "What about the connections coming from the dome? The ones spreading throughout the grid?"

"What?!" Lien's fur dramatically bristled from pure shock as she jumped back to her feet. "Are you nuts?! It will take too long for us to dig towards every single one and sever them! There's, like, thirty of those!"

"What other choice do we have, Lien?!" Stella clutched the pup's shoulders tightly. "We'll take forever trying to break the core! The two of us aren't enough to do it!"

Kreef gasped, betrayal glazing his yellow orbs. Wow. Way to forget HIS existence. He was more skilled and powerful than these two hatchlings combined!

Where were his ACTUAL companions when he needed them? The Trouble Troop gave him the value he truly deserved, unlike those prancing little sh-

"Unless..." the girls spoke as one, their shared neuron concocting a devious plan, judging by their sickeningly wide grin.

Lien quickly pulled away. "But! But! What if-"

"I know. It's risky." Stella held her open palms in front of her. "But we didn't get hurt last time, remember?"

The young Wolf crossed her legs as she put her elbow on top of one and then supported her tilted head on her closed knuckle. "True, true. But we have no friggin' idea of how that works."

And so, for ten whole minutes, the two young warriors locked themselves in a deep discussion about the logistics and effectiveness of their grand plan... without ever specifying what said plan truly was, somehow. Kreef would do nothing but keep his quivering eyes drifting between them with an agape beak. This dialogue was... downright magical in its frustrating nature.

"Okay, okay!" Stella snapped her fingers. "So we just do it at the same time and hope for the best?"

Lien's entire body vibrated before leaping to her feet like a rocket. "That's the best idea you've ever had!"

WHAT. IDEA?

The Human proudly smirked, crossing her arms. "Heh. My brain can come up with some gems, from time to time." And then, finally acknowledging the third member who risked his life over and over again for this suicide quest, the duo turned to him. "Don't you agree?"

Searing streams of green Saniya expelled between his scales like a pressure cooker. "I could formulate an opinion if you MORONS EVER TOLD ME WHAT THE PLAN IS!!!" His screech was so potent it physically repelled the girls, covering their ears and curling like balls, a few inches.

"For fuck's sake..." Stella mumbled, being the first to recover. The Wolf, with her sensitive ears, was far from well yet. "Don't need to be so fucking rude about it." She stood up, slapping the dirt off her legs before clearing her throat, erecting her posture, and puffing out her chest as if she were mocking someone like that Basan general. "Listen. Lien and I will-"

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"STEP AWAY FROM THE CORE!"

...

Once again, absolute horror froze their movements. The Human's eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets as her half-open mouth was unsure whether it should shut or stay as it was.

"Lien!" Stella urged her furry companion, whose agony was also interrupted by sheer shock. "Let's wreck this shit already!"

The pup promptly complied, shaking off the daze while her clear Saniya erupted. The other girl mirrored the gesture, striking the Amikiri's eyes with a gorgeous show of white and gold, so close they almost intersect.

His awe, however, was rapidly shattered by the pressing reality. "Wait! What about me!?"

"What else?! You're the bodyguard, idiot!" Stella growled with impatience while she and the Wolf concentrated their energy around their fist. "Hold her while we do our stuff!"

He could feel the grains of salt pouring out from between his scales. His elongated body shook from the oppressive responsibility thrown at him at a moment's notice.

Why? Why him, of all the precious creatures in Sayama?! A month earlier, he could barely keep a job, let alone be a reliable roadblock for one of the most notorious warriors of their people!

The semi-aquatic Monoke turned in every direction, his heart pounding from the knowledge that Yuki-onna could lurk from every conceivable side.

Wait. The Icy Sorceress was surely sneaking in the shadows, preparing to eliminate them as swiftly and, in his and the pup's case, painlessly as possible.

Ah, yes. Kreef wouldn't even see the Yūrei com-

There went a raging woman on her merry way towards them, a thick, blue and black mist expelling from her open jaw like smoke.

"I SAID-"

The Amikiri's quivering psyche shut down, allowing his body to enter completely in survival mode, lashing at the sorceress with his snake-like body. His energy blanketed his scales - a bright green whip that repelled the pale lady until she became a blurry dot in his sight.

"Fuck it! I'm doing this!" He slammed his snapping claws on his head, psyching himself up before dashing away from his allies, closer to the harbinger and executor of his demise. "You're getting nowhere!"

His advance was brought to an abrupt end when his beak collided against an icy katana, held by the Yūrei with both hands, far above Chikukei's canopy. She readily swung her weapon to send him reeling, most likely preparing a decisive counterattack.

Kreef's hunch proved to be his savior when he felt the dangerously cold bite of her magic grazing against the tip of his scales. In this narrow escape, he soared in a spiral formation to throw his opponent off, then broke off it once he reached a safer distance, circling his opponent much less recklessly. In the pits of his consciousness, he asked himself how THE Yuki-onna hadn't caught him by now. He surely hasn't become this fast, right?

Irrelevant. What mattered was evading whatever ice junk the bony Monoke flung at him - throwing stars, kunai, the occasional icy sphere of gaseous water and wind. As the seconds passed, her patterns grew sloppier yet more desperate and unpredictable. It was like facing a kid throwing a tantrum, only with a terrifying access to deadly weaponry.

She was nothing like the stories he heard in his larvahood. Regardless, he could hardly say he was disappointed, exactly...

After a few more projectiles, the sorceress had utterly ceased, merely floating in place with a hunched posture and downcast head. His lucky break had finally arrived?! It was hardly believable, but he wouldn't waste this chance!

Kreef's Saniya erupted from his scales, pouring every bit of energy to send him soaring for the finishing, piercing blow! They would be so freaking proud of-

Yuki-onna's head snapped back to face him, her mouth agape as she exhaled a massive mist at him. By a mysterious force he could only call luck and/or instinct, Kreef's body swerved at the last second, gaining a solid distance between them before his mind urged it to stop wasting his precious stamina!

...Okay. The Amikiri should've seen this coming. Nothing ever came easy to him, anyway. Just ask his parents.

At least, he was still in the game, with plenty of energy in his bodily tank and utterly unharm- What is this feeling on his claw?

Oh...

Crap.

One of his pincers was encased by ice. So much for luck, eh?

What now? Could he safely break this with brute force? Or would his cherished limb tear apart as well? It would take months to molt a new one to full size!

Granted, a healer should significantly accelerate the process... A month, tops...

...

Well. Here went nothing...

However, before he would go forward with his asinine act, an unseen force violently pressed his back and pushed him towards the ground, accelerating by the second. Amidst the turbulent sea of desperation, he could sense the distinct sensation of a five-fingered mammalian hand clenching around him. That whore...

But why wasn't he in a cold tomb yet? That Basan prick told them a single touch of one of her clones was enough to make a trained soldier incapacitated. Not to mention the colossal Saniya that the pup mentioned after he woke up.

By Tizohi's antlers, that was it! Yuki-onna was-

His big moment of realization was brutally destroyed by his meeting with the dirt, unforgiving and exoskeleton-crushing like his first (romantic) crush. Oh, dear Kristal...

Against the excruciating agony that cracked most of his scales, the flying crustacean tried to use his good limb to lift himself. Unfortunately, Yūrei did the favor for him, but threw him back down like garbage.

"A creature like you would be the last on my list of potential threats," she mocked. "Even this brief resistance far exceeded my expectations."

Damn her. Kreef's scales were done, but the exoskeleton beneath was perfectly intact. If he had anything going for him, it would be his double-layered, natural resistance to concussive force. Hell, only electric spells could pass through his defenses like nothing, which made that matchup at the ambush last month all the more unfortunate.

He only needed a moment to breathe. Yes, breathe and muster all the energy still boiling and coursing through his serpentine body. Meanwhile, he gradually reacquainted himself with the air.

"Let me surprise you even more, you crazy bitch..." His eyes glared at the Yūrei, whose eyes burned intensely with impatience, while he raised his snapping claws at her. Yes, claws plural. That crash did have its advantages. No endless process of molting for him!

To his surprise, the allegedly cold and silent Icy Sorceress... started laughing, physically emitting a disconcerting noise that gradually intensified, sending shivers down his shattered scales.

"Foolishly brave. Just like your Oni comrade..." Yuki-onna returned to her telepathy, a sickening grin following. "Do you want to know how she is faring as we waste our time?"

More salt poured from his chitin shell. His hemolymph ran cold.

Her vicious eyes bulged out even further while her shrunken lips stretched to the limit. "Another statue. A gorgeous trophy for her inane struggle. Just like the Baku. Just like you."