PreCursive

  Well, everyone charged but Renauld, Kazuma, ahat is. As the Healer, Renauld stayed behind to watch our backs. Bel, too, because she art of the team meant to watch him. I knew she would be ky from missing out on the fight, but she was surprisingly good at squad-based teamwork. Probably came from being a ship's Captain. Out of the er of my eye, I was grateful to see that Kazuma had the good seo stay with our Healer and look after him. His katana was drawn and held in a ready stance, as he stood protectively in front of the Gnoll. Bel as well, cutss held at the ready in case the Oni got past us.

  But that was the st thing I saw before battle was joined.

  Venix and Azarus led the charge as the veritable tip of our spear. All four of the Antium samurai’s bdes now glowed a cool blue, trailing frost in the air as he shed out at the Oni t above us. Azarus hadn’t attached his hammer and shield to the four lengths of s that sprouted from his armored back, as he was sometimes wont to do. Instead, they hooked onto four separate daggers sheathed at his mid-back, which rose up to glint in the dim light like the fangs of the proverbial serpent behind him. This was a rategy for the Dwarf, and something that he had dreamt up over the st few months. All four of the spears whipped out at the Prime as Azarus banged hammer against shield mogly.

  The Oni dodged backward fast enough to evade Azarus’s daggers, but not Venix’s hoary bdes. This one was strong, yes.

  But not anywhere he level of Venix.

  Still, the Oni only lost two fingers on its right hand from the blisteringly fast swipes. It staggered back briefly, howling in pain as thick bck blood sprayed into the air, but still had the seo strike back with a kick aimed at the Antium. Venix skipped out of the way, but the foot was se that Azarus had to raise his shield to block the blow. It impacted the ented, hand-fed steel of the kite, ringing like a gong. The dwarven bcksmith was driven back several feet from the force of the strike, but he retained his footing thanks to his spears anch him in pce, buried deep ioill, the Oni had aplished his goal. Both of the frontline fighters had been driven back, if only momentarily. But it had also been driven back.

  Straight into Liora and I.

  While Azarus and Venix had captured the Oni’s attention from the front, us former Noe Agents had circled behind it. And when that foot came reeling back after being rebuffed by Azarus’s shield, we struck. Simultaneously, we burst forward and dug into the Achilles tendons at the back of the Prime’s ankles. Liora at the left one, and I at the right. This was a tactic that the Oni Hunters had taught me to great effect during the hunt I’d been on. I suppose they’d shown it to her as well.

  Her cws, trailing bck smoke, ched through the thick hide of the Oni to find the tendon within. Using both hands, she ht ripped a portion of it out to dangle from her fist, oozing blood darker than pitch.

  I was paratively muethodical. My daggers simply cut through the hide of the beast, instantly severing the tendon. I still got sprayed with disgusting bck blood, though, causio grimace.

  The rea from the Oni was immediate.

  Its legs folded from underh it and it dropped its knees, howling even louder in pain. But even that wasn’t enough to rid the monster of all its sehese things were ier than most gave them credit for.

  The Oni’s entire body glowed bright blue for a moment, and then a shockwave of electric blue static exploded from the surface of its skin. I had already skipped back after my attack was successful, so I mao pletely dodge the attack, whatever it was.

  But Liora was a hair too slow.

  She had tried to leap back at the first hint of glow from the Oni, but for the first time since I’d known her, her speed wasn't enough to save her. From what I could see, the rapidly expanding field of static just barely mao graze her foot.

  The rea was immediate.

  The Gnollish former assassin immediately went limp and wasn’t able to rea time to prevent what happened . The Oni swiped at her falling form before she could hit the ground, and grabbed her.

  Its enormous azure hand closed over her whole body, and it brought Liora’s immobilized form up to face level. Azarus and Venix immediately stopped iracks, unwilling to strike out at the Oni while it was using one of our friends to protect itself. It almost seemed like the monster was using her as a shield. The two of them tried to circle around the kneeling monster, only for it shuffle ione of the pin to keep them in view. It swiped at Venix, only for the Antium to parry the obsidian cws in a shower of sparks.

  When Azarus’s spears threateo strike out at the Oni, darting bad forth while the Dwarf himself stood ready with shield and hammer raised, the monster raised Liora higher. In a clear threatening manner, it opes mouth of bck fangs to drool over the still immobilized hand-to-hand specialist.

  While this was happening, I was getting into position. I’d thrown Thorn Cloak up ohe Oni’s attention had fallen away from me, causio fade into the background, if only slightly. But that was enough in the heat of battle for me to maneuver around to the Oni’s right side unseen. I’d been waiting for the right moment to strike, but it looked like I had to just take the risk now.

  Perfect was the enemy of good enough, and perfect would get my friend’s head bitten off.

  Vis Maledicta Exactoris.

  Uhe effect of Thorn Cloak, my body ballooned into its monstrous state. The enharength and speed of the transformation bined with the still active Might of the Wyrdwood, pounding on each other.

  I crouched, activated The Stilnt Bde on my daggers once more, and exploded upwards in a leap.

  Bdes poised directly at the arm still holding Liora.

  My brilliantly burning daggers, bined with the strength and speed of my assion, sheared right through the tough skin of the Oni. The arm was sliced in half right through the humerus, and the Oni reared bad howled in agony. The severed limb flopped down onto the stone below, the hand twitg open enough for Liora tily roll away from it. All this I saw from above as, at the apex of my leap, I snapped open my wings to slow my dest.

  Azarus and Venix hadn’t wasted their ce.

  The dwarven smith’s daggers speared forwards to immobilize the wounded Oni, two in opposing shoulders, two in opposing hips. As it was held in pce, Venix crouched, and his chitinous body glowed a faint, ominous crimson. His robe waved in a wind I could not feel, causing the es upon it to almost appear as if they were in flight.

  I only saw his foot twitce before he disappeared from sight in a blur of speed too great for my Perception. But I sure saw the results.

  The howling of the Oni immediately ceased as its head was separated from its shoulders. It tumbled through the air, high enough that it was briefly at eye level with my slowly desding form. I swear that our eyes briefly met as it died, emerald on gold.

  To my sternation, it chose that exaent to explode into a cloud of Miasma. I coughed with monstrous lungs as I fell through an ued cloud of foulness, as the main body dissipated on the ground.

  By the time my feet touched the ground, I saw that Renauld and Bel had already hurried over to the still-dazed form of Liora and were iing her. Holy, I think Bel was more fretting than iing, from how she was h over our friend. It looked like the cws of the Oni might have grazed her, cutting through her armor to leave small gashes on her arms. I wasn’t worried about her, though. Renauld knew his craft.

  Instead, I was watg Kazuma. I hadn’t dispelled my transformatio, and I’m guessing he hadn’t been expeg it. The man had frozen at the sight of me, his bck eyes bulging in their sockets as they beheld my scaled, chiropteraures. I noticed that he had yet to release his white-knuckled grip on his sword, still held at the ready.

  I snorted, released my grip on The Stilnt Bde, and sheathed my twi the small of my back. “What’s the matter?” I called out to him in my altered, warbling voice. “Never seen a transformation Skill before?”

  Kazuma’s bde lowered, and he looked at me in pure disbelief. “Hart?”

  In lieu of answering, I dispelled the rest of my active Skills. In seds, I had returo my…retively normal human state. Turning away from him, I looked over just in time to see Azarus bend doick up a real monster of a Core. I whistled at the sight of it. The pure white orb had to be the size of my fist, and I’m not talking about my current o shone faintly in the Dwarf’s open palm as he ied. I wandered over to them as Azarus turo Venix and offered it to the Antium. “Yer kill, yer Core,” He said shortly.

  Venix shook his head. “I have no use for it. It is too low level for my own crafts. You may have the Core.”

  “If ya say so,” Azarus shrugged, reag around him for his pad dropping said Core inside. “Ain’t gonna turn down free materials.”

  As I joihem, I returheir greeting nods. “I’m guessing we’re right in the middle of Oory by now.”

  “Just so,” Venix answered, as Kazuma warily joined us, eyeing me suspiciously. I paid him no mind. “Random dens such as that are on across the isnd, now that we’re out of the juhat was not quite an elder, but it was certainly no juvenile. Possibly a challenger who was driven out of the deeper reaches to bide his time for a return.”

  Our versation was interrupted by Kazuma speaking up. “Who…are you people?” He said, half in astonishment, half in suspi. “I’ve never seen an adult Oni dispatched so quickly. Even dedicated teams struggle to recover from su ambush.”

  I couldn’t help a smirk from crawling over my face, as Renauld and the girls joined us as well. “Guess we’re a cut above the rest,” I said, before meeting Liora’s eyes. “You alright? Good to go?”

  Liora briefly bowed her furry head. “Yes. Apologies for the misstep. I misjudged the beast’s speed.”

  I shrugged, but it was Bel who spoke. “It’s alright. We all make mistakes,” She said with a smile at the Gnoll, before direg a gre towards the rest of us. “Don’t we?”

  I nodded along with the others under her gre. Sure, sure.

  The way you stick up for your friend is cute, Bel. I didn’t say that out loud, though.

  I didn’t need another bruise from her.

  Instead, I addressed the group. “No reason to stick around. Let’s go, people.” At the round of answering nods, we moved away from the impromptu battle site, hopping across the ravihe Oni had apparently lived in. Once we were oher side, I noticed someone was missing. Looking back across to the other side, I saw that Kazuma was still watg us with a queer look on his face.

  “You ing?” I called across to him.

  My words appeared to knock him out of his daze, and he us. “Yes!” He returned, hurrying and joining us oher side. Fully regrouped, we set back out for Mt. Umetsuji once more. The volo had been growing on the horizon for some time now, and the plumes of ash that wisped from the caldera were ever more visible to us.

  Holy, I weled it. It was colder out here on the pins than it had been in the jungle, and the closer we got to the volo, the warmer it had beeing.

  I was almost looking forward to iigating the ‘squat beast’, as Azarus had termed it.