As Tarb thought, the Yūrei was relentless...

  Her fighting style was chaotic yet contained a certain grace and purpose, very reminiscent of his own people's martial arts, at least in philosophy. Of course, no Wolf he knew had such a versatile, long-ranged weapon like Hari-onagu's living hair, so practical that her hands barely moved an inch while keeping the pressure on the old canine, who needed to constantly use a Saniya barrier to keep himself from turning into a pincushion.

  Tarb's speed and agility were never his most reliable tools, even when he was young. In compensation, his training always revolved around endurance and resilience in his body and his Saniya barrier spell. Even at the twilight of his career, his training still bore fruit, granting him enough time to coat himself in an extra, thicker layer of saliva.

  After the veteran conjured his shield to destabilize in a powerful burst of Saniya, Hari-onagu was pushed meters away, crashing into a tree hard enough to tear it in half.

  "How that drings ne nenories..." The Yūrei shrugged the damage like it barely ticked. "I really hope you have at least half your sister's skill." She giggled softly. "Nakes this nore fun."

  Geez. Enough comparing him with his sister. Even as a little pup brat, she made her life's mission to surpass him in everything - skill, power, ranking, finding a more loving companion, to name a few. At least he beat her in socializing, for all that was worth.

  "Wait a second." She raised an eyebrow, her eyes roaming all over him. "Why are you glistening? Are you sweating? I thought you canines couldn't do that."

  Tarb grinned. "Oh, you'll be surprised." He gathered his Saniya, forming an intense, white aura that seeped through the fluid that besmeared his fur. After joining his open palms, a massive shockwave followed suit, cleaning all the snow in a wide radius!

  "WHAT?!" Hari-onagu's jaw had slackened. "HOW-"

  "You think your boss is the only one with water magic?!" His aura flared even stronger. "And now, for the main event!" His throat expanded, and his cheeks swelled. The Yūrei encased herself in her own hair, expecting a direct attack.

  Fool.

  A gigantic cascade of drool exited his mouth at high pressure, quickly replacing the snow on the floor with a thick coating of slippery body fluid. The setup was done. Now, for the payoff...

  Hari-onagu disentangled herself, her feet still not touching the ground. "What the hell?" She sniffed. "What is that snell? Don't tell ne..."

  Capitalizing on her disgust, Tarb slid towards her with an uncanny grace and speed for someone with his body type. He never had a chance to show off these techniques to his latest teammates, save for Tash. Oh, if they could only see him now.

  Hari-onagu regretted underestimating him the moment she was struck by a high-speed belly flop from the veteran, pushing her even further away. Unfortunately, it was TOO far from the drool pond radius, so his trump card still needed more time.

  "Why you..." She menacingly flew towards him. "Using drool as a weaton! Have you no shane?!" She screeched, her anger fueling her rising speed!

  Tarb assumed his fighting stance, his smiling radiating confidence. The hairy Yūrei needled him with a barrage of hair strikes, but almost none of the blows connected, save for a few lucky shots that granted him some shallow welts on his face and thigh. The Wolf veteran counterattacked with a series of devastating paw strikes fueled by an outer layer of energy! His opponent was forced to use her hair to defend herself.

  This song and dance repeated for a minute before Hari-onagu flew high, growling. "ARGH! WHY YOUR FANILY NUST DE SUCH A TAIN IN NY ASS!!!"

  The guard chuckled. "You're a joke! You live all those millennia, yet your technique is as simple as they get!" He waved his paw dismissively. "Don't get me wrong, that's a tricky weapon you got! But once you know what makes it tick..."

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Hari-onagu's face contorted in anger. "IS THAT SO?!" Her mane erupted into countless, sharp strands thinner than needles. "COUNTER THIS!!!"

  Tarb commanded the drool beneath his feet to carry him out of the rain of follicular death, his heart accelerating as he regretted aggravating his opponent to this extent. The Yūrei roared, joining sizeable chunks of her hair to create larger, more resistant blades. The guard wasn't sure his spit shield would amount to much against these...

  Still, the captain's brother gracefully evaded her blows left and right. The hairy maiden shaped one of her cutters like a crescent moon. Then, she swept it across the battlefield, threatening to amputate Tarb's legs. However, he used the momentum to propel himself at her, soaring above the hair scythe! In mid-air, he curled himself into a ball, surrounding himself in his aura and striking her with his powerful Cannonball before she realized she was playing right into his hands!

  The impact was so potent that Tarb felt painful shockwaves across his layers of skin, fat, and muscles. His senses failed him briefly, but he took hold of himself before gravity could reclaim him in an unflattering landing. As he took a deep breath, he wondered if he had succeeded in landing a clean hit on Yuki-onna's lackey. That hair had outstanding reflexes, as he saw when she and his sister fought weeks ago. Still, the sheer force of his Cannonball would have pushed her far, far away. It would take a while for her to return here, enough time for him to hide and replenish his stamina. Molding that amount of liquid so fast made a wreck in his Saniya reserves.

  He thought about pursuing his comrades, who had probably already freed themselves from the bard's hold, most likely fending against him. However, his sister, who the Yūrei mentioned, was not captured and must be going through the wringer against the army of clones. Was the Knight still with her? Was he also captured by Hibagon? If so, his sister was already captured and frozen by the constructs.

  Decisions, decisions... If only he could have pondered about it more clearly in the heat of battle...

  Before his mind could settle in, his body was entirely immobilized by an intense pressure around his torso and arms. Hari-onagu's hair entangled him like a spider when the foolish fly fell for her trap.

  How did she get behind him without entering his radar?! Unless...

  Fuck. The Yūrei must've gone underground...

  "You think ny hair is the ONLY trick I have?" She giggled, her hair squeezing him so tight that he mustered strength he was sure he didn't have to keep himself from breaking down. The strain exerted on his skeleton was alarming. "Don't take ne for an anateur, Wolf!"

  Tarb growled, his pressing lungs barely allowing him to emit a few words. "Y-You think I- AHHHHHH!" The guard howled in excruciating pain, his bones loudly cracking as Hari-onagu squeezed him even further with the consideration of an anaconda! Even his saliva coating couldn't handle the sheer pressure of this... special hug.

  "THAT'S the sound I like to hear..." she murmured in his ear, her hot breath sending goosebumps all over his skin. "I wonder how loud I can nake your dones crack. Your sister night even hear it..."

  Here she went, speaking of his sister again. How dared she? She was the one who made his niece a hostage! She was an accomplice for the largest-scale terrorist act Sayama has ever seen! A hole in her gut was NOTHING compared to the countless people she was putting in jeopardy!

  His pride as a guard wouldn't allow this wench to win. He would NOT let Hari-onagu take another step, no matter what!

  A mighty aura of rippling Saniya burst from his broken body, the Yūrei's hold weakening slightly. It was acceptable since his intention was not to escape. On the contrary...

  A wave of thick, viscous drool clung onto the hairy maiden. Tarb capitalized on this minuscule opening to activate his trump card, modifying the properties of his mouth fluid from slippery to a glue-like substance. The initial intent was to capture her by knocking her out of the air, but that would do.

  As expected, Hari-onagu desperately attempted to fly up. However, the foolish fly was actually her, the prey of a sundew's deceptive snare.

  "Imbecile!" she cried out as the Saniya-laced drool spread upwards over her back. "You'll de stuck in the cold along with ne!"

  "That's the idea, you dumb broom!" The liquid around her follicular bindings hardened like translucent amber. "Get your bags ready, 'cause we're gonna keep each other company for a LONG time!"

  The Yūrei snarled wildly, thrashing against her disgusting prison to no avail. Her trusty mane couldn't do shit as the improvised glue enfolded her scalp. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOUR ENTIRE DLOODLINE!!!"

  Tarb's ears ached from the Hari-onagu's screams, her only weapon left. Thankfully, the final wave of agony subsided as her face was fully encased by the liquid, leaving only the veteran's head exposed to the elements.

  ...

  It sure was lonely at the top. Embarrassing too.

  But hey, at least the old veteran could finally rest, knowing he did what he could to ensure victory was theirs. A victory nap would fit him like a glove...

  ...

  ......

  .........

  Three more Saniya signatures appeared on his radar. Oops, scratch that, 'cause a swarm of energies followed suit.

  For fuck's sake...