“Did you just give me a cold?” Her voice was hoarse, and it pained her to shout. “My perfect voice! You little bitch! Ow!” She coughed again. Every breath she took was suddenly sharp and painful.
As the witch readied another spell to incinerate the corpse in a fit of anger, the miasma floating over its body quickly and suddenly absorbed back into it.
Heloise stopped dead in her tracks, she held her staff in both hands defensively, her eyes narrowed, she was already preparing for the worst.
Thie white plumage of the Caladrius turned a charred black. A sickeningly green flame shone from it eyes as it woke, shooting straight into the air in a fraction of a second. The bird floated unnaturally in the air; its body had bloated to three times its size. The Caladrius was a uniquely magnificent bird with a radiant golden halo surrounding its head. After its mutation, its wingspan expanded to nearly fifteen feet. It seemed to be glaring at its attacker.
“The fuck is that look for?” Heloise smirked cautiously at the Caladrius, before letting loose another cough. “It’s my flawless skin, isn’t it? Beauty recognizes beauty, I get it. You wouldn’t believe how long it takes to get it looking so perfect—” The witch was interrupted by another abrupt cough. “I… really wanted to take you alive, but my pride won’t stand for fucking me like this. I’m afraid you’re gonna have to pay.”
The bird’s form trembled, its feathers ruffling in a threatening display. It raised its head and opened its sharp beak, but no sound came out. It simply continued floating in place, shaking uncontrollably.
“Wait,” she said with a slight chuckle. “That came out wrong. I didn’t mean like, pay like actual money. I’m not a whore, you know! …What? Got nothing to say? Were you perhaps, like, so captivated by my sexiness that you froze up? In that case, maybe I could forgive you… If you just come along quietly!”
But the bird responded with a sickening squelch that hinted at the vile act that was to come.
“Hold on—What are you…? Oh my Dark God! No!” The witch couldn't help but gag after witnessing the bird's sudden disgusting act of retaliatory defiance. “Fuck no!”
A throbbing bulge caused by some odious mass of bile had formed in its throat. The choking sounds that followed as it attempted to disgorge the lump were itself nauseating to listen to. As the mass finally reached in between its beak, the bird jerked its neck back and spit the nasty projectile at the witch directly below.
Natura Me Protego!
The stylish sorceress fought through her repulsion and chanted a defensive spell almost instinctively before the horrid attack hit. The red crystal on her staff flashed a brilliant light as the ground in front of her rose up high to block the incoming bird-loogie. Once it impacted, she took one glance at it oozing down her earthen shield and recoiled. “Eeeew! Gross, gross, gross! Someone else get it off! I don’t want to fucking touch that thing with a 10-foot pole!”
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An amorphous pile of mucus was slowly oozing down the side of the earthen barrier she erected. The phlegmatic pile was an off-putting mix of colors that were sickening to look at and a potential biohazard if the witch wasn’t careful.
Heloise quickly ripped some grass from the ground and threw the blades towards the bird hanging high in the air.
Naturae Acutae laminae!
The torn grass grew and stretched outward, becoming deadly sharp, before swiftly flying at blinding speed towards the bloated Caladrius. The blades struck its belly with a sickening squish, slicing and entering its body.
The monster, however, reacted unexpectedly to the witch’s direct hit. The bird had been twirling its head limply around, as if in a daze, seemingly unaffected by its injuries.
Heloise wasted no time in sending a second and third wave of deadly verdant blades, striking at the bird again and again. She watched in horror as the thing simply continued absorbing them into its body, making strange motions all the while. Before she could react, the floating creature once again launched an attack.
Except what flew from its mouth was not the same disgusting pile of phlegm as before, but a thick red torrent of blood—aimed directly at the witch.
The sorceress quickly erected another wall, but the heavy cascade continued blasting against her barrier, eroding it almost as quickly. She had to come up with a new strategy and fast.
“Are you kidding me?! Do I need to stuff a tampon down your gullet?! How are you even ALIVE?!” Heloise’s hoarse screams caused her throat to burn, she had to be very careful dealing with this opponent. The witch leaped behind a nearby tree, barely avoiding the gushing blood following close behind. She gripped the metal handle of her staff in both hands, rubbing it anxiously while keeping her eyes locked on the flying beast, unable to process what was going through its brainless head.
I’m def fucked if that thing hits me with anything that comes out of its disgusting mouth. It already got me sick just from its fumes, don’t even wanna imagine what kind of cooties I’ll get from its blood!
Heloise concentrated on her next spell. If she were going to take that thing down, she would need to use a stronger spell.
Natura Penetrans Ex Membra!
The witch shouted with conviction from behind the safety of the tree, using her control of nature to attempt to save her once again. The branches of the frozen trees below the floating bird shook violently, their web of spidery limbs shooting outward and upward, quickly impaling the creature from all sides and leading to a violent explosion of putrid black bile. Heloise ducked down, using the tree to shield herself from the downpour but it was not enough—the black bile had struck her back, and the effects were immediate.
“Oh… Azotha’s wounds. I’ve been hit, haven’t I? Ick.” Heloise felt her knees buckling. She could barely stand and was forced to use her staff for support. It felt like the energy was completely sucked from her body. “What is this…? Why do I feel so shitty…?” The witch listlessly looked around for whatever remained of her target. A deep sadness and regret gradually built up in her mind. “It’s useless, isn’t it… I’m never going to end this shitty curse. Merde. That’s it. I’m going to become a lanky, pasty-faced monster. And no one will love me. Because I’ll be so ugly. And who likes ugly people? Definitely not me. And those that do don’t matter. …I should just spare myself the fate and lie down in the snow and freeze to death. Maybe then I’ll at least leave a beautiful corpse. To be buried over with tons of snow and where no one will ever look in a million years… I HATE THE FUCKING SNOW!”