Uwajin managed to stifle the grunt of pain as the python managed to catch her side, the venom eating through her skin. She gripped her greatsword tight in hand, flexed her muscles, stepped forward to attack once more, ignoring the pain. Jurot was already at Bavin’s side, if she allowed them to come support her, the momentum of the battle would shift.
Jaygak slashed against the side of the creature, Great Moon carving a heavy wound onto its scales, while Laygak’s blade bounced off its tough side.
‘One swing at a time!’ Laygak thought, gripping his blade tighter. He heard the sickening crunch of metal, his eyes darting aside to see the fang piercing through Jaygak’s armour. His heart started to pound heavier as the chill seeped into him. “Jaygak!”
Jaygak inhaled for a moment, raising her blade. “Focus,” she said calmly through the pain. She could feel the venom start to eat away at her side, and though she was happy to face the fireboars and firewolves, venom was not something the Gaks resisted. Yet, if she made a fuss and a bother now, they would need to retreat, and Adam would come to help them.
She was glad she wore armour, the helmet hiding her pained expression. ‘Keep stepping forward, Laygak. Even if it kills me, I’ll make sure it can’t kill you!’ She forced away the pain, her entire body flexing as she raised the bright weapon.
“Faool, to Bavin,” Kitool shouted as the pair made to move in tandem. Though the pair were mirroring one another, Faool bolted away towards the other Iyrman, leaving Kitool to handle the frozen python by herself. Kitool’s staff blurred once more as she struck the top of the pythons head, striking the same spot where Faool had struck, using her own inner strength to freeze the python in place, while hammering it to break its skull.
Faool understood what he needed to do. First, he would need to hit. As he struck with his staff right into the side of the creature, it still made to swallow Bavin, whose entire body shook with rage and pain. He tried to force his staff deeper, but it flexed, bouncing off the creature’s scale. The young man stomped on the earth as the creature shifted its body, sliding across from him. He stared in front of him as he held his fist at his side, before he found a spot between two scales, and he threw his fist forward, spiralling towards the side of the creature as he struck it, his inner strength exploding into the creature, which suddenly convulsed and froze into place.
Bavin stared at the creature ahead of him, which had threatened to swallow him. He inhaled deeply before striking furiously towards its open maw, aiming to cut its fang. His axe didn’t managed to lodge itself against its gums properly, though he bathed in the creature’s blood. He expected Jurot to attack it, but found the Iyrman had turned to face against the creature which he had left.
Thunder rumbled as the python struck Jurot’s side, and yet the Iyrman didn’t even seem phased by either its fang or venom. Had it been a normal Expert, they would have almost died, and yet Jurot’s skin, though red and raw, did not even sizzle at the creature’s venom.
‘He’s like a damn wall,’ Adam thought, staring at his brother as he seemed to take a blow which would have caused Adam to think twice. However, hearing the thunder rumble from Mighty Roar, Adam understood Jurot was taking the fight seriously, his axe hacking into the creature’s side viciously, ready to kill.
Nirot continued to circle around the python she face, slowly hacking away at it, though barely managing to slice into its side, more like a tiny ant biting an elephant. However, she had yet to take any wounds herself. Though she wanted to throw caution to the wind, she was going to play her role. Her heart pounded wildly, her entire body tingling with a stray thought. If she continued this up, wouldn’t she be able to kill the python herself?
Though Naqokan had was attacking furiously, allowing the snake to aim for her vitals should it wish, she stuttered for a moment seeing her green skinned companion taking such a heavy blow which would have caused her to stumble. Yet, she focused herself, grinning wide as she cut into the creature, managing to land a heavy blow against its side.
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Uwajin’s blows were more careful now, no longer allowing the creature to strike her so eagerly, as she slid across the side of the creature, before rolling under it, leaping away from its violent slam as she swung her blade against its side. Her flurry of swings hacked apart the creature, which writhed in pain, trying to claim her as a meal.
The first python to fall was the most obvious.
Though she had placed second in the tournament, Kitool had only narrowly lost to Jurot. Yet, when they had faced one another, Kitool had not wielded the weapon known as Tigerstaff, which could be considered perhaps Adam’s greatest weapon to date, alongside that of Phantom. Once the python crashed onto the ground, Kitool used the momentum to leap over towards the python which was currently trying to crush her best friend.
Kitool landed with her staff, striking the creature within its skull, and flooded it with her inner strength, which caused it to convulse before it froze in place before Jaygak and Laygak. Though she could have stayed to assist, battering the creature more, Kitool’s body disappeared into the wind.
Jaygak smiled through her helmet at the frozen python in front of her. Great Moon carved the snake while Laygak continued to thrust through the snake, barely managing to cut through a thick section in its side.
“Calm down, Laygak,” Jaygak said, watching the young man frantically cut apart the creature’s throat, barely managing to pierce through it. “The tide has turned.”
Laygak could hear the relief within Jaygak’s voice as clear as day. He couldn’t blame her, since Kitool had now truly entered the fray.
As the python made to bite Uwajin, a staff clipped the side of its jaw, causing the creature to spin before it fell against its back, hissing in rage as it was denied its good meal, now with its belly up before the two raging Iyrmen. Uwajin and Naqokan, both no longer needing to swing quite so desperately, focused their attention on cutting the creature’s neck, their blades falling like that of a guillotine as they cut the creature apart.
Just like dominoes, one by one, the pythons began to fall. Kitool appeared before Jaygak once more, ready and eager to assist. Naqokan and Uwajin both darted towards Bavin and Faool, though as they did, the python fell, and so they turned slightly to assist Jurot.
Though the python managed to glance across Nirot’s side, she, like Jurot, shrugged the pain away as it barely marked her skin. She hacked away at the python, barely managing to cut off a scale, the pair locked in a dance. As the pair danced, Nirot managed to circle around the creature even as it tried to slam against her with its body, she continued to chip away at the creature. She had completely focused on the creature, the entire land just a dreamlike blur, while her axe hacked away into the python almost rhythmically. She grit her teeth as the venom dripped against her skin, and though the fang had torn away at her thigh, she continued to press forward.
The dance continued, with Nirot managing to nick the creature with her mundane axe, while it tried to swallow her hole. It hissed out in pain as the young Iyrman managed to hack against its eye, flipping over its head as it tried to slam her, barely missing its other eye as the pair continued to fight.
Nirot panted, her entire body aching with effort, the venom having managed to seep through her defence, and yet, she could see it. Though she was barely able to deflect its fangs off of her shield, which was beginning to melt, she could see its movements more clearly. Though her entire body was aching, it still reacted when she needed to. She could feel her rage fade for a moment, before her entire body grew hot as she fell into the dance once more, leaping into the air as the snake finally twisted and flew upwards to swallow her hole.
“Ha!” Nirot shouted, understanding this was the last blow she could manage, as she watched the darkness engulf her, before spinning her entire body as she aimed for the skull from within.
Adam darted forward finally, but slowed as the snake’s maw opened, with a completely red Nirot, her shield, axe, and clothes mostly melted, yet her body remained firm. She stared at the others, only just recalling she had been in a battle alongside her cousins, noting the long dead body of the other pythons.
The young woman raised her arms up, still holding the her axe and shield, which had broken before her body.
The shouts and whistles filled the air as the younger Iyrmen embraced their victorious cousin, the only one who had managed to slay a python without any assistance, needed or otherwise.
Jurot turned to face Adam, who was still shocked to see Nirot, whose body was now permanently marked by her victory, stood so strong and mighty after facing such a mighty foe. Adam met Jurot’s gaze, the Iyrman bowing his head slowly. Adam’s lips formed a smile, mirroring Jurot’s own.
“Should I heal her?” Adam whispered.
“No,” Jaygak replied. “Those scars were hard fought and well earned.”
“Yours were too?” Adam replied, having already expended some healing for the proud Iyrman.
“I don’t need them.”