Beauty & the Beasts...
Break time is over; it's time to prove yourself, Mona...
The young woman calmly and fearlessly stares death in the face as she prepares for round three with this Hellhound: Garmr. The air is hot; the Wolf-Beast's energy is turning Tyr's Coffin into something reminiscent of a hot spring gone bad. The crystal clear waters running in the ravines below sizzle and boil, the rocks beneath the Monster's feet soften into molten slag with every step, and the air distorts from the intense heat surrounding them. Mona's sweating, but she can't back down. The heat isn't the problem; it's this horror that's fighting Fenrir.
But Mona's got a plan to end this...
"Alright..." She's verbally hyping herself while tensing the muscles in her arms and clasping her hands together before her. Those black ritualistic markings tattooing her flesh emit a faint bioluminescent light that shines like fireflies. Wisps and specks of Spiritual Energy float into existence around the woman while she charges up; Garm's malicious attention is distracted by the efforts of his slightly less powerful but far more tenacious Brother. However, Garm's getting the upper hand...
Eve's Lightning hurt Fenrir more than Mona hoped...
Fenrir snarls and slashes Garm's face with claws infused with magic, his attack a two-part endeavor packaged into a single blow. The Beast's robust and hooked claws spark as if hitting metal upon contact with Garm's dark-furred features. Still, a pulse of aether forcibly spills out of the monster's form, staggering him while painting the heated ground with his dissipating energy like blood. Garm growls in irritation, his bulked-up form noticeably larger than the God-Eater's. Mona likens it to two apex predators that fill the same niche coming to blows; like a Tiger and a Lion.
A single retaliatory swing of Garm's floors an off-guard Fenrir, the injured Beast yelps in vengeful agony as it hits the ground in a tumble. There's blood under His flank, and Mona's breath catches in her throat after realizing what's going on; Fenrir's almost out of energy and He's about to time out. If that happens before Mona takes Garm down, they're all dead. SHE NEEDS TO ACT! BUT SHE'S NOT READY!
Garm rushes Fenrir before the latter can recover and Mona rushes in with one thing on her mind...
FUCK BEING READY!
I'll make this work!
Without even realizing it, Mona's ambition to save Aerin awakens something in her. She would've missed that fleeting feeling if the world hadn't slowed around her while running across the cavern toward the two Beasts. Those markings flare brighter, as do her eyes. A surge of strength from depths she never knew lay within her unleashes a fountain of power that breaks her limits and awakens a newfound...
Overdrive...
Something is wrong...
"I don't think so..."
Mona's power and ritual markings vanish in a split second, and she tumbles to the ground.
Eve...
"I might need to keep you alive for the time being, but I need Fenrir dead. So sit tight..."
Mona is overwhelmed with emotions to formulate a typical witty comeback to the words swimming in her head as she watches Garm lunge at Fenrir and starts savaging him. Fenrir's too injured to put up much of a fight, only keeping Garm off of him through sheer tenacity and ferociousness, but Garm's slowly gaining ground. Mona lies there helpless and paralyzed, watching on with tearing eyes when Garm finally breaks through Fenrir's defenses and pins him down, opening his jaws in preparation to clamp on the God-Eater's throat and finish the job. Fenrir keeps resisting despite lacking any more strength, His last efforts at freedom weakened snarls and growls. He's going to resist until the bitter end.
"GET UP MONA!!!" the woman cries to herself while trying to move, but nothing happens. This is the price she pays for using Eve's power without the protection of Adam's Seal. The corruption in her eyes and energy is now the curse she bears for such a stupid and impulsive mistake. Her plan has backfired and made everything worse; she's a failure, and now she's going to watch Aerin die and her journey end before it even begins. The realization of her failures weighs heavy, and Mona's resistance and will to fight fade in an instant. Her body goes limp as she slumps over with a dead, thousand-yard stare in her eyes. She manages to look away before Garm kills Fenrir.
"I'm sorry, Aerin..."
... ... ...
"Frostbite! Get them!"
Life snaps back into Mona's body upon hearing a woman's voice; who was that!?
A large and vicious white-furred Vargr blindsides Garm and stabs the Hellhound in the side with Aerin's Warwolf Blade, nestled firmly in the beast's jaws. Garm recoils in agony and backs off the wounded Fenrir and Frostbite effortlessly jumps away from a retaliation swipe before darting around and snatching the sword out of Garm's side with his mouth. The Vargr's imposing visage pales in comparison to that of the many times larger Hellhound, but that's not an issue for Him.
Frostbite's eyes glow before he cocks his head back and savagely howls into the air with a following burst of aether pulsing outwards...
Vargr's Rally...
A pack of five phantom wolves appear around Frostbite as spectral fire; they look like ghosts. With Aerin's sword gripped in his mouth and his pack summoned, Frostbite glances toward the fair-skinned and petite red-headed woman who rushed back with him ahead of the others and snorts in understanding before drawing Garm's attention. Roxy nods at the Vargr and then rushes toward the wounded Fenrir. However, she pauses and turns when three more Lycans rush into the fray, and one of them: a tall, leanly built man with messy ashen grey hair, pale skin, and silver eyes rushes to join Frostbite in fending off Garm.
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"We're the only Lycans with power capable of putting up a sliver of a fight against a Deity..." a second newly arrived Lycan says to Roxy while she's examining Fenrir; the Beast is tired out and silent. Roxy suspects that Aerin's going to revert any second now. The Lycan talking to her is a young man in his prime with a healthy and robust constitution with blonde hair tied up into a rat tail style, warm-toned skin, an experienced, weathered look in his blue eyes, and a thick beard suited for the cold. He's got a large and imposing greatsword with a broad and flat design settled on his left shoulder, and he looks ready to fight.
"We need to get Aerin out of here when he reverts; he's no longer capable of fighting..." Roxy says in a concerned voice, glancing Mona's way across the ravine. The woman's still on the ground, and Roxy can't see her face. There's a moment of hesitation as the red-headed woman falls into deep and quick thought, snapping to a plan when a rushing wave of heat washes over the vicinity. Garm's gassing out as well; it's the only reason Frostbite and that other Lycan are still alive and breathing. Still, they're on borrowed time. They need to move fast, and Roxy can only think of one sensible option. There's no Inner Circle anymore; there's nobody to tell them what to do in these situations.
So, she'll take command just as she did in the Boreal Forest when Aerin went down...
She'll protect him again, as she's always wanted to.
"We need to get that Descendant up and back in action," Roxy says, her voice less shy and nervous and much more serious and no-nonsense. "She's our best chance at stopping Garmr because we're not outlasting Him," she looks at the Warhammer-wielding Lycan. "Ragnar can help Kaine and Frostbite with Garm? We might not have the Divine Blessing like the brothers but you can't use a Warhammer and not be capable of doing damage if you hit them, right?" she asks, her words somewhat joking but all serious. Ragnar flashes a subtle smirk and easily raises that heavy greatsword high into the air with one muscular arm; he's six-foot-two feet of muscle and athleticism.
"The keyword being if I can hit them..." Ragnar hums, turning those seasoned eyes on the Hellhound. There's a strong urge to flee the moment his eyes settle on that monster. One can only imagine the amount of willpower it takes to...
"I'll get it done. You do what you can," Ragnar assures with a gruff voice and then takes off toward the fighting, leaving Roxy with Aerin. She glances at Fenrir's labored breathing, the Beast's gleaming eyes weakly looking into her soft brown ones, and she senses something swirling within. The faintest traces of His Gaze fills her soul, brightening her senses and negligible power, but it's nowhere near enough. Fenrir can't embolden his Pack due to his injuries. Roxy gently caresses the massive beast's boxy head, unconsciously letting her curiosity and admiration take control for a split second; Fenrir is a beautifully fearsome creature. The young woman can't believe she's seen the God-Eater twice in person already.
But she believes she's capable of protecting Him again.
"Hang on, you two..." Roxy softly says beneath the symphony of combat happening nearby. The woman quickly takes off toward Mona, already sweating from the intense heat saturating the battlefield. It's starting to get so hot that breathing is painful; they're running out of time.
Roxy hits the ground with a sliding halt that ends a foot or so from Mona's paralyzed body, the latter's face turned away. The Lycan reaches for the Human and gently (but swiftly) turns her over and props her in their arms. Roxy's eyes meet Mona's a few seconds later, and Rixy's breath catches in her throat; one of Mona's eyes is completely red, while the other is slowly turning from blue to red. Roxy doesn't understand what's happening, but she's gotta get Mona back into the fight.
"Hey, can you move!? We kind of need you!" Roxy says while appraising Mona's body for injuries; the Human is in good condition all things considered. So, why isn't she helping fight? Does it have something to do with the terrible energy coming from her eyes? Is there an internal struggle she's unaware of? Mona's lacking response tells Roxy more than it should, and Roxy's quickly piecing the pieces together. It's Eve. She's interfering with Mona and disrupting her motor functions.
Roxy suddenly smiles like she's been waiting for this moment her entire life...
Anatomy and energy influence on the body is something she's always been interested in growing up...
There's a reason she charged into the fray with the others, and it's not because of her fighting strength...
"Easy fix. I've got you," Roxy assures Mona and hovers her open hands over Mona's torso after laying her flat on the ground. Mona's eyes are glassy and hollow, but she sees everything while restrained by Eve's influence inside; what's this Lycan doing? She sees a flashing rush of golden energy brighten around Roxy's palms and then feels something akin to internal manipulation. It's like her nerves and motor system are getting rebooted: her fingers and limbs tingle, her chest tightens and relaxes, and her body's convulsing and twitching like an electric current's running through it. It's such a weirdly unpleasant and simultaneously enlightening experience that Mona's unsure if she's screaming in pain or because it feels extremely uncomfortable. What is Roxy doing to her!?
Then everything stops, and Mona's eyes turn blue again...
Eve's influence is gone. Only silence remains...
Mona immediately lurches to her feet and rushes toward the fighting as soon as she can; she doesn't even say thanks. Roxy doesn't mind, nor makes a fuss over it when she watches the woman jump several meters into the air and clap her hands together. The second she does this, a flash of energy engulfs her while she falls like a comet, and she emerges from the fleeting embers with those archaic markings bared in full force, and something different about her. Garm notices her last second when he turns and sees her moments from impact. A spear of pure energy flash manifests in her hand a split second before contact. It's a near-speed blitz ambush attack with everything Mona's got left in her.
It's not His influence fueling her, though...
For Adam didn't reincarnate as Eve did...
"This is me keeping my promise and writing my destiny..."
Eden's Impact!
The subsequent explosion is so strong and loud that it blows everything back, even Fenrir. Everyone in the cave tumbles and flies for meters. Tyr's Coffin shudders in its entirety, and the lingering remnants of that booming explosion echo so far that the concerned Lycans standing at the opening of the cavern hear it, wondering what's happening inside. Smoke pillars into the sky, screening over the results of that last-second and daring sneak attack for almost a minute. Roxy recovers, coughing and waving dust and debris from her face before calling out for her three companions. Ragnar yells back assuring they're all okay, and their eyes turn toward the new site beneath the shimmering crystals above.
Mona stands over an unconscious Cyrus, utterly exhausted and injured by proximity; she manages a weak smile and one sentence before collapsing beside the defeated Monster.
"I kept my promise like I said..."
She hits the ground face first, and Roxy runs over to her as Fenrir simultaneously reverts to His silver-haired Chosen again. Aerin's unconscious as well, but his injuries seem healed; Fenrir had enough strength for that at least. Roxy sees Aerin revert while running toward Mona and almost stops running and turns his way, but keeps heading toward Mona; it's about time the Human got some hospitality. Ragnar meanwhile heads toward Aerin with the other two Lycans: the young grey-haired man who fought with Frostbite and another woman with long black hair, fair-colored skin, a shapely figure, and onyx-black eyes. She's gotta gothic aesthetic compared to the sleuthing vibes of the man and the attention-grabbing aura of Ragnar. Ragnar yells to Roxy while scooping Aerin into his arms princess-style. Frostbite's sticking close to his master's side.
"We'll take the two brothers to their houses and sit with them. You think that Human's the real deal?" he asks from a little way across the cavern, and Roxy glances his way and nods; she doesn't doubt it anymore. Ragnar responds with a small nod. "Same. I would've still wanted to kill her if I hadn't witnessed what she just did..." he chuckles impressed, then gestures at his two companions. "Kaine, can you take Aerin; I'll go get Cyrus. Lydia, stay with Roxy in case she needs your help with medical stuff," he says, and Lydia responds with a small snort.
"Of course, I'm going to stay with my disciple. I need to make sure she knows what she's doing!" Lydia's eyes roll and she steps toward Roxy, who's already going through the process of examining Mona for deeper injuries. Ragnar leaves it at that and eventually exits with Kaine and the two brothers, leaving the women with an unconscious Mona. It's time for a field examination and diagnosis.
"Do you remember the steps to examination, child?" Lydia asks while looming over her student as Roxy checks Mona's vitals. Roxy doesn't respond, but not because she's ignoring her mentor. No, it's because Lydia always asks rhetorical questions before explaining stuff; it's a bad habit that everyone's gotten accustomed to. While Lydia goes through the steps, Roxy is coincidentally executing them in tandem under the watchful eye of her oh-so-caring instructor.
"Step one is the external examination: we search for lesions, cuts, tears, punctures, and other external injuries. The second step is internal examination where we check for organ damage, internal bleeding, and stuff like that. The last and most difficult step when applicable is the energy network examination where we inspect the mechanics of one's aether circuit," she pauses right as Roxy's hands start glowing with energy again. All Lycans can use magic, unlike pure Humans. However, only those with Fenrir's Gaze can do more extreme supernatural things.
"Her aether circuit was the issue," Roxy finally speaks, drawing Lydia's inquisitive eyes while explaining. "She's got traces of corrupted energy circulating through her aether network; it interferes with her motor functions and inhibits her energy usage. I've temporarily managed to reroute the corruption away from her primary nerve bundles due to the corruption being minor at the moment but..." Roxy trails and turns toward Lydia with a foreboding concern in her eyes that matches her voice.
"I can't cure her and it's progressive. It's going to get worse..."
Lydia stays silent for a moment; she's thinking...
She eventually comes to a decision.
Then I guess we found someone for you to practice your skills on!" Lydia smiles, drawing a confused look from Roxy. Huh? Lydia ignores the younger woman's bewilderment and starts pacing. "You managed to contain the corruption on your first try; my teaching skills are great. Thus, as my prized student, I have faith that your skills shall develop faster than this corruption. I believe you'll be able to keep it under control if not outright purge it before it harms anyone," she says with a smile, and Roxy furrows her brow, baring a doe-eyed look of awkwardness.
"I think you're putting too much faith in me..." Roxy says, looking back at Mona's unconscious form; she looks rather peaceful in her sleep. "This... corruption in her is from Eve, a Human that's ascended to Godhood and traversed the ages through her Karmic Debt. I'm just a weak Lyca--" she can't finish the sentence because Lydia cuts her off with an irritated, yet reminding tone.
"What do I keep telling you, Roxy?" Lydia asks, and Roxy freezes before falling silent. Then, she looks at Mona again for a few seconds and finally answers.
"A being is only as weak as they believe themselves to be..." Roxy recites.
"Correct," Lydia says with a raised finger; it's time for a little motivational speaking for her reluctant disciple. "Let it be remembered that Eve was a weak Human at some point in life as well, and look how she turned out!" Lydia cracks a smile thinking she's done it and gives the best metaphor possible until Roxy's silent and awkward expression tells her that Eve probably wasn't the best example. "... Adam, I mean..." she corrects a little late, and Roxy can't help but laugh. Still, this helps lighten her anxiety.
"I understand, master," Roxy assures with a tired smile before scooping Mona into her arms. Roxy is easily capable of carrying Mona despite being smaller than her; a female Lycan's base strength is noticeably higher than that of their pure human counterparts all else being equal. She carries the unconscious girl with Lydia in tow; the battle over Mona's fate has finally been decided.
But the war is only just beginning...
And Mona's been missing for quite some time...
Next Chapter: The Hunting Party...