Hibagon:

His eyes couldn't believe what they saw.

The small Baku had transformed in a flash of purple light, momentarily breaking the bard's attention to his flute. Now, a behemoth made of parts of different animals stitched together clashed against his grass and bamboo construct.

The Daien wasn't sure if his new opponent would overwhelm the wolf, but as long as he kept playing-

"EYES UP HERE, FREAK!"

The Oni's kanabō tore the ground with a slam, forming a deep crater. Hibagon silently gulped. Maybe he shouldn't be facing these two alone.

Whatever. The Daien didn't have the luxury of doubts anymore. He would get what he came for and retire from this madness once and for all.

The brute's muscles expanded while a red aura seeped through her pores. The bard could feel the shaking ground beneath his feet, a clear signal that he should run as fast as possible. And so he did.

As she lifted two fingers, the tremor area exploded in a powerful shockwave, followed by a thick dust cloud. As threatening as this spell was, Hibagon couldn't stop playing his shakuhachi. He wouldn't.

The wind symphony he created served as a threat to his enemies. Still, it also helped calm his nerves amidst the heat of battle, bringing the memory of what awaited him at the end of the hole they threw him in.

It alleviated his mind enough so he could dodge the looming shape of a fist, slightly concealed by the thick fog. Another burst of air from the flute's holes dispersed most of the dusty cloud.

At the corner of his eye, a purple glow caught his attention. However, a large rock was about to crush him if he wasn't focusing on the red menace. The red aura was still ominously radiating from her hulking frame.

"Damn it! You're a slippery little bastard, huh?!" Her defiant grin remained unflinching. "I admire your guts, but my friend needs that Human more than you, whatever it is you want from her."

Stupid Oni. What did she know about what he needed?

That glow again. The Daien finally saw what that was about. It turned out to be his wolf construct, levitating while engulfed by the Baku's mist, a different effect from inducing sleep on the target. His creation was slammed into the ground and brought up in the air, repeating the process countless times.

It wouldn't take long for his creation's destruction, Hibagon could tell. If the Daien wanted a chance of winning, he needed to take the Oni down first.

He had poured enough Saniya into the wolf to keep it moving for a few minutes without his direct control. It was more than enough.

Along with other species, the ears of an Oni are an outstanding tool. It would have been much easier for Hibagon to neutralize her if she hadn't plugged them with rocks. He had clearly underestimated these fools' ingenuity.

However, impairing her hearing could also be used to his advantage. She wouldn't even notice him playing another tune...

Changing the melody of his shakuhachi, the vibrations of his song, laced with his energy, compelled the Saniya from the bamboo trees to tear their hosts apart and project themselves toward the brutish lady.

As expected, the Oni noticed the upcoming attack too late. Several spots on her right arm and ribs were impaled by the plant rods. The red, trickling blood was camouflaged on her skin until it trickled down on the earth.

"D-Damn you!" She hissed. "I-If you THINK I'll-"

Another piece stabbed her right calf, bringing the brute to her knees. Tears started to build in the corners of her eyes.

"C-Can't believe that's how it ends for me... P-Pathetic, isn't it?"

The bard wasn't sure if she was talking to him.

"M-Maybe I should've stayed at home..." Her tone weakened to a barely audible whisper.

Hibagon's heart tightened upon seeing his kneeling opponent. He didn't want to resort to such brutality, but it was necessary, whether he liked it or not.

His lips stopped touching the instrument, allowing himself a moment of respite. Manipulating the Saniya of the plant life was still a taxing ability, even though he had mainly used the energy from other beings.

The flute was the perfect tool for molding and commanding the grass and bamboo. Even so, Hibagon was the only known bard who could take this technique to these heights. And there were only a few Monoke who could manipulate the flora without this crutch. It was no surprise that the Tizohi's Chosen kept an eye on him for all this time.

This brief moment of reflection, however, proved fatal as someone struck him on his side with a pointy weapon! It could only be the Baku with his horns, right?

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Actually, he glimpsed none other than the Human snatching his shakuhachi from his hands, riding on the Amikiri.

"You bastard!" The aerial Monoke shouted before lunging back at him for another beak strike. The Daien could barely dodge, clutching his side from the previous blow. The crimson stain on his palm was concealed by the dark pigmentation.

He could see the wolf turning into a massive pile of shredded plants by the dream beast, swinging the horns at the tip of its trunk as a bladed whip. It was too late.

The Human and the Amikiri landed near the weakened Oni, both with intimidating scowls on their faces.

"There's your fucking flute!" The girl grabbed each end of his shakuhachi and tore it in half with her knee. "Now get the fuck outta here, you piece of shit!" She threw it at his feet. Hibagon quickly grabbed his broken weapon.

That settled it. But were these people really going to let him go? Judging by how they stood there while he limped away, yes.

He clutched the halves of his instrument like a newborn baby. He held the tears from the irreverence of the only thing he had to remind him of his family while working for those monsters.

Even though the bamboo fields were mostly deforested, there were still enough trees to hide him from the group.

Once he was far enough, not even the Oni would hear him cry.

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Stella:

The bigfoot has fled, disappearing through the forest.

Hearing that heated battle from inside the "box" was a stressful experience for her and Kreef. Eventually, they gave in to their anxiety and quietly spectated the fight against the bard. When Hanaken was deeply injured, that was the last straw for them.

That proved to be the right call, thank goodness. Now, that ape wouldn't scramble anyone's brains with music voodoo.

The messy part afterward was taking the bamboo rods out of the Oni's arm and ribs. And here Stella thought she knew how suffering was with that dagger in her gut...

When Kreef yanked a piece out, Gentō used his trunk to stitch the wounded skin with healing magic. The Human couldn't believe the Baku's dream form in real life, and apparently, he also couldn't.

Hanaken peacefully sat leaning against the earth wall she had made to protect her companion. Speaking of, he was proudly boasting about his magnificent, boundless power or whatever bullshit he was spewing.

"At long last, my true power has been awakened! I am finally worthy of my species' name!"

Why did his voice remain the same even in the monstrous state? It was hard to take him seriously.

"I admit, this form of yours is pretty intimidating..." Kreef made circles around the Baku, analyzing each detail of his powerful transformation.

"It sure is," Stella added. "In fact, he enters my dreams looking like that." She turned to Gentō. "Why, though?"

He shrugged. "It's only how we present ourselves in the dreaming plane. It's more tradition than anything else."

Alright, then.

"So, how does that leave me? You got pretty powerful. Does that mean I'm free to go?" Asked Stella.

Gentō cackled. "Keh keh keh! Not so fast! I still need to test if a single dream is enough for my final goal! Besides, there's no guarantee this power will-"

A thick, purple fog blew from his trunk and enveloped his entire body, prompting everyone to clog their noses. When the mist subsided, the tiny, round shape of the real Gentō appeared in the behemoth's place.

And yes, he was obviously as naked as he came to the world.

"FUCK!"

Stella snorted. "Right on cue!"

The Baku growled. "Mock me at your peril, Human! Because you're still my captive and shall FEAST on your dreams FOREVER if I-"

Before he could finish, Lien appeared from thin air!

"Hey, guys!"

"AH!" Gentō and Kreef quickly hid behind Hanaken. The pup has truly traumatized them, huh?

Stella was also shocked at the sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?!"

Lien responded with a tight hug, which made the girl's cheeks blush. "Rescuing you, duh! Mom, the Knight, and more guards also came!"

The Monoke trio shouted. "WHAT?!"

Gentō was sweating bullets. "H-How many?!"

Lien closed her eyes and thought hard for a half-minute. "Uh... Not counting Mom, the Knight, and the Squad, I say it's much more than ten."

The Baku froze on the spot. "O-Oh!"

Stella asked. "Where are the guards?"

A flash came from the distance, stopping right next to the girls. "There you are!"

Hanaken gulped upon seeing the Knight again. He quickly noticed the trio of troublemakers. "You three! This is the end of the line for you! Kidnapping Stella! Working with the Tizohi's Chosen! You're ALL arrested!"

Tizohi's Chosen... Where had she heard that before?

"About that..." Stella rubbed the back of her head. "These three actually defended me from a dude with a flute. I think he was trying to kill me."

The hero turned at her, then back at them, who frantically nodded in agreement.

"Really? Then why were they working with-" The guard slammed his fist into his palm. "I get it! The Weasels must have been working with the bard! It was him who dulled my senses with his song!"

"Yeah, I was there," Stella interjected. "Before I was knocked out, I saw him coming for me before Gentō snatched me away."

"But they did abduct you! That's still a felony!" The Knight pointed at the Baku. "Besides, I know the one who gave the Chōkō the 'prophetic dream' was HIM!"

Gentō shook his fists at him. "Hey! You have no proof! How DARE you accuse me of such a heinous crime!"

Stella narrowed her eyes at him. "You just kidnapped me, dude."

"B-But-"

An entire battalion could be seen in the distance, approaching them.

Lien's ears perked up. "Here they come!"

The Baku ran at the Knight, then knelt at his feet. "I beg you! Don't let them take us! We'll become upstanding citizens, I swear!" A waterfall burst out from his eyes.

The hero held both hands placatingly. "First, put on some clothes! Second, we need you to clear Stella's name! The last thing we need is making enemies with the Basan!"

Crap, he had a point.

An awkward silence reigned for about a minute. Gentō trembled with overwhelming fear, almost as if he were naked in the middle of winter. Well, half of this metaphor was actually real...

"Ah ha! I know how we can both get what we want!" His lips twisted into a conniving smirk. That smelled like bad news.

The Knight allowed him to elaborate. "By all means!"

He snickered. "You want them to believe a Baku was here, right? There's a way of achieving that without needing me in the flesh!"

"How-"

He shouted at his accomplices. "CLOG YOUR NOSTRILS!"

Stella's eyes widened. "You son of a b-"

Sparkly smoke that came out straight from a My Little Pony episode came out from the Monoke's snout. The Human girl deduced what the little nudist's plan was, so she let the mist dull her senses until-

Back to sleep. Sweet dreams, Stella!