"You still with me, kid?" Enidri said while keeping her stance steady. She turned her head just enough to look at the small child behind her. Eva kept one wing wrapped around the back of Enidri’s leg while her eyes stared at the slowly creeping Jagmaw ahead. "Give me some space, kid. I don't want you getting hit by a stray swing."

The swordswoman nudged the child away with her leg, making her take a few steps back. The duckling chirped as the Essencima emerged from the water mud completely and started taking slow steps towards Enidri.

"Don't worry about me. I've been killing these creatures since before you were born." She stole another glance at Eva. "I know it's not saying much considering your age, but trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Enidri remained steady. The Jagmaw propelled itself forward by digging its claws into the soft earth and then launching forward on its stomach. It slid like a grounded torpedo across the mud. "Move it, Eva!"

The duckling dove to the ground, flapping her wings as much as possible only to fall face forward into the mud. Enidri rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the jagged teeth of the Essencima's open mouth. Eva chirped as loud as she could and shook her wings wildly as she ran to Enidri's side. The swordswoman stood between Eva and the Jagmaw and kept her sword low at a low angle.

"Keep doing what you're doing, Eva," Enidri said. "Whatever it takes so you don't get swallowed in a single bite."

The duckling chirped again as it positioned itself so that Enidri stood between her and the raging Essencima.

The Jagmaw angled its body sharply to face the swordswoman again. It snapped at her and received a slash from Enidri's Ion Blade in return. The glowing blade severed several teeth from its open jaw, sending sharp bits scattering across the ground. The reptilian creature turned its head away as it squealed in pain.

With its head lowered to the ground, Enidri propelled herself with forward jump that went well-over the Essencima's head. She raised her weapon high and swung downwards into the scaly exterior of the Jagmaw. Sparks flew as dark black and purple chunks of Essencima flesh spewed into the air. "Keep your distance!" Enidri shouted as she continued her onslaught of lacerations.

The Jagmaw opened its mouth, making Enidri stumble backwards as her footing became unstable. With the slashing having come to a stop, the Jagmaw rolled onto its back, flinging the exterminator to the ground.

It rolled over on its back to try to crush Enidri. A swift jump by Enidri allowed her to narrowly avoid being pinned. With the beast now laying with its stomach up, the swordswoman aimed for the exposed underside. She held the hilt in one hand and lifted it to the height of her head before sending it straight down with a thrust.

The weapon pierced through the softer flesh instantly, burning the innards of the Jagmaw as she let the sizzling weapon linger in the incision. The Essencima roared and wailed, flailing its legs in a vain attempt to fling the weapon out of its body. All the while, Enidri grit her teeth as she slowly moved her weapon down the length of the Essencima's underside.

The further she moved her sword down, the less the Jagmaw struggled. By the time she reached the bottom of the tail, the Essencima became completely motionless. With a heave, she pulled her Ion Blade out of the long wound, bringing out a small chunk of pulsating purple organs along with it. She hunched over with one hand on her knee, her other hand pressing the button to detract the blade back into the hilt. The guts stuck to her weapon landed with a crunchy plop once the blade disappeared.

The duckling waddled next to Enidri's side and placed her wing on the back of her leg. The swordswoman turned to her side and patted the child on the head and rustled her feathers. She let out a quiet chirp, one that carried an air of relief.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Yeah kid. It's dead. I'm sure of it." Endiri walked to the side of the slain creature and examined the long cut. Black and purple innards started to seep out along with a steady rising stream of mauve mist. She placed her hands over the duckling's eyes. "No need to see this. Gotta keep your mind innocent while we still can."

She reached the head of the monster. Its yellow eyes were open wide. Its jaw was agape as its tongue lay strewn out across the ground, dripping a gray saliva into the soil. Enidri sealed her fists tight, her arms trembling as she made eye contact with the slain creature. "Turn around, kid," she said. Eva looked up in confusion.

"Just... face that way," Enidri said as she pointed in the opposite direction. "I've still got some unfinished business here."

Confused, Eva obeyed. She turned her back to the swordswoman and buried her face into the feathers of her wings. Once the child faced the other direction, Enidri activated her sword again.

"This is for dad!" she muttered under her breath as she held onto the sword with both hands. Enidri slashed at the underside of the neck, cutting through the soft flesh and halfway through the other side. With a grunt, she removed the weapon from the cut and chopped again, this time at further down the neck. She repeated the process, hacking away at various parts of the head until the Jagmaw's face became unrecognizable from the thick lacerations and ominous fluid that seeped out from every attack.

The bright yellow eye stared back at Enidri as she paused the mutilation to take a break. Her lone teary eye stared into that of the Jagmaw’s. She took bent her back and angled her Ion Blade for a stab. She grit her teeth and sniffled as a lone teardrop escaped streamed down her cheek. "I'm sorry I wasn't better," she whispered.

Eva turned her head around in time to see Enidri plunge her sword into the eye socket of the Jagmaw. The blade remained still, crackling as it burned away at the surrounding innards. The swordswoman panted as she let her weapon linger for what seemed to be minutes before turning it off. With her sword retracted, she wiped away her tear with the back of her hand.

After taking in a deep breath, she turned around and saw Eva looking back up at her. The way her wings pressed against her chest and her eyes were opened as wide as they could showed how worried she was. "Thought I told you turn around," Enidri said calmly as she put a hand on the duckling's back.

Eva chirped quietly as heart raced.

"Don't be scared, kid. I just... lost control for a bit, all right? Me and that breed... we go way back."

Eva squeaked and lowered her head.

"Sorry you had to see that." She reached down and picked up the ducking and held her with both hands. Eva hunched forward over Enidri's shoulder and hugged the swordswoman's neck. "I'm not a fan of letting children watch me exterminate. I don't want you seeing things that you're not ready for. Even though I don't think anything's worse than what happened with your mother."

The duckling squawked weakly.

"Right. Let's focus on getting out of here. Maybe we can get you a session with a therapist if we manage to leave this place alive." Enidri looked up at the sky and eyed the direction of the setting sun. "We're heading to Gurk and the others. But I don't want to put you into any danger. Maybe we could get just close enough to that pillar to—"

"Enidri!"

The swordswoman stopped her movement to reach for the radio attached to her jacket. "Donva?" she asked. "Everything all right on your end?"

"Been better. But I'm still breathing so I'm thankful."

"I'm fine too. Got another friend with me," Enidri replied.

"Oh yeah?"

"Her name's Eva. Just a kid."

"Oh no. That's terrible."

"It is. But she's alive and kicking." She took a glance at Eva. Her heartrate slowed down to a normal pace.

"What about the others?"

"That's what I was going to find out now. You heard them talk with Mag, right?"

"I did. That's why I wanted to talk on the radio. I was getting worried."

"Well, I'll give you a heads up in case anything changes. You know Mag can hear everything, right?"

"Yes. But he seemed open to negotiation. I was hoping I'd hear more of it over this frequency."

"Wouldn't count on it." Enidri continued her walk towards the support pillar. "Nothing's genuine about that guy."

"All right. We'll keep quiet on this end. Please... update us the moment you find anything out."

"You know it," Enidri said.

"Over and out." Donva's voice cut out. Enidri attached the radio back onto the side of her jacket and held Eva with both hands again as she continued her slow yet steady walk towards the center of the Eco-Dome.