A few more blasts from Ringa and Brielle thinned out the numbers of the approaching Spittlers. They fell to the ground in dark, pulpy heaps. The survivors marched onward, too focused on the ones hiding behind the carrier to pay any mind to their fellow fallen Essencima. A stray shot from Ringa hit the Tauria in the side, only managing to make it flinch. Brielle squeezed the trigger on her first gun, only to have nothing come out. She unholstered her other weapon, aiming for the Tauria's head. She took the shot only, to have the red laser vanish into the monster's head as it jerked to its neck to the side from the impact. It shook its entire head before continuing.

"Something's not right with that Tauria," Enidri said to the others. "I've fought my fair share of these things before. They are not supposed to be this durable!"

"It must have something to do with that compound Donva stole from his lab," Janus said as he watched the swam of Essencima close in. "It must be making them more durable in addition to lasting longer."

"I just don't get it..." Enidri mulled aloud while still looking forward at the approaching enemies. "It's not like him."

"Now's not the time for contemplation, Eni!" Itzel said as she waved her hand in front of the swordswoman's only eye. "Either you make the first move or I'm going to."

"Right. I'm on it. Gurk," Enidri said while pointing at the Tauria. "You go and keep that thing off me. I'll go to the back lines and start cutting down some Spittlers so they can't keep blasting at you. Got it?"

"Yeah," Gurk said.

Without saying another word, Enidri hopped over her cover and used her Air Dash ability to propel herself forward through the air mid-jump. She landed to the side of the Tauria and in front of two Spittlers. With her Ion Blade drawn, she swung horizontally, cutting away at the gaping mouth of the closest creature. Her weapon made electricity crack as it struck the creature again, this time making a deeper incision as a backhanded swing returned the weapon to its original angle. With a bit of twitching, the creature crumpled into a motionless heap. She then focused on the other Spittler in front of her, raising her Ion Blade to block its barrage of three projectiles. Each one stopped short as it turned to smoke upon meeting the edge of her weapon.

With one Spittler down and another one focused on fighting Enidri, Gurk jumped into the fray. He lunged himself from the hood of the grounded carrier, and with a loud shout, dove towards the Tauria tail first.

"Spike!"

Gurk crashed into the top the of the monster's head, slamming it into the ground. A small crater formed from the impact. With the Tauria's head down in a pile of loose asphalt, the crocodile wrapped his arms around its neck and bent his body backwards. He put all his strength into the hold as he moved the creature's neck from side to side to choke it out and snap its neck at the same time.

Enidri lunged her Ion Blade in the center of the other Spittler, pinning its corpse to the ground with her foot so she could use the leverage to slide her weapon out. With her Ion Blade ready, she watched Gurk wrestle with the Tauria's neck. Approaching him from the side was another pair of Spittlers, ready to fire again. One vomited, hitting Gurk in the arm and making him lose his hold on the creature. After bowing back, the creature freed its neck and rammed into Gurk with its head. It pressed him into a carrier, denting in the side door.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Gurk!" Itzel shouted as she watched her friend get pressed against the vehicle even further. The remaining two Spittlers heard her cry as she jumped into the battle to protect her friend. They shot at her, with one of the blasts hitting her at the bottom of her boot. Her dash was cut short as her foot became stuck to the ground. She tossed a Serrated Gale, managing to stun one. The other began to scurry away once it realized that they were now outnumbered, until a few laser shots from Brielle ended its escape indefinitely.

"I got you, Gurk!" Enidri shouted to the crocodile as she made a leap towards the creature's rear. With one hand, she slashed at the Tauria's hind legs fervently, hacking away at the thick flesh. With each passing of her weapon, the creature's skin became narrower until the entirety of the limb had been severed. The Tauria let out an almost pathetic whimper as it fell to the ground, landing on the smoldering stump where it's right rear leg once was.

It then toppled over on its side, slowly pawing at nothing with the two legs that were up in the air. Enidri made her way to the front of the monster, plunging her Ion Blade straight into the skull of the creature. With a bit of twisting, she was able to the cram the full length of the weapon inside its head. She then tore the weapon out in one motion, sending sparks scattering all over as the weapon cut the creature's flesh as it left the creature’s body.

"What a hassle," Enidri said as she deactivated her weapon again. Everyone left their cover to converge by the Tauria corpse. With some help from Gurk, Itzel was able to break her foot free from the adhesive of the Spittler vomit and meet up with the rest of the group.

"How much ammo do you two have?" Enidri asked Ringa and Brielle.

"I've enough for about one more burst of shots," the officer said.

"My only pistol is about half empty," the detective replied afterwards.

Enidri shook her head from the responses. "That's not good. We could have used those shots for when we actually get inside the Refinery." Angered, she turned to Itzel. "We wouldn't have had to use those blasts if someone had just stuck with the plan and kept quiet!"

"Hey!" Itzel barked back, pointing into the gut of the fallen creature. "Someone could be in there! If I didn't warn you beforehand, you could have chopped some defenseless person to shreds without even knowing it."

"You really think there's an entire person just... trapped inside a Tauria?" Enidri stepped around the creature she had killed so she could look at the gut of the monster. "Looks like a normal Tauria to me save for the missing horns."

"Cut into it," Itzel said quickly. "Cut into it and see if there's someone inside."

"What? Even if there was someone in there, he's long dead by now. No way he could survive in there after everything that we put the Tauria through."

"Please Enidri, just a small incision?" Itzel placed her pointer finger an inch away from her thumb. "I need to make sure!"

"Fine! If it'll get you to keep quiet!"

With precision, Enidri placed her Ion Blade at the bottom of the Tauria's neck. She slowly slid the weapon down the length of the flesh, creating a long slit as she travelled further down. Once she reached the other side of the body, the incision spit open wide as black innards and sludge oozed out of it. Nothing even remotely resembling a person was inside of it.

"Good call, Itzel," Enidri said as she gave her a pat on the back. “Glad we gave up our position to not save someone.”