The adrenaline was slowly fading after Rontu’s grand entrance, his shoulders beginning to sag as he stared at the dead Honno in front of him. He suddenly felt weak at the legs, steadying himself against the Gemmer as he struggled to catch his breath. This was the first Honno he had taken down himself, as far as he remembered at least.

The side door to the Gemmer opened abruptly, Shen quickly hopping down the stairs in full armor as he stared at Rontu. Eventually, he shook his head in disbelief at his friend’s antics.

“Well…I am shocked that your plan actually worked. You are like one of the legendary heroes I used to read about as a child.”

Rontu took a few deep breaths, leaning back against the vehicle as he held a hand to his chest. He couldn’t feel his heart hammering against the hardened plate, but the pounding of blood was excruciating in his temple. “Yeah? I guess that’s something. Did any of them ever mention how scared they were after?”

“Mmm…” Shen’s head tilted to the side in thought, almost eerily like one of the feathered Honno’s bird-like heads. “No. None of them,” he answered. He then placed a hand onto Rontu’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “But, I think you are far braver than any of them for being able to admit it.”

Serratia scoffed, flicking a globule of blood from her arm as she shook her head. “You really came in here with all that bravado and then put it to waste huh?”

Rontu finally calmed down, standing back straight as he looked down at his most recent work. “Cut me some slack. It’s my first time.”

She lightly tapped her foot against the corpse, as if inspecting Rontu’s work. “Hm. I guess you did alright then,” she said before looking back at him.

He shrugged in response, though in his heart he felt quite proud of himself. “That’s more like-”

“Shh!” Shen suddenly said, holding a finger to his mouthguard as he froze in place.

Rontu and Serratia both stopped in their tracks, the silence lingering for a moment before they too heard what had caught Shen’s attention.

The sound of coughing.

All three Shutok hit the deck as a large spike of bone impaled the dirt near Serratia’s feet. Rontu quickly looked in the direction it had come from, barely able to catch a glimpse of the Honno as it spread its wings and quickly ascended into the sky once more. Gusts of wind from each flap of its wings sent dust and dirt swirling around the group, making the creature even harder to track.

Serratia was the Honno’s first target, which was rather unfortunate for it. As it grasped her prone form with its powerful talons, her armor immediately reacted. Several plumes of spikes and saws jutted out from her back, impaling and cutting the monster’s legs and feet in ways it wouldn’t soon forget. The Honno released her almost immediately, squealing out as it retreated back into the air.

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Shen grabbed Rontu by the wrist and helped him to his feet, watching as the creature circled their location. “Should we run?” he asked.

Rontu pointed to the imploded container, bits of splintered bone still embedded in the side. “I think it’d be pretty bad if it decided to shoot at the Gemmer. If it chases us we’re screwed.”

Shen’s head slowly moved to track the creature as it flew above them, observing it carefully. The Honno had closed its beak, sucking its esophagus back inside its throat as it looked for an opening. A spark ticked inside Shen’s mind, his golden gaze almost flashing in inspiration.

“I do not think it can shoot as us while flying,” he said, pointing up.

Serratia followed his finger, looking back down quickly as she thought about it. “Yeah…yeah! I think you’re right. Every time I’ve seen one fire it’s been on the ground with its beak open.”

“So what’s better? It flying in the air and avoiding us or grounded where it can shoot?” Rontu asked.

Shen softly scratched his head as he thought about it. Rontu had a point; if it was on the ground where they could easily fight it, then that meant it was also at its most dangerous.

“I’ll tether it,” Serratia suddenly said.

This caught both men by surprise, the pair exchanging a quick glance before looking at her.

“What does that mean?” Rontu asked her.

“I’ll keep it in the sky, but it also can’t get far from us,” she replied. “Watch.”

Serratia quickly took a running start, bounding up the side of the tallest object she could find before making a mightly leap into the air. As her body hurtled forward, she took careful aim at the Honno circling them. At the apex of her jump, she released one of her harpoons, firing it directly into the creature’s flank and piercing deep into the feathered flesh.

The Honno’s response was to be expected, letting out a shrill howl as it tried to change directions and flee from the group. Serratia went flying with it, her feet dangling and kicking as she suddenly fired another harpoon into the ground. The Honno came to a sudden halt as it pulled the line taut. Serratia dangled as the link between both lines, her hands gripping both to test how well they’d hold. Satisfied, she quickly grabbed the spools of wire at her hips and yanked them free, attaching them to each other to form a single wire before ziplining her way back down one-handed.

Rontu was thoroughly impressed. Compared to something like that, his little entrance was nothing.

The Honno desperately tried to rid itself of the tether, darting from side to side in the sky. The jagged blade in its side wasn’t even close to budging, but the one it the ground could be seen slightly being worked free. Rontu was the first to notice, quickly snatching up his rock pick and sliding on his knees to the anchor point. He slammed the hammer against it a few times, driving it back inside about as much as it was being pulled each time.

Unfortunately, this left him as a prime target. The anchor suddenly became very slack as the Honno folded its wings inward and divebombed with the speed and velocity of a comet. Shen barely had time to even utter his friend’s name before Rontu was grasped tightly in the Honno’s talons and taken skyward.

“Shit!” Serratia cursed, flicking a few knives from her wrist and chucking them towards the rapidly ascending creature. Each one fell back to the dirt, landing with their points deep into the soil.

“Rontu!” Shen shouted after him, watching as Rontu struggled against the monster’s grip and did his best to free himself.

Clang!

Both Shen and Serratia looked at each other for a split second before their eyes found the source of the sound, like metal colliding against metal.

It was Serratia’s anchor harpoon, now freely dragging across the ground.