Their figure suggested a woman and they were wielding gloves which had three viscous metal claws extending from the back. They wore a different mask, having another set of lenses on the cheeks. The armor that they were wearing was light and had sections of exposed skin at the forearms and calves. This revealed ridged skin that followed the flow of the muscles, much like …

Wait is this Pauwna?

Pauwna looked down at the corpse at his feet that he had just looted and then back up at him. Surely she doesn’t think that this was me? He held very still as she stalked up to him and kneeled to inspect the body. She then prodded the mummified flesh with one of her blades. He held in pace as she stood up and looked him directly in the eye with those inhuman lenses. Dante tensed as she reached towards him. He was ready to fight for survival if she attacked.

He was caught off guard when she gently took the sword out of his hands. She tied it around her waist, gave him a nod, then turned around and walked into the haze. After a pause, he hurried after her. He had no desire to be alone on this battlefield.

Almost immediately, she halted and he nearly ran into her back. Pauwna was a fair bit shorter than him, so he could clearly see what had stopped her. Ahead of them lay a graveyard.

Bodies lay strewn so heavily that it was nearly impossible to tell where one began and another ended. Which was not helped as most were not in one piece. Most looked as if they had been left under the elements for a week, likely because of the poison. Others were freshly killed. Blood painted the walls of the trench. His eyes found the body of a young woman. Her glazed-over eyes seemed to stare accusingly at him. His gaze drifted lower to where her intestines spooled out of her torso. When he adverted his gaze, he was now looking at a decapitated head that was so burnt that hints of the skull peak through. Wherever he looked, similar scenes greeted him. He was breathing quickly, the scent of viscera and worse heavy in his nose.

Before he knew what was happening, he was bent over retching his guts out. He felt Pauwna patting his back gently with one armored gauntlet. Eventually, nothing else came up and he straightened. He gave her a weak smile.

"Auven. Thanks. I feel better now."

Pauwna held his gaze, nodded, and then set forth again. When he returned his gaze to the horrible scene, he kept his eyes forward and studiously ignored everything on the ground. Though the smell of blood and offal was too heavy in the air to let him forget what had happened here. Nor did the squish squish of his boots as he took a step.

Pauwna moved from his side and he focused on her to try and take his mind off of the scene in front of him. She had stepped up on the fire step and was gazing at the great barrier. Following her gaze, he was shocked to see a large gap in the magical array. The magical veil had parted in a teardrop shape, like falling water when you stick a finger in it. The opening was not large, but a person could easily fit. Dante looked from the gap to the scene of carnage.

Something had gotten inside.

Pauwna reached up and grabbed something at the top of the gap. As soon as she pulled it away, the gap closed smoothly. In her hand was a large chunk of polished crystal. There was something engraved inside it which pulsed with light. Before he got a chance to study it, Pauwna tightened her grip and it shattered with a piercing sound. She opened her palm and pulverized crystal dust filtered out.

Do not make her angry. Noted.

Pauwna stepped down and continued up the trench. When he accidentally kicked a limp arm and caused it to smack against a breastplate, it earned him a sharp look. He placed his feet more carefully after that, looking down to find secure footholds despite the roiling in his gut caused by the carnage. He fell into an old rhythm, ensuring that he stepped with the ball of his foot first followed by the rest.

In such a way, they continued their journey to the next bend in the trench. Pauwna paused before turning the corner and her body language screamed tension. Dante realized that there were tearing sounds coming from ahead. The sound raised his hackles. It triggered some primal part of his brain and he felt an intense urge to turn back. His companion, however, seemed to steel herself and then stalked around the corner.

After a moment, Dante followed her.

The scene that greeted him was hard to process. Pauwna was locked in a staring contest with a creature that sat atop a small pile of corpses. It was reptilian, though had a generally humanoid shape. Covered in crimson scales, it had spikes that trailed down its back which terminated in a thick tail. It was hunched in a way that suggested it was accustomed to walking on all limbs. What truly set it apart from anything terrestrial was the fact that it had an extra pair of arms just below the first and had digigrade hind legs. It was holding a human arm in one of its hands. It had clear gnaw marks.

It looked down a long muzzle laden with fangs the size of his fingers at them. Slitted eyes found them and its maw opened in a savage grin. Blood painted its fangs.

Pauwna raised one metallic paw and swiped it across a forearm. Dante looked at her with incredulity and saw her blood well up, collect into thin strands, and coat the claws on her gloves. The flow quickly staunched and each claw grew by a hand width. The blood seemed to solidify and grew lustrous like polished steel. She launched herself at the monstrous lizard man and crossed the distance in a few abnormally long steps. The lizard man, for its part, surged to its feet and took what a boxer's stance.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

There was a furious exchange of blows which Dante couldn’t track at all, and then they separated. A small trickle of blood dripped from a scratch on the inside of the creature's elbow, where the scales seemed smaller. Pauwna was untouched, though a little out of breath. The entire sequence had only taken about a second by his measure.

Maybe she's got this?

With the most emotion Dante had seen since coming to this world, Pauwna bared her sizable incisors and spit: “[Sanguine Burst].” The flow of blood from the lizard man's scratch intensified, turning from trickle to torrent. The droplets froze mid-air, then flowed towards Pauwna where they collected on her claws, lengthening them. Some flowed towards the rest of the hand, where they formed plates of blood.

The lizard man let out a hiss and clamped two hands over the wound. It quickly realized the futility of this course of action and let out a belch of flame directed at itself. There was a hiss as the flames cauterized the wound. The blood trail ceased and it was Pauna’s turn to hiss. She slashed her other forearm and more blood rapidly flowed out of the wound to join the rest. With this donation, the blood armor now reached up to her shoulders and the claws had grown to the length of a short sword. Pauwna stumbled and the blood flow ceased. He concernedly noted that she was paler than before. It had been a lot of blood, more than he thought the small woman had in her.

The lizard man had not been idle during this time. After stopping the bleeding, it reached down its jaw and pulled out swords of molten fire from its maw. The fight began again when Pauwna kicked a sword out of a fallen soldier's hands towards the lizardman, who deflected it with one of its four swords. Then, she launched at him, kicking off a trench wall for extra speed, and the hostilities began anew.

I can’t sit back and watch this, Dante thought, watching a performance that wouldn’t been out of place in a circus. Pauwna was fast and agile, constantly kicking between the trench walls to attack from unexpected angles. The lizardman, on the other hand, was the opposite. Immovable, it patiently endured the attacks and exchanged the occasional counterattack when the opportunity arose. Sometimes, it would unleash plumes of fire that Pauwna took care to avoid. At first glance, it looked like it was even, but Pauwna was increasingly out of breath.

I am not sure how to help, this fight is so out of my league. I don’t even have a weapon … of course!

Dante looked about at his feet, looking for a usable weapon amongst the pile of corpses. No, a sword won’t work. I do not want to get close to that thing. That spear would be better if wasn’t shattered — ah there! Dante picked up a crossbow from the hands of a mangled woman. It was a large, easily the length of his torso, with a wicked bolt already in place. It had a few glowing runes along its limbs and was made out of a strange bronze-colored metal. He slung it over his back and glanced back at the fight.

In the short time he had been distracted, the fight had gone rather poorly for Pauwna. Thin strands of molten fire now stretched across the trench. The lizardman sat in the middle, a spider in its web. Even as he watched, it spit such a thread towards one wall then turned and then turned to the opposing wall while maintaining it. Soon, another thread was in action. Dante realized that they were restricting Pauwna’s movement, forcing her to approach the lizardman directly. Where he could hammer her with blows that she could not take.

Why is she staying? She is definitely losing now. Wait, is it because of me?

There was no doubt in Dante's mind that, if left alone with the creature, there would be no escape. I better help before that happens. Dante had a feeling that this creature probably could take his bolt head-on. He needed something more. To surprise it.

He scanned around for the trench, looking for ideas. Nothing jumped out at him. It was all too obvious and he only had one shot. Perhaps I am thinking too inside the box?

His gaze drifted higher, to the lip of the trench. Now that is an idea. Still, he hesitated, remembering what happened the last time he had poked his head above the trench. However, he noted that the gas still lingered and blocked vision beyond a few dozen paces.

I'll risk it.

He began climbing but had barely put boot to wall when Pauwna crashed beside him. She made a visible dent and spit up blood. Dante looked back at the fight and saw that the lizard man was looking at them, jaw open, and a tongue of flame flicking in his throat. Time measurably slowed down as [Split Second Reactions] activated.

Having seen its breath attacks before, he was confident he could pull himself over the lip before it arrived. But Pauwna appeared stunned. He was not confident that she was aware of the incoming attack. If she dies, I die. Dante could feel [Split Second Reactions] approaching its end and made his decision.

Dante stepped in front of Pauwna, staying close and crossing his arms in a guard. A moment later, the flame erupted and he activated his [Overloaded Warding Flesh] charge right before it hit. He could see the flames parting just inches in front of his eyes and sighed in relief. The flames continued and started to grow hot. Uncomfortably hot.

Even though the flames aren’t getting to me, the heat is.

Thinking quickly, he grabbed the water skin that was hanging at his waist. He poured it over himself and the heat mostly retreated. Just as he felt [Overloaded Warding Flesh] reaching its end, the flames died out.

He could see the lizard man sag, tongue drooping over the lip of its mouth. Pauwna surged around him and scored a strong slash across the creature's face. Its blood augmented her claws and the fight began again, though it was decidedly more even this time.

Dante went back to climbing and boosted to ground level. Keeping low, he kept out of sight as he crept along. C'mon, I need something good ... there! Dante spotted a large crack in the trench ahead of him. That will do.

He activated [Chameleon] and hurried over. He first threw the crossbow in, then wormed into the crack. It was tight and he was grateful for once of how thin he was. Fortunately, it widened as he reached the part that split the trench wall. He readied the crossbow, then looked through the crack into the trench. The battle was still ongoing, though it looked like they both had acquired injuries. Pauwna still seemed to have the edge, as the lizard man's blood was still flowing to her. He was relieved to see that the lizard man's back was to him.

Still, can’t hurt to tip the scales. He aimed the massive crossbow the best he could at the creature's torso. The thing had no discernable sights he could see. Worse, the tip of the bolt swayed in time with his breath. Dante tried steadying his breathing and that helped some.

It’s now or never. Hope this hits, it's my only shot.

He squeezed the lever trigger and the entire contraption bucked in his hands. He cursed as the shot went wide and buried itself in the lizard man's thigh. The leg buckled and it fell to the ground. Pauwna was on top of it in a moment and unleashed a flury of blows.

She methodically dismantled it, cutting along the tendons and rendering its many limbs limp one by one. Eventually, it had no more to defend with and she finally managed to get it in the eye. The cries and flailing stopped. Relative silence descended on the scene, broken only by their heavy breathing and the occasional distant explosion.

They had won.