The eyeless hounds sought to intimidate the two youthful souls with their relentless pawing, only to recoil in disarray afterwards. Their noses, never ceasing to snort, were fixed upon Orb's position. With the passage of time, their cries instilled terror in the crows.
Alicia and Wisesa were already clad in Arcane. A fusillade of plasma energy was discharged the moment she took an initial stride, but a humanoid suddenly tore one of the hound’s back and shielded the rest of the pack with a carapace of bones! The carapace fractured into fragments, but the hound endured, and its pack gained momentum to scatter, anticipation should the fusillade pierce through. Besides their lack of sight, the humanoid bore a pallor reminiscent of the canine's physique, extending from head to waist. The human wails of agony it emitted were more coherent, albeit no less horrifying.
Alicia was aghast. She noticed a pattern in the creatures' behaviour, and a deduction crystallised in her thoughts. "They act strange whenever I display Orb's might!"
Now, it fell to Wisesa to unleash a pair of Barong Heads at the canines, and the other two mutated likewise, hatching new entities that affixed themselves to their backs and deflected the energies’ bites until the hounds were repelled. The lad shifted to hurl from the gargantuan rubble to the entire house’s façade, but more of them spawned shielded humanoids, forming a testudo formation! Their bony shells regenerated quickly, never ceasing.
Meanwhile, the hounds that had yet to mutate went into epilepsy, and nascent humanoid forms ruptured their back tissue shortly thereafter. This time, they refrained from extracting the bone shells from their arms; instead, their slimy limbs were torn asunder. Their tissue composition and flesh recalibrated, akin to the calibration of an automaton. Their arms took on a form even more lethal than the rest.
An organic rifle frame.
The barrel comprised a hollow bone entwined with veins. Wide chasms formed on either side of the arm, the purple sinews within slippery and throbbing, occasionally spurting a sticky membrane fluid.
Tiny blasts snaked across the terrains towards the youthful pair—the hounds’ rifles whizzed by without warning. Alicia made a startled gasp. She and Wisesa instinctively scrambled for protection behind the wooden walls, but alas, the barrages splintered the wood and stone in a flash. Alicia and Wisesa hid across from each other, dropping to the ground due to the fragility of their mundane fortifications.
"First Bathara kala, then the weirdest species I've encountered, with the weirdest mutations that border on the madness!" Wisesa shouted. "Fused dogs and humans who can turn their arms into firearms, Alicia! Walking with you and Orb always leads to paths of insanity!”
"I promised an exciting and thrilling adventure! Not a picnic!" Alicia snapped back.
"Tell me the excitement of being caught in the crossfire!"
"Can't be a grateful fellow, can ye?"
"You find gratitude in this?”
The guttural cries of the humanoid mutations resurfaced. Stone blocks and rubble crumbs rained down upon the heads of both youths, erupting a coughing fit from Alicia. The gunfire implied no signs of abating, as if their cartridges were infinite! Alicia could not help but ponder: how much mana did they possess that the hounds' organic rifles continued to whizz by? Could they at least have the courtesy to pause so that they both could catch their breath for a while, without a hail of dust upon their faces?
"Yo, Cat!" exclaimed Wisesa. " Get out, and see how they're moving now!"
Barong materialised amidst the firefight. Some of the hounds directed their shots at the Patron of Lands, ignorant of its nature as energy. "Oh, shit!" Barong feigned frantic. "They're being tactical!"
"What do you mean ‘being tactical’!"
"The dogs covered the front and sides with shields, while the mutation gunners stuck their rifles through the shield gaps! They even covered their heads with shields as well!"
"What? They're pretending to be army troops now?"
"Troops in tortoise formation!”
"Then we must dispatch them quickly!" Alicia told them both. "I'll draw their attention! You fly immediately and flank them behind, Wisesa!"
With grit and unwavering resolve, Alicia soon found herself standing valiantly in the middle of the roadway, daring the absurd hounds to shower her with more volleys. When the newly built Arcane dome rippled with absurd projectiles, it was a sign of momentum. Wisesa capitalised on it by leaping over the rooftops until he could see the naked backs of the rearguard. With the lad on the ground, there was little the hounds could do. But Wisesa had plenty in store.
His yellow kris was unsheathed, and he hurled it towards the middle column. The kris penetrated the hearts of all the troops inside the column, and with that, the tortoiseshell was split open. His six bangles devastated the formation’s divisions, and a barrage of Barong Head projectiles blindly pounced on the scurrying dogs. All had been infused with Arcane might.
When the hounds’ attention was partly on Wisesa, he pressed his palms against the ground and the daylight view was obscured by abrupt dust raised into a heat haze. With alacrity, Wisesa scampered and slid between them, his hands steadfastly thrusting forward in a bid to stop the flying projectiles with his inner strength. He climbed onto one armed humanoid, using it as bait while the other fired at the chest of its own kind. And so Wisesa kept leaping from one head to another, and the other hounds also leapt over their fellows with snarling shrieks.
"Do you want to play too, Barong?" called Wisesa, who was overwhelmed by the determination of the equally agile monsters. "Tear them to shreds!"
"I don't mind!" Barong's energy suddenly exploded and became brighter. The claws on its left land tore into a humanoid’s chest, while the other hand uprooted another humanoid from its hound. "Oh, I truly wish to savor their flesh too!"
"No, not gonna happen if it's through my mouth!"
Despite the furore at the rear, the phalanx dogs remained steadfast in their duty to keep galloping towards Alicia, and the first line of gun dogs kept lobbing projectiles amongst the mist. Alicia remained prey, the most silent prey in their feral intuition. But unbeknownst to them, Arcane threads intertwined in each of her fingers, then swiftly snaked behind the bone shields, entangling their limbs. Divine volatility seared through flesh and sinew until their yelpings manifested in smoke and ash.
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The phalanx felled. A salvo of Arcane mortars was levelled at the foremost line of gun hounds and the rest in aid of Wisesa, as well as a form of "returning the favour".
The pack was now the youths’ footrest.
Alicia, with curiosity in her eyes, attempted to temper her Arcane assault on the last rifle hound, but the creature's corporeal form dissolved into nothingness nevertheless. Gone was her chance to examine the cryptid carcass.
The Arcane force field dissipated, and in that instant, Alicia's trembling legs could not resist the urge to fall. "Clipe," she muttered. She loathed the feeling of weakness weighing down her body, and the throbbing on both sides of her head mingled with cold sweat was disturbing. Her hand had almost reached for the last bottle of Stillmajik in her bag before she restrained herself. Later, Alicia insisted. She had anticipated that the forthcoming moment would be even more treacherous than this. But for now, her hands were still capable of manipulating the Arcane tendrils.
"Is that it?" asked Alicia to Wisesa from a distance, her voice rather loud but with a touch of frailty.
"Whoa, already cocky now, huh, Miss Arcane—"
"Just check there if there's more, Wisesa, Divine Mercy!"
A smacking of lips was WIsesa's reply. No further human howls could be heard, no fresh waves of assaults. The village returned to being a necropolis. Alicia and Wisesa then rushed back to the shore, finding the crew and children seated near the shifted wreckage.
"Neesan!" The boy surprisingly rushed over, his face adorned in bewilderment. "Neesan is okay?"
Alicia feigned an examination of the front and back of her body, then her shirt and thighs. "Thank you for caring, dear. Just dust and dullness, nothing serious," she assured with a grin.
Rather than finding relief, the boy just chewed his lip. His eyes found Alicia's white complexion unnaturally pale.
"Have all the dogs been exterminated?" one of the crew asked.
"Already exterminated." Alicia nodded.
The boy decided to bend down to the ground. "Thank you! Thank you so much for clearing out the monsters! A-and...," his voice faltered, together with his body lowering into a prostration, "I'm sorry again for almost hurting you, Neesan!"
Bending down as well, Alicia extended her hand and helped the boy to his feet. A smile played on her lips. "Dinnae kowtow like that. Orb and I are more than willing to help," she said. "Might you share yer name with me?”
"My name is... Kaito... Miyamoto Kaito." the boy's head was still bowed.
"Then allow me to introduce myself,” Alicia placed a hand on her chest, "Alicia Crimsonmane." The lass gestured to the hovering Arcane orb, momentarily startling Kaito, "This is Orb. It has a very strong magic power known as Arcane! Fear not, it's a strong and wise ally."
Orb chimed a melodious chirp.
"I-I know what Arcane is, Alicia-neesan," Kaito said, though his face was still full of doubt. "Alicia-neesan really defeated the mujinos with Arcane?"
"Mujinos?" Alicia held back for a moment. "Of course. Orb aided me and the others!"
Then Alicia extended a hand towards the companion beside her. "Oh, aye, this one's Wisesa—"
"And I'm the Patron of Lands!" announced Barong, who suddenly came out of its host's navel, once again threatening the boy's heart to burst. After what the boy had witnessed, Barong and anything beyond human resemblance were considered unworthy of trust. The title of Patron of Lands itself made the boy wary. The fangs escaping from the snout valve only further corroborated that.
"The others and I call it Barong," Alicia continued. "And about that, dear Kaito, please don't burden yourself any further, alright? Looking at the state of the village, I... can't imagine what you and the others have been through—"
"Then, I beg you to save my sister!"
"Wh-what?" Alicia flinched. Kaito's response was succinct. "Your sister? What has happened to your sister?"
"They were taken by the same pack of beasts."
"But we've already eliminated all of those creatures."
"The pack that scavenge for food in this region..., was not the whole pack. I've seen the dogs bring their prey alive to their brood, then the brood divides up all the prey among its pups," Kaito explained. "The dogs are always divided into groups, each searching for prey in specific areas. My sister... my sister was kidnapped by a 'god' and taken by the dogs. A wandering candle merchant came to me and went to their den but she never returned! I understand Neesan is not faring well, but I am desperately pleading to save my sister! I-I can take you to their den, I know where it is!”
Kaito, his eyes swollen, saw at the bespectacled girl's troubled look. Wisesa who heard that was unmoved. His face betrayed a tangled emotion. But not for the crew. Their body paced back and forth, their expressions rigid as a shipwreck plank.
It did not take long for Alicia to make up her mind. "We have to help this wee lad—"
"That's absurd," one crew member sneered. "We'd rather go straight to the capital than embark on a suicidal mission to a monster's lair! His sister was already captured by the dogs, and then a dumb candle seller came along for the ride. They must be dead by now—"
"No! My sister is not dead! I am certain she is not!" Kaito denied vehemently.
"He does have a point," Wisesa, with a sombre face, concurred with the crewman.
"He has no proof my sister is dead," Kaito argued.
"You're not in a strong position to argue otherwise either, are you?"
"That's why we need to go there to see for ourselves!"
"And that is why we chose the safest option: not taking a step closer to death,” interjected Lenong, the crewman.
However, Kaito was an unruly lad. His small hands gripped Alicia's skirt, swaying almost in sync with the rhythm of his sobs. "Please, I don't know where our parents are anymore. I don't want to give up my sister either. She's all I have left!"
A surge of compassion rushed through Alicia’s body. The callousness of the others made her eyebrows sharply knit. "Come on, are ye really going to ignore this wee bairn’s request altogether?"
"Then what's better?" challenged Lenong. "Going on a suicide mission? Is that it?"
"You willnae die! Orb will bless you with Kalimasada!"
"Lady, please listen," the crew chief, who had remained silent, now raised his voice. "I've lost a lot of my men today. I don't know how I will face their families. You're right, Lady, you do have Kalimasada. The thing is, even with the Arcane, many of us were brutally slain by those bird monstrosities while at sea. If Lenong and Makarti wish not to come, then we're not taking any chances."
"I…” Alicia’s teeth clenched in anger. “Urgh! Yer unbelievable!"
Alicia, compose yourself. Do not coerce them. Their decision is their own path, Orb advised.
Alicia's nostrils flared in anger at the awkward gaze of the captain and his two crews. Nevertheless, their furrowed brows clearly conveyed aversion. And fear. They were not soldiers, nor explorers. They were merchants. Their martial arts were honed only to defend themselves from humble pirates who lacked giant octopus mounts, let alone combat cryptid beings. Alicia sighed, her neck slowly shifting to the particular lad and his beast, Barong.
"W-what about you, Wisesa?"
Wisesa still did not move. The Barong on the horizon also stayed still, making no effort to persuade its host. A test of principle, the Patron of Lands reckoned. Wisesa spared a glance at the kid. His plea just now, a pair of teary eyes anxious for his sibling, Wisesa's heart hinted at a pang. He had actually shared the same feeling.
"Fine. I'm coming."
Barong made a slight nod. It offered a relieved grin while retreating back into his body. As did Alicia and Kaito.
"Oh, Wisesa Aniki! Thank you!" Kaito expressed his gratitude, bowing to Wisesa once more.
"But really, do you want to go?" Wisesa asked Alicia again. "Don't you really feel pathetic? I got the feeling you can’t even walk any further into the forest."
"I appreciate your concern, but it seems like you underestimated me. I'll be fine."
"At least drink that potion of yours."
"I only have one potion left. I'll use it for emergencies."
"Tell you what," the crew chief interrupted them, "we'll make haste towards the capital while gathering food, away from the mountains, while you go rescue Kaito's sister. We'll leave markers so you can find where we're staying for the night."
"If you want to leave us, just say so. No need for false promises." Wisesa sneered.
The crew chief did not fall for it. "A tree carving mark every ten haketh. You won't miss it."
"Alright then," Alicia nodded. She turned to the boy. "Now, could you lead us to the monster brood's lair?”
An unexpected explosion in the distance caught their attention. There was no way their eyes could miss the explosions and smoke plumes on the mountains near the coast.
Kaito's index finger trembled as he pointed. "Right there." []