Fire burned at Semari’s skin, a constant burning, prickling sensation, making her body spasm and twitch. Hurtling through what felt like solid lightning, an endless wave of needles stabbing over her skin. It hurt! It was also making her feel hyperactive, her body surging and spasming with power, although there was nothing she could do. She tried opening one eye, but blinding light dazzled her. Where the hell had Hakara sent her? Was she inside a bolt of lightning? That would be cool! Another wash of burning pinpricks needled her skin, her clothing burning on her skin, anything metal flaring with heat and searing her.

Thunder boomed, rattling her skull and deafening her. The burning sensation faded, cool air sweet against her skin. Her vision was blurry, filled with strangely-coloured blobs of movement, and she dodged something moving towards her and punched back at it. Her fist hit against bony lumps and ridges, breaking through what felt like a rib-cage. The air shifted, something moving fast towards her, and she moved, feeling power surge through her legs.

The ground moved underneath her, and she felt herself impact into a tree, the bark rough against her body. Her vision was starting to return, along with her hearing – the sounds of violence and fighting. Had Hakara managed to drop her into the right place? She still couldn’t see anything other than vague, blurry blobs, three moving towards her, really slowly.

She stepped forward, stamping downwards to balance herself, feeling her foot break the surface, fragments of dirt springing out, before spinning around in a kick. Her heel shattered through bone, before scything around into another one, easily splintering bone into shards. They were tough and rigid, without any squishy parts, so they must be skeletons. That meant she was fighting the right side!

From somewhere close by, she could hear the sounds of weapons and armour, and grunts of effort and pain. That must be the defenders! Probably? Semari settled into a fighting stance, feeling the energy surging and snapping through herself – her entire body felt like it was on fire still, her skin hot, metal burning her flesh, the smell making her feel queasy. She could feel Pajaran’s magic still, fighting off the heat, knitting together her flesh as it singed and burned away.

‘Silly little girl, all on your, AUGH!’ Semari lunged towards the sly, hissing voice, feeling her fist connect with cool flesh, the speaker screaming in pain. Her vision was starting to return, a sickly blur of far too many colours forming itself into one of the vampires, smoke rising from their shoulder. Semari didn’t give them a chance to recover, stepping in close and launching a swift combination of punches. Every time she hit them, bright sparks of lightning burst from her fists, conducting themselves through the vampire, making their flesh burn. Their clothing was starting to smoke from the energy, fiddly metal decorations heating up.

They tried to back away, hissing and showing their fangs, but Semari didn’t relent, continuing her attack, feeling their bones start to shake under the impact of her strikes. They were off-balance, the bendy sword in their hand flipping around uselessly, too long to be bought around.

‘You’re, like, not used to this, are you?’ They jumped backwards, supernaturally fast, Semari kicking off the ground and keeping up. She was burning up, but her body had never felt so light! Every movement was swift and powerful, her feet gouging up chunks of earth, her fists pushing the air around with enough force to make air waves.

The vampire tried grabbing at her with a hand, nails stretching into claws, rending at the air. Semari blocked with one of her arms, putting force into the block, grinning when she felt their bones take the impact. Their face snapped forward, mouth opening, fangs ready to bite.

Semari slammed her fist forward, hitting them right in the mouth. One of their teeth broke, their neck snapping backwards as they took the full force of the impact to the face. Before they could regain their senses, she stepped into an elbow strike, putting her full weight behind the hit, getting them right at the top of their neck, collar-bone splintering. Part of it broke their skin, bone protruding at a horrific angle. They hissed again, their wounds already starting to close up.

‘Bloody vampires! Need to, like, feed you to Janaxia or something. I reckon she might absorb you or something, she’s all, like, proper eldritch now. Hey, if I shove a stick through your heart, will that kill you?’

She sidestepped a clumsy punch and jumped, landing on a thick branch and snapping off the end, then flicking it forward, checking it was strong enough to be used as a weapon. The vampire’s body faded, turning into mist and flying up towards her, before transforming back into a human form. The injuries hadn’t completely healed, but it was frustrating seeing her work undone! They landed on the branch, their feet light.

‘I will destroy you, and then…’

Semari didn’t let them finish, stamping down on the branch they were both standing on to make it shake and then jumping into a kick, bringing her foot down towards them. They tried to dodge but weren’t fast enough, her heel smashing into a shoulder, shattering bone. They grabbed her ankle, nails sharp as they dug into skin, flesh cold. Their flesh started to steam, more sparks of lightning sparking and striking into them. She could see the white sparks beneath their skin, shining out from beneath, burning holes through them.

As they hissed in pain again, Semari lunged with the stick. They dodged backwards, Semari grabbed at their clothing, getting a handful of fabric, dragging them in close. They tried biting at her, before their nose exploded in a spray of blood when she punched their face. As they recoiled away, Semari stabbed with the stick, imitating one of Stathis’ thrusts, shoving it into their chest. Ribs broke and shattered before it slid through into the squishier internal organs.

They fell backwards and down, Semari flinging herself after them and keeping hold of them, bringing her fist back and then punching them, full-force, in the stomach. The cold skin ruptured, her fist sliding into cold, clammy organs. Lightning blasted from her hand, flash-frying their organs and making them scream with pain.

Both of them slammed into the ground, the vampire taking the brunt of the fall. Their face was a mess of blood, the stick skewered through their ribs, and their stomach smoking and burning, the odour uncomfortably like black pudding.

Before they could recover, Semari raised herself up and bought both her fists down onto their skull. Bone splintered and cracked, their eyes glazing over. Semari didn’t stop, hitting them in the head again and again, until their skull was broken, mushy brains oozing out. She could see the goop starting to flow back though, their skull reforming already. ‘Just die already! Again!’

As her anger flared, lightning surged out of her fists. Where it struck, their body melted, turning to flecks of ash, blowing away on the wind.

She stood up, looking around now that her vision had returned. The town walls were close by, filled with fighters, stood in defence against a horde of undead. And managing to achieve something! Although the walls were so small that they couldn’t do much! The zombies and skellies had formed a ramp of their bodies, able to simply walk up and directly attack.

Her body convulsed, muscles spasming as lightning tore through her, vision whiting out for a moment. It hurt, pure white hot agony burning through her, the magical protections doing little to keep it at bay. But she could feel the power as well – time to fight!

She charged, running towards the wall. A single tensing of her legs sent her powering forward, leaving a puff of dirt behind her. She slammed into a cluster of zombies, clotheslining one, her arm cleaving through a ribcage. Despite the pain, this was fun! Some of them turned towards her, or at last started to, incredibly so, their bodies exploding into dried meat and bone-dust as she attacked them, annihilating them with ease.

From there, she crashed into the rear of the enemy lines, attacking as fast as she could, a blur of violence, leaving smoking wrecks behind her. The formation on the wall was holding, shields resisting the scrabbling claws of the attackers, but they had managed to break through elsewhere. After kicking her way through another attacker, she jumped, vaulting over the defences and landing inside.

The sounds of combat were louder here, bow-strings snapping and swords striking into dead flesh. Semari lashed out, slamming her fist through the stomach of a zombie and grabbing their spine, before spinning around and using it as a club, before the torso spun off, unable to withstand the force of the spin.

‘Oi! Where’s the leader? Someone needs a kicking!’ Something scrabbled against her ankle, half a torso clawing at her, and she stamped down, shattering a skull. There was a tumult coming from ahead of her, as a huge black blade cleaved the air, slicing through a soldier, half their body flying through the air. In the midst of a melee was a black-armoured figure, holding a huge sword with worrying ease. He swung it around so it was resting on his shoulder, red lights staring out from within his black helm.

Semari charged, running towards him then jumping, easily vaulting over him and avoiding a stab, before slamming her first forward into his back. A shockwave rang out as she struck the metal armour, the impact jarring her arm, bones grinding against each other. She launched a quick succession of attacks, feeling her skin start to burn up from the power contained within herself, the sounds of the attacks clanging together into a single continuous noise.

They spun, blade slicing around, whistling just above Semari’s face as she bent backwards, making herself horizontal, feeling the rush of air ruffle her hair. She used her momentum to flip herself backwards, coming back to her feet. That thing would bloody hurt! And it probably had some stupid bullshit magic as well.

‘Where is she? This will be easier if…’

Semari didn’t let him finish, stepping in close, planting her foot solidly and shoving her weight behind a punch, right into his breastplate. Against normal armour, that probably would have shattered straight through, but she felt a jarring pain in her shoulder, the metal refusing to break. Lightning shot out of her fist, scattering itself over the armour.

Before she could follow through with another punch, the huge sword came whistling through the air, straight for her. She slid around, using the man’s body as a shield, landing another punch into his ribs. What the hell was it made of? Probably star iron or fairy steel or something stupid! It made her fists hurt to hit though, and then the heavy club of the pommel crunched into her chest, with enough force to knock her backwards.

‘Fast, aren’t you? I’ve not faced someone brave enough to fight me bare handed for many years now.’ He’d opened up enough space to swing for her again properly, making her throw herself backwards. A zombie grabbed at her, arms wrapping around her until she grabbed a wrist and twisted, feeling muscles snap and twist, before bone started to snap.

‘Don’t suppose you’d, like, take that armour off? Makes this a little unfair!’ She pivoted, twisting around so that the zombie was in front of her and able to take the brunt of the next blow. The force of the attack tore the zombie from her grip, the sword easily cutting through flesh and bone. Pain seared along her chest, the zombie not able to shield her entirely from the attack.

‘No, I think I will keep the armour. Being able to ignore attacks is rather useful.’

Where the blade had cut her, it felt bitterly cold, lightning streaking along the blade, along with a rush of heat. The fever still burned inside of her, the power of the lightning wanting to jolt and move, her hands jangling with tension. She grabbed at the blade, feeling the edge slice at her hands with a cold edge, but she spun herself around the oversized thing, picking up momentum, slamming one of her feet into his helmet, before bringing her other feet crashing around, feeling the metal of his helmet dent under the impact.

‘How d’ya like that!’ She pushed herself off the sword and landed, glancing around – the battle wasn’t going well, with undead pouring in, the defenders barely holding. ‘Help is coming!’ She tried yelling, but everyone was too intent on fighting to pay her any attention. But hopefully he was dazed now – anyone normal would have had their brains splattered by that attack! Was he undead himself? Some supernatural bullshit or something going on!

‘That was… stronger than I expected! You are impressive.’ He attacked, slightly more cautiously, jabbing with the sword, using it to try and control her movements. She jumped backwards, kicking up dirt, spin-kicking and cutting another zombie in half. Brina jumped out and stabbed it through the head.

‘Where are the others?’

‘Stathis is coming. Like, as fast as we can. But it’s just me for now.’

That stupid, massive sword sliced forward, at an angle that would hit Brina, even if Semari dodged. She twisted her arms, managing to catch the strike on her bracer, the force pushing her arms all the way to the side, metal biting into her arm, the attack strong enough to break through the metal, cutting into her flesh. Her hand tensed up, something inside of herself cut, a strong flare of pain coursing up her arm.

Semari raised her other hand up and bought it down onto the metal, a reverberation sounding out from the impact. She could feel it cutting deeper into her skin, but tried to keep it through, slamming her fist against the sword again, more lightning shooting from her body, slicing cold cutting into her wrist. Another strike, and part of the sword was started to glow with heat.

It drew backwards, and she groaned in pain as it sliced through skin and metal. She couldn’t close her fingers at all now, the feeling fading, but her arm still worked! Sort of.

‘How much longer can you stand?’

The prickling sensation underneath her skin was getting stronger, heat bursting inside of her. She tore her arm backwards, blood gushing downwards, heating up and trying into a painful scab.

‘Long enough!’ Although she could feel herself weakening, despite the throbbing heat searing through her. ‘You’re going down!’

She shoved Brina aside, just barely avoiding another hit, skidding and sliding against a building. When she dodged the next attack, she heard the wooden structure shatter and break from the attack. How long would it take Stathis to get here?

‘Iristari!’ Brina’s voice was amplified somehow. ‘Hold for the dawn! Hold for the light!’ Despite the clamour of combat, her words drew a response. ‘We hold!’

Semari let the power run through her, moving as fast as she could, her body burning up, skin peeling away in an agony of heat, lightning crackling over her skin. The world blurred as she accelerated, her strikes clanging against his armour, the sounds clashing together as she hit, again and again, feeling the force of the impacts jar her arms and legs, her maimed hand aching from the force.

‘When the darkness rises, the light shall ward this world!’ Brina’s words rang out, clear and loud, as Semari’s world shrank, spinning and twisting around her target, hitting him again and again. There was nothing else, just that fucking armour, stupidly tough, and the pain, her feet and fist starting to crack and bleed, and the heat burning through her, fiercely strong, so hot that she couldn’t sweat without it evaporating instantly.

She punched forward, thunder cracking, hearing metal start to crack. Lightning flashed, illuminating hair-line cracks in the dark metal, her blows finally taking a toll.

The flat of the blade caught her, even that strong enough to knock her off-balance, something snapping in her ribs. She was sent flying through the air, tumbling head-over-heels, before managing to land, skidding backwards on all fours, digging her feet into the ground and using that to launch herself forward.

‘I don’t need to win! Just keep you busy!’ She ducked around him, seeing the weak point and hitting it with her injured hand. She could feel the air in front of her hand compressing, slowing her strike before rushing out in a clap of wind, her hand cracking into the arm. Her finger-bones bent and twisted, the armour splintering, shards of metal sticking into her skin. She drew back and punched with her other hand, the one still able to make a fist, creating another thunder-clap, twisting into the strike, a chunk of the plate falling away, revealing the padding beneath.

‘For the dawn, and the light of the new world! The Iristari hold!’

A backhanded gauntlet strike cracked into the side of Semari’s head, snapping her head back, the taste of blood filling her mouth. She grabbed at the arm, twisting her own limbs around it, spinning off the ground, legs twisting around their neck. They were strong, flexing and trying to shake her off, but she could use her full strength on one arm, slowing twisting it out of alignment, feeling their muscles strain and snap.

A fist slammed into her back – it was impossible to lessen the impact of the hit without breaking the lock, but she twisted slightly, hearing metal grind and strain, forced to twist in ways it wasn’t designed for.

‘Just until… Stathis gets… here…’

The smell of blood was sharp and strong in her mouth, her vision flickering between darkness and painfully bright bursts of lightning. A fist hit her again, into her shoulder, her grip wavering for a second before she forced herself to stay tight.

‘Just until…’

‘The light dawns!’

A soft glow appeared, trickling into Semari’s vision. She wrenched on the arm, feeling tendons strain, on the verge of snapping, a warm and sunny light shining out, banishing the darkness, along with the beating of wings. It was moving fast, dropping downwards, feeling soft and warm on her back, even as another punch hit her spine, making her gasp in pain, jarring numbness spreading throughout her body.

‘Get down!’ Stathis’ voice rang out, clear and strong, and Semari obeyed, letting go and dropping to the floor, landing on her back. Metal sang, a blade burning with the light of the sun cleaving into black armour as Stathis dropped from the sky, all the force of her dive behind her strike. The light exploded, stinging Semari’s eyes and blinding her, her last conscious action to throw herself forward and wrap her arms around an armoured leg, grabbing hold as tightly as she could.