Chapter 218 - Tentacles and Ashes X

Meltys’ flames flared to life when the blizzard vanished. They burnt through Boris’ blade, melting it down before he could reach her heart. The bits and pieces of her shield were turned from a defensive matrix to a flurry of blades, each of which was sent crashing into her foe. Those that hit her scales were repelled, but few of the defensive lamella remained. The sharpened, blessed edges wormed their way through the reptile’s weakened defenses, and dug deeply into her flesh.

Claire ignored the pain and opened her jaws wide. Sacrificing half her face, she clamped the remaining half around the divine protector, grabbing the bird between her teeth and tearing her body asunder. The divinity flowing through her bones was used to bolster her power. She continued grinding her foe down until the duck cloaked herself in fire and burst through the roof of her mouth.

The lyrkress flapped her wings in an attempt to take off, but a blazing pillar descended from the heavens and cast her back down into the flaming abyss. She grit her teeth as her foe stood over her, roaring as she tried to push herself back to her feet, but she was unable. Meltys advanced, closing in step by step as she continued to barrage her with spells.

A chain of bubbles appeared between them before Claire could fall and absorbed the flames. But even that was imperfect. The individual layers were burned right through. Being of a standard magical make, the hallucinations gave beneath the holy fire—flames altered to burn all without exception. All they managed was to stop the first wave in its tracks.

The unperturbed bird took notice immediately and began to charge a more powerful spell, one that would blow right through the illusory defenses.

But it was never cast.

“Stop!” A humanoid fox butt into the fray with a duckling in one hand and an ominous, rusty dagger in the other. Sylvia began to speak, making her demands, but Meltys heard none of them. She could only look on in confusion and despair as the exact same scene that had played out in her dreams manifested itself in reality. The demon had somehow entered the shrine’s grounds. Despite the hundreds of barriers she had set up to keep her out.

A quick peek with her divine eye confirmed that everything was as she had foreseen. The city was under attack. It was burning, with explosions ringing throughout as bizarre four-legged birds ran rampant within its walls.

She fell to her knees, her sacred talismans powerlessly dropping from between her feathers. It was hopeless. Even with Glarchst at her back and his shield in her talons, she had failed in her duty as protector. She was unable to defend the city, or even her own family. It was the worst case scenario, a hellscape painted by the demon of delusion that stood in her path.

“It was just supposed to be a warning,” She muttered to herself as she fell, her face pressed into her wings. The flame that made up her form dispersed, the whirring in her chest came to a halt, and the ambient temperature fell a thousand degrees. “I thought I did enough.” She already knew what would happen next. The demon would merrily execute her family. And then her. And then all of Arviandor. Exactly as was foretold.

But the inevitable never came. By some stroke of fortune or another, she found that her brother was lobbed towards her while her foe was captured within a bubble.

“Sylvia!” Claire snarled, through gritted teeth. “What did I say about butting in?”

“I told you, I don’t care!” huffed the fox. “You’re not allowed to die until I say you are.”

The lyrkress pushed her legs against the ground, but failed to get to her feet. Her limbs lacked the strength. She tried turning lyrkrian then humanoid to lighten the burden of her weight, but neither process was successful. Shifting away from her true form was impossible with her strength so depleted.

“I would have been fine. I still had a plan.”

“Yeah, right! You can’t even stand anymore! I literally waited until the last second even though I was worried sick!”

Claire turned her head away, even in spite of all the unnatural creaking that came with moving her neck. She tried mumbling again after redirecting her gaze, but no words left her mouth, only a tired cough. As further protest did not appear to be in her favour, she narrowed her thousand eyes like a cat and allowed the fox’s magic to wash over her. The soothing light rapidly restored both her health and her mana, a thousand points at a time.

But as comfortable as it was, she was without the liberty to bask in its warmth. The qiligon snapped to attention after half her health was replenished and propelled herself forward with a powerful vector. Stretching her freshly regenerated tail, she lifted a similarly healed Boris off the ground and repelled a metal projectile. One that had been on track to nail the divine protector right between the eyes.

Meltys shot to her feet and nearly fired a flame at the qiligon, but stopped as she processed the source of the attack. The strike had come from a platform in the air, a paved concrete path that almost seemed to extend all the way down the side of the mountain.

“She is my prey. Stand down or die!” Claire roared as she turned towards the aggressors, but a twinge of regret pulsed through her when she found her targets. There were two of them, both centaurian. And she had failed to speak through her fox.

She was fortunate enough not to be acquainted with either soldier. One was famous, but she did not work closely enough with the crown to know her from her voice alone. Or at least that was what she hoped. Both were still officers in the Cadrian army. They wore not the standard metal protectors often draped over the footsoldiers, but a set of pristine uniforms to profess their standing. Their badges confirmed that the larger stallion was an ensign, while the smaller mare, whose size barely exceeded that of a prepubescent child’s, was his superior, a lieutenant.

Along with their nonstandard clothing came nonstandard weapons. The higher-ranking officer had a particularly heavy shieldlance disproportionate to her tiny frame. Its bolt of a tip reeled itself back into her weapon through a heavy mithril chain, thick as her arm was wide. Her partner, who the weapon would have looked more fitting on, had a club plastered with bells, and a shield covered front to back in long, metal strings.

“It can talk?” The stallion swished back his hair and narrowed his eyes.

“Might be a mutated local,” said the mare. “Certainly looks the part.”

“Proceed as planned then?”

“Aye.”

Not bothering to conceal her eyes, Claire straightened her posture and bore her fangs at the Cadrian pair. They would likely listen if she assumed her humanoid form and addressed them as her father’s daughter, but leveraging her identity would do little beyond exposing a weakness for the future. She would have to either take their heads or make an escape. And Claire had no intention of turning tail.

She opened her mouth wide and prepared to unleash a breath, but a force clamped her jaws shut before she could launch the attack, while another yanked her back into the fox’s bubble.

“Wait! Stop!” Lia entered through the gate before Claire could try again, flagging down the Cadrians with a wave of the arm. “Sorry! Please don’t mind my familiar. I’ve been having a bit of trouble controlling her lately,” said the cat, with an awkward smile. Claire had no idea where she had managed to obtain them, but she had gone from her tattered armours to a set of fresh linens.

Though miffed, the half-reptile played along and lowered her head to the ground, as if to submit to her supposed master. She did, of course, still prod at the cat. Her giant snout was constantly bumped into the feline’s side, throwing her off balance before the crowd.

The centaurs exchanged a pair of looks. When the smaller one nodded and holstered her weapon, the larger individual played a quick jingle with his shield and crafted a path that led to the ground. The floating earthen road vanished when he lowered the instrument, leaving not a trace behind.

“Weren’t you one of the ones in Lady Augustus’ party?” asked the mare. “Where is she? Don’t think I saw her on my way up the mountain.”

“R-right, Claire is…” Lia glanced towards the qiligon, “resting right now.”

There was a quiet quack as the duck opened her mouth to join the conversation, but a pair of vectors pinched her bill shut.

“I was hoping to capture an extra familiar or two in the meantime.”

Whether she noticed the silent battle or not, Natalya kept her focus on the taller Cadrian. She expressed just enough hostility to keep his eyes from wandering—her stance was low, her tail held straight, and her hand rested near her sword.

“Right…” The mare gazed curiously at the duck, before turning her eyes on its new owner. “How has she been lately? We haven’t heard much, since the war with Kryddar began.” The mare spoke with a sadistic knowing grin.

Lia’s lips trembled when she met the undersized centaur’s eyes. She furrowed her brow, clenched her knuckles, and dug her fangs into her gums before finally choking out a response. “She’s doing fine.” But after a moment of tension, she relaxed. Her hand moved away from her blade and her frustrated scowl turned into a forced smile. “Why do you ask?”

“I was curious as to how far her curse had progressed, and if maybe that was why you were looking for something with so much divine power.”

“C-curse?” Lia’s tail twitched. “I didn’t know she was cursed…”

“Why else did you think she had to use that strange magical creature to speak?”

“Hey! That’s rude! I’m not strange! I’m super fluffy and adorable!” Sylvia popped into existence atop the catgirl’s head. Before she could ask any more stupid questions.

While speaking aloud as usual, the fox whispered a second set of words under her breath, relaying to the cat that she was meant to play along. Another echo spoke to Meltys, its words finally putting an end to her resistance.

The precipitancy of her appearance naturally prompted both centaurs to cock their brows. The male reached for his shield, but he stopped when his superior ground her hoof into his ankle and greeted the fox with a nod instead.

“Well, whatever the case, I was hoping that you would do us a favour,” said the mare. “You see, we happen to be interested in the duck you’ve captured. If you don’t need its divinity for Lady Augustus’ sake, then would you consider surrendering it to us instead?”

“I’m sorry, but I was planning to tame her,” said Natalya, with a strained smile. Her words were relayed from qilin to fox, and fox to cat. “I’d rather not give up such a capable prize.”

“It won’t be for free, of course. We’ll put in a good word for you and ensure that you’re fairly credited, and maybe slide you a few pounds of gold under the table.”

Natalya’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when she heard the figure, but shook her head clear of the temptation and at least tried to stand firm. “Sorry.”

“Look, we aren’t asking. We can do this the easy way or the ha—” The male began to speak, but he was soon silenced with another kick.

“Don’t mind him. He doesn’t mean it, just needs to brush up on his etiquette.” The mare stepped forward as she spoke, closing the distance to an uncomfortable two meters, well within range of her nonstandard weapon. “But are you really sure you can’t let go of her? Not even if I make it a dozen?” She was still smiling, but her hand drew closer to her spear with every passing moment.

“I’m sure,” said Natalya. She was also preparing, getting ready to draw her sword, but the mare suddenly backed off with a hearty laugh, both hands resting on her waist.

“I see. Well, that’s too bad then. Sorry we bothered you.”

“Right… uhh… No problem.” said the cat.

The mare turned around and began walking away, only to spin around whilst scratching the back of her head. “Oh right, I don’t think I caught your name.”

“I’m Lia. Just Lia, Armidian Fastpaw.”

“Alright, Lia. I’m Fausta Silvanus, Royal Cadrian Spearlord, and this is Nero. Ask for us if you ever end up in trouble, and we might just be able to help you out, one way or another.”

“T-thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” said the cat.

Waving off the cat’s obviously false gratitude, the horse turned to her companion with a snort. “What are you waiting for, kid? Get us down already.”

“We’re leaving already? But what abou—”

“No buts. Less yapping, more leaving.”

“Yes ma’am.” He glanced hesitantly between the various parties present before raising his shield and playing a quick song. The path appeared under his feet as he strung his notes together, carrying them along until they vanished out of sight.

Finally released from the forces, a very annoyed-looking Meltys moved between the intruders and her brother. She took a moment to look him over and confirmed that he was unharmed, before directing her gaze around the property, her expression growing more agitated each time she scanned her surroundings.

“Where is my mother?”

“Oh uhm… Over here.”

Sylvia leapt off the cat’s head and pawed at what appeared at first to be an empty space in midair. The barrier around it vanished, revealing a very confused, brownish-pink duck, accompanied by a blood-drinking caster.

“Thank goodness.” The arviad protector breathed a sigh of relief, before turning towards the enemy that had given her the most trouble. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as she took a second look at the glorified flying goat.

Claire stood tall with her ears further outstretched, held as high as they could go. They would occasionally twist out of place, but she never failed to direct them back towards their raised positions. The increased size that came with her true form provided a greater auditory range, allowing her to hear some of the sounds as far as the base of the mountain. Still, she shook her head and grumbled under her breath.

“They aren’t talking.” The stallion had made several attempts to begin a conversation, but the mare had either ignored or silenced him each time. “Elites are supposed to ignore the rules, not follow them to the letter.” With the idle complaint out of the way, she lowered her ears and met the bird’s eyes with one of the pairs beneath her chin. “What?”

“Must we continue? My people are crying for help, and it is my duty to serve as their shield.”

Claire briefly narrowed her eyes, but soon shook her head. “No. But I have a better solution.” She turned to the fox. “Sylvia. Can you do me a favour and teleport all of the spelunkers back to the dungeon’s entrance?”

“Huh? All of them!?” the fox blinked. “No way! That sounds like a huge pain in the butt.”

Claire bent her ears inwards and crossed them on top of her snout. “I’ll turn small again. For an hour.”

The fox’s tail twitched. “An hour is way too little. You gotta turn small for a day, and let me do whatever I want.”

“W-whatever you want?” A tinge of red appeared on the cat’s face. “Wait, what’s this about turning small?”

“Shut up, pervert. It’s none of your business, and no one asked you.” Claire flicked the cat's forehead and knocked her off balance. “Two hours and no doing whatever you want.”

“Oh come on! It’s not gonna be any fun if you just turn small and try to hide or something. Well uhm… actually it kinda might. Maybe like… three hours, and I can do whatever I want if I catch you?”

“One and a half.”

“Huh!? But you just said two!”

“And you added an extra clause.”

“No fair!” grumbled the fox. “You’re just being totally unreasonable!”

“Negotiations are not meant to be fair. I’m being very reasonable.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but how would deportation protect my people?” asked the bird. “They could easily return in just a few weeks’ time.”

“It won’t,” said Claire. “But I do know how we can.” She turned to Arciel. “All it needs is for you to make your move.”