As Taura and Assad talked, Mya stood near the vehicle.
She hadn't shifted her position since Shuren went inside.
The mansion rose before her, a decaying corpse feigning sleep, and every instinct in her body told her that she was making a mistake by approaching it. She wanted to go in, to join the fun time that Assad and Taura were currently having but her fear was the reason she couldn't.
Mya took a deep breath, as she kept telling herself that the mansion was weird and terrifying but she needed to save her sisters. As Shuren said, her sisters might be inside that very mansion and in order to at least see their faces she had to step through the gates.
So she took her first step almost as if she was taking her first steps as a baby but before she entered the gate, she felt something that made her rethink her decisions.
Mya's breath caught.
The air felt thick near the mansion, as though the night was being pressed aside. Her hands shook as she gazed at the darkness near the building.
A figure slowly emerged as if it was a zombie coming from resurrection. Assad and Taura did not even feel or hear the incoming monstrous figure that was slowly approaching them. Their bonding session was too peaceful and filled with fun, for them to even sense the danger that was slowly coming to them.
The figure stepped forward, and by the small light that shined, it was shown to be the same human abomination used in Shuren's illusion.
Mya finally comprehended that if she did not do anything, Assad and Taura would perish right there.
"ASSAD.LOOK OUT!" She screamed until her lungs burned.
Assad heard Mya's cry and wondered why she was suddenly screaming without any warning. That was until he heard Taura call out his name which he asked what was the matter? Taura didn't say anything and just stared up, making Assad do the same and as he rose his head slowly. He was met with hollow faces that were screaming and other body parts.
The thing was already looking at them.
The monster didn't waste any time it moved, a massive shape surged forward, and something like an arm swung through the air. Taura didn't think, just lunged.
"MOVE
She slammed into Assad's side, throwing him out of the way, as the blow hit where they might have been standing just a second before
Taura didn't hesitate. Her hand shot to her side, her fingers closing around the knife, and a faint orange glow illuminated.
The blade started to hum.
Energy flowed down Taura's arm and over the blade of the knife like molten lightning. Heat touched her palm as the metal cried out in protest and changed shape. The dull steel bowed, grew, and changed completely.
A massive cleaver came into being in her hand, its cutting edge glowing faintly as the fierce visage of a roaring lion was carved deeply into the blade. Taura stepped forward and made her attack. The space closed in a heartbeat as she swung her cleaver with savage, brutal intent.
A reaction occurred.
The cleaver was swung aside as if it were made of nothing. A force beyond all measure struck Taura, sending her flying back through the air. She landed against the ground, sliding to a stop as the weapon was ripped loose in her hand, clattering away.
The creature stood up and threw back its head, opened its maw, and let out a roar that echoed across the night like a shockwave, causing the ground to tremble beneath the pair's feet.
Taura forced herself back to her feet and attacked again. The cleaver came down in a blazing arc, and the monster slapped her aside like an insect.
She fell to the ground, rolled, and didn't stop.
Taura sprinted, boots pounding on stone as she ran straight for the mansion wall. Kicking against it launched her upward with the momentum carrying her straight toward the creature's head.
'One clean stab'
The monster cocked its head. Its jaws clicked shut.
Crunch.
The cleaver disappeared between rows of serrated teeth. Taura's breath caught. The creature chomped down, then threw her away with a powerful jerk of its head. She landed hard on the ground, pain shearing through her ribs as she slid over the gravel.
She looked up just in time to see it chewing. Metal groaned as the glowing blade cracked, bent and disappeared down its throat.
Taura's eyes went wide.
'It… ate it?'
Real doubt crept in for the first time. Her weapon was gone, The monster just stood there, unruffled, satisfied. Silence stretched. Taura exhaled.
"…No."
Her hands moved, her movements fast and precisive. Fingers blurred through a sequence of signs, sharp, deliberate motions burned into muscle memory.
Slice Dice.
Nothing happened. The monster took a step forward. Then it stopped. A sound followed, soft, wet, wrong.
A clean line tore itself open across the creature's abdomen, as if reality had been cut. The wound flapped wide without blood or mess, just raw force carving through flesh.
The monster stumbled backward, roaring in confusion. A flash of orange light burst from inside it. The cleaver exploded out, spinning through the air before slamming perfectly back into Taura's outstretched hand.
She caught it.
The blade hummed, brighter than before. Taura stood up slowly, focusing on the creature.
'Did you really think that by swallowing it, it would stop me?' she said quietly.
The flesh, once sliced open, knitted back together into place, muscles retracting like time itself had been rewound. The sharp edge Taura created was gone, now replaced by distorted, convulsing flesh.
The monster straightened. Then it looked at her.
Its many eyes fixed on Taura at once, then inflated its chest. It let out a roar, a sound not filled with pain, but with rage, offended that something as small as Taura would dare to injure it.
Taura felt it in her bones but she still lunged again.
The cleaver sang as she moved, her orange light blazing more vividly as she threw herself into the swing. Her aim was on joints and weak spots where they ought to break. Her footwork was quick. Her timing was precise.
Nothing mattered anyway.The monster faced her head-on.
A massive hand swatted her aside mid-swing. The blow smashed the air from her lungs and sent her sliding over the ground, armor scraping, teeth clenching to keep from crying out.
She rolled, sat up, and struck again.
In the distance, across the clearing, Assad struggled to one knee. His head was ringing. He tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
'What. is that thing?'
He saw Taura charge again, saw her get hit to the ground in the dirt, saw her struggle up with trembling legs and blood on her mouth—and then charge in again.
His fingers dug into the gravel.
'Why is she still moving?'
She did not look like a woman who felt confident, not even like a fearless woman and also she did not even look like a confident woman. But then what was the reason for her actions?
'Is it some kind of technique, some kind of mindset? Is she forcing herself through pain? Is it just more of that stupid "never give up" crap?
Another impact caused Taura to fall to the ground.'
She coughed. She spat blood. She stood up anyway. Assad felt his chest constrict