KESM: Terra Quatuor Chronicles

Leaping from a ledge — no doubt conjured by Jon — the fifth member of the team; Hayz, descended like a meteor, his colossal hammer aimed with singular purpose. His form was staggering, now towering at fourteen meters, a testament to his bloodline.

'Arthurian Royal.'

The Cumulodrake, for all its pride and might, faltered. The attack was different this time, it could feel it.

The hammer met its mark. 

A deafening cacophony erupted from the force of the blow, the sound of a stifled grunt could be made out of the chaos, the shattering of glistening scales, maiming of once pristine flesh, the crunching of adamantine bones. All in the same spot Emaila and Jon had targeted earlier, just above its left eye.

The beast screeched — a sound so unnatural it drowned the thunder above. Even that wasn't enough to fully carry the weight of the emotion the drake tried to express. It wasn't merely pain; it was indignation. Seven months since it escaped Arthuria. Seven months of unchallenged dominance, unraveled in an instant. 

For a moment, the beast wavered, its thoughts a chaotic maelstrom. 

It stood dazed by the fact, fighting its own thoughts and instincts.

Flee. Fight. Cower

A myriad of thoughts plagued its mind simultaneously, overcome momentarily by trepidation, suffering the mocking remarks of the being that had placed it in such a sorry state.

But it decided to fight. For it's revenge. It would kill these humans, it's first step towards this one ardent desire.

It was afraid, but it was also enraged. Humanity had stolen its place at the summit of creation.

An almost imperceptible change surged through the atmosphere and the Humans could feel it. The Fiend was ready to battle them in earnest, no more tricks.

Rain pelted down, lightning crackled all around them, gale winds howled without pause. The renewed fury of the elements themselves.

The Fiend could see the humans anticipate its actions with grim resolve. It could see their leader Sabbath…. smile.

And it grinned in turn.

No more than a moment had passed and then it lashed out at the crew once again.

It erupted from its dazed state, all claws and bloodlust, its head snapping and snarling, its massive tail lashing out with deadly precision. 

It's aim; 'Isolate and Eliminate'

Angelie would be the first to taste his wrath.

Having already used its homing lightning skill, it decided to do something different.

The Fiend was learning from the humans as time passed. Lightning crackled, but instead of striking true, the Drake condensed it into a beam, infused with its Aura — a blinding lance of energy ripped through the battlefield with blistering speed, travelling at just a fraction slower than Emaila's beams.

It tore through Angie's abdomen, obliterating armor and flesh alike, and…. She was left unscathed?

'That must've been an illusion of light conjured up by Emaila — given presence by the Mage's spell. Jon…. a troublesome one.'

The illusory copy dissolved in sparks of brilliant light as the real Angie stepped forward, transformed.

Her Yokai Act was on full display, no hints of her previous armour — her waist-length black hair now streaked with violet, flowing like a dark river, complementing her sharp eyes, gleaming like blood-red rubies, which she now had an excess of. Extra pairs blinked open across her body: two on her forearms, another pair below her collarbones, all darting restlessly in their eerie vigilance. From her back sprouted four spider-like legs, each weaving silken threads which exuded sharp lethality, superior to steel.

Her black cheongsam-inspired dress, intricately adorned with lace patterns of spider lilies and creeping vines. The floral lace embroidery cascading over her chest, where a rectangular paper talisman now rested, and strapped to her thighs were needles. Both unused thus far, but it was different now. 

Angie charged, her twin tantos shimmering with Ki, her speed an unnatural blur, practically matching its own.

'What a surprising outburst of speed, much faster than it should be.'

The drake pivoted, its tail sweeping low in a vicious arc. She easily evaded, her twin tanto blades scraping harmlessly off its lightning-charged tail…. or so it should've happened. Instead, Angie vanished in a mist-like haze, reappearing beneath it. Her blades connected, carving deep into its neck and abdomen, each cut precise and deliberate. 

In a heartbeat, she was before it again, face-to-face. It noticed thick, pulsating veins around her eyes, glowing faintly with an ominous purple hue. Spinning, she unleashed a flurry of webs, each thread slashing across the Drake's face. Its claws lashed out to grasp her, but she dissipated once more, in a puff of mist, reappearing at a distance. Where her illusory copy had been standing not too long ago. 

'What's the secret behind these movements?' the Drake paused, staring her down with unbridled bloodlust.

No sooner had it decided on its next course of action, rising into the air for an aerial attack, did her image.… double. All sounds seemed to grow distant, the drake even faltered in the air, losing control of its wings, blood seeping from its eyes, feeling almost nauseous.… if it knew what that meant.

'Poison....'

Angie had woven her venom into every cut, her webs saturated with toxins, yet it wondered.

'How likely was it that all this could've happened in that short exchange?'

Desperation overtaking strategy. Falling to the ground, the Fiend coated itself in electricity, and coated that with Aura, shooting it out in every direction. 

A deafening explosion rippled across the island, shattering the landscape, and the terrain bore the scars of its wrath — a massive crater where the beast had fallen. A mountain just outside the battlefield crumbled into rubble. The chaos from that spur of the moment attack was all the time it needed to recover from the effects of the poison, everything all but burned away under the intense discharge, leaving the Cumulodrake weakened but alive, it suffered just a bit from that gamble, yet it was all a calculated risk.

'I'll need to be more cautious around her.'

But Angie was gone from its senses. She had vanished completely, like a shadow slipping through cracks. It seemed the Mage wasn't the only one who could tamper with sensory input or hide presence, leaving only Talismans scattered across the battlefield.