CH 222: Trapping the Beast

Hannah and Ursa were on opposite sides of the Chimera. The newest member of the Scarlet Seraphs already had to deal with facing a monster head-on alone. Both of its heads were focused on the knight, but it was wary. It didn’t know where the magic was coming from, and given the state of its serpent tail, was ready to flee.

Its wings spread wide, staggering both Ursa and Hannah. They would be too slow to prevent it from escaping. It reared up on its hind legs, in one last defiant display of strength and let out a mighty roar. It landed and shook the ground before preparing to leap off the ground. Both Ursa and Hannah rushed towards it.

Clunk!

Hannah saw the Ballista bolt lodge into the Chimera’s chest before she heard it. Jean aimed right between two of the beast’s ribs, lodging the arrow between them. A long, slack chain connected the bolt back to the reinforcements. Rebecca and Gina were working together to reload the machine while the bewildered beast was frozen in shock.

Its blood dripped down its chest, burning the ground beneath it. Its lion and goat head were left staring blankly at the bolt just under their neck. Evidently, it was the most damage the monster had suffered in its entire life, since it truly began to panic. It let out a mixture of whines and bleats, stomping around in its panic. It attempted to take to the sky, but Elsie revealed her third form of elemental magic.

A wall of ice strong enough to stop its momentum formed over its front legs. Its take off was halted for the moment by Elsie’s icewall. The beast crashed forward, stumbling onto its two faces. Hannah just barely moved out of the way.

She stared directly into the lion’s eye for a moment. She smiled and jabbed at the eye with her spear, lodging it deep within the lion’s one good eye. She abandoned her spear and sprinted in the opposite direction, feeling the singe of fire hit her back. She was taken off her feet by the fire, feeling it singe her skin and hair. If it weren’t for her armor and resistance, she’d be a dead woman.

Hannah landed on her stomach and rolled across burnt skin. She let out a muted groan, feeling her skin move in a way it shouldn’t. Parts of her body was in excruciating pain, while she couldn’t feel any pain in her back.

“Fuck,” she groaned, trying to move. She saw the exposed skin on her arms, and her vision doubled. She nearly threw up at the sight and fell to the ground. “That’s not good.”

Her breath was rapid and her mouth ran dry. She could feel panic overtaking her as the pain dulled. She knew enough to know her burns were extremely severe, with parts of her skin melting into her armor. She’d be more panicked if two shades of yellow light didn’t envelope her. One, a lighter, known shade. While the other was closer to gold.

She focused on catching her breath and calming her thoughts. When her vision refocused, she looked up to see three chains taut, hovering above her. She’d been out of it for enough time for the Ballista to be fired, reloaded, and fired again.

“Hannah!” Claire slid up to her on her knees. Her green eyes a mix of relief and panic. “Thank the Goddess…”

“I’ll be-” Hannah tried to speak, but the pain spiked again. She felt her skin reform and tear away from her armor as the healing magic started working. “Ugh, fuck.”

“Stay here,” Claire leaned forward and kissed the top of her helmet. It was bad, but not life-threatening. “We’ll take it from here.”

“Okay,” Hannah struggled to say. She let Claire slide a blanket under her head before fully relaxing. “I… know you three… fuck. You got this.”

Claire stood to meet the Chimera. She felt her anger boiling toward the creature as it injured two of her lovers. She let out a shaky breath that ended closer to a growl. The monster was trying its best to fly, but the three ballista bolts kept it from escaping.

While Claire was next to useless facing it head-on, she needed to do something. She looked at her shield, the only thing she had that could damage the creature. It was another stupid idea, but one worth trying. She switched the shield to her dominant right arm, letting her body take over.

She gripped it tightly, aiming for one of the blackened patches of fur from Elsie’s magic. She found herself moving before she even realized it. She stepped forward, her right foot perpendicular to the way she was going. She pivoted on her right foot, spinning to gain momentum. She cocked her shield and used all her might to throw it the moment her left foot hit the ground.

It flew through the air without a single wobble. It rocketed towards the patch of fur she aimed at with deadly precision. The shield slammed into the weakened flesh, denting the outer belt. It bounced off, but not before it glowed. Its internal magic inflicted damage upon the monster.

Claire was a bit stunned at the maneuver she pulled off. She didn’t expect to throw it that hard, to hit the spot she aimed for, or for it to even inflict damage on the thing. She blinked rapidly as the shield bounced almost perfectly back to her. It landed only several feet to her left.

“What the-” Claire started to say. She was interrupted by the Chimera falling to the ground from its failed attempt at flying. The ground trembled beneath her, the blow she inflicted went unnoticed by the panicked monster.

Another ballista bolt whizzed by over her head. That made four of the five total they prepared. The bolt slammed into the neck of the lion's head, causing its roar to gurgle. The battle was going better than she expected, and she thanked both her Goddess and the rest for Duvain’s guards. Had they not had the Ballista, this could have gone far worse.

Elsie’s magic was working, but it wasn’t enough. She softened the monster’s hide for the ballista to inflict maximum damage. Though Claire was sure that Elsie was soaking in the praise after revealing she could also use ice magic.

The landed monster stumbled, its blood loss getting to it. The four bolts lodged in its chest and necks were making it hard to move, let alone breathe. Its panic became worse and worse. It was lashing out, slamming into anything that moved. Ursa, who had landed several more blows on the serpent's tail, was knocked back. This time, she was able to use her ax to soften the blow.

Still, she was flown back nearly fifteen feet. Without even hesitating, Ursa immediately charged the serpent again. Its neck was barely hanging on. It had been trying to poison Ursa with its venom, but the berserker was too fast, especially given its injuries.

For the first time in its life, the Chimera feared for its life.

Last time it was here, there was resistance, but no real danger to it. The prey that attacked it couldn’t penetrate its hide. It was able to eat its fill last time and leave. But now, it was grounded and losing too much blood.

It tried to breathe its fire again, to burn away its restraints, but failed. The wound to its neck prevented the gas from inside it from igniting. It could barely see with only one good eye left on its front two heads. The panic garbles from the lion’s head struggling to breathe, combined with the lack of sight, made the Chimera thrash around in complete panic.

It thrashed and shook the ground, making it hard for either Ursa or Jean to attack it. The archer was aiming for a kill shot, but the goat's head would not stop moving. Ursa, on the other hand, was too focused on killing the serpent to pay attention to the rest of the beast. She was so close to severing the serpent's head from its body that she just needed one good hit.

Claire exhaled. She glanced back at Hannah, who was struggling to her feet. The burnt and molten skin was still healing, but she was strong enough to stand. That sent a wave of relief through Claire’s body. She could focus on getting the monster’s attention now that her Taunt was off cooldown.

She glanced back at the reinforcements behind her. She could see Elsie standing proudly in front of the two healers in the middle of casting. She caught the faint glint of the ballista as the bolt’s tip reflected light. Then she turned to the thrashing monster.

They were doing it.

They were getting revenge for the woman this monster killed. Protecting the people of Duvain from further harm. And, maybe most importantly, proving the strength of her Goddess and her followers.

She let out a loud war cry, catching the attention of all three heads. With a smile on her face, she banged against her shield.