Death's Head

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Ka Si Daji

Cass, as her master called her, blinked the spots out of her eyes as her master and the big moth girl smashed into each other, light exploding out from them.

The moth girl was fast, and so pretty! She flew on beautiful white wings with the light following her. Whenever she attacked, it was with bursts of that same cold light. Was she using moonlight as a weapon?

Cass tried to sense her Qi, like Master had taught her, narrowing her fox eyes to look closer as well.

Now that she was looking for it, she could sense it. The moth, Fu Zhi, was constantly emitting small particles from her wings. When she looked closer, Cass saw that they were the scales of the moth, with light shining off each one.

Fu Zhi flew low over the ground, spinning at the last second to swing out a wing. The particles around them spun into a pattern. When the moonlight met the scales, something that Cass couldn't track happened. Like the light 'bent' as it met each scale.

Then that shining energy met in the center, creating a beam of shimmering moonlight that hit Master with physical force.

He rolled on the ground briefly, then stood up with a grumble and flew back at Fu Zhi.

Cass watched as Master dodged another beam of light. Well, not dodged. The light was so fast it seemed to just appear in a line before Cass could see it. But he moved just before the lights began to bend. It was not dodging, it was not being where he was when the light was about to move.

Master, comparatively, seemed so normal. He was bigger than other beetles. That was it. But he wasn't falling down. He weathered any blows he couldn't dodge or block without more than an annoyed grumble. He tackled Fu Zhi with no power greater than Pursuit Arrow, he fought not with light elegantly reflected off of dust, but with horns backed by nothing but his own strength and Qi.

Master was amazing. Cass had always known that, from the first time he fed her peaches. But this was the first time she had seen him fight someone equal to him. And he was holding her back!

Fu Zhi flew upwards. Master followed. The dark shine of master's black shell almost hid in the night sky, while Fu Zhi's white wings shown above.

Master followed her closely. Master was forced to fly directly through a beam of light, letting out a small sound of discomfort as he did so, but almost hitting her. Fu Zhi narrowly dodged being tackled out of the sky, Master's body nicking her in the side enough to send her fly.

Another burst of light from Fu Zhi snapped out as her wings swung outwards, the light refracting and joining to create a blade that scratched against his armor despite him dodging the majority of it.

They flew around each other in a dance of deadly combat, Fu Zhi keeping her distance while Master followed her. Cass stared with everything she had, watching avidly as they clashed above her. She wanted to fight too! They looked like they were having so much fun!

Master landed on the ground, across from Fu Zhi, who slowly floated down across from him. "Fha…ah… ah," he was breathing slowly, just a bit heavily. "Had enough?"

"Oh, hardly," Fu Zhi sounded breathless. Although Cass frowned. She didn't seem tired. More like she was excited. "It has been so long since I had a real fight. A challenge. Someone to swing my lunar fists upon!"

"You don't have fists." Master noted.

"Metaphor. Come, beetle. I have so much more to show you!" Fu Zhi disappeared in a blaze of light. Master jumped up, barely dodging her beams of moonlight as she flew above him, then using Pursuit Arrow to smack up directly on the moth girl, before he did a random burst of Pursuit Arrow that sent them flying towards the ground. Fu Zhi's forward momentum carried her, grinding her into the dirt with Master on her back.

"Off!" Fu Zhi's wings spread out, trying to kick Master off. He ignored her, instead grabbing one of her wings with his horns while rolling off to land on the ground.

He lifted her wing, then swung from side to side like a dog before moving it up and down, dragging her along.

"AAAAAAAH!" Fu Zhi's dignified voice became just a bit stressed when Xiaobo began to move her about like a toy, then lift her up before bringing her down into the ground. Fu Zhi managed to twist out of the way before the beating could continue. "I'll make you pay for that, beetle!"

"Not likely." Master sounded more resigned than intimidated. "I'm too stubborn for my own good."

Fu Zhi let out a keening cry as she swung her wings forward.

[Lunar Death's Head Art: Pierce The Canopy]

A blade of pure moonlight came spinning out of her wings as sparkling dust surrounded them, aiming to slice the beetle before her in half. Cass' eyes widened at the sight of that blade of energy slicing through the stone and dirt as it headed for her master. She was going to rush forward to try and catch the blade, until she saw him.

His Qi was rising to match the moth's, his focus plain. Cass clenched at the dirt beneath in her claws, her ears laid back as she watched her master face more power than she had ever seen.

There was a burst of Qi as he used Pursuit Arrow. For a moment, she remembered something he had told her while training.

"Fancy techniques are fun. Boring techniques are practical. But they have one thing in common. No one gives a shit how much power you have if you can't hit your target."

Cass saw then her folly as her master calmly sidestepped the blade of energy. It was so simple she felt dumb. She had seen the powerful technique, filled with more energy than she had ever seen, destroying the stones, earth, the very air, and panicked. If it had been her, she would have frozen, made a mistake.

Her master had simply stepped aside. He hadn't flinched before the powerful move.

Then, he rushed for Fu Zhi.

[Pursuit Arrow: Goldberg Spear]

On the surface, it was a simple use of Pursuit Arrow. But Cass heard her master speak the name of this particular version. There was intent.

He moved like a spear, thrusting through the air. Fu Zhi tried to dodge, but a top and bottom horn wrapped around her waist. Fu Zhi gasped as the heavier insect impacted her violently. They flew back into a stone boulder with immense force, cracking the surface of it. Master pressed the dazed moth against the stone.

Scales rose around them, light beginning to refract. Master's wings beat with a powerful burst of energy, sending the moth scales away like leaves in the wind, light bouncing around them. Master spoke calmly, regally Cass thought.

"So. We good here?"

Fu Zhi stared at the beetle currently holding her to the stone. "I–Yes. Yes, I am satisfied with your strength."

"I think you're stronger," her master said casually, flying back and landing in front of Fu Zhi. "But those techniques you used… it's meant for crowds, isn't it?"

Cass blinked. Then she thought about it. If Fu Zhi had been fighting the ants, that crescent blade of lunar light would have devastated them. There were a lot, so when they got all packed together, an attack like the one Fu Zhi unleashed could kill dozens.

"You've got the problem of being more trained to take out multiple enemies, rather than one. I have the opposite issue." Master said as Cass flew over to join them. "I'm good at taking things on one-on-one. But put me up against an army of little guys and I get decimated."

Fu Zhi seemed to take heart in that. She brandished her wings and spoke haughtily. "Well, yes. Of course. I am simply specialized in destroying armies. You won because you had a natural advantage."

"And because Master is stronger." Cass chimed in helpfully.

Fu Zhi balked, staring at Cass. Cass blinked innocently at her. It was true after all. Master was strong. Fu Zhi let out a keening sound before sighing.

"Yes. Yes he is. Very well. As promised, I will join your sect and ally with you in this war! Treat me well!"

"My–My sect?" Master asked, sounding confused. He coughed. "Ah, yeah. My sect. We'll just uh… fly back to our home. Do you like peaches?"

Fu Zhi froze, then nodded quickly. "Yes! Indeed, I do!"

"Thank god, because it's literally our closest food source."

Cass smiled. A new member of the sect! Master must have been so happy.