Change in the Tide

Hound after hound lunged at me, pushing me further and further away from Richard. The ground was littered with rocks thanks to my spell, tripping me at every turn, and I had to ask myself if I was an idiot. If it weren't for Vide's intervention, I'd already be dead.

"How long are you going to sic your pups on me, Richard? Too afraid to fight me yourself?"

He ignored my taunt and I could see his lips spewing another incantation.

He's finally taking this seriously. Louis, too. Yahime's been fighting him in earnest since I told her he wasn't a child and she's still being pushed back. Stopping my [GENESIS] spell must have given them hope they can win and at this rate they actually might. Every Seele that wasn't crushed to paste regenerates when I kill it and more are pouring out every second!

"And I can't risk using [DUSK RAGE] again," I muttered under my breath. "I got lucky with Vide's help and I can't count on it again, otherwise I'd just ask her to kill these two for me."

I squeezed my naginata. It was slick with blood and threatened to slip from my grasp every time I swung it. Still, Martoh had done an amazing job. It didn't show any signs of breakage and the blade was still as sharp as when he'd given it to me.

I was getting distracted. I'd joked about never making it through a fight and I wasn't sure how long I'd continue to last in this one. I was exhausted and every breath I took was like breathing glass. The temperature was lowering with the sun and I didn't want to do any of it anymore. I really hadn't appreciated my life in Japan.

"…drown them beneath your waves! [WHIRLPOOL]!"

[WHIRLPOOL]?! I jumped into the boughs of the closest tree as the ground opened up beneath me to reveal a roaring funnel of water. It swallowed the tree behind me and rose into a pillar that began chasing me.

How can he use that without any water around?! I know he could in Royal Hearts, but that was a game! You can't just create that much water out of nowhere, can you?

Could you? Between killing Seele and evading the toilet water chasing me, I wondered. Where had the rock from [GENESIS] come from? Was I misunderstanding a fundamental part of the world I was in?

***

The human boy's attacks quickened and were getting harder and harder for Yahime to defend against. He'd been like that ever since he cut apart Kyomi's big rock and unlike before he seemed to be having fun.

"What happened, Dusk? I thought we were playing?"

The edge of his sword slid across Yahime's sword arm, nearly severing it. Her sword clattered to the ground and it hung limply at her side, trailing behind her as she danced between the human's flurry of attacks.

"not… good…"

Yahime looked for Kyomi. She was being chased by water and some strange dogs Yahime vaguely remembered seeing before.

"losing?"

She didn't know what it meant to be competitive. The animal children had tried to show her and got excited whenever they played games against one another. The person who won always cheered and the ones who lost often cried. Yahime just didn't understand why it mattered. They all had fun, didn't they?

But losing here wouldn't be fun. Losing meant Kyomi would be hurt again. Losing meant that the animal children would get hurt. She couldn't allow that.

***

Hanabi yipped as a sword nicked her hind leg. There were more humans than she'd realized or rather, she was more exhausted than she'd realized. Even with Derry and Rikki's help the battle was a struggle, though the two were doing surprisingly well.

Derry was a boulder barreling across the mountain, knocking down anyone in her path and trampling them. Her thick skin was covered in blood, but none of her wounds were anything more than shallow cuts.

Rikki was a different matter. Hanabi had worried how the mongoose woman would only be in the way. She was too skittish, too small to help in a fight. But Hanabi was wrong. Kidnapper after kidnapper screamed as she scurried around their attacks and mauled their faces with her tiny claws. It was a bit scary how enthusiastic she was and she acted possessed. Was she really the same stuttering woman always hiding behind Derry?

"Lady Hanabi!"

She looked up in time to see a body tumbling down the mountain and dodged it. It hit the man who'd cut her leg and sent him over the ledge they were on. She didn't need to watch to know he was dead.

"Was that the last of them?" Hanabi asked.

"I-I think so," Rikki replied. She was covered in blood and her nervous nature reminded Hanabi of folk stories about nervous girls who seduced and murdered men. They'd have to wash her off before they saw the children.

"No more up here," Derry bellowed from higher up. "That last one was the leader, too!"

The leader? Hanabi spit out a hand that had been stuck between her teeth. She'd wanted to kill him herself.

"Then it's over." She transformed out of her fox form and slumped against a rock. "I have just enough mana left to clean the blood off of us. We don't want to traumatize the children any more than they already are."

The mention of the children stole the spirit from the beastwomen.

"If you're worried about the rabbitgirl, she's fine. I found her chasing after you and healed her."

Their faces brightened and they danced in a circle, hugging one another. It reminded her of Luci's parents whenever she brought the girl home from getting lost in the woods.

"And now she's an old woman." Hanabi used her magic to create some water and dumped it over the giddy women's heads. Then she did the same to herself and with a snap of her fingers, replaced her dirty robes.

"Time to bring her home again."