One Hop This Time

Good morning.

Or am I supposed to say good afternoon? Good evening? One of them works.

Oh yeah, I'm in pain again.

I black out for a moment, only to wake up and find my back against the wall, with the rest of me covered in rocks! I guess this is what happens when you're too slow to react, or don't receive enough information in a timely manner. At least the girl's safe. I can see her huddling behind one of the obsidian boulders that fell from the ceiling.

Yes, obsidian. I know it's supposed to be lava, but reality's gone kinda wonky now. The intense heat of the volcano basin has morphed into this freezing cave. Each breath I take condenses into a small cloud of vapor. Not even my clothes can fully block the chilling air. And the culprit? Well, it's that... monster? Amalgamation? Chimera?

It's hard to describe.

Imagine a creature strewn together with the parts of different animals: a lion's head, a person's body, an eagle's talons. An there's not just one of each. A goat head connects to a hippo's torso through a grasshopper's knee. A monkey's hand comes out of a giraffe's back. It's an abomination cobbled together from the stagnant mana -- a completely impractical and illogical being. And yet, it has this unfathomable pressure emanating outwards, making the once dynamic chamber feel still and lifeless.

Even I can tell, this won't be over quickly.

Just look at the beams it's about to shoot from its mouths.

Wait.

VVWWWWWWWMMMMMM!!!!!

Agh!!!! Give me a bigger warning next time! I only barely have enough leeway to roll out of the beam's path. Also, isn't it a bit too powerful?!? The floor's completely encased in a thin layer of ice!!! When does that even happen??? I swear I only looked away for a moment.

"Roll right."

"Huh? Did you say something just--"

BOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!

Ugh. One of its fists manage to graze my shoulder with a backhand, knocking me back to her.

"Dodge better."

"I don't need your lip service right now, thank you very much!!!" Seriously! Is this revenge or something?! What did I ever do to you?!? And I don't need your thumbs up... oh. Right. I guess I did leave her to the whims of the magma. "Sorry."

"Sprint left."

"Fine!!!" Ignoring my grievances, I follow her instructions. A hoof traces my path a moment behind, shattering the ice. The resulting shards leave tears in my clothes. Normally, mana would be enough to fix it, but I don't have the bandwidth to deal with that right now. I have to keep on my toes; otherwise, I'll be the next thing smashed.

Luckily, these sorts of creatures usually have a core of mana that holds their form together. If I destroy that, it should get rid of the amalgamation. I think. Probably. If not, then I'm out of ideas.

Still, that's easier said than--

"Jump."

VVWWWWWWWMMMMMM!!!!!

Hey! I'm trying to plan here! Save your ice beams for someone else. Or better yet, stop using them!!!

Whatever! I don't care! I just need to find the core. Well, not me, but...

"You can find the ball of mana making up that thing, right?!?" I'm pretty sure the girl can do it. She found the critical point almost immediately.

"Right."

"And you can direct me out of the paths of its attacks?!?" Otherwise, how else could she give such accurate but lacking instructions?

"Right."

So, she is an anomaly. Figures as much. Still, that doesn't matter right now.

"Duck."

I slide across the ice on my stomach as a claw whooshes overhead. The nearby stones are pulverized, even the one covering the girl.

"Grab on!!!" I reach out my hand to hers, tossing her onto my back. A bit--

"Stop that thought."

...nevermind. Let's get this over with.