Chapter 23 - Mochi vs an Arm

Having grounded Herttua by disabling his wing, the group had the upper hand. Or so they thought. With his threat against Milly the tension had doubled, and Nao’s rage culminated in a reckless charge.

She raced toward him, and her speed had seemingly increased with her anger. She disappeared from view each time she shifted positions as she closed the gap between her and Herttua. When she was within range her punches flew faster than last time, but they weren’t as precise. She was missing by larger margins and blamed herself, thinking her anger had gotten the better of her and was making her attacks sloppy, but when she looked up at her opponent, his smug face gave her a splash of cold water.

He had been holding back before.

Herttua dodged her with ease, and barely any movement. He calmly and casually walked backward, like he was moving in a world that was too slow for him.

Nao became more frantic, trying to punch faster, distress taking over her face. Milly looked on from the sidelines and pulled her ears down, wondering if she should try and cast magic again.

“Hey girlie, don’t take it too hard. You’re still young, ya know?”

Nao stopped her attack and her face went dark, before looking up into Herttua's red and beady eyes with a twisted smile.

“I’m young.”

She threw a final right hook and Herttua took another step back, where Mochi awaited and grabbed onto his arm, digging her fingernails in tightly.

“But I’m only the second youngest here.”

The demon scoffed at them, and began to violently spin his arm in an attempt to shake Mochi off. Nao called out to her.

“Miss Mochi! Tell him!”

Perking up to her cue, she leaned her head back, exposing her fangs with a wide and awkward grin.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill your arm!”

Chomping down once again, she clenched her jaw as hard as she could, and Herttua howled in outrage.

He slowly began to pixelate away from his bite wound, and Mochi ran to Nao’s side. They smiled happily at each other, and Nao praised Mochi for a job well done, rubbing her head aggressively. Next Nao looked to Milly for her own praise, but saw her princess still pulling on her ears.

“I knew I didn’t want to mess with you. That attack could be a problem for me.”

The girls looked back in dismay at their foe, who had one less arm but was still very alive.

“Why are you still here! I killed you! I killed your arm!”

They blinked and Herttua appeared directly in front of them, somehow traversing the distance between them in an instant.

“Who said it was my arm?”

Mochi tried lunging again at the large bird, but was knocked back by his remaining arm with great force. She was thrown across the area towards the boulder she hid behind previously, and Nao bolted to catch her. Realizing she would be a second too late, she dropped her needles and punched the boulder with her bare fist, shattering it into pieces. Mochi landed among the rubble and dirt, yelping and whining for Nao.

There was no time to comfort the poor pup, as Nao turned back to see Herttua approaching Mochi with vengeful intent. The feathers on his remaining wing puffed out again, and he began to chant in a language no one could understand, but was threatening all the while.

A black ball of churning and agitated energy appeared between him and Milly as he drew closer.

Milly feared for her life, if she even had one. She was staring death in the face quite literally, but all she could think about was the logistics of being a ghost and if she could die twice. The mystery of it didn’t take away any of her fear, and she cast her barrier spell in desperation.

The black ball pushed against an invisible wall for a moment, and Milly held hope that her magic could protect her from harm, but her hope shattered along with her spell, and Herttua pressed on until the ball was in front of her petite snout. She sniffed compulsively and it smelled like rot and burned her nose with an acidic feeling.

Tears began to wet her fur, and she looked over to Nao, who was running toward her with an outreached hand, but in slow motion. Milly could tell she wouldn’t make it in time, and closed her eyes tight.

Herttua took his only arm, and upturned his palm, lifting it toward the sky. The ball rose too, until it was high above the princess’ head. His burnt wing twitched and throbbed, and he clicked his tongue, saying another word in the ominous foreign language.

The ball grew in size and he turned his palm downward.

“What can I say? I’m a petty demon.”

He slammed his hand down to his side in a fluid motion, and the ball followed suit and hurled toward the ground, toward Milly.

Milly hadn’t opened her eyes in a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. She heard Nao cry out desperately, with pain and sorrow in her voice. She heard the uncomfortable energy in the ball, like a buzzing and grating. And last, she heard a loud metallic clang, and the buzzing energy drifting far away.

She unclenched her eyes, and peeked out from her ears and paws. The ball sailed off into the sky and obliterated the rainclouds like a bomb had gone off. Standing before her was none other than Zen, panting heavily with his sword drawn.

“And I’m a vindictive human.”

Zen: 1

Herttua: 0