Smoke fumed from the muzzles, the choking metallic tang filling their mouths as the gun powder from the guns flared.

  It was brief, bright as star—and the recoil shook both their hands. Fenric tasted iron; Vierna’s jaw clenched.

  The bullets screamed, a thin, keening line through the night, and everything narrowed to that whistle. For a breath the forest seemed to hang: embers paused above the fire, a moth beat midair, a leaf froze on its fall.

  One round met the big figure’s head; his body whipped back and collapsed in a heavy, ragged heap. The other struck the smaller figure in the chest—she staggered, let out a strangled sound, and folded beside the first.

  Vierna had aimed for the head, but after a full day of hunting with a musket, the dueling gun felt different in her hands. The shot went wide, lower than she intended, striking the chest instead.

  Silence fell, sudden and absolute, broken only by the rasp of their breathing and the faint sizzle of cooling metal. Fenric’s hands trembled uncontrollably; Vierna’s face was unreadable as she pushed forward, eyes scanning for movement.

  Both of them now went into the side, inspecting the bodies.

  Fenric panted as he realized he had just killed someone. His hands still trembled from the act. He retched into the dirt again, but nothing came up. His ears drooped low, as if trying to hide from what he had just done.

  “Let’s go. My gunshot could be heard miles away — we need to take everything we can befo—”

  ‘VIERNA!’ Moony screamed.

  It jolted her reflexes and she leaped back just as a slash came low, aiming for her legs. She scanned where it had come from. It came from the smaller figured. She now stood up while blood gushed from the wound while her other arm clutched at it in desperation.

  “YOU FUCKING IMPERIUM BITCH!” she roared.

  Vierna saw the girl—her white hair swaying in the wind, painted silver by the moonlight; her eyes blazed with fire, clearly out for the kill. Then she saw the left arm. There was supposed to be only one, yet five sprouted from it, fanning from the palm—each ending in a blade-like claw that gleamed with murderous intent.

  She retracted the arms, the blades then transform again into palms.

  The thin veil that had covered her face fell to the dirt, and Vierna could see what was behind it. Her mouth was stretched from ear to ear, and her skin looked more like scales than flesh stunned both Vierna and Fenric with dread and unsettleness. Her other right hand then morphed into a pincer-like claw; she pushed it into her wound and screamed like a beast. Then she pulled the bullet out and used fire magic to cauterize the wound.

  Both Vierna and Fenric wanted to move, but sheer disbelief stilled their hands and feet, like chains and weights shackling them.

  ‘Vierna snap out of it!’ Moony screamed from her head.

  She blinked and back to her senses like a girl who just woked up from a nightmare. “Fenric!” She called

  “Vierna, why is she calling us Imperiums?” Fenric asked, his voice shakes with disbelief.

  “I don’t know Fenric, don’t try to understand a Cultist. We need to kill her as soon as we can.”

  Fenric was still in daze, he apparently never been in this situation. Vierna wanted to run away and yet this monster was definitely from the Cult. Letting her loose would put the entire Rolbart village and her mission on peril. And so she decided that it would be best to stand and fight despite her condition.

  Moony I will try to use as little mana as I could, but prepare yourself for anything.

  ‘Okay, I would try.’

  Vierna pulled the scroll that she made earlier. Simple storage spells written by her in paper to conserve her mana. She pulled her blade, holding it in her right hand, pointing it at the beast while her left held her dueling gun.

  Not giving the beast any more time, Vierna sprint toward the monstrosity. She didn’t cast a spell, relying instead on her strength and the modifications to her body.

  The monster didn’t idle. Its left-side arms stretched unnaturally, lunging at Vierna with terrifying speed. Its palms morphed into curved blades, the same ones it had used earlier to try to strike Vierna’s leg. The air whooshed as the blades tore through the umbral leaves, a storm of metal rushing toward her.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Vierna dodged to the right, avoiding the barrage; one blade lodged in the ground, gouging a shallow crater. Seeing the gap, Vierna extended her left arm as she ran. The rune on her gun flared, producing lead and powder for a shot. She pulled the trigger.

  As the gun fire, Vierna then pour her mana to the rune again, doing the same process three more times in quick succession. She could only guess how much mana she needed to pour into the runes to make the shots work; it was bravado more than a well-planned assault.

  Her shot hit the monster’s torso, causing it to wince but doing nothing to stop its onslaught. Either Vierna had messed up the bullet’s construction, or the monster’s physiology allowed it to shrug off the hit—it wasn’t clear.

  “Vierna, behind you!” Moony screamed again.

  She glanced over her shoulder. The four bladed arms she’d dodged stretched again, trying to catch her off guard. Her eyes widened — the gap was too small to slip through.

  Her ribs tightened; every second narrowed. There wasn’t time for anything.

  “Wooden Wall!”

  The voice came from the gold-furred Beastkin who’d finally gotten his act together. In an instant a wall of tree burst from the ground. Three claws struck the wood, piercing it but slowed, giving Vierna time to dodge right again.

  One of the monster’s arms swept the ground toward Fenric’s position. He conjured another wooden wall to his right, stopping the claws.

  Vierna was now in melee range of the creature.

  “Parry this, you bitch!” Vierna screamed.

  Her right arm shot forward and back, stabbing the monster’s right side.

  “Enhancement: Drachenschuppe!”

  The beast’s right flank went black and scaly; the enhancement had made its skin as tough as dragon scale. Vierna’s blade struck it but didn’t even graze the surface. Without her own enhancement, she lacked the power to bring the thing down.

  “You seriously bring a toothpick to a fight, huh?” the monster laughed. “Now you parry this!”

  Its right arm stretched unnaturally, swiping at Vierna’s body. Vierna moved her right hand to her left and raised her rapier to block. The force was too great — she was dragged off her feet. Her feet skidded across the dirt like on ice; she didn’t let go, pouring every ounce of strength into holding ground.

  Her left arm was still free, so she poured more mana into the gun’s rune to produce extra gunpowder and denser lead.

  BANG! The gun fired violently. Vierna’s left hand recoiled, but she still held the weapon.

  I put too much gunpowder on it. Fuck—hope it didn’t break.

  Somewhere deep in her consciousness, she heard Moony’s muffled cry but she ignored it, right now it was fight for her live.

  The bullet struck the beast’s enchanted torso; a violent crack split the air. The crack rang like a promise — the beast’s enchantment had a seam.

  “That hurt, you shit!” the beast roared. She jumped back, pulling her stretched arms in. As she landed she let out another roar.

  “Yellow Dragon’s Roar!”

  A magic circle appeared in front of her mouth. Its yellow hue split the night; runes braided into a gaping maw and a column of crackling gold lightning poured out, hissing like struck metal. It smelled of hot iron; air warped, embers died, and where it struck wood steamed and split. The maw moved with animal intent—precise, hungry—its edges spat tongue-like sparks, and a low pressure stole the breath from their lungs.

  Looking at the approaching spell, Vierna knew this was the first time someone truly intended to kill her with it. Yes, her training had been intense, but she had never been in real danger. However, this time was different, and she couldn’t help but smile because she knew that she could handle it.

  “Schild!”

  A bluish aura lit her rapier. She watched the charging spell, analyzing its construct. Her training against Lisa paid off—she recognized the spell even from a different caster and thought she could fully deflect it.

  ‘Arghh!!!’ Moony screamed internally.

  Moony!

  The scream disturbed Vierna’s concentration. As the spell struck her rapier, she quickly deflected it sideways instead of back toward the caster. It hit a tree and felled it, luckily collapsing onto the monster that had launched the attack.

  The monster quickly turned her hands into blade again, slicing the falling tree relentlessly as if they were nothing.

  “Ironwood Spear!” Fenric fired a greenish projectile that struck the sliced tree. Suddenly the wood formed into a spear; with deadly speed it surged toward the many-armed girl.

  “Enhancement: Drachenschuppe!” she shouted again, coating her torso with black, dragon-like scales.

  The spear rained down, but her scales held. Fenric’s eyes widened as he realized his attack had no effect.

  Vierna jumped back toward Fenric.

  “We gave her our all and she wasn’t even scratched,” his voice trembled. Fear tightened his chest.

  “Not at all, Fenric,” Vierna panted. “Look at her arms.”

  Fenric narrowed his eyes. He saw it: some of his spear had pierced the girl’s arm, yet she acted as if nothing had happened.

  “Can she not coat her additional arms? And why isn’t she screaming? That looked painful,” Fenric asked. “So, any plan now, Vierna?”

  Vierna scanned the girl. She was panting, sweat pouring from her brow. Though she had pulled the bullet from her chest, she wasn’t wholly unharmed; her right arm pressed where Vierna’s shot had struck.

  If only I could use magic, but I don’t think Moony could handle more!

  “Fenric, I need your support on offense. I can’t use offensive spells right now.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I just can’t, okay?!” Vierna snapped. “Save the questions for later — we need to end this now. We’ve already made too much noise. Who knows how many more are out there.”

  Fenric nodded. The two of them prepared for another assault.

  “Wodden spikes!” Fenric shouted, and the ground erupted with wooden spikes. They surged toward the girl, who used her arms to launch herself into the air. Vierna didn’t let the chance pass; she gambled that her gun would still function despite its rough treatment.

  BANG! BANG!

  Two shots hit the girl’s legs, and to Vierna’s surprise they pierced flesh cleanly. She had expected her enchantment to block them, but the blood that spattered across the dirt proved otherwise. The girl did not slow. Her right hand shot forward, trying to grab Vierna.

  Fenric reacted first. He conjured a thick wooden wall between Vierna and the hands. A loud cracking noise followed afterward. The bottom tore free from the ground, and the heavy slab smashed into Vierna, hurling her across the clearing.

  “Vierna!” Fenric shouted.