Yanagi yanked his blood-slick gloves tighter, scanning the chaos around him as the screams and gunfire carried through the swirling steam. Muzzle flashes blinked like fireflies in the fog, but it was chaos - flashes without aim, men firing blindly, shadows moving too fast to track, the hiss of Yatzuls circling, ready to drag another screaming soldier into the dark.
'Fall back!' Yanagi roared, his voice cutting across the gunfire and the shrieks. 'On me! On me!'
Soldiers stumbled toward him through the steam, their silhouettes trembling, weapons raised shakily as they scanned for shapes in the mist. A trooper to Yanagi's right fired a burst into the fog, the bullets sparking off stone as something screamed and vanished again, claws tapping on wet rock as it circled.
'Back it up! Watch your sides!' Yanagi yelled, grabbing one young trooper by the collar and shoving him backward toward a high slope, where the steam was thinner, where the wind from the ridgeline cleared the air.
Behind them, the Yatzuls screeched, their raspy howls echoing, and shapes moved like streaks in the fog - a glimpse of claw, a slash of dark flesh, the glow beneath their skin pulsing like embers as they stalked between the rocks.
Yanagi pivoted, firing his pistol once, the round sparking off a Yatzul's shoulder as it retreated with a snarl. Another trooper stumbled past him, clutching a bleeding arm, gasping for breath.
'Keep moving!' Yanagi bellowed, waving his arm, 'Clear that ridge, NOW!'
The team scrambled through the steaming pools, water sloshing around their boots, gear clattering, coughs and panicked breaths filling the air. Another scream behind them - abruptly cut off with a wet tearing noise. A trooper spun, raising his rifle, but Yanagi grabbed the barrel and shoved it down.
'Don't stop, don't look, move!'
They pushed through, boots pounding over slick stone and water, the steam thinning as they neared the slope, where the geothermal vents were less active. A breeze blew across the ridge, carrying the steam away in coils, revealing the battlefield.
And there, in the clearing fog, the Yatzuls were visible - at least six of them, stalking low across the rocky pools, their skin pulsing dark red, claws clicking, tails whipping as they circled the soldiers. Their eyeless heads turned with eerie precision, tracking every movement, every drop of blood in the water.
Yanagi turned, eyes narrowing, lips curling into a grin as he saw them fully.
'That's it,' he said, breath heavy but steady, lifting his hand as the troops fanned out behind him in a loose semicircle. 'Now you can see the bastards.'
The Yatzuls hissed, scattering like shadows across the rocks, testing the perimeter.
'Steady!' Yanagi shouted, his voice booming over the ridge. 'Pick your shots! Aim for the legs! Slow them down!'
A Yatzul lunged, claws flashing, and three rifles snapped toward it, bursts of gunfire tearing into its forelimb, flipping it sideways into a steaming pool with a splash, the creature thrashing and shrieking as steam rose from its wounds.
The rest of the pack began to circle tighter, but now the soldiers could see, the fear in their eyes hardening into focus as they steadied their rifles, bracing for the charge.
Yanagi wiped blood from his face with the back of his glove, planting his boots firmly on the rock, ready to break the next one that lunged.
'Come on, then,' he growled under his breath, watching the creatures circle, his fists clenching, the steam clearing just enough for the fight to become real.
The darkness echoed with gunfire, shrieks, and the roars of men who refused to die quietly.
***
Kanesaki's blade sliced clean through the Yatzul's arm, an arc of dark blood spraying across the rippling water. The beast shrieked, a sharp, echoing sound that cut through the steam before it scuttled backward, disappearing into the swirling fog.
'Yasuko, you good?' Kanesaki shouted, scanning the haze for shadows.
'I'm good!' she called back, her voice breathy but steady. She moved carefully across the slick ground, Sickle raised, eyes darting for any sign of movement. A low growl rumbled as a shadow flickered past her, skimming the edge of her vision before vanishing again.
Kanesaki stepped closer, eyes narrowing. 'They're drawn to the noise. They can't see us, but they're using sound - maybe vibrations, like echolocation.'
Yasuko nodded, tightening her grip on the Sickle. 'Then we need clearer ground, we're disadvantaged out here.'
Together, they moved, water rippling beneath each cautious step. Each splash was a signal, each breath a lure. Somewhere in the fog, a Yatzul shrieked in answer, the sound growing louder, closer.
Kanesaki spotted a break in the fog ahead. 'There!' he hissed, breaking into a run as the steam curled around them like phantom hands.
A roar tore through the mist behind them. Kanesaki twisted, blade raised just as a Yatzul lunged, jaws breaking through the fog in a blur of teeth and blood-coated saliva. His sword met flesh, slicing deep, a hot spray of blood splattering across his arm and the water below.
The creature fell with a wet crash, but another shriek split the air, closer than before.
'Keep moving!' Kanesaki shouted, turning back toward the clearing as the fog churned with the sound of more claws scraping through water, the hunt tightening around them.
Kanesaki's boots splashed through shallow water as he scanned the edges of the clearing, Yasuko dropping into a ready stance beside him.
A sudden splash echoed - a dark shape lunging forward through the fog. A Yatzul burst into the open, jaws clamped around the torso of a dead soldier. Bone cracked as it chewed down, tearing flesh with wet snaps before tossing the limp body aside with a low, guttural growl.
Kanesaki's grip tightened around his blade.
'Now.'
The Yatzul roared and charged, claws skittering across the wet ground, jaws opening wide as it lunged at Kanesaki. He sidestepped, blade flashing in a clean arc that bit deep into its flank, a gout of black blood spraying across the water.
The beast stumbled, shrieking, before whipping around with surprising speed. Yasuko moved in, her Sickle glinting as she swung low, slicing across its hind legs. It howled, dropping to its knees.
Kanesaki pivoted, planting a foot against the creature's shoulder as he drove his blade down into its throat, silencing it with a final, wet gurgle.
The Yatzul collapsed, limbs twitching before going still, the clearing falling quiet save for the ragged breaths of the two Chimera.
Yasuko wiped a smear of blood from her cheek with the back of her hand, glancing at the corpse of the fallen soldier now half-eaten in the water. Her jaw tightened, but she steadied herself, turning back to Kanesaki.
'Clear air gives us the edge,' she said, breathing heavily.
Kanesaki nodded, flicking the blood from his blade. 'We should keep moving - stay in the open. If they want to keep coming, we'll fight.'
They stepped over the steaming corpse of the Yatzul, eyes scanning the edges of the clearing as they made their way to try and find the others.
Chapter 43 - end