Cough, cough, cough...
Spitting dark, shadowy globules from her mouth, Elinare spat what seemed to be bits of her internal organs, tears streaming down her face. "P-please, end me quickly. End me before 'he' regains control over my soul again! Please, do it NOW! I can't hold back any longeeeerrr– AHAHAHAH! You fools, know your place and beg for forgiveness; otherwise my beloved Ingan would tea– No, quickly, please, END ME NOW– AAARRRGGGHHH!"
Watching how their foe for this arc changed faces faster than a chameleon changing skin, Natsuki slowly crept back, edging towards Vylara's taut, satiny back, wary of the scene before him. "Uh, Vylara, could you please tell me what on earth (or Aeronia, whatever you say) is going on here? Is she, y'know, cuckoo...?"
Twirling his finger, Natsuki peeked from the back, afraid that the schizophrenic woman before him would leap at them, gnawing their throats. "So, shall we, y'know, ch ch...?"
Palm swiping across his neck, Natsuki asked if Vylara would put her out of her misery. Eyes furrowing, Vylara stood to the side, confused about what to do with the confounding situation before her. "I'd rather have her dead as well, but before that, I need to know what on Aeronia is going on here– a medieval world with sci-fi technology, people acting all glitchy and stuff, not to mention where on Aeronia the souls are going– WATCH OUT!!!"
A large black tentacle whipped towards them, smacking the duo back. Before their horrified eyes, Natsuki and Vylara saw the cocoon before them dragging the still-schizophrenic Elinare towards it, her screams now filled with more fear and desperation. "No, no, no, no, no! Please, please, please help me! I don't want to be absorbed, I don't want to be absorbed, I DON'T WANT TO BE ABSORBED!!! Help me, kill me quickly so that I may return to his si– AAAHHH!!!"
They could only watch in abject horror as the cocoon finished absorbing the screaming Elinare, dragging her unwilling body into itself, absorbing her in her entirety. "Okay, now let's move back slowly, one step at a time; let's not make the very big, scary-looking ball angry now sh– holy fucking crap, duck!"
Without hesitation, Natsuki tucked his sword and rolled to the side. What followed was a loud twang before a deafening and distorted neighing rang across the plains, damaging the already war-torn buildings further. Before their shell-shocked figures, a gigantic quadruped emerged from the now chaos-laden cocoon, all covered in deep black chitinous armour, a helmet being where its head should be (which, for some very odd reason, eerily resembled a very famous bow-wielding enemy in a certain starry rail game...). "Shhh, don't make any sudden noise. It still hasn't noticed us yet; we should be sa– "
Crack!
Both gazed down: there lay a shard of broken glass, now even tinier because of someone's very old R**b*ks sneakers. "You son of a–"
Boom!
Conjuring a shadowy bow, the Shadow Centaur launched a volley of arrows at them, enemy now located. As Vylara sprang to her feet, she hurriedly pushed Natsuki to the side, unwilling to let the youngling face the now-stronger enemy (thanks to a certain denim-wearing lady's contribution...). Seeing how, despite being worn out from the previous battle, Vylara was risking herself to save him, Natsuki felt something grow within his chest, something which he once felt when he saw his bullies stealing away his family–
Frustration
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Deep within Natsuki's inner world, a lone green gear is seen spinning, 11 words etched deep within it...
Now, it seems a twelfth one will join their ranks