"Get to safety, Penelope."
Mel's voice cut through the chaos, flat and unyielding as she turned to face the beast. Her blindfold sat firm across her eyes, but she tracked its every subtle shift through aether sense, the world unfolding in her mind as flows of energy and pressure.
"I can't leave you here to fight that thing alone," Penelope replied.
"This thing, whatever it is, hasn't been identified. Mel's tone left no room for bebate. "Fighting it while you're still here would be dangerous. I insist you leave."
Penelope clicked her tongue softly. "I'll get the remaining workers out of the dome." She pushed herself up, already gathering aether. 'It has spatial abilities. Be careful."
Light shimmered around her foot, then the other, aether coating her steps in a glassy sheen as she took off. She picked up speed almost instantly, sprinting toward the direction Jay and Lira were.
Mel didn't watch her go. Her focus stayed locked on the beast.
She and the beast faced each other across a torn stretch of earth.
The beast stood motionless, its strange body marked by lines of faint color. Its head tracked Penelope's retreat for a moment, then swung back to Mel, sizing up this new presence with cold calculation, as if dismissing one less variable and locking onto another.
Through aether sense, Mel had already mapped it completely. Its core pulsed like a storm trapped in flesh, immense and heavy, radiating pressure that warped the air around it. She navigated the world this way always, blindfold or not, every ripple and current painting the scene clearer than eyes ever could.
The beast held still, but not from nature. It was from instincts, cautiously probing her strength in return.
Mel watched it in silence.
For a moment, neither of them moved. The broken trees creaked faintly. Dust drifted in slow sheets where earlier impacts had torn up the ground. Residual aether crackled faintly at the edges of perception.
Then the beast's vertical slit parted.
Its interlocking teeth separated with a wet, clicking sound that made the skin crawl. The lines carved into its body began to pulse with light, each heartbeat brightening them, each pulse stronger than the last. A ball of energy started to form in its mouth, swelling and condensing at the same time, compressing itself tighter with each second that passed.
Mel felt the buildup peak. She did not wait.
She moved.
The world between them vanished in an instant. Her body blurred, and in the span of a breath she was there, right in front of the beast. To the creature, it was as if she had simply appeared. It reacted instinctively, trying to stretch space between them, to force a gap where none should exist.
Space stretched for a fraction of a moment, then snapped back like a rope whipped taut.
Mel's right leg came up in a clean, merciless arc.
Her heel smashed into the beast's faceless skull.
Bam.
The impact cracked through the clearing like a cannon echo. The creature's body flew backward, smashing into a cluster of trees, splintering them into showers of bark and splinters, like they were little more than straw. It bounced and skidded across the ground, carving out a crater and a long drag mark in the soil before it finally slowed to a stop.
It must have flown at least twenty meters.
The beast twitched and tried to stand.
Mel was already there. Her foot drove down onto its head, driving its skull deep into the earth. The surrounding ground split, cracks racing outward like a tightening web, the crater deepening with the raw force.
Mel didn't stop.
She raised her foot and stomped down. Then again. Then again.
Each stomp landed with a tight, explosive force, small detonations focused under her heel. The earth buckled and jumped around her relentless rhythm. With every impact, the beast's head was forced deeper into the crater, like she was hammering it into the planet itself.
It struggled, its claws digging, its limbs thrashing as it tried to drag itself out. Every attempt to rise met another stomp that sent it further down.
The lines on its body began to flash again, cycling from blue to pink and back, faster and brighter with each beat. Aether gathered heavily around it.
It lifted its right arm, trying to grab Mel's leg mid-strike.
She cut the motion short and hopped back, landing lightly and letting a ten meter gap open between them.
The beast surged out of the crater.
Dust fell from its body as it rose, the pulsing lines now far brighter than before. Colors layered over each other, blue shot through with pink, with faint hints of deeper violet threading between.
Mel watched it calmly.
"Interesting", she thought, sensing the sudden spike in its aether signature. Her face stayed flat, but something in her gaze sharpened.
The beast moved.
It closed the gap so quickly the air lagged behind. Chunks of earth ripped out of the ground and flew backward, dragged along by the sheer force of its acceleration.
Its claw came for her head in a brutal arc.
Mel leaned back just enough, her spine folding as the claw passed close enough for her to feel the air peel along her skin. She could have counted the serrations on its limbs.
Her right leg snapped up again, aiming to cave in its skull.
The beast blocked with its left arm.
The moment her shin connected, a gust of compressed air burst outward, lifting loose rocks and dust into a swirl. Despite that, the beast barely shifted where it stood. Its frame absorbed the impact, claws digging into the earth for leverage.
It slashed at her right leg, claws whistling through the air. Mel pushed herself backward, her feet sliding, letting the attack cut through empty space. She came out of the motion with another step and drove a heavy fist into its side.
The blow landed solidly.
The beast skidded back, but only three meters, feet gouging shallow trenches as it dug in. Not because Mel lacked strength, but because it had enough power now gathered to meet her.
The lines along its body pulsed faster.
Ten orbs of purple energy flickered into existence around it. They were suspended in the air, circling, vibrating with compressed destructive energy.
They shot forward.
The first screamed toward her. Mel tilted her head the slightest bit, letting it tear past her cheek. The second followed, and she twisted at the waist, letting it brush past her shoulder.
The rest came in a rapid volley.
She moved through them like she had rehearsed this dance, her body slipping between the deadly spheres in quick, fluid motions. Every step was small, controlled. Every bend and turn seemed to carry just enough movement to clear the attacks without wasting effort. Her dodges stitched together into a rhythm that was almost hypnotic.
By the time the last orb roared past, the beast was already at striking range again.
Its claws aimed to rip her apart.
Mel twisted, letting the attack slide past her side. Her hands snapped up, fingers locking around its wrists. She used the momentum of its own attack, pivoted, and spun. Her heel whipped out in a tight, vicious arc.
Her foot crashed into its skull.
Bam.
The impact was heavy and loud, a sound that shook the ground. The beast dropped to one knee, the force, forced the limb deep into the cracked earth.
Mel did not stop moving.
She twisted the arm she held, wrenching it into an ugly angle, and slammed her fist down. The blow landed with brutal efficiency. The knee that was already bent sank deeper, the ground crumbling and compressing into a new crater with a spray of cracks radiating outward.
She struck again, this time putting more strength into the blow.
The second impact drove the creature's knee even further into the earth. The sound of breaking ground and strained bone rolled out together.
The lines on its body burned brighter.
With a violent jerk, it tore its arm free from her hold, meeting strength with strength. It twisted mid-motion, arm sweeping back in a vicious slash meant to cut her down.
Its claws met empty air.
Mel was already gone, having slipped away the moment it started to yank free. She reappeared several meters away, boots grinding softly against broken soil.
The beast rose to its full height and turned to face her.
Its interlocking teeth clicked against one another in a rapid, unsettling rhythm. The lines along its body glowed like molten veins, casting sickly colors on the torn ground.
It lifted its hand and pointed a finger at Mel.
Nothing obvious happened.
No energy spheres formed. The ground did not warp. Space did not twist in front of her eyes. But something changed.
Her hearing dulled.
The distant groan of bent trees, the whisper of wind against debris, the faint crackle of stray aether arcs, even the subtle sound of her own breathing, all of it began to recede as if someone were slowly wrapping the world in thick cloth.
The beast warped space.
The distance between them folded in an instant. One moment it was far enough away to measure in strides, the next its hulking form filled her aether sense.
Bam.
The impact crashed into her before she could fully reposition. She felt the force slam into her body, felt the way it picked her up and threw her as if she weighed nothing. She flew back, smashing through what remained of a few trees, splinters exploding outward. She tumbled and skidded across the ruined ground, tearing through rock, soil, and broken plants around the manor.
She finally came to a stop in a jagged trench of uprooted earth and shattered stone.
"Focus," she whispered to herself.
She exhaled slowly. A flicker of silver shimmer moved through her body, then settled. The numbness in her ears slowly went away. Sound trickled back in, first as muffled impressions, then as clear details: the crack of shifting rocks, the low rumble of the beast's movement, the faint hum of residual aether in the air.
She pushed herself up.
Five massive claws tore through the air toward her.
Mel leaned back just enough, letting the claws pass inches from her face. She felt the wind drag past her skin. Using that motion, she rolled her weight and snapped her right leg up in a kick.
The beast jerked its body aside, her heel slicing through empty space. It twisted, and a purple orb of condensed energy blinked into existence in its palm.
The orb detonated toward her.
Boom.
The blast slammed into her stomach before she could fully guard, folding her body and throwing her into the air again. Pain flared sharp and bright, but there was no time to process it.
The beast was already above her.
It stomped down, catching her mid-fall.
She hit the ground with enough force to gouge out a new crater. Earth exploded from the impact point, dust and stone rising in a choking cloud. Before the dust even settled, the beast stomped again, each strike driving her deeper, the crater widening and the cracks racing farther outward.
It raised its arms and began to slash.
Its claws carved through the air in broad, brutal arcs, ripping at her already torn maid outfit. Fabric shredded and flew, scraps caught in the glow of its pulsing lines. It slashed again and again, relying on raw violence, each swing making the colored lines across its body flare brighter, pink and blue alternating in fast, feverish pulses.
Mel moved.
Her arms shot up, catching both of its wrists mid-swing.
Silver shimmer covered her forearms, aether coating her skin in a thin, metallic layer. The beast tried to rip its arms free, muscles coiling, but this time it met something that did not yield.
Mel pulled.
The beast's body lurched forward, yanked off balance. Its weight came crashing down toward her.
Her leg snapped upward.
Her foot crashed into its torso with a devastating force.
The impact sent it flying backward, tumbling through broken stone and dirt. It rolled and bounced, gouging up the shattered ground, until it finally skidded to a halt in a heap.
Mel rose from the crater.
She stood as if the last few blows had been minor inconveniences. Dust clung to her skin and hair. She brushed some of it off casually, as if adjusting a sleeve at work instead of standing in the middle of a battlefield.
Despite the beast's earlier flurry of attacks, her body looked untouched. No cuts. No bruises. No visible signs of damage beyond the faint remnants of impact pressed into the earth around her.
Her outfit did not share that fortune.
What was left of her maid uniform barely held together, torn wide open along her left side from chest to stomach, fabric hanging in ripped strips. The silver shimmer in her arms faded, but the echo of it lingered.
The beast climbed to its feet again.
It shook itself once, scattering dust and small pieces of stone from its form. Its slit focused on her, scanning her in a way that had nothing to do with sight alone. It sensed something that hadn't been there before. Something that made the air feel heavier.
"You're quite the brute," Mel said.
Her expression remained that same calm void, as if she were commenting on a slightly noisy neighbor rather than a monster trying to dismember her.
The beast stared at her.
The lines on its body brightened, their glow steadying into a sharper, more focused light. Its teeth clicked once, twice, an odd cadence to the sound, almost like a response.
Then Mel changed.
Silver light rose along her skin, starting at her feet and crawling upward in a slow, smooth wave. It wrapped around her legs, her hips, her torso, her arms, then continued upward over her neck. The light hugged her form closely, almost like a second skin, clear and steady, not wild or leaking.
In a few seconds, her entire body was wrapped in shimmering silver.
The air seemed to hold its breath.
"You haven't gone all out, have you?" Mel asked.
Her voice carried the same emptiness, but now there was a quiet certainty under it. The silver light around her did not flicker. It simply steadied.
Across from her, the beast's teeth clicked once more. The glow of its lines matched her silver reflection on a smooth pebble.
...
Jay, Lira, and the nine old guards sprinted toward the manor, hearts pounding in sync with the distant rumble of explosions. They had closed in just enough to catch the erratic burst of smaller blasts when a streak of golden light hurtled from the sky and slammed into the earth before them.
Boom.
The impact shook the ground like a thunderclap, splintering dirt into jagged cracks that spiderwebbed outward.
Trees groaned and swayed, whipped by a sudden gust of wind that stung their faces with grit and leaves.
As the dust cloud churned and settled, Penelope emerged from the haze, a battered shadow of herself. Her gown hung in tatters above her knees, smeared with grime. Dust caked her face, turning her vibrant green hair to a dull, muddy brown.
"Penelope!" Jay and Lira cried out together, their voices crackling with alarm.
Penelope froze, her eyes widening as she spotted them. She bolted toward their group, arms outstretched as if to drag them away from the manor's direction.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, her puzzled stare flicking between them with ragged breath.
"Lady Penelope!" The guards surged forward, shouldering Jay and Lira aside in their haste. One grizzled veteran grabbed her arm gently. "Are you hurt? Any wounds? That explosion—we thought you were in grave danger!"
"I'm fine," Penelope snapped, yanking free. She wheeled back to Jay and Lira, urgency sharpening her voice. "What are you two doing here? Where's Kaelen?"
Lira stepped up. "We came for you, Penelope. After that first explosion rattled the whole dome. And Kaelen... we don't know. He should be with the patrol group."
Penelope's jaw tightened, frustration flashing in her dust-streaked eyes. "You shouldn't have come. Your only job was to get those lantern rams back inside the harness."
"You're wrong," Lira shot back, chin lifting defiantly. "Our job is to figure out what's inside that dome. And look—it just took action." She jerked her index toward the manor, where fresh tremors rippled the air.
Jay raised her hands, cutting through the tension. "As much as I love this little spat, can we focus? Whatever's happening in there isn't waiting for us to bicker."
Silence gripped them for a heartbeat, broken only by the faint, rhythmic booms echoing from the manor's direction.
Lira broke it first. "What happened at the manor? And the reoccurring explosions?"
Penelope glanced over her shoulder, shadows of worry creasing her brow. "No time for the full story. Something attacked. Mel's fighting it right now—those blasts you're hearing? That's them clashing."
Jay's eyes widened, pulse quickening. "Those explosions are from the creature? And Mel? Do you have any idea what level it's at?
"Penelope shook her head grimly. "It's dragging out, matching her blow for blow. It has to be A-rank. Maybe higher." She straightened, resolve hardening her stance. "We need to evacuate the people still inside the dome first. The workers—come on."
The lead guard blocked her path, with a stern face. "No, Lady Penelope. You're the priority. We get you to safety—now."
"My safety?" Penelope laughed bitterly, shoving past him. "Everyone's lives are at risk! Move!"
"We're not budging," another guard insisted, planting himself firmly. "Orders are clear."
Penelope whirled on them, voice laced with venom. "I don't need your help. Drop the pretentious act—you're family guards. You never cared before, so don't pretend now just to make things worse when it's all falling apart. Get out of here!"
The words landed like lashes. The guards flinched, exchanging uneasy glances, their rigid postures cracking. The leader swallowed hard. "We... we'll help with the evacuation, my lady. Lead the way."
Penelope spared them a curt nod, then turned to Jay and Lira. "You two with me?"
"Right behind you," Jay said, exchanging a quick, determined look with Lira.