Donovan huffed and puffed, his mind ablaze with focused determination, feeling a hand leading the way. He dodged and weaved through the shrubs and trees of the forest with a single mission in mind. "I'm not too far now!"
Still hearing the tiny footsteps beneath the buzz of the bugs, Donovan peered back at the strange boy still eating the crystal. "Weird…" Donovan thought. "At least no one else from that village noticed me. But still, why the heck is that kid following me?"
The buzzing in the night suddenly fell silent. His stomach sank as the sound of the wind whistled sharply through the air. Acting fast, Donovan turned and raised his pipe, but jerked back as Gen's blade shaved the top off.
"Holy shit!" He stumbled back and glared into the darkness expectantly. "Damn it! I thought those guards took care of those two."
Without waiting, the boy nonchalantly sped past Donovan, drawing his curious attention as the boy continued into the forest. "Oh… I guess that kid wasn't following…"
Donovan quickly brushed past the thoughts and, with a steely gaze, aimed his pipe, shooting balls and cones of water into the darkness. Each smashed and crashed against the trees and rocks that shook the forest and silenced the buzz.
Not long after, the earth shook, and cracks rippled at Donovan like a deranged horse. He dodged, then blocked and clashed against Girn's red-stained short sword that swung from the dark corners of the trees. The demon pressed harder and harder with his bloodied face and deadpanned eyes, staring through Donovan. "
"Go to hell!" Mustering his strength, Donovan pushed the demon back and then blocked another attack from above, this time clashing steel with the overextended dagger.
Gen pulled back, then slammed his dagger twice, thrice, four times, and without delay, Girn followed behind the assault, slashing, clashing, and thrusting his sword in a flurry of attack as Donovan matched the demon attack, on attack.
He dodged, blocked, then turned to redirect another of Girn's attacks into the tree. Desperate for air, she jumped back, shaking as he continued to distance himself. Another Gen attack slammed on the ground, nearly claiming Donovan.
Hunched over and examining his surroundings, he searched for the two demons, hearing nothing but their footsteps fill the air. "Shit. I can't fight like this!" He reached for his pouch, glancing inside and shuffling through with a fierce resolve. "Got it!"
Unexpectedly, the sound of a single drop striking water filled the air. A familiar resonance and pull called to him. And like its puppet, He tore the blue crystal from his staff, tossing it aside. He reached for his pocket, but suddenly found it ripped from his grasp. He froze, forced to watch as Girn tossed his pipe deep into the forest.
"C-crap!" Frustrated, Donovan clenched his fist and glared. "Just when I was thinking about changing that crystal." He glanced back at his palm. A hint of skepticism flashed, only to be drowned in seconds by a growing determination. "No, I can still do it! I have to!"
He glared back and barely dodged another of the brothers' attacks—the air filled with the collective sounds of swinging swords, forcing Donovan further in.
"What's wrong, Human?" Gen Taunted. "Aren't you going to fight back!?"
Donovan ducked, dodging Girn's attack, and slashed a tree. In seconds, the tree creaked and toppled on its brethren.
Suddenly, blood splattered on Donovan's face.
"So…." Girn started. "What will you do now?
********
Calmly, the Blue demon child took another bite of his crystal, leaving a piece just the size of his hands, leftover. He broke from the first lines, entering the all too familiar setting of stomped out yellow grass clearing and a set of flowing waterfalls.
He continued to the cliff wall and followed it closely as he began to ponder to himself. "
The boy climbed down the rock, walked past the snoring women, and circled the feasting wolf and laid in his bed. He gulped hard and closed his eyes, tired.
His eyes broke open and shot up in shock. He turned back with wide eyes and watched as the wolf chomped and crushed a demon's head with ease.
Unamused, the wolf leered at the boy, sending a chill down his spine. His screams suddenly rippled across the cave.
Kalika, hidden beneath the wolf's fur, squirmed and groaned. Her head pounded hard and, with a deep annoyance, peeked up. "What…?" She watched on as the boy made an escape in a panic, leaving her to growl in frustration. "What the heck was that about?"
A crash emerged, followed by the splashing of water that reawakened Kalika.
Tired and annoyed, she glanced at the wolf that glared and growled softly at the entrance. Uninterested, Kalika turned, only for an unfamiliar voice to break through.
"
Kalika turned, her sight fuzzy'd, and squinted, discovering two bloodied demons, one of whom held Donovan at the collar of his shirt. "Donovan?"
The wolf stood at alert, snarling at the demons.
"
Gen tossed Donovan to the side. In an instant, his blade shot at the wolf, starling Kalika. She leaped and, with all her strength, redirected his blade to the wall behind.
"< You're more energetic than I expected… Peh. You must really like that beast.>" Girn noted.
Kalika wobbled, trying to bear with the pang in her head and keep her balance. The vertigo she felt was like an unstoppable whirlpool of lines that slowly distorted her own vision. Her stomach churned, and she fought to stay conscious. "Wh… What did you… Do to him?"
Gen chuckled and retracted his blade. "
"
"
Girn sighed, exhaustedly. "
"
The brothers ignored the women, launching flurries of spears at the Kalika, the wolf.
Kalika, undeterred, stood as the wolf attacked. It lunged at the two, only for their spears and spikes to cut through like hail. The large wolf whimper, hit the ground hard as Kalika took the consecutive spears that shot into her. No inch of her was safe as they struck her stomach, the arms, the legs, the neck, and her head until the spears poked out of her like a porcupine. Not long after, she fell flat on the ground, a black and bloodied mess.
Res shook in stunned silence, looking at Kalika.
Girn scoffed, leering at the wolf as it slowly bled out.
"
"
Gen narrowed his eyes. "
"
"Ehehehehe…" Donovan laughed weakly.
"You're still conscious?" Gen kicked Donovan back to the ground. "Stay down already."
"Yeah…"Donovan wheezed. "I guess I should sit this one out, shouldn't I?"
"K… Kalika??" Res called.
Bemused, the brothers glanced back and watched in astonishment as each spear snapped away from Kalika's body. The blood that once covered her body slowly rolled back to her veins, and with discontented ire, Kalika stood back up, glaring fiercely at the brothers.
"
"How dare you… Why couldn't I be just left in peace? "A venom dripped from her lips as she shook.
Girn grimaced and called to Gen, and with unspoken understanding, the two conjured and launched a hail of spears that cracked, splintered, and pierced through Kalika like rain.
Disfigured and decapitated, she continued to march forward with her bloodied and blackened corpse on display. She reached her hands out, and panicked, Gen slashed and kicked her away. He watched in horror as Kalika's body slowly reformed, resurrecting her.
With a raging open fist, Kalika was struck one after another by the desperate attacks of the demons.
"
Without warning, clawed fingers pressed hard on Gen's neck and forced his chin up. Kalika's golden eyes stare unnervingly into the Gen's. A shiver ran down his and Girn's spine as they discovered Kalika standing atop him.
"K... Kalika… How did you-"
"Shut up, you idiot!" Kalika glared down at Donovan and slowly sank her fingers deeper into the Gen's neck. "I bet you came looking for me again. Didn't you!? And that's why these idiots are here, aren't they!?"
"
In a flash, Girn beheaded Kalika. Her black blood stained his sword, and her head rolled to the ground, still staring at Donovan with a newfound malice.
Without hesitation, Girn sliced her arms and legs off, kicking pieces of her off before turning and burning them asunder along with Gen. In seconds, her body reformed, and like a magnet, her limbs and head shot back in place, at the edge of the water.
"" Girn noted.
"It'll be a cold day in hell before I go either of you." Kalika sneered. " Kalika stretched her fingers and dashed at the demons. Spears and balls of fire flew her way, grazing her as she evaded their attacks. "You have to be better than that-!"
A pain struck below, another spear, stabbed just beneath. She gritted her teeth, clutching the spear as it launched her into the sky. She fought and tugged at the spear until she finally pulled it from its tip and leaped at the demons.
She crashed, landing between the two, but before she could move, a heap of spikes and spears stabbed through her arms, legs, and shoulder, locking her in place.
She sat in the open and stood hunched, face to face as Gen prepared another wave of spears.
" Kalika glared at the cold and calculated Girn. " " She wrenched her hands and tore it from the spikes in a bloodied display as she tried to tear the collar of earth from her neck.
Panicked, Donovan desperately clutched at Gen's legs. "Damn it! Get out of there, Kalika!"
She clenched her teeth even harder. "What do you think I'm trying to do! You dumbass!!"
Gen kicked Donovan off him and pinned his feet to his neck, slowly choking the air from him. " " Unexpectedly, a stick whacked the side of Gen and Girns' heads. They stumbled forward, both dodging another swing.
" "Yesh! Leave our friends alone!" Zel drunkenly swung at Girn, completely missing and stumbling to the ground. " " Res swung left and right unrelentingly, attempting to connect her attacks as Gen chuckled at her poor attempts. " Gen laughed out loud at the sudden remark. " Kalika straightened. She leered at Gen as he pointed the tip of his knife at Res. " " "Damn it all. Screw these Demons." Kalika tightened her grasp on the collar. "And screw this damned world!"
In an instant, the collar around Kalika's neck shrank to nothing.
Girn Froze, Noticing the sudden Chance, but before he could move, Kalika lunged through the earth wall, breaking through like it was paper. She clung to his neck, ramming it into the rocky cliffs.
Bones crunched, and blood stained the walls.
"Girn!!"
Kalika tightened her grasp on the demon's neck and glared back. Frightened, Gen stumbled back and unleashed a flurry of spears at her. Each one crumbled at her touch, becoming mere water to her skin.
Desperate, he changed tactics, conjuring four walls around her and shrinking the box around her. Blood gushed from his eyes as he stared down with a laser focus. However, to his shock, Kalika walked through, leaving a body-shaped hole in the wall.
" Kalika ceased, shuddering at the question. Then, with a fury, she tossed Girn's body aside and lunged at Gen, pinning him to the ground. " Kalika dug her fingers into the demon's neck, piercing deeper as she wiggled her fingers into his flesh.
"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!! I hate you!! I hate you!! I hate you!! I hate you!! I hate you!!"
"-lika- Kal- -ka-! -alika-! KALIKA! He's DEAD! You did it! He's dead!" Donovan forcefully pulled Kalika off Gen's bloodied body.
She stared up at the pit ceiling as blood pooled around her. It slowly washed away into the current of the slow-moving river. Beneath the sound of the waves washing over her was heavy breathing. She peered to her side, noticing Donovan sitting in the water, exhausted with blood-stained eyes and mouth.
Res quickly hugged Kalika. " Zel followed suit, rubbing their face and horn on her in an uncomfortable display of affection.
Slowly, Kalika rose and re-entered the cave. "Get out of here, Donovan."
Donovan caught his breath, shocked. "Kali-"
"JUST GET OUT OF HERE!! I… I don't want you here. Just… Pick me up when you and Bjorn are done with that stupid demon."
"Are you s-." Donovan stopped himself. He looked inside the cave, watching as a familiar large wolf squirmed about in pain.
" " Donovan sighed. "Alright, fine… I'll let Bjorn know. But don't stay up too late." Awkward, He slowly trudged away, walking past the little boy hiding behind the corner of the wall.
The boy glanced from Donovan, then back at Kalika, who shook with tear-filled eyes. "Why?"