Rhefia PoV
"Are you absolutely~ certain that we cannot just discuss these long standing traumas you clearly possess? I know this one woman back in Birchan who is really~ good at listening to anything, and she always~ made me feel better after we chatted... though now that I'm thinking about it, that might have been because of the sex after the chat... hmm..."
Batting my spear aside and snarling at me, the Bearkin continued to move as the flames around her surged in power once more, yet unfortunately for her the heat she was exuding did little now that my entire body was covered in a nice layer of Earth Mana.
I still felt the heat and I was definitely not having a good time, but compared to the blisters I would have likely received before - especially where the metal was thickest on my armor - I was rather unblemished currently, so all was good... kind of.
That lingering fear of knowing just how screwed I was if she landed a hit was very terrifying, and it was something that would certainly never get easier for me; the dance with death was always something I wanted to avoid, but at the same time there was an incomparable thrill whenever I found myself in positions like this.
The rush of adrenaline knowing that a single mistake could lead to my demise was a highly addictive one, yet I also knew how horrible it was to chase let alone partake in even once a year... so I wasn't yearning for this again.
And I definitely wasn't going to want to fight another maniacal, hammer wielding zealot that was trying to prove to me that she was the biggest, baddest warrior in the world... because I knew she wasn't, and she knew she wasn't...
Slipping beneath the hammer swing and grimacing a little at the wave of heat that washed over me, I emerged from behind her and swung my spear again, slamming the haft against her knee and doing some nice damage to her if that cry she let out was anything to go by.
Altan cursed my very existence and swung herself around, both of those flaming hammers whooshing over my head before they came back around for a second attempt, this time traveling diagonally as she smashed the ground.
Fire erupted from the craters she left behind, blasting up into the air and attempting to wreath my lower half in flames; of course I moved away from it before that could happen, but the effort was there, and I made sure to let Altan know I thought she was doing well.
Her frustration was getting more and more visible as she continued to whiff each attack, allowing this fight to drag on and put her at a disadvantage as her stamina slowly and gradually depleted; even at the slow rate it was dissipating at I was still finding more and more openings than I was before, so for me this was working.
On the flip side the longer I let this play out the more risks I opened myself to, and I knew that I should get it closed out here and now... yet at the same time the risks were still quite high considering she never allowed those openings to be available for long.
This nifty little conundrum I had was one I couldn't solve perfectly, so I went with the imperfect solution of pumping some more mana inside of myself and lunging forwards, taking the fight to her once more.
My spear was coated in mana and my body was being amplified by it, while Altan was crudely encasing herself and the area around her in fire in an attempt to protect herself from anything magical.
Punching through that barrier and stabbing the spear into her gut, I caught the Bearkin by surprise as I went straight for her this time instead of attempting to disarm her or wound one of her limbs.
Because of that she didn't react in time and ended up getting stabbed in the torso again, but unlike last time I was prepared for her immense strength, which was about to be utilized as she growled and reached for my spear haft.
Those hammers slammed down against the ground after she released them, and the moment she grabbed my weapon I began to twist and push my mana inside of her, drawing an agonized howl from her as she desperately tried to yank the weapon from my hands.
Tearing at the flesh and soaking her internals with foreign mana, I eventually released the spear when it had served its purpose, letting the Bearkin rip it free and toss it aside as she desperately went to cauterize the wound.
That moment of distraction told me even more about her since she let her guard drop and her eyes flicked away from me, not catching the dagger I unsheathed from my belt; for a moment I felt dirty as I quietly lunged forwards, yet there was nothing that could be considered underhanded or dirty when fighting for you life.
Closing the gap between us, I surprised the Bearkin again when I stabbed her in the neck, sinking the blade deep into her muscles and severing the ligaments around her spine, causing her to drop immediately as her body gave out without the 'access' to her brain.
Blood poured from her mouth as she stared at me in shock, unwilling to accept this outcome yet unable to do anything else as I slowly, carefully pulled the blade free, letting her slump to the ground with a dull thud.
"It really didn't have to be this way... You could have retreated; I wasn't going to hunt you down because there was no reason to. This is all your doing, Altan... and I pray you didn't make a pact with any malevolent Goddesses, because the afterlife won't be kind on you if you did."
Flicking her blood from my dagger, I stared down at her and watched the light fade from her eyes before I retrieved my spear, listening to her final breaths before they were overshadowed by the shouts from her subordinates.
Many ran straight past me as they fled, while a few seemed to be overcome with either rage or grief as they came for me, seeking to avenge their leader; unlike her though they all seemed to just run straight into their deaths, and before I knew it I was surrounded by bodies.
The only one still standing was Erdene, and even she looked completely shocked; standing opposite of her was Aethisia, who was warily watching the minx, waiting for her next move and wondering what would happen now.