The spot where Isabelle once stood now only held a massive witch's hat. A hat that consumed her whole in an instant.
"Good job, Rene!" Yaga praised. The hat shrunk down to its original size and flew back to the witch's head.
The entire process confirmed once again that Ms. Chancy was gone.
Kent didn't know whether to laugh or scream. The entire scene was absurd. He was busy fighting a toy wolf when his only remaining ally lost their fight to an animate object?
And he didn't even know if she lived or died? Her body had just…vanished into the hat.
"This is all my fault…" Kent could feel his guilt rising. The pressure was building within him.
"No time to wallow, child!" Yaga announced. "I've always wanted to work with the soul of a pirate!"
The shadow wolf, Howler, pounced at Kent from the woman's shadow! Kent called forth the Thunderstorm Spear. It roared with magical electricity. He swung it at Howler, but his attacks wouldn't land on the creature.
Claws swung through the air and scratched Kent's flesh. He groaned in pain and wildly swung at the wolf.
Like before, the attack shifted through the wolf, but it was never his true target. His spear went straight through the wolf and fired a bolt of lightning toward Yaga!
The attack crashed in front of her!
"Yikes!" she yelped! "That almost hit me! Howler, don't let him do that again."
A low growl of confirmation came from the homunculus. Its eyes shimmered, and it sank into its shadow, covering the ground between them in an instant.
Kent jumped back, and the wolf chased him with determination! Between each dodge, he would launch an attack at Yaga. None of them hit, but each one came close.
Kent kept his cool, but the pressure was still present.
Alisa was still gone, Alix was in the temple with something, and Eric was nowhere to be found. And that wasn't even mentioning the hat that ate Isabelle, and his battle against this wolf homunculus!
In his chest, a familiar hurt rang out. Something that he'd never gotten over and now was instinctively pointing out the similarities of that day and this one.
The events of today were not the same as then, but they were close. And that left him feeling the same pain and pressure as when he lost more than he thought possible.
But a wolf was still lunging at him. So he had to ignore the feeling.
"Damn it! Get back, you freak!" Kent tossed his hand overhead. Three lightning storm spears took form. They shot at the wolf with blinding speed. Each spear dug into the ground without even so much as startling the creature.
"Look at that. The pirate captain is throwing a tantrum?" Yaga placed a hand on her chest and pursed her lips. "Maybe you should go find mommy instead of lashing out at poor Howler?"
"Shut it!" Kent shouted. "You'd already be dead if you weren't-" Kent caught himself before he finished talking, but Yaga locked onto his hesitation.
"If I weren't, what? Is this your childish attempt to cover up your poor aim?"
Kent threw the spear in his hand at Yaga, striking the ground right in front of her. "Did that look like poor aim to you?"
"Hmm. Are you saying that you were aiming for the ground in front of me instead of me directly?"
"Yes." With a flick of his wrist, the lightning spear exploded, sparking everywhere. Yaga had no time to protect herself from the blast and could only bear the pain.
She stumbled backwards, only to find herself surrounded by the spears from earlier. "Zap!" At Kent's command, the spears exploded in a chain of light.
Each blast lit the outer walls of the temple like powerful torches.
The attack was so sudden that it was only after the light faded that a powerful gust followed. Kent's tattered coat caught the wind. His eyes squinted from the smoke, but he didn't let his guard down.
A thunderous silence hung in the air. The smoke faded, revealing Yaga Holland still standing. There were some tatters and scuff marks on her clothes, but she was alive. Though even she couldn't hide the blemishes on her skin.
Kent scoffed. "So, you're still alive? I guess you're more experienced than I gave you credit for."
Yaga didn't speak or move. Her gaze focused on the boy. The intensity of the stare shook him to his core.
Slowly, a smile danced its way across her features. "I finally understand."
"Do you? What do you understand?" Kent inquired. "I've been told that my siblings and I are quite the talkative bunch. So, you'll have to be a bit more specific."
Though he was joking, Kent couldn't keep worrisome thoughts from forming in his mind. The witch's smile was too…certain for his taste.
Yaga stepped forward, and Howler returned to her shadow. She charged straight at Kent carelessly.
Kent frowned. "What's this? Did the witch have close combat skills I didn't know about?"
His mocked, but his smirk faltered. He watched the wolf's shadow run up her body and cover her hands in shadow claws. She now looked more threatening at a close distance.
"...Okay, maybe you do?"
Kent summoned a Thunderstorm Spear and swiped it at her while retreating. He expected her to dodge or block, but she dove in further, giving the spear a clear strike at her neckline.
Kent's eyes widened, and he diverted the attack, moving it to slash across her body instead. Yaga's grin grew wider. "I knew it!"
"You're afraid to kill me! Aren't you, boy?" Yaga pounced forward and went to strike Kent. The attack was obvious. Kent barely even thought as he avoided it, though in that instant Howler stretched from the witch's shadow and scratched into the boy.
He winced in pain, jumping back further. Yaga spun on one foot and charged Kent again. This time Kent knew better. He leapt back, using is Lis to protect himself, and launched his storm spears from a distance.
Each one trailed right to Yaga, trying to hit her legs or body, but each time she moved to an overly exposed position and Kent quickly diverted the attack to avoid killing her.
"Are you insane?! Stop doing that?"
"Then just take that last shot! This will end if you just take me out!" Kent stopped launching attacks. He would have to divert them anyway, so there was no point in attacking.
Yaga and Howler continued their offense. Their pattern was simple but effective.
Yaga's attacks were slow and obvious, but that made them the best misdirection. While Kent focused on dodging the unskilled attack, Howler launched an attack during Kent's momentary opening.
"I knew something was up!" Yaga cackled. "It was strange, you know? I've heard stories about you, Kent. Or should I say the Half-Beast of the Western Sea? Or maybe..."
"Tyrant Kent, the captain of the Malice Crew!"
Kent hesitated. "H-How do you-"
"Don't stop now, boy!" Yaga and Howler took advantage of Kent's moment of hesitation. Yaga scratched with her shadow claws straight up the boy's body, followed by a vicious twin claw strike from Howler across his chest.
"Agh!" Kent screamed in pain. Kent held his wound, eyeing the witch with much more focus than before.
"Rene, have a wonderful meal with this one." The shadow was over him before Kent even had time to register what Yaga was saying. He looked up and watched as a giant hat got ready to consume him.
The hole where a head would normally go, filled with teeth! Kent stared into what felt like a darkness that never ended. It was over...
"Like hell!" Kent reached out. A slick liquid energy flowed from his fingertips. The pole of the spear had barely formed before Kent grabbed it and aimed it at the hat.
"Rainstorm Spear: Tidal Current!"
A jet stream shot out from the end of the unformed spear. The force was so powerful that it blasted Kent several feet back and away from the Hat's maw! Kent lost his balance for a moment and rolled across the ground before regaining his stance.
"How resourceful! I bet Eric really looks up to you!" Yaga cheered, her hat returning to her head.
"Really? Ya want yer son looking up to a monster like me? Heh, that's just the type of crazy thought a batshit broad like you would have!" Kent slowly stood from the ground, an accent slipping out.
"What a foul mouth! Is that the pirate's tongue that I've heard so much about?"
"Nah, I just don't have enough respect for ya to care about being gentle anymore." Kent lifted himself off the ground. "Yer just a crazy witch that doesn't care about her own life! So, I may as well snatch it from ya!"
Yaga's eyes twitched. The energy from Kent was shifting. What once was nonchalant had become frantic, and now...
There was a coldness, a cruelty. This change brought a toothy grin to her face. "Just as our master foresaw!"
"What are you droning about no-"
Kent's eyes caught something behind Yaga. A person, but he didn't know who? And they were carrying someone? He squinted because the person seemed… Kent's went round.
"Holiday?" Kent mumbled. His eyes shook with shock.
Yaga looked over her shoulder and watched as her partner carried her son to her.
"Oh Kendall! You found him!" Yaga rushed over to the boy and snatched Eric from his back. "My sweet son! Oh, I missed you so much! I thought you'd never come back to Mommy!"
"He's unconscious, Ms. Holland." Kendall explained, but Yaga clearly didn't care. He could only laugh. "And I keep telling you, I go by Merko now. Well, whatever, did you finish yet? Eric got the rune before me, so my part really was a bust." Merko sighed.
Kent watched from the sidelines. His gaze locked onto the unconscious Eric. His crew-no…
His little brother had cuts covering his body. So many cuts that it was likely that the boy was bleeding out! His breathing grew heavier as he stared at Eric.
The temple took his sister. Mother was also trapped inside, and now Eric bled out in front of him.
All of this happened under his nose...
He clenched the Rainstorm Spear so tight that his veins bulged out of his arm. "What is this?"
"Hmm?" Kendall looked over at Kent, only just noticing his presence. "Uh, who's that?"
"My sweet Eric's friend! Brother, actually. They seem to treat each other as family." Yaga answered, though she didn't really care about the bond between the two boys. She had her son in her arms again.
Her precious treasure.
"They treat each other like a family? That sounds sad? What? Did they all lose family members or something?"
"Kendall, stop being rude."
"I just want to know wha-" Before Merko could even react, a spear stabbed into his side. Blood poured out of him. His eyes trailed up the pole until he met the gaze of Kent.
"You…" Kent growled. He met Merko's gaze. However, he did not have his usual calm, focused expression.
This look could kill. His pupils dilated, his eyes burned with an unusual orange glow, and his jaw set tight.
"You're gonna die for what you did to him!"