Back in the main clearing, the two monstrous spirit lions circled, constantly testing Zak and Theo. Meredith, moving very fast, had managed to push her lion back, but Ziza herself hadn't moved at all. She still leaned casually against a gnarled tree, her arms crossed, watching the fight with a cruel amusement.
"You know," she called out, her voice easily heard over the noise of battle, "this would be more fun if your whole little team hadn't been cut up like vegetables."
Zak let out a slow breath, adjusting his fighting stance, his jaw tight. "Theo," he said, his voice steady despite the chaos, "Stay close. These
things fight like trained beasts, but they're still just animals. There's a trick to them."
"I'm not going anywhere," Theo replied, sparks still flickering off his daggers. He was panting slightly but holding his ground. "Just tell me what to hit!"
Meredith suddenly appeared back in view, her staff dripping water, a grim determination on her face. "We need to break through and find the others. We don't know what kind of traps the others are dealing with."
Ziza finally pushed off the tree. Her claws slid over her gauntlets with a soft shink, and she put them on, a dangerous grin spreading across her face.
"They're already dead," she said casually, as if talking about the weather. Her golden eyes glinted with evil. "Or they will be. This forest doesn't let prey leave."
Theo's jaw tightened, a sign of his defiance. "Then maybe it's time someone cut down the trees."
Ziza cracked her neck, a sound of bone on bone. "Try me."
And with that, she lunged, a blur of dark fur and sharp intent.
Meanwhile, Eleanor readied herself, her Sunfire flickering dangerously from the edge of her axe. Across from her, Carna moved like a shadow dressed in silk. Her presence was both airy and deeply unsettling. The flesh-whips slithered across the forest floor, pulsing with a sickening heartbeat that didn't belong, like cut arteries still pumping. This wasn't just some magic trick; this was living, breathing, divine flesh under Carna's horrible control.
Eleanor's breathing slowed, her focus narrowing to a single point.
Carna struck first, her whip cracking towards her in an impossibly fast blur. Eleanor stepped sideways, spun, and swung upward, expecting the attack.
"Divine Art: Solar Bloom!"
The damp ground around her exploded in a sudden, brilliant burst of golden flames. These flames formed a temporary circle of hot, glowing petals. Carna was incredibly fast, flipping back just in time, but the edge of her dress caught fire, burning slightly.
She didn't flinch.
"Lovely," Carna purred, her voice still smooth despite the burned fabric. "You do burn so prettily."
Eleanor's shoulder still throbbed from the earlier scrape. It was a growing pain that sent dull aches down her arm. Blood slowly seeped into the black cloth of her uniform. She ignored it, pushing through the pain, and rushed forward, her axe held low for a powerful swing.
Carna extended both whips, wrapping them around nearby trees with disturbing speed. Then, using them as anchors, she launched herself into the air, and came down like a graceful, deadly hawk.
Eleanor braced herself, bringing her axe up in a desperate block. Sparks flew where the whip hit the metal, a screech of raw force against divine fire. The sheer impact sent her sliding back several feet, her boots carving deep lines in the damp dirt.
"I can make you into art," Carna whispered, her voice chillingly seductive as she slowly moved closer. "Tear muscle from bone and weave it into ribbons. Wouldn't that be divine?"
Eleanor's expression didn't change, only hardened. "Not interested. You damn freak."
Sunfire flared from her hands, sending its scorching power through the axe, making the blade glow with intense fury.
"Divine Art: Daybreak Cleave!"
She slashed upward, a blinding arc of golden flame tearing through the heavy air. Carna's whips came up to defend, blocking the blow, but the intense heat singed her arms, and her perfect, graceful posture finally faltered, showing a flicker of real discomfort on her face.
Far away, Katya's voice, sharp and clear, rang through the dense trees, a welcome sound in the suffocating silence.
"Eleanor!"
A powerful blast of emerald energy sliced through the intervening branches, clearing a path. Katya leapt into the clearing, her gauntlets already glowing with crackling light, her eyes sharp and judging.
"You okay?" she asked quickly, dropping into a fighting stance beside her, surprisingly without her usual sarcastic tone.
"I'm Fine," Eleanor muttered, a wry grin touching her lips. "Took you long enough though."
Carna tilted her head, a hint of annoyance now ruining her calm features. "Another one? This is starting to feel crowded."
Katya didn't wait to be polite. She slammed a glowing fist into the ground.
"Divine Art: Pulse Cannon!"
A powerful shockwave burst out from her fist, sending Carna stumbling backward, thrown through a tangle of trees. Wood splintered, and branches rained down around them like shrapnel.
Carna emerged from the wreckage slowly, a thin trail of blood trickling from her lip, but her expression had changed completely. No more chilling grace. No more calm elegance. Just raw, pure rage.
She screamed.
The sound was not human; it was a shriek of pure, wild fury that shook the very ground of the forest.
The flesh around her arms visibly thickened, changed, turning into jagged, spine-covered tendrils that twisted like living snakes. They were twice as long as before, pulsing with horrible life.
Katya blinked, her eyes widening slightly. "Oh crap."
Eleanor rolled her shoulders, a grim determination on her face. "You ready?"
Katya put on a confident grin, a flash of her old self returning. "Born ready....I think."
The two angels launched forward together, a whirlwind of light and raw power.
Back at the main clearing, Zak's blade met Ziza's gauntlet in a shriek of grinding metal. He gritted his teeth, his muscles straining, pushing back as the Beast Goddess pressed down on him with overwhelming force.
Ziza's attacks were relentless, brutal, wild, and incredibly fast. She didn't fight like someone trained with a sword. She fought like a wolf, a primal force of nature.
"Divine Right: Moonfang Barrage!"
Her gauntlets glowed pale gold as she unleashed a dizzying flurry of clawed strikes. Zak blocked what he could, his blade moving in a blur, but one savage swipe hit his side, tearing cloth and leaving a thin line of blood.
Theo dashed in from behind, a flicker of blue lightning following him.
"Divine Art: Lightning Waltz!"
He moved in a zig-zag pattern, an arc of pure blue light, twin daggers slashing at Ziza's back. She twisted with impossible speed, catching one of his daggers with her gauntlet and throwing him into a thick tree with bone-jarring force.
"Damn it!" Theo groaned, slumping down, shaking his head to clear it.
Zak surged forward, slamming his blade into the ground, channeling his divine energy.
"Divine Art: Radiant Burst!"
A blinding flash of pure light erupted upward, surrounding Ziza and her spirit lions in a searing wave. The clearing flashed brilliant white, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.
When the light faded, Ziza knelt, breathing hard, but still, somehow, grinning. A dangerous challenge showed in her golden eyes.
"Cute tricks."
Then a bolt of pressurized water, sharp and precise, slammed her sideways, knocking her off balance. Meredith was back, her staff already in hand, her expression grim.
"Let's finish this."
The Heralds were strong. Stronger than anyone they had ever encountered. At least so far.
And they weren't giving up.