There was an uneasy silence as the approaching mass swiftly flew towards their position. Everyone readied their weapons, while the Scarlet Seraphs' frontline pressed forward. Claire, Hannah, and Ursa pushed past the reinforcements to meet it. Ursa led the three, lifting her ax and swinging its glowing head in the air.
The mass jetted down towards the ground just before them, landing with an earthshaking impact. There was a storm of dust and a silence after the sound created by its landing. Once the dust slowly settled, the shadowy mass's form was revealed. It stood nearly ten feet tall on four legs, the face of a maneless lion and goat side-by-side. It had scars covering its hide, patches missing and rot oozing from its body.
Ursa struggled to breathe against the pungent smell that had yet to hit the other two. She sized up the creature, feeling her hair stand on end. Claire moved to Ursa side, eyeing the goat head. The arrow that Jean shot was still lodged in its socket. If all else failed, maybe they could fall back on blinding it.
Hannah bashed her shield with her handax, letting out her Warcry skill to attempt to get the monster's attention. The two of its heads turned towards her, but its third one still watched Ursa and Claire. The serpent's yellow eyes peered from behind its body, where its tail should be. They didn't have time to think about it because it moved towards Hannah.
They matched its pace, moving back slowly. Their job was to distract and stall the monster until the ballista was prepared. They'd have to improvise originally; it was just waiting for Elsie to prepare her magic. They'd have to distract and maneuver around until they were given the signal.
It lunged towards Hannah with its front paw, swiping at the knight. She dodged backwards with her shield ready. It overextended to reach her, stumbling slightly. Ursa used that moment to press forward and swing her axe. It collided with the monster's hide, bouncing off. She growled and rolled back away from the monster after the failed blow.
The monster kept its eyes on Hannah, while the serpent's never left Ursa. It recovered swiftly, not even noticing Ursa's axe hit it. It moved towards Hannah again, readying up another swipe. It tried again to swipe at Hannah, but she expertly moved backwards. This time, both Claire and Ursa tried to attack the creature.
Claire used her Defensive Strike to bash the monster while Ursa swung at the extended paw. Claire felt her arm and shield rattle against the monster, sending a shiver throughout her body. Sher backed up quickly, eyeing the serpent.
It had finally moved.
It slithered towards Claire when she attacked. Its mouth widened, baring its fangs. Claire watched it as she moved back. It seemed to have a different level of intelligence than the other heads, or resistance. All three continued to move back slowly.
Claire glanced back at the makeshift fort and made eye contact with the three mages. Elsie was staring at the monster, while Ana was focused on them. Catherine was looking towards the Ballista, waiting for the signal. Claire refocused, it'd only been a minute so far. They had a long way to go if they were going to stall until the Ballista was ready.
Claire eyed the serpent again with a plan starting to form. It looked and acted much differently when compared to the other heads. Its body and face weren't covered in any scars or any signs of damage. If not for the rot all monster carried, it'd be a perfectly healthy snake. Maybe its scales were weaker than the creature's fur hide.
Hannah's taunt on the heads was beginning to wear off as the lion and goat heads began to glance at the other two. Claire had to think fast about how best to test her theory before she needed to take control of its attention.
"Ursa," Claire spoke more calmly than she expected. "The serpent seems different. It may have a weaker hide. Do not attack it until I tell you to. It's smarter than the other heads."
Ursa gripped her axe and listened to Claire. It was hard to hold back her body's need to get aggressive already. She was fighting with herself more than the monster at this point. She studied the serpent as it seemed to do the same. Their eyes locked until the chimera's lion head let out a mighty roar.
It turned towards them, meaning the taunt was officially gone. Claire moved fast and used her own Taunt skill to grab its attention. Its eyes narrowed on her, both lion and goat. It moved towards her with clouded eyes.
"Ursa," Claire spoke quickly as she backed up. She had her magic shield ready to block an attack. "This shield reflects damage. It may surprise the creature, giving you an opening."
Ursa growled and shook her head. Claire shouldn't take a head-on hit.
"I'm not that stupid," Claire laughed. "I won't be taking the hit, just a glancing blow on my shield. But pain will shock the monster. Do your best."
Ursa moved towards Claire to stop her, but Hannah tapped her with the back of her ax. "Stay focused. Claire is capable. Do as she says. I'll make sure she doesn't get hurt."
Claire nodded at her two companions. They needed to buy the women more time, and this was the only realistic way of doing it. Their taunts would not hold the beast's attention for very long, they'd need to anger it. Claire calmed her breath and ignored her fear.
She felt a pit in her stomach form. She knew what she was doing was a gamble, an extremely stupid idea that could go horribly wrong. But they needed more time. If Ursa can hurt the monster, or even better, behead the serpent, then its attention will solely be on them.
Claire watched the monster's front paws as it approached her. She waited for the change in its behavior to signal a strike. She cautiously backed up, being just in its range to swipe. She planned to dodge the strike, but let her shield be hit. Let the magic infused within the shield do the damage, nothing more. To make sure she wasn't hurt, she planned on letting go of the shield.
That monster could tear her arm off with one swipe, so she'd need to abandon the shield. Claire braced herself when the creature paused and leaned forward. Its right paw pulled back to swipe at her. She calmed her breathing, feeling the world slow down around her. For the briefest moments, she remembered the last time it'd felt like this. Then she refocused.
Here it was.
She backed away, leaving her left arm extended. She noticed the claws that swiped towards her, curved and the size of her own sword. One swipe from those could cleave a person in two. She thrusted the shield forward, letting it get hit by the downward strike.
Two of the claws made contact with the shield the moment Claire got her arm free of it. It swatted the shield down, smashing it into the ground and sending it to Claire's left. Claire felt Hannah pull her back by her armor, sending Claire rolling behind the knight.
Claire recovered and watched the monster. Its eyes were still on her, but with a confused look on its faces. The serpent's eyes peered behind the others, focused entirely on Claire. Claire smiled under her helmet. It was a stupid plan, but it worked.
She caught the moment Ursa's axe made contact with the tail. She didn't know if it was Ursa's strength or the axe's own magical properties, but the axe head dug into the serpent's body. Ursa was able to cut deep enough to draw blood.
Ursa let out a roar that was quickly drowned out by the monster's own screams. A chorus of roars, bleats, and hisses erupted from each head as the monster panicked. Before Ursa could react, the hindleg kicked her back, sending her flying.
Claire's stomach twisted upon seeing Ursa go flying back. Her body was nearly entirely limp as she flew through the air. Claire stepped forward to run to her, but stopped. Panicking and rushing towards Ursa would cause more issues. She'd need to ignore tending to Ursa and trust that her lover was strong enough.
"It was a reactive kick," Hannah said calmly. She moved back to Claire as the two readied to keep the monster's attention. "She'll be fine. Even I could take that hit."
"What the fuck?!" Claire heard yelling from behind her. She couldn't tell which one of her lovers it was, but she knew it was one of hers.
She gave a "thumbs up" with her left hand. She hoped it would be enough reassurance to whoever was yelling, but that was unlikely.
"Well," Hannah took a deep breath. "We pissed it off. Now what?"
Claire smiled. "Hadn't thought that far ahead. I trust both you and Elsie to annoy this monster to no end."
Hannah gave her a hearty laugh. "I'll show you who the more annoying woman is."