Claire backed up with Hannah as the Chimera swiped at them again. It roared at Claire and kept trying to attack her. The serpent tail was writhing and hissing in a panic. Ursa's blow left it bleeding.
"She's moving," Hannah said to Claire.
Claire felt a wave of relief wash over her. She took a moment to look behind the monster to see Ursa standing. Her body was glowing with Ana's healing magic with her red eyes piercing through. She was on the verge of going berserk.
"Thank the Goddess," Claire exhaled. She refocused on the monster and dodging its attacks. Her shield was too far for her to retrieve, so she was left with just her sword. "Hopefully, she's okay…"
"Like I said," Hannah smiled behind her helmet. "Even I could take that blow."
"Let's not test that," Claire replied.
Ursa was motionless for a moment after standing. Her body was catching up with the pain and injuries, before she let out a mighty roar. She grabbed her ax and charged the monster again. The serpent refocused on her, angry that she had harmed it.
Claire whistled at Ursa, gaining her attention. Ursa stopped her angered charge and waited for Claire's commands. The monster's focus was split between all three, one head for each woman. It kept advancing on Claire and Hannah, but the serpent tail was focused on Ursa.
Hannah sheathed her ax and pulled the spear from her back. If she were going to be annoying, she'd need range. She readjusted her stance and split from Claire. She'd prod at the monster to keep its attention solely on them. She just hoped the others would hurry up.
"Get your shield."
Claire nodded and moved in its direction. She had to be cautious since her taunt was still affecting the creature. But it did seem to struggle on which of the three to focus on. The smarter serpent head was watching Ursa pace, but the two others were struggling. They'd dart from one woman to the other, unsure of who to attack yet.
Claire turned and sprinted towards her shield after spotting it. That was enough for the monster to make a decision. It turned towards Claire and was ready to chase. It moved forward before slamming its lion head into an invisible barrier. It staggered back briefly, not understanding what it had just run into.
Ana's barrier cracked under the immense force of the creature. The translucent barrier had visible strain from the monster running into it. The magic left the monster confused and hesitant, letting Claire retrieve her shield. She turned to see the lion's head tilted as it studied Ana's barrier.
The three warriors now surrounded the monster. Ursa was behind while Hannah and Claire were to its sides. It was nowhere near the plan they had, since they were all isolated, but they'd have to improvise. Claire readied her shield and found a surge of confidence.
"Ursa, should it move towards us, strike!" Claire commanded her. "Hannah, do the same. We'll punish it for targeting one of us."
"Right," Hannah nodded back.
They continued the stalemate with the monster, each of its head focusing on one of the women. The monster didn't know which one to focus on, since its previous encounters with humans were different. The moment it moved towards one, the other two would move towards it.
Confusing the monster allowed them to buy far more time. If it were left confused, both by Ana's magic and by which woman to target, it'd be slower to move. Each of its steps was now cautious, fearing that it would run into another invisible barrier. It was working far better than their original plan.
Claire inspected her shield. There was no visible damage to it, no claw marks or anything. She expected to see long gashes down the wooden structure, but there was nothing. She stopped for a moment to think back to her previous fights.
"There aren't any holes from arrows either…" Claire muttered to herself. Her shield definitely had arrows lodged into it when she fought against the traffickers, but the holes were all gone.
She shook her head.
"Not now," She whispered to herself.
The monster did move closer to her. It noticed her distraction and was slowly approaching her. Its approach was cautious, but steady. It was expecting to run into one of Ana's barriers, giving Claire enough time to react. It was now within striking range of her.
"Wait until it strikes," Claire commanded her companions. She held her shield up, ready for the monster. Ursa was pacing as the serpent was watching her. Hannah was the only one not being watched by a head. This let her move freely.
Claire braced herself to dodge the moment the monster lifted its paw to swipe at her. She wasn't going to risk letting her shield take the blow, which could lead to her getting injured. The paw came down fast, and Claire jumped back out of the way.
Ursa raised her ax; whether intentional or not, the serpent's attention was locked on her. This let Hannah move in with her spear and prod at the monster's hide. She aimed between the ribcage, at a part that should be weaker, but her spear bounced off it. Her reaction speed was quick enough that she dodged the reactionary strike, rolling away from it.
Now, Hannah had all three heads' attention on her.
She was smiling under her helmet. Hannah was the distraction for Ursa to strike the serpent again. Ursa reared back her ax and charged the monster, striking its serpent tail again. This time, she was ready for the retaliatory strike. She used her ax, still lodged in the serpent's body, to lift herself up. She pushed off the monster's back and freed both herself and her ax from the monster.
Blood exploded from the serpent's neck as it barely missed striking Ursa. Its hissing grew louder as the blood ran from both wounds. The monster let out a mighty roar from its lion's head, then stomped the ground. It looked to be throwing a tantrum, since it lost all focus on the women around it.
The ground shook beneath their feet with the sheer size and weight of the creature. It let out a roar that transitioned into something far, far worse. It let loose a stream of fire from its lion head into the air.
Claire's hair stood on end upon seeing it. It was extremely rare for chimeras to breathe fire, but some could. This one hadn't in any of its previous attacks, so they assumed it couldn't. She jumped back as the fire blasted around the creature. All three were able to get out of the way, but they were stunned by the attack.
The chimera blew fire into the air and stomped on the ground.
Its eyes darted from one woman to the other, ready to unleash the fire upon them. It reared back, and just before it let go of its fire, lightning struck its lion's head. Elsie's magic landed squarely on top of the head, slamming its head down. Its mouth expanded with fire and suffocated the flame.
It shook off the blow in confusion. Some of its hide was blackened from the strike, meaning that her magic did damage. That brought hope to Claire's confidence, but the monster didn't seem to be affected by it. It looked around for the source of the attack before refocusing on Claire. It bounded towards her with insane speed.
It slammed right into another barrier, but shattered it upon impact. It kept going and ran towards Claire. Claire sprinted to the side, towards the reinforcements. She saw something shining from the barricades as a fireball whizzed over her head. Claire kept running, not bothering to look back at all. She needed to make it to the others.
She heard the roaring from behind her. It was quickly gaining on her.
She caught the shine of metal, then an arrow arcing over her head. The monster let out a whimper behind her and crumbled to the side. Claire chanced a look behind, seeing the creature shaking its head violently. She turned back and kept running. She didn't want to chance the monster running towards her again.
She jumped over the makeshift wall and rolled into the fort. She was surrounded by Rebecca's guards, all were looking at her in awe. She didn't have time to think as she was pulled to her feet by Jasmine.
"What the fuck was that?" She growled at Claire. "What happened to no risks? Why'd you let yourself get-"
"Ballista is ready," Rebecca called out.
"Fuck," Jasmine muttered.
"We needed to buy more time," Claire said, hugging Jasmine. "That was an amazing shot, thank you for saving me."
"Wouldn't have needed to if you'd just stuck to the plan." Jasmine gumbled.
Claire looked out to the field before her. She was surprised she made it to the fort, given the distance. She opened her mouth to ask, but a guard answered the question before she could ask it.
"Catherine buffed your speed."
"Oh, I have to thank her for enabling me to outrun that thing," Claire smiled. "What's the status on Hannah and Ursa?"
"Ursa is still on the other side of the monster, and Hannah is making her way over," Jasmine explained calmly. She was inspecting Claire for any signs of damage. "Elsie is pelting it with magic, readying its hide for the ballista to strike."
"That's good to hear," Claire exhaled. "Ursa has the serpent tail almost killed, too."
"I saw," Jasmine nodded. "Must be why it went ballistic."