[Month of Harvest, Haschou Village, Maplegrounds]
Slashes, punches, and all manner of attacks riddled the dragon as the party went all out to take it down. All in order to kill this flying beast as quickly as they possibly could. What amazed Cirika was seeing the extent to which Rumiko and Runara went with their attacks. What struck her as peculiar was how these people weren't fighting like
this before, back in the market.
Yes, the people she had faced back there looked dangerous enough. But, when it actually came to fighting they were a complete mess. But,this time around it seemed like they were proficient to an extent. That only raised the question as to why. Why that competence only showing up now? It was like they were completely different people.
Cirika thoughts were immediately interrupted as the scaly monster let out an oppressive roar. One both most acute and predatory. Despite all the thrashing it had gone through, it was still itching to launch it's own retaliation. The others, still recovering from their first strikes, had to brace for the potential of the monster going after one of them!
The beast whipped it's head back. All were immediately alarmed by the glowing light that began to glow from the depths of the dragon's neck. Cirika, attempting to warn her partners, yelled out:
"It's going to launch fire! Take-!"
[ Dragon used Base - Flare Breath LV 2!]
[ Success! ]
Cirika was not able to finish her sentence before the beast jerked it's head back forward to launch a searing stream of flames towards them. Unfortunately for her, Cirika caught the brunt this blaze. For In the aftermath she was visibly aflame.
But, she did not panic. Instead, she whisked her hand to the side, invoking wind force. She attempted to blow out the fire that had just began to catch onto her clothing. But, that wasn't the end of it. The stream of flames was only a part of the dragon's onslaught. It dove forward, bearing it's sizeable and smoking jaws aiming to smash Cirika between them.
Still fanning off fire, Cirika acted on immediate instinct. She invoked wind force directly at the monster's oncoming mouth.
[ Dragon used Arkane - Bite LV 2! ]
[ Fail! ]
And surprisingly, it worked.
The beast heaved it's neck back, seeming to visibly caugh out this thick black smoke. With the attack by the dragon thwarted, Cirika took initiative. She shall strike with everything she had!
[ Cirika used Base - Scatterslash LV. 2! ]
[ Auto-Success! ]
Poising her blade, the young noble made a single slash at the monster. However, following it, an after-stream of smaller strikes battered through the same path upon the dragon. But still, it wasn't enough. She had to go further!
[ Cirika Used Arkane - Advancing Wing Slash LV 2! ]
[ Success! ]
Following up, Cirika poised her blade, and unleashed a wide cut. In the wake of the slash came a mass of air, shaped in a bolt. Her focused wind force collided with the dragon head on. It's force force so great that the monster was knocked back onto it's two back feet. It was wide open for the finish! But, throwing all that wind force at once. Cirika still had her limits. What could she even do now that she had gone this far?
She didn't have too much time to think. The first technique that she could follow up with would have to do. At that moment, the image of Tsubaki... rather, the image of her overall family and the style of the the Hanejima's came to mind. Draw Sword Technique. But, for an Ikkikari dai blade, it wasn't all too appropriate to do any kind of draw sword technique. Dai-blades were too large to do that.
But, she could still mimic it. She wanted to deal a large and grevious cut upon the monster and that form was what could allow for the force to do that!
With the wind force she had left - and given the overall size of her blade, possible to cut through a monster. Just enough to inflict a killing blow. Just
enough was all she needed to put an end to all these unpleasant surprises today!
@Miya
Cirika held her sword low. Tsubaki instantly recognized the mimic in stance. Iajutsu.
But, from Tsubaki's perspective it was meaningless. With a weapon that large... there was no way she could...
"Ikkikari-Style Fatal Arts..."
[ Cirika used Mythic - Diamond Buster Sword! ]
[ Success! ]
"Diamond Buster!"
Cirika stepped forward with great force. She and her blade were propelled forward. In an instant, her weapon was 'drawn' from it's low position, and it's arc cuts a wide berth across the monster. The cut into the body, deep and feirce. One of the dragon's dismembered wings fell onto the ground with a thud. Before the rest of the monster itself smashed onto the ground.
Judging from the state of the animal as it entered it's more gruesome death throes, Cirika had managed to cut into it's heart.
The dragon had been defeated.
All around the party, swallow beaks began to fall out of the sky. Looking above, one can see that the once encircling flock has fallen into complete disarray. In fact, it seemed like they were actually fighting against one another. The defeated were falling onto the ground all around the maplegrounds.
Cirika fell back onto her behind. Completely Exhausted.
At her side was her Dai-Blade - curiously seemed to have been broken in half due to the great force of the strike. The missing and broken other half was what had managed to stick itself into the dragon's heart. Ultimately responsible for the death blow that took the dragon's life.
Seeing the carnage around her, Cirika explained it to her bewildered allies.
"...A large flock like this is kept orderly by the biggest flying monster. In the event that flying monster is defeated, an immediate succession crisis occurs. Members of the flock are driven by instinct to start fighting one another until another comes on top. By the time that's decided, the flock won't be a threat to the town any longer. They'll mostly destroy themselves for us."
A bird falling from the sky bumped into Cirika before flopping onto the ground.
"That was what the Monster Hunter Lee had said." She concluded.
"I thank you for your help, everyone."
Using the half of her sword, she tried to hoist herself back up. Cirika visibly winced and rested back down on the ground.
"You were all instrumental to... Ugh! ...It hurts! I can't move!"
With the apparent danger clear, the effects from Cirika's burns and the exertion from her last attack started to unleash their painful aftereffects.
....
"Alright. Looks like the princess is pret-ty immobile right about now."
From atop the keep, a masked man, a shadow, loaded his crossbow with a bolt. He took aim.
Nearby, the one who'd been attempting to clean the roof let out muffled pleas for help.
The bolt plinked just short of Cirika.
"Dammit."
Cirika's first reaction to seeing the bolt land dangerously close to her as to move away.
She strained herself to stand back up, but the young noble helplessly flopped onto her side.
The shadow began rushing to load in another.
"Can't get killed by a dragon, thus can't get killed by crossbow bolts."
"Bullshit. I'm gonna get her this time."
The party began to realize, by Cirika's reaction, that the lone arrow wasn't just a curiosity of one of the falling birds. But rather, an attack from an assailant from atop the tall castle keep. But that was bad! If she got killed after them going through with all of this, they'd reset again!
They had to get out of there pronto! To safety!