Chapter 109: Chapter 101: More dangerous than any warlord.

The Soultaker attacked first, leaving Alpha standing behind. The scythe struck in an overhead cut, aiming for the lower jaw of the skinwalker. Nimbly, as if her body were made of water, Kalaisa slid aside from the path of the strike. The skinwalker’s claws struck forward, aiming for Jekaterina’s exposed right side. The Soultaker never let this attack connect, grabbing the scythe’s shaft hard, she stopped her initial attack, slicing at the beast and making her retreat anew.

Aranea remembered well how terrifying Jekaterina was against Janine. She pushed the warlord back, matching her in skills and strength and surpassing her in speed. The Soultaker's use of the double grip right away, as well as her refusal to take any chances against this beast, demonstrated how seriously she took this foe.

And it was all in vain. Kalaisa evaded each attack with ease, never truly committing to going on the offensive and instead enjoying herself as she perfectly evaded each attack with time to spare. Alpha was right. Even for a warlord, a normal wolf nag turned skinwalker was a perfect match. A warlord turned skinwalker was... far, far more terrifying. Exceptional regenerative skills, the ability to learn any and all skills on the fly, and unmatched combat instincts paired with a near-perfect body. If, according to Iterna’s ranking of the abnormals, Alpha was an A-class, then so too was Kalaisa now. Only her madness prevented her from being the true horror in the land.

The two opponents fought in the roaring sandstorm, one dancing, taking enjoyment in humiliating the Soultaker’s skill, the other in full silence, slashing, hacking, making feints, and trying to corner the beast. Jekaterina wasn’t stupid or in any distress upon being matched in combat. She had a plan. Aranea understood it after noticing a pattern in the attacks, Jekaterina was driving her massive foe back to a small alley between two houses, aiming to trap her foe there for a crushing attack.

There was only one problem with that. If Aranea could guess it, then that means that Kalaisa already knew about it. The wolf hag shouted a warning, far too late. Kalaisa already leaned on the building, bending her knees. The scythe’s blade moved forward, reaching for the thick neck. The tip of the blade even started piercing the skin when Kalaisa smiled, showing countless fangs to the world.

And dashed forward. The speed with which she moved created an explosion of sound, pushing away the sandstorm and creating a perfect stillness between two foes. Kalaisa stood behind Jekaterina, her legs pressed together and her arms spread wide, giving the monster an uncanny resemblance to the cross. And behind her, Jekaterina toppled forward, face-down in the alley, her arms and legs slashed to ribbons despite the power armor, and part of her shoulder missing, devoured by the hungry jaws. Kalaisa’s signature move, improved and prevented by the skinwalker, utterly crushed all Jekaterina’s attempts to stop her.

The skinwalker smiled, her body shrinking slightly and becoming more human-like. Two breasts sprouted on her chest. The femininity returned to the monster’s body, creating an ugly mix between Jekaterina’s visage and the bestial visage of Kalaisa. Her skin became slightly pinker, a few cuts appeared because of the sandstorm’s rage coming back, the ugly fangs moved into the palate, becoming an elegant set of destruction fit for the jaws, even her straight claws curved, gaining a more elegant look. The skinwalker looked back, wanting to bask in the glory over the defeated opponent.

Jekaterina leaped from the ground, swinging her scythe with enough speed to surprise even Kalaisa. Her ruined limbs worked anew, her blade sliced through the beast’s belly, causing the skinwalker to topple when she became entangled in her own intestines. Landing behind the beast, Jekaterina swung her weapon anew and brought it down, aiming to pierce the creature’s brain. With an angry leer, the skinwalker used her claws to deflect attacks to the side, slicing once and taking away Jekaterina’s right arm. The Soultaker leapt away, a new limb sprouted from her shoulder. The new limb that no longer had the advantage of her power armor.

"Healing type," Kalaisa spoke clearly, standing up and pushing her exposed intestines back into the belly, "Boring type."

"You are going down, beast." Jekaterina prepared for the new attack.

"Down? Girl, I already figured out your style!" The skinwalker laughed back, her voice switching between Jekaterina’s boastful tone and the mad giggling of a long-extinct hyena, "I will swallow you whole and digest you in my stomach. Let’s see if you survive this!"

The skinwalker attacked this time, striking with her own claws. Jekaterina’s hands became a moving blur, the Reaper of Lies created a blinding dome in front of her. The air itself screamed from the force with which the Soultaker cut and slashed at her foe.

And Kalaisa pushed through all that, allowing no injury to mark her beautiful skin. The claws made contact with the blade and pushed it aside, Jekaterina’s shoulders exploded, sliced through by the enemy’s attack, the faceplate of her helmet fell on the ground, along with the face behind it. Before the Soultaker could regenerate, Kalaisa speared her with a hit, nearly bisecting the woman.

"Help her!" Aranea shouted to Alpha. The warlord merely glanced at her, one paw held against the horrible injury on her belly. The sand was hitting against her eyes, it was gathering in the injuries all around her body, no doubt tearing at the exposed flesh. The warlord showed no discomfort over this, enduring it like a common rain.

"Why should I? She wanted a chance to make a fool of herself, let her have one," Alpha glanced into Aranea’s eyes, and the halfbreed refused to look aside. "We are at the ceasefire, not allies, commander. Both our foes weaken each other, while I am regaining my might. If Jekaterina wants my assistance, she can ask for it."

"Screw you!" Aranea turned her back on the warlord charging forward. Ally or not, she will not allow anyone to die from this beast.

It was suicide. The halfbreed was fully aware of it. Running toward the hard-pressed Jekaterina, Aranea spent a moment sending a message to Sonya, informing her that if anything happens, she is in command and informing others that they are to fall in line peacefully. Ignoring the chatter of her pack, the wolf hag pushed on. For each of her steps, the opponents exchanged no fewer than a dozen hits. Compared to them, she was but a gnat.

But even a gnat can bite! Aranea took aim and fired, aiming at the skinwalker’s eyes. Kalaisa was too preoccupied with attempting to bite off Jekaterina's head to notice it until it was too late. Her erratic nature worked against her, and sharp shards became buried in the right eye, distracting the beast for a brief moment, long enough for Jekaterina to close the gap and cut off two fingers.

"Almost forgot about you," The beast turned to Aranea, blinking away the shards. Her eyes were bulging out from the sockets, and her teeth reverted to the hideous fangs that protruded from her jaws. The skinwalker made a step toward Aranea, abandoning a more elegant body. "Remind me, please, where were we?"

"Happy family reunion?" Aranea squeaked, backing down. All her bravery was gone, washed away under these massive, utterly inhuman eyes. Her mother did not regard her as a human being anymore. Merely as a food source.

"Tsk, tsk! No lying."

Jekaterina charged at the beast, the scythe slashing forward. A crimson beam flew above Aranea’s head, aiming for the beast’s eyes. Both attacks hit an afterimage, Kalaisa was already before her daughter, extending the gigantic paw to grab the wolf hag.

The bigger paw grabbed Kalaisa by the wrist, pushing the arm aside. Aranea felt her legs tremble at the surge of fear coming from the strongest warlord.

"I care not for the resistance, feel free to hunt them, if you wish," Alpha’s eyes were burrowing into Kalaisa’s. "But you raised a paw against a state’s citizen, beast. Die."

Kalaisa and Alpha struck at the same time, the smaller claws against the bigger. Two arms collided and the skinwalker was found wanting, her paw ended up being bisected by the massive thrust that sent Aranea back with a mere shockwave. Kalaisa jumped, evading the hit that was supposed to tear off her heart, and Alpha slammed the skinwalker into the ground, still holding her arm.

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A low kick from a rising cloud of dust knocked Alpha off balance and forced her to let go of Kalaisa's arm. The skinwalker charged at the warlord, jaws snapping. The two crushed into each other, two titans of might going all out.

Jekaterina joined Alpha in an instant, pushing Aranea away with the scythe’s shaft. The Soultaker and Alpha never fought together, they barely even knew each other. And this didn’t matter in the slightest. Jekaterina's quick cuts and slashes complimented Alpha's relentless assault; nearly flawlessly, the duo blocked the skinwalkers, saving each other time and again. Both attacked from different directions, causing the skinwalker to divide her attention and be unable to apply full force to one foe.

This enraged Kalaisa. Abandoning all pretense of elegance, she faced Alpha with a series of violent thrusts. Alpha responded in kind, trembling while her body was mutilated by the enemy’s attacks. Her remaining breast was torn apart. The left clavicle came out of her body after being torn by the enemy’s claws. Another attack speared her in the belly, reaching all the way to the stomach. Both fighters bit each other, tearing away chunks of flesh, their legs trembled from the efforts to endure. The sound of their fight sounded like two artillery brigades firing nonstop at each other. The gray buildings around them became painted red.

Jekaterina leaped in the air, aiming to slice through Kalaisa’s neck. With a cruel leer, Kalaisa hit with her elbow, timing her attack with the retracting of her arm after making a thrust. Jekaterina’s head disappeared, smashing away clearly. The body followed suit, flying through several houses and ending up being buried near the wall.

The skinwalker made her next move, grabbing Alpha’s paws and burying her leg in the warlord’s right knee, using this attack to push herself up and land another knee hit at Alpha’s jaws. Letting go of the warlord’s arms, Kalaisa raised her own paws above her head, sending them crushing down on the warlord’s head.

The ensuing strike buried the warlord beneath a pile of rubble, her body moving away with such ferocity that she left a trail of destruction across the ground, crashing like a wrecking ball into the safehouse's wall, burying the redhorn soultaker beneath a pile of rubble.

"Tiny! Get Alpha out of here! Leila, call for help from the command! Sonya, contact the soultakers and prepare to defend the safehouses, but do not, I repeat, do not attack first!" The shadow fell on Aranea, silencing the halfbreed.

The skinwalker was looking down on her, waiting patiently for the next move. All sounds—the fall of the rocks, the roaring of the sandstorm—became silent. Aranea’s entire world shrank down to the distance between her and Kalaisa. Her every being demanded that Aranea run, bare her neck, abase herself, and soil herself in a desperate plea for mercy. It was an instinct, something that the halfbreed didn’t know she had in her. In the face of death, her instincts told her to try to get out of this.

All of this would be useless. This was not a foe that could take prisoners. Not a foe with which you can reason with. Lifting her trembling foe, Aranea took aim at the gigantic left eye and fired the shardgun.

The skinwalker merely swiped away the shards, catching each and every one of them, showing them to Aranea. The halfbreed swallowed, turning the shardgun to the left, and fired. Immediately, even before an afterimage before her disappeared, she turned the weapon to the right, firing again.

Her bet paid off, and Kalaisa raced from the place, catching every single shard and showing it to Aranea, smiling like a happy cub that had brought the first dead insectoid back home and now expected praise.

"Good girl. That’s a good…" Aranea squirmed in pain after being grabbed by the massive paw, and was lifted to eye level.

"I can sniff it in you. You are hiding in the best part!" Still smiling, Kalaisa threw Aranea aside like a doll, causing a scream of pain upon landing. Aranea was breathing heavily when a gigantic leg came down, pressing her toward the ground like an industrial press. The bulging eyes, filled with popped vessels, looked down on the halfbreed. Heavy pieces of drool were falling on the helmet’s lenses, ignoring the wind, "Unseal it. And we can have a real dance macabre! Don’t chicken out on me, I promise to go soft on you, furball!" Kalaisa tilted her head, looking confused. "Listen, I swear not to kill you if you let it out. Come on, let’s play, let’s play, let’s play! On the count of three! One, two, three!"

"M… Mom. Please. Come back to your senses…" Aranea managed to say, feeling how her bones are about to crack, hearing the whining sound of her power armor turning into a pancake.

The massive eyelids came down, giving Kalaisa an almost serene and calm expression. "Time’s out, you are boring."

Kalaisa removed her leg, grabbing the wolf hag and lifting her up. The massive jaws opened, and the breath coming from Kalaisa's throat pushed away the roaring sandstorms. Fangs, bigger than the halfbreed’s head, were ready to crush her body…

In the next moment, Aranea found herself falling to the ground. A black beam shot through the place where Kalaisa’s head was just a moment ago. The skinwalker took three steps back, staring into the sky, before leaning backward and dodging a searingly hot beam that nearly struck her neck.

"Ari!" Strong arms grabbed Aranea from behind, and with surprise, the halfbreed understood that she was rising in the skies at a rapid speed. "Why do you always find yourself in the shittiest situations, eh, girl?"

"Olesya!" Aranea turned her neck, noticing the familiar power armor. The green visor blinked, showing the smirking face behind it. Olesya winced with her artificial eye. "Get out of here, the skinwalker is way out of your league!"

"Aw, but I just got here! Besides, I came bearing gifts today, and my first gift is her!" Olesya laughed, and a black form flew past them, coming crushing down on the ground before the skinwalker.

Kalaisa jumped away, sniffing the air nervously at the sight of the figure wreathed in a black cloak. The cowl fell off, showing the pitch-black helmet with no distinguishing marks. The elegantly made power armor moved silently while the warlord straightened herself, coming face to face with Kalaisa.

"You… You too hold it ba-ba-back!" Kalaisa spread her arms wide, greeting the newcomer with maddening glee. "It’s awesome! I'm standing in front of...That thing, you know… That's ri-ri-right, an ocean! Note to self, visit an ocean one day. And your scent is exactly like..."

"No weapons." Zero cut her off, throwing the elegant-looking sniper rifle on the ground. The warlord grabbed the collar of her cloak, shaking it off the stones, before picking one up and throwing it on the ground behind Kalaisa.

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