"Who is she?" Brad asked the question that appeared on everyone's mind.
"How would we know? That… is that a tail behind her?"
"And horns…"
All that was present in the yard gazed warily at the stranger. The fact that she seemed calm even in the midst of those lizards unnerved their senses.
"She's not human." The words left Brad's mouth, and everybody readily agreed to it.
Even Senna, the non-fantastical man. He already experienced similar weirdness from his Siberian Husky partner, who seemed to have a mysterious humanoid figure too.
The girl moved. She raised her hand toward them. "Destroy them… Destroy them all," her raspy voice could be heard clearly.
"Wait, that doesn't sound nice," commented Senna. As he did, the men almost all jumped in surprise as the Red-Eyed monitors all dashed to them at once, furiously crawling on all fours.
"Geh! They're attacking again!"
Brad readied his axe, and the hunter his spear. The concern was obvious on their faces.
"I-I'll help too, of co—" As Senna was about to reach for his sword, he noticed something disturbing.
The Bumper Sword wasn't on his back anymore.
"W-Where did it go!?" His mind raced. Did it get left where he passed out earlier? If so, then it was hella bad.
Fortunately, he didn't lose the Steering Chakram that was dangling beside his hip. "I can't use it remotely…" Senna murmured as he unstrapped the circular weapon.
"Call every hunter available! We gonna need backup, fast!" Brad yelled to one of the guards nearby.
"U-Understood!"
As the panic continued to envelop the perimeters, Senna consulted the system. 'Sis! Any suggestion you can give me for this situation?' he asked without voicing it out loud.
«Recovering your Mana seems to be the best course of action.»
'I can't afford to waste hours waiting for that to happen!'
«There is a method to hasten it. By unmanifesting yours summoned Divine Vessels.»
Senna was flabbergasted. It was actually an option available to him? Why didn't she ever mention it before?!
«However, you would need to make contact with the divine vessels in question. As it is now, you have 4 available: the Training Bicycle you abandoned in the forest, the Mountain Bike you sold, the ATV you left at the village's entrance, and lastly, the skateboard you somehow lost during your run.»
It was very helpful for her to remember that much detail. Senna didn't even consider that the training bike he left at the ruins was still there. He thought it probably had disappeared or something.
"Then… It has to be the ATV." Clenching his fist, Senna resolved himself. "Guys, you better hold out until I return."
"Huh? Senna, are you—"
"I'm serious. Don't die, you hear me?" Senna ordered as he began to sprint.
There was still quite a gap between the lizard horde and the yard. He decided to take advantage of it to slip past the battered fences and makeshift wooden palisades.
"Orah!" The young man yelled to rouse his spirit and shook free his migraine. The attacking monsters from before gradually appeared in front of him, returning just like the lizards.
Cybele, unknowingly following behind him, finally addressed Senna. "Sen! What's the problem? Are we running away?"
"Who do you think I am? No, I got a plan. We're going back to the vehicle from before."
"Oh, is that so? Then I'll help!" The dog overtook him and claimed the lead. "No stupid beasts shall block our way!"
The way she talk was starting to change. Senna remembered this phenomenon when he first met her. 'Is she going to transform again?' he wondered silently.
That familiar mist began to leak out from her. "I knew it!" exclaimed him as the dog figure began to fade out from view. This time, Senna was also enveloped by the most.
"Bel?" He tried to call her. However, there was no answer.
"Bel, you there?" Senna called again. And this time, a woman figure leaped out of the mist.
"Cretins. Move away from our path." The woman haughtily ordered. The contrasting difference between the mannerism was so stark Senna had to convince himself the two entities were very much the same being.
It was only now that he realized the woman had animal ears over her head. Before, the mist was too obstructing for Senna to see much.
"Ice Blades." She monotonously invoked. Two blades of ice magically appeared in her hands, their appearance looked like sharpened icicles. "Sen. Stay close to me."
"…H-Huh? Oh, yeah, a-alright…?" It took him a moment to register her words. "Bel…? It's Cybele… right?"
The woman turned her head around and smiled at him. "Of course, Sen. What is with the question?"
"Eh… Err?"
"You are in a hurry, right? Before the Red-Eyes can overwhelm those people. Then let us go."
Girl Cybele ran toward the monsters waiting ahead. Senna followed close behind her, still feeling apprehensive. And then, as she was about to clash several charging boars…
"Shiver by my blades, ignorant beasts." She elegantly dodged their rams, and as did, swung her Icy Blades across their fur-covered bodies. *Slash* *Slash* They were neatly cut up in two.
"Brutal!"
Seemingly ignoring his exclamation, Cybele continued to glide toward the other monsters. The tigers, the monkeys, the snakes. All of them were systematically diced up by her frozen blades.
"Why didn't you transform way earlier, you…" His words trailed off as he noticed a rhino similar to before galloping toward them. No, maybe it was the same one, returning to get a payback for the auditory attack Senna inflicted upon it earlier.
"Uh… Bel?"
"Have no fear, Sen." Flicking off the blood clinging to her blades, Girl Cybele grinned at him. "He is just an unruly boy."
She raised one of her blades and pointed it at the charging rhino. "Will you stop being a troublemaker?" she said as flitters of snow fluttered around the blade.
"What are you—"
*SLING*
Before Senna could even finish his sentence, the blade launched off her hand. It flew rapidly toward the rhino with as much velocity as a bullet and penetrating its head with as much force as a cannonball.
*Splatter*
The disconcerting sound of disgorged blood and gore reached the two of them as the rhino lifelessly continued its charge due to sheer momentum. However, it soon slowed and the beast finally fell just before it reached Cybele, resting its snot near her feet.
It was as if the monstrous beast had kneeled in reverence to its slayer.