"I'm not okay with killing Iris," said Arlo with a resolute voice. The atmosphere inside the chamber was tense; the two Iris were casting spells on each other. The whole chamber was shaking as if it would collapse at any time.
One of the Iris tapped her staff on the floor, leaving huge cracks in the floor. Ray said with a cold and harsh tone, "I'm pretty sure you're not capable of killing, so I don't expect anything from you."
Ray's harsh comment left Arlo offended. The discomfort that he was feeling was visible. He raised an eyebrow, suppressing the tears in his eyes, "Excuse me?"
Ray didn't bother with him; she took a position to dash at the two Iris with her flaming sword in her right hand. She ran towards them, slashing one of the ladies.
One of the two Iris suffered a hand cut from Ray's brutal assault.
Hold on... It wasn't just a cut. Her hand fell off and landed on the floor. One of the two librarian ladies had lost her left hand.
A terrifying smirk was painted on her face, "So, you've decided who's the real Iris, huh?"
I looked at Ray, seeking the answer. Ray didn't say a thing; her cold demeanor persisted. The sword wielder continued assaulting the lady, slashing her other hand. Her right hand fell off, and she became handless.
"You stupid!" The handless Iris shouted at Ray.
"I don't care whether you're the real Iris or not," Ray said while continuing her attack.
The handless Iris managed to block some of Ray's continuous attacks using a shield that appeared after she chanted foreign words.
"I shouldn't have asked you to be a part of this party," the handless Iris said.
With no hands, Iris clenched her glass staff in her teeth and sprinted toward Ray. I thought she was going to use some spells, but she just whacked Ray's head with that staff.
Ray, the victim of Iris's glass staff attack, lost consciousness after receiving a hard blow to her head. I could not believe how strong Iris was; she was unmatched by anyone else. The other Iris let out a wicked laugh; her voice was distorted and unnatural. I noticed the other Iris' eyes were glowing with evil intentions. The handless Iris got ready to strike the other Iris. But before she could even take a step toward her, her opponent's body morphed into a flying head with entrails. The creature, as it had a long tongue, sharp fangs, and goggle eyes.
I felt my legs tremble with fear. I had no idea how to handle such a scenario. "Now you know that I'm the real one," the handless Iris told me and Arlo with a slight grin. She was going to pat my head when she realized she had no hands for that.
"Iris..?" I called for her.
"Yeah, that dipshit fucked me up," she sighed.
I gazed at Iris' mutilated hands, which were severed from her body and scattered on the floor next to the sword user who was in a state of unconsciousness.
I gulped, "Are we going to be okay?"
But the horrifying creature charged an attack and licked my whole body.
As the creature's tongue slithered over my body, an icy chill ran down my spine. The sensation was unnerving, and I could feel the creature's malevolent energy seeping into my very core.
Arlo, paralyzed with fear, watched as the creature's goggle eyes glowed with an eerie intensity. Panic gripped me as I wondered how to break free from its grasp.
I looked at Iris, pleading for her help. But looking at her handless state, I couldn't help but give up all my hopes.
The creature loosened its grip and dropped me down roughly.
"I want you, woman," the creature pointed at Iris using its long and wet tongue.
"Or should I say, the blood of your baby?" Its tongue was rushing towards Iris.
Iris tried to run away from the creature's grasp but sadly, the chamber wasn't too spacious. The creature's tongue wrapped around Iris' arm and pulled her towards its position. Iris' glass staff was thrown away the moment that beast reached her.
I screamed, trying to free her from its clutches. Arlo grabbed a sharp stone and threw it at the creature's head, hoping to distract it, but it didn't help at all.
The stone bounced off the creature's head, barely making it flinch. It snarled, annoyed by Arlo's attempt. It tightened its grip on Iris, making her scream in pain. I felt helpless, watching her suffer.
I looked around, searching for anything that could help us. I saw Iris' glass staff lying on the ground and picked it up.
The moment I gripped the staff, I felt electricity flowing through my body. It was shocking, of course. But, the longer I gripped it, the more I got used to the electrical flow within my body.
I dashed towards Iris, who was drenched with the foul saliva of the beast. Her long, blue navy hair that had been neatly braided was now hanging loosely around her pale face.
I stretched out my hand towards her; I hurled the glass staff, hoping that she could catch it with her teeth.
Arlo removed the lid of a tiny vial before drinking up all of its liquid. He clasped his hands together as if he were invoking a deity and uttered some words.
A bright glow appeared in front of me.