This time she didn't block all of it as one of her cheeks was cut, sending blood trickling out of the wound.
The sight of the blood must've triggered something primal inside both siblings, causing them to attack in a frenzied and ferocious manner.
With both siblings attacking simultaneously, Naomi stood even less of a chance.
Forced into a bad situation, and her arms useless, she decided to use three of her tails to guard against Claeg and one to fend off Kaila, but this left her open as one of Kaila's blood whips sliced her neck, causing Naomi's blood to erupt from the open wound like a geyser, dying the frosted ground red.
"No!" Kaila yelled as the attacks ceased.
Naomi fell to her knees as she forced her broken arms up, pressing her hands against the wound.
I messed up. I was too focused on Claeg...
Naomi's vision began to fade as she started to lose consciousness from the combination of blood loss and the nauseating pain of moving her wrecked arms.
When she looked at Claeg and Kaila, they both were staring at the blood coming from her neck, both practically salivating. Then Claeg abruptly dashed toward her.
Suddenly, a white and yellow thread slashed the ground, creating a deep trench between Naomi and Claeg.
When Naomi glanced up, she saw Michael with his wings out, descending from the sky, one of her shards of ice clutched in his hands.
As his white-feathered wings beat, Naomi could feel a warmth wash over her, replacing her pain. She could feel her body start to heal at an incredible rate as her skin, muscles, and bones began to mend and reattach themselves miraculously.
"What do we have here," Michael said as he stood, alert, before Naomi.
"I think they're Avarice's newest High Gods. Believe it or not, they were trying to eat me," Naomi croaked painfully, causing her to cough up blood from speaking before her neck was fully healed.
Michael glanced at Claeg and Kaila, then exhaled an exasperated sigh.
"Hm. You stay here and heal. I'll handle them," he told her.
Michael began to hover to the other side of the trench and then stood confidently before the twins as white energy started to rise from his body.
"The fox is off-limits now, so if you insist on continuing, you'll be facing me," Michael said threateningly as his eyes glowed white.
Claeg's body tensed as he prepared to fight. Naomi could tell from the intensity in his eyes that, unlike with her, Claeg was serious.
Still, he grinned maniacally, ready for the fight to begin at any moment.
"That's okay; the fun's over," Kaila announced. "Actually, you showing up saved us tonight, so we'll be leaving."
She took one last glance at the blood covering the ground and then at Naomi.
"Such a shame; your blood smells quite delectable, too," she said regretfully.
"What? You're leaving now that it's a fair fight," Naomi stated provokingly.
Kaila laughed.
"You should probably understand something about us: we're not as proud as the others. Honor? That means nothing to us. I know when to quit, and when things are unfavorable, my brother and I will do whatever's necessary and use any tactic to gain the upper hand, so baiting us by insulting our pride won't work," she explained shamelessly.
"I should've guessed as much considering the both of you chose to team up on me and prevent me from transforming," Naomi commented as she looked at them with disdain.
Kaila shrugged her shoulders.
"Yes, well, now that he's here, fighting without alerting everyone is impossible," she stated while motioning at Michael. "Time to go, brother."
"Wait, we're leaving," he asked, clearly not paying much attention to the conversation part of things. "Sis, we can take them."
"Not without using that. The fun has to end here, unfortunately," she replied.
Claeg sighed, then conceded as they started to walk away.
"You seriously think they're that powerful that we'd need that," they heard him ask Kaila.
"You seriously need to work on your sensory skills," Kaila retorted.
Before their voices faded, Claeg's voice was heard again.
"It's fine. The one I want the most is Tymon, anyway. Avarice says he's a real beast when he cuts loose."
In the next instant, both siblings' presence was gone entirely, leaving Naomi and Michael alone atop the hill.
Naomi stood.
"Thanks for coming and healing me," she said.
Michael looked at her.
"Of course. I believe this is yours," he said, handing her the shard of ice.
He turned and silently stared in the direction the twins went.
"You think letting them go like that was a good idea?" Naomi asked.
"I'm relieved they chose not to fight," Michael answered. "The girl had a lot more power than me or Tymon, and they must possess an incredible trump card if their only concern just now was causing a commotion."
"Still, I doubt they would've been able to do much against you," Naomi said, expressing her confidence in Michael's strength.
"Indeed, however, the same can't be said for you or the nearby humans. Besides, the consequences had we fought would've been dire." Michael added. "Surely Avarice and his High Gods would have also shown up."
"And with that much power focused in one area, the others would come to investigate too, leading to a massive blowout that would most likely result in lots of deaths...many of which would probably be our own," Naomi summed up grimly.
"Seems the human needs to hurry and find the last two before we run out of time," Michael stated as he crushed the tech thrown on the ground with his foot, deactivating the veil. "Let's head back."
As Naomi and Michael flew back into the window they'd left from, Alissia was standing there. The look in her eyes confirmed she'd been watching.
"Naomi, I'm glad Michael made it in time. Are you okay," she asked, concerned.
"Yeah, things were looking grim there for a second," Naomi responded lightly.
"Who were they," Alissia asked.
"Trouble," Naomi said. "Avarice's newest High Gods."
"They're the silhouettes we saw in the tanks before," Trik inserted. "That's what they've been waiting for..."
"They've been waiting for the final two pieces to be placed on the board," Alissia realized. "Now that they are, he has a full team to counter ours. Avarice can enter the next phase of his plan now."
Alissia gazed out the window into the night sky.
"I've got a bad feeling..."
To be continued in "The Primordials: Lustless Prides"
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Fun fact: Did you know that Naomi's chipper self is still 13 years old? Whatever occurred at that age that resulted in Naomi developing a split personality kept her more innocent self the same age all this time. It's her other personality that's experienced the mental maturity from living for nearly two centuries.
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