Using her sword, Lyra propped herself up. She tried to scan the area for any evidence of the others. All she could find was ash filled air, and the landscape destroyed. She suddenly felt a sharp burning pain in her right arm. She looked over to see her sleeve was torn and she had a big gash on her arm. She sheathed her blade and tore part of her pant leg. She wrapped it around the wound to try and slow bleeding. After she took a moment to calm down, she tried to get hold of her bearings. She walked through the thick layer of ash and came up on a bunch of Abyssal corpses. She noticed that they were all filled with arrows. She also found a blood trail that leads off from the bodies. As she walked forward, she suddenly felt uneasy.
Tomoe: 'What is it Lyra? What's wrong?'
Lyra: 'I don't know Tomoe; something just feels off. Those bodies back there with the arrows in them. Lorcan is around here somewhere.'
Lyra perked up as she heard a faint whistle in the air. Suddenly she drew her sword and simultaneously cut an object in half that was flying towards her. She looked back to see it was a large bone spike and she immediately thought back to Emille and the demon that killed him. Suddenly she tightened the grip of her blades handle. Swiftly another spike shot at her from another direction. She quickly turned and deflected it. Then another was shot at her followed by three more. She deflected them all as fast as she could. She cut the first in half then deflected the second and third ones in different directions. The last one she realized she couldn't react in time and pulled her sheath as an extra defense and blocked it. She heard an eerie maniacal laugh akin to a hyena. She immediately recognized the voice that followed it.
Bakasura: "You've gotten pretty good human! Too bad you weren't that fast when you had the little one with you!"
The figure came into view. He still had that same rough gray skin and the same bone spikes protruding from him, including the two large ones from his forearms. The only difference was a now noticeable scar across his chest from their last encounter.
Bakasura: "What's the matter? Frozen in fear again? How pitiful, I was hoping we could properly play this time. You know you only got lucky last time."
As he walked forward, he began licking his sharpened teeth. It was almost as if he was preparing to eat Lyra. Though she was noticeably sweating she wouldn't let her face show the anxiousness she was feeling at that very moment. She took up stance in preparation for a fight, but Bakasura laughed. Suddenly he dashed forward fast enough that he could've easily been mistaken for a glare in your eye. Lyra suddenly swung her sword in anticipation, and it met with the bone claws of Bakasuras forearms. He then used her as leverage and simultaneously kicked her away and vaulted back off her. She stumbled backwards trying to secure her footing. No sooner than when she stabled herself Bakasura was already rushing in for a second assault. He swung his arm down as she met him with her katana. The clash continued as Lyra was put on the defensive blocking all Bakasuras attacks. In quick succession he struck and when he noticed he wasn't gaining traction he kicked her knee in causing her to fall to a single knee. He shot out several small bones from his palm straight at Lyras face. She managed to roll out of the way to avoid fatal damage but a few of them caught her and ripped her cheek.
Tomoe: 'Lyra! Use it now! You're not going to get anywhere like this you need to deal serious damage.'
Lyra gritted her teeth and wiped the blood from her cheek. She quickly sheathed her blade and prepared for Bakasuras next attack. He almost excitedly bolted forward jumping into the air and hand bones branched out of his forearms all over. Suddenly she quickly pulled her blade out with the intensity of Lightning.
Lyra: "RRRAAAH THUNDER SLASH!!!"
Her blade moved with the indiscriminate flash of a bolt of lightning striking through both of Bakasuras arms. He fell to the ground with blood gushing from where his forearms used to be. As his former appendages fell onto the ground the sound of thunder cracking could be heard in the air. Lyra flicked her blade, so the blood flew off it. She turned and raised her katana up at Bakasura and gave him a cold gaze.
Lyra: "How does it feel to be the one at the feet of another? The same way you made Emille, and his family and friends grovel before you murdered them all. Well? Answer me you dog!"
She expected to see Bakasura at her feet prepared to beg and plead to be spared. Instead, what she saw disgusted her. He was smiling but, not only that, but he was also laughing. He stood without breaking in-between bellows of laughter and slowly turned toward her. She was terrified early but for some reason she was even more terrified now that she had just maimed opponent. Suddenly, he swiftly charged her and pinned her to the ground. As she was preparing to draw her blade, she suddenly felt something rip and tear straight through her shoulder and dig into the ground. Where Bakasuras forearms were cut off was now large bone spikes protruding from his wounds.
Bakasura: "I suppose you figured it out by now but, my magic allows me to manipulate my bones however I see fit. So, forgive me if I found it a little hilarious when you thought you had me beat by cutting my arms off! HAHAHAH!"
Lyra struggled against him trying to get free, but every inch of movement caused her unbearable pain. She watched as Bakasura began to unhinge his jaw. As it widened, he leaned closer and closer preparing to take a bite out of her. Just as he went to sink his teeth into her skin an arrow zipped through the air too fast for either of them to notice. It sunk itself right into Bakasuras eye and sent him flying. Bakasura screamed in pain as he struggled to pull the arrow out with his spikes. Lyra looked over to see Lorcan standing there with his bow in one hand and the other covering a wound on his side that had been bleeding.
Lorcan: "Back off ugly bastard! Or I'll shoot your other eye out!"