Mika slowly picked Vale up into her hands, her frustrated glare going from the new centaur down to the wounded pixie as she gave tiny whimpers while cringing in pain. Her wings sizzled with small glowing fissures in them while her eyes tried to focus on who shot her out of the air with a weary gaze.
“Who… who did that?” she coughed out. “Who is that?”
“Oh my god,” Mika worried. “You don’t look so good. Are you going to be okay?”
Vale shook uncontrollably as a surge of energy rippled through her, her eyes struggling to make out who hit her before her vision slowly began to clear. As it did she saw the centaur in question matching her gaze, the pixie’s eyes shakily taking notice of the white diamond emblem the monster was prominently displaying on her outfit.
“White diamond…” Vale breathed out. “No… it can’t be one of them…”
“What was that?” Mika asked. “What did you say?”
“I don’t know who you are or what you’re doing here,” Daemon spoke up, his hand tightening on his sword. “But we’re in no mood to be dealing with you or the trouble you’re insistent on causing. That girl there has done a noble service for Mika by sheltering her brother. We would appreciate it if you would refrain from attacking her.”
“No can do,” Cataclysm quipped with a shrug. “Sorry, but I’m not going anywhere until that bug is crushed into the ground like the pest she is. If you will not stand aside then I’ll simply have to go through you. I don’t mind doing so, it would be no trouble at all, I just prefer to give you filthy maggots a fair chance to save your own putrid lives. I am after all a… heh heh heh heh… noble centaur.”
“Picking on someone a fraction of your size,” Hollia scoffed. “Hardly seems noble to me.”
“Alright, enough chit-chat,” Rulo snorted walking past Daemon. “This bitch isn’t even worth my master’s time. I’ve been itching for a good workout though. You want to fight someone? I’ll play with you.”
“Oh, is that so?” the centaur wondered with an innocent smile.
“Yeah, it is,” Rulo dared with a mean grin. “You think we’re scared of that little stick you’ve got there? Ha! It’s probably hollowed and useless, nothing but a pathetic stunt to scare idiots out here. You can’t trick us that easily.”
Cataclysm glanced to her lance as she gave it a quick twirl. She giggled then laughed heartily as Rulo smiled bitterly at the monster with her hammer lifted up in both hands. The newcomer shook her head with an amused grin then tossed her spear off to the side and into the air without a care, the large weapon soaring up and then back down towards the ground further away where it struck into the dirt with a powerful slam. The other girls noticed the splitting fractures spreading out from the impact along with a dust cloud it had kicked up before turning to the centaur with further unease.
“That little thing?” Cataclysm wondered with a small shrug. “It too was a gift from my master, but I don’t mind setting it aside for now, especially if its making you feel… nervous. I’ll fight you with only my bare hands, see? Now, show me what you’ve got, little piggy.”
“That ‘little stick’ doesn’t appear to be hollowed,” Tabitha keenly mentioned.
“Who cares?” Rulo grunted.
“You should care,” Hollia warned. “Her weapon is considerably larger than yours, and she just threw it aside with only one hand.”
“It’s not the size of the weapon that matters!” Rulo shouted as she suddenly charged the centaur.
“That is the complete opposite of what you’ve always been telling us!” Forrus called out after her.
Cataclysm made no effort to run away, instead she just watched the rampaging orc with a mocking smile on her face. With a mighty swing Rulo heaved her heavy stone hammer right towards the centaur’s head, with everyone watching in surprise as she reached up and caught the stone block with one hand that almost instantly stopped it. Rulo stared with wide eyes as Cataclysm giggled and held the hammer where it was without batting an eyelash.
“Is that it?” Cataclysm asked with a dark smile.
“What the hell?” Forrus said in disbelief.
“She’s… very strong,” Tabitha pointed out.
“Very, very strong,” Scay agreed nodding.
“What kind of centaur can do that?” Sasha questioned.
“None from Ruhelia, I can promise you that,” Hollia answered.
“Rulo, get away from her,” Daemon ordered.
The orc struggled to overpower the centaur with rising growls and snorts of frustration, her feet pushing and skidding on the ground as she couldn’t get the newcomer to even tip slightly atop her hooves.
“What the hell is this? Just what are you, freak?” Rulo cursed before throwing a punch towards the centaur’s face. In a flash Cataclysm caught the orc’s wrist and held the attack in place, a chuckle escaping her lips as she tossed the stone hammer to the side with a heavy thud.
“Freak?” the centaur repeated with a twitching eyebrow, seeming to take offense to that word. She yanked Rulo up by the arm and held her above the ground, the orc screaming and struggling to pull herself free while kicking her feet.
“Rulo!” Sasha called out.
“Put her down now!” Forrus shouted.
“What the hell is happening?” Rulo complained. “Since when are centaurs this strong?”
“White diamond,” Vale nervously said, gaining the group’s attention as the pixie saw the centaur shooting a cold leer at her. “White diamond… white diamond… run… run… get away from her!”
“What the fuck is this?” Rulo cried out, the orc franticly kicking and punching the centaur to no effect. The monster merely returned her devilish gaze onto the orc while holding her up without any trouble, not a single flinch or bruise being made as Rulo bashed and kicked repeatedly in her struggle to get free.
“Calling me such a degrading name,” the centaur scorned. “Bad piggy.”
She promptly flung Rulo around and slammed the girl into the ground with a powerful impact. Again she yanked the screaming orc into the air and down into the dirt with a hard crash. Noticing Sasha and Hollia charging her the centaur then flung the orc into the air, laughing manically as her opponents rushed forward to strike. Without budging her feet Cataclysm caught both the reptile girl’s sword and the centaur’s spear in each hand, halting their attacks that aimed for her head instantly and drawing surprised gasps from the two girls.
“How…” Hollia breathed out.
“You’re no centaur,” Sasha hissed.
“I’m close enough,” the newcomer shrugged before glancing up. Sasha and Hollia looked up just in time to see Rulo screaming in her fall down towards them, the orc slamming into Sasha and taking them both to the ground with a heavy impact. Hollia stared at them in shock before seeing the newcomer winding back with Sasha’s sword still being held by the blade in her hand.
“It’s very rude to attack one of your own, don’t you think?” the monster taunted. She started to swing the blade around to slice off Hollia’s head before a streak of blue light flew across the clearing and collided with the sword. With a bright flash Sasha’s sword was sent spinning off to the side and striking into the dirt with a loud whack, leaving Vale hovering in front of the centaur with her knife drawn towards the dark monster.
“Oh?” Cataclysm snickered. “Have you decided to finally play with me?”
“Get away from here!” Vale shouted at Rulo and Sasha beneath her. She quickly shot up in a blue streak of light just as Cataclysm slapped her hands together where the pixie just was, a powerful clap sounding off as the centaur watched the straight beams of light zipping up and around before coming back down towards her. With a mighty leap the centaur hopped backwards as Vale sliced her blade down past and into the ground.
“Filthy remnant!” Cataclysm scorned, pointing her middle and index fingers at the pixie as a bright white glow formed around them. With a loud bang a bolt of energy shot out, striking the ground with a s
creeching zap as Vale dashed towards the centaur in blindingly fast zig-zagging patterns. Everyone watched in stunned silence except for Daemon as the pixie swarmed the centaur like a bee, striking with her blade and constantly being deflected by the woman’s armored hand guard while circling her foe relentlessly.
“What is happening here?” Tabitha loudly asked.
“Who are these monsters?” Forrus wondered.
“The cute little girl is named Vale,” Scay told her. “The crazy centaur is named Cataclysm. Weren’t you paying attention?”
“So you do recognize ‘crazy’ in others,” Hollia flatly pointed out. “How very interesting.”
“Sire?” Mika asked stepping behind Daemon. “Should… we do anything? Should I help Vale?”
“You don’t need my permission,” Daemon said glancing back to her. “That is a choice you can make for yourself.”
“I don’t trust myself to make the right decision,” Mika worried shaking her head. “Please. Order me to aid her or to stand back. I need to know what I should be doing right now.”
“Mika, you can-”
“No I can’t!” Mika pleaded. “I cannot think properly for myself, I’ve clearly shown that time and time again. I will only act if you say so. Nothing else, not even my own instincts, will direct my path now. I am yours and yours alone to command, so please, tell me what to do! I beg of you!”
Daemon observed the sorceress anxiously awaiting his order before watching Cataclysm and Vale, the two quickly darting around the desolate area in their duel. The centaur jumped about with surprising agility and speed, taking shots with her fingers at the moving pixie who continued to dodge and weave around the bolts of energy with jagged maneuvers.
“Where did you come from?” Vale demanded, clashing her knife against the centaur’s armored guard. “You monsters were removed from Eden long ago!”
“Not all of us,” Cataclysm laughed, throwing the pixie aside and firing bright hot streaks of white energy at the speedy flyer. “My master has brought us back and given us purpose, we have returned to claim what is rightfully ours. And our first order of business is eliminating all of you horrid remnants of Eden!”
She quickly dashed forward and reached out to grab the pixie, her hand colliding with a wall of glimmering cubes of golden light that suddenly manifested in her way. Vale held her hand against the barrier to hold it steady, the shield releasing loud snaps and flashes of light as the centaur started to push through, before she shot up into the sky and swung her knife at her foe. A bright arc of blue light was cast out, slicing through the air and colliding with the centaur as she used her arm to shield her face. The energy seared across her arm and shoulders yet did not draw blood, only instead singed slightly upon contact while the waves tore into the ground beneath her with vicious cleaves.
“Archaic trash,” Cataclysm sneered. “Is that the best you can do? I hardly felt that. Hahahaha!”
Vale growled before holding her hand out towards the centaur, a large square casting base appearing before her with brightly glowing cubes filling its expanse. The squares glimmered with oddly mismatched colors before they all turned blue. In doing so a square beam of light blasted out with a heavy crackling blare, the blinding light being disregarded by Cataclysm as she merely laughed and dashed off to the side with great speed. The blast struck the ground behind her and exploded violently, launching smoking debris all around while Vale watched the centaur scampering away with an angry glare. She fired again and again at the centaur, always just missing the speedy monster as she galloped around with high agility and ease.
“You’re far too slow!” Cataclysm laughed at the pixie. “Tell me, how long does it take you to do a simple inquiry? Three days? Hahahaha!”
“You bitch,” Vale scorned while fuming with anger.
Cataclysm arrogantly bellowed in amusement before she sensed someone swinging a sword at her. She quickly reached aside and grabbed hold of the blade before it could hit, the centaur pausing for a moment before slowly turning to see she was holding a sword glowing with holy radiance. Her focus shifted to see Daemon holding the blade with one hand, the other at his side and channeling a fiery blue energy ball with black cinders flowing around it.
“Couldn’t resist joining in on the fun?” Cataclysm mocked.
“Not quite,” Daemon plainly reasoned. “You’re becoming a bother to us. That and you hurt Rulo. I can’t just let that slide.”
He flung the fireball into her face, the blast knocking her back a step before she quickly charged him through the billowing smoke with a deranged grin. He ducked under her grasping hands and swung for her legs, the centaur leaping over him with a mighty jump before she saw Mika rushing forward with her sword drawn and trailing crimson light.
“No, don’t fight her!” Vale cried out. She watched Mika casting her sword out into a wild spin at Cataclysm before launching a black and crimson blast of energy after, the centaur laughing as she jumped high over the magically infused weapon and landing back down on her feet while backhanding the magical attack to knock it aside.
“Are you serious?” the monster laughed as she marched towards the sorceress, paying no heed to the powerful explosion of energy to her side.
“You bet,” Mika declared, stopping with her run and swinging her hand back. Cataclysm blinked then looked behind to see Mika’s sword whizzing through the air towards her again.
“Huh,” the centaur plainly said before swatting away the blade with her hand. The sword spiraled off to the side and struck into the ground as the monster casually looked over both sides of her hand before glancing to Mika with a smirk.
“Nice trick. Too bad you couldn’t even cut my nails with it.”
“Then how about this?” Mika yelled as she threw both hands towards the centaur. From the ground both Mika’s sword was cast out at Cataclysm while one of Tabitha’s katanas was also pulled out from the darkness on the opposite side of the monster. The centaur knocked away one before the other grazed her chest, slicing her vest and only seeming to scratch her breast as it spiraled away in its flight.
“You’re such an annoying-” Cataclysm muttered before quickly kicking back with her feet. Blocking her hooves with his sword Daemon was knocked back into a slide before charging the centaur again. Cataclysm spun around and fired a blast of energy from her fingers at him, forcing the swordsman to block the shot with a loud clang against the Archlight’s Blade and then another with a twirl of his sword. The centaur took off running to the side as he closed in on her and dashed towards Mika who was still waving her arms at the monster. Her sword and Tabitha’s sliced through the air and narrowly missed the agile centaur as she dodged and weaved her way towards the human. A spinning bolas flew through the air and wrapped around the centaur’s two front feet, tearing apart instantly as it didn’t even cause her to stumble in the slightest. Cataclysm growled with ire as she glanced to see Forrus sprinting in parallel with her. The lycan leapt towards the centaur before the galloping monster snatched her out of the air and threw the wolf away with a loud howl.
“You really think any of you can detain me?” Cataclysm mocked with a bitter laugh.
Without pause a powerful explosion tore through the ground in front of her, blasting dust and rocks high into the air with the centaur charging through the hazy cloud. She staggered in her run from the newly formed crevice before another explosion went off underneath, throwing her off to the side and onto the ground with a heavy crash. She growled and shook her head before Sasha, Rulo, and Saffron tackled the centaur and held her down.
“I think we can,” Sasha answered.
“Let’s break her legs,” Rulo snarled. “For starters.”
Saffron squeaked sharply as she held the centaur down by the shoulders.
“You stupid insects,” Cataclysm laughed. With great strength she knocked all three girls off her. Getting back onto her feet she caught the two swords Mika threw at her and then used them to block Daemon’s as he slashed at th
e centaur. Even holding Mika’s sword and Tabitha’s katana by the sharp edges with her bare hands she kept them in place as well as the cambion’s attack that pressed against her, his cold blue eyes staring into her equally chilling gaze as she held him back with visible effort this time.
“Damn her,” Sasha hissed as she got up.
“What the hell is going on here?” Rulo shouted stumbling onto her feet. “How can she be that freakishly strong?”
Saffron growled and reached into her satchel as she glared at the strange monster.
“You’re no ordinary centaur,” Daemon reasoned. “Where exactly did you come from?”
“Eden,” Cataclysm merely replied with. She pushed Daemon back and flipped one of her swords around in the air to catch by the handle, the centaur then throwing Mika’s blade through the air and striking Hollia in the shoulder as she charged the monster. The wounded princess dropped to the ground with her lance sliding out of her hands, screaming in pain as she clutched the weapon lodged into her.
“Hollia!” Mika shouted as she fired a blast of crimson and black energy towards Cataclysm. The centaur merely backhanded the bolt once again as she kept her focus on Daemon, launching the magical attack right back at Mika who quickly raised a barrier to block the powerful blast.
“Dammit, are you kidding me?” Mika shouted in frustration. She glared at Cataclysm before turning her eyes to Hollia who was weakly kicking her legs on the ground as she grabbed the sword struck into her.
“Mika!” Hollia cried out. “Could you please come retrieve your sword? Right now?”
“Goddammit,” Rulo grunted as she and the girls raced over to her.
“Is that the best you can do?” Cataclysm sneered. “I suppose it must be. I can’t say this surprises me in the slightest. Did you really think you could sneak up on me that easily?”
“You bet!” Tabitha yelled, dashing out of the shadows behind the centaur and slicing her sword against the monster’s hind leg. It cut through Cataclysm’s stocking and instantly came to a halt with a loud clack, stunning the neko who stopped and stared at it with wide eyes. Everyone watched as the centaur slowly turned her head to smile eerily at the silent neko without flinching in the slightest.
Chronicles of Eden: Season II - Act I Page 9
