Chapter 44: Chapter Twenty Two - Part Two: Dumb Hero
The snarl of the first Loupgaru that spotted her drew the attention of the other three, their manic eyes snapping to her like baleful searchlights in the night.
Kaviah used their distraction to swing at the one closest to her, the monster screeching in pain as her blade cut deep into its arm.
In that time, Leta had lunged forward and engaged the monster in front of her, thrusting forward with a yell.
The spear was proving to be an excellent choice for a weapon. When the Loupgaru dodged her initial thrust, she used its momentum to curve her attack around, catching the monster in the jowls with her blade, all without getting within striking range of the monster's claws.
However, Leta was also learning that having knowledge dumped into your brain and being able to use it effectively were two separate things.
Her new-found book smarts told her she should use the weapons moment to transition from a downward strike to a thrust at the creature.
Unfortunately, she had yet to build up the proper arm strength to effectively make the attack or speed to avoid the swipe from the other side. The Loupgaru turned its snout at the last minute, avoiding being impaled through the eye, then lashed out. Its sharp claws caught her in the arm, the powerful blow making an audible crack on impact as her arm broke and her body flew backward.
Leta landed hard on the concrete floor, her body once more trying to follow the instructions in her brain to land correctly without doing more damage but unable to perform the techniques correctly with her current physique.
[THE HOST HAS RECEIVED BLUDGEONING DAMAGE FROM CORRUPTED-LOUPGARU.]
[THE HOST HAS TAKEN SLIGHT BURN DAMAGE FROM IMPACT.]
[RIGHT ARM HAS BROKEN.]
[ADDITIONAL RIBS HAVE BROKEN. ONE RIB IS CURRENTLY IMPALED INTO THE HOST'S LUNG. LUNG IS IN DANGER OF COMPLETE COLLAPSE.]
[EMERGENCY HEALING IS VITAL FOR LIFE OF HOST.]
[WARNING! HOST DOES NOT HAVE THE REQUIRED NUMBER OF UNASSIGNED NANITES IN ORDER TO COMPLETE EMERGENCY HEALING.]
[NANITES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE: 2,470. NANITES NEEDED FOR EMERGENCY HEALING: 1,982,753.]
"F***!" Leta tried to shout as she rolled to her knees, trying to get air but could only cough as her lungs started to fill with blood. Her good arm went to the broken appendage which was a mess of exposed muscle and blood.
'Yeah, I know, that was dumb. Stupid idea to just run into a fight.' She chastised herself.
She was proud of the fact that she'd been able to keep a tight grip on her weapon, but it was short-lived as she heard the approach of the Loupgaru stalking towards her. Its footfalls were slow, almost leisurely as it perceived her to be nothing more than fallen prey to consume at its leisure.
~'MASTER! THE SLAIN CREATURE!'~
Leta turned her head and saw that the strike had knocked her within reach of the dead Loupgaru that she had killed earlier.
She stumbled to the body, her heart pounding in fear as the monster at her back let loose a triumphant howl.
With a whimper of pain, she slapped her hand to the burned-out remains, bloody fingers digging into the coarse hair of the beast.
[HOST HAS ABSORBED 2,672,021 UNPROGRAMMED NANITES FROM CORRUPTED - LOUPGARU.]
[2,582,433 UNPROGRAMMED NANITES ASSIGNED TO EMERGENCY REPAIRS.]
[TIME FOR REPAIR COMPLETION: THREE MINUTES, FORTY-EIGHT SECONDS]
[CURRENT UNASSIGNED NANITES: 92,058]
Leta only had a moment to experience the pain of bones being reset and ribs being extracted from her lungs when what felt like daggers punctured her ankle.
[HOST HAS RECEIVED PIERCING DAMAGE FROM CORRUPTED-LOUPGARU.]
The Loupgaru had made it to her, taking hold of her sneaker-clad foot and lifting her up in the air. She screamed in shock and anguish at the burning sensation of claws digging into her skin before she had enough foresight to take her spear and jam it with everything she had in her.
The spear dug into the monster's stomach just above its liver, causing the beast to let out a roar of anger.
Leta focused again, sending electricity through the Loupgaru. As with the first, its back locked as its body was struck with the force of ten lightning bolts.
A grotesque pop followed by a rush of hot liquid bathing her body had her closing her eyes in surprise before she was dropped unceremoniously to the ground.
Her bad arm shot out to catch her fall, which prevented her head from cracking into the concrete but damaged her still-healing wound.
[HOST HAS TAKEN FALL DAMAGE.]
[TIME FOR REPAIR COMPLETION HAS BEEN EXTENDED BY ONE MINUTE, TWELVE SECONDS.]
Leta tried to clear her face of whatever she'd been sprayed with but only managed to make it worse. When she blinked her eyes open, she saw that what had once been a terrifying monster from her nightmares was not a pile of burnt hair, blackened bones, and chunks of fat and muscle.
She'd hit the creature with enough electricity that it had exploded from the inside out, covering her with blood and bits of organs.
Leta turned her head this way and that to scope the situation, getting up on her knees and ready to fight. Simon had just managed to slip into the other Minotaur's guard, his trench knife slipping under the beast's jaw and into its brain.
Its eyes rolled back in its head and it fell backward, dead before it hit the floor.
Kaviah on the other hand was in trouble, the two remaining Loupgaru had wised up to attack at the same time. The pair had managed to get their jaws on her shoulder and leg, actively in the process of attempting to rip her to shreds.
"Get down!"
Leta didn't think, well past the point of looking around like an idiot to see who had shouted. She threw herself back on the ground, one arm covering her head and bracing for whatever came.
The forges exploded into white-hot fury, hellish tentacles of fire and magma extending outwards to wrap around the two Loupgaru.
Leta turned to the entrance to see Afra still dressed in her navy-colored hospital scrubs had her arms outstretched, manipulating the fire. A look of concentrated fury pinched her face as she grabbed the monsters with her flames, the creatures howling and screaming as they were burned alive.
The fire tentacles engulfed the beasts until their skin and hair had turned to ash and their screams had faded into silent echoes of their last moments.
With a wave of her hands, the fires lost the magical fuel that kept them burning and was extinguished, the blinding light that had once covered the room gone and leaving behind an afterimage of burning werewolves.
A breath of silence filled the room before Afra called out "Okay, all clear.", Leta scrambling to her feet as her arm and ribs finished healing.
[EMERGENCY HEALING COMPLETE.]
[HOST HAS OBSERVED THE SKILL, HEARTH MAIDEN'S COMMAND.]
Afra rushed to Kaviah's side, the older Indian woman bleeding heavily from several open wounds on her arms and legs.
"Pay me no mind." She grunted, one good hand gripping a deep gash in her shoulder, "Tend to Eriene."
"I'm fine, dear." The older woman pipped up, "My arm is broken but it won't stop me from doing my job. See to Kaviah, then we will go from there. Of everyone here, she is the most at risk."
Afra nodded and swatted Kaviah's hand away to grip her wound, her hand glowing orange as the smell of burning flesh filled the room. Kaviah grunted but didn't wince, her own command over fire keeping her from feeling the burn of the flame as Afra cauterized the wound.
As Afra worked, Simon reached forward to help Leta to her feet. He went to wipe his hand on his jacket afterward but realized that his hand was now also covered in blood.
"We need to get you a shower and new clothes before we leave," He noted, taking a cloth from a nearby workbench and cleaning his hands, "You look like Carrie from the novel and have brain matter in your hair. I don't think we can get you back to your team looking like this, let alone get you in an Uber. I'll not be explaining the cleaning expense to Atreus if we do."
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