37th Star: Hunter's Dream

"What is that?" Lou asked, looking at the yellow dog which growled at us.

"It's the same dog from the dream I had in America," I said.

Hearing this, the frizzy-haired girl frowned. "Daku is no dog! He is Dingo in Dreamtime but actually ancestor to Lowanna."

"Dreamtime?" I questioned. "Is that where we are?"

"It is land of dreams," the frizzy-haired girl answered. "Only Aboriginal Shaman like Lowanna can enter it, with Hao as exception."

"So you were the one who allowed Hao to enter my dreams," I realized.

"This Lowanna did," nodded the frizzy-haired girl. "But because you woke up suddenly, Lowanna was not able to kill you with Oversoul: Dingo Hunt. Now it's payback time!"

Then the frizzy-haired girl who referred to herself as Lowanna crouched over the Dingo known as Daku. Before me and Lou's eyes, the two merged into a single Dingo body that was slightly larger than a normal Dingo with the same markings Lowanna had all over it.

"Hold up!" Lou exclaimed. "I've heard of a Dingo before. They are wild dogs native to Australia, who target sheep and cattle making them a major problem to ranchers."

In response, the large Dingo barked and came running towards us.

"I don't think she liked what you said," I said, and then noticed something. "Wait, where did Hoshi and my other Shikigami go?"

"And my Lightning Shot rifle is gone!" Lou realized. "Guess you can't bring those things into the Dreamtime."

So we ended up dodging the large Dingo that was presumably Lowanna as it snapped its teeth at us. Then as the Dingo growled at me and Lou, I tried to look for some kind of weapon. Unfortunately, there was nothing around such as smaller rocks or even a stick. But when I stared at the nearby tree, an idea came to me.

"Let's head for the tree!" I told Lou. "Hopefully, Dingos can't climb."

Thus, Lou and I made a run for it while Lowanna ran at our heels. While Lou leaped up to the nearest branch and held on, I tried to do the same but the branch I held onto was weak compared to Lou's. So Lowanna was able to leap up and dig her front paws into my back, causing me to scream in pain. Then I felt a sudden pain on my ankles and jolted up finding myself back in the stadium. I was lying on the ground, while Lou was coming to as well. Near him were Annabelle's dolls which had made small cuts into his ankles, forcing me to look back and see the same cuts on my own ankles.

"Sorry about that," Annabelle's spirit apologized. "It was the only thing I could think of to wake you two up."

"How long have we been out?" I asked. "And what happened?"

"It seems Delia Atlas' music put you two to sleep, but I wasn't affected for some reason," Annabelle explained. "Though the Aboriginal girl over there doesn't look too happy."

Looking forward, I noticed Lowanna groggily coming to just as Delia stopped playing her harp in surprise while the dark-haired girl seemed shocked as well.

"What the hell, Lowanna?" The dark-haired girl snapped in a Russian accent, grabbing Lowanna's frizzy hair and pulling her to her feet. "This is the second time you've failed to kill Shizu for Hao!"

"It wasn't Lowanna's fault," Lowanna claimed. "Maybe Delia's music wasn't strong enough."

So the dark-haired girl glared at Delia. "Why didn't your music affect Annabelle's spirit form?"

"I-I'm not sure," Delia answered, looking embarrassed. "I can only play Apollo's Nighttime Hymn in the general direction of where my target is located, since I can't see them."

"Maybe if you took off that stupid blindfold, we wouldn't have this problem," the dark-haired girl growled, letting go of Lowanna's hair.

"It wouldn't make a difference, Maria, since I'm actually blind," Delia replied solemnly. "But I suspect it has to do with the fact that Annabelle's a spirit right now and not in her own body, thus she can't get physically tired."

"This is incredible!" Radim exclaimed through his microphone-shaped Oversoul. "When Delia used this same trance-like music on Maju and Mint Mendoza of Team Zugarra a few days ago, they went out like lights for several minutes before waking up with terrified looks begging to surrender. But it seems Shizu and Lou managed to overcome Lowanna's attack on them in the Dreamtime, which is the Aboriginal concept of a separate reality where dreams exist that certain Shamans can freely visit or bring others into. Now that they're fully awake, what will Team Seishin-Gumi's next move be?"

"You two are useless," the dark-haired girl known as Maria grumbled as she stepped forward. "Now let's see how these kids fare against a genuine Witch."

Maria then pulled out a silver sickle from the folds of her dress and held out her forearm. In one swift motion, she cut the inside of her elbow causing her to bleed profusely. But she seemed unconcerned as the blood formed into an elderly woman with long fingernails white hair and an ugly face. The elderly woman then cackled, causing me and Lou to freeze out of fear as she summoned a large mortar. The old woman then stomped it on the ground, causing a giant pedestal to appear around and below her till her upper half was sticking out.

"If you guys missed the battle between Team Seishin-Gumi and Zugarra, Maria Cherny of Team Seishin-Gumi has the power to summon her powerful Witch of an ancestor Baba Yaga through her blood which can only be done if she cuts herself with a ceremonial sickle. Now unfortunately for Team LouAnnShi, Baba Yaga was the one who took out the Gods Mari and Sugaar while the Mendoza siblings fell asleep. So how they hope to fight against this old hag is anyone's guess!"

Frowning, Baba Yaga aimed her mortar at Radim which sent a blast of wind that knocked him off the place he was standing on. While this happened, Lou picked up his rifle and reactivated it while I had Hoshi and his friends create the energy shield around my team.

To be continued…