Chapter 29
A strange buzzing sound came from one of the grilled openings. A second later, the same opening had its grill lifted and three sleek, large black cats walked out. True to the rakshasa's description, the cats had an extra pair of legs and two long tentacles sprouting from their shoulders. The tentacles themselves had spikes protruding out at the end of each. The displacer beasts maintained their growling as they spread out to surround and corner them. Then, all three started shimmering and after the party blinked their eyes, the beasts' forms looked a little out of place. It was as if their bodies were shifting in and out of reality, like they were there and not there at the same time.
"Am I seeing things or do they look a bit off?" muttered Botan as she kept her aim steady in anticipation.
"Yeah, I see it too… and I have no idea what is going on," replied Nene as she readied her lute.
A spectral sword appeared and stabbed one of the beasts in its flank.
"The icy floes and frosty chills come, best keep moving or fall to slumber."
Lamy's frost ray went through one of the tentacles, as if it was not there. The party was surprised by this and in their shock, the beasts went on the attack. They jumped in, flailed their tentacles on them, and backed out. The archer tried shooting one but half her shots simply passed through its body as it moved around. The bard sang, her magic filling the air and the beasts growled as it settled on them. Only one seemed to be distracted by her tunes.
"If we stay here, they can hem us in," said Aloe as she narrowed her eyes, "Hey Polka, let's take the fight to them."
"Eh? Who are you and what did you do to our friend?" the fennec fox asked in surprise, taking a drink as she chased after the succubus, who ran forward and slashed a tentacle that was aimed at her.
"I have an urge to do something bad today," she said as she smirked while the monk pummeled the beast's head. At the same time, the spirit sword continued stabbing the displacer beast in the side while the cleric prayed for her goddess to guide their attacks.
"Tch, stupid tentacles!" shouted the monk as she got struck from behind. She did her best to evade and dance around the attacks as the other two beasts continued their hit and run tactics. The one they were attacking took this chance to retreat while it waved its tentacles around to cover itself.
"Chance!" declared Botan before shooting a burst arrow at the retreating displacer. The arrow burst and a loud boom splashed over it and its brethren, getting showered with wooden splinters.
Nene's dagger flew through the air and thudded into the ground as it passed through the displacer beast's paw. Meanwhile, the monk and succubus duo went in and cornered the two monsters and wailed on them. One got its skull caved in repeated blows to the head while the other flinched as one of its tentacles and its flank bled from claw and spirit sword.
"Argh!" the lion girl yelled as the singular uncornered displacer beast slammed a tentacle into her side.
"Keep shooting, Botan. I'll keep trying to confuse it," urged on Nene as she continued playing her tune.
"Got it," stated the archer as her next shots flew true, striking the cornered one in the shoulder. Unfortunately, it didn't mess with the tentacles, but it was enough to bleed it.
However, it powered through the pain and slammed Polka to the ground, its spiked tentacles crashing into her chest. She almost blacked out but Nene's healing note coursed through her body and sealed the perforations on her body.
"Finish it, Polka!" shouted Aloe as she raked her claw over its snarling face. Yelling in response, the fennec fox monk jumped up and slammed her heel on the top of its head, driving it down into the ground.
"Yosh," she yelled in victory. Then, she turned around and ran towards the last displacer, jumping up into a flying kick. The ball of her foot kicked away a tentacle aimed at the lore bard, who had moved in to stab it in the shoulder.
"Your ice doesn't seem to be doing much, Miss Healer."
Lamy frowned at the passing comment from the rakshasa as her ray of frost missed yet again.
"Don't let him get to you. You're helping us a lot with the ghost sword of yours," assured the lion girl as she landed a few more shots in the final displacer's flank.
"...I appreciate that," muttered the half-snow elf as she watched Aloe take to the air and pick up Polka.
Both of them then landed next to the beast, with the succubus releasing right above it. They then proceeded to target its head, raining fist and claw. Then, angling her summoned sword carefully, she then sent it flying at the beast. It buried itself into the beast's side, all the way to the hilt. As it fell over, the sword dissipated into motes of light, its duty done.
"A most wonderful performance!" cheered Prasadiv as he clapped, "Most wonderful. Well done, members of the adventurer's guild."
At the sudden snap of his fingers, another grill opened. Several people of varying races came out and proceeded to pick up the bodies of the displacer beasts and haul them away. After the last body was taken inside, a few more people came out. Two women, one with a leather bag and another with a bundle of arrows. The one with the bag produced glass vials filled with red liquid and passed them around. The other passed the bundle of arrows to Botan
"Please, drink up! This will help you get ready for the next set," stated the rakshasa as he motioned them to consume it.
Glancing at each other, they all uncorked the vial and downed it simultaneously.
"Wow!" exclaimed Aloe as she looked at the glass vial with wide eyes.
"It feels like I have just woken up from my sleep," muttered Lamy as the woman wordlessly took the empty vials back, "My mind still feels a little fatigued, though."
"What in the world did we drink?" Nene asked the rakshasa. The helpers then went back through the opening and the grill fell shut.
"A good quality healing potion, of course," he said matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well, if we get these after every battle, we can do this in no time," stated Botan eagerly.
"Right, you shall continue!" declared Prasadiv as he looked to the clipboard, "Hmm, a surprise summons. Directly brought to the arena? Interesting..." Snapping his fingers, he called out, "Next!"
Suddenly, two glowing summoning circles appeared on the ground. Soon after, a flash of light blinded everyone present for a moment before clearing up. Before them were two dinosaurs. With very surprised riders on them. The party was awestruck.
"What is the meaning of this?" shouted one of the riders.
"Demons!" snarled the other after catching sight of the rakshasa and then the succubus, "We've been captured by demons. Kill them all!" The both of them then raised their javelins as their dinosaur mounts growled menacingly.
"Wait! Wait! Please, can we talk this out!?" shouted the lore bard as she ran forward with her hands and arms held high.
"We won't believe your lies," hissed the rider, "Demon worshippers like you only tell lies."
The rakshasa only groaned in frustration. "It seems that the magics need to be tweaked a little. Prasadiv only wanted thunder lizard hides, not thunder lizards and their riders," he muttered. Harrumphing, he addressed the riders, "Please, if you wish to return whence you came, Prasadiv can assist. It will take a little time, but it can be done. There is no need for violence."
"Yes, there is no need to fight," agreed Nene, really trying to get the angry riders to relent, "This is clearly a mistake and we can fix this. Please, let us help."
The riders looked to each other and started talking in a hushed tone with a language they couldn't understand. After a moment, the first speaker said sternly, "Very well. Be quick about it."
It didn't take long for the mishap to be remedied. Prasadiv vanished for a moment to address this. Meanwhile, the party tried talking with the riders. They were a husband and wife patrol team that were scouting around the city they lived in. They were not very receptive to talking to Aloe but they didn't mind talking to the others, especially Botan, who talked with them about the wildlife that they sometimes hunted for. Her eyes shone at the thought of taking down large or even bigger sized thunder lizards. The type they were riding was an allosaurus, which in spite of its size could actually pounce on its prey after charging them down.
Soon, the rakshasa reappeared on the stands of the arena and said, "All is done. Please stand in the center and you will be sent back. You have Prasadiv's apologies for this trouble."
"Hmph, at least you can keep your word," stated the man seriously, "We will remember this."
After they were teleported away, the fiend turned to the party and said, "Well, that was unfortunate. However, we still have the last hunt of the day." Taking a look at the clipboard, he smirked and continued, "Two young remorhazes."
"What are those?" asked Polka while Nene went to retrieve her dagger.
"Hmm, think giant centipede with fire in their veins," he replied vaguely.
"Okay..." she muttered as everyone got into position
Nodding, he then called out, "All is ready. Bring them in and release them."
A strange buzzing sound came from one of the grilled openings. A second later, the same opening had its grill lifted and… nothing. Now, the arena was not as large as expected, but sizable enough that a displacer beast could prowl around the edges to make hit and run attacks. However, the only sign that there was anything was a slight tremble from the sandy ground.
"There's something moving in the earth," stated Botan as she knelt and placed a hand to the ground.
"Take care, everyone," said Nene.
Those words were well said, as the two young remorhazes burst out of the ground. A few were quick to react. The bard lashed out with her rapier, cutting off one of its many legs but was shocked when boiling hot blood spurted out and burned her sword hand. The monk and the archer shot their projectiles at it, the dart and arrow piercing its exoskeleton as it reared up. Both monsters lunged towards the bard, biting her in the shoulder and the stomach. The bloody mess was about to be lifted up when…
"Let her go!"
A spectral sword shot out and impaled one of the young monsters in the eye. It let out an unnerving shriek as it thrashed its head about, both releasing its hold on Nene as well as knocking her out of the other's mouth. She fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from her bite marks. Lamy then tried shooting her ray of frost at it but as soon as it hit, it simply melted off. Meanwhile, Aloe took to the air and threw a dagger at the injured monster but it bounced off the exoskeleton instead.
"Hey! Look this way!" shouted Polka as she threw another dart. It was accompanied by two arrows with one of them breaking on its carapace.
The young remorhazes shrieked again and burrowed into the ground. The cleric took this chance to heal the lore bard and close her wounds.
"Thanks, Lamy," she said gratefully as she was helped to her feet.
The monk took a swig of alcohol and muttered, "Alright, we hit when they pop out again."
"You're getting your wish!" yelled the succubus in warning as they burst out again.
As Nene started singing her magic, the fennec fox monk punched the monster's underbelly as it rose up. She then yelped when Botan's arrow opened a wound, which sprayed the boiling blood at her.
"Sorry!" called out the lion archer as she swayed and dodged the monster's maws.
"Keep it up!" shouted Lamy as she directed the spectral sword after the wounded one, "My goddess guides your blades!"
"Tell her thanks for the help!" quipped Aloe as her thrown dagger found purchase in the monster's neck. She had landed to reuse a dagger that bounced off its exoskeleton.
"Lay down and die already!" the bard shouted, directing her mocking at the weakened young remorhaz. It did die, not by her words but from Botan's arrow to its head. It shuddered a bit after its body fell to the side before becoming still.
"One down, one to go," the lion girl stated as the other young monster burrowed into the ground.
"Stop running already!" exclaimed the monk as she moved to the middle of the arena and stamped the ground.
"Will you stop taunting the centipede with the boiling blood?" asked Aloe with a frown.
True enough, the young remorhaz burst out next to her. It snapped at empty air as it got pelted by magic and arrows. The spectral sword was driving into its back while a flash of light was shot at its face. This distracted the monster long enough for one of Aloe's daggers to cut through its upper jaw, causing it to shriek in great pain. It got buried in and it was unable to close its mouth properly.
Seeing it was distracted, Polka threw caution to the wind and downed another swig. She proceeded to pummel its underside. The heat of its blood could be felt all the way through its exoskeleton and the skin of her knuckles got burned quite badly. It shrieked continuously, even after two more arrows got buried in its body. It then turned around and burrowed into the ground. Now the rumbling seemed to go all over the place, as if it was trying to find a way out.
"Eh, what do we do now?" asked Nene as the rumbling continued.
"It's running on instinct. It's afraid," stated Botan as she knelt down and felt the ground.
Suddenly, Polka turned to Prasadiv and asked loudly, "Can we try and tame it? I can have it join my circus."
"What nonsense is that? It is a valuable resource. Surely you can't be serious!?" exclaimed the rakshasa in disbelief.
"I'm gonna do it!" she decided aloud as the young remorhaz burst out of the ground and coiled off into a corner, chittering and hissing angrily.
"Polka, don't do this. It is a dangerous monster and it's injured. There's no way it could work," said the archer, trying to persuade her friend to not do this, "Please, listen to reason."
"Hng… I really want to… but you're right too…" groaned the fennec fox girl, "So we kill it?"
"We were hired to do this and so we shall," stated Lamy before firing another flash of light at its face. She then directed the spirit sword over and beheaded it
"Oof, that's cold," joked Aloe, prompting a few sighs.
The rakshasa then clapped a few times, getting everyone's attention. "Thus, your work has ended. Prasadiv thanks you for your cooperation. Now, while there is a reward promised for this request, it shall be directly contributed to the guild."
"Eh? I thought we would get it," replied Nene with a frown.
He shrugged and said, "It is part of the deal after all. But, if you wish, you can have a free meal. On the house. Remorhaz legs are supposed to be delicious. And, if you wish to continue working for Prasadiv, a magic item may find itself into your hands, hmm?"
After a moment of silence, the lore bard replied, "I… guess? You can always continue sending requests to the guild."
He shrugged again, "Very well. Let us return to the Broken Stool and you can have a taste of the legs. A delicacy such as this is hard to come by. And if you still wish for a reward after that, Prasadiv is willing on parting with some gold."
AN: Hello, readers. Welcome to the next chapter. Displacer beasts. Tricky to fight if you can't focus them down. The arena doesn't benefit them either as enclosed spaces means that they have to fight to the death as normally they know when to cut their losses. The same with the third fight. Anyway, the beasts were taken down relatively quickly. Polka came close to biting the dust but was back on her feet thanks to Nene's Healing Word. Nene also helped in talking down some dinosaur riders, which were mistakenly teleported in. But... I still can't believe she was downed in the first round by the young remorhazes. Still, it shows that even though they are young, they are still very dangerous.
Next chapter, the next arc begins, which means it will not be out until I finished writing it up. I ask for patience, please. At least until I finish it. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.