Akko, Marianne and Jasminka were making their way through the dungeon of the temple of Luna Nova, they were getting quite far, to the point of finally coming across the boss, but already having to deal with the new rules of the place which is about who can and can't enter, in this case only the warrior can have access to the passage inside, In the end, she had to use a lot of her brain in that battle, which had already made her put her skills to the maximum, but even that didn't seem enough, her vision had become blurred, she was bleeding a lot and had many open wounds, which seemed to be the end of Atsuko Kagari.
It looked like it, but a glow emanated from her hero's bag, and after that glow the jar full of fairies came out and floated away, opening up and the various captured fairies placed in that jar began to circulate around the girl, who began to have her wounds healed, beginning to open her eyes, and even Mandragora herself began to move, stopping collecting, as the warrior opened her crimson eyes and stared at the creature, her body once again in full readiness for another battle.
"Woah, what's that? I thought I was dead," said the surprised brownish girl, looking down at her hands and seeing that she was unharmed, but then she realised that the monster was moving again.
(I'd better not get so distracted, I still have a fight to do, I feel alive again, but I still have to land a few more blows, I almost died, but I've learnt the attacks of this thing, it won't be a match for my way of attacking, I even feel refreshed, as if I didn't have a wound)
The plant creature soon bends down to throw acid at her and without wasting any time she transforms her sceptre into an arrow and dodges the acid thrown at her, eventually managing to throw the arrow all the way towards the creature, which opens up.
Akko's opportunity arrived, and using the hook she pulled the red ball out of the creature and launched several slashes. This time, as she was more willing, she was able to use the multiple slash at the same time, which ended up causing more damage, to the point of quickly bursting the red ball in half.
"Now that's interesting" said the excited Atsuko, already preparing for the creature's next pattern of blows.
And so it went towards the warrior of Luna Nova, the Mandragora was taking more of the surrounding roots and plants getting even bigger and more swollen, starting the helicopter attack somehow trying something, flying to where the crimson-eyed girl was, but smart and agile being aware of the attacks she goes using the hook to dodge away, using the multiple cuts and projectiles to avoid being caught by the plant tentacles that could catch her doing something.
(Now I know all the moves on this thing, there's no point in coming at me with all your might, I can handle myself very well).
Soon the plant stopped trying to fly, stopped in one place and started sending tentacles towards Kagari, who dodged them and not only that, but also used those huge tentacles as a platform for her to climb on, even more so as they were flat, The monster tried to throw acid in all directions, but the girl dodged it calmly, jumping through the tentacles. She even began to observe a gap to attack, where she took the opportunity to learn more about the blows, but soon the creature stopped trying to throw acid and tentacles.
"Well, you took a break" said the panting girl with the crimson eyes.
Then the monster begins to launch an attack in which it rains down what appears to be small saplings, but when they touch the ground they turn into those small trees that attacked the girls in the dungeon, which the brownish one realises, already using magic with the flaming master sword, and with the union of the projectile cut it becomes a lethal weapon.
"Wait a minute, this could do some damage even to this boss plant, I'll see if I have any plants to absorb it when I burn it all" said the warrior from Luna Nova.
Even creating plants to distract from the attack and launching acid was of no use to Mandragora, especially as the acid had flammable properties, which made it even easier for a small fire to spread, so much so that the tentacles were focussed on having to move around hitting the outbreaks of fire so as not to spread and thus end up damaging the whole environment, being the perfect loophole for exactly what the wielder of the master sword needed.
(Perfect, the master sword is practically very powerful in this kind of environment, all I had to do was recover and I'd be able to throw fire magic projectiles everywhere and still cut, this weapon is more powerful when you know how to use it).
The Mandragora prepares to shoot acid and then Akko shoots an arrow, the first one ends up only hurting what the plant is still shooting, but she realises that it's spreading more of the fire, even more so as Kagari uses her attacks with the sword to spread more of the fire and so more of the tentacles hit the fire and the creature goes into helicopter mode.
(One down, I probably don't doubt that I'll have to hit three of these to defeat this monster in one go, what a stubborn little creature to die, well I'll have to get round to it somehow).
With all her wits about her, the crimson-eyed girl uses the hook and notices a loophole in the helicopter mode, which is precisely to keep the red ball exposed, so the girl quickly launches another arrow there and is already launching herself to the side, the plant's helicopter mode didn't even focus on her, it went closer to where there was fire, as a way of trying to put it out, but it only served to spread the fire further.
(Only the last one is missing, it seems that the plant is really focused on not wanting to be hit in any way, but I'm not giving up, I managed to win a second chance and I'm not going to throw it away).
She soon gets into position and sees the mandragora standing in the middle of the arena, still with some outbreaks of fire, but strangely something new happens, rain simply falls from above, wetting everything, which even helped to put out the fire at once and also ended up wetting the warrior from Luna Nova who already realised the attack was coming with her tentacles already full of damage.
"Damn... You're a pretty smart little plant, but I'm pretty smart too, not bad" said Akko, preparing to make another attack.
Furious, the plant began to launch its wounded tentacles towards the girl, who dodged them and then began to go into acid-spitting mode. Atsuko only had one chance and she took it, aiming her bow at once and firing, at the same time as the acid was fired she dodged using the hook towards the ceiling, with some tentacles chasing her, upwards, only with the arrow catching, those vegetables simply stop and even create a platform for the girl who uses the hook again.
"Let's see if you develop as much in the third one, eat fire you monster" Kagari not only left the creature's red ball nearby, but launched a ball of fire where its weak point comes out to give it an even more lethal attack.
Then she started stabbing that red ball with her sword until it had done a huge amount of damage, until it ended up exploding in the middle, and so she went down as the tentacles were being collected, giving the crimson-eyed girl some relief, but it was only temporary when she saw that the Mandragora was simply starting to absorb everything in the temple, getting even bigger than before.
The plant simply let everything that was a plant around the arena disappear, leaving only the marble, where it became gigantic, covering almost to the ceiling, to the point that it simply changed its shape, exposing some red dots on the sides and swelling underneath, where the tentacles that came out of it were thick and short and others thin and smaller, as well as some holes near those red dots, which already indicated something.
"It looks like that's the final form of this thing" said the brownish woman, realising that the situation had become complicated for her.
(I hope I don't end up in a situation where even the fairy pot won't save me from these, I only have one left here and I don't even want to use it, well at least around here I'm safer, I just have to hit the red dots, if I have the sword with a long reach I can get something easier, as well as the bow, anything can work, I just have to think carefully and study the movements of this thing).
Soon the Mandrogora began to attack, first it started spraying acid out of one of its holes, a jet that came out very fast and not even the marble columns could withstand it, to the point that the warrior from Luna Nova launched a fireball towards the jet of acid and noticed that it wasn't flammable like the other acid, it was even very strange, which already took away one of her biggest advantages against a plant monster.
(Oh, so it doesn't catch fire, this thing really has some well thought out moves, I have to avoid this jet, one blink and I could simply be torn to pieces by this jet, even more so because it comes with enormous violence, now let's see if it works).
Akko ran away from the jets of acid and dodged them, realising that in certain places the jets didn't hit the creature's glands, so she took her bow and fired at one of the red dots, which ended up causing the creature to blink, indicating that something was working, the blows there worked, and soon Atsuko was thinking to herself to start attacking each of the various red dots, 12 of which were around Mandragora and were of considerable size.
(You can throw as much acid as you like, you'll drain yourself trying, I'll just take advantage of it and throw more and more arrows towards that red dot, one day it'll give way, just dodge it enough).
But then another attack comes along, just as the smaller tentacles appear and these are full of thorns around them, and they start to lash out, hitting Kagari sideways. She even manages to dodge the acid, but she's caught by the lash that hurts her a lot, even though she's protected a little by the shield.
Even dealing with these different tentacles, she was dodging and launching arrows and more arrows at that red spot, dodging the jet of acid that sometimes even accidentally hit the tentacles, which ended up cutting themselves because the jet was so strong and this deactivated more of the attack that the creature was using.
"You'll keep using both at the same time, you won't have the strength to hold me back like that" said the girl teasingly.
And with another arrow, the crimson-eyed woman managed to break that red dot like it was a pane of glass, and with that part of the plant began to show signs of necrosis, crumbling in that part as if it were one of its separations, looking very much like a tangerine divided into parts, and that's when the brownish woman realised that it would be the best attack against the monster.
(Perfect, one down, but I've spent seven arrows, it'll have to do, I'll spend as many as I can and we'll see how it goes, I hope this at least does some damage, then I'll use the master sword's cuts against these parts, as long as I'm at a distance I don't have to deal with the big tentacles up close, surely this plant must be fatal up close).
There went the warrior of Luna Nova, trying her best to dodge as best she could, but even so she was already getting more injured with some open wounds bleeding a little and continuing to attack, with all the arrows she could manage to at least destroy three of the ten red dots of the creature that was already getting pretty destroyed, which somehow cheered Akko up, who took another potion, this time to recover her health which was already a little weak and also at the same time recover her magic, with thirty arrows in hand she could already attack more often and so she went on doing.
(Perfect, let's see if I can get at least a good part of this monster, I have thirty arrows in my hand, a third of the monster has already been defeated, with these arrows I still can't defeat it, but I can get close to it, come on Akko, you can do it, you can get as far away as possible, take a deep breath, there's still a pot of fairies, I can use it to launch the master sword's ranged attack and deal a little less damage, but I can defeat this plant).
So Atsuko continued to attack with her arrows, with thirty in hand and enormous precision, even with the obstacles in the way she wasn't doing badly, she had even memorised the creature's attack patterns which only had the long tentacles to hit, being easily cut by the master sword and the jet of acid easily dodged and even the shield protected what she had free space for arrows, so she was able to make more progress.
Four red dots had been destroyed, with two arrows left, and she still had a little magic left, with only three left to completely defeat the plant, which was already panting and even though it was defending itself a lot, it was wounded, so much so that it went to the side where the creature was wounded to rest, picking up the pot of fairies, already with a smile on its face.
"Now it's your turn to take action" said Kagari as she freed the fairies from the pot and healed herself completely, sword in hand, taking a deep breath for a long-range attack.
Seeing as the monster is also capable of rotating itself, with all three parts showing, the camouflage-eyed girl immediately dodged and threw the slashing projectiles, somehow trying to hit it, which also cleared the path, which she didn't focus on just one red dot, but on all three at the same time, to confuse the monster.
(I have to try to take as much damage as possible from the three of them so I can do it from a distance, but it's tricky to keep up without getting hurt, there are three jets of acid heading my way and also those tentacles, one cut and my plan is ruined).
The brownish woman showed everything she had learnt in combat and training, dodging the tentacles as best she could, hitting the creature with many projectile cuts, only for one of them to be caught by the arm with a whip that prevented her from continuing to attack in that way, even more so as she no longer had a cure, which turned out to be a risky plan, only for the projectile cut to hit precisely the red dot that broke into pieces.
There were only two left, she smiled, and began to think of a plan to try and get close, but as she ran towards the creature she not only had to deal with the acid, which the shield could handle, but the larger
tentacles showed what they were made of, they were simply too strong and powerful, delivering a huge blow that ended up throwing Kagari backwards against the marble wall.
(I was lucky that I didn't fracture any of my ribs with that impact, but getting close is out of the question, I have to think big here, how can I attack from afar or get close enough to cancel out the attack of the bigger tentacles, I have to be quick before the acid activates again and the pesky little tentacles come...) I know... The hook, it's all or nothing help me hook, I hope you can help me with that).
It's time to use the hook, but something strange happens: the hook simply latches onto the red dot and instead of taking Akko to the spot, the dot comes to her, which makes everything easier and she soon realises that even the creature has stopped spraying acid so that she won't be hit, but the tentacles are coming in heavy with everything, which the girl dodges and takes that orb with her.
(I should have attacked like this from the start, it would have saved a huge amount of archery magic, well now that I know how to defeat this monster, at least now I can keep it in mind in case someone passes by, there are only two of these orbs left, I'd better attack soon)
Only a single cut was needed and there was no point in the tentacles trying to follow, most only necrosed with the orb only turning to dust with the single cut given with the master sword, that way only one was missing which the monster was already starting to throw a lot of acid towards the girl who only ran away from everything and was defending herself by running around the pillars which was part of the plan the tentacles even tried to knock her down, only they were few and in short range which then only ended with several of the pillars with cuts.
(Perfect, now all I have to do is cause something to fall and I'm in the clear, as I wanted to do).
Akko does the unthinkable: the creature tries to attack at long range, but she takes it by surprise by actually going in close, which activates the larger tentacles that come out to deliver a blow. This blow was strong enough to cause some tremors, which also throws Atsuko backwards, but she immediately uses her hook to grab the remaining red orb.
In the middle of the path, the monster tries to shoot acid, but some marble columns fall down and exactly where the path through which the acid passes is located, creating an improvised shield as well as falling on top of the tentacles, guaranteeing a clear path.
(Perfect exactly as I thought, now just hit the wall and then stay out of reach of this thing, there won't be a monster plant that can resist it, I just hope I don't break a rib on impact).
Breaking her rib couldn't be avoided, the impact was very strong, but even in pain she was still able to move, jumping right on top of the fallen pillars where she then throws the orb high up and none of the tentacles can reach because they are trapped by the weight of the marble, which causes the warrior from Luna Nova to turn round, With her sword, she throws it upwards and catches it precisely in the direction of the orb, which catches a cut, and then she walks with her hand raised upwards, catching the sword that was spinning right on the handle where she keeps it, and then comes the cut catching that last orb.
"Monster defeated, dungeon finished, now Atsuko Kagari will be the great warrior of Hyrule, her magic is believing in herself" said the girl who then struck a pose in front of the creature that then became just lights.
The Mandragora was defeated, and through Akko's hands she was able to show off her skills. With the monster gone, it simply became a glow that soon materialised into something that looked like an emerald, it was huge and it had a woman inside it, it was Woodward who had helped the girl so much on her adventures when she was younger, and she was thrilled to meet the witch again.
"You did it Akko, you freed me and now my seal will be found in the sanctuary of the nine witches on Triskellion Island, find my other eight friends, I was sealed here years ago so as not to allow Ganondorf's power to be greater due to our magic, now I will be a necessary fight so that I can have the power that has lain dormant for a thousand years that legend has told us is real... Before I leave here for Triskellion Island I have to thank you and as a thank you I say go to the island of Hylia there is a small cave with a fountain where you can deposit some Rupees and a fairy will grant you requests that will leave you with even more power for your objects that you use so much, it will be useful for your journey... Goodbye and see you later Akko, I hope you manage to free all nine witches and defeat Ganondorf once and for all, I trust you with this mission, your friends will soon be able to come here and leave the dungeon with you, as soon as I disappear, goodbye..." Said the witch, who then disappeared into the emerald, turning into several butterflies, as is always the case with witches, which even caused the place to light up beautifully.
All the destruction caused in the battle against Mandragora was being restored with the butterflies passing through the dungeon, even some of the vegetation was returning to a channel with a larger lake, then a heart appeared and also a portal, signalling that this was the end of the journey, but before leaving.
The warrior from Luna Nova goes to where her friends have gone, seeing that a staircase has also been formed and soon she sees that the two have realised that they can pass each other in an embrace, which she soon complains about the pain in her ribs
"Don't hug me like that, I think I've broken some ribs now" said Atsuko.
"Oh Akko, at least you did it!" Marianne said, celebrating.
"Yes, I'll take the heart to heal myself and we'll also go to the portal, the first dungeon has finally been completed, it's time to leave for Triskellion Island" said the cheerful and smiling Kagari.
Together they made their way to the heart with the crimson-eyed girl picking it up, getting in the mood for battle again, recovering from her broken ribs and then they went to the portal on the floor, being transported straight to the entrance of the dungeon where all the girls were waiting for her and soon Diana came running to hug her beloved and also giving her a kiss, very excited to see her back.
"Akko! You're back! You're alive!" Said the excited and relieved Cavendish.
"You have no idea how tough that dungeon was, I almost died facing that huge plant, in fact I think I might have died, but the fairies saved me, luckily I managed to escape that monster's attacks, well at least I'm here, in one piece and ready for another" said the crimson-eyed girl scratching the back of her head.
"Woah, so fairies can do that?" The girls ask.
"I think it's just in my specific case, I had the pot with them and I was in a deadly situation, and since I'm the chosen heroine there must be something to it, but anyway, here we are, we're going to Triskellion Island" said the brownish woman shrugging.
"Atsuko Kagari, aren't you all right? I think you need help from a healer, I order you immediately as the princess of Wedinburgh to come with me to the healer's house to check your injuries" said the blue-eyed girl, placing her finger on her beloved's chest and then running her hand over the girl's body, pinching her arm.
"Ouch, that hurt, why all this Diana? And who's going to be the healer, there's none of us..." Said the confusedAkko, who was quickly silenced with a finger over her mouth.
"I'm the healer and from what I've seen you have pain in your arm, which means you need rest and a lot of affection from this healer" said the platinum blonde-haired woman with a look that gave away what she wanted.
"You pinched my arm Diana, of course it hurt" said the sillyAtsuko.
"Oh, how silly of you Akko, I love that girl" said the Wedinburgh princess, wiping her hand across her face, and all the girls around her laughed.
"I don't understand anything, but let's talk to Croix, let's go back to the village, let's rest, since you said there's still a long way to go to the boat and leave from here to Triskellion Island, we have to celebrate our achievement, it's a step towards defeating Andrew once and for all, even more so with the things I have here, they can be very useful to be able to defeat him, you have no idea" Kagari said.
And with that, the whole group headed off to the village, where on the way they chatted a little about the dungeon, how complicated it was and some of the parts they had to endure, and soon they were starting to get their food and jumping for joy and excitement at everything that was happening.
It didn't take long and soon Diana's bracelet began to beep, signalling that she had to talk to Croix, who appeared to the girls and they immediately went to talk about the mission.
"It seems from your excitement that the mission has been accomplished, we could see a glow coming towards the Temple of the Nine Witches here on Triskellion Island, you've done it, congratulations girls, now we're waiting for you here on the island, soon you'll know how to move on from here - said the one with the lilac hair.
"Hey Croix, where's Hylia Island? Woodward told me about a wishing well there, it looks like it might be something to add to our adventure" Akko said, joining the conversation.
"Hylia Island? It's very close to Triskellion Island, they're practically neighbours, but what's so important about this island, I know the legend that you throw a few Rupees and it grants wishes, but I don't know if it's true" Meridies said.
"That's where you're wrong Croix, the legend is true, Woodward told me, finally my Rupees have some purpose, we can go there and get the wishes" said Atsuko.
"Interesting to know, well it's very close, just a few minutes by boat, you can even go with a more common boat as the sea around here is calm, I'm sure that being the chosen one is quite capable of working for you, anyway... I'll see you on Triskellion Island, tell me about the dungeon when you get there, I'll talk to you from time to time to see if everything is going well, in short, I'll say goodbye to you" said Croix, leaving the conversation, and so the girls went back to celebrating.
"I didn't know about the legend of Hyllia Island, interesting to know, it's nice to imagine that you can make wishes come true, I wonder if you'll be able to ask me to defeat Andrew soon, it would be very interesting if it worked hahaha" Hellene said.
"I wish it worked like that, but I think it should be something simpler, but it'll be useful anyway, I'll have a use for my 900 Rupees that I've been collecting all this time, I'm sure it'll finally be useful for something" said Kagari.
"Well, just the fact that you're alive here is a huge celebration" said Diana.
And with that, the garoats are celebrating with each other, with yet another victory won, taking the opportunity to sing, to live a more peaceful moment, since the next day will be very full, since a long journey will begin to Triskellion Island.
[...]
The next day dawns in Luna Nova, the girls are picking up all their things from the journey and it's time to leave the village that has been such a safe haven for the girls, but when they reach the path to the exit they are embraced byAnnabel and Sifla, who choose to stay rather than leave with the girls.
"Are you really staying?" Akko asks.
"This is our place now, we belong to Luna Nova, we're going to be part of rebuilding this place, maybe even reviving that place that became a dungeon and was so abandoned, bringing back the glow of the witches, we believe we can bring magic back to this place... We trust you, especially you Akko" said Annabel.
"Thank you for everything you've done to us, you'll be able to defeat that bastard Andrew and restore peace to Hyrule, I know you will, glorious times will come with you, goodbye girls, come here whenever you can, Luna Nova will always welcome you, it was good to see the woman who saved me when I was only eight, to see that you're still the warrior who inspired me so much all these years, one day I want to be as incredible as you" said Sifla hugging Atsuko who was even crying with emotion.
In this warm and emotional farewell, they leave Luna Nova and head off with the cart in hand along the track towards Arcturus beach for a long journey to reach Triskellion Island, where they are already very emotional and tearful about leaving that place which, even in ruins, has welcomed them so well.
Akko didn't die, she managed to survive the mandragora and turn things around, not only being saved, but also having the confidence to defeat the huge plant that was still a struggle to defeat because it was so strong, but even so it was no match for the warrior of Luna Nova and all the power of the master sword. The mission to save Hyrule could become an ever closer reality with the wayAtsuko Kagari has been excelling and gaining more power and also fulfilling missions on the journey to becoming great.
See you, plant witches...