As part of her training as a mission leader for multiple squads of SeeDs, Acma had learned that preparation and execution are equally important when it comes to this kind of battle. She had done her best to learn common military commands in their language, though whether the people—especially the Red Warriors—would listen to her was debatable.
"Red Warriors! Use your enraged Chocobos to push it to Chieftain Gibaus' tent!" Acma called, flying near a few of Gibaus's subordinates she recognized, including the man with crooked teeth. "Do it now! Then we'll pin it down with the weights!"
Ethus frowned at the little woman's request. Under normal circumstances, he would have laughed at the crazy idea, especially coming from someone who couldn't lift a bucket without magic. But seeing the grotesque monster in Wakiyus' form that chewed through his men like chicken legs, he couldn't ignore the chance presented by a flying sorceress who had proven her 'tech.'
"On my count of three!" Ethus raised his sword, locking eyes with his men and the fighting Chocobos, which had been previously drugged and were now hungry for blood. "Dash toward the insect!"
Following Ethus's order, the Chocobo riders lined up and charged at Wakiyus all at once. While the Chocobos backed up to recharge, Acma stunned Wakiyus until the cycle repeated.
"Keep going, Red Warriors!" Acma shouted. "Archers, fire iron arrows to the west, north, and south of the center village. Catapults, listen carefully!" She flew to the northern post. "North to southwest, and northeast to south, now!"
The magic healers and Johoni's men, despite this being their first time operating the catapults—new devices remodeled by the SeeDs—followed Acma's prepared instructions without question.
"Great. Now, east to northwest. Southeast to west!"
After four heavy balls were thrown across the width of the village, they formed a square net, with Wakiyus conveniently situated inside thanks to the fighting Chocobos.
However, with the last thrust, half of the Chocobos were injured, their flesh pierced by the blades of Wakiyus' feet. Despite still being driven by the drug, their strength began to wane, and Wakiyus seemed poised to regain its footing.
"A little more! It has to be in the center!" Acma shouted to Ethus's group.
"Shut up, bitch! Don't you see my men are dying?" Ethus yelled back. "If you're that powerful, use your Telekinesis witchcraft to move it!"
Acma tried, but as expected, she could never lift the massive monster.
"I can't! We only have one shot for the catapult trap," she said.
"Drakon!" Johoni shouted. "Use him…"
Acma looked at the warrior on his Chicobo from above, his dragon pet still beside her.
"What? I can't," she stammered, knowing what Johoni was about to suggest.
"It's alright," Johoni nodded, his eyes fixed on his childhood friend. "Drakon, my boy, it's been great!"
As if understanding its master, Drakon surged toward Wakiyus and knocked it off balance with all its might. The creature teetered, about to bounce back, but Drakon was quicker with another strike. By the third powerful thrust, the dragon pet fell to the ground, completing its mission by pushing Wakiyus to where Gibaus' tent used to stand.
"Thank you, Drakon," Acma murmured as she looked at the bloody remains of Johoni's loyal pet. "Catapults 1, 2, 3, 4, fire at the opposite catapults, now!"
Despite the crystal dust vibrating in her chest, Acma maintained her Thundaga the entire time until the weight balls flew across the village. Wakiyus shrieked as the tension of the iron chains pressed against its body, creating a net it could hardly move in.
The warriors and villagers cheered at the successful capture.
What now? Acma pondered, sensing that Hilde's life essence flowing within her body was about to fade. She needed to kill the monster soon. Although captured, its HP remained very high, and it was only a matter of time before the powerful creature found a way to break free from the iron chains.
"Lord Tri-Point, follow Lady Acma!" Abuela shouted.
At that moment, Acma realized the respected Elder had successfully summoned the multi-elemental GF of Fire, Ice, and Thunder. Tri-Point resembled a large wasp, with a sleek body and long, striped legs of black and yellow. Three sharp stings protruded from its rear, left, and right, one of which glowed to indicate the currently used element.
"Thank you, Abuela!" Acma couldn't hide her excitement, sensing that victory was near. Admittedly she wasn't sure what to do after trapping Wakiyus, but the presence of a multi-elemental GF that included her specialized element left her with no room for doubt.
"Tri-Point, switch to Thunder," Acma commanded, hovering just out of Wakiyus's reach. "Let's perform a duo."
She perched on the GF's shoulder, just as she used to with her Thunderbird, Quezacotl. "Charge your Mega Spark."
Tri-Point immediately complied. Its blue sting glowed, releasing a surge of electricity.
"Duo: Thunder's Judgment!"
Everyone shut their eyes as a blinding light enveloped the center of the village. Wakiyus' body absorbed the full impact of the Duo Thunder attack made of lightning showing from above. It first frantically shrieked and attempted to escape. However, after a few moments, its struggles lessened, and the monster finally stopped resisting.
Acma could feel Tri-Point's vibrating abdomen, its energy merging with the Thunder spell rushing through her veins. The crystal dust in her chest vibrated to the point where she feared it might burst out and tore her body apart, but she reassured herself that her monster's genes were engineered to endure such magic conduction. In moments like this, she often thought of Papa Jiya, one of the head researchers at the Galbadian research camp. Despite her being his experiment subject, he had been the closest thing she had to a father figure, inspiring her to become a scientific researcher at Trabia and later at Balamb Garden. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on her magic casting instead of drowning in the grief of what she had done to her beloved Gardens.
The channeling lasted for thirty seconds, emitting a light that blinded everyone nearby. Acma and Tri-Point landed in the center of the village, close to the charred remains of Wakiyus. She observed the numerous corpses scattered everywhere, but at least the threat was over.
"I'll get the jewel," Ethus said, walking past her with his men, causing her to feel immediately unease at the sound of his curt voice.
"I can take it..." she suggested.
"I said, I'll get it," Ethus replied, turning his back and rolling his eyes at Acma, his crooked teeth visible behind his forced terrifying grin.
Time seemed to freeze for Acma as a surge of fear washed over her, though she couldn't explain why. Neither of them realized that the GF junctioning had erased Acma's memories of the first two weeks when she and Raddie had been captured, including the fact that Ethus was among the rapists who had violated her.
As Ethus and the other Red Warriors searched through the debris for the Four-Soul Jewel, villagers and heroic fighters who survived the raid approached the site.
"Lady Acma, thank you for everything," Abuela said, followed by Shanis. "I don't even know how to begin..."
"Abuela, Shanis, I'm glad you're safe," Acma replied, smiling as she held hands with both mother and daughter. "We were not as well-prepared as I had hoped, but we made it. Thank you very much for lending me Tripoint."
"Of course, that's the least I can do," Abuela humbly nodded.
The girls from Abuela's magic healing group and Johoni's subordinates also returned from the catapults, along with the archers, filling the now-tiny square.
"Did you see our catapults fire in synchronization?" Mahlin exclaimed in her high-piched voice, jumping up and down.
"You all did great!" Acma said.
"What rank would you give me?" Mahlin asked.
"Rank?" Acma was slow to process.
"SeeD rank. Didn't you say everyone at your Garden receives a score at the end of their mission?" Mahlin explained. "What score do you give me?"
"A perfect A, SeeD Mahlin!" Acma laughed, feeling a sense of familiarity that reminded her of her successful missions back at Garden.
When she glanced at Drakon's corpse and his master who couldn't hide his tears, Acma immediately ran toward them.
"I am very sorry," Acma said, her voice somber as she placed her hand on Drakon's body, brutally pierced by Wakiyus' blades. "Raddie told me you witnessed Drakon's first hello-world moment at his hatching."
"He's a good boy—a mix of a Chocobo and a giant lizard my father traded from Centra," Johoni said, trying to speak despite the tears distorting his voice. "It wasn't easy to breed them. He's the last thing that reminds me of my father."
"May they rest in peace," Acma said, lowering her head.
"It's an honor to fight alongside you," Johoni said, turning to look into Acma's burgundy eyes as he gave her shoulder a firm pat of respect. "Hyne's descendant… no, you're as human as your intelligence. You'll bridge us humans with our God and end the Inner Fire."
Acma shook her head and smiled, about to dismiss Johoni's compliments, but the shouting and chanting for Ethus caught her attention.
"The Four-Soul Jewel is here! We, the Red Warriors, got it from the mighty monster!" Ethus exclaimed, raising the glowing white jewel in his hand. "Now that the respectable Chieftain Gibaus and his daughter are gone, though I am deeply in sorrow, I want to propose myself as the next Chieftain. Anyone who wants to challenge me, step forward!"
Abuela immediately rushed next to the head of the Red Warriors. "Don't you dare do that here and now!"
"Shut up, old hag!"
To everyone's surprise, Ethus drove his bloody sword through Abuela's abdomen. The respected Elder couldn't react, her eyes wide with shock as she grasped the sword with trembling hands. Acma used Telekinesis right away, but only after the tip of the sword had pierced the old woman's flesh. She pulled back the sword harder, and it flew from Ethus's grasp.
"Witches! Get them all back to their chains!" Ethus commanded, addressing Acma while involuntarily transferring the Four-Soul Jewel from his left hand to his now empty bloodied right hand.
Once it touched the dirty blood, the white jewel immediately turned black and scattered into many fragments, shooting outward at high speed.
"No!" Acma screamed as one of the fragments nearly hit her, but she managed to deflect it with her Telekinesis.
As she propelled herself back far enough to deflect a couple of flying fragments, she realized that most of the people surrounding Ethus had caught the others. The Red Warriors, including Ethus, slowly walked toward the charred remains of Wakiyus.
"No! Don't get near Wakiyus" Acma wanted to run toward them, but many hands suddenly grabbed her wings and arms, pulling her back. She turned around and was shocked to see the formerly brown eyes of the villagers and magic healers now turned white.
They were all under control.