"Lady Acma! Casi!"
Abuela and her healer girls rushed toward the chieftain's tent, only to find a pile of debris. The four sturdy pillars made of pipe trees still stood, but the tent had completely collapsed, surrounded by confused villagers.
"What's going on?" Abuela asked as Gibaus's subordinates frantically cleared the debris in search of him.
"We don't know," one of them replied. "Lady Wakiyus told us that the chieftain wanted the entire Red Warriors squad to check on the magic well..."
"It must be that witch!" sneered Ethus, a man with crooked teeth. "We saw her and Hercus's daughter enter the tent. She must have killed him with her 'combustion' witchcraft."
"Found them!" another Red Warrior interrupted his accusation.
Both Acma and Casi lay unconscious near one of the grand pillars, shielded by the glowing green light of Hilde's spirit.
"Hilde! What happened?" Abuela asked, turning to the spirit.
"Chieftain Gibaus had been killed before we arrived. His body was rigged with a bomb," the spirit of Casi's late mother replied, her voice echoing softly. "It was pure luck that Lady Acma summoned me just before the explosion. I can sense the yaoqi very strongly here. I'm afraid the yaoguais have breached our home," she added.
"Impossible!" Ethus exclaimed, astonished. "He was just talking to us and Lady Wakiyus..."
Ethus stopped mid-sentence, his expression shifting to fear as he stepped further into what used to be the chieftain's throne. He found a charred piece of skin that still bore the recognizable snow lion tattoo of Gibaus.
"No, this can't be..." Ethus picked up Gibaus's remains.
Despite her shock, Abuela pressed on with the crucial question. "Where is Wakiyus?"
Ethus stammered, "She led some Red Warriors to the well. We were supposed to join them…"
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from the west side of the village where the magic well was located, followed by distant screams from the villagers.
"Yaoguai!"
"The well..." Abuela gasped as she connected the dots, instinctively grasping Mahlin's hand, shaking. "I'm afraid she has been consuming our men and drawing magic underneath while you were near the well..."
"She? Who is she?" Mahlin asked, trying to recall the strange noises from the well when she attempted to draw magic earlier.
The young girl soon had her answer. From the west side of the village where villagers were fleeing, a giant monster emerged. Its grotesque head was the size of the deceased chieftain's tent. The head partially resembled Wakiyus with two long orange braids. Its eyes, nose, and mouth were human-like but much larger and spread across its almost blank face. At its forehead was a large dent, with a glowing white piece of the Four-Soul Jewel clearly visible. Along its upper body were six arms, each bearing a symbol of one of the elements: Fire, Water, Thunder, Ice, Earth, and Holy.
"Yaoguai! Yaoguai!" the villagers screamed as the creature's long arms reached out, lifting some of them toward its mouth, then chewed them promptly with its sharp teeth.
"Fuck!" Ethus shouted as he drew his sword. "Kill it! Let's take revenge for the Chieftain and Lady Wakiyus!"
The men quickly followed Ethus and the other Red Warriors, charging toward what used to be their princess on their chemically enraged Chocobos.
"Archers! Get in position!" Ethus commanded. With the Chieftain gone, he effectively assumed leadership of the military, regardless of whether the others would obey him.
Armed with huge bows and arrows on their backs, the archers snapped what Acma had called Zyclaws to the tops of nearby pipe trees. They then triggered a button on a small box that the little sorceress termed a "combustion engine." Within seconds, the archers were lifted, positioning themselves on the highest branches of the enormous pipe trees surrounding the village. Although Ethus was suspicious of Acma's witchcraft, he had to admit this particular 'scientific' solution was effective. It used to take the best climbers dozens of 'ticks' to reach that height for a clear shot.
"Aim for the flesh! The jewel fragment is on her forehead! Show no mercy. Princess Wakiyus is long dead," Ethus commanded. Despite being a cold blooded, he was under shock after learning that both Gibaus and his daughter, whom he had served all his life, had been brutally killed.
Seeing the military groups in position, Abuela joined the command line. "Healers, back up the swordsmen and archers. Casters, prepare the fire catapults with whatever we have! Call for the magic-bearing slaves in chains."
"Yes, Abuela!" the girls quickly dispersed.
"Be careful!" Abuela shouted after them, then turned to her daughter. "Shanis, stay with me. I'll seek help from Lord Tripoint."
"You can count on me, mother."
Shanis got her throwing knives ready as Abuela took her stance, concentrating her power through her scepter to open a gateway to the realm where Tripoint resided.
"Hilde, how are they?" Abuela asked the spirit on the status of Acma and Casi.
"I'm healing them," Hilde's spirit replied. "Lady Acma will be able to join the battle soon."
Abuela nodded, trying to suppress her worry, as Acma was the only one who could confidently operate her 'tech.'
"Mother, if the Four-Soul Jewel is here, does this mean Chief Hercus has..."
"May Hyne's descendant not be our last hope," Abuela said, shaking her head as she closed her eyes, seeking Tripoint's aid.
The screams of innocent villagers grew louder as the entire body of the monster emerged. Its lower half resembled that of a giant centipede, with each leg sharp like a blade. The tip of its tail was a long harpoon, which it plunged into the ground to help its massive body creep forward. Each time the Wakiyus monster swung its giant tail, villagers were swept away in piles. It then snaked in and picked up dozens of screaming people in its many arms, devouring them alive.
"It's getting bigger with every human it eats! We are doomed!" one villager screamed just moments before he himself was lifted and devoured by the monster. In mere seconds, the monster body grew another segment, sprouting additional razor-sharp legs.
"Holy Hyne! Drakon! We have a job to do."
Johoni, one of Hereus' injured men who couldn't join their adventure days ago, heard the commotion from his tent and summoned his pet monster.
"Help!" a woman, whom Johoni recognized as a Thunder magic caster, ran toward him and Drakon, but was quickly lifted high by Wakiyus.
"Leave her alone!" Johoni shouted.
Using his bow, he shot a fire arrow at the monster's hand. Wakiyus startled a bit, then quickly buried its burning hand along with the victim into the ground to completely extinguish the flame. Drakon launched fire from above to assist, but the distraction was not enough to save the poor woman. Soon, her flesh was crushed between Wakiyus' giant teeth. Once it consumed a magic bearer, the Thunder mark on one of its arms glowed. Wakiyus then ignored Johoni and Drakon, changing direction toward the concentration camp where magic bearers were chained.
"Fuck!" Johoni exclaimed, realizing that the monster could gain both physical and magical strength depending on the humans it devoured. He quickly jumped onto Drakon's back and flew toward the Red Warriors' Commander. "Ethus! Free the magic bearers! Don't let the monster eat them."
"What?"
"It'll gain even stronger magic. Once it becomes immune to everything, we'll be doomed. Quick! I'll stall it."
Ethus, despite being a magic hater, couldn't disagree in this situation. The combination of the Four-Soul Jewel and Hyne's mythical core was known to grant Simurgh the abilities to transform and draw magic at will. This monster, even in its nascent state no where close to Simurgh's, had already wiped out at least fifty people.
"Go! Free the useless whores!" Ethus commanded the few men near the concentration camp.
Tucking away his bow, Johoni used his strength to anchor his huge lagoon in the middle of Wakiyus, pinning it to the ground. But momentarily, the monster used its blades to cut the rope connected to the harpoon.
"Shit!" Johoni exclaimed, realizing he could no longer retrieve his powerful lagoon.
Frantically, he thought of searching for another heavy weapon in the blacksmith's hut while dodging the monster's blows. Just then, his harpoon flew back into his hand.
"What the—?"
It took the warrior a moment to understand as he noticed the black mist surrounding his lagoon. Looking up, he saw the small girl who had discarded her SeeD uniform in favor of an Innooit traditional tribal white dress. She spread her grey wings wide, flying at the same level as Wakiyus' head.
"Lady Acma!" he waved.
"Please tell the men to help our healing girls prepare the catapults and weights. We need to pin this beast down! Bagua formation, if you remember!" Acma urged.
"Roger!" Johoni shouted, signaling his men. "Spread into eight groups and help the girls." He then turned to Acma. "Keep your distance and let us know what to do. Drakon is at your command!"
"Thank you, Johoni!" Acma replied before turning to Shanis, who stood next to her mother still channeling her summon spell. "How long until Tripoint arrives?"
"Five more 'ticks', I hope," Shanis replied.
"I'll keep it away from Abuela," Acma said, her eyes fixed on the frantic monster sweeping through the villagers.
She cast Thundaga from up high via flying Mesmerize's horns to repeatedly stun Wakiyus. Enraged, Wakiyus shrieked and hurled its giant tail in an attempt to catch Acma. However, the agile SeeD used her small build to dodge the attack easily and even pierced Wakiyus' flesh with her Mesmerize horn. With another Mesmerize horn attached to one end of her restraining lasso, she entangled the monster.
"YEAH!"
"Hyne's descendant!"
The warriors and villagers on her side cheered.
"Don't lose focus! She won't go down easily with these minor wounds. Keep preparing the catapults!" Acma shouted before casting another Thundaga upward, causing Wakiyus' heavy top to turn.
"Drakon, fire!"
Johoni's pet monster obeyed the young SeeD, firing repeatedly at the monster, causing it to crash to the ground.
"Keep firing, everyone!" she commanded. "Don't come close to her!"
"Fire!"
Leaders of archery and Chicobo squads signaled altogether, greeting Wakiyus' upper body with another shower of arrows, fire balls, and throwing weapons.
As the situation seemed to stabilize, Acma flew to Hilde and Casi, who had just regained consciousness after the explosion.
"Casi, take Chicobo #25 and your mom with you," Acma said, slipping Raddie's tracker into Casi's hand. "Find Hercus' group. Tell them the Four-Soul Jewel is here. It's best if we stick together as soon as possible."
"What about you?" Hilde asked, concerned. "Without me in your body, you won't last long."
"Just leave me as much life essence as you can," Acma said. "My knight can't appear when my health is too high anyway."
"But that's the whole point of keepinng you alive," Hilde explained.
"I have this under control, trust me. Here, take his card." Acma handed Casi Zyma's glowing Triple Triad card. "If he's alive, I'm alive. In the unlikely event that I'm dead, tell Raddie and Hercus to come back with caution. Go. I'm certain I can stall this monster for a while."
Hilde nodded. "I trust your judgment, Lady Acma. My life essence will fade in ten 'ticks'. I urge you to kill it soon. One more thing, the magic well is destroyed, but you should be able to draw magic from its depths if you need to, Hyne's descendant."
"I know. Go!"
Hilde's spirit carried her daughter away.
"Raddie… Don't die," Acma murmured.
More screams erupted, grabbing Acma's attention. Despite Drakon's fireballs and the rain of arrows from the archers continuously burning its flesh along with Acma's lasso, the centipede gradually backed up on its many feet. Picking up the fireballs from the ground, Wakiyus hurled them back at the pipe trees where the archers were hiding, causing some to fall and narrowly escape death thanks to their dangling Zyclaws.
"It's partially immune to fire!" Acma shouted, resuming her powerful Thundaga, which immediately stopped Wakiyus from launching more fireballs. "Catapult teams, load the weights!"