...Must Inevitably...

The valley that Ahsch and his girls met Phashim at was more lightly wooded than the rest of the unnamed forest. It also held the source of the stream that the Temple had been positioned by, where numerous sources of mountain runoff joined into a small waterfall.

Phashim was already there, sunning herself on a small boulder, her scales 'retracted' to leave her truly nude, baring her cute nipples and neatly-tucked pussy to the cool air. She lazily looked over as the group approached, an eyebrow arching at the sight of so many. "Did you bring an audience so that you could blame 'performance anxiety' when you fail?" she asked, a smirk on her face.

Ahsch shook his head. "I brought more tools - my Thralls and angels, extensions of my power - to give you that 'good showing' you demanded."

The other eyebrow lifted as she gave a slight frown. "What makes you think that is acceptable?"

"You didn't protest Mahat's participation last time, for one," he replied faux-casually. He was taking a bet on this, and while he was confident that Phashim wouldn't truly protest, he wasn't certain. "For another, Ariin is 'mine' as my Thrall just as much as my familiar is. And the angels are literal embodiments of my Mana and will, extensions of myself."

The dragon held the frown for a moment, and Ahsch began to truly worry, but he resisted the urge to play with his hair-feather. But before long, Phashim's frown turned back into a smirk - and one of approval this time. "You finally recognize the truth," she said.

Ahsch let out a small sigh. Hardly, he thought to himself. _I'm just taking advantage of your belief._

With her usual air of amusement, Phashim rolled to her feet, her green scales shifting to once again cover her nudity - if only just. "Same rules as last time, boy."

"Right," he replied, then, with wide eyes, dived to the side as the dragon initiated the second 'test' in the same way she had the first. But this time, Ahsch was prepared. Or at least, more prepared. Ariin, Mahat, Sifthi, do what you can to slow and control her movements - without Pierce, you won't do anything more than tickle her. A trio of affirmations greeted his first order. Aena, Nyrin, attack. Focus on her limbs as much as you can - her wings especially. Even with Pierce, we're not going to do much damage to her, but if we can weaken her mobility... The two angels confirmed their orders, and the fight began.

Phashim had - probably purposefully, Ahsch realized - overshot her lunge, and by the time the hrafthi had finished giving his initial orders, she'd landed and turned to lunge again. Even with Daydreamweave allowing near-instant transfer of thoughts and intent, the Mystical Calamity was fast. Luckily, Mahat had been more ready than her Master, and was already in the dragon's way in her bestial form. Ariin was preparing a spell as she also closed with Phashim, and she was even faster than the greater spined fox - Arsenal of Ecstasy was putting in work, increasing her physical 'stats' by double, which was further augmented by the massive spike in magical power she was enjoying from Sexual Amplification, her magic-based Outsider body scaling with her mystical capabilities. Staying back, Sifthi was also casting a spell, her neutral expression an odd comparison to the other two tasked with interrupting the dragon.

The other two angels began to cast their own spells, and Ahsch raised his hand to join them, casting Heart Pierce... and was momentarily startled when the magical arrow immediately flew from his hand, striking Phashim's left wing. Throughput is increased by Sexual Amplification, he reminded himself. With over three times my usual Throughput, I can probably instantly cast any 60-Mana spell at the moment. Which he proceeded to do, unleashing a storm of Heart Pierces at his opponent, who just grinned with almost berserk glee. And they actually seemed to be doing something, especially compared to the pair of Heart Pierces that his angels cast, which practically 'plinked' off Phashim's scales.

Density increased by more than three times more than doubles the Power of the spell, he considered, watching as scuffs and tiny scratches appeared where his shots landed. Only a few seconds after the fight had started, Sifthi unleashed her spell, which was actually a multi-cast set of Spirit Strings to literally dozens of rocks of various sizes, which all promptly started floating towards Phashim. It would take a bit, but Ahsch understood the intent - even if she could overpower them easily, having that many small obstacles in the way would at least slow and distract the dragon. Probably. Hopefully.

In comparison, Mahat and Ariin engaged the dragon physically, and when Ariin's spell went off, it covered her in an array of dazzling lights, none of which affected Ahsch of his familiar or angels, but Phashim squinted her eyes slightly. Even with that help, the two girls were clearly outclassed by the dragon; Mahat mainly used her weight to try and unbalance her target and was routinely tossed aside; meanwhile, Ariin fared a little better, being able to contain one of Phashim's limbs reasonably well, at least until another got involved, be it arm, leg, wing, or tail.

Still, unlike last time, the Mystical Calamity wasn't hot on Ahsch's tail, and he wasn't desperately dodging her every move. For sure, he was 'kiting' her, quickly backpedaling and occasionally diving or rolling out of the way. But it was clear they were having some effect on her. Once he switched targets to the dragon's wing membranes, and got a flinch as he actually managed to punch a hole through them, he kept his focus there. Pain was distracting, and often debilitating to some degree.

Perhaps concerningly, it was also managing to affect her emotions. With Threefold Senses, Ahsch was able to keep a keen eye on the fight, and with Heart Sight integrated, he easily spotted the spikes and 'wobbling' of Phashim's emotions. They came and went pretty fast, so he couldn't really catch what emotions she was feeling, not without switching his focus, which would be a mistake; but he was pretty sure it was mostly negative, given the look of annoyance that slowly crossed her face. It was possible that, more than anything, was slowing her down the most - her 'Mental Defense' was probably robust, given her insane power level, but if some of the emotional-manipulation was slipping through, and she had to double-down on her focus to keep herself in check...

As opposed to the previous fight, there was no exciting climax, nor much change over the course. Phashim chased Ahsch, who moved away while spewing a stream of Heart Pierces; those were supported by lesser versions from Aena and Nyrin, while Mahat, Ariin, and Sifthi slowed and distracted the dragon as best they could. It was all ended by a simple, powerful, "Enough," from the Mystical Calamity, the word laced with Mana and bringing the six to a sudden and complete stop - Mahat actually fell on her muzzle, mid-leap as she was.

"You have improved," Phashim acknowledged, a hint of approval in her voice, grudging and hidden under a layer of annoyance as it was. "I will not go so easy on you next time."

Ahsch winced, though he expected as much. Even with his scaling and the help of his girls, there was no logical way that they could truly stop something as powerful as a Mystical Calamity. There were stories about entire nations being wiped off the map overnight by such beings. In retrospect, even his near-'win' at his first 'test' was allowed by Phashim, who was clearly limiting herself greatly.

The hrafthi nodded, giving her a slight bow. "I don't suppose there's anything else then?"

The dragon scoffed. "I'm hardly your keeper," she replied, spreading her wings - the holes in which healed within an instant - and taking to the sky with one single, powerful beat.