Beast Unleashed

Her eyes glow a bright neon green, like I saw a few weeks ago when she threatened a gang that was threatening me. This time, the glow expands in a green flash as she activates her powers fully. The transformation only takes a second or two, and when she’s done, she starts to charge at me in her new beastly form.

I barely have time to take it in. The form is big, easily over two metres tall, and looks like some kind of a cross between a gorilla and a dinosaur. The most remarkable thing is that she now has four arms, and a tail to go with it. She charges towards me, letting out a howling roar. I think quickly and stow my axe for the moment.

I send out waves of freezing blast in an effort to slow her down. I need to use every bit of speed I have for this engagement, there’s no way I’m going to beat her in strength. I can see the magic working somewhat, slowing her down a bit, as she makes an effort to charge into me.

I dodge to the side and fire some ice bolts, attempting to continue to slow her down. She’s too quick and changes direction with me, slamming into me and knocking me backwards. I fly back a few metres, slamming into the ground with a thud. The impact winds me, but luckily doesn’t do too much damage, and I’m able to stand fairly quickly.

“Your control tactics are good, but in this form, I am stronger than you.” Olivia says, her voice a much deeper version of what it usually is. “Sometimes, you are going to need to FIGHT!” She roars the last word as she charges at me once more. I stand up straight, barely having time to ready myself.

Thinking quickly and aggressively, I fire a mana bolt at her, aiming to hit her in the arm so as to not rip a hole through her. She grunts in pain but shrugs off the powerful spell and barrels towards me. I draw my axe once more and dodge to the side as she slams her fists into the ground where I was a second before.

I cut with my axe, making sure not to aim for too lethal of a spot. The blade rakes across her arm, opening up a shallow cut. I can see a slight tinge of green liquid. Olivia swipes sideways with one massive paw, and I frantically jump backwards, only avoiding the strike by a hair.

“You are holding back. I can feel it. STOP! HOLDING! BACK!” She roars, punctuating her words with fast strikes. I avoid the first two, but get struck by the third, and go sailing through the air once more, landing on the ground, winded. I take a deep breath to let the pain subside, getting up once more. I shrug, and decide to do as she says.

As Olivia charges towards me a third time, instead of dodging away, I rush forward to meet her. I fire a small barrage of mana bolts directly at her face as I sprint towards her. The grunt of pain is a little louder this time, and I can see her eyes close and unfocus from the damage of the spells.

I draw my axe and I swing as hard as I can at the joint on the back of her knees. The strike connects and her knee buckles under the impact, though the axe barely makes a cut. She makes a wild grab for me, rubbing at her eyes with one massive paw to try to clear them. I dodge the grab deftly and strike again her elbow joint, targeting the places that I instinctively know are her weak points.

Another grunt, and Olivia hauls herself to her feet, using the lower pair of arms to stabilise herself. “Good strategy. I commend you.” She says. “Does that mean we’re done?” I ask. She smirks at me. “Not yet.” At her words, I fire another mana bolt at her face, aiming to add to her temporary blindness.

She’s grown wise to that strategy, and raises a paw in front of her face to block the spell, letting it dissipate on the oversized appendage instead. She swipes blindly to the side with her other pair of arms, hoping to catch me if I try another strike while she’s blinded. I wait for just the right timing and step forward, swinging my axe overhead and downwards.

She sees the blow coming and tries to dodge to the side, but is too slow and the axe bites into her shoulder, penetrating slightly deeper than other cuts I’ve made. I try to wrench it out, but the axe is stuck. Olivia punches at me, and I let go of the handle of my weapon, dodging to the side.

The axe still embedded in her shoulder, Olivia unleashes a flurry of blows at me. I concentrate on my Mixed Martial Arts skill and let my instincts fight for me. Her unfocused eyes and unsteady strikes let me know that she can’t see enough to know my exact position, only a blob of colour.

Nimbly, I avoid, parry and counter every strike she throws at me. I’m not strong enough to hurt her badly in this form, but I can deny her victory. Every punch she throws, I redirect her off balance and retaliate with a well placed strike to her weak spots. Every swinging blow she hurls, I dodge swiftly. Every grab she attempts, I avoid. I can’t win here, but neither can she.

“It appears we are at an impasse. I am impressed. But, you have not won. Not yet.” She says, smirking at me. Disengaging, she takes a few steps backward, retreating. I advance towards her as her eyes start to glow that neon green colour once more. I rush toward her, to see if I can interrupt the transformation, but I’m too late.

Her new form is something that looks like a cross between a giant bird and a manta ray. Before I can react, she lets out a loud screech and takes off, soaring high into the air. She flies around the area, circling me predatorily. I take a few seconds to process what I’m seeing before I react.

I send out a fireball in an effort to singe her wings, but Olivia deftly avoids it. From her eyes come twin beams of mana, purple in colour, streaking towards me with lightning speed. I do my best to dodge out of the way, but she follows me her eyes, tracking me with laser like precision. I mentally activate mana shield to try to protect myself from too much damage.

The beams meet my protection and send purple sparks flying as the two clash. The rays of energy dissipate as Olivia cuts them off, presumably to conserve or recharge mana. “Impressive. I am glad that you have more tricks up your sleeve.” She says, her voice no longer so deep, but still deeper than normal.

I stow my axe. I need to focus on aiming my spells properly. Concentrating and watching how she flies, I aim and let loose a mana bolt. It impacts one of her wings, burning a hole through it. Olivia lets out a screech and fires another beam of mana down at me, diving towards me. I dodge out of the way, sprinting as fast as I can.

As she makes a pass close to me, I send out waves of frost magic. Her biggest advantage in this form is her mobility, and if I can take that away, then it’ll be a lot easier for me to deal with her. Thanks to the combination of the damaging spells and slowing effect of my frost magic, Olivia is having a more difficult time flying.

I keep up the barrage, and while I miss a number of spells, a substantial number strike true. Her **** mobility is reduced and she slows down more and more as I burn her wings apart. I’m lucky I have such a high mana bar and regeneration. Eventually, as my mana bar dips down to half, she lands and the neon green light envelopes her once more.