Mother's Arrival

The remaining women were growing quite anxious by the time that the Barrier finally dissipated, depositing John and Sophia before them once again. A pair of frantic mewls arose, but silence largely reigned as the seconds ticked by. None of them had been quite sure what they would see when the two returned, but whatever barely-stabilized disasters they had anticipated, whatever tearful reunions they had planned for, none of them expected what they inevitably received.

"Everyone make ready! I have wasted enough of Father's time, and battle awaits us!" Sophia called out once all eyes were on them. She stood tall and proud now, no slouch and no shame to be seen as her voice rang through the living room. The blade that had broken her hung at her side, fastened and ready to carve a path through their foes. "Let us be off and prove to each other how mighty this flock truly is!"

There was a drawn-out note of befuddlement. Looks were exchanged between the Nekos, the kittens, and between Lerianna and Orria. No one seemed certain if what they were seeing was to be believed, but when Sophia huffed and slapped one of her feet against the wood, hesitation turned into an amicable accord. The others had donned their gear in the time that John and Sophia were gone, leaving little to do save stand and make for the doorway. The only ones who didn't go were the kittens—who it seemed could only be corralled for so long—and Orria, who instead chose to approach John and Sophia with a soft smile on her face.

"I am glad to see the two of you return in such seemingly good spirits," Orria remarked, her eyes swinging between the two of them rhythmically. "Sophia, might I ask if...?"

"You were correct, and my doubts... my doubts were misplaced. As I should always assume they are when it comes to Father. W-what few I have, if any," Sophia hastily added, rotating her shoulders as if ruffling the feathers that were not there. "I appreciate the efforts that you made. I am sorry that I did not give them the respect they deserved at the time."

"No need. So long as everything worked out in the end, I couldn't ask for a single thing more." Orria smiled genuinely, making an adorable display of reaching up to mess up the much taller woman's hair, giggling as Sophia's startled eyes widened.

"Not a single thing more?"

Orria hardly even had time to turn her head, still pulling back from tousling the harpy's raven locks, when John's lips met hers. She made a squeal of surprise, but that didn't earn even a moment of hesitation before she was returning the gesture with vigor. Her pointed ears twitched, her body stopped in place, heels still locked off the ground as she leaned into John's kiss and tilted her head. The softness of her lips pressed so firmly against him stoked the embers of John's lust, but he **** himself away after a lengthy taste of the blonde woman, giving a little chuckle when he noticed her tongue just beginning to peek out.

"What was th-"

"I love you too."

Though they had only just parted, John leaned forward a hair and pulled Orria to him gently, resting their foreheads together. He enjoyed the closeness for a beat before opening his eyes, taking in the flush of Orria's cheeks and the delight glimmering in the reaches of those endless blue-green pools.

"Sorry. I would've taken the time to make it a little more romantic, but... after this, we have to-"

"No. It's perfect," Orria whispered, her whole body rigid, her eyes studying him as intensely as they would a new plant he'd only just created. "It's you. And that's all that matters. I'll remember this moment forever, John."

"I should have said it back then."

"You should have said it when it felt right. And not a moment sooner. I'm glad that it finally feels right for both of us."

Orria pulled far enough away that John could see the depths of affection in her smile, then turned and walked toward the door, notebook already in hand as if she were simply going for another stroll. He wondered what he'd find sketched on the newest page later, if he snuck a glance...

"You didn't tell any of them about our little arrangement," John finally said when the others had left, the playful eyes of the kittens still watching them like predators.

"I do not need a title," Sophia responded simply. She didn't turn his way, but her hand snaked around the far side of his hips, pulling him gently against her. "I only need you, Father."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Mother."

"...You sound almost awkward when you-"

"Yeah, I know. Just don't ask me to call you that in- err, when we're alone," John murmured, watching his words. "One experiment with 'Daddy' was enough for me."

Sophia let out a stifled chuckle, and to John's ears, she may as well have been cackling for all the world. "Perhaps we should both stick to our names, when it comes to that sort of thing?"

"That would be great. Sophia," John added, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Of course. John." As Sophia spoke the words, the two of them exchanged a look. A flush crept across both of their faces, and John felt a familiar heat surge through his body.

"...I think you've conditioned me. I can't remember the last time you called me that when we weren't- err, I mean, when others were around."

"Interesting. I'll remember that. John."

"...Well. Another day, another kink, then?" John thought wryly. Sophia tried her best at giving him a teasing look as they headed for the door, but it was an unfamiliar exercise for her, and it could not hope to outshine the joy and gratitude that burned in her heart. She quickly abandoned the effort and settled for wrapping her fingers around John's reciprocating hand, a gesture that warmed her cheeks all the more as they set off to join the others.

"Watch from the right," John warned as the spiraling form of a young Wyrm tore through the air, skimming just above the uneven, rocky terrain of the valley as it made a beeline for Maera. The white-haired Neko would've easily taken the brute, but she was pummeling its larger brother into the hillside, and was a little too preoccupied with her battle cries to hear the scaled beast's approach.

"Got it!" Lerianna called out confidently. Despite being a good hundred feet further down the canyon, Lerianna was able to close the gap and outpace the Wyrm with a well-timed jump. She bounced up, planted her feet on a large column of rock rising from the ground, and then kicked off of it. Her acceleration caused a resounding 'crack' to ring out through the air—accompanied by a second, louder boom as the entire pillar snapped in two.

The approaching Wyrm was doubled over by the **** of the impact, its body bending into a u-shape as its midsection tried to leave its tail and skull behind. The collision with the valley's slope sent a spray of rock and dirt careening over the hillside, but the tiny fragments hardly registered in John's thoughts. He was too busy dodging and weaving, one set of jaws after another following his position as he danced between three of the brutes, searching for an opening. He'd landed a few hits on these creatures, but their hides were tough, and their scales thick; they were covered in shallow cuts that had chipped away at their health bars, but even those were hard to land while outnumbered as he was. Every hit had to be made to count.

The chance came at the slightest stumble—a mis-timed lunge caused two of them to collide, their forelegs awkwardly fumbling for purchase as the contact caused them to miss their marks. By the time the frustrated and startled cries of the scaly monsters were ringing out, John was already in place. He darted under the lifted neck of the larger of the two, holding his blade to the side and swinging it low, bringing the sharp edge up into the Wyrm's neck from below.

Critical Hit! 1,196 DMG!

The blade staggered for a moment as it first pierced through, but once the impeccably sharp steel had bitten into the softer scales on the underside, momentum carried it onward relentlessly. Scales were split or torn away one by one until, with a meaty 'schlick', the blade came out the other end, the creature's head and a decent length of neck whirling through the air. A misty blue cone of blue blood spattered out from each end, surprisingly warm, and maddening to the creature's allies.

A shadow circled around John's position, fast enough that he only had a brief glimpse of it. As the remaining Wyrms raised up one front leg each, John turned to face the nearer of the two, hefting up his blade. A moment later he heard a sharp whistle, accompanied by a gust of wind that shivered the disturbed ground around him, and as the overgrown lizard in front of John brought its claws down onto his blade, Sophia's weapon intercepted the creature behind him.

"Perfect timing," John commented, mana surging through him. "I was getting tired of dodging all the time. Can't take any quick shots on these things, or all I can manage are flesh wounds."

"Take all the time you need," Sophia replied, her voice straining as the dragon angrily lifted up its other leg, bringing its full weight to bear on the sword. "I have your back!"

"I never doubted it."

The large Wyrm kept as much of its weight on John as it could, while blue flames began to flicker in its maw. The mana that had been coursing into John's blade erupted in a storm of white electricity, multiple arcs and forks of lightning jolting out to strike the dragon's arm, its head, and its chest nearly in unison. The dragon let out a pained roar, a short puff of fire escaping while the rest was reduced to mere smoke that accompanied the plumes now emerging from its seared flesh.

536 DMG!
429 DMG!
617 DMG!

John was already ready to leap toward the Wyrm when he noticed its body contorting slightly, twisting its back end around. Its tail whipped through the air, and its eyes locked on Sophia as John began to lift up. His feet had left the ground by then; a quick burst of air with Elemental Infusion managed to reverse his momentum in time, but not without issue. The winds that bore down on him carried a bit more **** than he'd intended, and one of John's feet slipped free on the smaller rocks that were building up from the rampant destruction.

"Got it, Myaster!"

Mithra zipped along the ground with far more confidence in her footing than John now had, a black and red blur of energy that hardly seemed to touch the rocks below. As the tail was just reaching the midpoint of its arc, Mithra soared over it, and a massive red paw projected from her body, a construct of mana that clutched at the thick base of the Wyrm's tail. The tail's momentum and the sheer weight of the beast carried it forward all the same, with Mithra's own movement actually coming to a halt, but the attack slowed enough for John to have time to think.

Lowered to a knee as he was, John couldn't kick off again with the speed he'd need, so he settled for a long-range solution. Mana poured through him, charging his Elemental Infusion with enough strength to reinforce the rocks, which sprang up from the ground in a half-dozen thick fence pillars just a few inches away from them.

The constructs had just settled into place when the tail impacted, showering them with rocks and small debris, but the rock held. The tail flicked furiously around the end of the fence, but all it managed to do was tickle its companion, the one still trying to crush Sophia beneath its sizable form. While it was angrily trying to tear down the rocky fence John had erected, Mithra had already dispelled the first paw that she’d conjured up and was repositioning herself for a more effective tactic.

"Nyaa, big tough lizard, bet you won't like this!"

Mithra manifested two more bright crimson paws that mirrored the movements of her own hands, then began to pummel the reptile's spine with them. Impacts echoed through the valley, red and black lightning crackling around the mana constructs with each strike. The draconic creature roared in pain as the blunt **** of the attacks not only started to bruise and batter its previously fried internal organs, but held enough **** to buckle its unstable legs, bringing the Wyrm crashing down and ensuring it couldn't try to escape the relentless onslaught.

With the situation before him seemingly under control, John turned toward Sophia, only to find himself greeted with a hefty spatter of azure blood. The Wyrm was still bearing down on Sophia, but the harpy was not only holding its weight, but doing so with a single hand. As the scaled beast had moved forward, trying to put even more of its body weight on the "tiny" prey before it, Sophia took advantage of its raised front end and close proximity to free her other hand and rake its underbelly with her claws.

Five deep, ragged gashes raced from between its forelegs to the tip of its jaw, eviscerating the underside of the Wyrm and eliciting a shrill howl that carried the undertones of agony and mortality for miles around. The creature tried to pull back, its maw already glistening with sapphire flames, but Sophia wasted not a moment in chasing it down. The very moment it started to shift its weight, she adjusted her grip to grab hold of one leg with her free hand, shifted the blade against the claws of the other, and heaved.

The blue-scaled fiend was too large and too slow to shift its balance entirely in the few seconds it had to do so. With its forelegs now thrown off their only leverage and **** aside as they were, the creature could only do one thing—tumble to the ground in a heap, its claws scrambling to right its massive frame. The flames in its mouth flickered and waned as its head descended. Sophia stepped to the side, deftly dodging the impact of the skull on the hard ground, along with the claws that scrabbled and tore at the earth as the monster fought to right itself once more.

Before its chin had much more than lifted from the rugged landscape, Sophia was there, claws out on both hands this time. Her new sword hovered at her side, awkwardly swaying as she struggled to keep it in check while focusing on the foe before her. Through the gaps in her armor, John could see the taut muscles of Sophia's back flexing as she fearlessly reached into the wounded animal's maw, eyes glowing crimson and her hands covered in a radiant golden light. She grabbed hold of its jaws, her claws biting into the pink flesh within, drawing out a pained whimper.

The draconic creature tried to lash out with its tail, but in spite of the thickness and strength behind that hefty appendage, its quick strikes hardly moved Sophia. Her feet were planted, her grip secured by hooked claws, and even as her armor creaked and groaned in protest with each impact, her body refused to yield. The telltale cerulean glow began to rise up in the back of the Wyrm's throat, preparing to engulf the harpy in magical fire. But Sophia's rage burned far more intensely.

A roaring cry echoed in the valley, fiercer than any dragon's and twice as frightening. Sophia's feet dug into the ground, breaking apart rocks and splitting the dirt below as she put her entire body into a tearing, dragging gesture in opposite directions, prying the dragon's mouth fully apart, until the Wyrm's voice rose in panic. Fire erupted from the dragon's gullet, streaming forth in a great blaze. For an instant, Sophia was engulfed in bright blue, bathing in the flames—then at last, her stubborn efforts delivered their rewards.

Tendon and flesh and bone all gave way under her monstrous strength, the dragon's already sundered underside yielding to her might. The beast's cheeks and tendons tore and split, and the loss of cohesion there only accelerated the rest of it, as Sophia gave an almighty heave and ripped the reptile's lower jaw off entirely.

Flames spewed forth uncontrollably for a few breaths, pouring over the mountainside like a searing river. Between the long gashes on its underside and the powerful spurts constantly pulsing from its missing lower jaw, though, the creature couldn't even run on adrenaline for long. A final wail was the signal of its last moments, then the gruesome-looking head crashed into the rocks and went still. A few seconds later, while John was still watching to ensure the creature properly began to dissipate, a similar sound reverberated from behind them as Mithra and Lerianna pummeled the helpless Wyrm. **** or dead, it went still, save for the slight flops of its body as the two close-quarters warriors continued to pummel it until it finally vanished.

"Everyone good?" John called out, his eyes scanning the horizon line and the edges of the canyon. Everyone's health was still above half, but he was worried about more than that. Maera and Mithra were panting heavily as they trotted over; Lerianna wasn't, but her suppressor was also reduced to less than half its capacity, so she was probably running on adrenaline every bit as much as actual endurance.

"Could be better. These things really hurt to hit. Actually really glad for these gloves; might've broken a leg, or at least a foot, knocking that big bastard out of the sky earlier," Lerianna complained, rubbing her calf above where her new armor ended. "These things are pretty helpful. Maybe I could talk Tricia into making me a full bodysuit like this; think we can find a monster that drops some materials she could use? Doesn't matter much against the fleshy stuff we usually fight, but if this thing was a little more reinforced and covered my whole body, I could get more creative with my hits."

"Don't think about it. Do not think about it, her normal outfit is already revealing enough."

Despite his best attempts, visions of Lerianna in a skintight bodysuit a la Tricia's danced in John's mind. For better or worse, they were shaken away by the thunderous roar that split the air a moment later, as a dark silhouette appeared amidst the clouds above, growing larger with each passing second. John focused his gaze on the creature and pulled up its Observe window.

Azure Matriarch
Level 87 Elder Wyrm
<Dungeon Barrier Monster>
HP: 14,345 / 14,345
Relationship: -137
Alignment: -15
Status Effects: Enraged [Permanent]

"Mama's coming," Lerianna remarked, ears twitching as she squinted into the bright sky.

"Yep."