Won't Back Down

"So you're sure about this?"

"More or less."

"Because if you're joking, now's the time to tell us before the whole city lays to waste."

"I can assure you this is not the time for humor."

"I don't know mom, you're positive about this?"

Nomino turned and gave her daughter a reassuring smile. "Wouldn't help any of us if I were wrong, would it?"

They had stopped against a dead end, a dirt hole against what looked to be the outskirts of the island away from the city. Definitely a far cry from a beautiful looking church or an elegant mansion, this looked like a sewage disposal. Still, no use standing around. The three girls shared looks before nodding in agreement.

"So, I cannot purposely hand you weapons to sabotage my customer. However, if you were to force them out of our hands, then it would be beyond my control and around legal contract, would it not?"

Ketsueki smirked, mother was a crafty one after all, always ensuring she came out on top. It was an annoying feature, but admittedly it felt good to be on the winning edge for a change.

"That won't be necessary." Sans confirmed, kneeling down and coaxing a small herb to spread its roots. Entangled into a thin, sturdy handle. It wrapped around her forearm before she used minimal force, pulling out a freshly made Vine Whip.

Xitlaly smoothened out her scarlet robe, pushing her hands into the sleeves and fastening it. Checking her potions on her hip pouch, she looked up and nodded as well. One last thing, she grinned and winked after yoinking her pointed hat back from one of Nomino's men. Can't forget the Witches hat.

Ketsueki reached for her Kanbo and gave it a playful swing before leaning it over her shoulder. "I think we got this, but in the event that we fail-"

"See to it that you do not, I have too much investments riding on you three. Needless to say, I would be ruined if you were to fall." Nomino smiled back, winking at the Oni.

"Thanks mom, wish us luck."

"You know I prefer contingency over speculations, dear. Really though, you have my gratitude."

Sans stepped forward, pressing her hand against the dirt wall upon taking a few steps within the tunnel. Well, it seemed large enough inside. Cocking her head, she motioned for the other two to follow. Ketsueki shared looks with Nomino one last time before approaching the dryad, with their witch following behind.

"You girls can see in the dark, right?" Sans asked.

"We're Monster Girls, it's like our one shared trait." Ketsueki responded, glancing over at Xitlaly. "That goes for you too, yea?"

"Pfft, seal it behind us Sans. We don't want any of them leaving."

"Come again?" The Oni looked puzzled before they were engulfed in darkness after a sudden rush of dirt. For a second she believed the tunnel had collapse, but no, Sans had just sealed their only exit. Nowhere else to go but forward.

Xitlaly smiled for a minute. "You sound worried, guess it pays off to be a magic weilder. This is a Hive, I can sense like hundreds of Honey Bees swarming to our area right now." As the words slipped past her lips, a faint buzzing sound was beginning to grow more audible.

"I can feel their frustration, they are infected with Blight." Sans confirmed, lashing her whip for a taste of its durability. A perfect lash against the dirt wall, this will do.

"No turning back, all or nothing." The Witch marched forward, her hand signals moving like second nature before a purple flame surrounded her two hands, adding a bit of light around them. It was unnecessary, they could see a growing orange hue approaching them. Soon all they could hear was the loud echo of buzzing.

Ketsueki grinned, swinging her Kanbo once more before stepping between the two girls as they marched forward. "Time for some batting practice."

They were in plain sight now, the Honey Bees crawling among the walls, on their sides or upside down drooling that pungent orange goop. Their eyes seemed infuriating, and upon realizing three monster girls invaded their home, a large smile spread amongst them.

"RELIEF!!!!"

[Note: Listen to this while you read the rest for a small kickass fight song!:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s8ymuoSly_Q ]

"Prepare yourselves." Sans frowned, readying her whip. Xitlaly held up her two fists on fire, and Ketsueki gripping her Kanbo with two strong red hands. Here they come.

One by one, the bees began to drop down upon them. From above, from below, to the left and right. Advantage in numbers, that is how they'll take them. Good.

BAM!

Direct hit! With a quick swing, that metal Kanbo knocked two girls down to the ground, with Xitlaly firing off purple projectiles landing upon hordes of bees, plenty of them crying out in pain before falling over.

CRACK! CRACK!

Swinging with as much strength as she could muster, Sans was not far behind knocking out several Blight Bees from their sides. A firm grip took hold of her forearm, realizing they were coming from behind Sans gasped before throwing a clenched green fist onto the poor girl's cheek.

"Duck!"

Both girls managed to do so, and before anyone could question the Witch threw both arms out wide and spun around, shooting out large purple flames across the walls. They were flying towards them now, looking like millions remaining up ahead.

"Behind ya!"

THWACK!

Knocking over a few girls readied to ambush, the dryad turned around and thanked the Oni with a slight smile before dropping her whip. This won't do much at all...

"HeerrrrrrrRRAAAAHHHHHH!"

A loud shriek came between them, and then a sudden flash of light causing the bees to shriek and cry. Xitlaly had tossed her cloak off and was now levitating, her body engulfed in that same hue.

"Holy shit!" Ketsueki cried out, clearly impressed.

"Buy me some time, I need to concentrate!" Sans shouted, rushing to the middle ground before planting both hands into the ground. A vein formed on her temple as her black eyes shut, clenched in concentration.

"You got it, bullseye!" Another swing, another bee on the ground. Ketsueki smirked, above them both that witch was putting in work. Xitlaly had bitten the the cork off one of her vials, gulping it down in one swig.

Burp!

She grinned, smoke emitting from her nostrils before pressing two fingers against her cheeks and sucking in air.

FWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

"EEEEEEE!"

"AAAAAAHHH!"

"Stings! STINGS!!"

This girl was drawing fire from her lips, imitating a dragons flame. Whatever potion she took, it was doing it's job well. Ketsueki licked her lips, this love doc was growing hotter by the second. Pun intended.

"...Almost... " Sans growled.

"Don't sweat, I got your back." The Oni reassured her, throwing her Kanbo like a boomerang. "One, two, three! Can we go for four?" She beamed, her boomerang Kanbo landed against quite a few soon to be sore tummies.

FWOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Xitlaly up above, forcing those awful thoughts out of her head. She was running out of air, and still more of them were coming. Blondes, brunettes, raven haired bees, all of them determined to overwhelm the three girls.

"Almost ready green? Our witch is running low on battery!"

"Almost!"

Got it. Ketsueki reached for her Kanbo, quick hand eye movement evading several clawed swipes from her striped attackers before returning their hospitality with brute force. Home run!

Xitlaly sighed, reaching for her green vial before shaking it fast and throwing it further down the tunnel.

PWUAK!

What looked like an explosion grew into a large green gummy substance, gripping hundreds of bees before dropping down. It landed upon the ceiling and gravity took hold before dripping its gooey substance down, down, down before hardening to form a barrier sealing the tunnel temporarily. That should buy some time.

Her feet landing into the dirt floor, Xitlaly looked back to see Ketsueki catching her breath, several groups of unconscious girls at her feet. "Some people would pay money for this." She grinned. Their humor was short lived, large thuds crashing into the green surface before several cracks began to form. It crashed down, several bees dropping from exhaustion as many more flew out, their claws and teeth directed at the three girls.

"Sans?"

"STAND BACK!"

Done. Xitlaly and Ketsueki retreated behind their friend and shared a look of shock as suddenly the earth began to tremble around them. Oh my gosh, this place was about to collapse! Out from the ground up ahead, the floor caved in before out sprung forth an incredibly large green snake like mass, formed from hundreds of roots, vines, and any plant life Sans could detect. Make no mistake, both girls gasped upon realizing this thing pulsed with a heartbeat in the similar color tone to the blight.

The Honey Bees recoiled, hesitant at this sudden tree thing crashing through before piercing its way into the ceiling, forming a sort of pillar. But the tunnel never stopped shaking. They looked around their hive, something was happening beyond these walls.

Sans stood up on her feet before throwing her two hands into the air with a large cry.

"TERRA SNARE!!!!"

CRASH!

BOOM!

SLAM!

FWAP!

It could not be well described what happened next. This large thing Sans summoned or crafted or whatever, it behaved like a large snake and much to the Blight Bees' horror, coiled around their tunnel before squeezing. It looked like the tunnel collapsed from all angles, ALL of the bees were trapped within.

"Holy shit!" Ketsueki dropped her Kanbo, freaking out at the sight ahead of them.

"Don't worry, they're alive. Just trapped inside, I made sure the vines would entangle them and leave enough room to breathe. They'll live." Sans reassured them, gasping for air. A sudden rush of blood slipped out from her nose before she fell to her knees. Both girls ran to help up their friend, before she pointed forward and twitched her fingers. The mass opened up, leaving a clear umm... well, it looked like the tunneled collapsed into a tight passageway with the bee girls grunting and biting at the vines wrapped around them against the walls of this passage.

"I think I've seen it all." Xitlaly replied. "Any sign of that plant?"

Sans shook her head, looking down on the ground unable to move her feet with them. "No... I felt it up ahead.. but no plant life around it for me to manipulate..."

"You're good, you busted your ass off and saved ours. Now we got ourselves a prophet to visit." The Oni reassured her friend, walking up ahead before reaching a dead end.

"Stand back." Xitlaly stepped forth, pressing her two hands into the concrete surface. "Pader fuera de ki!"

KI!

Imitating her voice, the altar bursted from within as she blew a hole out, entering the church from within.

"Girls, we made it."