Pierce tilted his head back, ready to spew another mist of acid on the rapidly approaching and armored Ghenkans. Despite the mist coating them from head to toe, they continued their march undisturbed by the chemicals burning away at their skin.
"Eijnar wasn't bluffing!" Narrita said with shock as she and Pierce took a few steps back down the stairs.
"He said that the armor makes them ignore pain, not damage," Miwah said as she sidestepped an axe slash. "That means the acid should still act normally."
"It was a weaker spell since I used it a bit before with the Ghenkans outside," Narrita said as she moved her right to the side. Pierce straightened his body out, cutting off the barbarians from advancing any further down the steps.
"So, all you managed to do was anger them even more," Miwah replied while taking cover behind Pierce's head.
"Let's see if that acid at least weakened their armor a bit!" Narrita thrusted her hand, making her snake rise and lunge at the Ghenkan furthest down the steps. His mouth went over his shoulder, encompassing the entirety of his chest. With a pinch of her fingers, Narrita made the snake sink his fangs through the melting armor.
The Ghenkan in Pierce's grasp let out a weak rattle before his arms went limp, making him drop his axe. Pierce pulled the body backwards, avoiding the swinging blades of the Ghenkans further up the steps. "See! Looks like that magic of armor of theirs isn't as strong as they thought!"
"I do not want to get any of Pierce's acid on me, though," Miwah said as she stared down the next man charging down the steps at her. He stepped over his comrade’s body and attacked Miwah with a thrust of his spear. The seamstress countered by parrying the attack with Liberator, making the spear tip go wide and plunge into the wooden wall.
Narrita twirled one finger. Pierce then wrapped around the Ghenkan's legs before slowly coiling upwards. As the snake began to squeeze the enemy, Miwah leapt over his tail and placed herself between Pierce and the remaining men. One of the Ghenkans aimed an overhead axe swing at the distracted snake, only for Miwah to intercept it with a slash of her own. The head of the axe was severed from the shaft, leaving the man with only a wooden rod to defend himself.
As Narrita clenched her fist, Pierce tightened his hold. The metal covering the Ghenkan's body crushed under the weight of the snake's strength, the shards piercing through his flesh and killing him instantly. "Use your spell, Miwah!" Narrita shouted as she ordered Pierce to untangle himself from his victim's body. "We need to meet up with the others."
Miwah looked behind her and nodded. She jumped backwards, building up space between her and the enemies. Liberator glowed a brilliant purple as she pulled her weapon back. The Ghenkans huddled closer, pointed their weapons at Miwah as they took slow steps down the stairs.
"Looks like they don't know what your Spell does," Narrita said with a grin as she motioned for Pierce to get out of the way.
"Good."
Miwah dashed forward with her weapon in front of her. The Ghenkans pointed their weapons down with the intent of letting the Purifier ram into the sharp edges. Miwah angled the tip of Liberator so that it clashed with the tip of the center barbarian's sword. Aura Drive activated upon impact, creating a purple explosion of pure Chi that sent the Ghenkans scattered across the stairs and their weapons shattered to bits.
"Nice shot, Miwah!" Narrita said with a wink as she walked up the steps. With a flick of her hand, Pierce bit into the neck of one of the down Ghenkans. "Me and Pierce can clear up the rest of the men down here. You go and catch up with the others."
Miwah slashed at the neck of a Ghenkan propped against the wall. She gave Narrita a bow as the body of the slain barbarian slumped to the side. "Thank you, Narrita." The seamstress darted up the stairs, not turning her head back despite the sounds of pleading Ghenkans and Pierce's hissing following right behind her.
"Tamma! Aurrie!" Miwah called out as her eyes darted across the deck's surface. The other two Purifiers were gone along with the rest of the Ghenkans. Instead, the Insectus Queen emerged, hovering a few feet in front of the ship. Her dark black eyes stared at Miwah, her reflection repeating countless times against the shiny exterior.
"Yalch," Miwah whispered as she took a few steps back. "Where are the others?"
The ghost quickly flew up and scanned the area below before darting back down to Miwah's side. "They're to your left!"
"I just need to get past the Insectus Queen..." the seamstress muttered to herself. She tip-toed forward, never taking her eyes off the hovering creature. "Perhaps if I am slow enough..." she continued to creep forward with Liberator slanted in front of her body.
The bug let out a loud his, showing off the rows of jagged teeth hidden inside its massive jaw. It lunged forward with pincers wide open at Miwah. The seamstress went prone, lowering her entire body onto the wooden floor. The Insectus Queen flew a foot over her, crashing into the captain's quarters right behind her. Wood went flying as the pincers broke through the structure like it was made of twigs.
With the Queen still above her, Miwah scrabbled to her feet and ran to the ship's left. Eijnar and the rest of his Ghenkans backed Tamma and Aurrie against the edge of the boat. The men had a plethora of light arrows sticking out of their armor and skin, but they maintained a strong and steady stance as they continued to attack Aurrie's shield with a barrage of blows.
Eijnar turned around, startled when he saw Miwah standing on the opposite side. "We've got company!" the captain shouted, making the men that weren't fighting Aurrie turn around. He grabbed one of his men's arms and shoved towards Miwah. "Go on! Get rid of her. And don't worry about sparing this one. It's either her or us!"
The Ghenkan obeyed and sprinted towards Miwah with his axe raised high. He swung down, missing Miwah as she jumped to the side. The seamstress used the moment to attack with a backhanded swing, only for Liberator's blade to bounce off his metal plate. The Ghenkan laughed as he kicked Miwah down with a thrust of his foot towards her chest.
She slid across the deck, coming to an abrupt stop as her side hit the railing. Eijnar laughed as his subordinate walked to the downed Purifier, lifting his axe to finish the job. "See? How hard was that? I'll be sure you get access to my spoils room one all this is done!"
"Miwah!" Tamma screamed as she pulled another back. She closed one eye and fired another beam. The arrow hit the Ghenkan in the wrist as he hoisted his axe above his head. Despite the direct hit, the man smiled and stared at Miwah with a crazed look in his eyes. The seamstress held Liberator in both of her trembling hands, hoping to guard the impending attack. She looked up and saw the axe hover right above her.
She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side, realizing that she wouldn't be able to defend against the oncoming strike. "So glad the honor's mine!" the Ghenkan whispered before following through with his swing.
Instead of the sound of metal cutting through air and crushing Miwah's flesh, a loud hiss roared across the boat. Miwah opened her eyes again and saw the black pincers of the Queen grip the Ghenkan by the arms. It hoisted him up into the air before flinging him off the boat and crashing into the depths of the water.
Miwah scrambled to her feet, running in the opposite direction. The Queen focused on the Eijnar and the others at the opposite end of the boat. The seamstress panted as she pressed a hand against the section of her arm that crashed into the side of the boat.
"You all right?" Narrita asked as she caught up with the seamstress.
"Just a bit sore. But the others need our help," she said while pointing at the Queen's back. Two more Ghenkans started to spar with the creature, halting its advance as it dealt with the barbarians' spears.
"Stuck between two Purifiers and the Insectus Queen? You sure Eijnar's not the one needing help?" Narrita said with a smile as she started to dart towards the battle. Pierce slithered behind her, waiting for his next command.
"You are quite optimistic," Miwah said.
"I'm just surprised this wild scheme actually worked up to this point. All we need to do is follow through."
"That is easier said than done," Miwah replied as she positioned herself behind Narrita and Pierce.
"You always have to be a downer, Miwah," Narrita said as she looked at the seamstress from over her shoulder. "Can't you just put aside that Xiwaoan pessimism for a moment?" the bandit asked smugly, accompanying the question with a wink. The seamstress couldn't resist her lips from forming a slight smile.
