The battle between Insectus and the Ghenkans raged on. Eijnar took to the backroom while his men sparred with the Queen's vicious mandibles. Their weapons clinked against the monster's armored face, only provoking to more aggression. She swung one of her pincers to the side, knocking one of Eijnar's men right into the water. Seeing that their numbers were were rapidly approaching nothing, the captain fled for the safety of the deck below. He dashed past his men and ran to what remained of his personal quarters.
"That slimy rat is trying to get away!" Narrita shouted as her eyes followed Eijnar as he stepped over the debris that was once his personal treasure room. The bandit pointed at the captain and Pierce slinked across the ground. Miwah followed, positioning Liberator for battle.
Eijnar noticed the snake and the Purifier coming for him. He paused for a moment to look around the remains of the room. After a second of scanning, the captain picked up a spear from the ground. He stretched one hand in front of his body and used her other hand to aim the weapon from behind his back. With a single heave, he sent the projectile flying across the destroyed room and struck the snake in its back. Pierce's head tilted back as he let out a tormented rattle. He turned his to look at the weapon; it drove through his body and pinned him to the ground.
"Pierce!" Narrita shouted as she ran to her familiar's side. She placed both hands on the on the shaft of the spear and struggled to pull it out. All the while, the snake lowered his head and watched Narrita as she tried to free him. "Just hold out... a bit longer..." the bandit said with grunts breaking up her speech. "I'll get you out... in no time..."
"I don't think there's much you can do!" Yalch said as he hovered next to the snake's head. "Looks like Pierce is done for."
"Come on! We barely had time to talk today! We've been—" Narrita managed to shift the angle of the spear, only to make Pierce tense up in pain as he hissed in agony again.
"Just leave him, Narrita," Yalch whispered. "He'll be back the next time you transform." He then looked at the Ghenkans fighting the Queen; only three remained. One sparred with the Insectus, staying low to avoid the pincers' wrath while the other two stayed focused on Tamma and Aurrie. An axe-wielding barbarian continued to slam his weapon onto the housekeeper's shield, making her legs shake from the strikes.
"Enough!" Aurrie shouted as her opponent raised his axe for another attack. As he swung down, Aurrie raised her buckler by straightening her legs. The barbarian's axe bounced back from the blunt impact, leaving his front unprotected. With the axe out of the way, Aurrie jumped forward and wrapped her arms around the Ghenkan's waist.
The housekeeper brought the Ghenkan down with a tackle. She kept him pinned by pressing her knee against his chest. Aurrie dropped her sword to the side and held her shield with both hands. "You had this coming!" she barked as she slammed the edge of her shield against the barbarian's skull. Both Tamma and Narrita turned their heads away from the graphic scene, instead focusing on the final two Ghenkans as they continued to battle with the Queen. Narrita glanced over her shoulder and towards the empty captain's quarters.
"Where did Eijnar and Miwah go?" she asked the ghost.
"I think they went down the stairs."
"You go after them. I'll go help the others get away from that overgrown bumblebee!"
Yalch flew through the floorboard while Narrita ran to the aid of the other two Purifiers. Aurrie remained in a defensive position as Tamma stood in front. The Ghenkans slashed away at the pincers with their blades, only provoking the Queen further. She flew upwards, avoiding the reach of their weapons. As she lingered high above the air, Tamma took aim at the exposed underside. She closed one eye, steadied her left hand and released a light arrow with the other.
The projectile soared in a straight line, piercing through the Queen's soft interior. She wailed again, spiraling to the ground. The Ghenkans below backed away to flee from the careening beast, only for them to get crushed beneath the Queen's weight. The crash made the entire boat shake to one side as the deck's wood shattered where the giant bug landed.
"That was a mighty fine shot you did!" Aurrie said, finally putting her sword and shield down. She extended one hand as an offer for a shake.
"We're not done yet," Tamma said, pointing at the Queen instead of accepting the housekeeper's offer. Aurrie turned around, groaning when she saw the Insectus Queen crawl out from the small crater she formed. The beast hissed as it flailed its head from side to side, smashing more of the boat.
"She's going to blow up the entire ship if she keeps shaking it around like that!" Narrita said as she spread her legs to maintain her footing.
"Ain't that the plan?" Aurrie asked.
"Not with us on it!"
"We've got to get Miwah out of here!" Tamma said as she darted towards the stairs that led to the lower floor.
Aurrie picked up her weapons and followed behind her. "Wait a sec! We need you too! How else are we gonna blow this thing up if we don't have you to shoot 'em?"
As the Tamma and Aurrie headed down the steps, Narrita ran past the still-struggling Queen and towards the container holding the Xiwaoan cannonballs. The bug let out another fierce hiss as she walked past accompanied with some loud snaps of her pincers.
"Don't worry," Narrita said as she pulled open the lid to the crate. The cannonballs were still intact. Only a blanket packed tightly over the ammunition kept them from moving around too much. "We haven't forgotten about you!" The bandit dug out enough cannonballs to cradle in her arms comfortably. She then placed one on the ground, walked a short distance and placed another out of the Queen's reach. Soon, she formed a trail of explosives leading to the top of the staircase.
"Hope that's enough to blow this ship to smithereens..." Narita said under her breath as she wedged the last piece of ammunition against the wall and a piece of debris. With a bit more struggling, the Queen freed herself from her hole and focused her eyes on the bandit. Startled, Narrita darted down the steps and into the hull.
"Try to be careful, everyone!" the bandit shouted as she flew down the steps. "It looks like those cannonballs got loose!"
The bandit's words fell on deaf ears. The other three Purifiers were too focused on Eijnar to pay Narrita any mind. The captain held two weapons; an axe in one hand and a sword in the other. He dueled Miwah with his sword, deflecting her slashes effortlessly while keeping Aurrie at bay with the length of his battle axe. Eijnar kept a steady smile, his grin only growing wider with each slash from Miwah that he successfully parried. Tamma fired an arrow from the back of the formation, piercing through his armor and arms but doing nothing to slow his attacks.
"You can't keep this up forever!" Aurrie shouted as she blocked a chop with her axe.
"I don't have to!" Eijnar barked. "As long as the damn bug takes us all out, I'll be more than happy! Nothing pleases a Ghenkan more than dying to ensure the death of his enemies!"
A familiar buzzing came from up the staircase. Narrita turned around and saw the Insectus Queen break through the wooden walls. She squeezed her body through, crawling the down steps as she aimed her pincers at the bandit. The others stopped their fighting to watch the bug crawl inside the hull.
Tamma unleased a volley of golden projectiles, only for them to embed in the Queen's shell without harming the beast. "Tamma! We need you out of here!" Narrita shouted over the Queen's incessant hissing. "You're the only one that can actually blast the cannonballs safely!"
"But I can't leave everyone in here to fight Eijnar and the Queen!" Tamma said as she fired another arrow, resulting in the same effect as before. Eijnar looked at the hunter, trying to stab at her with his sword until Miwah slashed the blade away.
"Listen to her, Tamma," Miwah said as Liberator's blade locked against the barbarian's. "Eijnar knows our plan. He wants to stop you."
"Three out of four isn't bad, either!" The captain shouted. His arm overpowered Miwah and pushed her away. Aurrie turned her attention to the Insectus Queen, running away from the raging monster as it snapped away at her.
"I'm gettin' out of here too!" Aurrie shouted as she held her shield in front of the Queen. The bug snapped forward, clenching onto the edge of her shield. "Hey! Let me go!" The Queen hoisted her upwards, Aurrie's feet dangling as she tried to pry her shield free from the Insectus' clutches.
"Perfect timing!" Eijnar said as he moved towards the defenseless housekeeper. He took his axe, ready to slash Aurrie's back until Miwah slashed his ankle. A streak of blood flew the air as he fell to the side, looking more confused than hurt.
With Eijnar down, Narrita ran to the Queen's side and grabbed Aurrie's legs. The bandit pulled on Aurrie's legs, fighting against the Queen's grip.
"You and Tamma get out of here!" Narrita said. "Before Eijnar gets up!"
"But..." Miwah replied, her eyes shifting between the bandit and Tamma at the top of the steps.
"Go... Miwah..." Aurrie grunted as she tried to pry her shield out from the Queen's vice-like hold. "You know I'm serious if I'm agreein' with Narrita!"
Eijnar wobbled upright. He held both weapons in his hands as he staggered closer to the Purifiers. "Looks like..." the captain said while panting, his sinister smile persisting. "This is where it ends!"
