Isher Notra

Chapter 122 - The Tutorial Reaches its Conclusion!


Hōkō:

"CHARGE!"

Maro howled, followed by tens of young Wolves pouncing on the elder's earth avatar simultaneously, including Lien and the Human who caused all this commotion in the first place. The eyes of the avatar had a little problem keeping tabs on the igniting Saniya auras of so many, swirling and flickering all over his line of sight.

Still, the elder had a pretty nifty trick up his sleeve. He never imagined that technique would come up against CHILDREN of all opponents. Nevertheless, the vast number advantage was difficult to ignore...

He could restrain all of them in a few seconds. Maybe he should trap everyone in the flora of Pantsti until this Chikukei nonsense subsides. Nah, that'd be too evident for the elders and remaining guards. Besides, that incident with Stella and Lien's explosive reaction was too enticing to not experiment further...

When six pups jumped at his avatar at once, he commanded it to jump as high as its rocky legs could take. In mid-air, he locked on Stella's Saniya, then bent a finger, compelling the air around her to envelop and send her barreling to the other side of the clearing. If only he could read minds right now... It was better not to be reckless with his Saniya usage at an advanced age like his.

When he landed, a storm of furry menaces circled around him, most of their eyes brimming with excitement and resolve. However, some expressions were twisted by anxiety and desperation...

The elder's heart squeezed. He was aware a few of these pups had parents with their lives on the line at the moment. Some turned into living statues, most likely.

He wasn't a fool. He knew that Stella's sacrifice would be technically the safest, quickest way to end Yuki-onna's terrorism. Still, he couldn't bring himself to allow a child to throw her life away, regardless of sheer pressure.

None of his fellow elders understood the weight of this decision. They hadn't seen families torn apart by the death of children, enrolled too soon for a dying cause. Future scholars, martial artists, medics - all swallowed by that dark, cruel war...

...

Nevertheless, those memories, although they fueled his motivation, ironically would only weigh him down. For him to tap into complete synchrony and ascend, his mind must be unbound by ego, allowing his spirit to drive his avatar's movements beyond the limits of his reflexes.

...

......

.........

He let it all go, and his mental storm quickly reduced to a still void. In contrast, energy from deep within seeped through his veins with the momentum of a raging maelstrom, yet the calmness of a gentle stream. The tricky part was transferring all that Saniya to his avatar's body. Nonetheless, if the elder slowly worked up to it, he would be utterly unstoppable before another explosive surprise.

And unstoppable he already was. His mind was a hazy blur, barely acknowledging his earth avatar dodging and weaving through the blows of an army of assailants.

He truly understated how STRONGER this construct was than the previous one.

Between second-long moments of opportunity, he glanced at Stella, who was still and rigid as a cactus meters away from the action. Hōkō could sense her approaching, even when occupied with all these different opponents, so she would need the mother of all distractions to escape. But what could that be...?

...

......

He immediately regretted putting too much thought on the Human when Lien and Maro jumped from underground, striking the construct's chin with blazing paws in perfect synchrony, flinging him high in the air!

...Yet, there was no significant reaction following that. Then what was that all about?

Ugh. Enough thoughts. Hōkō needed to keep his cool, especially since he was bombarded by a barrage of air projectiles from multiple pups' mouths, forming cracks all over the avatar's structure. He responded with a blueish, impenetrable Saniya barrier, expanding at a rapid pace, forcing the opposing pack to back away, giving him enough time to ground himself again.

Lien and Maro were the first ones to sprint toward him after the forced interval, the edge of their claws glimmering as they slashed the air in a pitiful attempt to reattain their stroke of luck. Their helplessness was adorable in a way...

Still, Hōkō ceased their impetuous march with a chop on Maro's neck, rapidly followed by a horse kick on Lien's stomach right before her natural weapons could graze his golem's rock skin. It was a closer call than he had hoped.

While the rest of the pack avenged their fallen comrades, the elder glimpsed the Human girl, putting both hands on the floor. He sensed the significant amount of Saniya she was pouring and condensing in a single point underground. Interesting move...

Welp, there went the rowdy army, attacking his construct like it was Sayama's juiciest-looking boar. He much preferred this type of attention from the lady Wolves...

Nevertheless, the elder moved as a blur - an elusive phantom, knocking out pups one by one with pinpoint strikes on their necks and guts, fast and clean enough to be as painless as possible. They were small children despite their high and soaring spirits and deceptively great power behind their blows...

He could feel more of his Saniya moving to his improvised body, although at a lower rate than he hoped. The Wolf's lack of practice, turbulent thoughts, or both caused this issue. Nevertheless, he was convinced his victory was already his.

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"HEY! OVER HERE, OLD COOT!!!"

Stella's cry echoed through the glade, claiming his attention once again. Her hands crackled with golden energy as she slowly joined them, gesturing as if she were squeezing an invisible object. Then, two gigantic earth fists emerged before her, the borrowed material leaving a gaping crater.

"I've been toying around with shapes lately!" She opened and closed her hand, the larger simulacrums following her movements faultlessly. "I planned on using Maro as my test dummy, but you'll do just fine!" Her cocky grin glistened against the sunlight.

Stella twisted her entire body, winding up the rocky fist, then sending it with full momentum at Hōkō! The elder compelled his avatar to sidestep from it with ease. However, the second knuckle-shaped construct quickly soared towards him, coated in a faint golden halo.

The Human's homing spell patterns were sloppy, not surprising since she developed the technique in less than a week. Still, the Wolf had to commend her for the close calls she forced him into.

After a minute of this dance, Stella's earth hands ceased at opposite sides of him, opened their palms, and then flew at each other with the intent to grab his golem. Just another faulty maneuver, he thought.

However, when he bent the avatar's knees to propel it in the Human's direction, its feet just... hadn't left the ground. Looking downward, he saw them quickly sinking into the ground.

That... was when Hōkō felt desperation echoing in the recesses of his mind. He frantically turned his head, watching Maro, Lien, and countless other Wolf pups pressing their paws on the ground, pouring all their Saniya to ensure the elder couldn't brute force his way out. It didn't take long until Stella's "hands" succeeded in capturing him.

"Better give it up, Hōkō!" Stella's hands fiercely wrapped around each other, swelling and pulsating with glimmering Saniya as her hold on the puppet tightened. "I don't care how many times I must prove myself to you! You're NOT stopping me!"

Blueish Saniya stormed out violently from the crevices in the golem's structure, creating a destructive shockwave that shattered Stella's creations!

...But at that point, it was too deep underground, only free from the quicksand from the shoulders up. If Hōkō insisted on injecting more energy into it so rapidly, it would burst from within...

His only choice, that wasn't going too overboard and alerting everyone else to his disrespect for Pantsti's laws, was to beg...

"Stella..." The elder surrendered control from the puppet, untethering his mind so it could contact hers. "Don't you see what I'm doing? I don't wish for your death!"

A few seconds of silence, finally followed by a response.

"I get it. But that Yūrei will only make things worse until she gets me. Who's to say she hasn't started killing folks already?!"

Hōkō... had no response to this other than a generic "You're too young to die!" or a "Your life matters too!" comment. He knew the stubborn girl needed a more compelling argument to be swayed.

"I don't WANT you to go just yet," he admitted. "This is unfair. You're much more than Yuki-onna claims you are. Both of you."

Her weak chuckle echoed in the void. "Well, I know all too well that life ain't always going in the favor of those who need it."

He glimpsed a blurry memory blinking in Stella's mind, too deep that even his curious mind wouldn't dare to dig into it on purpose. A red blot contrasted atop a human-like shape and a greyed canvas behind it. Flickering red and blue lights shone on the corner of his eye, briefly appearing before the repressed remembrance vanished. By Tizohi's antlers...

Still, Stella's thoughts were conveyed with a terrifying, unwavering resolve. "But there are kids over there who could lose a parent because of me, including Lien. What shitty sidekick would I be if I stand still when there are actual lives on the line?"

...

......

"You are... unlike anything or anyone I met for as long as I care to remember."

She scoffed. "Flatterer."

"Are you sure you can still fight after all I put you through?"

"I got a guy down in the Atelier who can fix us up in no time. That's no problem."

.........

"I'm sorry, Stella."

"Don't be. And as I've said, if I don't make it, we'll meet again soon, you old coot."

And with that grimly humorous message, their connection was terminated.

The elder's eyes fluttered open, basking in his precious rows of begonias, where the rest of the elders were deep in discussion about the ongoing calamity, not even acknowledging his absence.

Hōkō just remained silent. His mind, however, became a boiling pot of worry and expectation.

He truly hoped Tizohi had seen the Humans' hearts for what they were.

If he even existed.

Stella:

"So? Can you still feel him?"

Stella walked towards her packmate and her less-annoying-than-before cousin, who gently tapped the ground with Saniya-coated paws where the elder's rock puppet had sunk.

Lien shook her head. "Nope. All Saniya from it has vanished."

Maro sat down, sighing with relief. "I knew you two were in trouble, but fighting against Hōkō himself? I wonder what my mom will do to me if she finds out..."

The Human blinked twice. "That begs the question..." She approached him. "Why were you following us? I mean, I appreciate the help, but..."

"We heard what Yuki-onna did," Maro answered unpretentiously, gesturing at the approaching pack of pups. "All of our families have at least one member fighting in Chikukei. We're here to thank you for what you're about to do for us..."

"Ah." Stella's cheeks flushed, her feet dragging anxiously due to the weird warmth from the little bastard who tried to lock her up in the Atelier. "D-Don't think too much about it. You guys sheltered me for a month, so I should return the favor."

"Still..." He stood up, then made a full bow at her. The rest of the pack followed suit. "We wish you the best and hope you'll return alive from Yuki-onna's winter."

Embarrassment flooded Stella's senses. Why the need for bowing? Geez...

To deflect those emotions, she grinned, putting on a mischievous mask. "Even you?"

Maro averted his gaze, making the answer clear.

Chuckling, Stella pressed forward towards the cavern. "That was a fun ride, pups. But duty calls! I am the sidekick of The Silver Knight, after all!" Imitating Asra's goofy, heroic voice really helped suppress those nasty emotions, after all.

Lien hopped beside her, her smile contagious as they strode to their destiny.

"Wait!" Maro's voice rang, compelling Stella to cease and turn back to face him.

"Do you think you'll... You know..." he asked, his gaze solemn.

She could only muster a half-smile. "Probably." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Best day of your life, huh?"

Rather than joining in the teasing, the rogue pup only shook his head. "Nah. I want you to be around. My cousin loves you very much."

Speaking of, Lien wrapped her arm around Stella's neck, pulling her close. "Geez! Enough about death! You'll be fine!" She beamed, pointing a thumb at herself. "No one is taking you away from me without going through ME first!"

Stella's smile fully realized, her eyes soft and warm. "You're right. Silly me..."

After letting her girlfriend go, Lien waved at her fellow Wolves, who eagerly returned the gesture.

"See ya! We'll kick a different butt for each one of you!" the pup howled as they resumed their stride.

Stella's heart raced, her mind drifting to her telepathic conversation with her Wolf mentor. It was really sweet that the old canine held so much esteem for her. In fact, it almost persuaded her to give up on her second suicidal mission for the year. Emphasis on "almost"...

When the dark cavern swallowed them, and the spider emblem trapdoor could be seen by the light of their energy-coated hands, something solidified in Stella's mind...

She went through too much to call it quits.

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