A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Unsurprisingly, Astrid quickly started pulling ahead of Emily, but the young goth wouldn't let herself be bested that easily. A competitive grin spread across her lips, and she conjured a pitch-black magic circle. Similarly, coloured smoke quickly billowed out of it and took the form of a large, armoured werewolf.@@novelbin@@

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The shadowy creature was immediately ready to sprint, so Emily jumped onto its back and took off towards the town centre, rapidly catching up to Astrid.

Glancing at her side, Astrid smirked at the shadowy creature's likeness to Erik. "You really are obsessed, huh…?"

Emily immediately pouted and gripped her summon's neck a little tighter. "It wasn't my choice, you know… it just came out this way after I first used the spell."

"Sure, sure," Astrid nodded mockingly. "I'm sure you hate how it turned out."

Emily grinned perversely at her sister-wife. "I didn't say that!"

"I know, I know," Astrid chuckled while glancing forward at their targets. "Just be careful, alright? You know how territorial he can get…" She noticed the cattail peeking out from under Emily's dress and smirked. "I mean, what if he takes away your toys?"

"He— He wouldn't do that!" Emily immediately paled as she denied that claim, her butt clenching slightly before quickly focusing on what she realized was more important. "B— Besides, nothing can replace Master… But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy being able to look at him whenever I can!"

"Hehe, I can imagine," Astrid grinned, glancing at the emotionless but clearly recognizable facsimile of Erik's face being worn by this shadow being. "I'm just saying, though. I'm sure Erik would reward you if you changed it into a beautiful woman."

Emily's eyes widened when she realized Astrid was right. Hesitantly, she glanced at the shadowy being she was using as a mount. Would she want to change it? Could she even?

Meanwhile, they'd already sprinted across this sun-blasted, half-destroyed stone village for several seconds, and they were just about to reach the two embattled third-ranked beasts. While Emily was still lost in thought, Astrid quickly became serious.

"You take the ugly bug, and I'll take the lizard-coyote-or-whatever-it-is?" Astrid asked, pulling Emily out of her thoughts.

Immediately deciding to get some payback, Emily grinned at her sister-wife. "Don't tell me the big bad vampire Astrid is afraid of bugs…?"

Surprisingly, Emily's shot in the dark actually hit home when a small blush appeared on Astrid's cheeks. "S— Shut up! That thing's just got so many damn legs! A— And besides," she continued, awkwardly glancing away, "water is a bad match-up against my sun affinity, so…"

"Hehe." Emily chuckled teasingly. "Oh, I'm sure your fourth-rank sun affinity will just be completely outclassed by a beast's first-rank water affinity."

Her remarks awarded her a glare from Astrid, but at this point, the two battling beasts had noticed the interlopers. The two or three-meter-long Dhashur and five-meter-long Daqum paused their fight to screech/roar in their direction, likely warning them to stay away. Of course, neither of the women intended to listen.

Without another word, Emily grinned with bloodthirst and directed her summon towards the large, insect-like Baqum. At the same time, Astrid veered off towards the Dhashur.

Realizing the interlopers wouldn't be deterred, the two third-rank creatures were suddenly unsure of what to do… but that didn't last long. Neither Astrid nor Emily intended to give them a moment's rest.

When Emily and her summon were no more than a few steps away from the Baqum, the perverted goth jumped off her mount while the shadowy Erik continued barreling forward. As soon as she was gone, a shadowy hammer appeared in the summon's hands just as it crashed into the large insectoid, sending it screeching and sprawling.

Meanwhile, Astrid grinned at her beastly opponent. Flourishing her swords, two separate sets of burning orange runes appeared on her skin. Instantly, her speed increased significantly, and an orange glow covered her swords.

The Dhashur uttered a strange, hissing roar and glared at her. It had the lean, muscular body of a coyote but was covered in tough, sand-coloured scales instead of fur. Its backside extended with a long, whip-like tail with spiky ridges, and its reptilian eyes glowed yellow. Its head possessed the sharp snout of a coyote, but with scaly ridges, a slight overbite showing dangerous fangs, and spiny frills that ran along its sides.

Roaring no less loudly than the creature, Astrid engaged it with excitement. First, her dual swords whirled in a fiery arc as she closed the gap between them.

The Dhashur lunged, jaws snapping at empty air as Astrid twisted to the side, her enhanced speed turning her into a blur. Her first strike connected—a deep slash across its flank—but before her blade had even left its body, a strange phenomenon occurred: a secondary wave of sunfire cleaved through the same path, burning the wound instantly.

This was her third-ranked Runebound ability: aftershock.

The beast howled in fury and pain, kicking up a wall of sand between them. Astrid barely had time to brace before the swirling grains thickened, forming jagged spikes that shot toward her with deadly precision. She weaved between them, cutting through the larger ones with her glowing swords, but the Dhashur was already moving.

It emerged from the sandstorm in a blur, its long tail lashing toward her legs, but Astrid leapt over it just in time. Twisting in the air, she brought her swords down. One struck its shoulder, forcing it back, but the other was parried by a sudden shield of compacted sand.

Astrid growled, landing lightly and darting forward again. If it could control sand with such precision, she'd have to stay close, prevent it from forming large-scale attacks.

The Dhashur hissed and sent another burst of sand at her feet, liquefying the ground beneath her into quicksand. Her enhanced strength allowed her to leap free, but the beast's eyes shone with surprising cunning.

A solid spike of sand jutted up toward her midair form, forcing her to twist awkwardly to avoid impalement. As she landed, it lashed at her with its claws, forcing her to parry rapidly.

The battle turned into a whirlwind of flashing swords and shifting sand. Every strike Astrid made was followed by an aftershock of burning sunlight, each forcing the Dhashur to adjust its defences.

But with every second, its control over the battlefield became more apparent. This wasn't its natural home. Sand was everywhere, and every grain was a weapon to the Dhashur. The moment she gave it distance, it would overwhelm her with a tidal wave of spikes, walls, and traps.

She needed to end this. Now.

Clenching her teeth, Astrid forced herself to disengage, flipping backwards as a crescent wave of sand nearly took her head. The Dhashur saw its chance and surged forward, claws extended for the kill.

It didn't notice the orange glow building in her eyes.

As its claws came within inches of her, Astrid unleashed her sunbeam. A searing column of golden light exploded from her gaze, consuming the beast in burning radiance. The Dhashur shrieked, thrashing as the blast seared its scales, sending it tumbling back. The sand beneath it glassed over from the sheer heat.

Panting, Astrid blinked away the tears in her eyes. The cooldown period and after-effects were always pretty substantial, but the attack had done its job. The Dhashur was wounded, its movements sluggish as it tried to rise.

She gripped her swords tighter, preparing for the final strike…