The first few seconds were by far the most bloody and chaotic she had ever experienced. Fire and lightning, ice and stone, flew everywhere. Swords and shields clashed with the same frequency that magic was tossed about. 

But the screams… the screams were the worst. Those of the dying, those of the wounded, and those of the angry and desperate. Her own roar filled with bloodlust was drowned out by the inhuman screeches of shifters in monstrous bodies, and the thundering of [i]monsters[/i] fighting amongst each other. 

Yes. That was what they were. There were no humans present here. All that was, were monsters in one guise or another. Humans had always been monstrous in one way or another, and she—Lily—was among those who had been gifted a body to match that monstrosity that all were capable of, regardless of skin colour or origin. 

The first to fall was a Fae who had been too slow to turn around to face them. Lily barrelled into him, one hand holding his throat in an irongrip as she brought her tails to bear, shooting a blast of raw magic at point blank from each. He didn’t even have time to scream. 

She tossed the corpse towards another, only for it to be incinerated from a fire ball sent towards the frontlines, taking with it an airborne shifter on its way. 

Lily raced forward again, this time aiming for a larger shape: that of a winged beast with a lion’s head and scorpion tail. It saw her and met her in a charge, sending her flying backwards as they collided. Utilizing her tails, she softened the fall and flipped herself backwards, landing on her feet in time to avoid the following charge. She dashed to the side, flinging an orb of blue energy at him, catching him in the side and singing his fur. 

A roar and another charge as it regained its bearings, charging at her head on with a chilling roar echoing throughout the valley. It crashed into her… and then through her. A slash in the side revealed the location of his would-be target, only there was nothing but a floating sword. It retreated as he batted at it. The sword came forward again, ready the slash. 

The beast turned its rear, sending forth its tail. The sword dropped, and the tail stopped midway, and the wielder of the sword came back into view. Lily had the tail firmed gripped with both her tails and hands, struggling to keep it away from her throat. 

The chimera, however, wasn’t content with simply trying to stab her. It raised its tail too quick for her to realise and let go and slammed her into the ground. It ripped its tail from her grip and attempted to stab her again. Lily quickly rolled out of the way, getting to her feet again. But fast as she was, she was still inexperienced. She came up against a rock and, now that her retreat was cut off, the chimera sprung. 

Claws reaching forward, maw wide up, the Chimera pounced at her, aiming for her throat. Lily would have tried to flee, but at that moment an otherwise ignored thought had come to mind.

She might actually die here. 

And while the chimera certainly wanted to kill her, there were those who didn’t want it. The chimera seemed to stop dead in the air, then dropped in front of Lily like a ragdoll, a sword through its neck accompanied several cuts that hadn’t been there a second before. At the other end of the sword stood Tsukiko, breathing heavily but smiling at her. 

“Gotcha in time,” she said and pulled the sword out. Her smile disappeared then. “Let’s go.” 

Lily didn’t need another prompt. She nodded and followed Tsuki, finding that she fell behind quickly. Even now she wondered just how fast the Bakeneko actually were. She barely noticed the cuts she delivered to the Chimera, let alone the last stab that killed it. 

The continued forward, aiming for a line of Fae being protected by a group of Demons, most of which were already fighting third years from the Academy. 

A Valkyrie broke off at the sight of them, rushing towards Tsukiko and immediately started swinging her sword. The first few strokes showed no one of the two as being superior, but just two seconds passed and it was already clear that the Valkyrie was better. 

She could watch no longer. Lily rushed in, intent on either smashing the valkyrie’s face into the ground, or at the very least disorienting them enough for Tsukiko to make a decisive blow. But the Valkyrie had other plans. 

Almost as an afterthought she threw her hand towards Lily, sending a blast of energy at her, throwing her back and stunning her. She struggled to just sit up, trying and failing to will her to stand up. She watched helplessly as Tsuki was forced on the defensive, trying desperately not to get hit. She wanted to help. She wanted to… [i]What? No![/i]

An orb of some indistinguishable colour flew towards Tsukiko from behind, right at her blind spot. She couldn’t see it. She wouldn’t see it in time. She tried to cry out, but it had already hit when her mouth opened. She watched with terror written on her face as Tsukiko… She didn’t die. 

Tsukiko’s attacks sped up as if she had suddenly gotten much faster. A glance to the side revealed a friendly—dying—valkyrie who had given what power of hers remained to give Tsuki a boost in speed and strength. She sent a silent note of thanks to her, wishing her peace in whatever afterlife awaited. 

Tsukiko’s speed had indeed increased. Her strikes were quick, relentless. The valkyrie she fought was forced on the defensive, even as the cat-eared wonder hailed blow after blow upon her. She soon struck so quickly that even Lily had trouble following each blow, finding each and every chink on the Endolan’s defense and abused it. 

And then it happened. She struck true. A feint towards the head brought up the Valkyrie’s guard, but Tsuki lowered her sword and stepped forward, piercing through the breastplate as if it were butter, spearing the valkyrie. 

Lily couldn’t help but marvel at the vicious grin painted on Tsukiko’s lips as she pulled out the sword. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before. There was a bloodlust there that she had never witnessed… and never wanted to witness again. She had managed to sit up when Tsukiko turned towards a Fae and readied for a charge. However the charge never came. Before she could even react a wall of kinetic force slammed into her, forcing her to let go of the sword, and sent her flying. Even from a distance Lily could hear the crunch of bones being broken, and see the blood spewing from her mouth. 

And even as Tsukiko disappeared over the heads of Demons and Titans alike, Lily’s vision turned red. [i]No… Not again. Please don’t… Don’t…[/i] It was Max all over again. Max was dead, and now Tsukiko was going to die too. And all because she hadn’t acted in time. [i]All because I…[/i] She clenched her eyes shot, willing the tears away. 

[i]No.[/i]

She opened her eyes again, a snarl on her lips as her gaze zeroed in one the Fae who was responsible.  He was standing there, smug and satisfied that he had done away with a Demon. She let out a growl like that of a monster about to pounce its prey and stood up, hunched forward. And then she charged. 

Using her magic she concealed herself, making her little more than a blur of colours with no real cohesion rushing forward at inhuman speeds. The Fae saw her, but he was too slow to react. Sidestepping the frantic blast he sent her way she sped up once more, coming within reach in little more than a second’s time. He would have screamed had Lily allowed it, but it became little more than a gurgle as she tore his throat open, using her nails like a tiger’s law. A quick dash to the side and a turn, and she ended up behind him, her bloody hand covering his face, the other dragging shallow gorges in the soft flesh of his belly. 

A boom briefly interrupted her, causing her to look up to meet the scaled face of dragon. His eyes were not on her, but rather the other fae. [i]Good, he’ll keep the others occupied.[/i] She glanced at the horror stricken face of the Fae in her grasp, and smiled sweetly at him. [i]It’s not over yet, my dear. You’re going to [u]suffer[/u][/i] 

Her lips parted, fangs glinting in the midday sun. She would be lying if she said she didn’t savor the gurgling scream that came when she bit down, burying her fangs her his neck. The taste was nothing spectacular, but then again it was only blood. What was spectacular, however, was the [i]power.[/i]

She started pulling, drawing the power of the Fae into herself, intent on leaving nothing behind. She had managed to take what seemed like a fifth of what there was, already feeling more magic coursing through her than ever before, when she felt a tug—and then a yank. Abruptly the power left her, draining back into the Fae far quicker than she’d liked. She moved her hand from his face and to the wound on his throat, digging her fingers into it at the same time as she sent a simple mental spike at him. He gurgled again, what remained of a scream… and his resistance vanished. She tugged again, drawing from him, just like she had been taught. It took but a few seconds her him convulsing in her grasp, shaking as his very life was torn from his body in the most brutal way possible. 

Removing her hands from his throat and stomach, she stepped back, licking the blood off her fangs before spitting it out. The fae slumped together on the ground, not an ounce left of life in him. For Lily it was an entirely different experience: She had never felt so full of life, so full of power. 

[i]”Too much fire is coming from the Fae to our left. Create a distraction.”[/i] 

[i]I’m in the right area.[/i] Lily glanced the other way, already on her way there, tails alight with arcs of electricity shooting between them. A grim smile painted itself across her lips. [i]This[/i] is what it must feel like to be powerful, and without fear. For right now she didn’t fear anything. All that meant anything to her was to sow as much chaos as possible. 

But in her overconfidence she didn’t notice the monstrosity of a bird rushing down towards her.