CHPT 245: HellBreeding.....

SHWIP!

Claude ducked a swing from the creature and opened up a line of black in its ribs before dodging another swing and sending a low kick to its bum leg. The HellBreeder crumbled before smacking its tail against the floor.

FWBOOM!

In a flash, it was catapulted in the air above the trees.

"HOW ABOUT YOU WATCH HER BURN!" The demon yelled before sending a volley of fireballs at Ursula while it blotted out the sun.

She bobbed and weaved the attacks but one smashed into her shoulder, melting through the ice and her shirt to bite at her skin. Before it could do any real damage she used her ice to cause the ball of flame to erupt in a cloud of steam.

"Nice try!" Ursula yelled back as the HellBreeder landed back into combat with them.

With a scream, the HellBreeder threw more fire as they charged.

FWOOFWOOOFWOOO!

Claude zig-zagged across the grass before leaping after the Demon and fainting a strike, baiting it into swinging.

Fwoo!

It's steaming claws closed over air and left it open to Ursula and Frosty's heavy charge.

"AAAAARGH!!"

CRACK!

The two hulking individuals smashed into the creature and sent it rolling through the grass while it flailed and screamed angrily.

"More!" Claude snarled, causing Frosty to explode to his feet while they went after the rolling demon.

They descended on the Demon at blurring speeds, for the first time Ursula thought she saw fear in it's eyes. It was there-- as she looked at the beast lunging at her, but then her mandibles split and all Ursula saw was a haunting smile. Then, it was on its feet.

A shiver ran down her spine as she watched the three close in on her. Not a shiver of fear, but a shiver in response to what felt like every crumb of heat being sucked from the forest in a flash.

The HellBreeder's eyes glowed like two suns followed by it's many cuts taking on a flaming red hue. Something changed.

"CLAUDE WA--"

SPOOOOOOM!!!!!

Her words were cut short as the HellBreeder leapt into the air and spit a bubbling ball of red fire at the ground, causing a mushroom cloud of flame to erupt beneath its feet. The blast shook the ground and sent cascading waves of intense heat outward that sent Ursula tumbling onto her back.

The intense explosion was followed by a haunting silence. The silence was almost immediately replaced by a dull ringing in her ears as she sat up in a rush to defend herself.

All that welcomed her where small balls of flame, eating away at the grass and three lumps in the distance....

Ursula's shaking hand raised to her mouth, "Oh god..."

Claude, Frosty and the Phantom Legion lay in the grass tossing and turning as the flames of the HellBreeder ate away at them viciously.

Immediately she was on her feet with spirals of frost spilling from her hands.

***

DING!

[HellFlame damage sustained!]

[Pain of the UnderWorld: Active.]

[HellFlames will grow as your pain intensifies....]

[Hell's Curse: 5%]

Claude watched the system notifiactions fly past his vision as the flames ate away at his arms like dozens of flaming insects. The pain was like nothing he'd ever felt, leaving him roaring mindlessly while he fought to remove the flames only for them to grow.

"AAAAAAA!!!!....FUCK!!!" He roared as tears fell from his eyes and the smell of burnt fur filled his nose.

Arne was speaking to him but he couldn't hear. Having reason was slowly becoming harder and harder to sustain. Right when he thought he was going to lose it, icy blue eyes peered into his own.

"C-Claude....just stay calm. I can get rid of the flames but you have to sit still.

"NO!" He snarled.

"But you're bur--"

Claude roared, cutting her off as he vocally expressed his pain to the green wilds around them. "Frosty! HELP FROSTY AND THE WOLVES!"

Ursula was out of his sight in a flash. The time spent after was anything but pleasant. Sometimes it felt incredibly long, other times it felt completely eternal. By the time she returned with Frosty and the Phantom Legion licking at his face, the calming touch of her Ice was almost enough to make him lose consciousness.

"Shit....it's bad..." Ursula mumbled while she wiped tears from her eyes-- either from the smell or her own sadness.

"I'll heal." Claude growled as he got up, further transformed than he was before. His body was almost entirely cloaked in shimmering dark fur, and his jaws thickened in preparation to jut out of his face to form the snarling snout of his true form.

Ursula seemed unfazed by the change-- choosing to instead focus on the forest around them with her weapon raised.

"Fuck....Hellfire is no joke." Claude thought.

"[Remember you have the power of the Moon at your side. You may have to use it sooner rather than later if this HellBreeder has more moves that devastating....]"

Claude agreed silently before his attention was taken by the sound of movement in the distance.

"She ran off....I don't know why." Ursula said from in front of him.

Claude's nostrils flared, "Don't worry. She's back.....not just her."

"What?.....More demons?!" Ursula asked, failing to mask the fear in her tone.

"No. Not exactly.....I smell fur...and fear..and pain. She's back with offspring."

"What does that mean?"

"Our numbers advantage just went down the drain....shit! Ashe, split." Claude replied before issuing a command to the Phantom Legion.

In an explosion of black smoke, the giant hulking multi-headed wolf split and left six Wolves snarling and trotting around Claude and Ursula defensively.

"Full of surprises..." Ursula mumbled.

Before she could say anything else, everyone around her stiffened, scenting the air and ears aimed in front of her-- deeper into the forest. She was back.

"Hhhhearring your screammsss was pleasssant! Let's dooo it aggainn...."

The wolves snarled and spun around as the sound emanated from everywhere at once.

Claude stilled, eyes closed and head low.

In the distance, he could hear leaves crunching and animals squealing in pain. Despite her voice coming from everywhere, her movements came from an exact location. Right in front of them.

His hand snapped in her direction, a closed fist cloaked in green energy.

In the distance, the trees and bushes around the HellBreeder spiked and stabbed at her, creating a room of thorns that she couldn't completely escape.

SHKSHKS!

"RAAAAAH!"

The HellBreeder's scream shook the forest in the distance.

"Dammit! She got out...."

"[But you did damage. Her speed has been greatly reduced due to the damage she's sustained to her leg. Stay vigilant, run her down. Continue to exploit weakness.]"

Her movement started again. He could hear her, hopping around the forest in a circle, just out of sight.

"Youuuuu bassstard! YOU KILL MY BABIES AND THINK YOU"RE READY TO TAKE ME!? Youuu thinkkk my babies consuming innocent fleshhhh warrants their death!? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?"

"Circle up." Claude said, closing up the groups blindsides as they executed the formation.

The HellBreeder continued to rant angrily while the pained squeals and snaps of animals lined its voice.

"It issss our absoluteeee right to livvvve offf you bottom feeedersssss.....A Human's flesh isss our dinner!...Your human girls bllllood is our wine!...Your madness is the air we breath! WHO ARE YOU TO INTERFERE INHUMAN CHILD!?" Her voice boomed.

"I'm your enemy. If you've got a problem with it, come out and do something about it." Claude snarled.

The Demon laughed hauntingly, "Nnnnoooo. Firsssst I wannt you alll to taste chhaaaoosss...hahaha. Simmer in it!...Bleed and let it consume you!"

"...The fuck does that mean?"

Before Claude could answer, dozens of balls of fur rose above the trees and landed in front of them. They rolled and rolled before slowing to a stop in front of them.

"Squirrels...." Claude said.

The creatures rose up onto their feet, shaking their heads in a daze. They looked normal-- like squirrels as he said, only they didn't stay that way. In a flash, they whined and bit at themselves in pain as black horns ripped through their heads while their fur bubbled and caused them to expand to the size of dogs. The smells of pain and fear slowly morphed into anger as their fur darkened to an oily shade of black over rock hard muscle. Some continued to grow before exploding into balls of flame while others hardened-- solidified, seeming to take the power of Hell as their own.

Once cute, now horrifying. The Monsters growled and shook their tails-- tails now covered in natural black porcupine-esque spikes.

"HellBred Squirrels...." Ursula said distantly.

"...And Deer..." Claude announced while he watched something deeper within the forest.

Behind the army of demonically altered Squirrels, something walked alone-- like an omen of death.

Sleek black fur stretched over robust powerful cloven legs. A chest as wide as a horse, taking in massive gulps of air to fuel its massive body. Steam spilled from it's nostrils with each angry snort it let out like a bull. Claude was on the verge of calling it that until he looked past its thick snout and rage-filled eyes only to find a pair of stark white antlers blooming from its skull. A sight made worse by the pair of veiny black demonic horns that stood like sharp monoliths in between them.

Claude reached a hand out to his left. The branches around him maneuvered and formed into a wooden spear.

"Ursula. Fight the Squirrels with the Wolves. The buck is mine..." He said before snapping the spear off the tree.

With that, there was nothing left to do. Nothing left to do but what the HellBreeder told them.....

"Emmmmmbrance chaaoossss...."