Lending A Paw

Osaka, Japan

???

April 4th, 2023

Mike struggled intensely as he faced the relentless assault of the tree-like damned creature and the abomination creature. He fought with all his might, attempting to both attack and defend simultaneously to hold his ground. As he began to feel overwhelmed, a streak of light passed by him, incinerating the bull-headed damned creature in its entirety.

"Looks like you could use some help, nya," Teacher Cat appeared, with lightning coiling around his body like a golden armor.

"You have electric powers too?" Mike asked, deflecting a strike from the tree-like creature.

Teacher Cat leaped towards the tree-like creature, attempting to cut its arms with his electrified claws. However, he only managed to graze it, as the creature defended itself using its wooden limbs.

"I acquired these powers recently, nya. Kaiba defeated an electric-powered damned, and I absorbed its energy, nya," Teacher Cat explained, preparing to attack the creature once again.

"Wait, you can absorb powers from other tales as well? I thought you were also a tale," Mike asked. He engulfed his sword in searing flames and charged towards the creature, slashing at it with all his might. However, the creature blocked his attack with its limbs.

"I'm not just a tale, nya. I also have a host, nya. In my past life, I was a cat, so I decided to possess another black cat, nya. And because of its limited intelligence, I was able to dominate its consciousness and take control of its body, nya," Teacher Cat explained as he continued his assault, utilizing his new electric powers against the creature.

"That's quite unsettling, now that I think about it," Mike replied, his focus still on the ongoing battle. He then turned his attention to Baldur, who had remained silent until now.

"Can you take control of my body too?" Mike asked Baldur, seeking clarification.

"It requires a significant amount of energy just to maintain consciousness within your mind. For a tale to forcefully possess its host's body, it would be an even greater drain. Besides, I've been quiet to conserve my energy. You should focus on the fight at hand and not worry about such things," Baldur explained before returning to his silence.

On the other hand, Alice found herself in a desperate situation as she tried to keep the twin damned occupied. She led them towards a narrow sidewalk, continuously hurling objects at them in an attempt to create distance.

The twin damned effortlessly dodged the projectiles, their movements nimble and agile. They pursued Alice relentlessly, closing in on her. Alice found herself cornered, with a brick wall blocking her escape route.

She quickly came to a halt, turning to face the approaching twin damned creatures. They bared their sharp claws, ready to attack. Alice, using her telekinesis, levitated herself from the ground, narrowly evading their lunges.

Spotting a nearby mailbox on a lawn, Alice seized it with her telekinesis and hurled it towards the twins. However, they leaped to the side, easily evading the incoming mailbox. Unfazed, Alice continued to lead them on, flying over the brick wall in an attempt to create further distance.

The twins pursued her, displaying their remarkable strength as they punched through the brick wall, closing in on Alice once again.

"Just use the other spell, it'll be easier," Alice's tale spoke, growing annoyed with the ongoing chase.

"But it'll be boring," Alice chuckled, continuing to lead the twin damned creatures away.

"The others may be in danger if you don't hurry up," her tale warned.

"Fine, okay," Alice reluctantly agreed, realizing the urgency of the situation. She turned to face the twins, who were relentlessly pursuing her. "I still don't like this spell, but here goes nothing."

Alice conjured a purple light and launched it towards the twins, hitting them both in the chest. The impact caused them to glow with a purple hue, and smoke started to emanate from their bodies. With a sudden poof, the twins transformed into small, crawling turtles.

"That's why I don't like hex spells. They make everything cute and less fun," Alice commented, slightly disappointed. She then spotted a nearby boulder in a garden bed and lifted it with her telekinesis.

"I'm sorry, little turtles," Alice apologized before swiftly squashing them beneath the boulder. As their energies dissipated, she absorbed them and made her way back to Mike.

Returning to Mike, who was still locked in battle with the tree-like damned creature alongside Teacher Cat. The corpse of the bull-headed damned creature had already vanished, denying Mike the opportunity to absorb its abilities.

Teacher Cat leaped towards the tree-like damned creature, engaging it in combat. Though the creature managed to block Teacher Cat's initial attack, he had a different plan in mind. Teacher Cat latched onto the creature's limbs and released a surge of electricity, electrocuting the tree-like damned creature.

Taking advantage of the creature's immobilization, Mike intensified the flames engulfing his sword and prepared to deliver a decisive blow. With a powerful slash, he cleaved through the tree-like damned creature, splitting its body in half.

As the creature's lifeless form crumpled to the ground, both Mike and Teacher Cat collapsed beside it, panting from their exertion. Mike stretched his weary limbs and absorbed the mystical energy emanating from the defeated damned creature.

[Ability Upgraded]

[Ability Upgraded]

[Enhanced Durability (B>B+)]

[Enhanced Regeneration (D>C)]

Mike felt a sense of relief as the battle came to an end, and he managed to acquire something useful from the defeated creature. Just as he was catching his breath, Alice appeared in the distance and approached them.

"I've taken care of the twins. How are you guys?" Alice asked, landing in front of Mike and Teacher Cat as she released her telekinetic grip and returned to the ground.

"We're done here too. Now we just need to find and deal with Shino and June's damned," Mike replied, standing up and retrieving his sword once more.

"Good job, nya," Teacher Cat added, looking at Alice.

"Oh, you're here too, Teacher?" Alice asked, levitating slightly off the ground, ready to fight once more.

"Yeah, I've come to lend a paw, nya. Kaiba can handle things by himself, so I decided to roam around, nya" Teacher Cat replied.

The three of them continued their search for Shino and June, making their way towards a house just a short distance away from the Mitsuya Residence. There, they found Shino and June engaged in a struggle against a once-frail-looking damned creature. They were using a wooden table they had found in a neighbor's yard to defend themselves.

"Dude, I thought this was going to be easy. We need to find something to attack back," June suggested, still struggling to hold the defense.

"Dude, if I let go of my grip on this table, we're done for," Shino replied, his grip on the table tightening.

Both Shino and June were doing their best to resist the damned creature's relentless attacks. Mike, Alice, and Teacher Cat saw the situation and swiftly ran towards them to help.

"Alice, use your telekinesis and throw me towards the damned, nya," Teacher Cat said, and Alice followed his command.

Using her telekinetic powers, Alice lifted Teacher Cat and hurled him towards the damned creature. Teacher Cat wrapped his body in electricity, increasing the impact of his attack.

He pierced through the damned creature, leaving a hole in its body, and static electricity sparked as the corpse fell to the ground.

Shino and June emerged from behind the wooden table and saw Mike and Alice approaching them. They glanced towards the location of the damned creature, observing its lifeless body with Teacher Cat sitting beside it.

"Thank God you're finally here," June said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Mike, Alice, you're safe," Shino added as he approached them.

"How are you?" Mike asked, making his sword vanish.

"So that's how Teacher Cat managed to incinerate that bull-headed damned earlier. No wonder he could one-shot it but couldn't defeat the tree-like creature instantly," Mike thought to himself.

"I'm going to absorb this damned, if you don't mind, nya," Teacher Cat said and absorbed the mystical energy from the damned creature.

Shino and June were perplexed by the sudden discovery of a talking cat. June scratched his head and slapped his cheeks before turning to Shino.

"Did I just hear the cat talking?" June asked, dumbfounded, as he stared at Shino.

"Dude, we just saw a bunch of unexplainable things, and you're surprised by a talking cat?" Shino replied.

"I mean, who wouldn't?" June replied bluntly and looked at Teacher Cat.

He approached Teacher Cat, who was still absorbing the mystical energy of the damned creature. June's eyes sparkled as he gazed at Teacher Cat, who seemed slightly bothered by the attention.

"I think it's time we continue our mission. We still need to find the others and locate Shino's parents as well," Mike interrupted, his tone filled with seriousness.

June's attention shifted towards Mike. He stood up, and the playful expression on his face vanished.

"Seeing the current situation, I want to go back home as well. I want to check on my family," June said.

"Your location is slightly far from our target destination, so it may take some time before we can—" Mike began to reply, but he was cut off by June.

"I can go by myself. I'll be fine as long as I avoid those damned creatures, right?"

"No, you're not. There are other damned creatures with different abilities out there—" Mike tried to explain, but once again, he was interrupted.

"I'll go with you, nya. Mike and Alice can take care of themselves and even handle protecting someone like Shino, nya. I can go with you, nya," Teacher Cat suggested after finishing absorbing the mystical energy of the damned creature.

Reluctantly, Mike agreed, and they decided to split up. Teacher Cat and June headed northwest to go to June's home, while Alice, Mike, and Shino went south to search for Shino's parents at their workplace.

Meanwhile, Rika...