NEKOMATA IV

Difficulty level: five, increased due to circumstances

Status: Combat with Nekomata

A Nekomata is more dangerous than a Bakeneko due to their power of necromancy. Currently, in this graveyard, the Nekomata is at a clear advantage, because instead of having to fight only the beast, there was now an army of the dead they also had to take care of.

"I'll take the kitty." Yves unsheathed his swords and ran out of the line straight for the cat.

"Anderson and Williams, you guys take care of the skeletons! Wang you too!"

"Roger that." The two close-combat fighters quickly approached the corpses that were starting to move. Timothy pushed Dominique, Tommy and Fuyu to the back of the battlefield. Tommy casted a shield over the two non-fighters.

Harper shifted into an eagle and flew above the team, he advanced to the Nekomata and pecked at its eyes.

The beast roared and swung its huge paws around. The skeletons became barbaric and rushed to flock around Jack and Jay.

Jay threw punches at their skulls, sending them flying off the rest of their bodies. Taking him by surprise, one skeleton stayed standing, its boney hands grasping around his neck, taking away his ability to breath.

He kicked its torso, leaving a hole in the middle of its body. Jay grabbed the skeleton by the wrists and snapped them in two, freeing himself.

Jack gripped the knives in his hands and ran berserk, cutting off arms and crouching down to get rid of the legs. One by one, the bodies went limp and collapsed to the ground.

Johnny stood in front of the back up team, two guns held out in front, and got rid of any of the approaching skeletons. His gun seemed to be ineffective as the corpses did not die immediately once hit, but he did slow them down enough for Tommy to blast them away in number with his spells. Minutes later, at least a quarter of the carcasses were laying dead in front of them.

Yves made his way across the field to the Nekomata, his katanas by the sides of his body. The beast, blinded, relied on its hearing and stomped wherever it heard movement.

Yves had always been a very quiet person, his steps were light and effective as he moved around the cat, slashing at its legs every time they were in range. He dashed around, striking the monster with one hand then the other. He was elegant, like dancing to an unheard rhythm as he slowly wore the beast down.

The Nekomata screamed a human's scream, taking everyone's attention. This gave an opportunity for the skeletons to launch themselves at the two close-range fighters. The fallen arms had made their ways over to Jay's ankles and gripped them into place. The hands stacked on top of each other, allowing them more power. Jay tried to kick them away, but even his powerful kicks were ineffective.

With him anchored, the corpses with their bodies still intact swung themselves onto him, toppling Jay down to the ground.

Mark, watching closely, came rushing towards him with brass knuckles on both his hands. He jumped on top of the pile of bodies and started smashing the bones into pieces.

"Thanks." Jay said as he quickly went on to deal with the oncoming troop. Mark nodded and jumped back to the sideline.

Jack kept his attention on the approaching skeletons, he moved freely through the current, cutting off body parts one by one, but more just kept coming. His tactics didn't seem to be doing so well. Other than agility, his strikes weren't enough to completely eliminate the undead. Their fallen bodies kept rising back up and attacking him from behind.

He was in Jay's position; skeletal hands gripped onto his body, pulling him back. Before he knew it, he could no longer run from them and was pulled onto the ground.

He groaned as he tried to move his body, but to no avail. He heard Jay's footsteps approaching, but the monsters on top of him were faster. One of them had managed to grip onto his arm…

Crack!

"ARGH!" He screamed, his arm broken into two pieces.

Before Jay even reached him, Timothy dashed to his side and smashed away all the bones with his bare fists. He lifted Jack onto his back and ran to the back up team.

"Fuyu-chan, broken left arm." Timothy informed him.

"Got it." He placed his hands onto the damaged area. Jack's arm was bent into a horrific position. His bone was piercing through the skin, a huge amount of blood was pouring out from his wound, sending metallic scents around the area.

"Here, drink this." Dominique handed him a glass bottle of some clear green liquid. Jack took it with his unharmed arm, and slowly the pain subsided.

A tingly warmth was sent through his arm by Fuyu. His bone reluctantly moved back into place and his wound slowly closed. He still felt numb in the arm, but without any physical proof of an injury, there wasn't much agony.

"Your bone is still broken. Sorry Jack, this is the best I can do for now."

"This is plenty, thank you Fuyu-chan."

"You stay here, there isn't much left. I'll take your place." Timothy announced. He grabbed the knives from his waist and sprinted into the field.

On the other side, the Nekomata was struggling to stay on its feet. Yves had done an amazing job at creating deep wounds on the beast's body. He turned again and again to gain momentum before tightening his biceps and slashing his katana into the Nekomata's body. Whenever the cat would seem to sense his whereabouts, he would already be on the other side, cutting its body up.

The monster was kept up with Yves, but still tried to catch Harper's eagle as he flew around and pecked at its body, taking pieces of flesh out.

There were no more than a dozen skeletons left and Timothy was taking them down fast. He flew from one skeleton to the next, eradicating them with a few hits. This is why he is the team leader.

A moment later, all that was left were pieces of bones laying still on the ground. The Nekomata took one look at this and screeched. Suddenly, it appeared to have become more powerful.

It stopped resisting. All of a sudden, the area filled with smoke and the Nekomata disappeared. What was left in its place was the figure of a female human with legs and arms covered in wounds.

"You mere humans dare to enter my mountain!" She yelled as she launched herself at Yves who was the closest target. He dodged quickly, but the transformed cat was already close enough to stretch her nails at his face, leaving a long lesion across his cheeks.

"Fushimi-san!" Fuyu yelled as he tried to make his way over, but was pulled back by Dominique.

"The battlefield is no place for us."

Timothy ran across to support Yves as he spat blood from his mouth, grinning.

"How are you so bold to call this mountain your own?" Yves asked, raising one of his katanas.

"This area is mine! You are trespassing my sacred land!" She announced, her voice echoing through the whole forest. She raised her hands to create some absurd gestures and immediately, Yves fell knee first to the ground, his pupils rolled back into his head.

"NO!" Fuyu tried to run over again, but Johnny grabbed him by the armpits and stopped him in his tracks. He started crying as everyone went petrified.

"Timothy! Bring him back here!" Dominique yelled as he gulped down a bottle of dark liquid. Timothy quickly grabbed Yves and carried him back while the woman laughed menacingly.

"You humans are weak! You have nothing against me!" She was hysterical, "send me your strongest soldier!"

Dominique nodded to Tommy, the mage set up a new barrier that was magic resistant and the alchemist stepped onto the battlefield for the first time in a long time.

"You haven't been fighting at all! HAHAHAHA, this is too easy!" Dominique laughed back as he reached a hand into his pocket, pulling out a syringe filled with glowing substance silently and hiding it behind his back.

"It's such a pity that you can speak human. Now our precious Mark doesn't get to show off his powers." He stepped closer, completely calm.

"It does not matter because you are all weak." She claimed, still oblivious to the item in Dominique's hand.

"We are weak? But how come you are covered in blood while we fought against your army and have no casualties?" He sniggered, taking another step closer.

"No casualties? Take a look at your precious friend! He is dead!" She bursted out laughing again. Fuyu gasped and started to shiver.

"Fuyu-chan, check him." Timothy ordered, Fuyu nodded through tears and placed his hands on Yves' chest.

His hands were shaking like crazy, he prayed and prayed to get a signal back from Yves' still body. Fuyu held his breath and pressed his hands tighter.

Badump

"Oh thank god!" He quickly supplied magic into Yves' body, the colors slowly returning to both their faces.

Dominique laughed, somehow it sounded more crazy than the cat's. As she was startled and analyzing the situation, he yanked his hands upwards and pressed the syringe into her carotid artery, emptying the tube.

She jerked up and grabbed her neck the moment he pulled the needle out of her body. Slowly, she fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

"Timothy NOW!" He yelled. Timothy came over in a flash with a sword and, with one blow, decapitated Nekomata's head.

The head rolled over on the floor. No blood came out from the open wound.