Burst Bubble

'That explains a lot,' Jet stared at the Titan with a complicated expression.

Floating beside her, Noble nodded. 'The heads aren't part of the Titan. They are minions. That's why they were so easy to remove. As soon as we injured one, the Titan rejected it like garbage because it can just get a new one.'

A creature with interchangeable heads…that was a new one for both of them.

Noble looked at the Saint.

'What do we do?'

Jet smiled darkly as her voice passed through the Memory. 'We could kill all the minions. We should do that anyway. But we need a more immediate solution.'

Based on what they had observed, the women suspected the hydra would still be able to move and attack even without any head to guide it. At most, the Titan would be blind.

Noble had noticed that when the snakes attached to the hydra's torso, their emotional signature vanished. The only place she could sense the feeling of rage was within the bulky chest of the vile beast.

Noble furrowed her brow. 'We have to attack the body…'

Jet seemed to be having the same thought.

'The skin is too tough. I don't know what it's made of but I can't get past it to do soul damage. I was barely able to scratch it. Maybe if I get inside…'

But how?

The hydra had been very protective. The flaps that shut when no head was present were as impenetrable as the rest of its skin.

It was only an entry point if the hole stayed open long enough to use it.

Time began to speed up as the Titan stood fully upright. Noble looked toward the citadel.

The wall was covered in abominations but the sound of battle could still be faintly heard. The humans hadn't given up yet. They were still fighting.

But it would do no good if the Titan wiped them and the infant city off of the map.

If only there was a way to block off the hydra…

'Plug the holes…' Noble's thought leaked through for Jet to hear.

The Saint followed her gaze. 'It's no use blocking the holes in the wall. The big guy is going to obliterate it.'

Noble shook her head. 'Not the wall. The holes in the hydra. If we can block one, or even stall it, you could use it like a door.'

'Then I could rip it to shreds from the inside out. Not a bad plan.'

That was assuming the hydra's insides were softer than its outside.

If not, Jet would have made a grave error.

But the prospect of being caged in a wild Nightmare Creature seemed to excite Jet rather than repulse her.

'Let's do it. Put me down…'

Noble would have asked for confirmation but Jet began pumping her legs to run. It seemed she had had enough flying for the moment.

Noble couldn't blame her too much. The Saint was used to being in control of her own body. It had to be unnerving to be suspended in space for so long.

Releasing her companion, Noble watched Jet race across the broken ground toward the Titan. A wake of destruction marked the Saint's path.

But rather than cause fatigue, Jet's emotions showed she was energized by the carnage. What kind of person would draw power like that from death?

Noble shuddered. Saint Jet was a force of nature.

The burst of action happened in barely the blink of an eye. Noble realized she would have to hurry to catch up. Fortunately, her pathway was clear overhead. She aimed straight for the source of the problem.

The hydra.

The professor had suggested plugging the hole to keep it open, but in truth, Noble had no idea of how to do it.

Maybe she should have suggested sneaking in when a new head was being accepted.

That would be less optimal because Jet would be truly trapped inside with no light and, depending on how the head merged with the body, no method of retreat.

Not that Jet would want to retreat.

It was not an option. 

'It would still be nice to have a way out...' Noble kept the thought to herself as she rushed forward. 

Dropping on two more legs, the Titan picked up speed. The smell of human souls being so near had fueled its hunger, and it would be satisfied. 

The only ones standing in its way were closing in fast. Avoiding the back head, Jet made an inhuman leap onto the hindmost leg. The ghostly wraith seemed to turn translucent as she climbed onto the creature's back shrouded in mist. 

'I'll take the front, cover the back!' 

Noble heard Jet's command as she arrived.

Finding Jet's back was easier said than done. The Saint was like a blur. Other than the direction of the movement, it was hard to tell which part of her was which.

So Noble didn't try.

She would handle the back like Jet had said…the back of the Titan. If it was distracted with the floating human, it wouldn't have time to go after Soul Reaper or anyone else.

Noble lifted her blade.

"Here, snakey snakey…"

Two yellow eyes looked at her with murderous intent. If not for the short bursts of speed from her Memory, Noble wasn't sure she would have been able to evade its strikes.

But she held on.

The new arrivals were not as coordinated as the older heads. But they seemed to have more energy. It was a strange trade-off.

Jet was slowly discovering the difference as well. She took advantage of the disorganization.

Following the Saint, a vermillion neck wrapped around its neighbor and they knotted together.

'Got you.' 

Out of reach of the teeth for a moment, Soul Reaper used her soul scythe to hack at the back of the tangled neck. The former tail came clean of the rest of the body, cleaving it in two and releasing the top portion from the hydra's shoulders. It hung around the second head like a necklace, sending blood in every direction as it desperately tried to avenge its wound.

Jet worked quickly, trying to dig a path through the tail which plugged the hole, but she was not fast enough. Two massive, clawed hands were already heading her way.

One of them grabbed the decapitated head, unknotting it before tossing the dying appendage aside. The head slid across the landscape, killing many Nightmare creatures and eventually colliding with the citadel's wall. 

The pink stone cracked but did not crumble. That was a small miracle.

Jet was unable to witness any of it though. Simultaneously, the second hand came directly for her. 

Its reach was too wide and oddly absolute, scooping the ghostly Saint in its firm grip to crush her. 

'Saint Jet!' Noble couldn't believe what she was seeing. 

Crestfall's best hope of survival was about to be obliterated like a burst bubble. 

Something glowed inside the fist in a burst of energy. The claws opened slightly, flinging the Misty Saint to the side. 

Eyes swirling, Noble used her Ability to stop Soul Reaper from making a new crater in the broken landscape. Instead of landing many kilometers away, Jet slowed to a stop in a fraction of that distance.

Setting her on the ground, Noble allowed Jet to run with her inhuman speed to rejoin the battle. 

But it was too late. 

The Titan had reached Crestfall.