บท 91: DA : Chapter 91: Hunter Turned Hunted III
Kelly watched in horror as a woman's upper body connected to the snake body at the hips leaned out of the tree.
Black hair cascading down to her back, deep blue eyes with narrowed pupils, a small grin with glinting fangs, all decorating a flawlessly creamy skin. Topped with a black corset that teased bountiful cleavage and a large black bow in hand.
A beautiful death if ever there was one.
...
Kelly watched as the monster any demigod should recognize, Lamia, pulled Sahara in and gave the hunter a full on kiss. She watched, minutely aware that her entire right arm was useless and the frostbite was spreading to her collarbone.
She watched as Sahara's skin paled at the lips to a light blue with black streaks at a far faster rate than the curse left by the arrow. Within seconds the frostbite spread and from underneath Sahara's parka what was visible of her belly and arms was already freezing.
It took no more than a minute until Lamia pulled back from the kiss, idly licking the blood acquired on her own lips before looking to Kelly and smirking.
"I guess one little kiss was a too much for the pretty hunter," Lamia teased before glancing at the frozen corpse still impaled on her tail. "Oh well, she wasn't much anyways."
With that Lamia dismissively looked away as her tail flexed, shattering Sahara at the middle and leaving her halves to crash onto the floor and breaking into even smaller chunks.
"What about you lieutenant?" Lamia asked her as she lowered herself more after glancing at the little tiara still somehow on Kelly's head.
Kelly couldn't find a voice to reply as a number of wolves suddenly came from within the trees, each at least as large as a horse if not larger. All had icy blue eyes and oddly enough white fangs tipped with the same blue coloration. Again that resignation, the very same as when they were falling from the skies, came to her. Detached, devoid of dignity or pride in her last moments with her body beginning to shot down.
"My lady will come for revenge," Kelly murmured as the last of her strength simply started to seep away as the cold came to claim her.
Lamia leaned even closer, the sweet scent of mint wafting through her lips as she looked into Kelly's eyes.
"That's what we're hoping for," she whispered as her tail reared up again, the end pointed straight at Kelly's head. "But don't worry, you'll be seeing your sisters again … in Tartarus."
Lamia's tail lunged forward and Kelly knew no more…
...
Artemis, Minutes Earlier
She shot arrow after arrow into the downpour, her godly sense being the only way she knew an enemy was even in the direction of the mountain.
Still, even with her sight she could not make out more than blurred figures looking relatively humanoid. She could hear her hunters already running as she ordered. 'Now I can focus on finding our attacker,' she thought grimly.
"Artemis!"
The goddess glanced back to see why her lieutenant had called out to her but her eyes widened as a massive black wolf tackled her. The wind was knocked out of her as she was sent tumbling through the trees.
Pain flared through her injured side but she managed to push through it as she straightened herself in midair and landed on her feet even as the momentum carried her several more feet.
Once at a stop she dematerialized her bow in favor of drawing her silver knives, each one measuring close to two feet and screaming for blood. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the wolf that had tackled her, unable to shake the feeling that the wolf was familiar somehow.
Unlike Umbra, who'd been pure black and had gleaming, icy blue eyes, this she-wolf had yellow-silvery eyes and red fringes along her back and sides.
However the power coming off the wolf was nothing to scoff at. Hell, she was ashamed that she failed to notice the presence of such an obviously strong threat.
The she-wolf ducked her head and growled, the sound making the small clearing they were in to rumble as the downpour seemed to increase and the temperature dropped to the point even Artemis was getting uncomfortable.
They stared off for several seconds before the she-wolf suddenly stopped the growl and just lunged without preamble. Artemis wasn't the mistress of the Hunt for nothing though as she rolled out of the wolf's way and got back into position.
The moment the wolf landed Artemis attacked, swinging her knives in a deadly arc but the she-wolf showed incredible agility for being so large, pivoting on her back paws and jumping just an inch too far off the knife edges.
The she-wolf didn't stop there as she lunged with an open maw to which Artemis swung her right knife at. To her shock the she-wolf reacted in time and bit down on the knife, stopping it dead as the pair locked eyes.
If it hadn't been for the clearly life-or-death struggle going on Artemis would have stopped to contemplate the absolute contempt within the she-wolf's eyes. It was as if she'd done some unspeakable horror to the wolf, like murder her pups or something.
She couldn't have time to think on it though as the she-wolf bit down harder and much to Artemis' shock, started to form cracks on her daggers. Those were Atlantian silver gifted to her by her uncle and nothing short of two gods clashing at full force should have been able to so much as chip them.
Thinking quickly she struck with her other knife but the she-wolf let go before the knife could run through her head but not fast enough to avoid Artemis lashing out with a kick, nailing the she-wolf in the chest.
The blow sent the she-wolf careening through a few trees as Artemis pursued it, intent on finishing it as quickly as possible. She caught sight of the she-wolf quick enough and lunged with her undamaged knife, intent on stabbing the recovering wolf.
Her perception allowed her to see as the knife edge sliced through the falling rain as the she-wolf looked up with widening eyes, as if realizing the opening and preparing to evade. But it was too late and a grin broke Artemis' face as she watched with glee as the knife got closer. A foot … eight inches … four inches … 1 in—Clang!
Artemis could only blink dumbly, barely registering an obsidian black knife just barely blocking her own knife before a boot covered leg slammed into her gut. She gasped with the explosion of pain as she was sent skidding back and looked to who interrupted her attack only to stare in surprise.
Feral green eyes within a coppery toned face, glossy black hair instead of the pit of vipers it was cursed to be, dressed in a tight, sleeveless back dress barely reaching mid-thigh. Thigh-high, heeled leather boots and elbow length gloves with equally obsidian bracers on her forearms, and lastly, two pitch black, barbed blades connected to a smooth chain.
"Medusa …?" she asked in shocked surprise.
The monster in human form didn't give her a response, instead glancing back to the recovered she-wolf.
"You still lack enough experience Lupa," she said, shocking Artemis yet again as she looked at the she-wolf in a new light. "You forget that Artemis belongs to a significantly higher tier of opponents than what you've faced alone in either of your forms."
The revealed Lupa lowered her ears before she was consumed in shadows only to step out as a human in a similar dress and armor to Medusa without the knives.
Artemis noted how similar the pair looked now and even their signatures, both of which were heavily divine now that she had a moment to really study them. 'But that means … Lupa's a traitor,' Artemis thought with rising fury.
How dare she!? After everything Artemis did for her, saving her from the council millennia ago and not revealing her human form lest she be taken and passed around the mountain like a cheap whore.
And for what, this betrayal!? No! She would not let this insult stand. If the bitch wanted to run off to some damn demon or whatever the Hades Umbra is, fine, Artemis will send her in a match box!
With that in mind, Artemis started to gather her essence into her core. She felt her body toughen, her injuries healing faster, her strength and speed increasing as her body started to glow.
That got both Medusa and Lupa's attention and Artemis couldn't help but smirk at them, getting ready to show them why you don't piss off a goddess of her caliber.
She kept gathering her essence and was already past the half point until suddenly she felt a barrier she hadn't noticed before increase in strength.
As soon as the barrier became apparent she was cut off from increasing her power anymore and regardless of how hard she tried she couldn't call in more power.
She even lost contact with her roman form, Diana, which was waiting for her in New Rome. She tried flashing and to her horror, that was cut off as well. By the matching grins Lupa and Medusa were sporting, they knew it as well.
"Looks like master has decided to spring the trap," Medusa purred as she took a step forward. "Go and meet with our lord Lupa, I'll handle the goddess."
Lupa looked like she wanted to protest but they tilted her head as if to hear something better. She pouted suddenly and then, much to Artemis' confusion, dissolved into shadows leaving her alone with Medusa.
"So … ready to play?" Medusa asked as she lazily twirled one of her blades by the chain.
"Do you really think you can face me, monster?" Artemis asked as she readied her knives. She may have been cut off from her full power but she'd still managed to get over half.
"I don't think," Medusa quipped before suddenly lunging forward in a burst of shadow only to materialize in front of Artemis. "I know…"
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Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.
...
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