Radley Beck threw himself to the ground, just narrowly dodging as the creature blazed over his head. It hadn't slowed enough to properly see since he'd arrived in the outskirts of Therma, but he was pretty sure it was a Libra: a Zodiac Beast that, in his experience, was far more hideous than old rumors suggested.
He rolled to his feet just as the creature slammed into the ground, and Radley finally got a glimpse of its jagged, angular face in the instant it took to remove its foot from the shattered stone. Definitely a Libra.
I should let Valerian finish this one when everyone else gets here, he thought, sliding his hammer into its sling and pulling a short sword from his belt. The spoils of a Libra would seriously help him keep up with us. Cousin Valerian would be really happy with that; he was the only member of Lowly Champion who hadn't yet killed a Zodiac.
Libras, vaguely humanoid creatures with shimmering greenish-black bodies, had the ability to negate (or increase, if needed) almost all force being exerted on them, or so the legends said; this was Radley's first time fighting one. That ability made the likes of Radley's hammer useless, and his sword was barely any better. Maybe he could give it a paper cut if the stupid thing would just give him an opening.
Right then, typical weapons were useless. Maybe it was time he-
Another person slammed into the Libra's side at an incredible speed, catching it off guard and throwing it into a tumble across the ground. It got up and hissed chillingly as Erin Snell slid to a stop next to Radley.
"It won't let you do that again," he noted.
Erin grinned. "That's good, isn't it? It can't hit us as hard if it's padding everything."
Radley scowled. "You know it can direct forces one way, right? The fact that it's not compounding force just means it'll snap your bones rather than shatter them."
"Then I won't let it hit me."
Looking at that smirk, Radley couldn't help but smile back. "You're a smart aleck, you know. How have you survived with us as long as you have?"
"I'm very stubborn." With that, Erin zipped off and began blurring around the incensed Libra. Wherever it swiped, its claws only met air. Radley could occasionally see her properly for an instant, using the beast's abilities against it: Since it was negating force now, it wasn't thrown by her kicks like most monsters were. Erin used this to gain far more distance from her recoil, keeping her out of the Libra's reach. Her skill and adaptability were both incredible.
But it's still not enough, Radley observed. If this keeps up, she'll get tired. Then we'll be right back on the defensive. Why wouldn't that woman ever pick up a weapon?
Just as Erin started to slow, Polina Pastel appeared. She leapt two dozen feet over Radley's head and fired several flaming bolts at the Libra. Most of them just bounced off harmlessly, but one well-placed arrow managed to catch it unawares, cracking the shell over its back. The Libra shrieked, jumping into the air after Polina, but she sent out a small but focused burst of flame, propelling her just barely out of its reach. The blast doubled as a safety net, slowing her down before she hit the ground.
"Cutting things a bit close, yeah?" Erin called, using the opening to kick at the crack on its back.
"Thank me later," Polina replied, shooting more bursts of flame at the Libra. It hissed at the heat, its attention now fully on her arrows. If the legends were accurate, this thing couldn't negate extreme temperatures.
Dodging another swipe, Polina flipped back and gracefully landed next to Radley. While the Libra shambled toward them, she asked, "Are we letting Valerian finish this one?"
Radley nodded. "We need to weaken it before he arrives."
It didn't look like they would get that chance, as Valerian had appeared right in front of them. Polina jumped, startled, but Radley knew Valerian's powers; he'd been prepared for something like this.
Radley's cousin gave a small nod of acknowledgment before stepping forward and drawing a simple dagger. With a swift motion, he blocked the Libra's swipe, the beast's claws scraping on the metal as the Zodiac strained to overpower him. He grunted quietly at the effort of blocking the sudden impact, but other than that, he didn't react nearly as much as one might have expected. He redirected the claw to the side before it could injure his arm.
The Libra shrieked and swiped with its other hand, but Valerian materialized behind it before it could react. He rammed his dagger into the shell, driving it through the crack Polina had made. It screeched in pain and tried to slash at him, but he spun under its claw and slashed its left arm off at the shoulder with a single, precise swipe. The knife remained unscathed even after cracking the bone.
While Valerian took the beast apart, Polina turned to Radley. "So... What do you think about my suggestion? The one from before we heard about this Libra."
"About recruitment?" Radley asked, not looking away from Valerian's shocking display of skill. "I agree, but it's up to you. You started the order, Polina; it's your call."
Polina scowled. "But you're the one who said we could use more diverse... Whatever. I was thinking, anyway, about who would be a good fit with us. We could try to find-"
The Libra finally caught on to Valerian's motion and grabbed his wrist just before he could take out the other arm. It hissed and threw him, and for some reason, he didn't disappear like he normally did. He tumbled painfully across the stone, coming to a stop fifty feet away.
"It's noon," Radley whispered, pulling his hammer from his back and running at the creature. Erin and Polina must have noticed the problem, too, since an arrow made of flame streaked past him while Erin kicked the creature in the side, uncharacteristically serious.
As the Libra swiped at Erin, Radley ran forward, a brilliant wreath of fire spreading from his arms and back. He slammed his hammer into the Libra's side, right where the stump of its arm was. Whether it could negate force or not, anything touching that spot would get its attention.
Its shining black skin blistering in Radley's flames, the Libra turned to face him. Trace amounts of blood dripped from its stump, no worse than the hand of someone who'd messed up peeling an apple. A Zodiac Beast wouldn't be too weakened until it was near death, and even dismemberment wouldn't slow it down for long. Given five more minutes, the arm would grow back.
Radley lifted the hammer over his shoulder, ready to strike the Libra in the middle of its next lunge, but it suddenly stood bolt upright, its skin losing its oily shine and turning more noticeably green as it raised an arm to its neck. A moment later, its head came clean off as Valerian appeared from thin air once more, his knife having struck its neck twice. He slipped out of view as he hit the ground, reappearing an instant later with his feet flat on the ground. His shirt was shredded, and blood ran down his side from the direct hit he'd taken. His breaths came in short bursts as he regarded the rest of the order with his dark eyes.
Erin slid to a stop, no worse for wear despite passing through Radley's flames. "Is it dead?"
Valerian turned, wincing at the motion. Best case scenario, his ribs were definitely cracked from that hit. "I cut off its head, Erin."
She glanced at the fallen body, then at Valerian's knife. "Good point. I'll get our fee from the citylord, yeah?" With that, she set off towards Therma proper, no faster than the average person. Perhaps slower.
Radley sat down, letting out a long breath. I am so tired...
"What's wrong, Radley?" Polina asked. "I've seen you take on worse than a Libra, but you look awful."
Valerian picked up the bag Polina had dropped upon arrival and tossed a water bottle to Radley. He took a drink from a bottle of his own, then passed the supply bag to Polina.
"Phoenix flames are exhausting." Radley lifted the bottle to his mouth, draining it in seconds, then lay back on the ground. "That was reckless, cousin. I had to keep it off of you because of that hit, and the river's not close enough for me to use. The Libra could've killed either of us."
Valerian gave Radley a silent look before striding toward the town proper.
Polina watched him go. "Are you two really related?"
Radley forced himself to stand. "Yeah, we're first cousins on my mom's side. Anyway, you wanted to recommend someone new to join our order?"
"That's right." Polina looked him in the eyes. "I have a friend who might be good for our order. She hasn't killed many monsters, but she clearly has experience fighting. She's from the south; she came to Tierisch on her own."
"Wait, south? As in Finster?" Radley asked, surprised. The place was mostly jungle and swamps, and any civilization there was startlingly hard to find. "There are bandits everywhere there, and almost all of them can use Baykok venom. How old is she?"
"I think she's nineteen."
So she had survived to almost twenty on her own, actually making it out of that jungle alive. That held promise, and if Polina trusted her, Radley did too. "What's her name?"