The Divine Blades

Calibro's claw, enveloped in dark Mystcry, cleaved through the air, leaving a sinister trail of dark energy in its wake. Muffet sidestepped the strike, her eyes narrowing as she observed the lingering darkness.

Not wasting a moment, Muffet directed her ice flowers at Calibro, The crystalline petals were evade with Calibro making his way towards Muffet. He lashed out with his claws.

Muffet leaped into the air, gracefully. While ascended, she channeled her Mystcry energy into her hands. She let it off as a beam of white light at Calibro. The energy surged toward him, but upon impact, it dissipated harmlessly against his formidable form.

"Not even a scratch," Muffet muttered to herself.

Calibro let out a low, rumbling chuckle. "Did I not tell you already, human? Your Mystcry attacks are useless against me. An attack that weak doesn't even tickle."

With a fierce growl, Calibro charged at Muffet, his claw once again enveloped in dark Mystcry energy. Muffet, unfazed, directed an ice flower straight at his claw. The flower struck true, immediately beginning to freeze Calibro's claw in a crystalline grip.

Calibro snarled, thrusting his hand into the ground. Dark energy erupted around his claw, spreading like a shockwave through the earth and shattering the encasing ice into a thousand glittering fragments.

Muffet smirked. The remaining thousands of ice flowers swirling around Muffet began to move slightly faster, their icy beauty intensified by the chilling energy radiating from her. Muffet's eyes took on a deeper blue hue as she whispered, "Isojari, level 2."

Wasting no time, Muffet thrust out her hand with purpose. "Shimo no mai," she intoned with the cold power of her magic.

Hundreds of ice flowers scattered in all directions, creating a mesmerizing dance around Calibro. The flowers moved in intricate patterns, weaving a web of frost and beauty that encircled the werewolf general. Calibro's eyes widened in alarm as he tried to evade the icy assault, but the flowers were relentless.

In a final, powerful convergence, the ice flowers gathered together into one wave of icy energy which surged toward Calibro, engulfing him completely. The freezing power was overwhelming, and within moments, Calibro was encased in a solid block of ice, frozen whole and immobile.

“Now, let's see you break free from that.” Muffet said. She placed one hand on her side, feeling the lingering ache from her previous wounds. Not long after she said those words did Calibro erupt with dark energy. The force of it shattered the icy prison she had trapped him in.

The explosion sent shards of ice flying along with blood in all directions. Calibro emerged. He fell to one knee with blood draining down from multiple wounds, staining the ground beneath him. His breath came in ragged gasps.

"I understand your sword's power now," he growled, "Isojari is indeed powerful, but you still have a long way to go before you can defeat me completely."

Muffet narrowed her eyes at Calibro. "You used brute force to break the ice. That's why you're bleeding out now. You shouldn't talk so tough when you're on your last legs you mutt." She paused, then added with a smirk, "Then again, you could always howl to the moon, but I won't give you the chance to heal yourself again."

Calibro chuckled darkly with a menacing glint in his eyes. "You seem confident, human. But how will you function with your leg skewered?"

Muffet looked confused for a moment. Then she glanced down and saw the dark trails seeping towards her feet. Her eyes widened in realization and shock. From earlier, Calibro's trails of darkness had been slowly creeping closer to her and went by unnoticed.

In that moment of distraction, Calibro plunged his claws into the ground, channeling dark energy through the earth. The dark trails he had created erupted from beneath her, forming spikes that shot upwards. One of the spikes impaled Muffet's leg, causing her to gasp in pain.

Muffet quickly moved out of the dark patch, avoiding the worst of the attack, and formed a spiraling vortex of ice energy around herself. The vortex spread outwards, freezing everything it touched. Calibro was forced to retreat back slightly.

"Damn it it," Muffet hissed through gritted teeth, clutching her injured leg. "I should have done that sooner."

Calibro's lips curled into a feral grin as he watched Muffet struggle to regain her footing. "This will be over really soon," he growled, his dark energy simmering around him.

Muffet, wincing from the pain in her leg, met his gaze with unwavering resolve. "I agree," she replied, "One way or the other, this ends now."

Calibro began to approach her slowly with each step deliberately menacing. The aura of dark energy surrounding him seemed to pulse with his movements, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

Muffet watched his advance. A twisted grin spread across her face. "This is turning out like a horror book," she said. "I love it!"

Once Calibro closed the distance, Muffet's creepy smile widened.

"Let's see who writes the final chapter," she murmured,

Calibro closed in on Muffet, his claws poised to deliver the final, devastating strike. Muffet held out her hands, and the ice flowers surrounding her disappeared, seemingly absorbed back into her blade. She appeared to return Isojari to its normal sword form. Calibro, seeing this, smirked. "Is she giving up?" he muttered to himself, growing confident. "I've got her now. The Lady of Lycans will be pleased if I deal with her."

Muffet took a deep breath, her expression shifting to one of deadly seriousness. "You’re not the only one who can be intimidating, you know… You want horror, I'll give you horror," she declared. In that moment, Calibro felt a shift in the air around her. He hesitated, sensing something was terribly wrong. Her power seemed to surge and became more potent and ominous than before.

"What is this…? It feels as if... she became a Senodokidatsu herself," he whispered, his eyes widening in shock.

A white substance began to cover Muffet's hands, spreading rapidly up her arms and enveloping her body. Her sword shattered into thousands of flower petals, but these were darker, more powerful ones than before.

"Shi no mai!", Muffet shouted. The thousand petals swirled and coalesced into a gigantic, dark flower, exuding an intense, freezing aura. The massive flower expanded outward, its icy tendrils spreading rapidly and ensnaring Calibro.

The gigantic flower's petals closed around him, encasing him in a solid block of ice. The ice continued to spread outward, forming a large, intricate flower shape around his body.

The white substance that had spread from Muffet's hands began to vanish, dissipating into the cold air. Muffet sighed deeply with her breath visible in the icy chill which surrounded her. "I can't believe I had to use that," she muttered to herself, shaking her head slightly. "But it was better than the alternative."

With a practiced motion, Muffet returned Isojari to its normal form, the sleek, silvery blade. She sheathed it with her eyes lingering on the massive ice flower that now entombed Calibro. "Now it's time to find this 'Lady of the Lycan' Senodokidatsu," she declared

The moment she took a step forward, pain shot through her leg where the dark energy spike had impaled her. She winced, gritting her teeth. "This injury is going to be a problem though." she admitted.

Meanwhile, Hyorine took center stage with Muffet's squad against the remaining Werewolves. The werewolves had regrouped and adapted their strategy, attempting to flank and overwhelm the squad with coordinated attacks. Hyorine assessed the situation quickly.

"New plan," Hyorine barked. "We hit em hard and fast. As soon as my spell lands, take action with your swords! Mystcry Arts #30, Cutting Lights!"

Hyorine unleashed a barrage of bright beams of light, each striking with precision against the werewolves. The creatures howled in pain as they were struck down one by one, their advance momentarily halted by the onslaught of Mystcry energy.

Seeing an opening, the rest of the squad surged forward with swords drawn. They engaged the werewolves in close combat; however, Hyorine's repeated use of Mystcry Arts #30 began to take its toll. Each beam of Cutting Lights drained her Mystcry reserves significantly, leaving her feeling the strain of exertion. Yet, she gritted her teeth and continued to fight.

The werewolves, though momentarily caught off guard, quickly adapted to this new tactic. They countered with ferocity with their claws and fangs seeking to overwhelm the squad with sheer brute force.

Hyorine directed the squad, calling out targets and coordinating their movements to exploit weaknesses in the werewolves' defense.

The number of werewolves dwindled down to a remaining line of ten. Hyorine's chest heaved with exertion. Sweat beaded on her brow while she surveyed the remaining enemies.

"I don't know if I can keep this up," Hyorine muttered to herself. She clenched her fists.

To everyone's surprise, the werewolves suddenly began to retreat. Their fierce momentum faltered as they turned and bounded away into the shadows.

Hyorine let out a long sigh of relief. She wiped the sweat from her face. A weary smile came to her face.

"Thank the goddess," she murmured, "They're retreating."

The squad members, equally exhausted but relieved, gathered in a circle amidst the remnants of the battlefield. They sat or leaned against each other and began catching their breath.

"Good job, everyone," Hyorine said, “We fought well today. Take this time to rest and recover."

A young woman with short pink hair and gentle blue eyes approached Hyorine. Her demeanor was respectful. She was well-known amoung the group and has been accustomed to tending to the wounds of her comrades.

"Lieutenant Hyorine," she said softly, kneeling beside her. "Let me check you for injuries."

Hyorine nodded gratefully, allowing the healer to examine her. The healer's hands moved skillfully over Hyorine’s uniform, checking for any signs of injury beneath. Despite her fatigue, Hyorine remained alert, concerned for the well-being of her squad.

"Did anyone get hurt badly?" Hyorine asked quietly

The healer responded after finishing her examination. "A few wounds, but nothing life-threatening."

Tayona managed to avoid serious injuries, thanks to the efforts of the young recruit over there." She pointed towards the small girl, who was still wiping tears from her eyes but receiving warm praise from other squad members for her bravery.

Hyorine's gaze softened as she watched the small girl being acknowledged by her peers.

"That's good news," Hyorine replied, "We can't afford to lose any healers. Muffet's right about that. Losing even one of you would be a fatal blow."

Rin moved on to check on the other squad members. At this time, Hyorine leaned back against a nearby stone, closing her eyes briefly. At the same time, The small girl approached her timidly with her eyes still watery. "Lieutenant Hyorine," she began hesitantly, "I... I'm sorry I froze back there."

Hyorine opened her eyes and nodded her head. She gestured for her to sit beside her on the ground, away from the hustle of the healing and restocking. "Fear," Hyorine began calmly, "is something that affects everyone, sometimes in ways we don't expect. It can paralyze us or drive us forward. Today, it caught you off guard, and that's okay. You're new to the squad, and every battle teaches us something."

The small girl listened intently, her gaze fixed on Hyorine.

"This is your first lesson as a member of Squad 6. Fear isn't your weakness; it's your strength. It keeps you alert, sharpens your instincts. Embrace it, understand it, but never let it overpower you."

The small girl nodded slowly, absorbing Hyorine's words. "I... I understand, Lieutenant. I'll do better next time."

Hyorine placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I know you will.”

Just then, other squad members began to gather around. One of them spoke up, "Lieutenant Hyorine, shouldn't we contact Captain Muffet? She might need to know about our situation here."

Hyorine nodded thoughtfully, considering their next steps. "Muffet's fight is probably over by now," she said, "Before we do anything else, we need to check on the scout team and see if they've found any trace of the Divine Blade in the area."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the squad as they acknowledged the importance of retrieving the artifact.

"I can't cast Soul Nexus right now," Hyorine continued while furrowing her brow slightly. “Iv’e exhausted my use of Mystcry. Does anyone else here know how to perform that spell?"

Silence fell over the group. Mystcry spells of that magnitude were not easily mastered, and few had the skill or experience to handle them effectively.

To everyone's surprise, the small girl stepped forward hesitantly,"I... I think I can do it."

The squad members turned to look at her with curiosity. The small girl was new to the squad, and mastering complex Mystcry spells took years of practice. How could she know such a complicated spell?