With an unexpected twist, Luna somehow beat one of the harem members with her staff, successfully knocking them out. We didn't expect her to be able to hold her own, but upon second thought, Luna is quite feisty.
"We should probably avoid making her truly angry." Silver imagined a scenario where Luna uses so many buffs on herself that it makes it nearly impossible to beat her.
"What's that? You want to see me angry?" Luna squinted her eyes at Silver, assuming what she barely heard was a snide comment about her.
"N-nothing, great job Luna." Silver wasn't going to fuck around and find out.
"Enough talking, we need to go help Clara." Himeko didn't want to waste any more time, as looking over, it looked like Clara could use some assistance.
***
<15 minutes prior>
Kiruya emerged from the broken-down wall in a completely new form. She had turned into what seemed like an elemental cheetah. A green wind visibly coated her fur while a floating translucent scarf covered her neck.
"Tch looks like I don't have a choice." Clara instantly felt the boost in power from this form, questioning if it was a representation of some god.
*growl* No words came from Kiruya, who seemed to have lost any rational thought, perhaps similar to Shaman in her own beast form.
'It's currently still unstable, but I'll have to use my dragon form.' She didn't want to use it, as she was trying to avoid accidentally killing Kiruya, but at this point she could no longer keep underestimating her opponent.
However, before Clara could decide on what she wanted to do, Kiruya disappeared from where she was standing. Appearing directly behind Clara, a jaw made from condensed wind covered Kiruya's actual jaw as it moved to clamp down on Clara.
Clara spun on her feet, parrying the jaws at the last moment and using that chance to back away. With no more hesitation, Clara activated her dragon transformation.
Wings sprouted from her back, parts of her skin turned to scales, her horns changed shape, and her pupils became vertical lines. Purple lightning flickered around her body as her mana began to go rampant.
Kiruya though, wasn't going to sit around and wait. With a roar, she conjured up spinning wheels of wind and blasted them towards Clara. The wheels moved at a speed rivalling Clara's lightning, only giving her milliseconds to react.
There was no denying that Clara would sacrifice herself for Shaman, but only if there was no other option.
[My life is nothing without Freja. The world could collapse as far as I care, but as long as I am by her side nothing else truly matters.] Kiruya showed no sign of wavering as she lunged forwards, intending to finish Clara in her pitiful state.
"Clara!" A flaming greatsword crashed down from above, nearly decapitating Kiruya. That was not the end however, as when Himeko's sword embedded itself in the ground, it released a terrifying blast of flames. The winds whirling around Kiruya only served to excite the flames, surrounding her in an inferno that set her fur ablaze.
Kiruya began screaming and thrashing around, trying to put out the flames. She slammed into walls, trying desperately to find some relief from the blazing heat.
Himeko landed in front of Clara trying to see if she was okay. While Himeko examined her body, a gentle blue light coated Clara, and all of her wounds began to close.
"How are you feeling?" Himeko had a look of relief as for a moment, she thought Clara was going to die.
"Much better now." Thanks to Luna's healing magic, Clara felt invigorated. Luna had also cast a few buffs, which lessened the burden of her dragon form, buying her some more time.
"What's the deal with Kiruya Are we killing her or not?" Silver popped his head out from the shadows, wanting some answers.
"Do we have to?" Elanor ran up after hearing Silver. Being the most sympathetic of the bunch, she really hoped the answer would be a no, but she would still listen to whatever decision Clara makes.
"She has sacrificed her life to take this form, we may as well end it for her." It was a tough call for Clara to make, a slight tremble in her voice. However, they weren't being left with much choice.
"So it's like that. Did you want me to join in the battle or do you think you have this now?" Himeko nodded, understanding Clara's decision.
"I'll be fine now, I got caught off guard as I debated whether or not I should kill her, but I've made up my mind now." Clara had hesitated in her attacks since she truly didn't want to kill her, but hearing Kiruya's decisiveness, it was time to respond in kind.
"Understood, but I will jump in like I did just now if it looks dangerous." Himeko patted Clara's head before she backed off to where Luna was.
"Elanor and Silver, follow my lead." Even without Himeko's help, Clara still had her other two party members, which should be enough to put this battle to an end.
*ROARRRR!!!!* From outside, Kiruya let out a loud tiger-like roar, signifying she put out the flames and was now royally pissed.