Chapter 154 - Below the Belt

"Is everyone okay?! What was that aura?!", Albina asked as she ran back to the battlefield. As she arrived, she saw Bori and Savina hiding behind some crates with a dumbfounded look. Surprisingly, Lyra and Boleros were both there as well, granted Boleros was still out like a light while Lyra was supporting him.

Alerted by Albina's appearance, Bori turned to look at her before pointing towards the field. Albina looked and only to go wide eyed at the sight of a gold grade humanoid majimonster standing there while the Bultungin was currently coughing up some blood and teeth.

"Who's monster is that?", Albina asked with a suppressed gasp.

"It's Silvias' ", Savina replied with a strange look on her face.

"What kind of secrets are you hiding, brewer girl"?

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The Bultungin recovered after taking the uppercut, and coughing up some blood, a small trail of blood leaking from the corner of it's maw. A strange, twisted smile began to form on it's face as it wiped the blood away from it's jaw. It stared at the blood on it's claws for a moment before licking it clean.

"A last meal of your own blood? How disgusting", Voxea quipped with a vicious smile on her face. She proceeded to enter a fighting stance, similar to the one I had used to fight those thugs from earlier today.

"Now then, mangy mutt, are you going to come or-"

"GYAAAOOOOO!", the Bultungin howled as it suddenly lunged towards Voxea, claws glowing orange.

"Punching your face in it is"!

[Breeze Shift!], Voxea exclaimed as her body glowed light blue and a visible breeze began to form around her. The Bultungin's claw came slashing down on Voxea's form...hitting nothing as her afterimage faded away.

"Sup sucka?", she taunted as she rematerialized behind the Bultungin.

[Mind giving me a boost]?

[Of course], I replied before reinforcing her with some of my aether.

[Gratzi. Eldritch Blow]!

An ornate purple gauntlet that seemed more elegant than deadly in its design materialized over Voxea's fist. A few strands of my own aether exited my body and affixed themselves to her gauntlet, forming several runes of power.

"Smile"!

As the Bultungin turned to face Voxea, she sent a straight right hook to it's face, sending even more of the hyenaman's teeth flying. It let out a growl of pain as it corrected it's standing before glowing orange once more.

[This old truck again? Breeze Shift].

The Bultungin let out a angry roar before breaking out into a vicious claw combo. The Bultungin swung wildly as it tried to tear into Voxea, but not a single blow landed. The purple gauntlet disappeared as Voxea easily side stepped each blow, left, right, left, right. As if to add salt to the wounds, she started humming while dodging...and singing in my head.

[~Shalala, now don't be shy/you'll never know unless you try/come on and kiss the girl~], she sang in my head while humming.

[What are you singing]?

[Just an old love song. Eldritch Strike].

As the Bultungin overcommitted on the last part of his combo, Voxea suddenly did a split to avoid the attack and manifested the purple gauntlet once more. She then launched a fist directly towards a spot directly below the place the Bultungin would wear a belt. The Bultungin then proceeded to let out a low whine as it doubled over in pain.

[Well I just heard a crunch just now], Voxea commented in a weird matter of fact tone.

[...I did not need to know that...at like all, Voxea].

[Well now you know and...oh that's not good], she said as she immediately jumped away from the groaning Bultungin. After she had jumped away, an oppressive aura suddenly began to press down on me as a high pitched whistle suddenly disturbed my ear drums.

[Voxea, what's going on?!], I asked as I covered my ears in pain.

[It appears this mangy cur had one more trick up it's sleeves], Voxea informed me.

[What does that mean]?

Before she could answer, the Bultungin let out a loud laughing howl before a huge amount of orange aether cocooned the beast whole.

[It means it's about to get a whole lot nastier...and fun].