Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 271: Arc 4, Act II, - 116: The Poison Feather
A blast of snow went past her vision and the next thing she knew, her dark brown hair was rushing past her vision, the sound of wind roaring around her.
The snow and ice dissipated into mist and mana as the shadow of a cliff loomed over her, "AHHHH!!!!" she shrieked and gasped. The gusts blew tears out of her eyes as she tried her best to cast a spell.
With her eyes opened enough, shadows took over her form and she wooshed up fifty or so metres and her hair flew behind her, the gust stopped... Only for it to be blown forward again and the surge of wind to continue once gravity took hold.
She blinked again, then again, disappearing into shadows before emerging towards the underside of the clifftop. She reached a hand out... Would it reach...!?
"Spider Walk!" shadows trailed down her fingers into her palms and coated it in a dark purplish miasma. "Tck!" Her hand caught onto the smooth yet jagged surface of the clifftop’s underside.
She flung her light body upwards, before latching her hands and feet on, like a bug to a wall. Fumeko panted—a shaking body and bubbled eyes she could not control.
Her head turned to the side, glancing past her dark brown strands that dangled and lightly obscured the view below.
One only wondered what perhaps a few more seconds of falling would’ve done to her... Thoughts of her dad rushed to her head, then Jotou, Hotaru and Asobi. With every breath she put the memories at rest.
Parts of her purple cloak had light rips from Frost’s attack; she could however feel her headband still intact. "Phew..." she huffed and firmly dug her heels into the stone.
She lifted one hand and placed it slightly forward... Glanced around, then did her other hand, followed by each shoe. Once she had the rhythm, she continued quicker up the underside. There was no way she was letting Frost escape after that!
Meanwhile, whilst the fight occurred with Fumeko and Frost, Jotou and Daiyu had their own opponent. "THRASH!" "BASH!" Spindling dark green vines the size of columns jetted up from the ground.
They slammed and clobbered the earth, aiming for the two escaping their sudden emergence. "Stone Surge!" Daiyu stomped towards one.
"Thundering Strike!" Jotou slashed her sword against the other coming down.
"CrrACk, TFFFF!!!" The pillars of stone tore through the vine and went for the opulent part-human woman stood casually behind it.
Yellow lightning flashed through, searing through the overgrown weed. "BLASSTTT!!!!" She directed the thunder to the same target.
"CRSHH!" "SLASH!" Feather took one mere step back and flourished her fingers to raise a much thicker vine to the take the brunt of the thunder and stop the pillars of stone in their tracks.
Her freshly grown plant fell in chunks and shreds around her whilst she gave a yawn to her two opponents, "Look darlings, I’ve done what I needed to do here.
I’ve been up since morning, I’m getting quite tired, my poor skin and my pores in this heat," she winced to the sunrays starting to fade. "I have no quarrel here and I’m more than happy to let you ’escape’ me and I’ll be on my way- Tch."
"Zap!" Jotou closed the distance and pivoted her blade.
In the middle of her eyeroll, Feather flicked the back of her palm forward in light green energy that bubbled into space. "CAWW!!" She summoned forth a swarm of greenish-blue crows towards Jotou.
"Spark!" glowing like a beacon, lightning overtook her entire form. "Szz!" "Fzz!" The summoned flock that whizzed past, poofed into green feathers as they made contact with her sparks.
Before the cacophony of flutter and flaps even flew past her blonde ponytail they disappeared into thin air. "Quake!" Daiyu ran the distance, each crack forming with each step, "Rockslide!"
The Poison Feather gave no care as the ground slid out from under her; with a flick of her tail against the dirt, she fell into a throne of vines that moved her back and raised her high, "You really have no use fighting."
Jotou spun her sparking sword, "If you don’t wanna fight, you’re talking to the wrong people. I’ll be the judge of ’no use’."
"Besides," Daiyu dragged her great sword with a sneering frown, "You’ve already killed plenty, what’s two more!?" Daiyu stomped her foot forward and slashed her blade against the vine holding Feather up.
The ground rumbled as the sitting Feather stepped backwards onto new vines emerging behind it as the throne fell, "Because I have such an exhausting task," she sighed.
With each step back, the vines up front were cut down by the Thundering Blade till Feather had made a staircase of vines to land herself back firmly on the ground, "Kill these people, but specifically don’t kill these people.
Ugh, honestly it gave me too much of a headache. I can poison you, but I can’t. I could kill you, but I can’t," she stepped back each stair with her tail flicking and arms behind her back, "I could paralyze a body part using a neurotoxin.
But it is poisonous, so if it takes the wrong path in your body, that’s bad as well," her foot hit gently onto the ground.
Daiyu gritted her teeth, trying to chase this opponent who was gracefully shifting back, "Earthen Barb!" she slammed her boot to the ground.
"CRK! PSH!" A spike jetted out the earth below, curving into a hook-like shape with hundreds of sharp barbs all around it. Feather for once broke a sweat as dozens of small green eagles formed a mantle around her and lifted her backwards in an instant.
Daiyu slid her stomped foot around whilst Jotou dashed forward. To Daiyu’s control, the barbs on her earth-hook joined together to—"SHK!"—stab forward like a lance in her direction.
Feather put up a mess of vines to block the attack, "So annoying," she remarked. "Enough of you," Feather glanced to Daiyu and beneath Daiyu came a rumbling.
Daiyu lifted her foot- "CRRSH!" Thick green vines emerged, tangling her up in them, her arms and legs were hoisted up, stuck in the thick cord-like vines. "GRRAHH!" she flailed to no avail.
With her foot off the ground, her earthen barb sunk into the earth and disappeared. "Thundering Strike!" with Jotou nearby, the vine taking Daiyu up was cut by the stalk with thunder and lightning.
Daiyu came crashing down and released her greatsword to land. "Crash!" She rolled back upright, "Upheaval!" Daiyu stomped down.
Vines swirled around Feather’s feet and lifted her aside as the platform was jetted into sky. She sighed more, "And besides, if I kill either of you, then- Ohp," Feather shut her mouth with a smirk.
"Well, never mind. That’s information for Frost to find out; not you two~"
’There’s no way in hell. She knows something, about me and Daiyu? Some kind of answer!?’ Jotou knitted her brows, "You better finish that sentence; WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?" her sparks fizzled a little brighter.
Feather chuckled, "Oh, just something a little birdie told me. Don’t worry about it."
Daiyu could feel a little buzz in her arm, stiffening by the joints. Her mana was running low and she glanced to the sword fallen in the mess of vines; she rushed for it.
Jotou on the other hand made a beeline for Feather. Feather raised a hand and burst forth a flock of pelicans. "ZAP!" her entire sparking figure was barely affected, killing them in an instant, "Tell me!
Or I’ll carve every bone till you spill the answer OUT!" Jotou slashed her sword. Feather took a step back and jetted out vines- "Thundering Strike!" as they emerged, lighting surged through the plants.
Feather’s eyes went wide and summoned a massive wall of vines in front of her. "BLASSTTTT!!!!" "Eugh!" Feather fell, but she was caught by a chair of crows and was back up on her feet.
"Subtle of asking it seems, where is this girl?" Feather glanced around for Frost.
"Tell, me," her glaring eyes sparked as she spun her sword forward, the corners of her mouth hissing with electricity.
Feather tightened her lips and shook her head in a sigh, "To be frank, I’m not too interested in being a casualty in this stupid last stand. I’m done with the Trailon Regime."
Daiyu had her greatsword and rushed back into the fray, "You’re telling the truth!?" Daiyu could sense with every step she took and yet she still couldn’t believe it.
"Oh believe what you want, it’s not like my words are having any effect," she glanced to Jotou being the clear threat in her path.
’She knows something about us being in this world.’ Jotou could see it in her eyes.
In response, Feather lifted her arm and encased Daiyu in a small cluster of vines, stopping her in her tracks. "Ow!" Daiyu felt something small piercing all through her adventuring attire and against her left shoulder as well as her left leg.
A small finch disappeared after the peck, "Your precious princess is poisoned—something mild. Unless you want to guess how long she has, I suggest taking it to be treated; medics should normally carry the cure for this one," Feather told Jotou.
Jotou swivelled her head to Daiyu. Daiyu’s left arm fell limp, "It’s fucking burning! OW!" her left leg went next, as she went to one knee.
"Daiyu!" the sparks fizzled brighter as Jotou rushed for her best friend.
"Stop her! I don’t care if she doesn’t want to fight!" Daiyu pointed with her right arm.
"Not the time psychopath!" Jotou lifted Daiyu by the side.
An icy blue, just in the nick of time, made it back and landed next to Feather. "About time."
"Sorry, had things to deal with. I just flung the little detective off a cliff, she might’ve already gone splat, better go check Thundering Blade," Frost spun Fumeko’s dagger.
’...There’s no way.’ "Meko..." a chill went down Jotou’s spine and she lifted Daiyu up with haste, "We gotta go, now!"
"Let’s go," around Frost formed icicles and hail, the ground freezing over little by little from her feet to a bigger area to encompass Feather.
Jotou at this point attempted to run, dragging Daiyu along while her widened eyes faced the east. ’You did not do that Frost. You did not do that.’ The words Frost said haunted her mind; that Jotou should remember, Frost is still her enemy.
A large snowflake pattern formed on the ground as mist and hail began surging upwards in an icy blue glow. Frost concentrated and faced the fleeing blonde with a shrug; almost like an apology till- "What the!?"
The gleaming purple dagger in Frost’s hand disappeared into shadow and what emerged right in front of the Frosting Wind was shadow and a brunette.
"CRK! SCREEECCHH!!!" "EAGHH!" Frost recoiled and screamed as the dagger went through the side of her helmet and visor, where her right eye would be. "You little rat!" the icy blue mist around them began to die down.
Jotou turned around, "Detective!"
The panting Fumeko took the dagger back and with a glimmer of shadow in her eyes, tried to stab once more. Frost grunted and kicked her leg out with ice trailing behind.
Fumeko blinked aside-
"Heavens above," Feather rolled her eyes and flicked her wrist; with it came vines sprouting all around them.
"Gah!" Fumeko blinked all the way out of the vicinity as the plants burst out in her direction. Frost concentrated on the spell beneath her feet, picking up where she left off before she was so rudely interrupted.
The ice pattern formed and icy blue mist glowed. "Running away Frosty?" Fumeko blinked back into the area.
Through the slash of her helmet, one sapphire blue eye glanced to Fumeko, the dagger’s cut only to the side of it, "I’ll see you again," the one eye narrowed. "Till then, go fuck yourself cause Jotou ain’t gonna," in a flash of icy blue, Feather and Frost disappeared.
Fumeko’s eyes widened and she stabbed nothing but the air, "GET BACK HERE YOU- AGHH!!"
All that was left was dissipating ice and snow. As the angered Fumeko glanced around; this was no doubt the teleport spell she was trying to master herself...
"Meko! Daiyu’s poisoned, I’m going!" Jotou had stopped in between, unsure whether to help Fumeko or rush Daiyu. However, she was already rushing towards Division One’s base as she yelled.
Fumeko grumbled, "Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there," she took a deep breath. "Icy bitch... Cut me deeper than any fucking dagger. How does she even know?" she muttered to herself, shaking her head.
Fumeko looked back to Jotou and Daiyu, "I already had a guess. So you’ve just confirmed my suspicion Frosty; you’re Jotou’s informant," she linked. She blinked to them both to help the poisoned Daiyu along faster...
