D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad-Chapter 1453 - The Other Shoe

--- Kat ---

Kat wasn't surprised when the other shoe finally dropped. The specifics did surprise her a bit, but perhaps they shouldn't have. Hunter simply collapsed in place in the middle of dealing with a worm pit. Kat was right next to the lamia and managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

Despite dropping the flames around them seemed to still be under Hunter's control which was good… and at least a bit weird. "Are you going to be ok?"

Kat got no response. A little confused Kat shifted Hunter to be more comfortable in her hands before she realised that Hunter couldn't reply because she couldn't speak. *Wait. Shit. She's out of demonic energy and her body has decided to stop moving while it recovers… but she's also still controlling the fire that's already out? What does that mean?* "Dammit Hunter.

I'm trying really hard not to be annoyed with you at the moment. You can't move, so you can't tell me what I need to do here…

"I mean, do I run backwards up the tunnel? It was cleared out but these are worms and I expect they can move through dirt just fine if they have to… but certainly not faster then me. So do I run to give you time to recover? Or would that be an issue because you've got all this fire here? If I moved you would the fire burn out of control? Why are you still burning things now that you can't move?

Am I meant to carry you will I fight?

"Look… I don't want to be annoyed, and I'm not angry… but Hunter you're more than twice my age and KNEW this was going to be a problem. I've been try really hard to help you out here but now we're in a position where you can't even tell me anything to help fix the issue… while literally carrying you.

I'm not exactly pleased that the only reason I'm even able to help you this much is because you can't stop me carrying you around.

"And, I get that I'm somewhat just ranting to the air because I need to complain a bit, but I do want to assure you that it's also because I need some sort of a sign of what to do here… or maybe just for you to say something once you can move again? Look I'll take either…" Kat trailed off as she noticed that the fire was starting sputter and die down.

Worse, a bunch of corpse worms in assorted corpses were starting to move towards her.

*Ok… I could throw out my fire but if the rapid temperature change causes structural issues I could be buried alive so let's not do that. Can't use my fans because I need to keep holding Hunter. Normally I'd trust her to hold onto my back but she can't move right now so that's out. I guess I could use my feet to kick them to pieces?

The issue is that Hunter is LONG and I'm not sure I can keep the end of her tail from touching the ground or getting into contact with the worms.

I'm also not sure how deadly they are to her. I've got regeneration for days but she's never let them get close… and that's before we start to consider any potential mental issues Hunter might have. Ok yeah let's just run then. I don't want Hunter near them while she can't fight back.

Sure I'd protect her, with my own body if necessary… but she doesn't know that and I'd really like to not make her trauma any worse.* Exclusive tales from novelbuddy

Kat kicked the ground to spin around and immediately took off. She was hoping to run away long enough for Hunter to recover while avoiding any worms. Not a bad plan at all… except for the small issue in front of her. Just as Kat was getting ready to retreat a mole-thing riddle with worms burst up out of the ground. It had an extra set of arms stapled onto it and its jaw had been replaced.

It wasn't all that large or scary by itself… but the two larger ones behind it were certainly intimidating. The biggest of which took up most of the pathway.

*Shit. I don't think I can get around that one without blowing through it… do I risk my fire or do I risk Hunter freaking out? I really don't like either of these options.* Kat glanced back at the horde of corpses and worms approaching her from behind. *Yeah I like that EVEN LESS. Can I… calm them down maybe?*

Kat let her aura explode, pumping as much power into is as she could to cover the worms… and it did nothing. *Why didn't that WORK!* Kat was freaking out as the worms failed to react. Of course, being worms they locked the mental capacity to even process 'calm' properly. Their attitude didn't change because their minds didn't.

Gritting her teeth Kat charged forward towards the moles blocking the way out. Hunter wasn't moving yet, and despite her concerns there was only three of the moles unlike the mess behind her. As she ran forward Kat adjusted her hold on Hunter and moved the girl's tail over her shoulder to ensure that it wasn't near the ground.

As Kat approached the first mole she didn't hesitate. It swiped at her with all four claws but after seeing how quickly Hunter had cut things down Kat decided not to worry. The two 'hands' that met her feet were obliterated when they collided with one of Kat's feet. The issue was the other two.

Kat was able to keep her left foot moving forward with enough power to blow off the thing's head and avoid the other arms on that side entirely, her right side was not as lucky.

The mole's claws dug into her ankle somewhat. The cut was only shallow but the damned thing was still moving even down two arms and a head. Kat wasn't planning to stick around to fight it though. Instead she kept moving, simply running out of its range. The medium sized mole-thing reacted swiftly, bringing its claws down towards her head.

Kat was read for it and simply danced off to the side letting the claws impact the ground uselessly. While it was recovering she slipped between it and the wall and was faced with the final mole. Before it started its attack, Kat's tail lashed out and sliced off a claw from the mole. It had tried to attack her in the back after she'd run passed but Kat was ready for that much.

The bigger mole was going to be a problem… so Kat decided to accept a bit of risk. She spat some demonic fire from her mouth and the mole was filled with screams as the fire spread and the mole started to freeze in place. The mole's arms flailed and it looked like they were trying to rip themselves from the mole to escape her flames.

Kat didn't let it worry her as she charged forward, angling herself so that any hits would be taken on her arm instead of damaging Hunter as she passed.

The wild flailing slammed into Kat with their full force… and it wasn't enough. Blood, gore and worms exploded everywhere… and Kat realised that might be a problem. Kat quickly covered herself and Hunter in demonic fire, the blood freezing and flaking off while the worms popped for some reason. "Sorry Hunter, I didn't expect it to cover us both like that…" mumbled Kat as she kept sprinting.

The moles were, if not dealt with, certainly weak enough to be no issue should they keep chasing after her. The best part? The large one was still blocking the way so the larger corpses that had been charging at her would either have to give up or claw their way through the moles first. It was a great roadblock… Kat could only hope that it hadn't messed with Hunter too badly.

Looking down at Hunter didn't reveal much. She was clearly still immobile but her eyes were shaking a tad. Kat… didn't know what that meant at all.

*Dammit. I really AM sorry Hunter but I only had so much time to plan all that out and you're definitely panicking in there. Why couldn't you have just accepted the help when I offered earlier? It would've been significantly less traumatising for you I'm sure of it. What do I even do once she starts moving again? Do I need to find a place that she feels safe?

Should I duck into one of those now clear worm pits so that we've got a defensible position?

Or is that just inviting more moles to come for us. We didn't see them before… but is that because they could tell Hunter had the floor covered? Was it just bad luck that she collapsed once we were deep enough for us to notice? It's so hard to tell… and it's even harder to know what's right.

I don't want to run too far because Hunter IS going to insist we go back and finish things… but perhaps I should insist that waits for another day? Sigh…*