Nox had his spear of shadows embedded into the Aeshma's torso as they fell four stories down. The creature tried to move, which prompted him to drive the spear deeper. Wind rushed past his face as they plummeted. At the height of the second floor, the Aeshma let out an ear-piercing shriek, blood spilling from its empty eye sockets, its mouth agape to display rows upon rows of sharp teeth.
"'Child, immediately get away from the Aeshma!'"
Without thinking twice, Nox planted one foot on its torso and leapt away. A second later, red spikes no less than two meters tall shot out all over its body. Nox felt sweat drip down. He stretched out his hand, ready to will the shadows to secure a safe landing, when a black figure rushed towards him at terrifying speed. It was Meimei. The small cat was now bigger than a tiger, and she moved in midair, her paws hitting a translucent, dream-like blue platform that rippled each time she made contact. Nox looked down; he was approaching the first floor quickly. 'Shit! Meimei won't get to me in time!' His eyes scanned the surroundings for a ledge or something to latch onto when he felt soft fur beneath him. He looked down in disbelief and relief to see Meimei. He didn't have time to react as they skidded to the side. Nox's body reacted faster than anyone would've expected, his hands gripping the soft fur and his legs pressing up against the feline's sides just so he wouldn't fall off. The platform beneath Meimei rippled with her movement but held nonetheless.
Master! I'm here!
Nox patted her head, and she let out a low chuff before fixing her gaze on the Aeshma. It had landed on the ground still intact, much to Meimei's displeasure. Her black claws gleamed under the moonlight and her pupils dilated as she got a better look at the creature.
... I had just thought it was another Ruach Ra'ah, but this... How did one of these things get in here?
She sniffed. Master, let me take care of this one.... Her gaze was menacing, killing intent radiating off her in waves.
"No, I'll handle this myself," Nox refused. Meimei went rigid.
No, Master! It's too dangerous. That thing is called an Aeshma, servants of devils who do their bidding. They are very dexterous and annoying to kill. They can't be killed normally, either. You need to flood them with Divine Power or Xenon to destroy them. Master can't fluidly use Divine Power yet, and Master can't use Xenon for this. Plus, I fear that Aeshma in particular can inflict hidden damage. It's best that I remove it.
Nox furrowed his eyebrows. 'Veil, is this true?'. ,Veil popped out of his chest and said without missing a beat, "'Yes, it is.'"
Nox's mouth twitched slightly. 'Why didn't you tell me?!'. Veil spun once. "'One can revive you, so it's not an issue. It's not that you can't kill the Aeshma; it's just that you're not strong enough to do it right now.'"
Nox wanted to hit someone. Meimei's eyes were fixed on the creature intently, watching it twitch and spasm. It jerked its bloated body upright and let out a bloodcurdling shriek, to which a blue, translucent, rippling sphere covered the feline and her Master. Nox stared at the sphere, feeling as though a herd of alpacas was stampeding through. '... A Barrier?... Meimei can use Barriers?!' Nox sucked in a sharp breath. Meimei, who didn't know what he was thinking about, let out a low rumble from deep within her throat. With claws on full display and eyes glowing faintly, she circled the Aeshma all while still carrying her Master on her back and maintaining the Barrier. The creature curled into a ball, and blood-red spikes shot out at frightening speeds towards Nox. Meimei narrowed her gaze and would've rolled her eyes had she not been a cat.
These twigs can't break this Barrier. If they could, I'll never eat sausages again!
She was confident, but Nox looked soulless. The spikes bounced off the Barrier's surface. Just as Nox felt relieved and Meimei felt smug, more spikes shot towards them like an unending torrent. Meimei frowned.
These attacks can't do any damage... Unless...
A shadow was cast over them as a huge, bird-like figure swooped down. Meimei shifted a dozen meters away in an instant. Nox clutched her fur for dear life, jolted by the sudden movement.
*GROWL~*
Nox felt all the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he looked at Meimei. Her fur was slightly puffed out, her posture lowered, and her ears were flat against her head. Six-inch-long black claws gleamed with a blue sheen, her body pulsed faintly with blue light, and those jewel-like sapphire eyes held killing intent so profound the temperature dropped several degrees. Meimei slowly walked down to the ground, her eyes fixed on the creatures as she said to Nox, Master, I'm sorry for doing this, but I need you to imitate a barrier and protect yourself.
Nox paused, then slid off her back and patted her. "Don't overdo it."
Meimei didn't say anything, but her tail flicked. Nox crouched to the ground and began to will the shadows. "Tzel." The shadows of the surrounding trees and landscape ripped away and converged at one point: Nox. They wrapped around him, encasing him completely in a shadow dome with a one-meter radius and a three-meter height. Meimei began walking forward. The bloated, humanoid Aeshma shuffled slowly towards her. From the sky, the bird-like figure descended. Meimei's head snapped in its direction as she fully took in its features. It looked like a creature native to the world of Terra called the Stormbringer—a massive bird which closely resembled a hawk, save for its size and ability to control the weather.
However, this one was quite different. Several limbs were snapped, causing bones to jut out of its body, which was covered in blood-red eyes. This Aeshma landed shortly after taking flight, its many eyes fixed on the shadow dome behind Meimei. Meimei was annoyed at their fixation with her Master. She couldn't stand it. So without preamble, her taut muscles loosened and she pounced, leaving a small crater where she had originally been standing. She went straight for the bloated humanoid Aeshma, which shot blood-red spikes from its body.
*CLANK!**CLANK!**CLANK!*
The spikes bounced off the barrier, leaving ripples on its surface. The barrage of spikes didn't slow down one bit; instead, it intensified, but Meimei closed the distance. She raised one huge paw, claws unsheathed, and swung down once.
*Swoosh!*
The Aeshma was cleaved into five vertical pieces. Viscous, foul-smelling goo sprayed from its body as it collapsed to the ground. Meimei shook the goo off her claws just as the image of several eyes floating midair loomed over her.
*VOOM!*
Suddenly, the gravity in the space shifted. Meimei was pinned to the ground as menacing blood-red pupils in black sclera stared her down. Meimei looked incredibly annoyed now.
Not only are these things targeting Master specifically, but one is also so powerful... Tsk, it seems one of the Princes wants my Master's life...
The eyes multiplied, making the gravity much heavier than before. Meimei stood straight, and a low rumble came from her throat. She stood on her hind legs and raised her front paws up... then swung them down. The result? Illusory blades cleaved every single eye.
*SCREEECH!!*
The hawk-like Aeshma let out a shriek of pain. All the eyes on its body crushed simultaneously as the force pressing down on Meimei vanished. She moved like an afterimage. Before the Aeshma could react, her paw swung down. The Aeshma fell, then melted into a puddle of foul-smelling goo. Meimei frowned and walked back towards her Master. The faint traces of the sun lit up the dark sky as day began to break.
"Hmmm, so you really are the Dream Beast."