Indomitable

by Slendy


Chp. 18 - Black Wolf's Rage

Okay, let's recap my day so far.

One, I have discovered an ancient red temple has been transported to Equestria. Two, a genuine monster was also warped to Equestria and has since gained the ability to turn into a pony and back. Three, I... found something unpleasant residing in this temple. And four, Yian Garuga, the craziest wyvern to have ever walked the Old and New Worlds is a manifestation. On the plus side, I feel fantastic today!

"I am not feeling fantastic today!" My complaint came as three flaming spits collided with the wall behind me as I ran across its face, a spined tail digging across the stone as I leapt up and over Yian, soaring high to distract it long enough for Yui to pull Mira by her tail into one of the hallways, the monster trying to pull herself free to transform again. Territorial monsters, honestly...

Soaring into view between them and the Yian, I alerted both to my presence the second my shadow bounced from the walls to the ground. I kept my eyes straight, but my body was shaking from the volatile nature of this monster, so I gnashed my teeth, Bone Rush drew to my side. The eyes of the Yian twitched, a bubbling frenzy tempered its emotions, while the girls spectated from afar, I would appreciate back-up but this monster was always the most violent, I'd be an even bigger idiot to allow them to fight.

"Graaaaah!!" My staff craned upward to meet the exposed side of the Yian's head, immediately smashing against the thick skull, creating a sharp tug on the wind while sparks flew from the collision, yet, the weaker scales couldn't absorb the blow, as the sharp end slit an arc of white from the Yian's eye, while the other broke a fang, tossing the head against the side of the wall and well away from the girls.

I didn't hesitate, moving without rational thought I grabbed a large rock, quickly spinning to slap my heel off the stone as the orange hue enveloped the projectile, striking Yian across the chin, all that did was make it scream with an unbearable loud roar. Dazed, I spun my staff around, channeling the swords above my ears as my muscles hardened, while the scarlet energy whipped with the brush of wind gathering around me.

The screeching tantrum of the Yian drove my feet into overdrive, Quick Attack propelling me under the legs then back up for a rounded smack of the polearm, followed by an overhead strike to the wings, bringing the wyvern back down on its claws while I gathered an abundance of lighting between my fingers.

"Thunder Punch!" I took off toward the Wyvern without a second to lose. I had to keep them safe, but am I going to be able to hold out long enough to think of a plan? My fist struck the swipe of the tail, the purple and gold collision creating two interesting rings as the impact pushed us back momentarily. I forgot, Yian's immune to thunder! Alright then, let's try this combo!

Bracing I harnessed a silver hue across my forearms, standing my ground even as I felt my skin roast under a flaming ball that struck my arms, singeing my fur. Through the fire and pain, Yian swooped with both pairs of talons, and I stomped once, extinguishing the embers. With a cross-chop, Reversal unleashed a silver torrent of the flames, blinding Yian as it screeched. Through the cracks I dived, aiming my right arm for its wing.

Aiming the Metal Claw at an angle, the three blades snagged to the base of the limb, pulling me into flight just as it finished pulling off a backflip to toss rocks. I did everything I could to stay balanced, hooking my left claw around the neck while prying the right free of the scales. Yian thrashed through the air, having me near double back off the monster in a heartbeat.

With a grunt, I shoved both claws against the base of the jaw, hearing the sickening split of muscle as I pulled back, two Aura Sphere's embedding themselves in the wyvern's face. Disorientated, it threw me off, flapping haphazardly into a pillar, toppling it over while burning itself under the rubble with a strained howl. Breaking into a sprint, I had already depleted alot of stamina healing Mira, and using one of my trump cards might not guarantee me the win, there was also the matter of escaping this place too before any more water floods this chamber.

"Here!" Reacting to Yui's word I snatched a red waterskin from the air, smiling happily as I spat the cork out and doused myself in a red powder, the twinkling particles stuck to my fur, and what thoughts of fear that pumped into my adrenaline suddenly maxed out. A little concoction Yui helped me make before we left Ponyville, it was a natural strength enhancer, and unlike drugs, this one had almost no drawbacks other than feeling exhausted once your body ceases production of adrenaline.

Yian reeled back, spitting a large fire blast to divert my course into its waiting chin slam, three consecutive slams forced my body down as Protect chipped under the force of the chin. Rolling aside as the spined tail dug through the earth my eyes snapped toward my left, opportunity rising in my chest.

With an ear-splitting scream that shook the chamber, it rammed its head into a chunk of the pillar, splitting it more and more with each whip of its mandible. I kept low and in a criss-cross pattern, sliding under a spin of the body and the tail as I found a spot to strike beneath the wing with a Force-Palm, seeing the buzz of static excite a sporadic twitch in the wyvern. With two hops I landed between the spines on its back, sinking my polearm through a seam between two scales.

The violent swaying of Yian tore at my muscles while some of the spines rubbed and poked at my body, grazing my skin with each violent toss and turn. This time I had been thrown between evading rocks, another waterskin, this one tinged orange. I mentally thanked Yui and didn't hesitate to douce the monster in a black substance, most splashing against its jaws as they clamped around my left arm, burying me into the ground with a single thrust.

The crazed eye of this bird loomed, and I erected the transparent barrier between us as it snapped at the air, neck stretched back as the flames erupted from its crooked beak.

*Blam!*

Yian wheezed, falling to its side due to the backblast of its own attack blowing up in its face. The powder was an oily substance akin to gunpowder that we used to light fires with damp sticks. One thing Equestria was great for, it had a natural substance for just about everything. With the monster rasping on the ground, I snatched it up by the neck, folding my right back with a familiar, crimson glow as the eye widened.

With a resounding snap of bone and scale, Yian's body tumbled across the chamber, sprawling out against the ground as I lowered my paw, seeing only split skin from punching scales directly. Slowly, Yian growled, sliding back to its feet, even that wasn't enough. And the remaining eye, as the head moved, I felt the incredible amounts of bloodlust accumulated in the scarlet eye with a red contrail.

No matter how hard I fight, this monster could easily endure it all to the last bone broken. Unlike any manifestation, this was by far the most aggressive, and I nearly out of energy. Adjusting my stance, I continued to pant heavily, even while the energy gathering between my claws was dim. "Come on, Zen, you can do this, you can still win, there's still a chance!"

With a powerful lunge, I slapped both my paws together to extend forth Bone Rush once more, driving the end of the staff past the slam of the chin, crossing it through the underside of Yian's wing, kicking back off its stomach to leap over the sweep of the wing, avoiding the tail's slam in the process. Coming down with a slant, I planned to blind it entirely, without its sight we could turn the tides in a heartbeat!

A glint of silver faded in the light, my face contorted with horror at the sight of aura shards falling from my paws.

Yian... just closed its eye, the thick skin and scales surrounded the forehead broke the staff, leaving not so much as a blemish. Yian twirled angrily, snarling as its backend swung low, the tail slammed into my chest, forcing him to cough while the chest spike absorbed the poison while my elbows shoved my feet back under me.

Rolling under a pecking charge, my head-feeler-things were swept up by the potent tail. Dashing for the large pond I jumped high and landed straight atop the lopsided pillar, my feet anxiously gripping the stone. The talons suddenly carved through the wall above me, showering dust in an attempt to poison me with the tail but I jumped and kicked the wyvern back, it only recoiled sharply with both feet pinned with my polearm again. A few prods cutting my forearms in the process.

Of all monsters, it had my feet trembling to hold it back under a battle of raw strength. I had two kinds of strength enhancements and it was overpowering me with sheer will power! The only thing to stare back was a single glowering eye, the other still bleeding profusely. My feet were shifting back, so with a twist at the hips I threw Yian against the jagged wall as I dived away, but not before the tail snapping in accordance, whipping back to slice through my shoulder.

"Grah, Mira!" I felt her eyes on me. "I need you to hit Yian with everything you got!"

She looked hesitant, almost conflicted to get involved as I started to lose altitude. "Hurry!!"

"O-Okay!" There was a flurry of bubbles past Yui, and soon the familiar sight of the enraged leviathan greeted us with a roar. With two Aura Spheres beneath me, I threw myself back for a perfect angle on both Mira and the dazed flapping of Yian who was still in position

There was a pregnant pause, then the high-pitched wail of the Mizutsune as she produced a high-pressured stream of water that hurdled itself into Yian with resounding success, slapping the monster back against the wall as I spun myself upside down, reeling my head back with a familiar tickle building in my stomach, tracing up my throat like a hot sensation, the wisps of ultraviolet gathering.

"Hyper Beam!" My voice was lost in the blinding flash cannon of energy that tore into the ceiling above Yian with a visible tremble in the temple as some loose rock and dust fell around us, high above Yian the section of the ceiling came crashing down atop its wings, its scream cut out from the boulders as it struck the pillar, adding that to the earthfall plummeting into the water

There was a rumble underneath me as I slid down across Mira's back, bubbles sticking to me as we watched with miraculous success at the water level within the pond receding out a large hole in the wall, we had breached the blockade with the combined might of a wyvern and two tons of concrete and earth, with the added risk of burying ourselves alive.

"Haha, that's another one down!" My aching body was tackled by Yui who threw me into a spin against Mira's scaly form, her head coming down to nuzzle us both with a soft growl of affection. Despite the unbearable pain across my body, I was still finding it within me to laugh, slumping against the monster as her soapy bubbles managed to clean off some of the grime

"And you told me you were useless days ago, bah, perish the thought!" I threw my arm up, then winced from the sharp reminder. "Nope, can't do that now!"

"Dummy..." Yui sighed, and from Mira's expression she was worried too. Slapping my paw down my muzzle I let Life Dew take care of most of my minor wounds, closing my eyes with the last of my strength receding much like the dam now unclogged, and a fresh breath of wind passing through the ancient remains of a forgotten era. "Come on, let's get you patched up, 'Lucario'."

"You love the name, don't deny it."


"Ah, sweet, visible land not of stone, how I've missed you!" I fell flat against the warmth of the grass, the sun had risen again, meaning we were up all night within the temple. Rolling around to face Yui and Mira I crossed my arms behind my head. "Been a while since I performed an all-nighter," Although having been through the closest consideration of events that could resemble a rollercoaster, I doubt I would have gotten a wink of sleep...

Sitting upright, it was clear what the atmosphere was, sorrow. Much as it has been fun meeting and helping Mira, she was finally free to go about her life in this world either forever or until the day the rift that tore the temple through time and space takes her back. The river that was once dry and barren now flowed seamlessly to wherever the horizon led it and Mira whined from the edge itself, head low while Yui petted her head, earning a nuzzle from the adorable monster.

I can't imagine being torn from her natural home has been easy, whatever is at the center of all these rifts to the Monster Hunter world I'll figure it out, even if it takes dozens of monsters, because if innocent creatures like her are being pulled into this, whole temples and civilizations too, there might not be much of either world left.

Yui tried not to frown, keeping a smile under her hood. "Don't be upset, you're free to travel the vastness of Equestria!" Despite the short amount of time, I could feel the sadness aching in her heart. "Besides, maybe one day we'll meet again, I'm certain."

"I second that," I waved my paw, linking the other around Yui's neck as we sat beside Mira, my paw patting her nose. "Take care of yourself, Mira, and don't for a second hesitate, and who knows, maybe we can explore another temple again or fight a monster?" She nodded with bubbling anticipation, her nose pressing back against my palm as I closed my eyes. "...Goodbye."

With a happy roar to the bright-blue sky she dived back into the water, bubbles and water droplets painting an aroura of rainbows around us as she swam full-speed-ahead down the meandering river, her body sweeping up and down to the curvature of the world, and further from our sight. We should really get back on the road, so I sighed leaned down to rest my head atop Yui's as we sat for a little while longer.

A slight chuckle escaped my lips. "We're lost again, aren't we?"

Yui's head slumped. "Yep, totally, absolutely."

To Be Continued...