Realizing who exactly is Chi’s target, your entire party spreads out, away from Pythia. At this point, it is clear that the bird-monster did not make a lot of friends on her way here.
Despite all the ways it could go horribly wrong, the temptation is just too great not to use it. When you see Chi charging straight at Pythia, you cast [Aphrodisiac Mist] without a second thought at the location where Chi and Pythia are about to clash.
[Energy 40/250]
Just as the Mist begins to form, Pythia takes flight to avoid Chi’s attack. It’s not like she saw your mist, she couldn’t have—you’re the only one who’s been able to perceive it so far. But in hindsight, you realize that, with Pythia being the only being here who can take flight, it would be silly for her not to abuse it and stay on the ground.
Chi doesn’t stay in the Mist long either. The moment Pythia raises in the air—slowly at first, as she picks up momentum to lift her humanoid body—Chi dashes to Gamma and uses her massive shield as a foothold to spring into the air and slash at Pythia.
Chi and Pythia exchange blows mid-air. Chi manages to nick Pythia’s left wing with her blade, but Pythia’s counter-attack is much more severe. Being the one who can freely move in the air as she pleases, Pythia assaults Chi until she finally rips through the flesh on Chi’s back with the claws on her feet, leaving three long gashes. By some stroke of luck or some prowess on Chi’s side, her spine was not damaged. Blood descends from the air, along with the battle bunny.
“Chi-sama!!” Beta shouts, finally dropping her hay-counting task. However, she is still tied up at your feet and can do nothing to help her leader. Delta and Gamma are still lying unconscious. You glance at Alpha and Gamma. Alpha doesn’t even look at the duel. Gamma follows it closely, but you can’t tell what she’s thinking.
Just when Pythia rises up to dive at Chi at great speed and finish off the bunny mid-air, she falters. From the ground, you see the feathers on Pythia’s left wing melt one by one. Losing balance and altitude, Pythia flies above you, in the direction of the gates to your base.
Despite the wounds on her back, Chi lands gracefully on her feet. Your [Aphrodisiac Mist] has completely dissipated by this point. But Chi doesn’t follow the bird-monster, who lands on the mountainside, high enough above the gates to be out of immediate danger of anyone, who can’t fly. That part of the mountain is almost completely vertical for over a hundred feet, after all.
“I think I’ll sit out the rest of the fight,” Pythia shouts and tends to her deteriorating wing. “Just make sure to leave me at least a couple of pounds of her flesh. An arm for an arm, after all.”
Chi finds herself standing between you and your imps, and the half-circle formed by the rest of your group. Chi looks around her, measuring up the potential threats, almost inviting anyone willing to try their luck. Either she is completely unfazed by her wounds, or does a phenomenal job pretending that she isn’t.
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