The twins stared at the girl lying supine on the ground. Her hair pooled around her, shining, black and yellow. Twin tails sprouted out of her behind, lying limply next to her still figure. The green grass she rested on gently whispered with the wind, the weeping willows swaying gently behind them.
"She doesn't exude the same ambiance as the person who bit you just now." Kakuro stated, observing both the girl and her sister.
Kuri nodded. "I agree. Something felt off. She not only changed physically, but also psychologically, I assume. It's like I was talking not to her, but to a rabid beast."
Kakuro nodded as well. "Yes, and it would've gone a lot better had you not raised that barrier when she was chewing on your shoulder."
"What? I was amused!" Kuri smirked, despite the broken piece of armor still missing from her shoulder.
"Amused now?" Kakuro drawled and immediately noticed her older sister's expression shift. "She's an unpredictable little thing."
Kuri raised a fist above her head but Kakuro grabbed her hand immediately.
"You're not going to punch consciousness back into her, are you?"
Kuri glanced up at her younger twin who stood next to her kneeling form.
"I'll be gentle," she scoffed.
"No!" Kakuro tightened her grip on the older samurai's wrist. "You mustn't take revenge. She's out of the circle. Benefactor will feel the pain and come for our heads."
The older samurai sighed and let her hand go limp, setting free all of the tension in her whole arm.
"Fine. But he lost his ability to resurrect others long ago. There's no way he'd risk it. It's good Eref and Irstte aren't here, though."
The woman nodded to herself while Kakuro glanced aside with a distant hum, making the older woman squint at her in suspicion while she released her arm.
"That seems partially related. What did you do?" Kuri barked.
Kakuro sighed and fell to her knees. "I found benefactor unconscious in his secret room so I instructed them to guard him." She blurted.
"WHAT?!" Kuri shouted. "Them, who?!"
Kakuro immediately sprung to her feet and darted behind a pile of black boulders.
"I instructed Eref and Irstte not to try anything stupid lest they want to suffer my wrath!"
Kuri sputtered. "Something stupid?! That was something stupid! You know he hates company, especially Eref and Irstte. KAKUROOO?!"
She stood up and approached the woman hiding behind the pile of black rocks.
"You speak of fury, please let me give you a piece of my fury before benefactor arrives, baby sister!"
Kakuro hid behind the rocks.
"Stay back, Kuri. I'm not two hundred anymore."
"You sure act like you are! Entrusting our benefactor to those two." Kuri stomped to the rocks, leaving April on the grass. She circled them and peeked around only to find Kakuro gone.
She narrowed her eyes, sneering, her lazulite blue eyes glinting.
"You can't camouflage your power, little sis."
She snatched a part of the rocks and a form, female and made of the same material as the black pile of rocks, gasped. It was Kakuro, disguised as them. She grabbed back at Kuri's wrist while the other woman pulled her to her feet with her neck.
Kuri eyed her up and down.
"Nice. This looks like onyx, maybe obsidian. I wonder if it's indestructible."
Kakuro groaned, her onyx face giving up. She rolled her eyes while the black rock faded off her frame, revealing her crimson armor, her fair skin and the bioluminescence returning to her eyes.
"Fine. I yield. You may punish me as you see fit, sister. But I'm telling father later."
Kuri smirked. "You can tell him all the tales you want. He won't say anything."
Kakuro stared at her sister for a moment before she began struggling in her grip. And while the other one struggled, Kuri turned her attention to the pile of black rocks.
"Curious. I've never seen this here before."
Kakuro immediately ceased struggling and looked as well. "It was definitely not here this morning, nor yesterday."
"Yes." Kuri released her and crossed her arms. "Did a monster breach the mountain and bring it in here?"
They immediately forgot about their little scuffle.
She glanced from one far side of the mountainous wall to the other. "No drag marks though."
Kakuro sniffed the air. "Shadows," she muttered, narrowing her eyes.
"What?" Kuri glanced at her, a look of disbelief in her eyes. "Are you saying Father brought this pile here? What for?"
"He's the only one whose shadows have an actual scent."
The older samurai narrowed her eyes at the younger one, contemplating on her next words and course of action.
And while she contemplated, a tremor ran up the pile of rocks, only Kakuro noticing.
"Curious..."
Kuri held her chin thoughtfully and hummed. "Well, Father must have had a good reason to bring a pile of rocks here. They do seem like an indestructible form of onyx. Perhaps as ore for elven blade crafting? No, but he wouldn't leave it behind. Nor would he care to craft weapons for them either."
And while she spoke to herself, Kakuro leaned closer to the pile, narrowing her blue eyes.
"What are you doing, Kakuro?"
"Huh. It has a face."
"..."
Kuri's jaw fell open but no words came out as surprise danced in her eyes. That was the first she'd ever heard of that. "A rock with a face?" It refused to click.
She watched Kakuro lean closer to the outline of a humanoid face carved into the rock.
Before the eyes snapped open, purple flames igniting.
"Oh!!" Kakuro sprung back and instinctively pulled out her sword while Kuri ran to April's side. "It's a golem!"
Kakuro had pointed out when the pile of black rocks aggressively shook. A hand lifted and pressed down on the grassy ground, followed by another. Kuri, scooping unconscious April into her arms and turning back around, watched with a neutral expression as the golem slowly rose to its feet, slowly getting taller and taller until it towered four meters.
"Makes sense," Kuri mumbled.
It looked down at them, an expressionless look in its flaming, purple eyes as it shifted its gaze from one samurai twin to the other.
Kakuro blinked up its height, her sword held ready.
"Sister…?"
"No sudden movements." Kuri commanded, her voice low.
"Do you think it has a master?" Kakuro inquired as she remained rooted on the spot, her katana pointed to the ground.
Kuri sighed. "If so, it wouldn't be here far off to the east."
The rock golem tilted its head at Kuri, staring. She blinked in confusion and glanced at the girl in her arms.
"...?"
With a slight movement from the samurai, April's hair fell off the side of her face and revealed part of her freckled face. Kuri looked up at the golem and immediately noticed the change in its flaming eyes.
She turned to Kakuro with wide eyes. "Kakuro, catch!"
Kakuro blinked in confusion when her sister threw the girl to her, knocking her off her feet. And all the while, right after she threw April to Kakuro, Kuri was toppled by the golem that pounced on her.
A very close call.
Kakuro and April's foreheads knocked against each other as she clumsily caught her.
"Ah—ow!" April's eyes finally fluttered opened, and she cringed to the sudden, obnoxious pain, seeing Kakuro under her before she came to her senses. "Are you made of bricks?"
Kuri, getting crushed by the weight of the rocks but resisting, pushing back with her hands, felt as it ceased. The creature eyed her for a quick second and threw its fiery gaze elsewhere. She shot her eyes to April and Kakuro.
"Get her out of here!"
April shot her eyes to Kuri's voice and saw the golem. Her heart leapt into her throat.
"What the fudge is that?!" She scrambled off the younger samurai.
The golem completely left Kuri alone henceforth and stomped towards the elf who screamed out loud.
"Argh! Why's it coming at me?!"
It roared at her, drowning out her screams. And when she stood up and ran off into the willow tree field, it followed.
Kuri and Kakuro found their bearings too and blurred into reality in front of the creature.
"That's as far as you go, golem!" Kuri declared, her eyes as sharp as the sword she drew out.
The golem swung an arm at her in retaliation, scooping grass along the way. She dodged it and swung her sword. The blade collided with the rocks, spewing unexpected sparks that blinded her.
"Argh!" She covered her eyes and staggered back, grunting and growling profanities in her native tongue.
Not waiting for her recovery, the golem swung another arm at her at dangerous speed. The force behind it cut through the air, but a fraction before Kuri was batted away, Kakuro appeared and lashed at the golem's leg. There was a loud clang of metal against rock. The golem paused and looked at her. She was standing in a pre-slashing position, the sword to her back and one knee pressing forward.
Kuri forced her eyes open before she scoffed. "Kakuro, it did nothing!"
She heard Kuri's voice say and looked. Instead of her sword dealing some damage on the golem, her blade broke off, quietly fell to the grassy ground, and she was left holding a broken piece of steel on a handle.
"Impossible…" Her eyes shimmered with disbelief.
The golem immediately swatted her away and Kuri braced as she collided into her, throwing her past the running April and crashing into a tree.
April shot her head back and saw the golem catching up with her. The idiot dropped to her knees and covered her head, screaming. It even came as close enough as to grab her while she quivered in fear, but an equally large white wolf burst forth, flew over her, its five furry tails brushing over her, and tackled the golem back.
They fell to the ground, the wolf pinning the rock monster down with its white paws, gray eyes filled with rage. It growled at it, almost like it was asserting its claim over a property. But the golem was not pleased with the wolf's intervention. It roared up at the wolf, grabbing at the large animal's snout and the colossal creatures started wrestling around.
April found purchase on her feet and took a single glance at the creatures rolling around. She gasped and immediately started running away as their violent wrestling rolled them towards her.
"AaRrRhhHhH!!" She yelled while sprinting, every tumble of the wolf and golem threatening to topple her.
Back at the willow tree, Kuri shook Kakuro. "Get up and let's help benefactor defeat that golem!"
But Kakuro was trembling from head to toe, her eyes wide at the broken piece of steel in her hands.
"It broke… my sword." She trembled. "H-how…?"
Kuri studied her sister for a moment. She was in shock but there was no time for that. An impregnable creature was suddenly inside Xander. She huffed and bolted away from the incapacitated woman and immediately caught up with the golem and wolf that brawled on the ground, passing the to catch up to April.
"You run really fast, Precious Thing."
April shrieked. "Not as important!"
Kuri chuckled despite the situation and nodded. "Right. Listen, Precious Thing… An unknown entity has arrived in Xander somehow. While benefactor holds it back, I'll go get more hands."
"Huh?!" April asked with wide eyes when the woman vanished from her sight like a television screen switching off.
Just like that.