Claypot Chicken
Arjuna underestimated him, believing that the explosion would take him out. He was mistaken; he was more determined than ever to exact revenge.
He raised his giant battle axe, pointing it toward where the blast originated. He spat out the blood from his mouth, shaping a small puddle on the ground.
"Enough! Come out, you cockroach!" His voice boomed like thunder, shaking the branches around.
Arjuna, perched in the shadows, clutched his wand. Poci sat beside him, his hollow eyes narrowed. "I don't think traps work on this one."
"…yeah," Arjuna's heart pounded faster from the roar.
Kunti grinned slyly, her spectral form shimmering faintly. "Got a plan, genius? Or do you need me to swoop in and save the day?"
"So? What's your plan, Gavin Maccalis?" Kunti grinned, turning spectral.
"Oh, so you know that movie," Arjuna turned toward Kunti, hovering above the branch.
"Well, some bits of it," Kunti dropped lower into the ground.
"Don't worry about it; let me cook him," Arjuna's eyes lit up with determination.
Arjuna stuck his farm firmly into the tree's bark and cast, "Druid's Wrath!" Roots and branches surged, twisting into sharp edges, and swarmed the boss like serpents.
The boss snorted; his axe reflected the moonlight as he cleaved through the assault with ease. "This isn't enough to take me down!" he pressed forward.
Arjuna grew frustrated and pulled his wand out. With a quick motion, he pointed it toward the ground. "Fortress!" the earth rumbled, and massive earthen walls surrounded the boss, caging him in.
Without rest, he chanted another spell. "Snare!" Thick, thorny vines descended, wrapping tightly around the boss. For a moment, the fight seemed to be over.
Ensnared in the vines, the boss smiled and whispered, "Enable: Purtify" Bright golden light enveloped the boss, dissolving the vines and shattering the walls. The boss cracked his neck, relieving fatigue.
"Robbing that priest was worth the trouble," his eye searched for Arjuna.
"There's the monkey," he pointed his axe toward Arjuna's branch.
"You've been spotted, brat," Poci crossed his arms as he stood on the branch.
"I know that," Arjuna bit his nail, his frustration growing.
"Gale!" Arjuna thrust his wand forward.
A powerful gust of wind swept through the forest, picking up forest debris and trying to knock back the boss.
As soon as the wind subsided, the boss remained in place, his body unmoving. His boots were firmly tucked into the ground.
"Not good!" Arjuna had no room to react as the axe swung toward him.
In one instance, Kunti grabbed Arjuna's shoulder and vanished just before the axe split off the branch. They reappeared on a higher branch, gasping for air.
"Thanks," Arjuna muttered, steadying himself.
"You better finish this quick," Kunti patted Arjuna's back, panting.
Arjuna nodded, gripping his wand tight as he refocused. The fire in his eyes flickers once more as he strategizes.
Arjuna steadied his breath, his gaze fixated on the boss, who rummaged through the bushes below. The boss's refreshed body gave a sense of oppression.
"Hey, kid, put some firepower on, won't you? Stop this charade," Poci grunted from Arjuna's side.
"I don't have many offensive spells in my arsenal," Arjuna retorted, his wand deeper into his clutch.
"Then use your surroundings, you idiot. You've been doing that this whole time," Poci sighed at the sight of Arjuna being pathetic.
"Right," Arjuna thought momentarily.
"Okay, locking in," Arjuna used his remaining stamina for his brainpower.
While he thought of a plan, the boss's gruntle could be heard. He hacked nearby trees out of frustration, eventually cutting them down.
Kunti, not wanting this fight to drag on, pulls out a talisman from her breast socket, chanting, "Enable: Fissure".
Suddenly, the forest began to shake, leaves dropping from trees, and the earth below began ripping open, revealing a fissure beneath. With his new sense, the boss dodged the crack by a hair's breadth.
"Damn," Kunti cursed from the canopy.
"What was that?" Arjuna looked at the boss, finding a fissure under him.
"No time for thinking; cast something!" Kunti hurried Arjuna in desperation.
Arjuna muttered, "Mudslide!"
The ground below the boss shifted, turning from solid to liquid. The boss struggled to keep his balance in the mud.
"Is this all you've got, you monkey?!" the boss steadied himself in the mud.
"Ember!" Arjuna moved to another branch for a better sightline.
Flame bursts emerged from the dried leaves surrounding the boss, entrapping him. The boss tried stomping it out, but it continued to crackle.
"Damn, this thing!" the boss frustrated by Arjuna's trick.
Arjuna didn't hesitate to cast his next spell, "Gust". However, he directed it to surround the boss, making a mini flame tornado.
"Good job, Arjuna," Kunti smiled at the sight.
"That's not enough, kid," Poci rained on the parade.
"I know!" Arjuna shouted as he leaped into another branch.
Arjuna conjured another spell, "Earth Armor!" the earth below encapsulated the boss, fortifying his armor. Dirt was all over him, from head to toe.
"You gave him protection?" Kunti questioned Arjuna.
"Claypot chicken," Arjuna smirked, steadying his breath.
The boss snarled, now furious. "I'll kill you—"
Arjuna released another round of "Ember" and "Gust", enhancing the fire tornado. He looked at the sight of his enemy and looked relieved; it seemed the battle was over.
He asked Kunti to help him perch higher and ordered Poci to check on the fire tornado and tell him if it began to subside. As the boss struggled against the fire tornado, Arjuna knew victory was within reach.
The earth armor muffled the boss's screaming below him. Arjuna leaned on the branch, watching the boss slowly get cooked.
"He's one tough cookie, that I tell you," Poci sat beside Arjuna, enjoying the show.
"When are you going to go down?" Kunti sat beside Poci.
"When the muffling stops," Arjuna closed his eyes, gathering mana for the next round of fire tornado.
"Though this scene reminds me of a video game character, Bill Purple," Arjuna mumbled.