Centaurus

“Who the hell are you!? You aren't like any hobgoblin I’ve ever heard of.”

“I am simply a traveller, I have lived many lives flitting from memory to memory. What of yourself? You have the scent of vast quantities of life about you, like you are constraining a valley’s worth of essence within you. How… Peculiar.”

“Life? Nah mate, this is all horse cum, loads and loads of horse cum.”

The hobgoblin’s eyebrow twitched. 

“What are you suggesting?”

The tree that had collapsed atop Ellaria suddenly exploded into a whirling tornado of flame that burned everything down to the dirt leaving a pile of ash. Standing in the ash was Ellaria, completely stark naked, her clothes burned away, her eyes burning like hot coals, smoke billowing from the sockets, her skin awash with flame.

“She’s saying you picked the wrong band to mess with. Limit BREAK!!”

Ellaria thrust her arms forward and a tidal wave of fire rolled outward, the goblins who had remained behind were incinerated screaming, turning from green and alive to shriveled black shells curling up on themselves, their flesh disintegrating revealing blackened bone beneath.

The hobgoblin’s eyes widened and he thrust his staff into the air, the eye sockets of the skull exploded with light and an incredible roaring rushing sound filled the air. The Hobgoblin swiftly stepped in front of a large oak tree and braced himself against it as behind him the entire contents of a broad river came falling sideways between the trees, taking branches and trunks and whole trees with it, a wall of rushing frothing death.

Ellaria had only a moment to scream as her wave of fire was obliterated by the much larger wave which then hit her, instantly extinguishing her body and sending her falling sideways through the forest along with the displaced river. 

Flora desperately thrust her hands into the air raising herself up as the tearing falling tsunami rushed by underneath. She watched as both Ellaria and Fey were picked up and sent falling through the trees, there was nothing she could do, by the time she realised what was happening they were already out of her range. She grit her teeth and closed her eyes. She couldn't worry, she had no choice but to hope they had survived. This hobgoblin, this fucking hobgoblin. She was going to make him pay.

At last the water stopped, the forest drenched in water, the ground soggy.

Flora floated herself down and eyed the hobgoblin. The hob stepped from the tree and brushed a little dirt from his shoulder.

“Elves. It’s no wonder they lost their empire. Tsk tsk.”

“You monster, I don't give a fuck about what or who you are, I’m going to fucking end you.”

Flora flicked out a hand and as Vivi came falling through the canopy she caught the vulpine with her ability, slowing her fall to nothing. She lowered the unconscious fox girl to the ground very carefully, arranging her so she was comfortable.

She turned her eyes back on the goblin.

“You sent my friend into the sky to fall to her death. Hi, I’m Flora, my ability lets me float things up into the air. Let's see if I can take you higher than her hmm?”

The hobgoblin flashed her a shark toothed grin. 

“Arrogance. Delicious.”

“You’ll see, you haven't seen anything yet!” Flora held out a hand and took hold of the hobgoblin. His brow rose as he began to lift into the air.

“Did your little plan hinge on me not being able to use my ability on myself? How foolish.”

The hobgoblin suddenly doubled, then tripled in weight and sunk back down the ground.

“Is that the best you can do?”

Flora grit her teeth and the hobgoblin lifted back into the air.

“You are truly naive, I suppose that is to be expected as one of the dim-witted shorter lived species. You struggle against magics you do not understand gnome.”

The hobgoblin’s weight doubled once more and he began to sink down.

“You think I’m even beginning to reach my limit? I’m carrying my own weight as well you know. A two bit shithead fake mage like you knows nothing of true magic.”

The hobgoblin’s eyes widened slightly as he jerked back up into the air, an annoyed expression appearing on his face for the first time.

“Futility.”

His weight doubled then tripled then quadrupled and he rapidly sunk downward before Flora could arrest his motion.

Her own body was starting to sink by this point as she redirected all her ability into lifting the immensely heavy hobgoblin. 

“You are limited, inexperienced, pathetic.”

“Still stronger than you, cunt.”

The hobgoblin jerked up in the air a foot. He scowled, his face starting to redden as he exerted himself to prevent himself from being rocketed into the sky. His weight doubled.

“You are,”

His weight doubled.

“A nothing little gnome,”

His weight doubled.

“Magically, a bug under my foot.”

His weight doubled.

By this point Flora was resting on the ground atop her belly, her limbs shook and sweat rolled down her skin in rivulets as she fought against the hobgoblin in a battle of pure raw magical brute strength.

The hobgoblin was struggling too, his teeth gritted and veins bulging on his forehead. He slowly sunk back to the ground despite Flora’s desperate efforts, his feet alighting on the dirt.

“Gods how are you so strong, I c-can’t, I’m reaching my limit!” groaned out Flora.

The hobgoblin sneered, sheer gleeful contempt twisting his face.

“You worm, you maggot, you could never defeat me, you are nothing, you are-

“Just fuckin with yah! I was lying about my ability!” A big fat shit eating grin appeared on Flora’s face and she reversed the direction she was moving the hobgoblin.

The hobgoblin only had a moment for sheer unadulterated horror to cross his face and the first syllable of a scream before the combined force of Flora’s ability and his own gravity magic hit him.

The stressing straining hobgoblin, standing braced with his legs apart, instantaneously turned into a one centimeter thick green and red four meter wide pancake on the ground.

Only the drip drip of water falling from leaves filled the destroyed forest, that and Flora’s breathing.

She suddenly seemed to recall something and turned her head, looking around frantically.

The water had done a number on everything and trees and trunks were strewn haphazardly around the immediate forest, blocking the way for anyone let alone a ten foot wide gnome.

That wasn't going to stop Flora however and she thrust her arms out and then rolled them to the side. Branches and trunks lifted into the air and filtered away through the trees, clearing the ground. She curled her hands into fists and trees were ripped aside making room for her voluminous body.

She floated forward until she came to the slumped form of Fey, the centaur looked in bad shape, her whole body covered in scratches and bruises.

“F-fey! Are you okay! Please! Please be okay! I can’t save the others without you. Oh gods please be alive!”

She gently lifted the centaur into the air, mud dripping away from her body as she rose. The pain of having her broken ribs shifted however gently caused the centaur to gasp awake, her head whipping around in a panic.

“It’s okay Fey, it’s over, the hob is dead.”

Fey blinked at her. “You, you killed him?”

Flora nodded. “Never did I expect to find a monster like that on a simple goblin hunting job. That was terrifying, goblins aren't supposed to be magically powerful let alone anything like that, that is if that thing even was a goblin.”

She eyed a trickle of blood that ran down Fey’s human stomach and grimaced.

“Fey you need to heal, I, I’m not even sure where Ella is, it might be bad. Vivi is probably fine but...”

Fey gave her a frightened look and she hurried to heal herself. Her palms began to glow emitting a green light and sending glowing green particles drifting into the air. As Flora watched the centaur's body began to knit itself back together. She could see the ribs beneath her fur shift back into their original position, sealing together and becoming whole once more even as cuts and bruises all over her body softened and became healthy flesh once more.

Flora had forgotten just quite how good Fey was at healing and in half a minute the centaur was as she was before coming to the forest, healthy and healed.

“Put me down, we need to find Ella!”

“Oh, right, sorry.” 

The centaur dropped to the ground and dashed off into the woods with Flora following.

They hurried past piled up trees and branches, scorched black in places, soaking wet now, a testament to the sheer magical obliteration that had taken place.

It wasn't long before Fey spotted something, a hand, a deathly pale hand, sticking from beneath a fallen tree. She gasped and rushed up desperately trying to push the tree aside. After a moment of trying it floated away from her along with everything else and Ellaria was revealed. Fey slapped her hands to her mouth and sobbed, tears rolling from her eyes. 

Ellaria was there, but her arms and legs were broken and twisted, her head at a horrible unnatural angle, her body incredibly still and pale.

“N-no, it can’t be,” whispered Flora.

Fey reached out a trembling shaking hand and touched the elf, her skin was cold and dead to the touch.

But then she felt it, the spark of life. Tears rolled down her face in waves as she grabbed hold of the spark, preserving it with her magic, protecting it from failing further, keeping Ellaria from falling over the edge into oblivion.

“She- she’s still here! She’s alive!”

Flora let out a sobbing gasp.

“Wake her! I need to see her moving! Alive!”

Fey turned on Flora with a snarl. “NO! She can’t ever know she was like this, I don't want her to feel even a sliver of the trauma of feeling or seeing herself like this.”

Fey turned back to the destroyed elf and carefully, slowly, placed her trembling hand on the elf’s chest.

“LIMIT BREAK!”

Vast ghostly white wings exploded from Fey’s upper back, reaching up, taller and taller, up above the treetops higher and higher until they could be seen for miles around. The huge wings spread, their feathers splaying, and then they curled down embracing the spot where Ellaria lay. A white light bloomed and a pillar of gold shot up into the sky.

Before Flora’s eyes the elf was being healed, her legs and arms shifting and smoothly returning to their original shape cleanly clicking into place and sealing together, every single possible imperfection smoothed over and perfected, more perfect that the elf had ever been before the attack, beyond perfect.

The elf’s neck unbroke and her head rotated back into place, her face still cold and pale, her lips blue.

“Live! Live! Dam you!” cried out Fey. 

Colour pulsed over the Elf’s skin like a flood of sparks from a hammer striking an anvil, flushing with life, once, twice, and then with a boom, her heart roared back to life thundering in her chest. The elf’s spine arched up, and she gasped, air rushing into her lungs as her eyes shot open wide, fear and panic filling them. 

The naked elf grasped at Fey, clutching her like a child as she choked and coughed, trying to breathe like she had been drowning and had just broken the surface.

As the elf slumped on Fey, her breathing steadying, the wings around the centaur faded away.

“H-holy shit, holy shit!” said Flora. “Wha- Since when could you do that!?”

“I- I just knew what to do, my Class guided me…”

“Damn... I guess working with a band really must come with some leveling benefits.” Flora rubbed her face with her sleeve, drying her eyes. “Fuck I need a drink after seeing that.”

Ellaria groaned “I feel, weirdly great? What's happening? Oh I’m naked...”

Fey hugged the elf, squishing her head into her breasts until the elf batted her shoulder for mercy.

“Fey? Wha- are you crying?”

“No.” said the centaur hastily drying her eyes. 

Ellaria squinted at her.

“I’m just glad everyone’s okay. That hobgoblin was insanely powerful. I thought this was supposed to be an easy job!” said Fey trying her best to change the subject.

“... Yes, that was not part of the job description. I do not think that hobgoblin was around until recently, there's no way that one wouldn't have had a big job posted for it, or other attention. I suspect we were the first to come across it. You did beat it?”

“Yes, but barely... our luck sucks,” grumbled Flora.

Stratothrax-After-Dark

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