Queen's Blade: Sword of the Unicorn, chapter 4-b

Regarding the Rurouni Kenshin poll, "Tomoe" beat "Cattleya" 38v-90% vs 4v-9%.
Loool, poor Giant Killer... tho, then again, it was a bit grasping at straws, admittedly...

Next poll, Saint Seiya's turn!

And here's one more bit of the story, Tomoe and Leina are still in hot chase!

Enjoy!




“In that case, let us run, since we already know the way!”
Tomoe rushed on ahead.
“Ah! Hold on!”
But before the blonde could try to stop her, Tomoe jumped forward.
And that’s when it happened.
*Crack*
The sound of what seemed to be gears creaking to life could be heard coming from somewhere around them.
*Snap, snap!*
The heavy sounds continued on for a moment, then moved further down the hallway.

“Could it be that I… did it again?”
The brunette’s tone was stiff.
“Yeah, I’d say you did.”
Leina sighed.
[Versus spirit orbs and the undead, Tomoe is great to have around… but when it comes to traps, she falls for them so easily, it’s almost comical.]
Of course, Leina herself wasn’t particularly good at spotting or deactivating traps either, but then, all she needed to do was proceed with caution, so…

“What is it this time? A pitfall? A falling ceiling?”
*Splash, splash* They heard what sounded like water coming from behind them.
“Flooding…?”
Naturally, being beneath a port city, the underground ruins were located beneath sea level, so a flood trap didn’t seem that far fetched… it was just easier and more cost effective.
“No, I doubt that.”
Then again, a single flooding trap was a double-edged sword too. The one setting it could just as easily end up becoming its victim as well.

“Then, what could be making that sound?”
“Get ready to fight!”
Rather than answer, Leina turned around, sword already in hand.
A monster with semi-translucent jellyfish-like features slowly approached, wriggling its creepy tentacles and looking ready to strike.
Having been set as a trap, it likely hadn’t seen action in some time. The beast looked aggressive and famished.
“Miss Leina, what manner of monster is that?”

The foreigner asked, this being her first encounter with anything of the sort since coming to the Continent. It was completely unlike any of the monstrous apparitions she was used to dealing with back in Hinomoto.
“A land jellyfish… a type of monster found only in underground labyrinths. Stay sharp, two of its ten tentacles are poisonous.”
“Is it carnivorous?”
“The staple food of “that thing” is the bodily fluids of still living creatures. Since it has no teeth, it’ll first paralyze prey with its tentacles, before slipping said tentacles inside its victim’s body to eat away at it from the inside…”
Leina saw no need to specify where the creature would be trying to insert its tentacles into.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”
Imagining what might happen were she to be defeated, Tomoe shivered.

“Here it comes!”
*Woosh*, one of the Jellyfish’s translucent tentacles stretched out.
The two dodged to their respective sides. Its attack speed was far slower than they thought it’d be.
[As long as we keep calm, we can’t lose.]
They each exchanged a look with one another, then began their assault. Tomoe aiming to deal with the creature’s upper tentacles while Leina did the same with the lower ones.
All too easily, tentacle after tentacle began flopping down to the ground, splashing the thing’s bodily fluids around. The moment the creature failed to carry out its first strike, was the moment its fate had been sealed.
A few more swings and the land jellyfish was no more than ribbons, its grotesque remains all that was left of it scattered throughout the corridor.

“Phew…”
Leina began wiping the sweat off her brow, then looked back down to the floor.
“Oops.”
The creature’s bodily fluids had washed away every trace of Fio’s nosebleed trail, their one lead.
“What’s the matter?”
Tomoe asked, seeing the blonde’s serious look, as she swiftly flicked what remained of the creature’s fluids off her sword and onto the ground.
“We kind of made a mess, our trail is gone now.”
“Ah, my apologies… If only I hadn’t so carelessly activated that trap…”
Tomoe hung her head in shame.

“No use crying over spilt milk. Cheer up, we need to keep moving.”
“But, we’ve lost our only clue, haven’t we…?”
Leina stuck out her chest, in an attempt to encourage her anxious friend.
“We’ll be fine, because we still have this.”
And from deep within the blonde’s cleavage, seemingly appearing out from nowhere, the sword of the Unicorn’s grip popped out.
“Don’t forget, as long as we have the sword, we’re still connected to Fio.”
Whether or not they managed to find Fio’s location without losing their way… it now all rested on Leina’s ability to detect the slightest of changes in the sword. She gently touched the weapon sandwiched between her breasts with a finger, and closed her eyes.


***