Angel Monarch

Bea's hand changed back to normal, and instead she grew her signature wooden longsword, with a blade sharper than steel.

Next to her, Kathy also changed form. Since the enemy used ranged weapons, making herself a larger target wasn't optimal.

Her furry skin became scaly and the same green as the grass. Kathy's body also shrank and elongated until nothing of the saber-tooth tiger remained.

Instead, she turned into a few meters long snake creature with strange appendages growing all over its skin. Bea spotted some liquid glistening at the end of the pointy appendages and quickly judged them to be some venom.

Slowly, so the grass wouldn't get disturbed, Kathy began moving towards the attackers.

Bea stayed put, staring at the person shooting at her. He was a tall, lanky fellow with a wide-brimmed leather hat, and a colorful poncho, which the strong winds played with.

His youthful face grinned with self satisfaction, as he stared down at Bea. He twirled the two beautifully carved revolvers in his hand, before eventually he addressed his prey.

"I must say, this is certainly an unexpected development! Our intel said you're still in Europe… Well, it's not like the Princess couldn't just teleport you, but still! It wasn't easy to get spies into your army, and for them to be this useless!"

Bea just stared at the man in a cowboy hat with a raised eyebrow, like he was insane. Eventually, though, Bea shrugged, and engaged with the attacker.

"I don't think we've met yet! My name is Bea, the so-called Princess's mother! Nice to meet you! It would've been much better if you didn't try shooting at me, but it isn't the worst welcome I've received!"

The lanky man chuckled in amusement. His comrades stood in full-body armor and looked lifeless compared to him.

"Good! I love having civilized conversations before killing! My name is Chang, currently single and ready to mingle, if you catch my drift! I heard you had a falling out with your previous partner, so how about we leave this frozen hell and find somewhere warmer?"

The magnificent woman's mouth fell open upon hearing Chang's words. She never expected her attacker to start flirting, using a weird accent and some slang Bea could barely understand.

It was so ridiculous, in fact, that Bea burst into laughter. The cold winds continued blowing. They easily carried Bea's laughter all over this frozen plain.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but given that you're here to kill me and my friend, I have to refuse… Also, you're not really my type, and I already have a date set with someone else… Anyhow, a word of advice, if you're interested in someone romantically, don't shoot at them!"

While talking, Bea made a light sweeping motion with her sword, and cut through the long grass nearby.

Chang just laughed off Bea's rejection and twirled his weapons once more.

"That's a real shame. I really hate this place and would've been nice to find warmth in your arms Missy!… Well, whatever. I can't let you leave and that dragon guy wanted you alive… Hmm… What to do…"

The cowboy looked thoughtfully towards the sky, while scratching his head with the barrel of his revolver. Eventually, he shrugged and pointed his weapons straight at Bea's head.

"Ah, fuck it! I'll just kill you and be done with it. No need to overthink!"

He pulled the triggers, and two small explosions propelled the bullets towards Bea. They were much faster than normal gunpowder weapons, which meant they were probably Evolved weapons.

Chang pulled it repeatedly, shooting one bullet after another. The chambers of each revolver spun around, but he never needed to reload.

Bea's expression turned serious as she stepped forward. Her sword moved fast as the bullets, and its sharp edge easily cut through them.

The other attackers also raised their weapons. Some shot energy from their palms, others summoned rifles, which shot different projectiles, and a select few held bows.

All of them held Evolved weapons and freely loosened deadly projectiles at Bea.

She parried or cut through most attacks while she dodged the energy shots. The dozen Evolved seemed well coordinated, since even while standing in a perfect circle, nobody got caught in crossfire.

The shots continued peppering Bea, and a few managed to sneak through her defenses.

A rifle round went through her shoulder, and acid began eating away her flesh. Luckily, her regeneration made quick work and soon her shoulder was back to normal.

However, when an energy projectile hit her, it wasn't so easy to recover. The miniature explosion blown away her sword arm, while also making a hole in her torso.

Blood poured from the burn wound, and soon more bullets entered her body. Weaponless, Bea tried evading them, but with the continuous weapon fire, there was nothing she could do.

Dozens of bullets hit her in one second, and she soon collapsed. Bea laid on her back, her body desperately trying to regenerate.

The night sky seemed beautiful, even while her body screamed in pain. Her mind started turning foggy, and her thoughts began to wander.

"Is this really the end… My body can't seem to regenerate properly, like something's disrupting it… At least it's peaceful in my last moments…"

Bea glanced to the side, at the long grass blowing gently in the icy wind. Around her, the shooting continued, but there were also screams mixed in, like a tragic melody.

"At least Kathy's alive still… Hope she makes it back to his boyfriend, since I won't see Sera again…"

However, as that dreadful thought popped into Bea's mind, her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't just lay there waiting for her death!… She needs to fight, so she could meet with her ex!

Slowly, her eyes moved, and she glanced at her body covered in bullet holes. It took her a few precious seconds, but eventually she saw the culprit for her lack of regeneration.

Two bullet holes, one in her left arm, the other in her right thigh, caused her skin to wither away.

"Those are from that weird Chang guy. So he isn't just an asshole… He's a dangerous asshole!"

Bea didn't hesitate for a single moment. Roots grew out of the ground, grabbing hold of her body above the two bullet holes.

She took a deep breath, then sent the order to the roots and they quickly and efficiently teared off her arm and leg. Tears welled in Bea's eyes, but somehow she managed to swallow down her scream.

Immediately after the bullets left her flesh, she began rapidly regenerating. In one second, her entire body was already healed.

"Where's that fucking snake! Keep your eyes out while I finish off Missy!"

Footsteps approached her position. She heard the grass brush against Chang's pants as he walked towards her.

A small chuckle escaped Bea's lips as she whispered under her breath…

"So you hate this place, eh? These beautiful natural plains, with the constant light breeze flowing through it… Well, let's make you all a bit more comfortable then, shall we?"

A small green seed appeared in Bea's hand. She carefully planted in the frozen ground, then she changed forms, becoming one with her planted tree.

Chang walked to where Bea fell, but he saw nothing other than a few blood-red, seven petalled flowers growing from the small lake of blood on the ground.

Curiously, he bent down and plucked a flower. It looked strangely beautiful, so he tied it to his wide-brimmed hat.

Afterward, he stood up and continued searching for Bea. That's when a loud scream echoed through the plains. A third of Chang's men fell to the Shapeshifter's attack.

He cursed angrily at his men's uselessness, then he closed his eyes and aimed towards the ground. While listening to the wind brushing through the grass, he heard the distinct sound of something crawling.

A small smile spread across Chang's face as he took aim and pulled the trigger. The bullet travelled fast, but never hit Kathy's body.

Since he didn't hear the bullet hit flesh, Chang opened his eyes curiously. Before him stood a tall tree, which blocked his previously shot bullet.

"Huh… Where the heck this tree came from?!… Hmm… Must've been, Missy! She survived even with my bullets clearly hitting her. Truly magnificent!… And exciting!"

Chang heard more screams as the Shapeshifter continued to decimate his squad, but he didn't care about them.

He carefully walked around the tall tree, but found nothing special about it. However, it seemed more blood-red flowers began opening around and in the tree's foliage.

One large bulb continued growing until it reached the size of a human. That's where Chang decided to aim with a wicked grin.

"Found ya!" He said, then loosened a few bullets, each causing massive damage to the bulb.

Suddenly, roots began crawling up on his boots, their sharp edges cutting through the clothing and drawing blood.

Chang cursed under his breath and loosed a few shots into the roots. He then backed away, while keeping eyes on his surroundings.

He glanced at the large bulb to see if Missy was inside, but instead of a beautiful woman, only thousands of seeds fell from the opening flower.

The strong winds immediately blew them all over the frozen plains. Within moments, they began rapidly growing until the grassy field turned into a large forest.

Another excited laugh escaped Chang's lips as the screams slowly died down, leaving nothing but silence behind.

"Now this is getting interesting…" Said Chang under his breath. He then smashed together his two revolvers, and after a flash of light, an automatic gunpowder rifle appeared in his hand… "Bring it on!"