There was no more time for clever compliments, alas, as the worms went to work avenging their lost oasis and both humans found themselves with their hands full. Hotaru's were full of weapons as well as magic, and only her quick reflexes prevented her from engaging in a mud-wrestling match with an opponent far better suited to the sport - on account of not needing to breath as much if it found itself pressed face-first into the mud. Er. Front-end first? Their anatomy was beginning to cause narrative problems, so it was a good thing that Hotaru's attempts to pin it a second time proved more successful, the prolonged press of weight against the stake sinking it deep and through to the ground beyond.
The worm's own thrashing had opened the wound wider than the stake alone could account for, and Hotaru was able to shove her hand into the squirming, squishing, bloody mess. Her electricity might have been weak, but when applied directly to what passed for a nervous system it caused pure havoc in the Magna Vermis. The thrashing intensified as it lost all control of its own body, its hearts and brain frying beneath the assault as it died.
"I see you can be quite persuasive," Jigano called, dropping his attention on the shield for the moment and turning his magic on the earth beneath the worm near him, hardening it so that it couldn't burrow away. It continued to twist about, but the bard kept it distracted with pokes from a stick so that it remained near enough for Hotaru to handle next.
Another crash struck the earthen barrier, which cracked and began to crumble without Jigano's full focus on it. Another few strikes like that, and the larger Magna Vermis would be through it and on them, seeking vengeance for its puddle as only a giant annelid could.
The worm's own thrashing had opened the wound wider than the stake alone could account for, and Hotaru was able to shove her hand into the squirming, squishing, bloody mess. Her electricity might have been weak, but when applied directly to what passed for a nervous system it caused pure havoc in the Magna Vermis. The thrashing intensified as it lost all control of its own body, its hearts and brain frying beneath the assault as it died.
"I see you can be quite persuasive," Jigano called, dropping his attention on the shield for the moment and turning his magic on the earth beneath the worm near him, hardening it so that it couldn't burrow away. It continued to twist about, but the bard kept it distracted with pokes from a stick so that it remained near enough for Hotaru to handle next.
Another crash struck the earthen barrier, which cracked and began to crumble without Jigano's full focus on it. Another few strikes like that, and the larger Magna Vermis would be through it and on them, seeking vengeance for its puddle as only a giant annelid could.
