"Oh, what a wonderful spectacle! More! More!"
— A Laughing Widow
The fighters gazed at one another for only a brief moment before charging simultaneously.
Their fists collided with enough force to shake the lakeshore.
Miranda grinned wildly, blood staining her teeth crimson as she exchanged blow after blow with the creature. Each strike carried monstrous force. Sand burst upward beneath their feet as the lake trembled from the impacts.
The statue remained impassive.
Its four eyes followed Miranda carefully.
Observing.
Learning.
Miranda suddenly caught its wrist mid-strike and twisted violently, flipping the creature over her shoulder. The statue slammed into the ground hard enough to release a cloud of blood-soaked sand into the air.
She immediately moved to finish it.
Her leg snapped toward its neck—
But the creature shifted its head at the last second.
Instead of dying, it grabbed at Miranda's body in an attempt to throw her off balance.
Miranda responded by wrenching its arm backwards with brutal force.
CRACK.
The limb bent unnaturally.
The statue released a guttural scream as Miranda stepped forward and drove her fist directly into its throat.
A cough escaped the creature.
Miranda raised her leg again—
Then a column of black blood erupted upward from the lake and struck her side like a whip.
She was thrown backwards across the shore.
The creature slowly stood, massaging its damaged throat while watching Miranda closely.
I noticed smoke rising where the black blood touched the sand.
Corrosion.
The blood flowing normally from its exposed cheeks lacked that effect.
So it had to weaponise it consciously.
Miranda wiped blood from her mouth and charged again.
The statue attempted to kick sand into her eyes, but she ignored it entirely and tackled the monster head-on.
The impact pushed the creature backwards—
But as it fell, it kicked Miranda directly in the stomach, sending her flying into the shallow waters of the lake.
Crimson liquid splashed around her.
Miranda rose almost instantly, rubbing her abdomen before sprinting back toward the creature.
By then, the statue had already regained its footing.
Waiting.
Watching.
It lowered itself into a battle stance.
Miranda's eyes widened slightly.
Then she smiled.
The creature punched first.
Miranda dodged smoothly and countered with a heavy strike to its face.
The statue retaliated immediately with a vicious knee to her abdomen before slamming a fist into her jaw.
Miranda staggered.
The monster stepped forward for another blow—
And Miranda spat blood directly into its eyes.
The creature recoiled instinctively.
Miranda moved behind it at once and kicked the back of its knee, forcing it downward before wrapping both arms around its skull.
Then she twisted.
CRACK.
The neck snapped completely backwards.
The statue collapsed.
I finally understood why she had smiled after being struck earlier.
She had intentionally let herself bleed.
A distraction.
Miranda stepped back calmly as Bo rushed forward and began healing her damaged body.
The statue slowly rose once more.
Its head remained twisted unnaturally as it stared at Miranda.
Then, with a wet snapping sound, the neck corrected itself.
The second round began.
The creature turned fully toward her and lowered itself into another stance.
This time—
It mirrored Miranda perfectly.
After a brief pause, Miranda copied the stance as well.
Then the statue moved.
Fast.
It struck first before smoothly dodging Miranda's counterattack. The creature grabbed her arm and attempted to bite into her shoulder with rows of malformed teeth, but Miranda drove her knee into its stomach and tore herself free.
The statue scooped up sand and flung it toward her face.
Miranda dodged sideways—
Only for another pillar of black blood to erupt from beneath the ground and slam into her ribs.
The moment she lost balance, the creature tackled her violently to the ground and began raining punches down upon her.
Miranda crossed her arms defensively as blow after blow struck her guard.
The creature raised both fists for a finishing smash—
Miranda clapped both of its ears with explosive force.
Blood burst from the statue's ears.
It screamed.
Miranda kicked it off her body and immediately struck it between its legs.
Nothing happened.
The creature merely stared at her.
"…Right," Miranda muttered.
The faces embedded in its torso suddenly smiled.
Then they screamed.
The sound pierced through the battlefield like rusted needles.
Everyone covered their ears instinctively.
The statue used the opening immediately.
It slammed into Miranda's side, grabbed her arm, and drove its knee directly into it.
CRACK.
Bone pierced through Miranda's skin.
Before she could recover, the monster slipped behind her and suplexed her into the ground hard enough to crater the earth beneath them.
The statue rose to continue the assault—
But Miranda threw sand directly into its eyes.
She surged upward instantly.
Using the exposed bone protruding from her broken arm, she stabbed it directly into the creature's throat.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again.
Black blood exploded outward.
The statue staggered backwards while clutching its ruined neck.
Miranda did not stop.
She plunged the bone into its chest.
Into its heart.
The creature tried to cover the wound—
Miranda stabbed one final time upward before reaching into its torn throat with her good hand.
And ripped.
The second eye closed.
The creature collapsed heavily onto the shore.
Bo rushed toward Miranda immediately and grabbed her ruined arm, healing magic flooding into the injury while Miranda simultaneously healed herself.
The process looked agonising.
Bone shifted beneath torn flesh.
Skin crawled unnaturally back into place.
The statue slowly rose again.
Its throat regenerated with sickening sounds of wet flesh knitting together.
Seeing Miranda still injured, I forced myself to cast healing magic despite my rapidly draining residue.
The moment the spell finished, my knees buckled beneath me.
Miranda glanced toward me briefly before raising her now-healed hand as reassurance.
Bo stepped back cautiously.
The statue rubbed its throat slowly.
The endless blood flowing from its exposed cheeks had finally stopped.
Now rows of jagged teeth grew from the openings instead, twisting and bending into something resembling a smile.
Then it lowered itself once more into a battle stance.
Miranda smiled back.
Blood dripped from her nose as she wiped it away with her thumb.
"Two lives taken," she said softly, lowering herself into position.
"Two more to go, no?"
The creature began laughing.
Not roaring.
Laughing.
The two faces embedded within its body laughed alongside it.
Then, its remaining two eyes focused solely on Miranda as the statue smiled with murderous delight.