Taggerung could feel the warm blood of a human on his hand, as Celeste completed her backflip. Both eyes almost instantly darted down to the now bloodstained claw, seemingly taking in the sight. Distracted, he only caught the blur of the white cloth as Celeste jumped over his head. The blade easily pierced the paper thing flesh of Taggerung, but once more, the blade struck bone. Sparks once more flew from the clash, deflecting Celeste's blade to the side. Taggerung spun around quickly. Mid-turn, Taggerung shot his foot towards Celeste's knee, while his hand plunged forward for her throat. It was obvious by the motion that he was not attempting to grab for her throat, but attempting to simply wrap his pale fingers around her neck.

Again, the blade struck, and again, it seemed to do no good. The creature turned with ferocity, throwing a kick at her knee. Celeste fell back, allowing the creature's kick to sweep her off her feet, but her lack of resistance made the attack virtually ineffective. As she fell, she swung the golden curved sword in a swift motion towards Taggerung's incoming claw. The swipe was forceful enough to easily tear through flesh and tendons, and the sword's exceptionally sharp blade made it more dangerous. As her back struck the ground, she rolled swiftly to the right, throwing herself to her feet. She extended the longsword towards Taggerung, placing the curved sword behind her back. It appeared to be the reverse of the stance she had taken earlier. The blade of the longsword had a bit of blood running down it now, as the hooks dug deeper and deeper into her flesh with every swing. Despite her quick attack, she had noticed Taggerung's pause when he saw blood. Her eyes met his again. "What's the matter? Surely you're used to seeing a bit of blood by now. You've spilled plenty of it, after all." The blade, despite being hooked into her hand, floated about her as she spoke with a surprising amount of grace. She swung the blade swiftly, sending a few droplets of blood towards the creature's face, before stepping forward. In a split second the woman became a veritable whirlwind of spinning metal. She came towards Taggerung with a flurry of swift strikes in quick succession. The attacks seemed to be angled to strike his arm, to knock it out of the way, and then slash towards his face and neck.

The curved blade dug into Taggerung's flesh, striking bone easily, and showering the two of them with sparks. As Celeste put distance between the two of them, he watched idly, slightly hunched as he did so. Taggerung watched, both eyes on Celeste, as she flicked the blood from the blade towards Taggerung. The blood speckled Taggerung's face, landing in several areas. Taggerung seemed to be unphased, and kept his locked stare on Celeste. As Celeste charged forward, becoming a proverbial tornado, Taggerung backed up with each dodge, every slash and stab missing their mark. It was impressive to see, as Taggerung's motions became waterlike in their ability to dodge the incoming strikes. Before Celeste finished her volley of strikes, Taggerung dodged one last blade, stopping his backward motion, and ducking inside towards Celeste, a hand shooting up towards the side of her chin, in a clawed punch. The punch wouldn't rip out flesh, but it'd definitely dig into the flesh of the chin if it struck. It appeared to be more of a simple punch, than anything.

Taggerung's interruption of the flurry was unexpected, and Celeste had no time to react to the strike. Instead, she again went with it's momentum. The fist slammed into the side of her face, and she felt the very edges of the claws cut into her cheek. The woman's head cocked to the side, and her whole body seemed to move with the motion of the strike. For a moment, it seemed a smile flashed across her lips. She spun around from the force of the punch, and used the full momentum of the punch and the spin to come back into a quick, sharp stab towards Taggerung's gut. Her head ducked a bit under the extended arm. She had no idea if the creature even bore human organs, but the primary problem she had encountered thus far was the incredibly sturdy nature of his bones. The stomach was a weak point, even on such a monster. Her curved sword came up in an arc above her head to protect against any downward strikes towards her.

Taggerung remained still, almost wanting the stab to hit, it seemed. The blade pierced straight through the gut, missing Taggerung's spine as it pierced all the way through. The end of the blade was coated in a purplish liquid, steaming exuding from the ooze of the blade. For a shadow of a second, it almost appeared as if a smirk came across Taggerung's slightly agape mouth. Taggerung gripped the blade with both hands, the sound of ripping fabric could be heard, the blade digging into the flesh of the hand. Once more, a sickening popping sound could be heard. Taggerung's jaw once more unhinged, reaching it's full length. Time seemed to slow down as the mouth in front of Celeste opened, revealing the abyss of the creatures mouth. A horrid smell exuded from the hole. A smell of rotted corpses. Taggerung snapped forward and down at Celeste's head. Blade or not, Taggerung had more than enough room to engulf the some of the top half of Celeste. The rows of sword-like teeth gleamed, mere inches from Celeste's flesh.

Celeste's eyes widened. The smell of death poured out from the creature's gaping mouth, and if she didn't act quickly she was almost certain to be joining whatever was rotting within his stomach. Her eyes flashed to the sword lodged in his gut. She tugged hard on the blade, but it didn't budge in the creature's iron-like grip. There was no way she was going to simply pull it out. In that moment, she made a decision. A sacrifice would have to be made to survive. Celeste opened her hand as far as she could, given the hooks within it, and jerked her arm back with the full force of her weight. There was a sickening sound of tearing flesh a a shower of blood, but the woman freed herself from the trap. She slid backwards, just out of reach of Taggerung's jaw, blood pouring from her left hand, which hung at her side. For a moment, there was a seething agony in the torn hand. She had no way of knowing how serious the damage was, but she didn't have time to examine it at the moment. She felt the familiar numbness wash over her. The pain eased up, and she felt a heat like a raging fire rush through her body. Her pupils shrank to a near invisible size, and a glare crossed her face. She lunged forward towards the creature, who was now headed mouth-first towards the ground, and made a hard, arcing stab towards one of his saucer pan eyes. The woman moved at a near incomprehensible speed now, and the fury and force behind the strike would be enough to drive it through armor. Her mind was free of any thought but killing the monstrosity that stood before her. This was life or death.

As flesh tore from bone, Taggerung knew what decision she had made. The hooks retracted back into the hilt, and the considerable amount of flesh on the hooks fell to the ground. Taggerung snapped his jaw shut, with a thunderous crack. Taggerung's eyes remained on his mark, as she charged forward with a renewed speed. Taggerung gripped the sword lodged in his gut, the hooks now attaching to his hand. With a mighty pull, he started to yank the sword out, but not before Celeste was able to get her strike off. The sword clipped Taggerung's eye, hacking off a piece of it. Without hesitation, Taggerung finished yanking the sword out of his gut, performing a horizontal strike across the charging Celeste's chest, the moment her sword had cut his eye through. The other eye remained affixed on it's target.

The blade struck true, cleaving off a portion of the creature's eye. Celeste's eyes flashed to the hilt of the sword in his gut, watching the creature reach for the blade. At that moment, she kicked off the ground, flipping forward and traveling several feet in the air. As she passed over, she narrowly avoided the incoming slash. She landed just behind the pale beast, and turned swiftly with a slash towards the base of the creature's back, towards the area where a human's kidneys would be. As soon as she made the slash, she backstepped quickly, putting a few feet between herself and Taggerung, and turning sideways. She raised the golden-bladed sword in front of her in a horizontal line, with the tip pulled back towards her left shoulder. The stance provided defense, but also would allow her to strike quickly. Her feet began moving quickly side to side in an almost dance-like pattern. Her movements were fluid, but also unpredictable.

As Celeste made her dodge, landing behind Taggerung, his body quickly kept up with her, his one eye able to stay on her the whole time. Lifting the sword up to block, the slash of her blade clanged off his own, blocking the slash. Taggerung watched idly as the woman took defensive stance, waiting for Taggerung's attack. Taggerung stood idle for a moment, blade hanging loosely in his hand, before reaching up to his chameleon like eye, and grabbing it with his free hand. With a resounding twist and pop, Taggerung twisted his slashed eye, and pulled, bringing the eye, stem and all, out of it's socket. Taggerung weighed the eye in his hand for a moment, before tossing it to the ground. All that remained now was a black void, Once the ordeal was over, the seemingly unphased Taggerung turned his attention back to his target, watching her carefully. Taggerung poised himself for a spring, once more. Suddenly, Taggerung's head jerked back behind him, relaxing his stance as he did. After a moment, Taggerung looked back towards Celeste. Seemingly done with the fight, Taggerung walked back over from where he entered the clearing, and where the body laid he had jumped out of. Taggerung seemed to be completely done with the fight, turning his attention away from Celeste. Once to the body, Taggerung gripped it with a hand, throwing it onto his shoulder.

Celeste watched with surprise as the creature tore out his own eye. Her surprise only increased when he seemingly gave up on the fight and began to walk off. He tossed Jezin's mangled corpse over his shoulder, and seemed to be intent on leaving the fight. The woman turned on a heel, her eyes following Taggerung as he turned his back. No, he wouldn't be leaving that easily. She darted forward, leaping into the air above Taggerung and coming down with a hard vertical strike towards the back of his head. The force behind the blade, which was considerable, was likely strong enough to split an ordinary human skull, but with Taggerung's tough bones, that certainty was diminished. Still, even if the blade couldn't get through the skull, it would likely slide down the length of the creature's back, splitting his flesh wide open.

Gareth swiftly pulled an arrow from his quiver and joined it with his bow, which he raised and drew at the sinister child. That child was a damn monster as well, and he couldn't be trusted anymore. If that child made a move, Harker would kill it where it stood. "Nobody will be meeting any graves." He took on a defensive tone. 'Except for you,' he thought, his hand at the arrow tensing for a shot. They were not going through another night like the last one. Patrons of the inn stared at the standoff, but Gareth, unable to pull back anymore, continued to train his sights on the evil little boy.

Taggerung seemed content to not react, despite being able to hear the approach of Celeste. The sword slammed into his skull, ripping the skin slightly open on his head, revealing a gunmetal colored skull. The blade deflected off to the side of his head, leaving no mark, and no sign of damage. The only thing the slash did was send a considerable amount of sparks across the back of Taggerung, and front of Celeste. Taggerung stopped momentarily, turning back towards Celeste, with his good eye. While no emotion was conveyed on his face, it could be taken as a look of extreme annoyance. Taggerung picked up his speed slightly, to a slow jog, turning back around. The beast seemed intent on continuing the fight, but it was as if a master was calling to his dog, and the reluctance of his retreat was shown in his slow speed out of the situation.

The child's grin diminished slightly at the arrow leveled at him, but did not make any movements. In a sudden move, the child's head jerked away from the two, turning towards the inn's door. After a moment, the child returned his gaze back to Gareth and Sophia, "Are you going to take me in?" The child asked, with a slightly annoyed tone, trying to manage a half-smile. The child obviously wasn't armed, nor did he make any movements to escape, or to reach for any type of weapon. He simply stood his ground, switching his gaze between the two of them, "I haven't done any harm to you." The kid added, his half smile turning into his original grin, now.

Celeste cursed as the blade clanged ineffectively against Taggerung's skull. He began trotting off in the other direction, seemingly unfazed by the strike to his head. Celeste took a step forward, prepared to pursue the creature at full speed, but she felt her hand begin to throb. She looked down to see the blood continuing to pour from the torn flesh, dripping onto the grass. If she followed him she'd be weak from blood loss soon. She cursed again, flipping her blade into an inverted position. She took two steps forward and threw the sword in a javelin-like fashion towards the back of Taggerung's neck. The blade cut through the air silently. The weapon, however, was not flying freely. A thin strip of white ribbon seemed to have been tied to it's hilt. The ribbon around Celeste's arm began to unfurl, slipping through her fingers. She was ready to yank the weapon back in a second.

---

Sophia continued backing away until her back hit the far wall. Her bright yellow eyes remained locked on Mentha, a look of pure fear coming over her. Who was this boy? Who were these people? And why did they want her? She shook her head back and forth. Eva took a step forward, towards Mentha, still keeping one hand behind her back. Her orange eyes glared fiercely. "No, you haven't, not yet, anyway. I imagine you intend to, though. Tell me, what is it you want with Sophia?" Her eyes flashed to the doorway as Mentha looked away. 'What is he looking for...' she worried. If the boy was associated with Taggerung things could get serious, quickly.

Gareth shifted to the other side of the boy across from Eva, and he gave them a combat advantage in doing so. Even if the child had yet to do anything, Harker necessitated the prevention of any further damages to the group. He wasn't afraid of a kid, and Gareth was actually rather adamant about his annoyance with the disturbance. First Cain, and now this. The persistence of their foe irritated Harker, but he didn't plan on backing down or lowering his guard. He stepped forward a little bit, a safe distance, but an easy one to act from.

Taggerung picked up on the sound of a ribbon unfurling, it getting louder and louder. Taggerung didn't need to turn around to know what was happening. Taggerung shifted Jezin on his shoulder, the blade lodging itself in the head of the corpse. Taggerung kept with his slight jog, although picking up slightly more speed as he went along, unconcerned with the blade that was lodged in the corpse on his shoulder. It was obvious now that Taggerung was making a concerted effort to hasten his retreat, the 'injuries' he sustained in battle not abating his retreat at all.

---

The boy retained the smile, despite the increasing escalating situation, "I don't want Sophia for anything." The boy replied to Eva, switching his gaze back to Gareth, then back to Eva, "Are you going to kill me, or let me go?" The boy asked, his grin now gone, and an air of annoyance was now on his voice. The boy kept stealing small glances towards the door of the tavern, evidently intent on leaving, or resolving the situation.

Celeste grimaced as the blade struck the corpse. "Bastard..." She yanked the ribbon, dislodging the blade and pulling it back towards her. She gripped the ivory hilt of the weapon and slid it into it's sheathe. Taggerung increased in speed and vanished into the forest. Catching up to him at this point was unlikely, and running with an open wound would likely cause her to lose more blood than she could spare. She looked to her hand again, pulling the shredded fabric away from the wound. The cuts were deep. The hooks had torn deep into her flesh on either side of her hand. She gritted her teeth, as the pain increased exponentially with every passing second. She tried moving the fingers. The middle three worked fine, but the thumb and pinky struggled. Still, they did move, so they weren't completely destroyed. It was a serious wound. She looked across the clearing, her eyes settling on the cloak she had worn. It was now shredded in half, but still useful. She grabbed one half of the cloak, tearing off a long section, and began wrapping the wounded hand to prevent blood loss. Her eyes darted around the clearing, searching for the shadowmages. "You four... do any of you have any medical supplies?" The woman slumped against a nearby tree, struggling to wrap the wound with one hand. She cursed herself for not doing what she should've done in the first place. She looked towards the black sword on her right hip. Would it have even worked?

Eva glanced around the room, and realized they were causing a massive scene. The majority of the inn now seemed to have their eyes on them. Killing a child in front of a crowd never went over well with the authorities. She pointed a finger towards the door. "I've told you to leave once already. Go. And don't return." She spoke with a tone as cold and solid as granite, her eyes flaring with a fierce seriousness. They couldn't do much to the boy if he did not intend to make a move against them. Still, after his words letting him walk away felt wrong, but they didn't have much of a choice, unless one of them wanted to risk cold-blooded murder in front of an audience.

Gareth gave a deep frown and loosened up, his bow pulled back down but the arrow still socketed and ready for fire. It was hard to stay sane if they needed to be on their toes all the time to keep each other safe, but they had no choice to retract all trust they had in people. The others in the inn might have taken note of the boy's malice, given just how creepy the grin he gave was and how foreboding the words he spoke were, but Eva likely cognized what Gareth knew as well. Killing that boy there had no justification yet, and they couldn't kill him to assure their safety if he had made no move. Harker cursed. All the eyes on them made him anxious, and he wanted nothing more than to run out of the establishment.

The boy smiled as he hopped down from his sit, landing gently and without sound on the wooden floor, "Thank you for your time, princess." Mentha said, bowing slightly to Sophia, walking past her to get to the door. Mentha appeared extremely satisfied, and happy with the situation. Everyone looked at the trio as if they were insane, while watching the kid with a look of confusion. The kid turned back to the trio for a moment, in the doorway's funnel, "We're bringing Mullen to life." With that Mentha made his exit out of the tavern, slamming the door behind him.

Sophia stared at Mentha as he left, getting a chill as he thanked her for her time. Something was very wrong. Her eyes scanned the room. Sure enough, the entirety of the inn seemed to be staring them down at this point. Sophia shook her head, returning to her seat and putting her head in her hands. Nothing made sense to her anymore. She just sat there at the table, ignoring the stares from nearby people, her eyes resting on the half-eaten breakfast on her plate.

Eva's hands returned to her sides as the boy left. She looked around the room, noticing all the eyes on them. They had no idea what was going on. "Mind your own business." She spoke flatly, striding across the room and taking her seat by Sophia once again. She didn't like this. Her eyes glanced to the distraught princess. The girl didn't deserve what she was going through. She glared towards the door. That little bastard had to add insult to injury. She sighed.

A pair of bright blue eyes watched Mentha from the shadows of a nearby alleyway. It seemed he was leaving, so at the very least there was no need for things to get messy quite yet. Still, whatever he was involved with was obviously not good. The hooded figure made no move, only watching the boy silently, made nearly invisible by the darkness of the alleyway and the sea of people between them.