Chapter 83: Interlude Sixteen: Selvaria - The Heroine Always Makes an Entrance

Selvaria weaved through the water, chomping on fish in her passing. Her chest still hurt from the free fall into shallow water, but it wasn’t that bad. Her waterproof bag was a bit tricky to find afterward, though. So, she was a bit behind schedule.

[Kaiju Leviathan Physiology - Advanced to A-tier]

Poking her head out of the water every so often, she found the place Astra had shown her; she was on bank robber duty. She swapped into her human form near the shore, throwing the soggy backpack over her shoulder.

Huh. Has everyone already started?

Not seeing anyone on the beach, she scanned the ocean and spotted all the Navy and Coast Guard ships in the water; their sonars tickled a bit when she was in the sea. Yawning, Selvaria unzipped the bag and found the earpiece with a huff.

I can’t believe they thought I’d lose it. Wait, maybe I would if I changed forms.

"Hmm."

Putting the device in her ear, her eyes dulled as Astra’s British voice came over the comms. "Alright, mate? Feelin’ a tad bit knackered after the dip?"

"I’m doing fine. So, I just gotta go in there and take out the bull guy, right?"

"Blimey, I can’t believe yer not out of it with a fall like that! Yup, ya just need ta’ march in there and clobber the bloke. Once yer done, we can have a good fag and celebrate."

Selvaria’s tail dragged along the sand as she made her way toward the back of the bank, bending the fence with her weight to get through. "I think that’s a bad word, mate."

"Eh? Haha! Fag’s a cig here in London, hun. I got a drone en route—aww, shite, I lost contact with Little Tooth. Bollocks. Supernatural shite. Uh. She’ll be fine. Right?"

"Uh. Probably not," Selvaria sighed. "Want me to go check on her?"

"No. Stay on mission, Mighty Dragon! Gah. It’s all gone pear-shaped. Hmm. Just focus on that gobby shite stalker. Did I mention he’s a stalker, and not in the good way?"

Selvaria’s face turned red as she struggled to pull herself up a chest-sized rise to reach the building, managing to roll herself over. "Mmgm! Ugh... Haaa. Haaa. I’m too heavy sometimes."

"Hehe. What was that, mate?"

Face turning red, Selvaria cleared her throat and got to her feet. "Nothing. What is a good stalker?"

"Oh, love. If ya know, heh, ya know."

"Uh-huh... I think you’re crackers."

"There ya go, Selv! Get inta the British spirit! Uh. Rachel is mad! You should hear the mouth on this lass? She be takin’ the piss all over the curtain twitcher!"

The hum of a drone floated down as she made it to the bank’s back door, a speaker projecting Astra’s voice. She already knew Rachel had a few screws loose, but that was what made her fun; plus, she really needed more friends.

"I’m with ya, Tails!" he chimed. "Once you’re done moppin’ the floor with this wanker, we’re on ta help Cuddle Bat. Best be quick! We don’t want the gobsmacked fangs to get capped."

"Onward to victory!" Selvaria cheered, kicking the door in; it flew down the hall and out the window, shattering the glass. After a rather unmanly shout, silence ensued for a few seconds, leaving Astra to snicker.

"You are so over the top."

"The heroine always has to make an entrance," Selvaria grinned, strolling in like she owned the place as her tail weaved left and right.

"What if you hit someone?" Astra asked, following her in with the drone.

"I wouldn’t have—wait," she stopped dead in her tracks to glare at the hovering machine. "Why did I need an earpiece if you had a drone?"

"Because you’ll lose it. Hehe. Good luck!"

As it left, she glared after the drone, and a gruff voice called out from down the hall.

"Haha! Well, I expected...more."

Selvaria licked her lips, tail slapping the floor and shattering the tile as she faced the smug, shirtless man; he was more than two meters tall, had bull horns, a weak tail, and hooves for feet. He seemed excited, but the cronies behind him looked terrified. "Hehe. Looks like I will have a barbecue tonight. Let’s fight!"

Selvaria’s tail weaved behind her as she ran at the tall bull-man—this was her hero moment! She pulled back her arm and aimed right at his chest; there was no way he could hurt her with those stumpy horns.

The world flipped upside down, a thump against her back; shattered tile spat out like a grenade, causing shouts from nearby.

"The hell!?"

"Whoa! Whoa! Chill, Abeer!"

"Blimey!" Astra snarled. "The bloody hell was that racket?! Selv?"

[Dermal Armor - Advanced to B-tier]

[Reflective Exoskeleton - Advanced to E-tier]

"Huh?"

Selvaria’s lips parted in disbelief while staring up at the muscular man; gravity must have reversed because there was no way he’d just thrown her, but here she was, staring up at the ceiling. He walked to the counter to lean against it, his small bull tail weaving behind him.

"Haha! I like the energy, and damn, you got weight on you, girl. That felt good!"

Her blade-like fin slammed against the tile, sending more shrapnel flying everywhere; he was making fun of her, but she had to be cool. Smoothly rolling to the side and pushing herself up, Selvaria’s dull-blue eyes fixated on the man as she dusted herself off.

"Humph. Is that all you have, beefsteak?"

"Ooh. You took that like a champ!" He rolled around his neck and pointed at the broken concrete underneath the pulverized tile. "I’ll hand it to your defense. The name’s Abeer, and who are you, sweetheart? I’ve been looking for a good fight."

He did not just judo-throw me! I have trouble lifting my own weight when my pool is full.

In a partial daze, she had to admit he had some power; it was probably where he’d dumped all his Stats, as she’d mostly done Defense. Selvaria rotated her tail and shoulders, loosening up; it was important to look strong in front of the villain, after all. This was the perfect time for a monologue to assert her dominance.

"Ho-ho-ho." She put a hand up to her mouth and glanced around at the gangsters; Astra informed her that the hostages were on the second floor with an armed guard. "How weak. Do you think your puny guards and their toy guns mean anything to me?"

Abeer glanced at his nervous men. "Well, you heard her. Shoot the bitch."

"B-Bitch?" Selvaria seethed, showing a smile as her narrowed gaze shifted to him. "Why are bad guys always so rude?"

The men let off a spray of bullets that ricocheted off her scaly plates as they covered her skin; one man dropped to the floor after catching a shot in the leg.

[Scales of the Deep - Advanced to B-tier]

"Ahh!"

"W-What’s she doing?"

"Where are the grenades?!"

Two men tossed the deadly objects at her that she caught; well, she caught one of them, holding it up with a grin as the other flew two meters away. A slight sting hit her palm as it detonated, and she hardly felt the one at her back, making the men’s eyes pop.

[Liquid Enhancement - Advanced to C-tier]

[Human Adaptation - Advanced to A-tier]

Tossing the remains in her mouth, she chewed them up with a smile. Abeer didn’t even budge from his casual position and did what all villains do: laugh while watching her torment his men.

"There’s no shot!"

"Those rounds were armor-piercing!"

"Shut up and run, dude! She took a grenade and ate it!"

"You gotta be shitting me!"

"Run! Run!"

"Dude, she ate it!"

"Go! Go!"

"I’m not getting paid en—"

She’d had enough fun; it was time to start the boss battle.

[Intimidation Aura: Activated]

Selvaria sucked in the air, compressing a large amount into her lungs before releasing a deafening roar that shook the air. The gust she created would have made the men stumble back, had it not been for their eyes rolling back into their heads, and they dropped to the tile floor unconscious.

"Oh, c’mon, ack... That wasn’t even my more advanced [Kaiju Intimidation Aura] since I’m in my human state," Selvaria coached, feeling its increase to the E-tier, probably due to the number of people she affected.

Rubbing her throat and sighing, she looked up at the ceiling as Astra informed her the men upstairs were panicking with the hostages and running for the fire escape.

"Well, well, well." Clapping came from Abeer as he pushed himself off the counter to appraise the sleeping cronies. "Night-night. Damn. I see you. Relica was right; you were worth the wait, scale girl."

Selvaria puffed up her chest, holding her head high. "Astra, you there?"

"Not for long, love. We have a bomber situation. What’s up?"

"Can you record? I wanna show my mom how I wipe the floor with this bozo."

"Ooh." Abeer flexed his fingers and flashed his teeth. "I love a good show. Why make it exclusive? Let’s show the world me goring you. I can’t make it fast; I want to enjoy myself."

"I got ya, ya cheeky cock. I’ll set the bugger ta follow ya. I might be MIA for a bit. I gotta cut all wireless feeds for the bloody bomber, sheila. Sound is recorded on yer earpiece, so don’t lose it!"

"Hehehe." Selvaria pointed at him, her monotone voice escalating as Astra’s drone floated through a busted window to record. "Big talk for an oversized piece of beef jerky!"

Abeer walked forward to face her, towering at least half a meter or more above her. "As you said, let’s fight!"

///SMENote///

How about a Power Stone Goal?

Every 200 Power Stones this week = +1 Extra Chapter

We could have the normal 2 Daily Chapters... Or +2 Extra Chapters Every Day. The power is in your hands! Or should I say Stones?