"Keeps him riled up for the Fangs." Monkey smirked, but there was also fear in his chest. The Fangs were just on the other side, and when they broke through—they were the rear attack—a distraction. Meanwhile, the main body of the army attacked from above. There would be a hundred or so total at the rear, but the first team through would die gloriously, as it would be the initial point of contact. Sugriva feared being that group, even if fear was against his dharma.
Bagheer was clean shaven. It included his body, head, and face. His skin was black, nose wide as a tell that he was a black panther, a leopard blessed by the Ashtadash with dark fur. He shifted into his janaav form, the black fur growing over his smooth body. He held a long, curved dagger in his hand. "Attention front," he purred so low it was hard to hear. Sugriva felt the sound ripple through his skin.
For a brief moment they could see torch light as Bajjo declared, "Breach."
Then writhing coils of sickly green poured in.
Bajjo did not hesitate. His claws ripped into the flesh as a snake janaav bit him. He took another snake by the jaws as it lunged and ripped it open from the mouth. "Back to the Thousand Hells with all of you!" the honey badger cried out, eviscerating another with his claw. Coils loosened until torchlight burst through, and the four entered the pit.
The pit was chaos. Snake janaav wrapped around warriors, striking them repeatedly with venomous fangs. Other snakes remained as men—the only tell their skin shimmering like scales.
Sugriva struck a snake on the head with his staff, crushing the skull with a crunch. He howled at his kill, gaining him more attention, and his staff swung in a flurry of motion.
The venom finally hit Bajjo, and he swooned to the side. Bagheer said, "Form a perimeter. Bajjo is taking a nap."
Bajjo tried to wave him off as he stumbled to his knees. "Get away from me, you daft panther. I fend—" he stumbled.
Labda struck a Fang with his war hammer, as it leapt for Bajjo. The trauma ruptured its spine.
"Get some rest,” Bagheer said. “We'll leave some for you."
The honey badger was already gone, napping in the din of battle.
As the breach teams were whittled down, the army on the surface swarmed down. The distraction worked. The Fangs' front line thinned. It was a blessing from the spirits that Sugriva's team lived.
Bajjo stood up, wiping drool from his mouth. He eyed up the Fang corpse in front of him and waddled toward it. "I'm a eat well tonight."
Sugriva thwacked him with the staff. "Bajjo, focus. Snakes."
Deeper in the pit, a massive Fang slithered up. He grinned and went to work. His coils wrapped around a man who shifted into an elephant in an attempt to rip the snake in two. Instead, the snake stretched, spun around several times, and scored the elephant with deep marks as if with daggers. He sprung from the elephant, opened his maw impossibly wide, and swallowed a man in a single gulp. A third he bit with fangs so large they impaled the warrior. Sugriva twitched with a desire to flee, as fear wrapped around his heart and squeezed. This was not a Fang. Only the stories of the long gone demons matched what happened.
"It's Issi," Bajjo said, staring in awe. "The leader of the Fangs. We found his pit." All four stared as it continued to carve a bloody path. Panicked warriors fled, but Issi was too quick. He pounced from one to the next, leaving pulp in his path.
"We got to kill him," Bajjo said, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck.
Bagheer said, "We may be wheat thrown to the mill, but it is our obligation."
Bajjo laughed heartily. "These are all fodder. We are not fodder."
Two dozen warriors held Issi at bay when they arrived.
Sugriva jumped down, prepared to strike Issi's skull, but the snake recoiled to strike. Sugriva shifted into his monkey form. Bagheer pounced, catching the snake right under the jaw. A fillet was slit from head to gut, spilling copious amounts of blood. The blood was like pitch.
Bagheer shifted into a black panther and bit deep into the flesh. As soon as he tasted blood, he stepped back and spat. "This is not blood. This is the corruption of demons."
Labda said, "It is a Fang. They've been corrupted for years." The man took his zaghnal and crashed the hammer down on the snake's tail. The dagger end pierced through and went deep into the earth, pinning the monster. Issi simply split his tail, slithered off the spike, and reformed.
"I agree with Bagheer," Labda said. "This is not normal." He looked up in terror, as he gained Issi's attention. "By the ancestors, we fight a demon."
Sugriva shifted back into a man and laughed. It had to be a joke, or they were all dead anyway. "There are no demons." He struck the skull several times, while Issi's concentration was split. Then the snake's hood formed spikes which jutted out to impale. Labda exhaled. The wind caught Sugriva and pulled him away. Unfortunately, the monkey was stabbed three times before getting thrown aside. Sugriva crumpled to the ground.
"I was wrong," he mumbled, blood flowing easily from the large wounds. A healer nearby dragged Sugriva from the melee. Water, coaxed into the lacerations, glowed blue as flesh knit.
Bajjo ripped at the meat of Issi and bit deep. "I relish in its taste," he cried out, then bit again. This caused Issi to flail and cry out. The badger swiped as it dug into the demonic meal, slashing the skin to ribbons faster than the demon snake could heal. The ferocity was terrifying, but the relief from Issi's onslaught was welcomed.
With Issi distracted, Bagheer climbed the body, held tight to the head, and gouged its eyes out with his dagger, stabbing
