The air in the Lagoon Mocambo was heavy with the smell of water, sweat, and the metallic odor of blood. Shadow and Whisper fought in sync, their forms moving like parts of the same deadly machine against the Iaras emerging from the lagoon of crystalline waters, now murky with the agitation, and other invading members. The sound of blows, groans, and swords scraping against scales echoed through the clearing.

  Shadow, after delivering a precise blow with his dagger against an aquatic creature, retreated a few steps, panting. His ever-watchful eyes scanned the lake's edge.

  "The situation here is under control, at least for now," he said, turning in the direction where he assumed Whisper was. "Whisper, can you see how the situation is elsewhere? We need an overview."

  A few meters away, Whisper, completely invisible thanks to her gem, heard the question clearly through the sound-gem earrings adorning her ears. She lowered the spyglass she was using, a Church artifact with silver runes carved into its frame.

  "Already on it," she whispered in response, her voice reaching Shadow like a breath in his ear, thanks to the same gem.

  She raised the spyglass again, and her field of vision transformed. The colors of the real world faded, replaced by a spectral view where sources of mana shone like beacons. She didn't see people, but the energetic signatures of the gems they carried. Several points of light shimmered in the distance, each representing an adept in motion.

  While she scanned the other mocambos, Shadow remained in position, his mind working frantically.

  Why such a large attack right after the last one? he thought, his eyes fixed on the turbulent waters of the lagoon. Didn't they realize the futility of their actions? With the weapons and magical artifacts we got from the Church, our defensive potential is enormous. They won't catch us off guard like before anymore... Unless...

  His expression hardened, a terrible suspicion taking shape in his mind.

  Unless their goal isn't to cause mass casualties. Unless it's something more specific...

  "Shadow!" Whisper's urgent voice cut through his train of thought like a blade.

  He saw her, still invisible, but the spyglass hovered in the air. She brought the sound gem hanging from her necklace to her lips, her voice coming out in a rushed whisper.

  "At the Armadillo Mocambo... there are too many adepts! The concentration of gems is intense! And... and Tassi seems to be in the middle of the chaos, her earth signature is unstable, very weak!"

  Without losing a second, Shadow started running towards the nearest shadow.

  "Notify the Specter! We need reinforcements there now!"

  Whisper's response came panting, the sound of her invisible footsteps following him.

  "I'm already on it!"

  Shadow, now invisible, stepped into the dark patch cast by a large jequitibá tree. It was a peculiar sensation, like diving into thick, icy water. He disappeared from the lake's edge and instantly emerged from the shadow of a palm tree fifty meters away, where a guard, Amadi, was watching the path.

  "Amadi, come with me!" Shadow ordered, appearing suddenly beside the man.

  Amadi jumped, surprised, but his training took over. He nodded, tightening his grip on his shield.

  "For the Quilombo!" the guard replied, his voice firm.

  Shadow placed a firm hand on Amadi's shoulder. The darkness gem on his ankle, a small black stone attached to a thin chain, shimmered with a deep light. Both their forms dissolved into the gloom. The world became a whirlwind of gray tones and pressing silence for an instant, until they emerged from another shadow, already much closer to the Armadillo Mocambo. Shadow repeated the process, leaping from shadow to shadow, each jump a small existential jolt, until the first sounds of battle reached their ears: gunshots, shouts, and the distant roar of fire.

  They emerged from the shadow of a hut. The sight was chaotic. And then Shadow saw it: Carlos, with his back to them, protecting Tassi's inert body on the ground. Shadow appeared directly in the shadow cast by Carlos.

  "Amadi, now!" Shadow shouted, releasing the guard.

  Amadi, already understanding the situation, didn't hesitate. He advanced, raising his shield. A milky-white light burst from the central gem of the shield, forming a translucent, bright barrier between Carlos and the enemies.

  "Carlos, stay behind Amadi!" Shadow ordered, his voice echoing from the darkness. "You must be their target!"

  Carlos, his face smudged with soot and eyes wide with adrenaline, retreated a few steps, pulling Tassi's body closer to the protection.

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  "I already figured that out the hard way!" he replied, his voice hoarse.

  From the other side of the clearing, Nyran watched the arrival of the reinforcements. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. The fight, which had seemed almost won, was now about to become much harder. But it was too late to retreat.

  "Be careful with the weapon Carlos has in his hand!" she warned her companions, her voice carrying a tone of bitter respect. "They defeated the governor's army thanks to these deadly contraptions!"

  The Boitatá beside her, a serpent of fire and scales which, although not as colossal as the legend, was still larger than any anaconda, hissed in agreement, its body radiating a heat that distorted the air. On the other side, the werewolf, a mass of muscle and dark fur, just growled low, its claws digging into the earth.

  In an instant, the two beasts charged towards Carlos. Nyran stayed behind, her eyes analyzing the battlefield, looking for an opening.

  Shadow reacted first. He dove into Carlos's elongated shadow and disappeared, only to reappear half-body from the werewolf's own shadow. With a quick movement, he threw a spear of pure darkness that hit the monster's arm. The werewolf roared in pain and fury, striking blindly at its own shadow, but Shadow had already dissipated, leaving behind only emptiness.

  The Boitatá, perceiving the tactic, intensified its flames. Its body became a walking furnace, the heat making the air around it shimmer and inhospitable, turning its shadows into a deadly trap for anyone trying to use them. The creature slithered quickly towards Carlos, but Amadi held his position, the milky shield absorbing the wave of heat with a continuous hiss. With his other hand, Amadi brandished a spear, gathered his strength, and threw it at the Boitatá's face. The spear hit dead on, but ricocheted off the scales hardened by fire.

  A sinister smile seemed to draw itself on the creature's scaly face. But the smile turned into a sharp alert when Nyran's voice echoed:

  "LOOK OUT! He's reloaded!"

  Carlos, who had just finished loading bullets into the revolver's cylinder, was surprised by the warning, but his reaction was trained. He aimed firmly at the fire monster and pulled the trigger. However, at the exact moment of the shot, the Boitatá contracted and transformed into an armadillo with bony armor and smoke rising from its joints. The bullet whistled over it. Without wasting time, the armadillo dug a hole in the ground with impressive speed and disappeared from sight.

  Carlos wasn't discouraged. Spinning quickly, he aimed at the werewolf, which was still trying in vain to hit Shadow. He fired; one of the shots hit the beast's other arm, while the others missed, marking the earth around it. He began to reload feverishly, keeping his eyes on the monster. But where the beast had been, there was now only a child. A small girl, with drooping black wolf ears and a little black tail with a white tip, crying softly, her arms and legs bleeding profusely. In that decisive moment, Carlos's hand hesitated. The tip of the revolver lowered a centimeter.

  And it was in that moment of doubt that Nyran attacked. She seemed to fall from the sky, the wind gems in her boots propelling her in a swift dive. She passed by Amadi's barrier, who was distracted by the armadillo, and blew a concentrated jet of flames directly at Carlos's hands. He screamed in pain, the skin smelling of burnt flesh, and the heavy revolver fell to the ground with a metallic clang.

  Amadi, noticing the breach, turned his shield towards the sky to block a possible new attack from Nyran, but from the ground, right in front of him, the Boitatá emerged in its full form. The huge mouth full of flaming teeth snapped shut with a dry crack around Amadi's arm. A bony snap echoed, followed by a scream of agony from the guard.

  Shadow tried every way to attack the monster, throwing spears of darkness, but the Boitatá's incandescent scales dissipated the dark magic. The heat the creature radiated was simply too intense for him to get close.

  The Boitatá, with a powerful movement of its neck, threw Amadi away. The guard rolled on the ground, clutching the stump of his arm which now ended in a charred wound. The path to Carlos was clear. The fire serpent slithered towards the chief, who, with his horrendous and useless hands, tried to crawl backward.

  Nyran jumped to block Carlos's escape route, but was intercepted by an attack from Shadow who emerged from a nearby shadow. She managed to dodge with a jump to the left, but lost her balance.

  The Boitatá, seeing Carlos defenseless, adjusted its trajectory. However, Shadow appeared directly in front of the monster's face, enduring the unbearable heat for a fraction of a second. He threw a dark spear that found its target: the Boitatá's eye. The creature let out a high, painful shriek, momentarily recoiling.

  In that moment of blind fury and pain, the Boitatá reassessed the situation. Carlos was a difficult and protected target. But there was another, easier one, defenseless on the ground: Tassi, still unconscious. It didn't even need to bite her; just passing over her fragile body with its weight and heat would be enough to crush and carbonize her.

  The creature slithered towards her, but Nyran, recovering, jumped once more in front of it, arms wide.

  "NO!" she screamed, her voice a mix of order and desperation. "FOCUS ON CARLOS! HE IS THE TARGET!"

  Carlos, seeing the scene, felt a wave of shame and anger at himself. He had left her there, thinking they would spare her, that the interest was only in him. How foolish he had been.

  "You monster!" he shouted, ignoring the lancinating pain in his hands.

  He did an awkward tumble, rolling on the ground to where the revolver had fallen. Using his wrists, he managed to push the weapon into a position where he could grab it with his less burned fingers.

  "Idiot! Don't go back to them!" Shadow's voice echoed, full of alarm.

  But Carlos ignored it. He tried to steady the weapon, but his hands were a mess of pain. Nyran, seeing his attempt, jumped towards him, her lips parting for another breath of flames.

  Shadow, seeing her distracted, emerged from her own shadow and hit her shoulder with a darkness dagger. Nyran screamed and fell to her knees, the fire attack dissipating before reaching Carlos.

  The Boitatá, however, was inches from Tassi. It opened its mouth, the intense heat already making her clothes begin to steam.

  "NO!" Carlos roared.

  With a superhuman effort, he raised the revolver. The first shot hit the Boitatá's other eye, blinding it completely. The beast shrieked, a sound of pure agony, and turned blindly towards Carlos, who fired again, but the bullets only chipped incandescent scales, causing no real damage. The spears of light Carlos tried to conjure with his wounded hands were weak and dissipated against the beast's body.

  Blind, but guided by the heat of hatred and its forked tongue sensing the air vibrations, the Boitatá slithered towards Carlos, unstoppable. The beast was blind, but its fury guided it directly towards the mocambo chief, who now had nowhere to run.