Man of Hollows

The lava worm was mid-charge when Soleil made her first move, twirling to the side and slamming the flat of her sword against the side of the monster's head. With a loud crack, the monster was forced to veer off course, crashing into the cave wall beside Hill.

Chunks of rock exploded from where the worm impacted the wall, followed by rocks from the ceiling. Lands quickly yanked Hill out of the way as the worm emerged out of the wall once more, turning around and hissing angrily.

Soleil was upon it before it could realize what was going on. She slashed wildly at the lava worm's skin, her sword turning into a blur of black and purple. 

However, her strikes were clumsy, and it looked like she was swinging a club more than wielding a sword. She hacked at the creature's hide with no technique or form at all. 

The obsidian-like skin of the lava worm was illuminated by the sparks erupting from the points of impact, but the blade barely scratched the surface. Soleil stumbled backward as the worm's tail whipped around, catching her across the ribs and sending her tumbling backward.

"Soleil!" Hill lunged forward, moving without thought. Lands quickly grabbed his arm and yanked him away from the fray.

"Don't," Lands hissed. "We'll just get in her way."

"She needs help! That sword is doing no damage at all!" Hill yelled in response, trying to rip himself from Lands' grip. Unfortunately, the strawberry-blonde boy was much stronger than he was, and his frail body couldn't compete.

Soleil rolled to her feet, clutching her side where dark blood was already soaking through her shirt. But as Hill watched in horror, the wound began to blow bright purple. Tongues of purple flames erupted from the gash, consuming the fabric in the immediate vicinity. The fire danced along the wound for a few seconds before dying down, leaving behind unblemished flesh.

Hill's eyes widened. He recognized that flame from when Soleil was cooking the broccus weeds. No way... she can regenerate!?

The worm lunged toward her again, its crystal teeth snapping shut inches from her face as she leaned backward. It kept moving forward.

She brought her sword up to block, but the angle was all wrong and her terrible form lacked stability. The blade caught awkwardly against the creature's jaw, and the forward force of the worm sent vibrations up her arm that made her lose her grip. The sword went flying, clattering against the cave wall before embedding itself in the rubble.

Without hesitation, Soleil threw herself at the beast with nothing but her bare hands.

"What is she doing?" Hill yelled, turning to Lands as he tried to free himself again.

Lands' expression was full of anxiousness, but he continued to bind Hill down. "Just stay back!"

The worm's head snapped down, and Hill heard the sickening crunch of teeth snapping through bone. Soleil screamed, the sound echoing off the cave walls in a manner that made Hill's heart hammer within his chest.

The creature had bitten deep into her shoulder and was now trying to devour even more of the blue-haired girl before it.

But instead of collapsing, Soleil's free hand grabbed a portion of the worm's head and held on. Blood splattered down her arm, and almost immediately, that same purple fire began to spread from the wound.

It wasn't a small flame this time. Her entire shoulder erupted in a blaze so intense that the air around it shivered and shimmered like a mirage in the desert.

The worm's hiss turned into a guttural howl that sounded almost like a scream. It thrashed hard as it tried to pull away from Soleil, who was practically charging into the mouth of the worm as tears poured from her eyes. 

The blood that had splattered over the floor and her body also erupted into flames. The worm wrenched away at last, its maw practically spewing purple fire. Its obsidian hide began to crack as purple light emerged from within.

Smoke began to pour out of its mouth as the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Its movements became sluggish and it made one last desperate attempt at a lunge, jaws opening wide in a beastly suicide attack.

Soleil didn't dodge. Instead, she thrust her flaming arm directly into its mouth, allowing the beast to crunch down one last time.

The effect was immediate, and it was truly horrible. The creature's entire body erupted into purple flame. Tongues of fire burst from its throat and its skin began to split along the segments, revealing a frigid interior that was now being consumed by a fire that was way too hot to nullify. Within seconds, what had been a terrifying predator became a burning corpse that was unrecognizable from its former glory.

Soleil ripped her shoulder from the worm's maw and collapsed to the ground. Her arm had been torn off, but it seemed to be regenerating as well. The purple flames seemed to be converging into the shape of an arm. Soon enough, a new arm was created. 

Unblemished. Without any scar.

She was breathing hard with tears still streaming down her face.

"Sol?" Lands called out, his voice sounding awfully worried. He finally released Hill's arm and jogged toward her. "You okay?"

She looked up at them, her eyes unfocused. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She coughed twice. "I'm fine," she mumbled, the lie obvious to everyone present, including herself. "Just... need a minute."

Hill stared at the scene with his jaw hanging. The gory spectacle that he had just witnessed was incredibly raw and disturbing. His own hands were shaking.

"W-what the hell was that?" he whispered to himself.

Lands was already at Soleil's side, offering her his waterskin. "Sol," he muttered grimly, "this is insane. You know this is insane. Is August's 'project' really worth this? Can't we just turn away?"

Soleil pushed the waterskin away, shaking her head as she blinked the tears away. "It is," she said.

"How? What could he possibly be building that requires you to let a monster chew on you?" Lands pressed.

"I thought you knew how to fight," Hill added, the words tumbling out before he could stop them. "The way you were swinging that sword, it didn't look like you knew what you were doing. If you're going to just throw yourself at them like that—" He stopped, clearing his throat and gesturing vaguely at her ruined shirt, looking away at the same time. "Your clothes won't last, for one."

Lands gasped and immediately averted his eyes. A deep blush spread across Soleil's face, quickly morphing into anger. The tattered remains of her shirt now revealed the entire side of her torso and her newly formed shoulder.

"Damn it, Hill!" She snapped. "Lands, give me your shirt!"

"Wh- Wait, no!" Lands stuttered, shaking his hands in criss-cross. "No way!"

"My shirt's been destroyed! Besides, you're wearing a tank top underneath!" Soleil hissed. "Are you really going to allow me, a girl, to walk around topless??"

"You can wear my shirt."

Both of them turned to Hill, who was clutching the collar of his shirt with an innocent expression on his face. "I can manage going shirtless, as long as you get me a new one. If that's... possible here anyway."

Soleil narrowed her eyes while Lands suppressed a laugh with his hands. She pointed to his chest. "I see what you're trying to do, Hill."

Hill looked down at his chest, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the gaping hole in the center of his red shirt. "Wait, wait, no! That's not what I meant!"

Soleil chuckled before turning away to stare blankly at the burnt corpse. The moment of levity faded as quickly as it had arrived, leaving silence in its wake. Lands' smile vanished as he looked from Hill's earnest, if naive, offer to Soleil, who was trying to wrap her arms around herself to cover the exposed skin.

With a heavy sigh of resignation, Lands shook his head. "Oh, for crying out loud," he muttered, pulling at the hem of his overshirt. "You're both impossible."

He shucked the shirt off, leaving him in just his grey tank top, and tossed the garment at Soleil. "Here. Just stop being dramatic."

Soleil caught it, looking genuinely surprised for a second. She gave him a single nod of thanks before quickly pulling the oversized shirt on. It hung loosely on her frame, swallowing her in dark fabric, but it was better than nothing.

With the immediate issue resolved, her focus snapped back to the reality of their situation. "Back to August's project," she said, her voice flat. "He needs the inner worm skins because he needs an adhesive to create several barriers. He plans to put them in front of all known cave entrances where the lava ants have been spotted."

Lands slapped his palm against his fist. "Aha! That... still doesn't explain why you have to do this."

"Isn't it obvious?" Soleil asked. "All these lava beasts: the worms, the ants, the other ones we haven't discovered yet, they all have cryogenic blood. Unfortunately, I'm the only one who is immune to it because of my blessing. As a result, they want me to acquire the skins instead of the First or Second Company doing it."

"And about that... your blessing is insane!" Hill exclaimed breathlessly. "How does it work?"

"My body regenerates by burning itself anew, as long as I have enough soul essence, of course," Soleil mumbled in response. She touched her new shoulder. "But I see what you mean... I can't keep fighting like that. I can easily run out of soul essence if I'm not careful..."

"You weren't being careful in the first place! Why even summon a sword if you're going to sacrifice yourself to that thing?" Lands scoffed.

A tense silence followed.

Hill's brow was furrowed as thoughts raced through his mind. He knew that sitting back and observing Soleil go to work was the safest option for him. But after watching her tank all that damage, he felt the urge to throw his own body into the fray. Not to actually fight, of course, but to be of some service and make the job easier for Soleil. 

He cleared his throat, the sound breaking the silence.

"So, how can we help?"