The Doctor tilted his head, his mask's beak pointed directly at the head of the monstrosity.
For a second, it seemed it almost curled into a smile as he said, "Just as I predicted. I knew it wasn't going to be a perfect form, but it is a tad disappointing to see it go so according to the book."
He turned to Michael and Joseph, "Nonetheless, what do you two think, my unlikely deliverymen?"
Joseph turned to The Doctor, and furiously sputtered out, "What the hell did you do to her?!"
Layla stumbled up, her limbs having twisted and turned in impossible ways, as The Doctor replied, "I simply made her as close to perfect as she can get."
The Doctor then leaned back casually, "Though, I must confess, I did make some rather selfish design changes. Apart from the apparent ones, however, I also had to temporarily restrain her free will, as she has purposes that have yet been served."
Joseph flicked his pistol up and emptied it into The Doctor. Though, as the bullets flew midair, they were stopped by a wall made out of the same substance that Layla's skin was now made of. The wall itself extended from her arm.
The Doctor laughed, "You needed evidence? Well, no matter. I have no need to speak more to you people." The Doctor then, in an over-the-top manner, turned around.
Joseph yelled out, "Damn it! I'll kill you, you sickly bastard!"
The Doctor craned his head back and looked at Joseph, "Oh? Is that a threat?"
He gestured to Layla, who seemed to be locked onto Joseph now, "I think you'll have to take that up with my bodyguard then!"
The Doctor began to laugh more, "Oh, but don't bruise her up too much now! I'm sure there's a way to turn her back into a human, right?"
Just as he finished that statement, however, his laughter stopped. Roland rushed after him and was able to surprise The Doctor while he was boasting. Sticking a spear straight through The Doctor's chest, he was able to both push himself and The Doctor overboard into the water. Stol shook his head before he jumped down with them, leaving only Michael and Joseph with Layla.
Layla towered over the both of them, with one of them being able to stand on her hand if able. Easily being 50+ feet in height, it was a horrifying sight to see her standing above them.
Joseph turned to Michael but stopped mid-sentence, "Michael, what are we going to do—"
Michael's eyes rapidly moved as he visibly shook. His blade clattered against his sheath.
Joseph tried to ask again, "Michael, what's the plan—"
A thin, spear-shaped barrier suddenly emerged from Layla. It flew from her skin and directly at Joseph. Joseph flinched but was pushed out of the way by Michael, who dove to do so.
As they both got up, Michael turned to him and said, "We need to fight."
Joseph nodded.
They began to run and circle, and he began to sluggishly fire more spear-shaped barriers and retract the previous ones.
Michael said, "I think her barriers are different. Not only can she use them more, but I think they may be more like a beam of glass, if that makes sense."
Joseph replied, having dodged a spear in the process, "Meaning?"
Michael said, "Slashing attacks won't work at thicker parts, but piercing attacks should work at any time. I'll need you to do a majority of the damage, then."
Joseph switched his ammo out, "Got it."
Layla screeched out as she slung her hand upwards. Multiple spears emerged from her palm and shot straight for Michael and Joseph, aiming around them. The spears that landed first did so in front of them, allowing for Michael and Joseph to push off of them, entering the air. Joseph aimed his revolver at the palm and fired. The bullet weaved through the other spears before hitting her palm. When the bullet hit, the skin of the palm cracked, with an open injury where the bullet impacted. Layla lurched and grabbed her arm in pain. She screamed out as a dark red liquid seeped out from the wound.
Joseph yelled out, "That's it! You're right, Mi—"
Suddenly, Layla moved. At a speed much too fast for something her size, she lunged forward. Joseph looked up at the hand that was rapidly approaching him, the same hand that he previously shot, and saw that the wound was rapidly healing. However, he wouldn't have long to ponder that, as she swatted him into the ground, making a dent into the deck of the ship. However, as her hand reached the bottom, it was met with steel instead of flesh. Michael had dived in and picked Joseph up. She turned to look at the both of them, with them feeling an immense pressure as she stared at them. It was like a boulder of pure rage was slammed on their shoulders. Joseph immediately fired the rest of his loaded ammo into Layla's face, each bullet meticulously spread across. Like a web, the cracks spread out before an entire chunk of her face fell down, revealing the fleshy insides. She pulled back a bit, almost whimpering, and grasped at the chunk.
Michael stood his ground while Joseph quickly reloaded his gun. Layla pulled the chunk to her face, and it began to fuse back with her skin, melting and molding back into something that could be considered to be so, at least. Joseph fired his gun again, but the bullet was blocked by Layla reaching out and blocking it. Joseph tried to fumble with his gun again but felt another pressure build.
He turned to Michael and yelled, "Dodge!"
Michael looked confused but tried to dodge. Below them, barrier spikes broke through the ground, ripping through the entire deck. Joseph was able to fully dodge it, while Michael was pierced through the leg. Michael painfully grunted and quickly cut the spike, but the damage was done. Michael fell to his knees as the spikes retracted, blood pouring out from the wound in his leg. The small bit of cut-off spike faded away, as the mana within the small piece of skin was too little to maintain itself.
The spikes were pulled out of the ground, it now being clear that they came from Layla's hand that previously missed Joseph. Rows of barriers connected the spikes, forming a sort of filter that caught Michael and threw him into the air. Michael went limp for a moment before he regained control of his body. Layla's hand morphed again, the previous grid of rows and spikes molding into a blade aimed straight at Michael. Michael flicked a glance to Joseph, who responded with a nod. As the blade moved to the plummeting Michael, he raised his sword. The sword collided with the massive blade, sparks flew as Michael used the impact from the blade to push himself to the side. Concurrently, Joseph rapidly shot the arm that the blade was attached to, creating an opening like he did to her face previously. Michael slowed his fall by stabbing his blade into the skin, which allowed him to attack the inner, fleshy mass. Mana could be seen flowing to Michael's hand as he charged up a spell. He swung forward before his hand lit up and fired a barrage of flaming bolts, which impacted the internal flesh.
The inner organs would liquefy and squelch as the flames burnt and ate at the insides, and as Michael kicked off of the skin and pulled out his sword, it seemed as if the entire arm was collapsing into itself. Layla yelled a horrible scream, breaking several nearby windows. Michael grinned, which quickly stopped as he was grabbed by an arm. The very same arm that he had previously destroyed. As he had jumped back, the collapsed arm began to rapidly bubble before it shot out at Michael. The arm had regrown somehow and now was covered in hot, red blood as the bare flesh tightened its grip around Michael. Michael yelled out as the blood began to burn and eat at his body. Layla raised the arm, which was beginning to regrow the skin, and threw Michael at the city like a baseball. Michael flew like a meteor, blowing through several buildings. Layla turned to Joseph, her face being almost like a statue, made entirely out of barrier magic. She raised her uninjured hand at Joseph and began to fire more spears at him. Joseph ducked, as he knew that he wasn't fast enough to dodge them, nor did he have enough loaded ammo to destroy them. However, instead of the embrace of death, his head was instead filled with the sound of gunshots and yelling. He looked up and saw a group of several officers firing at Layla. She yelled as her skin was broken by the hail of gunshots and began to step back, tilting the ship.
One of the officers ran to Joseph, who asked, "Who sent you all?"
The officer replied, "It was Ken, he thought that you all needed backup here."
Joseph hoarsely laughed, "No kidding, huh."
The officer helped Joseph up, who immediately began to think about the next course of action. Layla did need him, after all, if he wasn't here, he would doubt that those soldiers would spare her, even if there was a way to do so. But Michael had just been thrown through god-knows-what and landed god-knows-where. Joseph did doubt the soldiers' capability to fight, and while he thought that they would be able to hold their own, he doubted that they could take her down, especially after whatever she pulled with her regeneration. Joseph made his decision and moved to leave the boat, leaving the officers to fend for themselves.
Layla kept backing up as the bullets pelted her. The officers slowly made their way forward, however, they didn't notice what was going on until it was too late. Layla was too heavy to be on one side of the ship, and the entire ship began to tilt towards her. As this happened, a few officers lost balance and slid towards her. They met a quick end, as she slammed down her hand on them, turning them into a thin mist of red. For those who didn't meet this fate, they were instead greeted with spears piercing through them and stapling them to the ground, letting them bleed out. The officers began to move back, some even trying to escape, as they could predict what happens when a caged animal simply decides to leave the cage.
Layla crouched down before the entire ship seemed to shake and stutter. She pushed down, and leapt from the ship, causing anyone too close to slide and fall off the ship. For those unlucky enough to remain on the ship, an impossible amount of spears emerged from Layla's body and shot at the ship. The entire ship was pierced, hundreds of spears shooting through it and into the floor of the river. The remaining officers on the ship were impaled, blood covering the deck where they previously thought success was within grasp. It was clear that the power of even a being described as imperfect was nothing to be played with. This battle had been lost, even if some of its combatants weren't yet aware of the gravity of their choices. Many of the officers who lay bleeding out had one last thought. Why?
Away from the conflict, a man stood in the distance atop a tall office building. He frowned as he saw the ship begin to sink with so many men on it, but he understood. No matter what, a sacrifice is a sacrifice, even if that sacrifice comes with a personal cost. A small price to pay to him. He would do more himself if it meant that he could personally end the life of that man, and watch the life fade from his eyes as he had to endure himself. A righteous punishment for the Star of Leon.