Kapre's hands shone with a vivid green light as he fed the moon goddess the herb paste he had prepared. Her wounds began to knit together and the deep frown on her face softened as she drifted into a deep slumber to complete her recovery.
"She will be completely healed by dawn," Kapre said. He gave Fleur a smile of gratitude since the divine herbs she provided were replenishing the goddess's strength at a remarkable pace.
When they left Mayari in the hollow tree and moved outside, Luna and Fleur looked at Daphne with raised eyebrows.
"What?" Daphne asked, folding her arms across her chest.
"I suppose you are going to get what you wanted," Luna said with a shrug.
Daphne simply tilted her head in feigned confusion.
"The great god intervened and worked with the humans. You can go ahead and take the snake now," Fleur added, nudging Daphne's elbow.
Daphne acted as if she had not been thinking of this the entire time. She nodded slowly as if she had only just realized the opportunity after her friends pointed it out.
Luna and Fleur merely rolled their eyes at her, causing the green eyed blonde to blush.
"Well, now that you mention it. My Lord, could you tell us where the serpent might be hiding?" Daphne asked Kapre.
The god was still in his human sized form and grinned at the exchange between the girls.
"Of course. Come along then, children," he said. He started walking in a specific direction with large, purposeful strides.
The girls mounted their stag. As the creature took its first step, they found themselves instantly at the edge of the forest with Kapre still walking just ahead of them. He pointed toward the sea with a grin to indicate the serpent was beneath the waves.
Daphne dismounted and a dark golden spear covered in blue runes materialized in her hand. She looked at the gift she had received from Aaric and smiled with satisfaction as her wand appeared in her other hand.
"That is great craftsmanship. That spear must have been forged by a very powerful god," Kapre commented.
Daphne simply smiled and nodded.
"Do you want our help?" Luna asked, gesturing to herself and Fleur.
Daphne looked back at them and shook her head.
"I can lend you my divine power and domain if you wish," Kapre suggested. "That way, fate will not be able to intervene and the beast could be felled in a single strike."
He spoke with a glint of defiance in his eyes as he clearly wished to see his own power used to bypass the restrictions of fate.
"Thank you, My Lord. However, I wish to test my own strength first," Daphne replied.
Kapre shrugged and gestured for her to wait before he moved toward a nearby tree. He placed his hand against the bark and a face similar to Daphne's own formed in the wood.
It detached itself in the form of a mask a moment later and the god took it in his hand and moved towards Daphne.
"Take this. It will prevent the beast's charming eyes from working on you, yet you will still be able to see," he said, holding the mask out to her.
Daphne accepted the gift with both hands and a grateful smile before putting it on. Kapre patted her head lightly and moved back toward Fleur and Luna.
Daphne's eyes shone beneath the mask as she gripped her spear like a javelin. The runes on the shaft lit up and the tip glowed with the intensity of the sun.
She released the spear toward the sea. The force of the throw created a shockwave that made her green dress flutter slightly.
The sea churned and boiled before parting. The giant snake emerged from the water with the spear lodged deep in its spine as boiling blood leaked from the wound.
Daphne's cloak appeared around her body and her golden crown manifested on her head before she took to the sky.
She remembered Kapre's warnings as she maintained some distance. She and the beast seemed to possess equal amounts of divinity which effectively cancelled each other out.
The serpent tried to unravel reality around Daphne using its power, but she remade the world just as it was collapsing. To an outside observer, it seemed as though no changes were happening at all.
The light of the four moons dimmed as Bakunawa flapped its powerful grey wings and conjured a storm.
Lightning struck all around Daphne, but she used Apparition to teleport out of reach. The beast channeled the electricity from the sky into its single green horn.
The horn glowed a powerful blue before Bakunawa sent a massive lightning strike toward her with a deafening hiss.
Daphne grinned as her spear returned to her hand. She spread her arms with the spear in one hand and her wand in the other.
Using pure magical manipulation, she spun in the air. The lightning coiled around her harmlessly before she flung the strike back at the beast. It hit the serpent directly in the belly.
The beast thrashed as burn marks appeared on its scales. Daphne flicked her wand and sent a grey beam of pure disintegration toward the wound.
The beam caused even more damage and enraged the beast. It flapped its wings to turn the wind into sharp blades capable of cutting mountains in half.
"Protego Maxima!" Daphne chanted.
A bright barrier of light covered her and barely weathered the barrage of wind strikes. She flew upward as tides of water reached into the air to swallow her whole. She moved gracefully, dodging more air strikes as she gained speed.
She suddenly apparated right beside the serpent just as a lightning strike was about to hit her.
Using her momentum, she jabbed her spear into the serpent's side and carved a shallow but long gash along its body.
She had to apparate again immediately to dodge a massive tail strike.
She gritted her teeth as a stray lightning strike finally clipped her. She had not timed her teleport correctly and appeared right in the path of a bolt from the sky.
She sensed Aaric, Ra, and other gods of her pantheon watching the battle. She could feel them preparing to intervene.
She shook her head against their worry and asked them in her mind to give her one more chance.
They begrudgingly agreed but kept their consciousness close by.
Normally, her cloak would have protected her from a million lightning strikes. However, this lightning was fueled by divinity and was capable of destroying worlds in the waking-realm.
The tip of her spear began to glow with a white heat as the air around her shimmered. She threw the spear at the snake once more.
While the weapon was in flight, she took the opportunity to drink a potion as The lower portion of her mask had been scorched and broken by the lightning.
The colossal serpent hissed as the spear struck home, jabbing into its spine and causing the flesh to sizzle.
Daphne did not waste a second. Her magic surged as glowing feathers of white fire appeared around her. She hurled them toward the serpent with a wave of her hand.
Bakunawa retaliated by firing a white hot beam of fire from its mouth. Daphne raised her hand and wand to form another layer of Protego Maxima.
This time, she channeled the power of her cloak into the spell. The protective currents of the river Nile flowed into the shimmering shield and absorbed the continuous burst of fire.
The serpent continued to suffer as the feathers created deep gashes and the spear burned through its vitals.
The fire finally stopped when the spear tore a path through the snake's body and emerged from the other side. Daphne made a grasping motion and the weapon flew back to her hand.
She smiled and formed a mental connection with Aaric to ask for his assistance now that the beast was sufficiently weakened. Aaric did not hesitate.
"What is she doing?" Kapre muttered when he saw Daphne reach up to remove her mask.
Bakunawa was completely exhausted and coiled behind a bank of clouds it had solidified with magic. It hissed as it saw Daphne's face. Its eyes glowed golden as it tried to use its charming gaze on her.
Daphne's eyes were different now. They remained a beautiful green, but a swirling pattern in the shape of a flower had formed within her pupils. Aaric had temporarily granted her this ability through their divine link.
The serpent paused as its innate ability clashed with the Oculi Viridiflora. Bakunawa's will was easily subdued by Daphne as he had the intelligence of a normal snake.
Daphne found herself in a shared mindscape with the serpent. It appeared before her in a smaller, less threatening form. She crouched down and held out her hand with a smile.
"I promise to take care of you," she whispered.
In the mindscape, the serpent could feel the sincerity of her emotions. It paused and looked at her hand before gently resting its head in her palm.
Daphne squealed in delight as the creature moved up her arm and coiled itself around her wrist to rest.
Outside the mindscape, the others watched as Bakunawa shrank into a tiny size and wrapped itself around Daphne's wrist like a bracelet. Daphne smiled as she sent her spear and wand back into her storage space.
Two strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind.
"I am proud of you," Aaric whispered.
Daphne let out a happy sigh and leaned back completely against him as the clouds parted and the moons became visible again.