So. Apparently Natalie wasn't going to fuck the boss for dominance. She had assumed that would be the case, because—well. al Boss. What else would it mean?

  She didn't get to pte the misuanding for long. With a sed-level boss streaking toward her, fist pulled back as she readied herself to deliver a devastating punatalie could only worry about ohing. The fight. Surviving it.

  Heaving her hammer forward, she swung the massive block of stone in a vicious arc at the Hellhound, intending to meet the surge of movement with her own. But even the quarter-sed dey born from her surprise meant she was a hair too slow. The Hellhound dipped beh the attack, barely avoiding it, then rocketed back up, crashing her fist into Natalie's stomach. A burst of fme apahe blow, heat lig across her exposed skin.

  Natalie grunted, staggering several steps backward with the force of the attack. But something strange happened: it wasn't painful. Nor did she feel her HP dip. While HP was an enigmatic force, she could usually feel, in a vague sense, how healthy the resource was—how healthy she was. But the attack hadn't left her even slightly worse for wear. Not even in a mundane way; her stomach didn't ache. It was as if she hadn't been hit at all.

  She doubted it was because the Hellhound's blow had simply been so insignifit. Something else was going on. A suspi that was firmed shortly. Steadying herself, a symbol blinked ience above her oppo's head: the outline of a heart, filling up from the bottom with pink light.

  As if the Hellhound's attack had increased some hidden gauge, rather than hurting Natalie.

  What in the world was going on?

  Where the Hellhound apparently intuited the rules of this game simply from haviransformed, Natalie was fumbling around in the dark.

  Regardless of the specifics being unknown, though, the current goal was simple. Fight. And win.

  The Hellhound followed her initial punch with a rapid step forward then a vicious kick. She was clearly a martial artist of some kind. Natalie hadn't fought many of those duri spars, with most students wielding ons. The only reason to not have one would be if one's css facilitated otherwise. But she had some experie least.

  Experience or not, it was difficult dealing with a cle style when Natalie herself was handling a supremely cumbersome hammer easily seve long.

  In a split-sed decision, Natalie released her grip on her hammer. Even with her skills making the on more effective, her current circumstances prevented her from using it well. Natalie caught the Hellhound's leg, then, grunting, swung, tossing her off bahe Hellhound clearly hadn't expected the maneuver. She went tumbling sideways, nding back-first on the ground with a hard 'oomph'.

  Re-grabbing her hammer, Natalie quickly smmed it down, the giant block of stone hurtling for the Hellhound like a meteor. But while Natalie had been fast, she hadn't been fast enough: the Hellhound recovered, rolling to the side, and Natalie's hammer crashed impotently down where she'd been a sed earlier, splintering stone.

  The two of them locked eyes for a moment, Natalie's hammer embedded into the floor, and the Hellhound lying on her back, looking up at her. She grinned, e eyes wild.

  Natalie hefted her hammer, reorienting herself aing her brain fully into gear for the uping fight. The Hellhound leaped back to her feet in a coordinated, effortless mahe heart symbol above her head was still one-fifth full of pink light. But now, another symbol had appeared to join it: a shield, which had only a trickle of silver light, perhaps oweh filled.

  "What are those?" Natalie asked warily, keeping her distahe Hellhound had, thankfully, not immediately rushed her after rec. Natalie got the feeling she had just beeing her out—getting a feel for her. By the grin, the Hellhound liked what she'd found. Natalie sympathized; she also lusted food fight. They were kindred souls in that regard.

  "What are what?" the Hellhound asked.

  "The symbols. Above your head."

  The Hellhound paused, then tilted her head. Her wolf ear twitched, as if agitated, ied, or—whatever twitg wolf ears meant.

  "These are your abilities, human. How do you not know them?"

  "They're not mi was an arrow. An item dropped by the dungeon."

  The Hellhound snorted. "It's still the fault of your patron. Her influence, your css, it's all the same."

  "My patron?" The Hellhound knew about that? Was it firmation, then, about that theory? Or just the dungeon again feeding information that may or may not be false through one of its monsters?

  "Yes, your patron," the Hellhound scoffed impatiently, bushy wolf tail swishing in annoyance. "You reek of her. Her aspect all but drips from you."

  "What are you talking about?"

  The Hellhouled bato a bat stance, p to rush fain.

  "Wait! What do the symbols mean, at least?"

  For a moment, Natalie didn't think she would answer. Why would she? The tactically correct move would be to leave Natalie in the dark. Why help her by giving her knowledge on how the fight worked? But that wasn't the mihe Hellhound had, apparently, because after a sed, the Hellhound sighed irritably and replied.

  "It's how close you've gotten to a guard break. And how close yuard is to being broken."

  "Huh?"

  "Are you serious, human?"

  "Apparently, you got an instruanual! I didn't." Natalie appreciated the woman was even hum her questions. She didn't expect that would st long. The wolfgirl seemed antsy to get back to the a.

  The Hellhound huffed. "When I break yuard," she said, impatience growing by the sed, "I'll have an opportunity to make you submit. The fight ends when one of us chooses to lose. To bee the other's mate. Willingly."

  "… Really?"

  So, there was the expnation for the 'al' part of a 'al Boss'. The heart symbol represented Natalie's nearo guard-break. The shield, how far through her oppo's guard she had worked. The heart was notably more filled up because Natalie had taken a more severe hit; she'd only caught the Hellhound's leg and tossed her, so the shield was far less full.

  Natalie digested that. The whole, 'create an opportunity to make her submit'.

  "You're … okay with all of that?" Natalie asked.

  The Hellhound tilted her head. "Okay with it?"

  "You know," Natalie said. "This type of fight? Both parts of it?" Seeily hoient this woman was, Natalie kind of had to ask the question, to settle her own s. For obvious reasons, transf a boss and then fighting to dominate her—both physically and then sexually, apparently—was a bit of a disorienting situation to be in.

  The Hellhound stared at her. "What?"

  Natalie shifted in pce."I just wao make sure."

  "Are you asking if I want to be mated by you?"

  "Uh," Natalie said, her face heating up. "Maybe ly that." She hadn't ever expected to find herself awkward about a boss fight, but here it was happening. "Not me, specifically. But all of this, in a general sense."

  For a long moment, the Hellhound looked at Natalie incredulously. Then, abruptly, she ughed. "It doesn't matter if I am or not. It's the nature of the enter given to me. My assig." A grin slowly split her face, showg sharp es. "But, if you have to know, I'm not displeased. It's a more iing task than what I'm usually given. I've already told you—I'm looking forward to making you submit." The grin grew. "And you are iurn, I tell. It's in your eyes. The lust. You really are one of hers, aren't you?"

  Well. That was a relief. The Hellhound really did seem to be fih all of this, strange as it was. And she had a point: Natalie was also excited. About the whole, f her oppoo submit part, maybe not as much. That was kind of weird.

  But fug? Natalie was rarely against that, when it involved beautiful women.

  "Now, enough talking," the Hellhound growled, her amusement disappearing in an instant. Her tail swished as she crouched, muscles growing tense, brag herself to rush forward. "It's time for a, human."