“Help! I’m the Chosen One (and I Didn’t Sign Up for This)!”

Morning dawned bright and early, the sunlight filtering through the trees as the trio packed up their camp. Kazuya stretched, feeling surprisingly well-rested despite the chaos of the previous day.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked, shouldering his gear.

Lyria grinned, pulling out the glowing shard she'd taken from the chimera's lair. "This baby's our ticket to the next ruin. I just need to recalibrate its magic matrix—"

"Translation?" Mika interrupted, crossing her arms.

"We head to the nearest town to gather supplies while I fiddle with it," Lyria said with a dismissive wave.

"Sounds simple enough," Kazuya said, already suspicious of how wrong it was going to go.

Welcome to Clucksville

The nearest town, aptly named Clucksville, was a quiet farming village known for one thing: chickens. Chickens were everywhere—pecking at the dirt, waddling across the cobblestone streets, and clucking loudly enough to drown out conversations.

"Why does it smell like... feathers and regret?" Kazuya asked, wrinkling his nose.

"This place is famous for its giant chickens," Lyria said, pointing to a statue of an enormous, buff-looking chicken in the town square. Beneath it, a plaque read: 'Cluck the Great: Defender of the Realm.'

"Giant chickens?" Mika asked skeptically.

As if on cue, a bird the size of a small horse strutted past, clucking imperiously.

"Okay, that's... mildly terrifying," Kazuya admitted, watching the oversized fowl with a mix of awe and horror.

"Focus!" Lyria said, tugging them toward the marketplace. "We need to stock up on supplies and—"

She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening as she spotted a stall selling magical trinkets. "Ooh! Shiny things!"

The Great Chicken Incident

While Lyria got distracted by shiny baubles, Kazuya and Mika wandered toward a food stall.

"I don't trust this place," Mika muttered, her hand never straying far from her sword.

"It's a chicken farm. What's the worst that could happen?" Kazuya said.

The answer came in the form of a panicked villager running down the street, screaming, "It's loose! Someone stop it!"

"See?" Mika said. "This is why I don't relax."

Before Kazuya could respond, the ground shook beneath their feet, and a thunderous clucking filled the air.

Out of nowhere, a gargantuan chicken—easily twice the size of the already massive ones they'd seen—burst into the square, flapping its wings and sending feathers flying everywhere.

"What... the hell... is that?!" Kazuya shouted, pointing at the monstrosity.

"That," Lyria said, appearing beside them with a bag of trinkets, "is probably Cluck the Great's descendant."

"Why is it rampaging?!" Mika demanded, drawing her sword.

"It's mating season," Lyria said with a shrug.

Mika glared at her. "And why is that relevant?!"

"Because it's looking for a mate, and you're wearing red," Lyria said, smirking.

Mika paled, glancing down at her crimson cloak. "You've got to be kidding me."

The chicken locked eyes with her, its feathers puffing up. With a mighty cluck, it charged.

The Chase Is On

"RUN!" Kazuya yelled, grabbing Mika's arm and dragging her out of the way as the massive bird thundered toward them.

"I swear to every god, I'm burning this cloak!" Mika shouted, sprinting alongside him.

Behind them, the chicken clucked ferociously, its beady eyes focused entirely on Mika. Villagers dove out of the way, yelling and scattering like leaves in the wind.

Lyria floated alongside them, laughing hysterically. "This is the best day ever!"

"Help us, you lunatic!" Mika roared.

"Fine, fine," Lyria said, snapping her fingers. A magical wall of light appeared in the chicken's path, but instead of stopping, it barreled straight through it.

"Uh, slight miscalculation," Lyria admitted, wincing.

"No kidding!" Kazuya shouted, narrowly avoiding a wing swipe that could have flattened him.

The Plan

They ducked into an alley, the chicken skidding to a halt outside and pecking at the building in frustration.

"Okay, new plan," Mika panted, glaring at Lyria. "You distract it while I kill it."

"Kill it?!" Kazuya said. "It's just a chicken!"

"A chicken that's trying to kill me," Mika snapped.

Lyria grinned. "Or... we could tame it."

"Why would we tame it?!" Mika demanded.

"Because it could be useful!" Lyria said. "Imagine riding it into battle!"

Mika and Kazuya stared at her in stunned silence.

"She's insane," Mika muttered.

The Chicken Tamer

Against all logic, Lyria's plan involved using a loaf of bread as bait. She waltzed into the square, holding the bread aloft.

"Here, chicky, chicky!" she cooed.

The chicken froze, its beady eyes locking onto the bread.

"See?" Lyria said, smirking. "It's all about establishing dominance."

The chicken lunged.

Lyria screamed, tossing the bread into the air and teleporting out of the way. The chicken caught the loaf in its beak, chewing triumphantly.

"Well, that worked great," Mika said dryly.

"Plan B?" Kazuya suggested.

"What's Plan B?" Mika asked.

"Run," Kazuya said.

A Feathered Frenzy

The chicken resumed its chase, with all three of them sprinting through the village. Kazuya slipped on a pile of feathers, landing face-first in a haystack. Mika had to fend off the chicken with her sword, while Lyria cackled and occasionally hurled fireballs.

Finally, they lured the chicken into an old barn. Mika slammed the doors shut, leaning against them.

"Is it over?" Kazuya asked, gasping for breath.

From inside the barn came a deafening cluck, followed by the sound of splintering wood.

"Not even close," Mika muttered.

To Be Continued…

As the barn shook with the chicken's fury, Kazuya groaned. "Why does this stuff always happen to us?"

Lyria grinned. "Because it's hilarious."

Mika glared at her. "You're paying for my new cloak."

The barn door burst open, and the chicken emerged, feathers flying.

"Round two?" Lyria said, conjuring a fireball.

"Let's end this," Mika growled, charging forward.