The wolf-type Astylinds and their Severynths in the first line raced ahead when the horn of war blared across the plain. The rest too followed them with Ewan and his group shifting down to the second line. They stomped the grasses beneath, marching towards the enemy, and the enemy line did the same.
Some chose while some were chosen. Eye contact established the matches as the two sides met in the middle.
Ewan didn’t hide his inexperience; he didn’t feign a calm attitude. His hesitant steps and wavering eyes made him one of the weakest in the area—an easy target. Yet even though he was genuine, none took the bait and his plan to take his enemy by surprise fizzled out.
Tch, sly foxes each one of them….
In the end, his ‘authentic’ charade matched him with an enemy in the same position. He looked young, almost the same age as Ewan. His rough breaths, his indecisive steps, his rubbing fingers, and his wet bister hair made him as credible as Ewan if not more.
Orange exited Dekoth with a breath of fire and a sweltering wave that singed the grasses around. The little young monkey contrasted the other adult Astylinds in size but held his own and pushed back with the surge of Fire-Anima around him. He bared his fangs at the enemy, lowering his posture as Ewan readied his Ryvia. The enemy opened his Dekoth too and a falcon shot out with a cry, spreading static currents all around.
Lightning Falcon, Level-9, Grade-B—a quick scan gave Ewan the info he needed. It matched Orange’s data but the falcon pulled an advantage over his little monkey—it could fly.
Let’s use that then….
He dissolved the Ryvia platforms he created all around Orange and let him attack head on. Orange blasted off towards the falcon, leaving a trail of fire. The falcon screeched, flapping its wings, and launched several bursts of lightning at the incoming monkey. Orange adjusted midair with his explosive Fire-Anima, slowed down, and punched at the lightning snakes. The two exploded and the shockwave hurled both the Astylinds away.
Ewan controlled the little monkey’s violent descent and let him down safely, while the falcon negated the recoil and circled back, hovering over its master.
The first clash ended in a tie, but its wings still gave falcon the edge. The enemy Severynth had a hint of smirk at the corner of his mouth as his jittering stopped and his hesitation washed away. Either it was all a play like Ewan, or the first win boosted his confidence. Ewan clicked his tongue, maintaining his own façade, and also added a worried face on top as he watched Orange with concern.
“Again!”
Orange took off again with a flare of fire searing the ground.
“All the same,” the enemy Severynth said, laughing. He brought out two throwing knives and hurled them at Orange and Ewan, one at each. Ewan frowned; he dared not take the attack at its face value. So, his Ryvia expanded and pushed the two knives away. But the moment he touched them, they exploded into lightning clouds.
The argent barrier around his soul defended, the single tail of the fox curled to embrace his soul, but the deluging currents still invaded and numbed his spirit. They also shocked Orange and rendered him immobile. Ewan grunted; his head throbbed with a stinging pain. If not for his Bralek protecting his soul, the damage would’ve been worse.
Fine, change of plan….
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Sindra—Ice-Favored. The Ice-Anima danced around, swirling and surging.
Ice Daggers!
He cast the spell with all the Ice-Anima he had—it dried out his ice rune. The Ice-Favored from Frost added on top, and the spell produced twelve daggers. They all hovered before him as a deep breath shook off the numbness. He also prepared the Ryvia platforms again and launched a groggy Orange at the falcon.
Yet, this time, the battle pattern was different.
Ewan hurled all the ice daggers at the ashen faced Severynth, while Orange changed direction midair against the falcon with a Ryvia platform—it also bought him time to recover.
The enemy Severynth backed off a few steps, flustered, and cast a spell, creating a wall of lightning around him, while the falcon covered itself with a lightning coat and flashed at Orange. The little monkey pushed against a platform again and rocketed in another direction—he was getting better now. And he launched again, and again, and again. Ewan created a globe of platforms around the falcon and Orange zoomed around its enemy with them. Its wings gave the falcon a sharp advantage, but that was only in air against grounded enemies. The platform leveled the playing field and clipped its wings. Now Orange stood at the same stage and with better mobility.
And he punched. The falcon dodged but the eruption of the Fire-Anima shoved it away, blackening its lightning-coated feathers. Before it could recalibrate its stance, in came another punch. And another, and another. The booms echoed in the air, smothering the painful screeches of the falcon.
On the ground—the twelve daggers stabbed the lightning wall and stopped, trembling with the currents trapping them. The enemy Severynth behind it sweated while looking back and forth between his Astylind and the daggers.
Fireflies!
Ewan had his Spellbook out as he traced the circuit and cast the deciding spell. Everything else was a distraction, this was his main attack—the only disadvantage, though, was the time it needed to set. And the diversions worked well, the Severynth didn’t react while the spell armed the ground beneath him.
“Hey, let’s end it here!” Ewan yelled. “We don’t have to kill each other.”
The enemy Severynth gulped and nodded, wiping his sweat. He called back his falcon as Orange stood by and Ewan dispersed his daggers.
“I’ll remember this favor,” the enemy Severynth said and walked back.
“You won't have to,” Ewan murmured when the Severynth’s movement triggered the spell. The glowing fireflies gushed out the ground and glued to his Varos.
“What the fuck!!” he yelled, trying to push off the flashing lights. And a second later, the roaring blast splattered his body into bits.
Ewan recovered a leather pouch from the gory mess and walked away. The rush of battle cleansed away the pressure of war—he relished his victory.
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Status: Healthy
Step-0 [9th Awakening]
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 2.0
Spirit: 18.0
Anima: [Fire – 7.0 | Ice – 0.0 | Blood – 18.0]
Astylinds: 4 [Potential: 0]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-0 [9th Awakening]
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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]
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Imp [Frost]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]
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Blood Lotus [Iris]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]
Equipment: Common Clothes; Yurn [Neck Gaiter].
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Anima-Crystals [Novas Coins]; Obsidian Dagger; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.
Novas: 31,045
Crelith: 4,049