“Why didn’t you use your wind? That’s what you used when fighting those cultists, right?” Aimi questioned in between her breaths, thoroughly out of it.
Aella waited for Grayson to arrive at the scene before she answered, the illusion which he used to hide his wings having come undone without him knowing.
“Well, one because it wouldn’t have been fun if I beat you all instantly,” Aella answered, pausing for dramatic effect before continuing. As she does.
“Two, since you’re going to become my person from now on, I need to teach you some things. And your first lesson… Is never to stop attacking until your opponent stops breathing!”
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Suddenly, Aella’s Mana spiked as winds powerful enough to blow even Aetherion away came crashing down upon the group, sending everyone aside from Stormy and Aella herself in opposite directions.
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‘Eh?’ Aella thought, seeing the pop-up.
The dark gray dress she wore vanished, replaced by a beautiful white dress adorned with countless amethyst and blue gems. The swords circling around her also gained the same colors, with their blades being as white as the clouds above with purple and blue engravings.
A visual effect for when she fully utilizes both her [Armor of Reverence] and [Swords of Reverence]
“And 3! Every good Boss Battle needs at least 2 phases!”
‘Wait… I think I used that one already… Eh, whatever. I’ll think of some more one-liners later.’
Suddenly, her killing intent flared, striking everyone but Seraphina, causing them to recoil in terror.
Once again, Aella vanished from her spot as Sylpheed entered its second verse. Faster than Grayson could comprehend, Eidolon Gear was sent flying an entire kilometer back.
“Gear!” He shouted, running after his partner.
Next, she set her sights on Aetherion. With a wave of her fan, a torrent of winds hit him, tearing through his scales, but he pushed through it and collided with Aella. The sound of her swords and Aetherion, who made himself heavier with his gravity, echoed.
While she was busy with Aetherion, Aimi, along with Hoshihime, tried to attack from behind, only for an impassible wall of wind to block their attack, which she quickly used to retaliate as well, throwing them both high into the sky only to slam them both into the ground before the latter could fly them to safety.
Then she pushed herself away from Aetherion, dashing at Seraphina at her top speed. In fear, the young girl closed her eyes and braced for impact, only for Aella to pat her head gently.
“Aw, you’re so cute when you’re scared.” Aella giggled manically before she could reign in her emotions.
As Seraphina opened her eyes again, she was greeted by Aella’s horrifying, face-splitting grin. Although Aella tried to hide it and let out a fake cough, she wasn’t quick enough to hide from Seraphina’s observant eyes!
“So pretty…” Seraphina said, her eyes sparkling in a trance-like state, causing Aella to take a few steps back in confusion.
‘That’s not the reaction a child should have to see my facial expression… Have I somehow corrupted her innocence? I haven’t even done anything to her yet! This was supposed to happen AFTER I taught her magic!’
Letting out a small sigh, Aella signaled for Seraphina to follow her. The two quickly made their way to Aimi, who was in a small crater, her armor and weapon completely shattered with damage all over her body as Hoshihime furiously tried to heal her.
“Hmm. Only a broken bone? I didn’t hold back that much, and that’s all she suffered?” She mused until she saw Hoshihime glaring at her, “Hey. She asked for this. It’s just a broken bone. It’ll heal.”
Opening her eyes, Aimi saw Aella’s figure towering over her. “Is this… All I amount to?” She questioned, barely being able to speak.
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Her words made Aella sigh again. This time, it was one of pity.
“You were the one who coordinated all of this, right? On top of your Dragon being able to buff and heal you, she can also connect you and your allies’ minds together, right? Loath yourself all you want, but even an S-rank wouldn’t have had an easy time dealing with you three.”
Aella spoke only the truth. While she wasn’t as strong as an S-rank and was even limiting her abilities, she was a far better fighter than even the SS-rankers. While they had the firepower to shrug the kids off, S-rankers wouldn’t be able to do that without Hoshihime’s buffs because of how durable Aetherion was.
Not to mention Grayson’s illusions, which were far more realistic than what a novice like him should be able to produce.
“Well, if you still feel you aren’t strong enough, I’ll gladly fix you up, Aimi.”
Her words made Aimi smile slightly. Recognition from someone so powerful was nice, even if she was used to it from school.
With that said, Aella sent her swords out, surrounding the crater that Aimi was in, each beginning to glow with radiant energy.
“Blessing of Ancient Health!”
Without warning, Aella’s blue flames burst forth from the swords, rapidly engulfing Aimi and causing Hoshihime to react nearly instantly, trying to dispel the fire but to no avail. She turned her head back to Aella, glaring even harder before looking back at her partner; what she saw shocked her.
Aimi was… Being healed by the flames!
In just a few minutes, her broken arm was recovered, and Aella smirked toward the Dragon.
“Told you it would heal.”
The ability her Foxfire gained after reaching level 3. Rejuvenation. So long as the limb is not lost, just about any wound could be healed, given enough time and Mana. With her control over Blessings and Curses, she could further expedite the process and strengthen its effects. Such minor injuries as broken bones weren’t worth mentioning before Aella.
“Now, let’s get going. We do have all day, but I’d prefer it if we didn’t dawdle for too long.”
Beginning to walk away, Aella opened her status and viewed some of the new features the system gave her upon reaching level 50 and her new skill.
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Aella Rossi | Foxin | Adolescent Dragon
Title: N/A | Achievement Points: 1700
EXP: 214,025 | Level: 55 | Stat Points: 10 | Skill Points 19
Dragon Slots: 1 used, 1 remaining
Dragon Core: Auilanthros Stormweaver | Rank: 3
Health: 53,777/79,500 | Mana: 21,861/155,000 | Stamina 12,049/18,999
Traits: 3 Tails | Whirlwind Maestra
Dragon Skills: [Dragon’s Breath] | [Electricity Manipulation] | [Water Manipulation] | [Wrath] | [Infusion]
Personal Skills: [Foxfire LV 3] | [Transformation LV 3] | [Charm LV 2] | [Blessing LV 1] | [Curse LV 1] | [Appraisal LV 1] | [Whirlwind Maestra LV 2] | [Advent Compass LV 1] | [Shared Consciousness LV 1] | [Mana Synthesis LV 1] | [Meister of Mana LV 1]
STR: 265 | DEX: 230 | SPI: 310 | AGI: 250 | MND: 85 | CHA: 160
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Casually tapping the Y, Aella hummed as she looked through the options.
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‘Oh good. More ways to make sure I never run out of Mana. Once I reach the 500,000 mana threshold for Sylpheed’s third verse, shouldn’t I basically have infinite Mana?’ Aella mused, looking over all the information.
For the time being, she equipped the Speedrunner title as it was the only one that gave an effect that she actively cared about. It seemed that she could swap between them freely for their effects, but even if she couldn’t, this was the one she’d choose regardless.
‘3 Months… I wonder how much I can get done in that amount of time.’