Innate Abilities were called as Innate for a reason. With the Mysteries of the Origin Sea practically etched into their blood itself, Oren Beast could launch their abilities in a fraction of the time it would take for Wanderers to launch an attack of the same destructive capabilities. So, while Alnea was still spinning in the air, aiming his ‘Golden Wheel of Death’ at the ‘Twin Tailed Python Tiger’, the beast had already gathered all its strength in its throat, and let out a devasting roar that sent literal shockwaves for thousands of metres in all directions.
The roar, of course, could hardly damage Alnea. Not only did he have a shield protecting his head, and Spirit, but he also had an armour protecting his chest. However, the true attack of the tiger was not the roar itself, but the raging flames that came out of its mouth, trying to turn him into ashes. Or maybe just burn him dead. The beast probably still wished to eat him.
In any case, the flames, shaped like the flowers blooming in Iona’s month, just inches away from his face, was enough to let him die an agonising death. Before the flower of flame could touch him though, a rope condensed from grey fog came rushing from his right, and tied itself around his waist, before pulling him away. Not too far. Just out of the range of the deadly flower. But that was enough.
Shifting the core of his gravity once again, Alnea stopped spinning, and brought his sword down on the tiger, transferring all the momentum of the ‘Golden Wheel of Death’ to the ‘Great Waterfall of Amarand’. And though he did not have any Water elemental Aspects, just the brute force behind the strike alone was enough to break a few bones of the tiger. But the tiger was not stupid enough to just watch, as his sword neared its neck. Neither was it so kind that it would let him attack, without making any counterattacks.
The tiger was not surprised that its enemy had dodged its attack in mid air. It had seen many things to be surprised form something as simple as dodging its attack. But it was not planning on giving up either. Still breathing a flower of flame, the beast turned its head, intent on burning the persistent prey once, and for all. And when it would be done with the prey in front of it, it would teach the other two preys what happened to those who invaded its territory.
Or so it had planned. But the moment it looked it was about to turn its head, tens of blades came flying from its right, aiming directly at its head. To make matter worse, the blades were made of darkness. One of the only two elements its tails could not absorb. Maybe, if it pushed it, it might be able to block those blades. But its tails would be left incapacitated. And it certainly could not let those blades land on its head. One or two blades, it could handle. But tens… And all of them aimed for its head…
In the end, the tiger was forced to give up its attack, and retreat to its back. Or so it tired, only to be met with a grey wall, similar to the kind that had blocked it before. At that moment, even if the tiger had been an infant, it would have still recognised that it had been trapped. Though it had the strength to break through the wall of fog, it would take some time. Time enough for the other attacks to land on its back. And even if it would break through the wall, it would still be left injured in the process.
No matter what it chose, the tiger knew that it was going to be injured. So, instead of retreating, the beast roared towards the dark ceiling of the canyon, and charged towards the enemy still in air, smashing its paw against its blade. Its pride as a tiger did not allow for it to wallow in defeat. Even if it was going to be injured, it had to take down one enemy at the very least.
Unfortunately for the beast, Alnea was already prepared. And its hesitation gave him enough time to push even more Oren into his Aspects lining along the blade of his sword. By the time the tiger had turned back towards him, what remained in his hand was not just a sword, it was a blade shining with the weight of his Aspects. The weight of his responsibilities. And the weight of his Oaths. He was Alnea Oathkeeper. And he—
His blade struck against the tiger’s paw, and passed through it as if it was water. It was as if they did not even clash. He did not have much time to think about what was happening though. After all, he may have forced his sword to stop spinning, but there was nothing to make him stop. Not even his ‘Gravity Shift’. The weird sphere in his body, composed of thirty six odd rings, had faded away with the last use of his Arcana.
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Left with no choice, Alnea could only follow the pull of the earth, and come back to the ground, rolling away from the beast to avoid any follow up attack. Fortunately, there were none. But… why was there blood on his sword? What was the weird silence spreading in the air? And… was that one of the tiger’s paws on the ground? But how? His sword… He knew it best. How could it break through the defences of an advanced phase Oren Beast?
Alnea did not have the time to find answers to his questions. The beast may have paused in shock for a moment, but when it overcame that shock, it roared in pain, and anger, and charged towards him disregarding all the consequences. It did not even care about the Dark Blades, or the Dark Arrows raining down upon its back. All it had in its eyes was the measly beast that dared to cut off one of its legs.
Disregarding the strain on its body, and its Spirit, the beast kept channelling all its abilities. From ‘Roar of Malice’ to ‘Flame Flower’, and even one of its reserve abilities, ‘Twin Poison Sting’, it spared nothing. And at the brunt of its attacks, Alnea kept riding the wind to avoid its attacks. As he kept dodging the flowers of fire, and occasion poison arrows though, he kept lamenting about how short the duration of his Gravity Shift was. Maybe he should work on that next, he thought. Or create a shield. If the attacks of his enemies could not even reach him, then he would not have to dodge those attacks.
“Now!”
Receiving Yuri’s signal, Alnea did not waste any moment in launching the second Arcana he had prepared, shooting tens of Oren bubbles in front of him. The tiger, enraged as it was, paid no heed to those bubbles. It even popped a few of them itself. It was only natural then for the Gravity Field to unfurl with the beast at its centre, and keep it entrapped for a while.
However, Alnea knew that just the Gravity Field was not enough to contain the tiger. Its injuries had made it lose its sanity. The beast would not think twice before paying any kinds of price just to rush out of the field, and smash him into pulp. Besides, a two fold gravity was not enough to make an advanced phase Oren Beast even blink an eye. At most, it would just lower its reaction. But that was enough.
Before the tiger could use its overwhelming strength to break through the restrictions of the Gravity Field, Alnea rushed in the field himself, swinging his sword at the beast. It was just that, like the beast, he too was affected by the increased gravity. And unlike the beast, his raw strength was not enough to ignore the increased pull of the ground.
So, when he swung his sword, the tiger did not even have to make a move itself. It just directed one of the snakes to block his attack. The resultant clash, with his Aspect blasting right into the snake, made it go limp, and lose all its strength, but it blocked him long enough for the tiger to prepare its attack. A ‘Flame Flower’ from his left, and ‘Poison Sting’ from his right. But before the tiger could launch its attack, two arrows—one grey, and one black— shot into its back one after another.
Confusion filled the tiger’s eyes, as the strange sensations churning inside its body made it lose its concentration, dispersing the flames gathered in its mouth. And though the snake still retained its clarity, it slowed down enough for Alnea to easily evade its ‘Poison Sting’, and back away from the beast. An action that inadvertently cleared the confusion in the tiger’s eyes.
It could feel its strength draining away from its limbs. And it had already lost a paw. It had even wasted quite a few of its Innate Abilities. No matter how it considered, retreating was its best option. But…
It did not know how its leg had been cut off, but it could feel how weak the puny prey in front of it was. If not for the interventions of the other enemies from the distance, it would have long torn the puny beast into shreds. Most important of all though, the puny prey, the one responsible for its injuries, was just a stride away from it. How could it give up, when it was so close to victory?
Roaring in defiance, the beast pushed the ground with its three legs, and jumped towards the enemy… only to fall halfway in its jump. Its strength… It was draining faster than it had thought. Maybe retreating was the best option. It could always have its revenge in future. Purring in a reluctant growl, full of resentment, and indignance, it turned around, and rushed into the darkness… limped into the darkness… crawled into the darkness… until it could finally move no more.