Theon was running away in a mad dash.

Fighting the chimera head on was not possible as he had to watch out for Robin. Robin's power was shapeshifting, not very attack potent for this situation.

And her martial skill and even manipulation of OD were sub-par, and that's putting it kindly. So Theon grabbed her and made her follow him to duck and evade the little chittering monsters.

"Theo...!" Robin's shout caused him to pay attention to the tug he was feeling in his being and duck before skidding off to the right in the dry area of the forest they were in.

They had no clue where the mentor of team four got dragged to. Theon thought to run in the direction of his own mentor.

Her being on the other side of town made it hard to keep their steady pace to her without being caught. Theon's finger's snapped and two dragons spawned rushing forward and chomping down on the smaller and weaker beetles with extreme ease before being smacked away by a long and spiky pincer from the chimera before his creations disintegrated.

Theon knew his dragons were strong but he was still trying to play it safe and not be blindsided. Summoning takes it's toll on him and his brain. If he summons too much he will start getting headaches and pass out if it gets too bad.

The beetle soared through the air in Theon's direction before changing its course and going up to the sky above the trees and now unseen by the two of them.

"What's it doing?" Robin asked.

Theon had his ideas.

The shift in the air was unmistakeable, a heavy, evil pressure began bearing down from above. Theon felt it before he saw it, a predator's descent like an eagle streaking through the sky, closing in fast.

His body acted before his mind fully processed the danger, instincts hones by his own years of survival and other powerful factors. He rolled to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding the brutal impact of the chimera.

The chimera slammed into the ground where Theon stood only moments before. Dirt exploded in every direction, and the earth cracked beneath the creatures weight leaving a small crater behind.

Theon didn't dare to trust in luck, he knew better than to hope it had killed itself when it's 'Family' were still hovering around him like vultures.

The dust settled, and the monstrous insect was not there, from the hole in the ground it was clear it had vanished into the ground.

"Shit!" Theon hissed through clenched teeth. He could feel something, a rumble beneath him, waiting, circling. The chimera hadn't given up, so now it was hunting him.

His pulse quickened, but he forced himself to calm down, taking a deep breath.

The smaller creatures still buzzed overhead, like harbingers of the true strike to come. They weren't attacking yet, merely hovering out of reach, taunting him. He could feel his brain throb, each dragon he summoned earlier gnawing at his mind, pulling him thin. Summoning was always a gamble, too many dragons and his brain would overload, draining him till he was nothing but an empty husk.

'I have to think smarter.'

The memory of Mr. Adams class flickered through his mind. Oaths. They weren't complicated in theory-- promises, conditions you could bind to your power to manage and control easier. He thought of using one but he never got around to it, maybe he was being lazy.

Theon was always so focused on controlling his dragons manually, keeping control over every little detail. But now he needed simplicity.

Something that would free his mind without sacrificing the control he relied on.

But before he could act the ground trembled violently beneath him. The chimera were coming again and this time, Theon knew it was aiming to catch him off guard. His mind raced scrambling for a solution.

"Theo." Robin voice again, softer this time. She was backing away, moving out of danger. He could see her retreating through his peripheral vision, signalling that she would find help. At least she was now relatively safe. Now it was just him.

The ground shook harder. He only had moment's to act. His mind raced, grasping for control as the swarm of miniature beetle chimera instantly darted towards him.

'Shield all attacks.'

Nothing happened, other than a sharp pain in his head that caused him to stop in place and hold his head, not allowing him a moment to dodge the attacks that came forward.

Theon felt a stinging sensation on certain pats of his body and when he shook off the insects he saw blood, which was expected.

He thought on what happened as he was bouncing around from one place to another trying to through off the chimera following from in the ground. 'Damnit!'

Theon realized that it was probably the command. His dragon's probably needed a simpler command to execute his order.

Theon barely rolled out of the way, dirt and debris flying as their attacks missed by inches. His chest heaved, and his mind raced as he dodged the next strike that sliced through the air.

Another warning came from the ground as he jumped on a tree and kicked himself off of it and using the momentum to disappear from the creature in hiding.

'I need precision.'

The rumbling grew louder and he could feel it in his stomach. 'It's going to attack now.'

'Guard.'

This time, the word cut through the chaos like a knife.

His OD flared, swirling around him as the command latched onto his power. He felt the chain of the oath wrap around his mind- not a burden, but like a rope that pulled everything into place.

Fifteen small sized dragons materialized instantly, no longer waiting for his direct control but acted more like an actual tool created with a singular purpose and disappear once it's achieved.

This time there was no pain, no overload. Just clarity.

The smaller chimera launched their attack but this time were easily intercepted. Theon's dragons moved in perfect sync. One by one, they tore the beasts apart, their jaws snapping and claws rending flesh.

Theon didn't even have to think. The oath held, directing his dragons without his mind. This was a whole new avenue that had been neglected previously.

The ground cracked as the larger beetle like chimera had burst forth, it's monstrous jaws snapping open. Theon was ready. One dragon dove, slamming into the creatures side, forcing it back. Theon's hand flicked and another dragon lunged forward, jaws closing around it's neck. The creature writhed, but it was already done.

As the dust settled, Theon stood, breath steady as he watched the dead chimera start fading away into dust.

"I won." he chuckled lightly to himself. "First chimera slain."

"Well done my precious student." A rush of wind past him as he felt an arm close around his neck placing him in a playful headlock. It was obvious who it was. Carmen Ford's knuckles rapped against his head.

"You're here?" He asked, not really surprised at how quick she got here.

"Yeah, Robyn contacted me through her power and then I seen mini ginger Robin running out of the forest." she laughed at that.

Theon, before he could say anything in response, suddenly felt a warm and comforting feeling caressing him.

He looked down to see his wounds he had received earlier were healing.

'She can do it all.'

Theon wanted to say that it was another ability but he knew that was wrong. It was probably healing through OD, but he couldn't ask her that now.

"I'm going to bring you back to the safe spot first. And then I'm off to save Robyn!"

In another gust of powerful winds Theon and Carmen Ford disappeared from their spot and out of the woods.

___

Robyn didn't get shocked, she didn't get surprised.

Her ability made it incredibly hard to, along with that it supresses many other emotions she has.

So even when she was dragged out of the sky and dropped off in another location she didn't show any reaction, her face was the same calm and monotonous face that some people say feel intimidating.

Instead she sent out a distress signal to Carmen directly to her phone with her power. [Sentience]

After she done that she checked her surroundings. 'Still in the forest.'

Just another side of it. She then started to move forward and realize that she may be on much higher ground than on the opposite side as to where she was.

She was expecting someone to be there waiting for her but there was no one there.

'Teleportation?' Her mind raced in thought moving quicker than anyone else, her power allowed her it and she quickly came to the thought that the teleporter is most likely the ally of Charlie Liber, the young man who had broken into the school at the start of the first term.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Robyn continued to walk, sword in hand. She was trying to find a trail or maybe even a trace of something that would lead her to something interesting. To her it was all about efficiency.

If she could find and subdue the teleporter now, then apprehending the rogue leader shouldn't be too hard after that.

Robyn seen worn out stone hedges near a summit, they were grey stone pieced together among the fallen orange and red Autumn leaves.

And in the middle of them was a girl.

A beautiful girl that stood at a modest height, her long obsidian hair was like charcoal casting shadows over the pale skin on her face. Her eyes, twin orbs of dark crimson, shimmered with a haunting allure, glinting like polished rubies against the pallor of her complexion. Dark circles framed her gaze.

She was clad in a form-fitting black turtleneck that hugged her frame like a specter, Robyn thought to herself that if it were night out right now the girl could have easily blended with the shadows with no one noticing her.

The only thing that would set someone on to her presence was her bloodlust that she looked to be trying to hide from her as her deep red rubies set their sight onto Robyn.

Robyn caught a flicker of something feral in the girls expression, a fleeting glimpse of madness lurking beneath the calm façade. The girl exuded a dangerous beauty, a paradox of vulnerability and latent violence, making her both captivating and extremely unnerving.

Robyn stepped forward, her sword drawn, a line of tension drawn thick between them. "You're not who I'm looking for," she stated, her voice steady.

The girl tilted her head, curiosity flickering in those red eyes, a slow smile curling on her lips. "But I might be more interesting than you think."

Robyn stood posed, her sword gleaming in the filtered sunlight that pierced through the canopy above, a slender blade that sang for blood.

With a sudden burst of motion the girl in front of her lunged forward, the forest floor trembling beneath her weight as she propelled herself with unnatural speeds. Robyn reacted instinctively, a precise sidestep taking her just beyond the arc of the girl's outstretched arm.

Robyn struck back, her blade slicing the air, aiming for the girl's stomach. The girl twisted away moving like a whisper against the autumn breeze. The forest bore witness to the clash of powers, a symphony of violence.

In return Robyn almost received a sharp kick aimed at her head, the force was like a gust of wind-swift and unexpected.

'She moves well.'

Robyn was able to quickly step back to avoid the attack and one's that came afterward. She was still yet to see what the girls power was. All that she could see and more so feel was her OD.

Her aura left a stench of playful evil, playful in relation to a child and evil in like giving that child a doll that was a real person and watching it pull it apart just for fun.

Again, the girl lifted herself up from her crouch and ran forward. She threw dust and leaves from her hands to try and disrupt the movement's of Robyn but Robyn was a gold rank for a reason.

She simply dodged and let the girl smack her hand against the tree.

But what came next surprised Robyn. As she closed the distance with the solid oak tree, her fingertips made contact. And in an instant, the bark began to peel away, disintegrating.

The smell left behind was that of burnt oak. Robyn looked at the girl's hand to see how her OD had changed as it coated it.

'Her ability activates on a touch based effect.'

Avoiding her hands would be the obvious solution, but Robyn was not a long ranged fighter, she would still need to get in close to bring her down.

The tree collapsed to nothingness, a grotesque display of destruction which sent shivers down her spine.

Robyn's knows that she should probably be feeling some type of apprehension. But her [Sentience] was at play. It kept her calm while her thoughts raced, analysing the girls power.

"Don't get scared now." The girl was relentless, Robyn raised her sword and flashed in her vicinity in less than a second.

She swung down hard, aiming to slice her midsection. The girl looked surprised by Robyn's speed barely slipped away, her OD flared as she jumped back to avoid the slice.

Robyn pivoted, her mind racing. Sentience was a power similar to an ever-evolving computer within her mind giving her unparalleled cognitive abilities that benefitted her in any situation, like now in anticipating the girl's next move: anticipate, adapt and strike.

Robyn feigned a retreat, baiting the young girl to reveal her position. Sure enough, the blood thirsty hound emerged, striking at Robyn with a fluidity that defied gravity, her hand poised to deliver a touch that spelled doom.

Just as Robyn could feel fingers only lightly graze her shoulder, she spun quickly and sliced off the right hand of the young girl.

A surge of pain shot through Robyn as contact broke through to her skin.

'That fast.' Any later and Robyn could have been like the tree earlier.

The girl was now backed away and kneeling in... confusion, and fascination.

Robyn didn't show much emotion since she received her ability, she barely even felt it. But looking at the sight of the young girl fascinated by the blood dripping from her dethatched hand made her feel oddly strange. Like she had come across some strange unknown animal that is figuring out if it is another of humanities predators.

And it didn't stop at that, the girl was making strange sounds as well as her OD was moving in an unnatural fashion around her.

"Let me heal the wound so you can-!" Robyn stopped her move forward as she started to see the OD of the girl take on a different colour, it was blood red and there was an intense emotion behind it similar to affection, but it was perverse and unnatural.

OD was flowing to her wrist, Robyn felt an unnatural feeling to kill, but the girl in front of her was still young, maybe as young as her own students. That wouldn't stop her!

As she picked up her sword she noticed that the blade was gone.

!

It had rusted away down to the hilt. Robyn looked at the girls left hand to see blood, she had swiped her blade as her hand was being chopped off and activated her ability.

'Uh oh.'

And now in front of her, the girl's hand which was gone was now reforming.

'She can heal now too.' That was bad.

Healing was something all OD user's could do theoretically, there was just a massive downside which was in lifespan that many didn't like messing with. Other than that, learning it required not just greater than great levels of control but the necessary amounts of OD as well.

Healing yourself with OD required one to understand how OD can be used to accelerate the creation of new cells, blood, and bone.

Robyn realized that the girl in front of her... was an incredible talent. One that had to be put down now.

She raised the hilt of her sword and gathered her OD, a light glossy and clean silver aura took the place of the missing hilt.

The girl in front of her spoke out again.

"It won't end here. I gotta destroy the world. I'll live to see it."

'What madness.' She slowly got up and finally showed a wicked smile that seemed to only want one thing, chaos! She couldn't hold it back anymore, there was no need to.

Robyn was still on duty, her sentience had given her an answer to what she was planning to ask anyway but...

"Did you kill Jackson Miller?"

The girl seemed to snap back to reality for a brief moment as she placed a finger on her chin.

"Yes."

There was no shame, no misplaced anger. Just a smile that could make the hearts of many flutter, until she turned mad again.

As she ran forward she was pushed away by a gust of wind. As another beautiful maiden joined the battlefield.

"Carmen."

"You struggling Robyn?" she asked as her hands were down by her hips as she landed.

"Minor issues." she answered. "The mayor's son is dead."

"I never thought he was alive anyway." Carmen fired back shrugging, her nonchalance hiding the gravity of the revelation.

Carmen looked to the girl in front of her who was scraping away at the dirt as she brought herself up smiling to Carmen as well. Her beautiful pale face was now covered in dirt and there were leaves caught in her long silky hair.

"Got a name for the little missy."

"How about 'mad witch'."

"Jokes don't suit you Robyn. Leave the rest to me." Carmen said as she rolled her eyes, a playful smirk curving her lips,

With that, Carmen's eyes gleamed with excitement as she lunged forward with a burst of speed only elite gold ranks could follow.

___

A confident smirk graced her lips as Carmen moved through the air, with the sun catching her shimmering movement, giving her an ethereal glow.

Carmen gazed at the girl that Robyn was struggling with wipe the dust off her face as she was thrown to another far off distance. Her bloodlust was still palpable and she wore a wicked grin despite being battered and covered in dirt.

"What's your name girlie?" Carmen asked. The girls smile faltered, even if only for a heartbeat when she seen Carmen's fearless demeanour that was just as playful as her own.

The girl ignored Carmen as she reached down to the ground as the gold rank was making a crash landing. The ground beneath her began to crumble, dust rising as her power worked to unravel the earth.

But Carmen was already on her, faster than the eye can track. Carmen was now beside the girl crouched down, and with a flick of her wrist and an open palm with wind swirling on it she unleashed a simple attack with devastating effects.

Slamming the girl with the force of a freight train, sending her tumbling backwards.

"Ooh your power looks all scary." Carmen then animatedly started laughing as wind was shimmering around her hands. "I've seen worse from a summers breeze." She said in relation to the dust.

The girl growled, still kept smiling and looked up at Carmen coming toward her.

"Still looking for a name. Don't want to start calling you mad witch."

"Renata." She whispered out, hoping to bring Carmen closer to her to grab and kill her.

"Renata. What a beautiful name."

Renata's plan was too simple, she was too clouded by her urge to kill.

Carmen got her name now but seeing as the girl was still a little too energetic to back down Carmen thought on tiring her out.

She dashed forward again, her movements a blur of wind and motion. This time she didn't just push Renata back- she encased her in a vortex of swirling air, spinning her around like a ragdoll. Renata's hands flailed as she tried desperately to grab for something solid, but unfortunately for her there was nothing.

Carmen's control was too precise, too perfect.

"Gotta say, I heard you talking about destroying the world earlier, that's cute." Carmen mused as she tightened her grip on the wind. Her vortex grew more violent, the gusts were slicing through the leaves and dirt like blades. "But honey, you're not even in the same league."

Renata screamed in pain and growing frustration. Her fingers were sparkling with the terrifying glow of her power as she tried to unravel the very air itself. Carmen could feel it, but it meant nothing to her.

Carmen twisted her hand and the wind shifted again, this time pinning Renata to the ground with such force that she couldn't move. Her limbs were spread wide and her face was pressed into the dirt.

"You done playing?" Carmen taunted as she crouched down out of Renata's reach and facing upwards. "Or do I need to keep embarrassing you?"

Renata struggled, to Carmen it was like she didn't take in anything she was saying. Or more like she wasn't taking anything from the world unless she allowed it.

'Talk about being selective.'

Renata was shaking her head, the only part of her body she could move properly. She moved it like she was trying to detach it from her body and it would just grow legs and run off.

Carmen raised her hand and snapped her fingers, the wind constricted the mad girl further. Renata gasped her chest heaving as the pressure mounted.

And suddenly, she stopped.

'Huh?'

Carmen was shook and if she was being honest she was worried she may have taken this too far and killed her.

She took small and silent footsteps to the body and when she went to touch it, it burst, or rather disintegrated like what she had done to the ground earlier.

Her body disintegrated without her touching herself. Carmen was quick on her feet, she was thinking the worst until she felt the presence of death going for the back of her neck.

In the next instant she was in the air looking down to see the girl, Renata slowly forming from disintegrated pieces of herself.

'What the hell?' Carmen woke up to a new shock.

'This girl's gifted.' Carmen realized with a mix of admiration and unease.

While in the clutches of Carmen's power she was able to come up with a way out, a way she hadn't used earlier to get the drop on her.

Carmen kept her eye on her only for her to disappear into particles again and instantly appear right next to her in the air.

Carmen spun in mid-air, wind already forming into a shield as Renata tried making a grab at her. The edges of Renata's fingertips brushed at Carmen's wind barrier, as soon as it was felt Carmen's wind spun sharply like sandpaper brushing down skin. Deep until it reached the bone.

"Close enough." Carmen hissed, whipping the wind into a fierce current to shove Renata away. The mad girl didn't falter. She began hovering effortlessly in mid-air, her eyes gleaming in satisfaction as she readied herself to strike again.

Just as Renata was about to make her move, the air around them shimmered once more- a feint ripple, a distortion. Carmen's eyes narrowed as she then seen a sickly looking dethatched hand grabbing Renata.

'Escape?'

Carmen had just realized that this was most likely the transportation method that their little group had.

Renata still had an unnerving smile while her ruby coloured eyes locked on to Carmen as the portal yanked her back into nothingness.

Carmen hovered in the air for a few seconds, staring at the empty space where Renata had just been. The wind around her calmed down, though her mind was racing.

"Teleportation," she muttered with a frown and then a sigh as she descended. "I guess that's a loss on my part then."