Fate could be a fickle and cruel thing. Mere minutes ago, Elem and Aja clearly had the upper hand but the arrival of the two other Summoners had completely changed the battle dynamics. Not only were they now outnumbered, they were also facing fresh, Essence-loaded Summons while the Kappa and Bicorn were rapidly fading.
Elem struggled to keep his back straight. Taking out the Daemon had exhausted him more than he expected. After all, he was still a largely inexperienced duelist and the fight’s adrenaline rush had made it difficult for him to properly manage his Essence. But despite his troubles, Elem knew that his feelings would not change the situation. He was facing criminals and surrender was simply not an option. The only way out was through battle.
He stared his opponents down in an attempt to analyze the situation. The Manananggal quietly hovered before its Summoner, staring at him with its dead eyes. Elem assumed the Void Summon was likely a Rare Class or perhaps even a Legendary Class Summon; whatever it was, it would not go down easily. Then there was the Ogre. The hulking Summon was hurt but not yet defeated and still more than capable of delivering a knockout blow. And lastly, his eyes fell on the Goblin. He had seen many Goblins in his lifetime and this one was a particularly ugly specimen. The Earth Summon looked gaunt, its murky skin covered with patches of scruffy hair. The Goblin, nervously scanning the battlefield with its piercing yellow eyes, didn’t look very imposing but Elem knew not to underestimate any Summons.
“Enough procrastination,” he muttered to his friend. “Let’s do this before we run out of Essence.”
Just when Elem was about to direct his Kappa to attack, a whistling sound raced through the air. Before any of them figured out what was going on, the Goblin dropped to the forest floor with a cobalt-colored feather piercing through its neck. The Summon twitched for a few seconds before fading into nothingness.
“Wow!” Aja exclaimed.
Another series of whistles came from the trees. The Manananggal screeched as one the feathers found a home in its chest. Another feather landed in the Ogre’s neck muscles, the tough Summon let out a pained grunt but was able to block the projectiles that followed with its arms.
“What the fuck!” growled the female robber. “There’s someone else out there!”
A feathered Summon jumped down from the canopies. It was a gracious being with a humanoid body and an avian face. Although it had arms, two large wings also sprouted from its back.
“What’s that?” Aja asked, she sounded equally shocked as the robbers.
Elem had learned about the Summon during his studies. “It’s a Karasu Tengu,” he explained. “I read that it's an extremely powerful Wind Summon.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Sekuheim’s records weren’t exaggerating. The Karasu Tengu moved like a storm. It first dashed towards the Ogre, avoiding the creature’s strikes with ease and kicking its taloned feet into the Earth Summon’s stomach. While the Ogre stumbled back- trying to shell up- the Karasu Tengu followed up with a flying uppercut. The Ogre was unconscious before hitting the ground.
As the Ogre’s body disappeared, the Wind Summon turned to the Manananggal. For a moment, the two adversaries faced each other in silence, like two ancient swordsmen waiting for the other to take first the move.
“Now!” the bandit’s boss finally shouted, prompting her Manananggal to conjure up an aura of darkness. The Void Summon spread its arms as dark purple swirls formed on its palms. “Destroy him!”
The Karasu Tengu didn’t wait for its opponent to finalize the attack. Propelled by its wings, the Summon leaped into the air and- with a spiraling motion- drilled its beak into its opponent’s torso. The Manananggal screeched as blood sprouted from its chest like a gruesome fountain but the Wind Summon wasn’t done yet. A ball of light formed around the Karasu Tengu’s fist and it punched Manananggal in the face with a straight, disciplined strike. The Void Summon disintegrated almost instantly.
“Leave this sacred forest and never come back!’ thundered a voice coming from the trees. “Leave! The next time I shall not be as forgiving!”
The robbers were speechless; their gazes fixed on the dark woods as if they were witnessing a ghost. They hesitated for a moment and then ran off like their lives depended on it.
After Elem and Aja left their trances, they looked at each other in disbelief before turning to the Wind Summon.
“Didn’t you hear me?” grumbled the same voice as a hooded man emerged from the forest. This had to be the Summoner of the Karasu Tengu.
“People just keep jumping out of bushes here,” Aja joked nervously.
“I’m sorry. I thought you were just talking to them?” Elem said.
“Why would I want you to stay here?” the hooded man replied. “You two have no business here either. All you’ve done is disturb the peace.”
Aja cleared her throat. “Well sir, we do actually have business here. We were looking for you.”
“Me?” the man laughed.
“We were told that there’s a powerful sage living in the Wayward Woods. That surely has to be you.”
“A sage,” the man repeated. “What a stupid thing to call someone. Anyways, that’s not me and you kids should leave this place.”
Elem didn’t believe a word the man said. There was no way he wasn’t the sage. Who else could he be? How many other incredibly powerful summoners were strolling through the Wayward Woods? Elem couldn’t afford to let himself be turned away so easily.
“Sir please just hear us out,” he tried, placing his hand on the man’s shoulder.
The Karasu Tengu took a defensive step closer. It clearly didn’t like Elem touching its summoner. The hooded man, however, didn’t say a word. He just stared at the sleeve of Elem’s tracksuit.
“That jacket,” the man finally said. “That's From the Sekuheim school is it not?. I am acquainted with the master of that school. At some point in time, we were even friends.”
Elem took another step closer. “Then you should know that my father, Ardan Eldyck, has been murdered.”