Loch stepped across the schoolyard. He passed two of the Elementals, focused on the one heading down the slope toward the fields. They could not let the Elemental destroy any of the food. Arrows and energy blasts shot past, lighting up the late afternoon in a riot of colors.

The elemental didn’t even flinch or stop as arrows shot through it. The creature was fifteen feet tall, thinner at the base, made up of dark cloud-like substance. It twisted up in a spiral, the cloud stuff knotted, the edges shredding, as it widened up at the top to almost ten feet wide. There were no arms, no head, just the spiraling column of air.

Coming to a stop, Loch threw Onyx. The axe spun end over end, the head glowing and crackling with energy. It struck the elemental. Sparks or lightning spread out as the axe physically based through the elemental. The creature stopped moving down the hill, instead moving back up. It never turned or shifted, as far as Loch could tell.

The hole made by Onyx swiftly closed.

RAGING ZEPHYR ELEMENTAL

It felt close to Loch’s own Level, maybe a little lower. He was glad it wasn’t stronger. If the other two were of similar strength, the rest of the Clan’s defenders should easily be able to overwhelm them. Hopefully before the wall was damaged.

The windstorm was still ongoing. Strong winds slammed into Loch, who was amazed that arrows somehow still flew true. The wind barely moved them. Leaves and other small debris sailed across the yard. In the fields, he could see the wheat and the newly grown corn stalks bending, almost breaking.

And somehow the Elemental was unaffected. Its own winds picked up some of the debris, causing it to twist and turn within its body, moving against the wind of the storm.

Another Windstep brought Loch in front of the elemental. The winds around the creature pushed at him, sliding him back a step. He tried to Activate Offensive Stance but couldn’t. The strength of the roiling winds that formed the creature kept his feet sliding, not more than an inch but enough to prevent the Ability from Activating.

He swung Onyx, the blade cutting through the winds. It didn’t appear to do any damage. A gust of power slammed into Loch, winds tearing at his body. He Windstepped back, away from the slashing winds. He could feel dozens of small nicks and cuts across the few exposed parts of his body, wishing he’d had a chance to put on his Challenger’s armor instead of just the now ripped and torn jeans and t-shirt he was wearing. Loch was glad the shirt wasn’t one of his favorites, just a basic tee that he’d taken from the house. He wasn’t happy that both the shirt and pants were ruined. He only had so many pairs left. The wind had cut slashes into both, leaving lines cut into his skin, the bleeding wounds now healing.

Luckily he’d managed to turn his face away.

The Zephyr Elemental floated toward Loch. He could feel the winds of the creature pushing against him, trying to move him. He wasn’t close enough for the cutting effect, just the force. The wind wasn’t anything his Adaptable Skill or other Resistances could counter. He threw Onyx, the axe passing through the Elemental, disappearing on the other side before returning to Loch’s hand. The hole closed up, becoming a different swirling pattern.

Loch watched it, trying to understand what he was seeing. The creature’s main body swirled in one direction, a spiral from bottom to top, but where Onyx had passed through was a smaller swirl that rotated opposite of the rest. It hadn’t healed itself so much as patched the hole.

The Elemental only had so much of the material that made up its body.

Onyx smashed through it again, leading with the hammer head, making a larger hole. It closed up but took a little longer. Seconds longer.

The wind pushed at Loch, moving him back an inch or so. He could feel the sharp edges of the wind as it passed. Holding Bulwark in front of him, he saw the wind slicing scratches across the translucent energy surface. He released Bulwark’s Lightning Field, pushing against the Air Elemental. Bolts of energy crackled across the roiling winds. The creature seemed to shake, taking damage as the lightning snapped and cracked within the windy body.

Loch was surprised. He hadn’t expected Lightning Bulwark to do much damage. It was an Air Elemental and lightning was related to the air element. It didn’t make sense for the Zephyr to be damaged by its own element.

He’d only used the field because physical attacks didn’t seem to be working and his magical and ranged attack options were limited. But with lightning seeming to damage the Elemental, Loch pressed the advantage.

He Activated Elemental Surge, feeling the Spirit flow from his Core and into his armor, releasing as a bubble of energy around him. He fed more Spirit into the bubble, pushing it further out. The bubble met the Elemental’s wind. Loch could see the air movements become chaotic as they struck the bubble. It wasn’t making the currents visible, just reflecting in the way the surface of the energy bubble moved. The wind was no longer in one direction, instead moving back and forth, even up and down. The body of the Elemental shook.

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Loch could feel pressure being pushed against the bubble. He fed more Spirit, feeling the Elemental feeding more of itself against the bubble. The Elemental’s form puffed up, the edges of the roiling swirls fraying. More pressure pushed against Loch, sliding him back.

He raised Bulwark as the Elemental exploded.

Hurricane force winds slammed into Loch, knocking him back. He lost his footing, caught in a gust that sent him rolling. He could feel the winds swirling, pushing and cutting as he rolled. He slammed into the log wall, coming to a stop. Holding a hand against the walls, Loch pushed himself up, turning to face the Elemental.

It was much smaller. The edges of the swirling wind that made the body ragged, small spots of the cloud-like substance floating off into the air with each revolution around the body. Loch could see a glowing spot in the middle of the creature. The Elemental Core.

More wind whipped around the Elemental. Loch could feel the sharp edges of the wind. He caught the winds on Bulwark, sparks of energy erupting as the currents cut into the shield.

He threw Onyx, leading with the hammer. It blasted through the winds, which increased as the Elemental tried to shield itself from the attack. The spinning hammer ignored the winds, barely blown off course.

It struck the center of the elemental, bolts of lightning crackling as it penetrated the cloud-like body. Onyx was off the mark, grazing the Elemental Core. The weapon burst out the back of the Elemental, disappearing and returning to Loch’s hand.

The body shook, the Core pulsing. It grew dim then flared again, gathering power from the storm. Cracks appeared across the surface, what looked to be a small shard broken off.

He threw Onyx again. The hammer head struck the Core. More shards fell off, larger cracks appearing. The Elemental gathered the wind around itself, forming a tight protective barrier around itself. It shrunk some more, taking some of the mass to provide more protection.

Onyx slammed into the wind barrier, knocked off course by the gusts. It returned to Loch’s hand. The wind was stronger, the gusts powerful. It spun so fast around the body of the Elemental that it was like armor. Onyx couldn’t blast though anymore. The flying weapon struck the barrier, sending sparks and bolts of lightning crackling across the Elementals body. Somehow the lightning was still hurting it. The body spasmed with each bolt.

Loch could still hear the sounds of fighting around him. The other two Elementals were not destroyed yet, or maybe the wind storm had produced more.

The Elemental surged forward, rushing Loch. Activating Offensive Stance, he swung the full sized Onyx in front of him. He Activated Thunderclap, the swing of Onyx created a wave of force that swept out, slamming into the Elemental. The Ability, the Patron Boon from The Storm, did elemental damage. It was air damage, but also apparently ignored any resistance to that same damage. The Raging Zephyr Elemental had natural resistance to air damage but the Ability ignored that.

Loch was surprised to see the shockwave push through the wind barrier, the waves of force breaking apart the gusts of wind. He had just wanted to get the extra damage modifiers from the Ability, having the Zephyr Elemental damaged by air was a bonus. Sharp gusts of wind shot off in all directions, pieces of cloud stuff floating into the air. The Elemental’s body shuddered as it floated backwards.

Loch didn’t give it time to recover. He rushed forward, swinging the hammer end of Onyx. Activating Smash, he slammed it into the cloud-like body. More pieces broke off, fading away as they drifted up or carried off by the fierce winds.

He could feel them biting into his skin as the Elemental tried to take control of the gusts swirling around its body. Loch didn’t let it. He slammed Onyx down again, aiming for the Core. Cloud stuff burst apart with each swing. The wind slamming against him.

Loch forced himself to hold steady, not to be moved. He swung and swung. The hits against the cloud-like body felt odd. There was little resistance but the substance reacted like it was solid. He broke pieces away, the hammer head slamming into the spongy material.

And then it hit solid matter.

Loch saw the Core exposed, large cracks throughout with pieces missing. Activating Smash, he swung Onyx again. The Core shattered, bursting into hundreds of little pieces.

The sharp winds stopped, followed by the gusts no longer pushing against him. Only the background constant wind remained. Not as strong as during the storm.

Multi-colored sparks drifted across the air, flowing toward Loch and into his body as more started to meld together into a larger glowing globe that fell to the ground. The sparks disappeared, revealing a softball sized light blue glowing Elemental Core.

Loch turned around, still hearing fighting. He watched as dozens of Clanmembers fought the last two Elementals. There were wounded men, being dragged away to the healers. Brian and other higher Leveled held their weapons but stayed back, letting the lower Leveled Guards take on the monsters. Loch pulled Onyx back, ready to let it fly, but stopped, lowering the weapon. The Guards were winning.

It wasn’t happening fast, but they were whittling down the much stronger Elementals. While some were being wounded, it didn’t look like anything the Clan Healers couldn’t handle. The Guards needed the experience. Not just in Spirit but in combat, learning to deal with stronger monsters. Loch relaxed a bit, ready to step in if needed.

A couple minutes later, one of the Elementals was destroyed, a spear stabbing into the Core. Those guards, exhausted, cheered on their Clanmates as they worked to finish off the last Elemental. It fell soon after.

Multi-colored sparks flew around the gathered Guards, entering their bodies, a couple even yelling out that they had Leveled. The guards all cheered for each other, clapping backs, giving high fives and fist bumps. Holding the Core from his Elemental, Loch stepped into the group of guards, congratulating them.