A few days ago, when Erden was training with Avril and Oscar, they discussed the best plan to tackle an opponent like Ruvin.

"The worst two aspects are his aerial advantages and elemental power." Oscar sounded worried. "A crow or any flight bird has extreme advantages in an aerial battle. Since you'll be fighting above the Pools of Ascension, you won't be able to change the battle environment."

"In the end, I'll be stuck in the skies with that bastard." The scenes of fighting against flying beasts from his and Oscar's memories raced through his mind. Erden admired how the winged beasts were more adept at flying, the air being nothing but child's play to them. Ruvin was from a mythical flying race and surely possessed an astonishing mastery of aerial combat. Feeling the pressure mounting, Erden tapped his hooves on the wooden floor, clear sounds ringing from their clacking.

"Knight Exalts and above can fly, but it all comes down to the compatibility, much like how Exalts with the elemental spark of water and wood–" Oscar nodded to Avril, "-had a hard time in the Burning Valley. Though his element might not be of wind, his flying will still be a headache to deal with."

The group pondered in silence. Erden never believed this battle was over from the start. He had many disadvantages, but as long as they were both Middle Knight Exalts, he believed a chance of victory existed.

The question remained, what was that chance? Erden tensed his brows and exhaled in irritation while wracking his head for an answer. Across from him, Oscar was silent. A look into his friend's thoughts showed he had no answer either.

"Wait. Does it matter if he can fly like a bird or not?" Avril asked, glancing around the group as if looking for an answer. "Even if, say, you take away his wings, he can still fly around as a Knight Exalt."

"True. Ruvin can still float around with the powers of a Knight Exalt, a strange thing for a bird to stay flying without its wings. The difference will be the lack of wings to enact most of its momentum and powerful abilities centering around flight." Oscar tapped his fingers on the ground, the same motion Erden made. His face shifted to one of realization, his eyes shining, but he soon frowned.

"That's an idea. It could work." Erden read Oscar's mind, the details of a fool's strategy filling his thoughts. He licked his lips and smiled. A plan like this truly suited him and Oscar. "Let's practice for that."

"Are you sure?" Oscar's concerned gaze locked on Erden. He breathed in softly and exhaled loud and roughly. "You might collapse before realizing it. Demon's the one who mainly thought of it. That bastard with no sense of pain comes up with the most suicidal plans."

"What's the plan?!" Avril exclaimed, her cheeks flushing red. "The three of you can talk without moving your lips! I can't join your mind council."

"It's alright, Oscar." Erden stood up and stretched out his neck. He needed a few tests to see if it would work, but he felt it would. "Nothing will come close to the pain of eating the Divine Essence. I can handle it."

"Fine. Let's practice. Try it on my left arm." Oscar stretched out his left arm and buckled his knees, a stance to brace for impact.

"Oi…what is this plan?" Avril said with narrowed eyes, gleaming dangerously.

…….

"It worked….However, Erden took too much damage." The dark storms surrounding the two Exalt Beasts subsided and faded into thin air, allowing Oscar to see Erden clearly from outside. Helpless to aid his friend at this moment, Oscar unknowingly raised his Ein with hostility, barely able to contain himself from leaping in. Erden was covered in blood, with countless wounds adorning his mangled body.

"Erden…." Avril clenched her staff, veins rippling on her face. "That damned crow needs to pay. One wing isn't enough."

"That plan was truly too risky. Far too risky…." Oscar's face darkened, worry and anger stewing within his eyes.

Erden had a shockwave-type attack which he always used to destroy or stagger one's footing or attack in a wide area. The point of the plan was to use mild forms of shockwave attacks. Ruvin would never allow Erden to land a full attack. That wasn't too important. As long as Erden touched or tapped a part of his enemy's body, he could send a small amount of power. It wasn't easy. Oscar saw the entire buildup until now. Erden could barely touch a feather during the onslaught, yet somehow, he had done it.

The small taps in the same area constantly sent a small and dull force, not powerful enough to be called a shockwave. A wave of discomfort more appropriately fitted its description. Oscar and Erden believed Ruvin would not notice these small waves of discomfort due to the rush and speed at which the bird would surely travel. It took a while for the discomfort to accumulate enough to slow Ruvin slightly to the point where Erden could react in time.

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Seeing Ruvin clutch his injured wing, Oscar relaxed a bit. The true battle was now. Erden might have been injured, but he was still fighting on. Oscar raised his fist toward his friend, and Erden nodded back to him, a message echoing in his mind. 'Leave it to me, partner.'

…….

'Very clever, Erden. My wings can no longer hold up the storms.' Ruvin rotated his head around. The dark winds were dying while the air returned to its still calmness. Much of the storms were due to Ruvin's Ein and fast speeds from his flight. 'Was it worth doing all of this? You sacrificed so much just to stop one of my wings. Are you really gaining an advantage? Or did you place yourself into a further rut?'

Erden spat out some blood and a tooth. 'Why are you so talkative? For a beast, you should find that out with your own body, no? You sound more excited than before. So come then. I'll show you whether or not it was worth it.'

Ruvin clenched and unfurled his talons, licking parts of his beak with his long tongue. His body hunched over, one wing spread out as the other, the injured one retreated to his side. Without a moment's notice, his body, still enveloped in the dark shadow, pounced across.

Erden took up the challenge, not wanting to fall behind. Ruvin's one good wing slashed out without reservation, wild and wide swings containing dark Ein. These attacks roused his suspicion. Erden tread carefully, dodging each attack, still wary of any surprise abilities the wing may exhibit. He no longer allowed any attack to touch him, their speed well within his means to avoid.

Countering with a flailing of hooves, raising his body upright, and jabbing with his front hooves like there was no tomorrow, Erden wanted to finish off Ruvin's other wing. Ruvin dipped below his jabs and reached out his talons toward Erden's exposed stomach. The verticality of aerial combat still confused Erden, who had spent nearly all of his years on the ground. The talons started to tear into his chest, and Erden roared, spinning his body to free himself. His antlers hacked down on Ruvin's head, but the crow's beak stopped them in time.

His Ein barely forced out the darkness causing trouble in his wounded chest. Erden knew he was running low. There had to be a way out of this predicament, or he would lose right here. As if Ruvin heard his distressing thoughts, he rampaged on Erden, scrapping his talons across his bare body, poking his beak to pierce into his neck, and slashing his wings. Erden countered with everything he could muster, his antlers and hooves working overtime.

Forced back, Erden curled his body closer and held up his guard. He admitted it. Ruvin was a splendid fighter, not just because of the advantages of elements and his previous flying but also the systematic way he picked apart each of Erden's attacks. Well, part of it was also because of how injured Erden was. Numbness had already spread to parts of his body, slowing Erden down.

A beak and wing tossed his defending hooves to the side, and a sharp talon grasped his head. Ruvin cawed and spun Erden around before tossing him into another Exalt Beast, one with a hard shell.

"Kuh!" Erden kept his nearly shut eyes on Ruvin. The darkness burned its way through his fresh wounds. He stopped his Ein from trying to disperse the darkness. He couldn't afford to waste a single drop more.

This battle was close. Erden saw Ruvin's body trembling and his breathing growing more ragged under the arrogantly sharpened beak. Each of his attacks was laced with more shockwaves, and they were taking their toll on the crow. Just a little more push and victory might be his.

'A common theme among Bird-type Exalt Beasts is that they aren't the toughest. With the exception of a few, like the Phoenix, which is said to pass through most attacks, the rest are not durable. My trouble with the Rainbow Didus was because I wasn't that good of a fighter, and it was mutated. Once you get past the stage of taking away its wings, it'll be on your endurance. And that's where we excel.' Oscar's last part of the plan replayed itself. Erden drew a deep breath, ignoring the constant pain wracking his body. It was time for his final strike.

Ruvin roared and exploded with his Ein bursting outward. Erden watched him approach and closed his eyes. Leaping across the air, he snapped his eyes open and ducked below Ruvin's outstretched beak. With the talons unable to stop his charge, Erden rammed his antlers to block Ruvin's slicing wing, allowing the force to carry him to the side. Freeing himself, Erden filled his hooves with Ein and aimed for Ruvin's injured wing, the one spot he couldn't defend.

A shudder, a chill, the instincts of alarm and danger rattled his bones, stroked his fur, and stopped his heart. Erden saw a distant memory, not his own, but Oscar's. His friend was much younger in the image, charging at a rainbow bird while it was buried under rubble. Then, the winds split apart when two rainbow blurs erupted from the wreckage and sliced Oscar's ear off.

'This memory….' Erden understood and halted his attack. His glowing hooves were forced back as his bones cracked from the forceful stop. Ruvin's wing wasn't dead yet! A dark shadow blurred from the exposed side, catching Erden on its tip. Suddenly, his world, his vision….half of it went dark. Erden recoiled from the assault, his thoughts jumbling in chaos.

Blood flowed down his left cheek. Erden gulped and was at a loss. His left eye was gone. Only a long scar remained in its place.

'Hah hah. My wing is completely dead now. Only good for a single use, one attack. But it was more effective than I could have hoped for.' Ruvin shook his body, the dark shadows fading away to reveal his true form. The feathers were uneven and falling off, and his broken wing slumped down his side, seemingly unable to fold properly. 'With this, it's over.'

Erden glared at Ruvin with his one remaining eye. He was the idiot. After having spent so much time with Oscar and Avril, he should have prepared for a mad beast who would attack with their injured body like he had been doing this whole time. Negligent. He was negligent and underestimated his foe's resolve.

As the darkness burned in his eye wound, Erden gritted his teeth, trying to find it. What else could he do here?