We studied the beasts and copied their fighting style, then imparted it on the Inquisitors… Oh, what a strong legion we made. Order has been created, and the cattle grew up fine and delicious, their husks becoming good fertilizers for the very food they ate.
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Kai didn’t waste any time. The moment the woman locked his gaze on him, he fled like a rabbit from the jaws of a wolf. His heart raced even more strongly than ever before, and cold sweat dripped down his neck as if he had taken a shower. Fear coursed through his veins, unimaginable fear, one so strong that it gave him enough strength to cast speed buffs, and wind spells and avoid any and all obstacles at an almost unnatural speed.
Fuck!
Run!
Run!
Run!
He yelled inwardly, telling himself what to do, ordering his body to do what needed to be done.
Don’t stop or you’re dead.
Keep going!
Escape!
Run!
Flee!
His body, too, yelled at him to remain alive. And, as the two pushed each other, a white streak appeared in the corner of his eyes, like a shadow, and he immediately recognized its fluffy shape. Onyx, he came, how did he find me so quick… Wait, is he the reason she found me?! Anger and worry flashed in his eyes, and he ran in the opposite direction of his wolf, whom he knew couldn’t see him either. I just need to run away from him, I can’t put him in harm’s way!
With a quick step and a jump off a thicker root, he threw himself as far as possible, then boosted his acceleration with wind magic, and barely avoided smashing into a tree with another wind spell. Landing, he rolled on the ground and prepared to run again. However, at that same moment, his vision filled with horror.
The woman stood mere meters in front of him, her expression filled with fury, and she clenched her jaw, saying through gritted teeth. “NO MORE RUNNING, INSECT.” And she sent a punch in Kai’s general direction. It missed, though, and he jumped to the side, then she punched again, a gust of wind flying directly toward him. Hopping over it, he sent himself flying upward with a wind spell and landed on a nearby tree branch.
However, it collapsed as soon as he touched it, as the woman scorched with some sort of ‘Flame Fist’. She knows Onkos magic, but she hasn’t used it yet, and there is no wand to cast with! What the fuck?! I can understand the wind, but fire? His mind raced with thoughts, trying to reason the woman’s unfamiliar magic. Yet, he didn’t have enough time to ponder, and he didn’t want to find out personally, by becoming a corpse, or worse.
As he landed, he cast a wind spell, which crashed upon the ground in several different locations. The Inquisitor looked around and frowned at Kai’s attempt to make her lose track of him. However, as feeble an idea as it was, it actually seemed to work, as she stopped punching. Instead, she took a moment to close her eyes and take in a deep breath. Then, out of nowhere, her mouth opened as wide as humanly possible, and she let out an ear-piercing screech.
A strong pressure, like a wind spell, shot out from her mouth, covering a conic area in front of her. She unleashed this attack wherever Kai used the wind spell, and, taken by surprise, reached him in less than a second. Hit, he tumbled backward like a runaway kite and crashed against a tree. Its thick trunk bore the brunt of the impact, not even shaking slightly as Kai spit out a mouthful of blood. The fu-
However, he had no time to curse or wonder, as the woman closed in on him at a rapid pace. Despite his invisibility, she seemed to have locked onto his position, and Kai immediately attempted to flee to the side. His best attempts at fleeing, though, stopped when the Inquisitor jumped on all fours, and leaped up on him like a beast.
She instantly gapped the distance they had and barely missed his neck by a hair’s breadth, instead, she nicked his shoulder, causing blood to spill out everywhere.
With that newfound wound, Kai’s invisibility, which he used as best as he could, began fading away. No, why now? No, No, Fuck! Crying internally did nothing, however, and soon his entire physical form would be visible for the woman to grab and kill. Looking back, he noticed the woman stood still, a sadistic smile decorating her face as she fixed him with her glare.
He gulped and tried to get as far away as possible, ignoring the fact that she could catch up to him almost instantly, especially in such an environment. Forget the fact he basically grew up in a forest, any technique he had of surviving in one could be ignored by someone strong. Like Hideyoshi… He thought bitterly about the man he used to feed on, a fact which he hadn’t properly digested yet, and how useful he would have been in this moment.
Now, though, Kai was alone, fleeing for his life against someone who seemingly used him as hunting practice. Fuck, if she wanted to kill me she would have by now, what the fuck is wrong with her?! He cried internally as he stepped into the thick vegetation and did his best to hide using the abundant shadow in the forest.
His heart threatened to jump out of his chest as he hid, not helping his situation at all. However, no matter how Kai thought about it, it felt hopeless. Damned fucking thing! He jumped, startled by the woman’s heavy, non-magic-imbued punches, which knocked down a nearby tree. The thundering sound it made as it hit the ground boomed through the forest. A chilly shiver ran up Kai’s spine as her heavy footsteps disappeared from his ears, and then his entire body shuddered as he felt something behind him.
The moment he got up to run, a thick, cold, yet hot hand mercilessly grabbed him by the neck and pulled him up. His body, now visible, looked like a corpse due to all the blood and scorch marks covering him. He struggled to break free of the Inquistior’s grasp, however the woman’s firm hand tightened around his throat the more he did so.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! A true fear of death coursed through his veins as he stared into the woman’s emotionless eyes, his own crimson pupils trembling. Biting on his lower lip, he clawed away at the woman’s hand with normal nails, however, that quickly proved to be useless.
He glared at her, intense hatred radiating from his pupils as her hand choked the oxygen out of his lungs, and his world seemed to turn dark. His pupils oscillated between open and closed, and he too out of consciousness and unconsciousness. Calling upon the last bits of strength he had left, he, for the first time in his life, willingly pulled out his fangs and tried to bite her hand.
A chuckle escaped her body at that attempt, as he couldn’t even come closer to harming her, not with his fangs at least. “Monster cub, such vile attempts just show how degenerate you are.” She said, squeezing at Kai’s throat harder than before, with such a technique that it would only knock him out instead of killing him outright.
Kai’s struggle gained a newfound burst of strength as he actually clawed away at her hands this time around, however, that proved to be as effective as trying to bite her hand, and, soon, his movements would stop altogether.
Suddenly, her head turned, eyes widening, facing what seemed to be a small tornado heading her way. Before she had time to decide whether to grab Kai with her or not, the strong wind magic reached her. Glaring at the boy, she threw him in the wind magic, then stepped aside. Her hair moved wildly about, and she frowned upon realizing that the original wind storm had stopped, and another, much stronger one headed directly her way.
Stolen novel; please report.
She retreated as it uprooted bushes, broke away branches, pulled out grass, and picked up rocks. The wind spell became like a screen she couldn’t see through, and she wasn’t stupid enough to try and break it apart, lest she suffer the consequences of that. Instead, she jumped to the side and waited for it to fade.
As it did, her pupils constricted upon realizing that Kai was nowhere to be seen, and neither was there any hint of who or what attacked her. Frowning, she took a whiff of the air, but the wind magic from earlier disturbed the smells, so she took to the trees, jumping from tree branch to tree branch and scanning the area with her eye magic. She used it sparsely, though, as it put a lot of strain on her body.
…
Onyx’s figure dashed through the forest like a white shadow. Kai lay almost unconscious on his back, deep red marks covering his neck. He coughed lightly, color returning to his face as he took in soft breaths of air. Crowns of trees and soft clouds dashed past his blurry vision with incredible speed, wind whistling past his ears as Onyx ran as fast as he could. He didn’t look back, but took a few turns here and there, advancing without direction.
Kai couldn’t get up or raise himself at all. He raised his hand with much effort and groaned as he brought it to his mouth. Then, touching the ring on his finger, a red pill fell into his mouth, and he closed his eyes, slowly absorbing it. Thank you… He thought, hoping that Onyx would be able to hear him.
“Woof!” He barked, as if replying, and pushed his speed to its limits. As they ran, unsure if the Inquisitor still chased them, the pill Kai ingested quickly took action and worked to heal his most grievous wounds, as much as it could. Color gradually returned to his face, and after half an hour he stood, grabbing onto Onyx’s fur and gently patting it with tender care. I’m sorry we got us into this mess… He thought regretfully and ingested another healing pill, then circulated his mana to help absorb the energy all throughout his body. It’s gonna be fine… Assuring Onyx, and patting him twice on the back, he leaned forward with great difficulty and popped a pill into Onyx’s mouth as well.
He felt the warm energy course through his companion’s body, rushing to his injured leg, and instantly beginning to heal it. To think he can run this fast with such a wound… He’s… strong. With that done, Kai left everything up to Onyx as his mind switched from consciousness to unconsciousness. The lack of oxygen in his brain did some damage that he wasn’t sure was permanent or not, but he hoped for the latter rather than the former.
Time passed, and the sun slowly made way for the moon, which in turn shone softly over the land they watched over. Along with the moon, a dark sky, filled with clouds, made themselves visible, and thunder crackled as it threatened to rain. However, that’s all it did, threatened.
A few kilometers away from the city, Onyx finally stopped, panting and falling to the ground in exhaustion, throwing Kai off his back as a result. Luckily, he recovered some of his strength and managed to land properly before falling to the ground.
A heavy sigh escaped his lips as his almost naked body remained exposed to the elements, blood, and dirty and carbonized skin covering him. Despite that, he barely had any strength to pop another pill in his mouth and waited for it to take effect as he guided it. Yet, a certain feeling of anxiety never left the back of his mind, and he quickly mounted Onyx once again. The fear within him lingered and grew stronger with each passing second. Unsure of where it came from, he thought of the woman who could probably keep up with Onyx without much effort. She’s definitely on her way to us if manages to grab onto something… or worse, she’s already here, hiding, waiting. Onyx probably put some doubts in her mind, but definitely not enough to scare her away.
As the Obborik dashed through the forest, some color returned to Kai’s face, and his body shivered lightly. He threw on a shirt and a cloak, not exactly able to put on any pants whilst on Onyx’s back. Instinctively, a sigh of relief wanted to escape his body, but he pulled it back, not daring to allow himself to lower his guard.
And for good reason, as not even a few seconds later, a streak of fire, which he could only assume to be the woman, shot right in their general direction. With horror-filled eyes, he slapped Onyx lightly, enticing the Obborik to go faster. However, no matter how fast he could go, it didn’t matter.
Within moments, the woman landed right in front of them, sending a large shockwave and scorching the land. She didn’t stop to look at or converse with them, but instead arched her legs and jumped high in the air, sending an energy-filled punch toward them. Kai bounced off the Obborik’s back, at the same time readying his wand, and, within a split-second decision, chose not to pull out his sword.
Onyx, on the other hand, dashed with a burst of speed, evading the punch, and jumping at his own turn. He rotated mid-air, and his large, fan-like tail sent a fast, sharp blast of wind toward the Inquisitor. Then, chaining it, he channeled another of his barks. However, before he could cast it, a strong punch broke his first spell, and the leftover energy headed straight toward him.
His eyes shone with intelligence, and quickly stopped whatever he wanted to cast, then quickly stepped to the side, barely avoiding the punch. Kai quickly joined him, and the two stared at the woman, who in turn glared at them with an unexplainable hatred. “LEECH AND BEAST, BONDING. I OUGHT TO HAVE KNOWN IMPURE CREATURES LIKE YOU WOULD MIX WITH ANIMALS.”
Kai stared at her with a complex expression, however, decided that understanding someone who wanted to kill him would be a waste of his time. This woman is clinically insane… He complained, however, her newfound sent a shiver all throughout his body.
Looking closely at her, she wasn’t that much better off, at least in terms of stamina. Catching up with an Obborik running at maximum speed, even as a strong Body Mage, proved to be quite a challenging task. Of course, Kai knew better than anyone that Onyx wasn’t your average Obborik, but his level didn’t seem to be as advanced as the woman’s. Though it is definitely bigger than mine…
Despite his curiosity, he couldn’t check other’s power, unlike the man who created his wand.
Kai flicked his sleeve, the earth crystals embedded in his wand glowing with soft light, and a large pit formed right below the woman’s feet. She jumped and dashed at the duo with a maddened howl. Another flame fist that seemed more to be an Onkos magic than an Inkos one flew past their heads as they dodged, and Kai summoned a few dozen water tentacles from the ground, which grabbed onto her leg. Without any time to waste, he pulled her to the ground, and instantly trapped her legs with an earth spell, which he quickly turned into solid rock.
However, as soon as he finished, the stone cracked and the woman’s feet escaped, unscathed, for a bit of dirt on her boots. Without waiting for another second, she dashed in Kai’s direction and did a roundhouse kick. However, Onyx’s wind crashed against her, giving Kai enough time to dodge out of the way. With a quick jump backward and some hastened repositioning, he summoned a dozen or so fireballs that rotated around him. After doing that, he dropped the fire and earth crystals and swiftly replaced them with dark and light crystals.
The woman stood up, her head snapping toward Onyx, and she immediately ran toward him. The Obborik quickly ran for his life, but didn’t get far as she grabbed him by the tail and, despite his huge size and weight, smashed him against a tree. Then she walked in front of him and prepared to crush his skull.
“Onyx!” Kai cried out and cast a ‘Blinding Light’ which shot in front of the woman’s eyes, exploding in a bright flash of light. She quickly looked away, avoiding most of its effect, however, that gave Onyx enough time to get up and run away.
He shook his head, fur flying about, and glared at the woman with resentment. Kai did as well, and he grit his teeth in frustration, then cast as many body enchantment buffs as he could in a matter of seconds. Speed enchantement, Body Buff, Strenght Enchancement, Stamina Boost… By the time he finished, the woman’s vision recovered and instantly dashed toward Kai with a clenched fist. Does she only know how to punch and make craters?! He questioned inwardly, and quickly stored his wand away, replacing it with the silver sword.
Its blade shone with reflected moonlight, and the sudden appearance of such an unlikely weapon for a mage took the woman by surprise. However, she smirked with disdain and continued on her rampage. One of her fists burned with fire, while the other whistled with wind.
Kai’s blade shone with a soft light and Onyx prepared to bark out a storm at a moment’s notice.
Within seconds, the amount of distance between Kai and the woman could be measured with a ruler, and, at that moment, she punched out with both hands. A scorching storm headed straight toward the two, the wind amplifying the power of the fire as it blazed like a meteor.
With a maddened grin, Kai sent mana into his sword, then slashed vertically. The blade screeched like a frightened animal as a streak of light escaped his bounds, temporarily slicing the fiery tornado into two. That small opening gave Kai the opportunity to get close while the Inquisitor opened herself to an easy attack. Without any hesitation, his blood overflowing with adrenaline, he bore through the scorching heat and cutting winds, and aimed the sword right at her abdomen.
At that exact moment, Onyx barked and repelled some of her spells, but more importantly, gave Kai a boost of speed, which pushed him past what his body could barely take.
A heavy groan escaped the woman’s lips, alongside a mouthful of blood, which fell on Kai’s face. His throat immediately knotted, and the sweet scent of fresh blood activated his instincts. A pair of grotesque fangs penetrated his mouth, and, taken over by hunger and thirst, plunged the sword even deeper, a sadistic smile creasing his lips as he did so. Blood shot out of her wound, giving Kai a light taste of it.
But then, his vision blurred, and a wave of nausea hit him like a poison dart. The world around him twisted violently, and he recoiled back, almost losing the grip on his sword as pain rapidly clawed its way through its veins. The blood on his tongue burned like poison, and he looked up at the woman, only to see a sadistic, knowing smile decorating her face. What did she do to me?! He cried internally, however, it was too late, as her blazing right hand once again grasped his throat.