Aren could never forget the Tailed-Fox lineage. Its fox-fire was one of the most important ingredients in creating the Condensation Pill—a pill that condenses and creates stronger and denser ether in a Mystic.
It was a luxury item, mostly because the Tailed-Fox was one of the species classified as being endangered.
But that never stopped hunters and poachers from finding them. No, because anything that hunted them...usually didn’t co back.
Being descendants of the Nine-Tailed Fox, each one of its tails wasn’t just for show. It was a asure of their power, similar to a Mystic’s Lines.
Which ant a Six-Tailed Fox...was on the sa level as a 6-Lined, Ascendant-Grade Mystic.
Aren’s eyes flicked over to the only person still standing against it.
The sa level as Professor Sterling...
But as soon as the realization settled, a large shockwave erged as the two collided. The ground trembled beneath their feet so hard that Aren thought the entire mountain was going to give.
"You heard her! We need to move out of the way!" Marcus yelled as he turned, slowly moving backward with the limp Daniel.
The senior nodded, but imdiately grimaced right after, moving a hand to his side as it was stained red.
"...Damn it."
Daniel raised his hand, the ether condensed but nothing ford. His lance was lost sowhere in the snow.
Another shockwave tore through the field as Sterling was forced back several ters, her threads snapping and reforming mid-air as the fox blurred past her again.
Marcus conjured his instead, planting his foot as chunks of tal and stone slowly ford on his arm to create his iconic tower shield.
"Stay behind ."
No one questioned it, all getting behind the shield as the entire group slowly backed off from the fight.
Once they were an appropriate distance away, Aren got to work imdiately. Water gathered on his hand before he placed them on Daniel’s side.
Instantly, it seeped into his wound, bending and filling as skin particles began to patch themselves together.
"...Ggghk!" Daniel grunted just as the water touched his wound before he stared at Aren. "Thanks..."
"Save your energy," Aren replied, but his eyes were really here.
They were entirely on the fight happening at the center of the valley, one that would decide their life and death.
Even with ether channeled into his eyes, he could only barely see the fight, reading their ether residue instead of what was actually happening.
A streak of fox-fire tore across the valley as Sterling barely managed to dodge it by jumping into the air. But the fox followed up imdiately, sweeping one of its tails at her while she couldn’t dodge in the air.
Then, one of the threads wrapped around her body before pulling her out of the blast radius. Even from here, Aren could barely read the shape of her lips as she muttered.
"Too close..."
With the distance created, both of them stared at each other for a while. Mostly to catch their breath, yet neither of them wanted to make the first move.
Aren could tell that they were both tired. The threads tied around Sterling’s fingers snapped one by one as the fox’s fire was flickering wildly, almost like it was struggling to retain its shape.
But he knew who had the advantage here. Professor Sterling was completely exhausted from them fleeing the avalanche and ntally exhausted from fleeing the Defilers.
She had to end this in one move. And the fox knew it too, refusing to attack and staying on the defensive, waiting for its prey to burn themselves out.
"...It’s adapting," Iris muttered.
That was when Professor Sterling shifted, straightening herself and stepping forward before raising her hand.
All at once, countless strands that had been spread across the battlefield began to retract, snapping free from the ground, the air, and the broken terrain.
One by one, they pulled back toward her, gathering, layering, and condensing before forming almost a perfect sphere.
Aren’s eyes widened as he realized what was going on.
Her final gambit...
The mont the sphere stabilized, the ground beneath her feet cracked in a perfect circle, unable to withstand the pressure of being condensed into sothing so small.
Across from her, the fox’s six tails rose slowly, spreading outward like a fan before they all gathered up right in front of the fox’s face.
Fox-fire began to gather at the tips as cold gathered at its mouth. The attack combined, growing denser and brighter until the air around it warped from the sheer cold contained within.
Even from this distance, Aren shivered. But the thought already implanted itself within his head before he even saw it.
They’re both committing to a final attack. Shit! Then the shockwave—
"Marcus!"
"I know!" the senior replied, already planting his feet so hard into the ground that it looked like he’d dug himself into it.
"Everyone—GET DOWN!"
...
"Ultimate Art: Empress’ Verdict."
Sterling thrust her hand forward, the sphere collapsed imdiately. A beam of condensed threads tore through the air, not visible as strands but as a single line of force that had nowhere to go but the direction she commanded it to.
At the sa ti, the fox released its own attack, a concentrated beam of both ice and fire erupted outward as it t her attack head-on.
The two collided before...
BOOOM!
The impact detonated outward in a massive shockwave, the ground underneath the collision point collapsing almost imdiately, sending shards of rock and ice everywhere.
Marcus’s shield groaned violently as the shockwave was so violent it almost threw the entire group away, even from behind Marcus’ shield.
Both Aren and Iris had to prop the senior up to withstand the blow, anchoring him down.
Aren’s senses blurred for a mont before slowly snapping back into focus. And once they were...he noticed one thing imdiately.
The battlefield was completely gone.
The center of the valley had been completely erased, replaced by a massive crater where the two attacks had collided.
At the very center, one person moved—Professor Sterling. Her body wavered slightly before she dropped to one knee.
"...Kgh—!"
A sharp cough tore from her throat as blood splattered onto the frozen ground beneath her.
Aren’s eyes widened.
"...Professor—"
The threads that used to be there had all disappeared. She tried to push herself up but failed. Yet she kept trying, only to lose strength in her leg and fall down completely.
She was, by every sense of the word...spent.
Across from her, the fox stirred. Aren could see it clearly as the mist parted. It fur had been torn open in several places, blood running freely from where so of Stering’s thread had landed.
It had taken real damage, but it could still walk.
It was clear who won the exchange.
The fox pranced slowly toward the professor, its mouth shaping into a sneer as it got ever-so-closer.
Shit...this is really bad. No—worse than bad.
Sterling couldn’t hold it anymore, and everybody else was heavily injured. He can’t let the professor die, not after they’ve been through thick and thin together.
Aren’s hand clenched slightly, eyes dropping to his wrist as he felt the sudden coolness of the piece of tal on his hand again.
The dampener.
Just a little...If I take it off, would the Defilers even notice through all this ssed-up terrain and natural phenonon?
If he took it off now, he’d definitely be able to overwhelm the fox with sheer quantity. Aren’s hand moved to his wrist, adjusting the band. His fingers went to unclip it before—
"Don’t."
The voice ca from his side, followed by soone’s grip right on his dampener. Aren looked up to see who it was.
Daniel.
"...Not yet," the senior said quietly.
"You saw what happened," Aren frowned. "We can’t—"
"I know," Daniel cut in. "But it should only be done as the very last resort. Rember why we’re even out in the Wildlands to begin with?"
Aren sighed, already knowing what he was talking about.
"Damn it... then what do we—?"
Daniel stepped forward slightly, placing himself just ahead of the group despite the condition he was in.
"Let the seniors handle this."
Marcus shifted beside him, lifting his shield up before resting it on his back. "...Guess we don’t have a choice."
Iris exhaled slowly, tightening her grip on the knife.
"...Great."
Emily swallowed, her fingers trembling slightly before steadying.
"...We can do this...right?"
No one answered, because at that exact mont. A sudden pressure hit everybody.
Aren’s breath caught in his throat.
"...What—"
The next second, his knees buckled instantly. And all around him...his seniors fell one by one. Marcus slamd into the ground first, his shield crashing beside him as the stone beneath them cracked under the sudden weight.
Iris followed imdiately, her body hitting the frozen earth before she could even react.
Emily didn’t even get a chance to brace, glasses falling right off and breaking on contact.
Daniel tried to hold for a second, "Ggh—!" but eventually dropped to one knee and fainting on the spot.
Aren staggered.
Every muscle in his body scread as he forced himself to stay upright, one hand digging into the ground as cracks spread beneath his fingers.
...What the hell is this...?! Not killing intent...such...insane...spiritual pressure!
Sothing that pressed down on him from every direction. Like the mountain itself had co alive. Even as his vision blurred and his body began to give out, Aren saw one thing.
At the edge of the battlefield, partially obscured by the drifting mist was a creature.
White fur and black stripes, taking a single step forward.
...A Lord-Class...
Then, his body gave out—
And the darkness consud him.
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