"My Queen!" Jabez called out, his voice a mix of awe and concern as he stared at Matilda’s back.
The air around her humd with a new kind of power, a raw, untad energy that sent a shiver down his spine.
"Let’s go back," Matilda said, her voice like steel:
"There are things we need to take care of." She didn’t look back, simply moved past the group, heading toward the entrance of the crypt. She was a different person than the one who had entered, her face set with a grim resolve that was both terrifying and inspiring.
’God Wolf must fall.’
The group exchanged a silent glance, then quickly followed, leaving Mitsubishi and Faye behind.
"Her strength..." Faye began, her voice a hushed whisper.
"Yes," Mitsubishi replied, a hint of reverence in her tone.
"She’s a lot stronger now. A Divine-rank warrior." She turned to Faye, her gaze serious:
"Get going. I want to speak to my Master."
Faye nodded, and with a flicker of light, she vanished from the temple, leaving Mitsubishi alone.
__
[Next Day.]
The Wendigos’ outpost was a scene of grim accounting. Veer, the Fourth Pillar of the Wendigo race, frowned as he listened to the report:
"You’re saying we lost 40% of our forces in these two hundred years?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.
The Wendigo in charge of the outpost, a large, hulking creature, was on his knees, sweating profusely:
"Yes, Fourth Pillar," he stamred.
Veer’s gaze shifted to the other Wendigos kneeling behind the leader, then to the sky. A distant pillar of brilliant white energy pierced the heavens.
’Such overwhelming spiritual energy,’ he thought, his hand instinctively going to the spear at his side.
’Did soone from the higher worlds sneak into the lower world?’
He had co for a war report, but this new developnt was far more pressing. He looked at his own claws, his brow furrowed in frustration.
"My powers are reduced to the Divine rank," he whispered to himself, a hint of vulnerability in his voice: "Fighting the one releasing such spiritual energy won’t end well."
He clenched his fist. ’But these pests...’
He pointed at the leader. "Go and investigate that light source and report back to !"
The Wendigo looked over his shoulder at the distant pillar of light, a hundred miles away, and nodded.
"Co on--"
"No," Veer cut him off, his voice cold. "You are going alone."
The Wendigo’s shoulders slumped, but he nodded again, stood up, and walked out of the outpost. The mont he stepped outside the gate, the ground erupted. A massive, twenty-ter-long python, with scales as white as the purest light and two horns on its head, shot out of the earth and swallowed him whole.
".....?!!"
Veer and the other Wendigos were stunned. But the most shocking thing was the small, blonde-haired girl standing on the snake’s head, her eyes glowing with a faint white light.
"A low-stage Mythic beast?!" Veer bellowed in disbelief. "Attack!"
The three hundred Wendigos lunged forward, their claws extended. Veer spread his dragon wings, his mind a whirlwind of questions:
’How does that little girl have the power to control a Mythic beast?! Who the hell is she?!’
Before he could charge, chains of pure dark energy erupted from the ground, wrapping around every single Wendigo. Veer watched in horror as the chains drained their energy, rendering them powerless.
"I didn’t know there was such a Wendigo," a voice said from above.
"A half-dragon and half-Wendigo."
Veer looked up. A young, handso man with golden eyes and wolf ears sat on the roof of the building, his gaze a calm, unnerving force.
"You!" Veer yelled, his spear lashing out with a bolt of dark energy.
BOOOOM!
The roof exploded in a shower of debris, but the man stood unscathed, an invisible barrier protecting him. Veer stared, stunned.
"This...?"
"I wanted to ask you so questions," the man said.
"It seems I’ll have to follow Plan B."
He clenched his fist, and the imnse snake behind Veer hissed, swallowing the last Wendigo before it shattered into motes of light. The little girl landed on her feet, a faint smile on her lips.
’Conjuring such a powerful physical beast... This is insane!’ Veer thought, turning his head back to the man.
’He is even more terrifying.’
____
[A Day Ago]
Sunny watched in a mixture of awe and horror as a five-ter-wide broadsword made of light energy appeared behind Ellen. It shot toward a huge python, bisecting the beast with a silent, devastating power. The python collapsed, dead.
"...?!" Sunny was frozen.
{Congratulations, Master! Ellen killed a low-stage Mythic Beast: Gained 10,000 EXP.}
Sunny’s gaze shifted to the vanishing celestial energy stones: "Wait, she’s planning to absorb all the stones?!" he asked in shock.
’If I unlock her bloodline, all the skills I’ve bought her will beco useless. She won’t be able to use them anymore.’ He sighed, sitting on a tree branch.
"Ellen and Jinx are special from the start... But Ellen is more terrifying. I’m not saying Jinx isn’t. If Ellen wasn’t here, she would be the first."
He exhaled, a sense of pride and protectiveness swelling in his chest. "Her God-rank bloodline is off the chart... I can’t wait to unlock both their bloodline seals and see how strong these two sisters are." He chuckled, a genuine smile on his face:
"Doing that with my current strength will only get them killed..." He looked up at the darkening sky.
"I wonder how they’re doing. We’ve been gone for two days."
___
[Eldoria]
The training ground was silent, save for the rustle of the wind. A group of five, each from a different race, stood at attention. Their expressions were flat, their hands folded behind them. As a young woman approached, they snapped to attention.
"Greetings, Fifth Commander!" they yelled in unison.
Jinx, now the fifth Commander, nodded, her gaze sweeping over the three ladies and two n. "Is this everyone?" she asked, a frown on her face.
"Commander! At the mont, yes!" the lady in the middle yelled.
"So you five are the only ones who can shapeshift in all of Eldoria?" Jinx asked, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
"Yes, Commander!" they responded, their heads held high.
"Okay," Jinx said, her voice softening slightly. "Introduce yourselves."
"I am Eve Redwood! From the Beastify race!"
"I am Sion Blade! From the human race!"
"I am Elizabeth Biden! From the Xenon race!"
"I am Pete Marcelo! From the Elf race!"
"I am Stellar Starfield! From the Three-eyed nation!"
"We are the Hidden Blades of Eldoria!" they yelled in unison.
Jinx nodded with a smile, then pointed at Stellar. "Why are we known as the Hidden Blades?"
"We have the ability to shapeshift!" Stellar yelled. "Making us hidden weapons against the enemy!"
"Good," Jinx said, walking to a chair and sitting down:
"I created this team for that purpose, and others. There are only five of you in all of Eldoria, which shows how rare we are. But technology has developed countless devices that can change the appearance of anyone. Your first training is..." She stared at them, her tone deadly serious:
"Learn how to detect those in such disguise with just a glance! You have two days to master this!"
The five Hidden Blades stood dumbfounded. Two days to learn such a skill seems impossible.
User Comments
0 comments from readers