"Well, I can use almost all the basic elements, but I mainly focus on lightning. Funny enough, I've got Aegis' Summoner— and Armsage," Erenyx said, casually spinning a small ball of lightning on her finger.
Everyone's eyes widened.
"Wait... you're the Armsage???" Loretta and Heartz blurted out in unison.
Erenyx blinked, caught off guard. "Jeez, yeah, what about it?"
Loretta slammed his hands on the table. "What about it?! That's a Tier 8 Aegis! Only three active Armsages can exist at once!"
"Deadass??" Erenyx asked, genuinely surprised.
Heartz nodded furiously. "Yes! You gotta tell us what it's like!"
Erenyx looked around, still processing, but eventually leaned back and began explaining. "I can pretty much turn anything I want into a deadly weapon— whether it's a stick or a pillow. Armsage lets me turn it into something destructive. It also gives me instant mastery over any weapon I touch. I still need more practice, but the stronger I get, the better my weapon control becomes."
Rui leaned in, eyes sparkling. "Woahhhh, that's so cool!" She grabbed a toothpick from the table and tossed it at Erenyx.
Erenyx caught it mid-air, glanced around the diner, then flicked it forward—skewering a fly clean through.
"See?" she said, shrugging like it was nothing.
"What about you, Loretta?" she asked, kicking her feet up on the table.
Loretta chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "No matter what I say, I can't match you, mate. But I specialize in manipulating the four base elements. I can't use chi, though—so all my attacks come from natural energy around me. Since I can't sense chi, I'm not even sure if what I have is an Aegis, but I call it Evil Eye."
"Evil Eye?" Heartz asked, intrigued.
"Yeah. It lets me see through all things—illusions, transformations, deception. I can even read the soul." Loretta's gaze lingered briefly on Erenyx as he said that. "There's more to it, but I haven't fully figured it out yet. Oh—and I'm trained in martial arts. That's how I usually fight."
Rui's curiosity sparked. "I didn't know many Eternalists still existed... but that eye thing is super cool. Can I test it?"
Erenyx and Heartz both perked up.
"Sure, mate. Go for it."
Loretta's fiery golden eyes flared as he activated his Aegis.
"I'm twenty-three, and this is my first time in Arystel," Rui said with a smug grin.
"Both lies," Loretta replied instantly.
Rui's smile faltered. "Oh wow... you got me."
The group laughed it off before Rui cleared her throat. "Alright, my turn. I'm a long-range wind user, and my Aegis is Mind Flayer. Over time, it lets me exude my influence onto others—basically, I can control minds. How long it takes depends on both my mental strength and theirs. It also lets me tether my teammates' minds together, so we can talk telepathically."
Erenyx lit up. "That's so cool! And insanely useful! My dad has that Aegis too."
"Oh really?" Rui tilted her head. "What does your dad do?"
Erenyx waved it off quickly. "He's just a blacksmith. Nothing crazy."
Heartz cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself. "Guess it's my turn. I don't have an Aegis, or elemental control—and my chi control sucks." He laughed. "It usually ends in explosions that I can sort of control, so it's not all bad. I mainly use that big-ass sword on my back, and that's about it."
With everyone's powers laid out on the table, the group felt a sense of connection growing between them—a spark of trust before the storm of the Beast Hunt.
...
"You ready, fuckers?" Loretta said playfully, though the edge in his voice betrayed his nerves.
"More than ready," Heartz replied, stretching his arms before unsheathing his massive blade with a metallic ring.
Erenyx glanced down at her phone— four minutes left until the gates opened.
"You guys hearing me good?" Rui's voice echoed through their minds, the mind link sharp and clear. Everyone nodded in sync.
Then, from somewhere unseen, Zephyr's voice boomed like thunder:
"You've made it this far. Now go out there and make some damn money."
The ground trembled as the gates flew open.
Rui shot into the air in a burst of wind, wings of compressed air fanning out behind her. Loretta vaulted into the trees, bounding from branch to branch with extreme precision. Erenyx and Heartz charged in on foot, the ground cracking beneath their steps.
After a few moments, Erenyx veered upward, using blasts of wind to swing from branch to branch, soaring past Heartz with a grin. They tore through the forest, the world blurring around them— monsters of every shape and size snarling in the shadows, their glowing eyes tracking the intruders.
But the team barely slowed. One glance was all it took to dismiss most of the beasts— too weak, too common, not worth the effort.
They were hunting for something bigger.
...
THUD!
Loretta's boot connected squarely with the beast's head— barely making it flinch. He landed in a crouch, now fully shifted into his combat attire.
"One tough fucker we got here..." he muttered, skidding backward across the dirt.
The gigantic ape let out a thunderous roar, pounding its chest before charging forward. Its twin fists slammed into the ground, sending shockwaves through the terrain and launching chunks of rock into the air.
Loretta dodged between the debris, kicking each boulder midair and hurling them back at the beast with devastating force. He landed smoothly, cracking his neck.
"I got this."
With a surge of wind, he launched himself at the King Ape. The monster swung a massive right hook, but Loretta vaulted up its arm, sprinting toward its head. The air twisted and howled around his palm— then boom— he struck the creature's ear, rupturing its eardrum.
The Ape King shrieked, thrashing wildly to shake him off. Then its fists ignited in crimson flame.
CRASH!
The flaming punch caught Loretta midair, slamming him through one tree, then another, before he hit the third with a spine-rattling impact.
"Shit!" he coughed, sliding down the trunk, blood spilling from his mouth.
"Ay, mates— Imma need some help over here. High-tier Ape King, fire elemental," he said through the mind link, trying to catch his breath.
But before anyone could answer, Rui's voice rang through, laced with panic.
"Shit! I need help too! High-tier Demon Rhino!"
Erenyx and Heartz froze, their hearts sinking in unison.
Two high-tier beasts. Two teammates in danger.
They had seconds to decide who to save first.