"I'm disappointed in you…Yusef," said Lord Ivance, his cold aether premeting around his throne and Yusef.
"Not only did you return without them dead or alive, but you sacrificed many of ours in the process."
"Either you all have become complacent because of our dominant control on the east side of Sylmora, or you guys utterly failed your mission," Ivance said sharply.
Yusef said nothing as there was a still silence them before Ivance followed up, "Must I do everything by myself, second in command?"
"No, my lord, you shouldn't," said Yusef, kneeling in front of Ivance, battered and bruised.
"Tsk, it was all that damn woman's fault. She is stronger than anyone the First Order had ever faced. Our complacency with our dominance in deed caught up…." thought Yusef, as he remembered the recent fight with Rena.
Earlier at the fight…
"Hahaha, letting them escape won't do any good! Once I'm finished with you, I will hunt them down and bring all three of you back to my Lord!" cackled Yusef, as kept summoning chains towards Rena. Rena narrowly dodged them all except for one of them which cut the band that kept her hair in a ponytail. Yusef then drew out his sword to go for a close encounter battle with Rena's katana.
"Ugh!" said Rena, clashing with Yusef.
"Under no circumstance can I let him get loose and go after them. If I use a technique now, I risk him escaping and pursuing them. I will tire him out in the next couple of minutes before landing the final blow, " thought Rena, surveying the battered battlefield.
Just like she did with Danica, Rena started attacking more furiously towards Yusef for the next several minutes. Yusef held his ground, but the tolls of intense technique use and combat started to show in his tired fighting.
"She is strong for sure….but why do I get the sense she isn't even using her full power? It's like she is fighting me to just stall me out so I don't pursue them…" thought Yusf.
"Wait that's totally it! She doesn't want me to pursue the boys!"
Yusef broke free of his clash with Rena and then without saying a word, starting to make his ebay towards the direction Tharic ran with Kyro.
"I cannot let them escape! I have to bring back at least one of them!"
"Sorry miss, but I need to get those boys! The battle was fun though while it lasted!" chuckled Yusef running away.
"Tch, not so fast," said Rena, readying herself to pursue Yusef.
Without breaking a sweat, Rena, in a quick moment, caught up right behind Yusef.
Yusef immediately turned around in shock of her speed, "Damn it what the hell!!"
"Water Technique: Flowing Current!"
Her blade enveloped in water, and her movement became like a liquid blur once more. She sliced and diced Yusef, leaving him battered and bruised afterwards, unable to move.
"Second in command? Are you sure about that?" asked Rena, looking down at Yusef who was gasping for air.
Yusef got irritated hearing that, "Don't you dare look down on me! I will have your head one day, you will not escape again!"
"Again?" Rena said, amusingly. "Who said there will be another time?"
Yusef reached into his pocket and threw out a huge smoke bomb, covering a wide area, rendering Rena unable to see as she coughed a lot.
"Ugh, he's trying to escape!" she thought.
Rena tried to sense Yusef's aether threw the smoke but alas, nothing was coming to her.
"The smoke blocks me from detecting aether?!"
As the smoke cleared, none of the First Order aether hunters were around, except the four guards who were killed. Danica, Yusef, and the other two guards escaped from the battlefield.
"Well, at least they won't dare to bother us for a while," said Rena.
Meanwhile, Yusef was escaping the other direction back to the hideout, carrying back the guards and Danica.
"She was strong no doubt. Lord Ivance will not be happy with us not retrieving either of them…"
Back to the present moment…
"Tell me, who are these people so if I ever encounter them, I can kill them myself," asked Ivance.
"There was a total of three of them. The woman I mentioned that was very strong who didn't even have to lift a finger to cause this much damage, a boy with purple eyes wiedling a huge axe and a boy with green eyes wielding a spear," answered Yusef.
"Boy with green eyes and wielding a spear?" questioned Ivance.
He then started to laugh, realizing who could this be, "Don't tell me its that pathetic womans son?! Desperate as ever to fight the good fight?"
"This is interesting indeed. Tell me more about this woman though, I've never heard such a strong force to be residing here on the east side of Sylmora."
Yusef shook his head in agreement, "Me neither, I've never seen someone like her. She had a blue eyes a scar running across her nose. The way she fought though, it was as if it was another day for her, barely breaking a sweat."
"I see,," said Ivance, his orange eyes glowing through the mask's eye holes. "Either she was strong, or you guys are weak."
Yusef kept his head down and said nothing.
"Anyways, see to it that you train yourself and the rest of our Order. Failure like this will not happen again under any circumstances, do you hear me? Do not get complacent with our dominant rule."
Yusef nodded his head as he rose from his knee, "As you wish my lord."
He then turned around and left Ivance's area with the two remaining guards who survived the attack.
Ivance then quietly said to himself, "I must tell the others of this…"
Meanwhile back at Lostwood Medeows…
Kyro was fiercely fighting back the wolves back at the meadows, swinging his axe everywhere to try and ward them off.
"These wolves are very aggressive, they aren't letting me breathe for not even a moment!"
As the fight kept progressing, more and more wolves started to come towards the battle, multiplying their numbers in mere moments.
Kyro kept swinging the axe as hard as he could but with the number of wolves around, it was getting harder and harder as they their claws started to land more and more attacks on him. Kyro was getting cuts everywhere, bleeding from random spots, his clothes getting ripped, but it didn't stop him from trying to keep warding them off.
"Come on think…what can I do right now?"
Kyro thought slamming the ground with his axe to cause dirt to fly everywhere but realized with the wolves quick speed, he wouldn't have enough time to slam with enough power to make that happen.
Suddenly, a screeching howl could be heard past the meadows and in the forest. The howl was unlike anything ever heard before and it caused the wolves eyes to glow red and attack even fiercer.
"Ugh what is going on!" shouted Kyro in confusion, warding off the wolves as much as he can.
The wolves were more aggressive, faster, stronger and scratching Kyro everywhere, piercing through his clothes and everything.
"Am I really gonna die here?"
Kyro in a last ditch effort, tightened his drip on his axe and started to twirl around like a tornado. His axe would slam into one wolf onto another and dragging them across until there were enough of them being swung on. Afterwards, he planted his left foot firmly in the ground and send a good amount of wolves flying away from him.
"Now is my chance!"
Kyro rushed towards the fallen wolves to finish them off before they start moving again, running away from the other wolves that were attacking him. However, before he could reach, the wolves that were chasing him caught up to him and dragged him onto the ground.
"Ugh!"
The wolves he sent flying regained balance as well and started to rush towards Kyro to attack.
"Shit, is this really how it ends? I wanted to save this country…wanted to find out who I am! And yet…I'm gonna die before any of that happens."
"Maybe Tharic was right…I am too weak…too foolish to even think I could save country that has been dying for the last century…"
Kyro then softly smiled thinking of Tharic, "If anything…I'm glad I was able to at least save one person from my foolish troubles…"
Meanwhile Tharic rushed back to the scene as soon as he could and by the time he did, he noticed the wolves attacking and Kyro everywhere while Kyro laid there on the ground, barely moving.
"Damn it, by the time I get there it would be too late!
Tharic slapped his head, "Think, think what can I do?"
"Using Gale Step will allow me to close the gap, but not deal with the wolves directly. I need to find a way to quickly get there while dealing with the wolves at the same time."
Tharic held to his spear in one hand, holding it like a staff while thinking his next move,
"But what other choice do I have? I don't know any other techniques quick enough."
Kyro screamed in pain and the wolves pierced through his skin. Tharic tightened his grip on his spear, "Damn it this is no time to think, I have to do it!"
Tharic closed his eyes and gathered as much aether below his feet, getting ready to launch himself. As he opened his eyes, the vision of a new technique emerged right in front of him.
Techniques can be developed in two various ways, one is through intense training like what Tharic had done earlier and the other is through guiding visions from one's aetherial art.
Tharic is awe of the vision he was seeing, "This is…"
His aetherial art was showing him a technique where it would allow him to use aether jump high in the air and dive down onto his opponent, controlling the aether onto the pin point of his spear to create a tornado like effect, sending his enemies far away while dealing damage.
Following the vision he just received, Tharic gathered enough aether under his feet and shot himself up into the sky immediatly. Pointing his spear down at the surrounding wolves, he quickly dove down like a tornado in the sky, the wind force strongly gathered around the tip of the spear to cause a piercing roaring sound.
Kyro opened his eyes slightly in light of the noise he heard, looking up to see a shadow of someone up above.
Wind Technique: Tornado Dive!
All the wolves immediately got sent flying far away from the impact as Tharic slowly stood next to Kyro.
"What is…going on…" asked Kyro, mumbling in his words from the exhaustion. He looked over to see Tharic standing right in front of him, shocked and confused.
"Huh, why are you still here? I told you to run didn't I?"
"Save your breath, hero, I'll explain later," said Tharic, softly smiling.
Tharic then bent down, grabbed the potion Hunter gave to him back at Pinehwollow and shoved the medicine down Kyro's throat.
"This should treat your wounds for now," said Tharic.
Suddenly, Kyro's body felt extremely healthy again, as he slowly sat up.
"I feel much better. Thank you," said Kyro, looking up at Tharic.
Tharic nodded as he got. Suddenly, a cold sensation shivered through his spine, a presence he has never felt before. This was then followed up by a screeching howl, enough to make someone ears bleed.
"Ugh, what is that noise?" asked Kyro, covering his ears.
"Watch out, over there!," shouted Tharic, looked ahead into the forest. A tall, gigantic white wolf emerged from beyond the trees. It stood on two legs like a human and its body was very muscular. The wolf was also wearing ripped blue shorts with a belt across its waist. The wolf red eyes beamed towards the two boys, foaming at the mouth.
"This looks like their pack leader, although he doesn't look the part," said Tharic, readying his spear for more battling.
Tharic then looked down at Kyro, "Can you get up and fight?"
He then smirked saying, "Can't save Hosta let alone Sylmora without our hero."
Kyro looked at him surprised, hearing such a change of words coming out of him. He then smiled and got up holding his axe with two hands, not backing down from the challenge, "Yeah, I can. Let's beat him once and for all and save Hosta!"
Tharic smiled looking at Kyro, feeling at ease to see that fire in him not flickering. He then looked back over at the big wolf standing over there.
The wolf drool was dripping the ground as in the next second, it charged right over at both of them, running on all fours while doing so.
"Get ready!" said Tharic, preparing aether underneath his feet.
Wind Technique: Gale Step!
The wolf bore out its claws from its right hand as it swung on Kyro as he met it with his own axe. Kyro could feel the wolf's raw power, being much stronger than the bear as his feet were getting pushed into the ground.
Meanwhile Tharic was quickly circling the big wolf using his technique before randomly going in, aiming at the wolf's eyes from the left side.
The wolf's left eye glared at Tharic as he closing in, but by the time the beast could react it was too late as Tharic stabbed its left eye.
The wolf let go of fighting Kyro, clutching to its left eye and howling in pain. Kyro immediately stepped back catching his breathe.
"Now, this is our chance," shouted Tharic, rushing in to finish off the wolf.
Kyro nodded and followed after him when suddenly, without hesitation, the wolf started to pound his chest like gorilla and sounded off another screeching howl. Tharic and Kyro both stopped in their tracks and covered their ears to block off the noise.
"Ugh, not this again!" Kyro thought.
Quickly, the more wolves started to come and surround the boys alongside the big wolf. The giant wolf then grabbed one of the wolves and ate it without a second doubt, fur and all.
Tharic looked in disgust and in confusion, "What the-"
Before he could finish his thought, the wolf's left eye was regrown, as if it nothing happened. It once more howled as loud as it could before started to run towards the two boys to attack them once more. This time however, the pack of wolves were also helping out by surrounding the boys.
"What do we do?" Tharic said, clenching to his teeth to prepare of what's to come.
Kyro looked over at him, as if he thought of a brilliant plan, "I got an idea that I think will work, but you got to trust me on it."
Tharic looked over at him, "Don't got many options right now do we?"
Kyro then walked over and whispered it into his ear.
Tharic's frown then went upside down, smirking as he liked the plan that Kyro mentioned to him.
"All right, you got it," said Tharic, suddenly exiting the battlefield to the outskirts.
Kyro then looked back over the wolves that were all charging at him, holding tightly to his axe for dear life as he was getting ready to defend himself.
Before the big wolf could lay its paws on him, Kyro took his axe and slammed it on the ground as hard as he could, much like the previous incidents, causing grass and dirt to fly everywhere and blurring their vision. The big white wolf was howling in pain, rubbing its eyes to get the dirt and grass out of them.
Tharic was watching from afar, "For someone wielding that big of an axe, his strength is remarkably surprising."
"But, now its my turn."
Tharic gathered aether at his feet, wind swirling stronger around him as he was remembering the technique vision that he saw earlier. He was going to attempt to do it again.
"I don't have much aether left, but I should be able to get one more Tornado Dive in."
Without the next second, Tharic was ready as he jumped high up into the sky again.
Wind Technique: Tornado Dive!
The big white wolf, sensing the powerful aether technique, looked up to try and tried to move far away as soon as possible.
The wind gathered around the tip of the spear as Tharic flew down on them like a flying tornado.
WHOOOSHHH
All the wolves were sent flying far away except for the big white wolf who was pushed back only a couple hundred feet from Kyro since he was running away.
Before the gigantic wolf could gather himself, Kyro rushed in, tightly gripping his axe. Sensing him rushing, the wolf then turned around and then put his arm up to defend but it was already too late. Kyro lifted his axe next to his ear and then swung on the white wolf's head, beheading it off at long last.
The head rolled down a couple of feet away, its blood spilling everywhere, including onto Kyro. Soon, the body and the head started to glow white aether as it suddenly burst away into raw aether, spreading itself throughout the surrounding air.
Kyro looked down and to his surprise, the wolf's body was now a man's body with his head missing.
"Good job, the plan worked," said Tharic, walking over to Kyro.
"Yeah," said Kyro, his expression sad by what he was seeing in front of him.
"What's with the gloom?" asked Tharic.
Kyro pointed down to the body of the man, still in shock of what he is seeing.
Tharic looked over and his eyes widened in shock, "What the hell?"