Siegfried Fors
A jagged piece of steel struck the dirt before me.
Beyond it, Tavian's scream split the air. Blood sprayed across the ground as his body buckled, a dark tendril ripping free of his chest, glistening with blood. More tendrils burst from the beast, thrashing wildly, faster than thought, shredding through the chains that had bound it.
Ashar's voice cut through the chaos as he unsheathed his sword. "Aifa, take the young lord and run!"
Aifa leapt from the trees, her boots thudding against the ground as she rushed toward me. Tendrils whipped toward her, but Ashar moved between them, parrying them with his sword. Her hand clamped around my arm, yanking me upright. "Young lord, let's go!"
The cub whimpered as I snatched it into one arm, stumbling into a run beside her. "What about the others?" I asked, looking back at the clearing.
"They—" Her words broke off as she shoved me aside just as an axe flew between us, splitting a tree in two.
Already here? I looked back at the beast, then back at Aifa. Her bow was already drawn. A streak of mana lit the arrow, hissing as it flew. But the armored figure simply caught it in his hand, snapping it like a twig. Her fingers reached for another arrow. In a blink, the beast was in front of her.
"Aifa!" I called out. She jumped back, but the beast raised its fist, backhanding her across the face with a sickening crack. She was sent spinning in the air, slamming into a tree.
The beast's crimson eyes turned to me. I put the cub down and scrambled for another wand, but Faux slid in front of me, erecting a barrier. Yes, if it's Faux's barrier, it should work. A sword with a black hilt and crimson blade appeared in the beast's hand. He swung it, and a line appeared on the barrier. With a soft click, it shattered.
Faux screamed, and mana fragments spilled from the deep cut around its neck.
Faux's body lurched, flung back, and I dove forward, my arms wrapping around him before he hit the ground. "Faux!" My voice cracked. His body was so light in my arms, too light. "I'll heal you," I choked. "I'll fix this!"
Mana surged through my hands, desperate and frantic. My soul screamed at the world to obey. Heal. Please, heal!
But nothing happened. Nothing changed. The wound wasn't healing.
The glow in his eyes flickered… then vanished.
"No… No, no, no…" My throat burned as I shook him. "Wake up, Faux! This isn't funny! wake up!"
But there was no response...
"Faux…"
I could feel tears swelling in my eyes. I pulled him closer to my chest. This was my fault. All of it.
A scream tore from my throat. I felt something in me break, as if my soul itself were shattering. And as it ripped free, something inside me snapped.
A surge of mana burst from inside, rushing outward, wrapping around me in waves of emerald light. It poured out faster, wilder, and stronger than I had ever felt before. I remembered this sensation, the same as when I awakened. Only now it was chained, more in control.
I could feel everything. I could feel the wind swirling around me, the dirt under my heels, the quiet trickle of underground water, the immense vibrant life force of every plant and tree in the forest and the very forces of nature around me, all of it, as if my senses had expanded a hundredfold.
I looked down. The overflowing mana around me was moving, a living current flowing toward Faux's wound. The gash on his side began to heal, stitching itself back together until it was nothing more than a thin line, then nothing at all.
I heard a soft "Fua..." and a wave of relief washed over me. I smiled through tears, pressing my forehead gently against his before lowering him to the ground with care, next to the cub. Then, slowly, I rose. My gaze locked on the beast, a cold fire of hate burning inside me.
The beast was looking at me with curiosity.
"Awakening born of emotion… Like I thought, you are-"
"Shut up!" The words tore out of me, the overwhelming fear instantly replaced by a cold, searing rage. I felt untouchable. The mana around me thickened, so dense that the very ground beneath my feet was crushed.
The beast tilted his head. "Show me, then… how you compare to your ancestor."
Ancestor? Did he mean Grandpa? How dare he!!! I would rip him apart, tear open that shell of his!
"May mana pierce through my enemies…"
The world shifted. Dozens of radiant points flickered into existence around me. Dozens became hundreds, then countless more, swarming toward me in trails of light, converging into my fist. I watched as the emerald mana twisted, brightened, and turned white-hot, humming with raw power.
The beast raised his blade, crimson mana flaring from his back.
I only needed one chance, just one opening. Dodge him once, and—He vanished?
A heartbeat later, he was on top of me. Too fast. Far too fast. My body couldn't move.
Ah. It's impossible to dodge.
Reality struck me again. I had overestimated myself.
But then, crackling chains snapped into place, wrapping around the beast's sword. I saw them. Ashar was drenched in blood, teeth clenched in a snarl of agony. Tavian stood right beside him, pulling with every shred of strength they had left.
"Young lord!" Ashar's voice shook me.
My body moved. I launched forward, carried by desperation and rage. The air split as my fist struck the beast right in the face with every ounce of mana I had. I saw the armor crack under my fist as the beast fell onto its back, its crimson eyes fading to black.
I looked back, staggering slightly, lungs clawing for air. The beast lay still on the ground, finally down.
"Young lord…" Tavian's voice reached me, I turned to him, their forms a blur, but they were moving towards me, covering their wounds.
"Sieg." Another voice reached me, familiar and filled with warmth. I turned, or at least I tried to, but my body felt heavy. So unbearably heavy.
"I… think I'll take a rest…" My words slurred, breath shallow.
And then, arms wrapped around me gently. My head fell against them, and relief surged through me.
"…Granny."