The smoke of battle was still thick in the air, the scent of charred flesh heavy as Mira observed from the sidelines. She gave a subtle nod of approval at Nova's impressive performance. The fiery Battle Maiden had done her part, now it was time for the fox to step into the spotlight.
"Rhydian," she called out quietly, her tone firm. A silhouette emerged from the shadows, and soon, a tall and sturdy figure of a woman dressed in dark attire appeared before her.
She was still wearing shabby clothes as Mira hadn't gotten around to buying something for her from the FLDIL. Or, more accurately, she couldn't be bothered to. Rhydian's clothing situation was the least of both of their concerns.
"...Hunt?" Rhydian tilted her head and asked, staring into the distance.
"We hunt," Mira nodded, a sinister smile gracing her lips.
Together, they slipped away from the battlefield and ventured into the wilderness. Their target? The remaining beasts who had managed to escape the Battle Maiden Sect's counterattack.
They moved in perfect synchrony, a pair of deadly predators in pursuit of their prey. Their eyes glowed in the dark, a ferocious gold and a vicious crimson, as they began their merciless hunt.
The undergrowth parted silently as Mira and Rhydian wove their way through the rocky forest, their senses attuned to the subtle disturbances in the Qi around them. Even the faintest rustle, the softest footfall, the merest disruption in the wind's flow, they detected with acute precision.
Soon, their persistence paid off.
A low growl echoed in the distance, the sonic waves subtly disrupting the Qi around them. Mira and Rhydian exchanged a glance, and without a word, they veered in the direction of the sound.
As they neared the source, they found themselves standing at the edge of a clearing, where they caught sight of their first prey. A burly beast with gnarled horns and bloodshot eyes stood against the moonlit backdrop, its breaths heavy and uneven from the previous escape.
"Perfect," Mira murmured, her eyes glinting under the moon's pale glow.
Rhydian responded with a stoic nod, her claws extending.
"...Kill?"
Mira gave a slight nod and motioned for Rhydian to go for it.
In a flash, Rhydian sprang into action. Her form was a blur of movement.
The beast, caught off guard by her swift attack, let out a startled roar, but it was too late. Rhydian's claws swiped down with brute strength, leaving a trail of red in their wake. It was a straightforward, frontal attack - no subtlety, no trickery, just raw power and speed.
Meanwhile, Mira gripped her scythe tighter, her eyes never straying from the battlefield. She watched Rhydian's assault with a cool expression, a stark contrast to the fiery destruction left by Nova.
As Rhydian moved on to the next beast, another one crept from the shadows, its savage eyes fixed on Mira. A low growl rumbled in its throat as it circled her, ready to pounce at the slightest sign of weakness. But Mira was anything but weak.
"C'mon then," Mira taunted, twirling her scythe with deceptive ease. The weapon, an extension of her own will, danced in the moonlight, its arc sweeping in deadly harmony with her movements. "Let's dance."
The beast charged, teeth bared and claws outstretched. But Mira was faster. With a swift motion, she sidestepped the lunge, her scythe's blade meeting the beast's flank. A sickening thud followed as the beast's momentum carried it forward, crashing onto the ground before it split in two.
By now, Rhydian had cleared out the area of these… weaklings. Her eyes shifted to Mira just in time to see her dispatch her foe with ease.
"Rhydian, on me," Mira commanded, her voice carrying across the clearing. Rhydian nodded, swiftly closing the gap between them.
Their next adversaries were a pack of sleek, quick beasts. Mira and Rhydian met them head-on.
Mira, with her scythe slicing through the air, and Rhydian, her powerful claws ripping through flesh and bone, were a force of nature. Together, they slaughtered the already frightened beasts as if they were made of paper, their movements echoing in the silent wilderness.
Their hunt took them deeper into the mountainous forest, the moon casting long, ominous shadows on the ground. With each step they took, each beast they brought down, their presence in the forest grew more dominant, more menacing.
However, their victory was short-lived. Mira felt a familiar prickling sensation at the back of her neck. Her senses heightened, she caught the faintest rustle of undergrowth, the barely perceptible disturbance in the Qi around them. They weren't alone.
"Rhydian," she muttered, not taking her eyes off the shadows.
"...I know," came the curt response, her companion's golden eyes also scanning their surroundings.
Mira used her Soul Sense to see if she could find anything, but still, nothing.
"Something's not right," Mira murmured, her gaze never leaving the shadows as she took a defensive stance.
Rhydian grunted in agreement, her muscular frame coiled and ready to spring into action. The eerie silence was only punctuated by their own breaths, which they kept shallow and measured.
Then, the forest exploded into chaos.
A horde of Peak-Stage Rank 8 beasts, their scales glistening in the ethereal moonlight, poured from the shadows. Their fiery eyes, brimming with malicious intent, sent a cold shiver down Mira's spine. Not out of fear but excitement. These weren't just ordinary beasts - their energy was different, their motives even more so.
These beasts weren't here for the elixir, a fact further confirmed by the lack of its distinctive scent. And while their savage appearance suggested they were driven by bloodlust, the strange determination in their gaze suggested something more.
Caught off guard, Mira and Rhydian were briefly taken aback. But they quickly got into battle-ready positions, their expressions hardening as they faced the onslaught.
"Well, this is new," Mira said, her tone dry as she squared off with the creatures.
As the beasts drew near, the two prepared for an attack, but even after a dozen seconds, no such thing came.
The reptilian-like beasts just surrounded them, their eyes locking onto their figures, making sure not to miss a single movement.
Eventually, a larger one with a much stronger aura than the rest made its way through the horde toward them. Eventually, it stood before them, looking down as if it were a giant facing an ant.
Mira felt the urge to gouge its eyes out for daring to look down on her like that but held herself back, curious as to why they showed up like this.
"What are you doing, fox?" She heard a deep voice transmit to her mind.
"What do you mean?" Mira tilted her head, acting ignorant, but the little smirk on her face told a different story.
"Why are you killing us? Why are you and your… human masters… tilting the balance? Causing chaos?"
Mira's smirk transformed into a deep frown, hearing the words "human masters". Her grip on her scythe tightened, and a hint of killing intent leaked out of her eyes as she stared at the beast before her.
'This fucker… he's not ordinary.' Mira surmised. The words he used weren't the things a normal beast would say.
'He must've been dispatched to look into the rising conflict between the humans and beasts.' Mira thought. She didn't know if she was correct, but these were clearly an elite group compared to the other dregs.
Not to mention, it was speaking. Normally, they just died without ever uttering a word, but this one sounded… concerned?
Mira was amused at the thought.
"Why can't I kill you? The strong eat the weak, right? That's the rule we live by. If they don't want to die, maybe they should get stronger. Or, at least, become smarter to know that they shouldn't cross paths with me or my Sect." Mira said provocatively. She wanted to see what this bastard was going to do about it.
'If I kill them, I might be able to run some tests on Zehir's bloodline!' Just the thought of that brought a creepy smile to her face.
The surrounding beasts all felt a chill run down their spines, seeing that, some even retreating a few steps back.
However, the big guy just stared at her for a while before nodding. "I see… So, it's true that you know nothing of your beastly roots. You know nothing of the Convergence."
'Convergence?'
It then stared straight into her eyes and opened its maw, uttering in a scratchy voice, "Yo-our human m~masters ha-ave tamed you well, Fox."
*BOOOOM!*
It dropped its massive leg onto her and Rhydian's position. However, both of them had sensed danger before anything happened and quickly got out of the way, leaving the giant beast to hit nothing but air.
"A-~a shame, really. You wou~ld've made a gre-~at candidate." It said in a hoarse voice, turning its head in Mira's direction before it disappeared.
'What?!' Mira started, as she couldn't sense the beast anymore, but before she could look further, a massive tail smacked in the back, sending her crashing into the ground.
"I-~I will do my du~ty and put you do~-wn, dog."
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