Kor pursued the behemoth, his senses on high alert as they delved deeper into the labyrinthine pines. Each step forward was a descent into a denser, more tangible atmosphere.
The air thickened, saturated with raw mana, giving the forest a palpable weight. He felt as though he were wading through water instead of air, each movement a struggle against an unseen current. Distant battles sent tremors through the ether, subtle pulses of energy that rippled over him. He swivelled, searching, his gaze snapping towards each disturbance, but the sensations remained frustratingly faint, like echoes in a vast chamber.
Yet, the Karex, a monstrous fusion of eagle and goat, seemed utterly oblivious to these faraway clashes. Its colossal body, a tapestry of muscle and fur, remained undisturbed. It pressed onward, its movements deliberate, unhurried, as if following a trail invisible to Kor’s senses. Eagles were renowned for their keen sight, but here in the dense forest, that asset was ill suited.
Is the Karex incapable of hunting by sensing mana, or merely uninterested in anything but its current quarry? The nature of this beast remained an enigma. Regardless, he had no choice but to continue to follow.
They continued in this tense pursuit for several minutes, a silent dance between hunter and hunted, before a tremor, like a distant, muffled explosion, resonated from not far ahead. The Karex instantly tensed, its body coiling, muscles bunching beneath its thick fur. It jerked its head, birdlike, and when the second tremor erupted, it surged forward, a swift wave of fur and feathers disappearing into the dense undergrowth.
Time to move! His earlier cautious steps gave way to a controlled sprint. The thrum of energy was close now, the ripples reaching him with increasing frequency. He mentally activated his snowflake barrier to reactive mode, not wanting to draw attention prematurely. He needed time to build up a more potent galaxy attack, ideally after the creature had sustained some damage.
A piercing shriek, a sound that sliced through the heavy atmosphere like a sliver of frozen glass, echoed through the trees. A different surge of power washed over him, puissant and untamed. The Karex had joined the fray.
His heart pounded, a frantic drum against his ribs. Kor pushed past countless pines, their rough bark snagging on his robes. He skidded to a halt at the edge of a clearing. Ahead lay a field of innumerable pine stumps, a desolate expanse stretching easily a hundred yards across. The Karex, a whirlwind of fur and fury, bore down on two groups of students. High above, the twin suns glared down, their light harsh and unforgiving. In the distance, he could just make out the figures of professors, observing from their elevated vantage points.
Two separate groups. Had they been locked in battle with one another? The singed loam and the lingering chill of ice in the air suggested as much. Not anymore. A boy and a girl on one side, Serris and her boyfriend! And on the other, Kelleth and three Solarian boys he didn’t recognise.
The Karex launched itself skyward with a powerful thrust of its wings, each beat a concussive force in the stillness. Countless feathers, sharp as honed blades, flashed outward as it soared, slicing through the air, gouging the students’ barriers before it dived. Kelleth barely evaded the descent with a burst of mana. But he wasn’t the target.
The Solarian behind him was. Caught flat-footed, the Karex’s razor beak tore through his shield as if it were mere silk, crashing into his student barrier with a jarring impact. It held for the briefest of moments. Even from here, Kor could see the ominous, pulsing glow emanating from the creature’s beak, before the barrier, too, shattered under the overwhelming force.
The beak punched clean through the student’s robes, nearly bisecting the boy. Dead. Even the professors couldn’t react in time.
Blood sprayed across the scorched earth, and anguished cries filled the air as chaos erupted. Each student’s protection flared to life with full power, coruscating with defensive energy, as they unleashed a furious counterattack. A barrage of magic, a storm of raw force, tore into the creature.
Still rooted at the edge of the clearing, Kor’s heart hammered against his ribs as the magical deluge struck the monster. All but a few of the attacks met the creature’s body with a profoundly unsettling lack of effect. His eyes widened in horror. Is the damned thing resistant to magic?
The Karex pivoted towards Serris, its movements terrifyingly swift. It leaped with unnatural speed, its powerful wings propelling it forward faster than any creature of that size should be capable of. She barely dodged aside, her face a mask of concentration, as cries rang out and the other students fought back with renewed desperation. Kelleth is there! A surge of determination flooded him. They hadn’t always seen eye-to-eye, but leaving his group mate to handle this, to potentially die out there, wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t just stand here, a spectator to this savage display. He had to act.
His body was taut, a coiled spring ready to uncoil. The galaxy fractal, a miniature universe of swirling energy, was already taking shape within his mind’s eye. The Karex weathered the barrage of attacks, its movements a terrifying fusion of grace and brutality as it briefly soared and then dived into the midst of the students. Its speed was unnatural for a creature of that size, defying logic as the youths desperately scrambled for safety.
“No time to waste,” he muttered, breaking into a sprint, the nascent spell a vibrant presence in his mind, ready to be unleashed. But to deliver a truly devastating blow, he’d need to fully conjure the technique, then hold it steady as he plied it full of energy. This was the only way he’d found to amplify the spell and elevate it to a new tier of destructive power. But it demanded absolute concentration, an unbreakable will. Even the slightest lapse in focus, the most minuscule tremor of doubt, and the volatile energy would break free from his control.
The distant sounds of battle grew closer as he sprinted between the giant pine stumps, each one a silent, towering sentinel, almost as tall as he was. The sharp, sickening sound of a barrier shattering filled the air, followed swiftly by the ominous golden glow of a student’s personal shield as a wave of razor-sharp feathers slammed into another of the Solarians. This time, a professor, moving with preternatural speed, swooped close enough to snatch the boy up. The two of them ascended back to the skies in a burst of energy, leaving the battlefield below.
A further shrill cry, like the shriek of a tormented spirit, pierced the air. The Karex’s malevolent gaze fixed on the retreating professor, its powerful wings bunching, flexing, preparing to launch itself in pursuit. Gah! His ears burned, his head throbbed violently, a physical echo of the mental strain as he fought to maintain control of the fractal. Barely, he powered through, channelling more and more mana into the swirling vortex of power, a miniature galaxy held captive in his mind. The blasted creature had sonic magic too?
He grimaced, his jaw clenched tight, his teeth grinding together as he drew closer. Even as the Karex leaped skyward, a powerful bolt of lightning, a spear of pure energy, crashed down from the heavens to strike it. An aborted cry of pain and rage accompanied the creature’s loss of control as it slammed hard into the edge of a tree stump, its body convulsing violently. Serris! The power was unmistakable, a signature he knew well.
Even now, another wave of spells, a confluence of magical force, tore into the fallen creature. One of Kelleth’s conjured blades, a glowing cutlass, gouged great chunks of flesh from the creature’s flank, leaving raw, bleeding wounds.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
Still need more power! His focus narrowed to a pinpoint, laser-sharp, on the swirling fractal. As its power grew, its density continued to compound, even as it threatened to slip through his control. The uncertainty core of his galaxy spun and pulsed, a miniature star threatening to break free of its gravitational bonds, yearning to explode outward.
Heavier and heavier it grew, the weight of it pressing down on him, a physical and mental burden. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed to contain it, to keep it from shattering into a chaotic release of energy.
The Karex recovered from the fall—fast.
Kor braced himself just in time. Another piercing screech, a wave of pure sonic force, washed over him. Even at this distance, the pain was excruciating, a white-hot poker driven into his mind. But still, he held on, his grip on the galaxy attack unwavering. Crouched behind a massive pine stump, its rough bark pressing against his side, he felt the fractal growing closer to its critical point. With all his control, the most he could manage was to channel about one-third of his total power into this one attack. He just had to hope it would be enough as the battle raged on.
Serris’ boyfriend struck the creature with a jet of pressurised water, the force of it like a battering ram, digging a furrow of blood and torn flesh through the Karex’s side. It attempted another wing-propelled attack, only for its body to twitch, to flail uselessly in the air as a gout of flames seared it from behind. Too weak to stop the inevitable, the Karex landed, relying on its goat-like agility to pounce at the water mage.
The boy dodged once, twice, his movements agile and desperate. Serris slammed the creature with a rocky sphere, a projectile of solidified earth that struck with the force of a cannon shot. But it wasn’t enough. The Karex’s beak, sharp as a guillotine blade, cracked the boy’s shimmering shield, then another swipe tore straight through, breaching the golden student barrier beneath.
“Ted!” Serris’s voice, a raw scream of terror and anger, rent the air even as a professor swooped in, a blur of motion.
Kor’s arm trembled, his mind buckling under the strain as the galaxy in his hand spun and twisted, a miniature cosmos on the verge of collapse. Its accretion disk, a swirling band of energy, fought to wrest free, to escape his control. Just... hold... still...
“How dare you!” Her voice trembled, sharp with fury. The very air quivered, crackled with energy, as her entire being lit up with raw mana, a beacon of power in the chaos. Her arms thrust out, palms open, and great gouts of lightning, forked and jagged, ripped into the Karex, one after another. Each bolt carried enough force to overwhelm any ordinary student, a raw testament to her rage-filled onslaught.
Charred, its movements stuttering and jerky, the Karex became a target for three more thunderous impacts that tore into it, each flash nearly blinding. The acrid scent of ozone and burnt hair filled the air as Kelleth and the remaining Solarian hammered the creature, their spells relentless. The Karex, unable to move, could only endure the barrage.
Now! He rushed out from behind the sheltering pine stump, his gaze locking onto the wounded, reeling Karex. Above his hand, the fractal disc hovered, a tempest ready to erupt.
Kill it! He unleashed his galaxy spiral.
The sheer force of his overpowered attack slammed him off his feet. He landed hard on his back, the breath knocked out of him, as he watched the spell tear outward, a vortex of destruction. Dense, inky-blackness, a swirling abyss, hurtled towards the Karex. Its very flight snapped the heads of the students around, their eyes wide with a mixture of awe and terror as it collided with the monstrous creature.
A sharp cry of pain, a sound of pure agony, rent the skies. His recursive galaxy, a maelstrom of fractal force and cutting energy, utterly devastated the Karex’s body as it tore into the creature. Magical resistance or not, the sheer brute power of his spell would not be denied. Grinding, spinning, cutting, it punched into the Karex, dark blood splattering in a gruesome arc as the creature faltered.
Yes, yes! In a heartbeat, it punched clean through the creature’s furry body, gore erupting into the air, the Karex slumping sideways, its legs giving way. Another two heartbeats, and it fell to the forest floor with a sickening thud. His spiral, still a whirling vortex of destruction, tore out of the monster’s back, emerging to slam into a pine stump with the strength of a battering ram as it continued its devastating trail of carnage, splintering wood and tearing up earth.
A hushed silence fell over the clearing, his galaxy spell sputtering into nothingness. All eyes were on the bloodied creature as it lay there, its lifeblood seeping into the scorched earth. 100 points! Both parties turned on him, their faces a mixture of relief, confusion, and simmering anger.
“Kill stealer!” Magic filled the air again, crackling with barely contained fury. Serris, the other Solarian, and even Kelleth were powering up spells, their eyes blazing as they focused on him, their target shifting from the fallen Karex to the one who had delivered the final blow.
Stumbling to his feet, he slammed his barrier to full power, the mana humming around him, his snowflake alighting with power. He backed away, his arms raised in a placating gesture. “I, uh... Was just helping?”
Moments from a barrage of spells, a renewed cacophony of magical energy, the Karex’s body twitched. The gaping hole in its side, the wound that should have been fatal, was visibly closing, the flesh knitting itself back together with unnatural speed. Kor’s eyes widened in alarm, but the others, blinded by their anger, hadn’t noticed. “It’s still alive!”
Kelleth’s cutting wind, a razor-sharp blade of solidified air, slashed into his shield, causing the barrier to flicker and chunking away a portion of its protective energy.
“Wait!” The Karex pushed itself up, its movements jerky and pained, fixing its baleful gaze on him. By the void... This isn’t good. He stumbled back a step, his heart hammering against his ribs. Serris prepared to unleash hell upon him, her face contorted with fury.
However, the Karex, despite its grievous wounds, was faster off the mark. Wobbling on its legs, it let out a bone-chilling screech and pounded forward, its pupils burning with a primal hatred. Eyes wide with fear and adrenaline, Kor threw a bomb seed between them, his fingers flying as he filled it with energy. The Karex moved, faster than it had any right to with a gaping hole in its chest, faster than it should have been capable of, fuelled by a desperate, instinctual rage. Hatred, raw and untamed, burned in the creature’s visage.
Think, Kor, think! He pumped his shield full of energy, bolstering its defences, preparing to move at the last possible second when both the students, their attention finally drawn back to the real threat, unloaded on the creature again. A spear of ice, conjured by Serris, ripped through the air to impale the Karex’s hind leg, piercing flesh and bone. Kelleth’s conjured blade, a shimmering arc of solidified mana, took full advantage, slashing into the creature’s neck, a brutal, deep wound. The Solarian’s fireball, however, instantly cracked the ice, shattering it into a thousand harmless shards. Another piercing cry, weaker now, but no less filled with pain and rage, tore free from the Karex.
The cry lacked its previous efficacy as the beast continued charging at him, its single-minded focus terrifying. Only a few dozen yards away now, he filled his bomb seed with even more energy, priming it as a last line of defence.
Something hovered above, a presence that pulsed with power at the edge of his senses. A professor? What are they doing? He couldn’t afford to spare a glance, his entire being focused on the charging Karex.
However, the energy surged, growing too bright, too powerful to ignore. Kor glanced up, stunned, as a figure tore through the air—not a professor at all! Curly white hair, not the silver of Princess Mira, but a stark, pure white, like freshly fallen snow. He hurtled down from the sky, a human meteor, two sets of energy signatures registering as Kor spotted the small, swirling cloud attached to his shoulder.
Lentus stirred in his mind, his voice filled with a combination of awe and recognition. “Brother!”
With no time to process, to understand, the boy descended in a flash, a physical wave of mana slamming down with the force of a falling mountain as he crashed into the Karex, feet first. The impact was brutal, a cacophony of sound and a spray of blood. Somehow, the boy’s feet, imbued with an unimaginable force, cracked into the Karex’s eagle head, punching clean through its skull as his protective barrier buckled and strained under the pressure, threatening to shatter.
Both boy and Karex slammed into the earth with a sickening thud, the ground trembling under the force of the impact.
What in the stars! “Look, Kor, he’s already birthed my brother... Aelis.” Lentus’s attention was fixed squarely on the storm cloud riding the boy’s shoulder, the energy it gave off akin to Lentus’s, yet also completely alien, a paradox of familiarity and otherness.
As the Karex slumped once more, this time with finality, its skull caved in, its life extinguished, the boy rolled up from the ground, his movements surprisingly fluid, his white hair dusted with dirt and blood.
