‘It had been dragged on for too long.’
While the words Nemea uttered as if for her own ears couldn’t be trusted completely, caution was still warranted.
The real issue was the delay.
First variable.
‘How could she possess such mana and wave at such a young age?’
The vast amount of mana and solid basic skills possessed by a girl who appeared not yet twenty was an unexpected variable.
Second variable.
‘She is stronger than I thought.’
Though she gathered information on Nemea Robran through the client and nearby reconnaissance, meeting her in person defied expectations considerably.
Most notably, Nemea’s actions, rather than her skills, were unpredictable.
She was well aware that she was targeted and actively used that knowledge to her advantage.
Understanding perfectly that she couldn’t be harmed, she deliberately jumped into the fray, a situation that left Kel Grigor more bewildered than anything else.
A target with formidable strength was actively leveraging her situation.
This was not something achievable with mere courage. It involved throwing oneself into a possibly lethal threat.
And the last variable…
‘She’s acting on her own again.’
Not far away, August Varian, exuding strands of black mana and revealing a bloody awakening, was no longer listening to anyone, driven solely by her desires.
Dragon’s Bloodline, though formidable, were uncontrollable variables, requiring careful attention when working together.
Despite the nuisance, he couldn’t abandon her since her strength and abilities were extraordinary.
‘Hoo. I can’t let this go on any longer.’
He couldn’t stand by and watch August Varian run amok any longer. Prolonging time any further was not a favorable occurrence.
With a resolute determination, Kel Grigor focused on targeting the objective, Nemea.
She rolled her eyes in a panic when he suggested he would kill the young girl.
‘No choice.’
Determined, Kel Grigor quietly showed his teeth as he gathered his energy.
‘I’ll abandon the plan to bring her in intact.’
A commotion was bound to arise, but it was preferable to failing the mission.
“Krukk! Krrr…!”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Kel Grigor, huddled down and trembling, transformed into a surprising figure in an instant.
“What? He’s getting bigger?”
Aira muttered incredulously. It wasn’t a joke; his body inflated and grew immensely in an instant.
Not only did his physique swell, but his muscular body was also suddenly covered in fur of a hue close to ash-grey as his shirt shredded apart.
His face too had taken on a beastly appearance, far removed from a human, and his hair had transformed into a mane resembling a lion’s.
Seeing his sudden transformation, Nemea flinched and took a step back.
“Uh, it’s getting dangerous, isn’t it?”
“Huh? Why?”
“That, that’s beastification.”
“Beastification?”
Beastification was a unique racial trait of the demi-human tribes, half-beast, half-human.
By abandoning human traits and adhering to an animal form, they gained physical abilities humans couldn’t achieve.
It was akin to obtaining body activation.
The difference lay in unlocking inherent racial traits, rather than potential abilities through mana, that had been suppressed.
Thus, it could be said that the true form of beastfolk was that of a beast.
“And the most important thing is…”
Having explained these facts briefly to Aira, Nemea swallowed nervously, standing protectively before Aira.
“Once they’re beastified, they don’t see anything.”
“Eeek?!”
Having discarded the human aspect and awakened their potential, their animal instincts had grown stronger.
Kel Grigor roared as soon as Nemea finished speaking.
Kehroooogh—!
Infused with mana, the roar, had it struck an ordinary person, would have likely caused cardiac arrest, cruel and unforgiving.
***
Faster and stronger. Aira thought she was more familiar with such realms than anyone.
Since establishing the mana reservoir, the mana she absorbed, processed, and utilized was unique, and her activated body was fast and powerful due to it.
These were compliments Christian always bestowed upon her, and Aira felt the increase in strength firsthand the more she trained her body.
But…
“Ungh?!”
“Big sis!”
A being that was faster and stronger than herself.
The movements of the man, now entirely transformed into a lion, had a speed she had never encountered before, and displayed strength beyond it.
Beastfolk were not generally a species adept at handling mana.
Equipped with innate physical abilities and the wisdom to wield weapons, as humans do, they never had a reason to rely on mana.
However, Kel Grigor was unlike other naturally gifted beastfolk; he could handle mana as well.
Unable to even react to his attacks, Nemea was clawed in the chest and subsequently held by the neck by Kel Grigor.
“Argh!”
Kaaang—
Aira hurriedly swung a sword imbued with waves, but Kel Grigor easily repelled it with his now elongated claws.
Thwack–
“Ungh?!”
Aira was kicked in the chest and blown away without even taking a defensive stance, having been kicked at some point.
The mana-infused kick threatened to crush her ribcage, and the carnage could have been far worse if it weren’t for her sturdy body and the naturally raising barrier that absorbed much of the impact.
But that’s where it ended.
The two swiftly subdued by Kel Grigor.
“Ungh, urgh…!”
Nemea turned pale, dangling in his grip before she slumped, unconscious from the lack of air.
“Big sis!”
Thanks to the instantaneously raised barrier, Aira didn’t lose consciousness, but she was severely injured internally.
Though she tried several times to stand, her body wouldn’t cooperate.
“Haah, haah.”
Breathing heavily after subduing the two, Kel Grigor relaxed his grip slightly, clutching onto the remnants of his sanity.
Applying his fingers to Nemea’s carotid artery and confirming she was still breathing, he sighed with relief.
Frowning, he noted the immense strain caused by his claws piercing her neck and gripping her tightly.
Leaving for treatment or anything else had to come second.
“August!”
Kel Grigor’s voice echoed sharply.
Infused with wounds both internal and external, the mana imbedded in his voice shattered Aira’s barely retained consciousness.
***
Kwaaang—!
The explosion and wave unleashed from Christian’s sword reverberated fiercely, influencing the surroundings.
With the mana he had been lacking supplemented, while not at his prime, he managed to draw his power to a decent level.
Yet the smile on August Varian’s face, who had directly faced Christian’s attack, remained unyielding.
“You seem quite anxious; your emotions are mounted on the sword.”
“……”
Christian had neither thought for taking his time nor counted on anyone arriving any longer.
‘Aira….’
Aira was down. His master lay unconscious, coughing blood.
He wished to dismiss the woman in front of him immediately and rush to verify their survival.
“Step aside.”
Even with Christian’s cold words, August Varian smiled amusingly with a creepy laugh.
“Come now, suffer more. Then let’s play together with that suffering.”
“Leave!”
“You were just watching only me a moment ago. Have you had a change of heart already?”
Christian infused mana into his sword.
The mana of Zephyros’s Wings bore properties strikingly similar to that of the Worden County’s mana, embodying the wind.
The waves of his blade gusted around forcefully, but only for a moment before it dimmed and faded, leaving August Varian intrigued.
“What’s this trick now…?”
Before she could finish her sentence, and with a speed unmatchable, Christian’s sword swung down.
For a fleeting moment, Christian, as well as his blade, seemed to blur out of existence.
Resorting to her preparatory measures, tendrils of black mana shielded her from Christian’s attack.
And…
Kwaaaang—!
“Kuh…?!”
The penetrating howl from Christian’s sword rocking August Varian’s frame away, embedding her into a wall of the vacant building before crumbling.
“Hooo……”
Manifesting Zephrys Falcon’s art style, the ‘Blizzard’, heedless of his body’s limits, was effective, however, the recoil was formidable.
Nevertheless, he paid little mind.
The entirety of Christian’s consciousness was dominated not by August Varian, and his body meant nothing.
‘Aira…’
Christian rushed towards Aira, dismissing thoughts of rest being necessary.
Fortunately, Kel Grigor had already departed with Nemea, sparing Christian.
Though Nemea Robran was a dear aunt and a good acquaintance of Christian, priority for him leaned overwhelmingly towards Aira.
Stopped in his tracks just short of reaching Aira, Christian grimaced.
Bound and halted by tendrils of black mana ensnaring his ankle.
“I told you to keep your eyes on me.”
In tandem with August Varian’s eerie voice, five tendrils of black mana closed in on Christian.
Though he gathered his mana hastily, with the tendrills wrapped around his ankle, waves of curse and sinister thoughts invaded Christian’s being.
“Kh!”
Swoosh! Clang! Maak!
Thud—! Thud!
Even while repelling three tendrils, two managed to pierce through Christian’s abdomen and shoulder.
The writhing tendril tips were disconcerting, yet the staggering presence of August Varian was even more frightening.
“Hihi…!”
Swoosh—!
Again, black mana tendrils flew forth.
But their target was not Christian.
“Stop it!”
Witnessing the black mana tendrils heading towards Aira, Christian forcibly severed the restraints binding him.
Though the further he activated his mana, the more the injected black mana within his body assaulted and ravaged his innards, Christian disregarded it.
‘Master……!’
Now only the thought of protecting Aira weighed on him.
Ignoring the screams of his faltering body, Christian forged the rest of his mana, hurriedly advancing to Aira with warp-speed moves, arriving moments ahead of the tendrils, pulling her into his arms.
“Hah, hoo……!”
Panting heavily having taken the brunt of battle, embracing Aira, Christian was evidently weary from pushing past his limits.
Yet more pressing threats loomed.
“Tear-jerking, isn’t it? Friendship? Love? Or something like that?”
Surrounded in a spread of a dozen black mana tendrils within proximity, the mood carried bitter discontent, contradicting August Varian’s advancing stance.
“I considered you fascinating, but it turns out you’re no different from other humans, huh?”
Detached from her frenzy, she spoke in a dry tone, all bordering tendrils bracing to fall upon Aira and Christian.
“Damn…”
Hugging Aira close, Christian scraped together remnants of his dissipating mana to form a blade barrier.
Though it wouldn’t fend off everything, the resilience to shield Aira behind his body and barrier prevailed.
Fwoosh—!
“…… What?”
The overbearingly immense force enveloping his and Aira’s form was overly powerful for the scraps of mana he managed to gather, causing Christian’s eyes to widen involuntarily in shock.
Beside him as well, enveloping both Aira and himself, the incandescent pink energy vaporized the closing black tendrils entirely.
“What is…?!”
It was a surge of holy energy. An overwhelmingly familiar holy energy, no less.
Seeking the source, Christian hastily scanned his surroundings.
And there, approaching frantically from a short distance, the familiar sight unwittingly surprised him.
A reddened girl, panting heavily.
Yet overlapping with her visage was that of a woman.
“Aunt?”
Latima’s Saintess, Rachel.
She was the very one.