If you were to ask me how I expected my return to the Hidden Grotto to go, I would have described a different experience. Perhaps, we would have followed Fawkes's directions to a cluster of crystals we were looking for, or I'd get lucky to find something of equal value to what I was looking for. What actually happened turned out to be a disaster. However, there was one silver lining.
"Careful, Great Fox. You mustn't push yourself."
The thing that stopped me turned out to be the male Kick-Rat. He was bloodied and injured by hands, but despite that, he came to my assistance. He propped himself around my waist and assisted me in sitting. His eyes flickered with concern, not fear, which surprised me.
He exhaled and sat on his haunches. His claws gripped the gash on his chest, and pain colored his face. The female joined him at his side, her pinkish skin gleaming from sweat. She rubbed against her friend and shifted her gaze towards my left knee.
'This damned knee. Why isn't healing?'
"Great Fox, are you alright?" the female's voice asked telepathically.
There was something off with my body, but I could not detect what it was. I stared at the creature as her voice pierced my mind with ease. While telepathy was relatively harmless, when she did so, I realized something I had failed to account for beforehand.
"You both have referred to me as the 'Great Fox, ' and I'd like to know why. There is nothing great about a man who did that to those whom he promised to protect," I said, gesturing towards the dangling Claire and Mikangleo. The male Kick-Rat's eyes widened.
The scent of blood carried with the wind, reminding my senses of its unfulfilled duty. Her dangling blonde hair waved at me, but it was not a greeting. I could no longer allow them to stay in that undignified manner. While there was no pain in my knee, there was an all-too-familiar heat to it. I wanted to go to her, but the second-best option was to bring her to me.
With that thought in mind, I focused within and found that my mana was steadily being depleted. It was as if I had sprung a leak, and now my mana was being drained by the second. It would be risky, but I couldn't allow my two friends to remain like that for a moment longer. Roots crackled, then writhed along the grass like snakes as Claire and Mikangleo were pulled in our direction.
"I also fucked you up, too," I said, looking at the injured Kick-Rat. "That splendid coat of yours is ruined."
The Kick-Rat traded glances with his hairless friend before standing up. He waddled away from us briefly, and a sigh escaped my lips. I commanded the roots to carefully place my allies next to me, and then shield them from the intrusive sun above. Whether it was an actual sun or a magical equivalent, I had no idea, but it didn't matter at the moment.
I would use those roots to shield their resting bodies from its intrusive rays, nonetheless. Their still expressions chilled my blood, but the heaving of their chests told me that I hadn't killed them. That brought me some solace.
"You mentioned a miasma, female Kick-Rat. Firstly, do you have a name?" I asked, sharing a glance with her.
Her large, furless ears flickered, and she repositioned to lie on her stomach. I think I spotted a smile forming on her lips.
"I am, Scurra, Great Fox," she responds, looking off to the distance.
"Alright, Scurra, this miasma was responsible for my outburst. How did you come to that conclusion?" I asked her.
Her head turned in my direction, and that smile vanished. Scurra's face became serious as she mulled over her answer. That sudden switch-up disturbed me.
"It was not responsible for yours alone, but also your friends. You were the source, and your presence, your magic amplified it. I don't know where you encountered such a nasty maisma, but I can smell that it originates from your body. It twists your mana, corrupting it, Great Fox," Scurra said, crossing her forearms. Her tail wiggled behind her in the grass.
If there was a time that I wished Bonner were present, it was now. I was a lancer, with only a handful of magical spells back in Infinity Unleashed, so I didn't know much about miasma. He was the magical expert, and I mainly relied on his expertise when we had our councils dealing with monsters.
From what I could piece together from my memory, miasma from Infinity Unleashed was said to be toxic to certain types of magical beasts. It'd crippled them and inflicted a debuff that would inevitably be used to kill them. Sure, it was effective against humans and other races, but it specialized against creatures with high magical essences.
"How does my mana being corrupted influence me to attack others?" I asked, but I immediately understood.
'Correlation doesn't imply causation. There is something more...'
I stared at the hairless Kick-Rat, and we locked eyes. She didn't respond to my question, but that was no crime. There was something different about this one. She was friendly like the male when we first met, but I could sense the mana flowing from her without Fawkes's assistance. That meant two things. Either she is far more powerful magically than her kin, or there is a reason her mana can be detected.
"You don't need to answer that question. It should've been obvious from the beginning," I said, watching her carefully. "Wait, where are you going?"
The small Kick-Rat moved closer toward my unconscious allies. Her ears drooped, but a smile appeared on her face. Her beady, brown eyes flickered in the sunlight as she waddled towards Mikangleo. She began sniffing him before climbing onto his chest.
"I can sense it. You are retracting the miasma from their bodies," She said, folding her legs underneath her body.
"I am?" I asked.
The small Kick-Rat nodded her head in confirmation. That was unexpected. There was nothing different in my actions. I haven't done anything, especially magically. So why was there a change? No matter how long I thought about it, I couldn't come to an answer.
"That's good. I believe that miasma triggered Claire and Mikangleo into attacking. Hell, it might've been the reason Mikangleo became increasingly agitated," I said.
"Yes, but also no. Miasma can drive one into madness, but it doesn't create it. It fuels madness, and the stronger magically the individuals are, the more mad they are driven," Scurra said. Her eyes flickered with uncertainty before her voice continued in my head. "If I am honest, I am surprised that the two of them are still alive. You have a..."
A whisper tickled my ears, and my eyes locked on Scurra, "Kill her."
The Kick-Rat's words cut out as she stood and jumped off Mikangleo's chest. Her ears drooped as she watched me warily. That rage bubbled in my chest, piercing the calming atmosphere.
"Tell me, Scurra, do you know about the Lynx?" I asked her. I would reposition my glasses on my face.
"The Lynx?" she asked with a wary tilt of her head.
"Yes. That is its name. It is a giant, cat-like creature that possesses magical abilities. I believe it is the master of the Hidden Grotto."
Scurra's tail wrapped around the back of her leg as she thought on my explanation. She contemplated it before her eyes lit up with realization.
"The Great Beast? I know of it," Scurra replies. Her nose began to twitch. "She is the protector of our domain. She keeps the peace."
"She?" I asked, curiosity curbing my wrath.
The Kick-Rat nodded. I was half amused and yet, strangely angry to learn that the Lynx that we dropped the cave on was a female. Why did that make me angry? It shouldn't matter, but it did. It pissed me off to know that it was a female who nearly ended my journey at the beginning.
"That bitch!" I snarled, and Scurra leapt away from me.
"Steady, calm yourself, Great Fox," the Kick-Rat said tenderly.
"You're mocking me, aren't ya?" I asked. I could feel my lips twitch, and a smile appeared on my face.
The Kick-Rat stepped backward before standing on her hind legs. Her tail swayed faster, mirroring my own. Even with an injured knee, I bet I could snap her stupid, little neck.
"Now strike!" the voice returned, and my eyes narrowed at the creature.
'I think I'll do just that!'
I attempted to stand again, but Scurra was faster. She leapt six feet into the air and let out a high-pitched screech that slammed me back down. My ears erupted, and sound itself came to a halt. I covered them instantly, and blood spilled down the palms of my hand. There was a sharpness to the pain in my ear as my pain resistance battled the ensuing discomfort.
"The fuck was that?!" I shouted, but I wasn't able to hear my own words.
However, even in my stupor, I could understand what had happened. Scurra had blasted me with a sonic attack so potent that it rendered my ears incompetent. My head was throbbing as if my brain had been rattling in my skull. The Kick-Rat landed in front of me. Her tail was straightened as she began slowly approaching me.
I attempted to stand, but my previous injury wasn't the only thing that kept me down. Dizziness introduced itself to my body, and I crumpled forward onto my hands and knees. That wrath that provoked me subsided instantly, and only pain was my guiding light. I know that I should be angry, no, furious with her, but I didn't.
The Kick-Rat began looking around momentarily before facing in the direction of the village. It was the same direction that the other one had left after our clash. I intended to question her, but I had a hard time forming my words.
"I apologize, but..."
Ba Bump!
My heart clenched harder than it has ever done before. The pain was sharp as if a blade had been pressed through my chest, and I think it did. Fear flashed across the Kick-Rat's face as she stared at me, and my lungs began to fill, not with air, but blood.
I coughed, and sure enough, blood was spat onto the grass. My mind began to race as all of my strength began to drain from my body.
"I-I...don't... u-understand..."
My words were horse, even though I couldn't hear them. I collapsed not under my own weight, but from something else slammed atop of me. My left began to water, not from fear, but something else. Something that I couldn't comprehend, but my instincts told me it was right.
'Q...Bonner..'