The man was shocked and tried to run, but from behind, Ari and the others blocked the exit path.
Gray's voice cut through the silence, low and steady.
Gray – "There's nowhere left for you to run. So be smart… take off the mask."
The masked man froze. His breathing grew uneven. His fingers twitched—hesitating.
Gray's eyes narrowed.
Gray – "…Benn."
A slash from Ari's blade sliced clean through the cloth mask, revealing the face beneath.
The village leader's eyes widened in shock.
Standing before him… was Benn.
"Benn…?" the leader breathed.
Benn's expression twisted, but before he could bolt, Gray's mercury magic coiled tighter around his feet, locking him in place.
Benn chuckled low, then raised his hands. "You think you've won?"
A sudden surge of power exploded from him—so fierce that everyone in the cave could feel it crawling over their skin. The air grew heavy, crackling with wild magic.
Then—
ROOOOAAAR!
The deafening roar of the blue beast shook the entire cavern.
From the glowing pond, the guardian burst forth—its azure fur bristling, glowing patterns shimmering with rage. Blue crystals shattered from the sheer force of its magic, and even the stone walls cracked under the pressure of its energy.
With a thunderous leap, the beast bolted out of the cave.
Ari and the others stood frozen for a moment, stunned by the sheer fury radiating from the creature. Then, regaining their senses, they rushed after it.
Benn laughed, voice echoing against the cave walls.
"Hahaha! My mission is complete! She'll come for me now… and save me from you!"
They all heard his words, but there was no time to dwell on them—the beast was their immediate priority.
When they emerged from the cave, the scene before them made their blood run cold.
The guardian stood at the edge of the cliff, its jaws glowing with condensed water magic. Then—
FWOOOOSH!
A massive beam of pressurized water tore through the night sky, slamming into the distant Sky Wind Village. The sound of shattering wood and panicked screams echoed across the valley.
But the beast didn't stop. Again and again, it launched colossal blasts toward the other village.
Then—
BOOM!
An equally powerful attack erupted from the opposite side, colliding with the beast's beam and scattering water and magic into the air.
Ari's eyes widened. "Someone's… matching its power?"
Tracey's voice was sharp. "Guys—look! In the sky!"
From the darkness, a shape emerged—white, glowing faintly against the night, wings spread wide. Its cry was fierce and commanding.
SKREEEEE!
The village leader's face hardened.
"That… that's the guardian of Sky Wind Village."
High above them, a majestic white-winged beast hovered in the air, eyes locked on the raging blue guardian below, preparing for a clash.
The villages awoke to chaos.
Screams and shouts filled the night as the white-winged beast in the sky unleashed slashes of compressed wind. The attacks cut through rooftops and splintered wooden beams, even shearing apart massive stones scattered through the Sky Wind Village.
Gray turned sharply to his team.
"Tracey—take the village leader away from here, then help get the villagers to safety. Dawn, you help them too!"
Both nodded instantly. Tracey summoned his traveling beast, and together with Dawn and the village leader, they sped toward the heart of the village to rescue anyone still trapped.
Ari glanced at Gray. "Now what do we do?"
Gray's gaze stayed fixed on the raging battle between the guardians. "If those two keep fighting, both villages will suffer catastrophic damage."
Before Ari could respond, a new sound cut through the night—shouts from the far side of the valley.
From the Sky Wind Village, dozens of people had gathered at the boundary of the Water Village. They were firing magic across the river, their spells exploding against the rocky banks.
Ari and Gray moved instantly, blocking the incoming blasts—Ari with a wide arc of light magic, Gray with his shimmering mercury barrier.
But as they defended, several hot-headed Water Village men arrived, hurling their own magic in retaliation toward the Sky Wind villagers.
"Stop! Don't attack!" Ari shouted, her voice ringing across the noise.
The men halted mid-step, some blinking in recognition.
"…Isn't that Princess Ari?" one of them whispered.
"Yes, it is!" another confirmed.
Ari stepped forward, her light glowing faintly in the darkness. "This is not the time to fight the other village. I'll explain the situation later—but right now, we must work together to stop those two beasts!"
From across the field, the Sky Wind Village leader barked back, "Why? They attacked us first! They have to pay for this!"
Before Ari could answer, he hurled another spell toward the Water Village. The explosion rattled the ground between them.
Overhead, the guardians clashed again—the blue beast's massive beam of water meeting the white-winged beast's swirling cyclone of wind. The impact ripped through the night sky, scattering waves and gusts in every direction, the force threatening to engulf both villages at once.
Gray called out, his voice sharp over the roar of the wind.
"Ari—use your blade to deflect and divert the flying beast's attacks! Keep it busy. I'll try to bind the blue one with my mercury magic."
Ari gave a quick nod, her grip tightening on her glowing blade. With a sudden burst of speed, she leapt forward, unleashing a storm of radiant slashes. Each strike cut through the air, flashing like streaks of light against the dark sky. The barrage forced the sky beast into erratic movements, its rhythm breaking as it tried to evade her relentless assault.
Meanwhile, Gray focused, his eyes narrowing as silver streams of mercury flowed from his hands like living ribbons. They twisted and coiled, rising toward the blue beast above, slowly wrapping around its massive wings and legs.
But just as they began to gain the upper hand, disaster struck. A stray blast—fired recklessly by panicked villagers—exploded between them. The shockwave broke Gray's concentration. His mercury bindings shattered, and the backlash hurled him to the ground.
Ari, caught mid-leap, lost her footing. The cliff edge beneath her crumbled, and she tumbled toward the raging river far below.
"Ari!" Gray's voice was raw with urgency. Without hesitation, he thrust his hand forward, a disk of shimmering mercury forming in midair beneath her. At the same time, liquid silver surged upward, coiling around her like a protective harness, pulling her back to solid ground.
Ari landed on her knees, her breath ragged. She glanced at Gray, relief flooding her face.
"Thanks… Gray."
Gray exhaled heavily, forcing himself to his feet despite the ache in his body.
Ari turned towards the place where she can seen both side villager fighting .
Ari's voice cut through the chaos. "Stop this! Every attack makes things worse!"
But her words were drowned out by the explosions.
Gray glanced at her briefly. "They're not going to listen while the beasts are still fighting—they think the enemy's guardian is an extension of their attackers!"
Another collision between water and wind rocked the ground, splintering more houses and toppling fences. Ari leapt upward on a platform of light, landing between the guardians' lines of fire.
"Enough!" Her voice carried like a bell, amplified by magic. Light spiraled around her in a blinding flare as she tried to force their attention downward.
For a heartbeat, both beasts paused—their glowing eyes fixed on her. The white-winged guardian screeched, wings flaring wide, while the blue-furred beast lowered its head, growling deep and low.
Then, as if defying her command entirely, they lunged at Ari together—
one with a razor-edged wing slash, the other hurling a barrage of spear-like water projectiles.
Both attacks carried devastating force.
Ari had no time to evade, and Gray couldn't possibly block them both at once.
But Ari didn't freeze.
In a single, sharp motion, her blade flashed—one clean arc that met both attacks as they closed in.
The clash was so precise, so absolute, that it was as if the assaults had never even happened. The air around her was left eerily still, the remnants of the shattered magic dissolving into nothingness.
Meanwhile
On the village's far side, Tracey urged his traveling beast forward through narrow streets.
"Faster—we've got more people to get out before another blast hits!"
The village leader clung to the saddle behind him, calling out directions to houses-cart where elderly villagers lived. Dawn followed close behind, water magic swirling around her hands to shield them from falling debris.
They skidded to a halt outside a collapsing hut. A small family was trapped inside, the roof caving under the shockwaves from the beasts' attacks.
"Dawn!" Tracey shouted.
She thrust both palms forward, sending a burst of water upward that hardened into an ice arch, holding the collapsing structure just long enough for Tracey to leap inside. He emerged moments later, carrying a young boy under one arm while guiding the parents behind him.
"Head to the west side!" Tracey ordered. "Follow the others—we've set up a safe zone there!"
The family ran, and Tracey and Dawn were already moving toward the next cluster of houses.
The air was thick—almost suffocating—from the raw magic clashing between the two guardians. The very ground trembled under their roars.
The violence of their battle had grown so intense that even the most stubborn villagers stopped fighting each other. Fear overtook rage. Both sides scattered, rushing toward the safe zones Tracey and Dawn had set up earlier.
But Ari and Gray didn't move. Their eyes stayed locked on the sky and the plains beyond, desperately searching for a way to end this fight before both villages were reduced to rubble.
High above, the white-winged guardian let out a piercing screech. Wind magic gathered around its wings, twisting faster and faster until it formed a hurricane so massive it darkened the moonlight. With a single flap, it hurled the cyclone toward the blue-furred beast—and the Water Village behind it.
The blue beast roared in defiance. Water erupted from beneath its paws, spiraling into a towering barrier that met the hurricane head-on. Most of the gale broke apart, but a portion still slammed into the village, tearing through homes and scattering debris.
The sky guardian didn't relent. It dove straight toward the blue beast, wings tucked, speed building until the air cracked around it.
The blue guardian lowered its head, magic surging. A bluish glow lit its throat—its beam was seconds from firing. The two were about to meet in a devastating head-on collision when—
FWOOOSH!
Flames streaked across the battlefield, intercepting them mid-charge. The explosion threw both guardians off course, slamming them to opposite sides of the plain.
Ari and Gray spun toward the source.
There, standing with fire dancing around him, was Tracey—and beside him, towering in all his glory, Ashenfang.
The crimson beast bared his fangs and roared, heat rolling off his body in waves. He gathered the flames into a massive, swirling sphere before launching it high into the air. The sphere crashed down between the guardians in a fiery eruption, forcing them back and leaving scorch marks in the earth.
The guardians staggered, their glowing eyes snapping toward Ashenfang with clear recognition… and challenge.
Tracey smirked, resting a hand on Ashenfang's flank.
"Buddy… it's our time to shine. We take down both of these overgrown legends, and you—" his grin widened, "—you become the strongest beast there is."
Ashenfang answered with a thunderous roar. His body ignited fully now, the flames forming a burning armor around his scales until he looked like a living meteorite streaking across the ground.