[AURORA]
I watched with curious eyes as Dad faced off against two snarling demons. His aura flared, wind swirling violently around him, and in the blink of an eye, he dashed forward—swift and fierce. From my spot near the half-eaten beast, I narrowed my eyes. 'He's serious now.'
He lifted his hand, mana surging like a storm unleashed. Dozens of wind arrows shimmered into existence around him—sleek, compressed, and deadly. With a flick of his wrist, they shot forward like streaks of silver.
SWOOSH!
The demons staggered as the barrage struck—pierced, wounded, but far from defeated. I clicked my tongue, unimpressed. "They're healing…" I muttered under my breath.
Unlike Dad, those things could regenerate in the middle of battle. Their flesh pulsed and sealed over as if time itself obeyed them. Dad could heal too, but only through the Source—and Master had forbidden him from using it. He didn't show any visible injury, yet I saw it: that slight cough, the faint taste of blood at the corner of his lips. Internal damage. Small maybe, but dangerous all the same.
The two demons grinned—feral, wickedly pleased. "That's what I wanted," one sneered, eyes blazing with hunger.
One demon conjured a rain of fireballs—dozens upon dozens, each burning like a miniature sun—while the other began gathering a vortex of flame between his hands. It spun faster and faster, a fiery storm compressed into a single lethal sphere. I frowned. That level of casting could set the entire forest ablaze.
'Idiots,' I thought, my tail flicking. 'You'll burn yourselves too.'
The fireballs fell like meteors, arrows of flame shrieking through the air. The vortex pulsed, waiting for release. But Dad didn't falter.
His mana surged again, winds whipping into razor-thin blades. They shot out in counterforce, slicing clean through fire—cutting, extinguishing, turning flames into hissing clouds of steam. The clearing became a war between elements—fire and wind colliding in blinding bursts of light and vapor.
They were both accelerating—casting faster, moving faster—until even my eyes struggled to keep up. Fireballs erupted mid-air, shredded before they even left the demon's hands. The air itself trembled from the power coursing through it. My ears twitched.
Dad didn't see it. The second demon—his spell was complete. The vortex of fire had stabilized and he launched it.
The giant inferno roared forward, swallowing everything in its path. If that hit, the forest would burn for miles. I crouched low, ready to intercept if I had to—but before I could move—
BOOM!!
A massive sphere of water shot through the trees and slammed into the inferno.
Steam exploded outward like a tidal wave of white fog. The entire battlefield vanished in a curtain of vapor. Visibility dropped to nothing. I could only hear the clash of claws and metal somewhere deeper in the mist—Krent and Kylon's fight had drifted farther away.
'Master,' I thought instantly, ears twitching. That aura was unmistakable. He wasn't just observing anymore. He intervened.
"Look at both of your opponents!" Master's voice thundered through the mist, sharp and commanding.
Dad's silhouette emerged, faint but steady. He nodded once, his tone level yet laced with frustration. "That's my mistake."
Master's voice cracked through the haze like lightning. "That kind of mistake can kill you." Then he was gone—vanished back into the storm, returning to his own fight as if nothing had happened.
I exhaled slowly, my tail swishing behind me to ease the tension. As the steam thinned, I spotted the two demons still facing Dad. But something had changed. Their eyes—wide. They weren't looking at him anymore.
They were staring at the Master and for the first time, I saw fear.
I grinned, licking the blood from my paw. "You picked the wrong group to mess with," I murmured, amused.
Then I turned my gaze toward the Master. His eyes gleamed with cold focus as he raised his hand. Lightning crackled to life around him, bright and alive. In a heartbeat, a dozen thunderbolts formed at his command—each one radiating lethal energy. With a calm flick of his fingers, they launched—
THUD—!
The first bolt pierced through a demon's heart before it could even move. The second turned too late; another arrow of lightning ripped through its chest. Both fell with lifeless thuds, the stench of scorched flesh spreading in the humid air.
Dead. Just like that.
My ears twitched slightly. No resistance, no struggle, just execution.
Master stepped toward me, faint arcs of lightning still dancing across his fingertips. His expression hadn't changed—calm, sharp, composed. His gaze flicked to me. "Where are Krent and Kylon?" he asked, his tone low but precise.
"They veered off during the fight," I replied, licking a trace of blood from my paw. "Got separated while dealing with the demons."
His eyes widened slightly. "You… talked?"
"Yes," I said matter-of-factly. "After eating this beast."
He nodded once, quietly, eyes narrowing in thought before turning back toward Dad—still locked in brutal combat a few meters ahead. The air between them trembled with power.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Each clash echoed like a drumbeat of war, the rhythm of survival and resolve. Dad was holding his own now—more than that, he was matching them. His focus had sharpened, his movements precise, his mistakes gone.
Every strike landed true—shoulder, thigh, side—but the demons simply healed. Flesh sealed, muscle reformed, blood stopped flowing. They were endless.
"They regenerate faster than he can wound them," I muttered with a scowl.
Master folded his arms, watching closely. His eyes were sharp—not worried, just measuring. "Demons like these can be killed," he said calmly, more as a lesson than an observation. "You just have to destroy them faster than they can repair—or strike their core."
I tilted my head. "Core?"
He nodded. "Their hearts. It's not always in the same place, but pierce it, and they die instantly. Only high-ranking demons have regeneration like this. Lesser ones drop with a clean strike."
I looked at Dad again. His movements were elegant now, rhythmic—each swing flowed into the next, every dodge instinctive. Yet the demons refused to fall. They were relentless, tireless… and enjoying it.
"He's pushing them," I murmured.
Master smiled faintly. "He's testing himself. That's good. But this isn't about strength anymore—it's about insight."
He looked at me again, his tone calm but knowing. "Let's see how long it takes him to realize that."
I bared my teeth in a small grin, my tail flicking lazily. "He will. Dad's smart… and stubborn."
Master didn't reply, but his smirk deepened slightly.
The clashes grew louder, faster, sharper. Sparks burst from every collision. The earth itself quivered beneath their power and somewhere deep within the forest's silence.