Beastforged Bond

The divination beast was sneaky. It attacked the Spawns the moment they struck the other beast. Its attacks struck true, as far as I could tell with Lifesight, but the divination beast was also injured. The wound only seemed to grow worse as the beast’s lifesource grew dimmer.

“The divination beast is injured. Mild to severe, as far as I can tell,” I reported to the others as soon as they landed.

“I know.” Scott grimaced, his eyes still shrouded in a milky white hue. “These Spawns you mentioned are an oddity. I can feel their presence, but they escape my divination.”

“They escape? Maybe your trait isn’t strong enough. Our target certainly knows when to strike and when to retreat.”

“As long as they’re not Emperors, I should be able to see them. But something is disrupting Destiny’s power.” Scott growled, growing restless. He readied a spear radiating more power than someone at our Rank should be able to handle, but that suited perfectly well to Scott. Even if he was physically weaker than us, the amount of energy he could control seamlessly was more than the rest of us could control.

I eyed Scott for a moment, registering how he’d just revealed the limit of his only Soulkin’s power, but turned back to face the direction of the brawl.

“One of the Spawns feels off. Like it’s been injured or something like that. The other beast is growing tired as well though. So…” I said, only for Scott to rush ahead.

“It’s time to leave.” Daniel nodded, hefting his massive war axe. Electrical currents raced across his skin, and they looked nothing like what I was used to.

His sister was just as eager. She removed her seatbelt, looking like she was thinking about jumping out of the cruiser.

“He’s bound a few more Soulkins ever since his World’s restrictions loosened up,” Lea growled deeply. “Lucky bastard.”

As much as Lea sounded like she hated Daniel for being fortunate for once, the corner of her lip curled upward as he burst into action.

I couldn’t help but feel good as well. How could I not be? Sure, Daniel was still restricted to no more than three different types of beasts even after all this time, but that too would change in the future. The only massive restriction he had left was the lightning element. It included thunder, which was probably for the best, yet it still restricted Daniel greatly.

However, it wasn’t enough to stop him from capturing an Evolved-ranked Lightning Eagle with a mutation that helped him, as well as Grandmaster Heros, to evolve it to a Thunderstorm Roc. Studying the electrical currents racing across my friend’s body, I recalled how happy he’d been. Meanwhile, I…well, I had totally forgotten about his new Soulkins. And that was despite having seen them before.

I really need to be a better friend. I chided myself and rushed ahead to catch up with Scott.

Lea grunted behind me but followed as well.

“The other beast is a Fiend,” Scott informed us and slowed, eyes narrowed. “Humanoid as well. Close to the Overlord Rank and injured.”

That wasn’t too good. Fiendish beasts were problematic. They were even more ferocious than regular beasts. Their desire to grow far surpassed the norm. They were also stronger than regular beasts at the same Rank. Binding a fiendish beast was possible, but it often ended in death. That too included the death of the Blessed who bound the fiendish beast.

Being humanoid and close to the Overlord Rank also pointed to greatly enhanced intelligence. It was sapient, which I’d normally take as a good thing. If not for the ‘Fiend’ part, that is.

“The divination beast is our priority. We should avoid joining the fight for now and watch, since neither Fiend nor Spawns need our help.” I pointed out, Lifesight shifted to the divination beast, which turned to head our way.

One of the Devourer’s Spawns was in quick pursuit, whereas the rest stayed back to deal with the Fiend.

“Never mind. They’re coming,” I said in the same moment Scott said, “I think you can forget about that, Adam. We have some incoming!”

Daniel and Lea shifted at once. They prepared for battle and readied their weapons. Their bodies transformed next. Daniel expanded greatly. Three pairs of black horns jutted from his forehead and the side of his head as he grew three heads taller. His muscles bulged and grew, his skin burst, and his hair turned violet.

Sparks crackled across his hair, and condensed currents coalesced into spherical lightning right above his head. A moment later, a massive bird emerged from the space behind Daniel. It screeched at the top of its lungs and burst high into the sky, its body more coalesced lightning than physical matter.

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Another Guardian. I mused to myself. Daniel had outdone himself. Also…he never told me that the Thunderstorm Roc was a Guardian beast. Although he did brag enough about the bird’s evolution to make it obvious. I should have expected as much.

Lightning bolts rained down from the sky, but they failed to hit the mark. Or they did hit the Spawn, and it ignored them pointedly.

Lea burst into action, her eyes shifted to those of a cat. She was faster than Daniel, which only grew more apparent as the Bands of Power and Bands of Speed materialized on her arms. A fluffy tail jutted out from her lower back, although I barely caught a glimpse of it before she disappeared in the forest.

A moment later, a white-scaled beast emerged near the spot Lea disappeared. It was the divination beast, and it resembled a horse with thick, heavy-plated scales, silver eyes, and a massive horn covered in black blood. The black blood created a terrifying contrast with the beast’s otherwise white body.

“I take it that’s your divination beast.” I chuckled, watching the beast slow down between Scott and me. Its attention shifted to me and lingered for a long second or two before it turned to glance at Scott.

Scott stared back in shock. His lips parted but sealed shut just as quickly. He then stepped closer, his attention drifting to the claw marks etched in the beast’s side. It bled quite badly, although that didn’t seem to matter to the divination beast.

It neighed and released a shockwave of dazzling white energy through its horn before disappearing once more. A moment later, an abomination burst through the thicket alongside Daniel and Lea.

Lea, carrying a pair of daggers, struck the abomination swiftly. Her slashes and cuts hit the mark and carved into the abomination’s thick hide, yet no matter how many times she cut it, the abomination recovered the next second.

Daniel didn’t fare much better. His massive axe was lodged in the distorted head of a mountain troll, yet it didn’t inflict any major damage. At least, that was not what it looked like as the abomination continued to charge ahead. Until the divination beast disappeared. The Spawn stopped in its tracks and let out a terrifying screech before it turned back around.

“We need to get rid of it!” Scott shouted frantically all of a sudden, his white eyes glowing more vibrantly than usual. “Now!”

He didn’t have to say that twice. I shot forward, sword in hand, Nullblade active. I triggered Paralyze and increased the Spawn’s gravitational pull as well. Then, just as the Spawn spun around to face me, space around me distorted.

Blink teleported me right above the towering abomination, and it was only now that I noticed it was unlike the Chimera I fought before. The abomination we were facing did not have nearly as many heads as the other one. This one had the lower body of a bull, the upper body of a giant, and six arms. Several pairs of wings sprouted from its back, yet it did not use them to fly away. It attacked with its wings instead.

Feathers that resembled blades made of steel shot toward me the moment I appeared above the Spawn. I noticed the attack prematurely thanks to Predator and used Blink to get away, but the danger of the situation was all the more clear now.

Using the Earthen Aspect, the ground beneath the Spawn shifted. Spikes burst forth and gravity increased once more. I then unleashed Paralyze with as much ether as the trait could use effectively, stunning the Spawn momentarily.

Long enough for Daniel to twist the axe in the troll’s head and erupt in lightning currents to attack anew. The troll head whirled through the air a moment later. Lea and Scott didn’t waste the moment either. Lea’s blades expanded in azure light. They carved through the Spawn’s wings and left a gaping hole in its back. She was nearly struck by a wing but twisted her way out of the trajectory.

Then came Scott, raw and unfiltered ether rocketing through his spear. He stood in front of the Spawn and struck out once. And that was enough.

A beam of energy tore out of the spear tip as it carved through thick hide. It pierced through and through, and continued to carve through a tree trunk several meters behind, leaving a gaping hole in the Spawn’s body.

The Spawn collapsed as soon as Paralyze ended. It spasmed on the ground and screeched loud enough to make me wince. Then it shifted.

You need to get rid of it. Right now!

Volix shouted at me as Scott and the others let out smiles and relieved sighs.

“It’s not dead yet!” I shouted, blinking to the Spawn’s side.

Major Fire Aspect triggered to the fullest. Flames coalesced all around me. They shot toward the shifting abomination, but it was not enough. The flames barely scratched the Spawn. It was resistant to my flames.

Activating Soulfusion, the flames changed alongside me. I erupted in Volix’s power and turned the temperature up a level. Then a second and a third followed.

If you want to kill them, you need to destroy every last cell of their bodies. Fail and they will return.

Volix said sagely, knowing damn well what I had to do.

So I did just that. I reached for Volca’s Mark because I did not yet have the power needed to burn a Spawn of such a high Rank to cinders. I needed the Spirit’s help.

Azure flames exploded around me. They surged in all directions only to be sucked back and compressed, shining brighter than ever.

The Spawn stopped spasming and started screaming once more. It reached out to me, claws and wings lunging at me, but I severed some with Nullblade and a spear blocked the others.

“Get rid of it!” Scott screamed behind me. “Or things will go really bad!”

That was good to know. Not that I hadn’t been aware of that. Nonetheless, the words of an Oracle carried a little bit more meaning than a gut feeling.

I redoubled my effort, churning through my ether reserves rapidly, all to kill just one of multiple Spawns in the valley.

This hunt was going to be a nightmare. I could feel it.

The Spawn’s screams died down, but the same could not be said about its brethren. They were far from silent as they barged through the thicket, their bodies abominations of untold stories. They too brought guests. The Fiend was with them, and it didn’t look all that happy to see us. Or the Spawns.