SYSTEM ASCENSION

The impact ruined the clearing, knocking them several steps back.

Fayera crashed into a tree. She shot out her tentacles and caught Davon. Kael caught himself in the air.

The man stood untouched in the center, rolling his neck.

”Since you’ve been so generous,” he said, ”let me explain. I call it Tithe. Everything you throw at me, I keep. Force, pain, sound. It goes into the ledger.” He tapped the glowing ground with his heel. ”And I spend it when I like. That’s why the tentacles felt like lightning, darling. It was yours.”

”That’s just a counter,” Davon spat. ”Nothing special.”

”Half of it.” The man’s gaze slid to Kael. ”The other half is the reason your friend is scared of that pretty little flute.”

Kael’s knuckles went white.

”If he had blown the flute and I returned it, the fight would have been over from the start.”

”So that’s why,” Fayera murmured.

”Wonderful,” Davon said, wiping blood from his mouth. ”So we can’t hit him hard, and we can’t hit him loud.”

”Correct.”

”So what do we do?” Fayera mumbled.

Kael bit his lip, deep in thought when an explosion suddenly struck the field miles away from them.

They all turned.

”Someone else is fighting?”

A sudden howl cut through the air, sending shivers up their spines.

”What the—” Davon gasped. ”Is that a beast?”

The man’s eyes widened. ”It appeared. A werewolf. There was a werewolf among the students!”

He turned around. ”It seem our time here has come to an end.”

”Don’t you dare!” Kael gasped, but the man already moved, tracking the sound of the howl. However, he had barely left the clearing when someone walked out of the mountain side and began to approach him.

”What...” the man stopped.

Davon narrowed his eyes. ”Quil?”

Kael’s eyes widened. He swung the flute.

”Everyone attack!”

The man turned in confusion. ”Attack?”

The students came at him, all at once, with their best attacks from behind, while one was just casually strolling from the front.

Quil’s energy was stable. No sign of attacking, so he turned to the ones behind.

”It’s futile!”

Davon was first. ”Ability activate. Energy blast!”

Fayera next. ”Ability activate. Wind cannon!”

Kael was last. He didn’t launch an attack. He held the flute to his lip and blew it. The sound came out tiny and neat, then resounded along with the bells that were ringing from a distance.

The hills shook and it resounded again, longer and louder.

Everyone in the empire heard it, then it died down.

Before the man could understand what had happened, the sound picked up again, playing right in the air.

He saw the wave coming at him, along with the other attack. He braced himself and took it.

The attack sent shivers down his spine. Even if he had absorbed it, he felt his internal organs burst.

Anger flooded his eyes.

’That damn flute is not normal. Even my transcended body can’t take it.’

”Then I’ll just return it back to you!”

He sent it back. The wind, the energy, the impact of the flute. The attack went back at the three who had used all they had to cast it.

At that moment, Quil moved. Not to the man, but past him. In a blink, he stopped before the three students and held out his hand.

The man was confused. ”What? When did he...”

Quil caught the attack, then sucked it all in like a vacuum cleaner. Not a single bit of energy was left of the attack.

The man took a step back.

”An ability like mine?”

”Not quite like yours,” Quil pointed a finger to him. ”Yours is adorable by the way.”

Then he released it all back. Fifty times stronger.

The narrow blast carved out the mountain behind them. And the man? He couldn’t even react. Only his ankle was left on the ground.

A moment of silence followed. Then they looked up when they realised that the flute aftermath was still ringing.

”What the hell is that creepy thing?” Davon muttered.

”I can lend you, if you love music.” Kael folded his wings and landed.

”No thank you. I feel like that thing will hurt me if I touch it.”

”Your organs will rupture. You’ll bleed from every possible hole in your body.”

”Every hole?”

”Every hole.”

Fayera glanced at Quil. ”Where is your girlfriend?”

Quil subconsciously replied. ”These people are after the marked ones. I told her to find baby Arthu—” he narrowed his eyes. ”Girlfriend? Who?”

They looked at him.

”Who did you send to find Arthur?” Davon asked.

”Coco.”

”There you go.”

”Where did that thought come from?”

They exchanged glances again, but no one replied.

Kael turned around and looked towards the direction of the howl earlier. ”It’s amazing that we killed a general but, shouldn’t we know what a werewolf is? They seem to want it too.”

Without another word, they all dashed forward, tracing the direction. It was deep in the mountains. After running for five minutes and almost losing track, they heard another howl.

”It’s in pain.” Fayera said.

”You speak werewolf?” Kael asked.

”A little bit.”

”I have been meaning to ask,” Quil raised a hand. ”Who’s the one eye?”

”Fayera.” She replied herself.

”Wow. Charming. Your voice sounded different.” He said dryly.

”I think we’re here.” Davon said.

They came out at the top of a shaved hill, looking down at the scene beneath.

There were many bodies. Some were ripped clean from the waist down, some had their faces missing. Claws marks were everywhere.

At the very middle where the ones left alive, pulling chains as they had successfully captured the beast.

Kael gulped down. ”Oh boy.”

”GGGRRRRHHHHH!”

The sound shook the mountain.

”That’s at least a destructive level beast.” Quil muttered.

It was one of the biggest creatures they had ever seen. Gray and black fur, with a little strike of white.

Fayera narrowed her eyes. ”He already has four horns at this age?”

They glanced at her.

”He?” Quil asked. ”you know the beast?”

”What do you mean by that? That’s Claude.”