Clashing Beasts

A deep howl that rattled metal erupted from the elemental beast. Over a meter tall and half as wide, it stared with piercing eyes of azure like the souls of the dead. It met eyes with Yori and Miho, the targets of its doom. The very breathing of it shook the mana that still clung to the air like it was frightened. An overwhelming presence of fear consumed its infernal aura.

Miho ground her teeth, trying to hold her ground. “I can’t believe they summoned a Cu Sith.”

“What the hell is a high-ranked spirit doing amongst these sorcerers?” Yori thought back to their conversation about the portal being created by the sorcerers. “Maybe you were right that they had a powerful one. This is beyond the scope of what I planned for.”

“Then stand back.” Miho clasped her hands together like she was in pain as her fingers squeezed the other hand tightly. The back of her jacket began to ripple with an intense red glow. “Blazing Lord of the Mountain descend from the heavens to strike low those who don’t prostrate before ye!”

With thunderous shuddering, the air itself kicked back, as if displaced. And then, in a vacuum, everything pulled in as a flaming lightning elemental gorilla apparated in front of Miho. The mana that composed it vibrated the air like it was cutting the wind itself.

“You don’t escalate the fight!” he shouted, but his voice became completely swallowed up in the violence of two mana beasts clashing. Fire and lightning splashed. Walls melted and charred from the scattering of blasts. “She’s not even paying attention…”

He turned to see even more sorcerers coming into the halls. They looked more like they were blocking than approaching. And they still hadn’t even found the innocents that needed to be rescued if they were transported already.

Yori clapped his hands together, ringing the metal of his rings in a haunting melody. As he struggled to pull his hands apart, a distortion in space appeared. Purple and blue hues of mana mixed like a stew at the center as a tear appeared. With sudden equilibrium found, he snapped his hands away as a katana flashed into existence.

Runic symbols were carved into the blade in heavy detail along the entire length. Even as he held it in his right hand, the sword didn’t look any more unique, but the air around it rippled in subtle ways like waves crashing on a shore. A Sumeragi blade was a middle-class magic item of distinction for being treated by sorcerers. A partnership with those from Mado.

Even as the sorcerers began their spells, Yori sprinted forward with a burst of blinding speed. One dropped to a flash of metal. A toss of a senbon from his off hand disabled another. The pause was enough for them to find their target. Elemental spells of water and earth tried to break his momentum. The earth cracked the ground while a thin, pressurized beam of water sliced through the air.

He rolled off the slanted ground. A metal ring dropped into his hand. Yori tossed the leather-wrapped ring far to the wall, where two sorcerers came running. It snapped to the surface. The two men suddenly fell towards the ring, disoriented. Yori ran forward using the changed gravity to dodge the water spell running along this new floor.

Leaping forward out of the gravity, he closed with the water sorcerer. He came so close to the man that they were momentarily stunned to act. Yori kicked the back of their leg. Nearly brought down, Yori finished by throwing the off-balanced mage into the wall. His enhanced strength dent the wall with their face.

He looked over to see a fireball speeding at him. The blade’s purpose had been unused until now. While it certainly was a tool for killing or maiming, that wasn’t the true value in a Sumeragi blade. Apart from enchantments to strengthen a blade, one weapon was the same as another in the hands of a mundane human. That wouldn’t give meaning to such a weapon.

The runic symbols glowed a bright yellow, almost making the metal appear as if it were on fire. Yori held the katana in front of him as the spell grew larger, screaming at him. In a swift iai swing, he brought the blade down just at the right moment that the spell collided. And yet rather than detonating the fragile balance of mana spun together in fire, the sword went straight through. The spell cut and diverted, hitting the wall behind.

A Sumeragi blade held the unique trait to cut mana and absorb it. The designated purpose provided leverage for the mundane to battle the magical. Even without cutting, it could carve away mana from the source. Thus disabling the ability for a sorcerer to gather their mana. Or steal to empower the wielder. Though it could rarely be used as Yori did, as it required superhuman reflexes and sight to be able to catch a spell.

Behind him, a second roar spread fear and terror throughout the building. Even as he maintained his defiant stance, Yori could feel the unnerving mana of the Cu Sith creeping its way into him like a worm. Cold and inevitable, it spoke only the truth. Truth that sang to the heart. It was impossible not to be influenced, even if it didn’t sway.

The staggered moment gave the criminal sorcerers all the time that they needed to regroup. Though some were disabled, plenty remained in action. Yori ground his teeth, wishing that he had better intel on the situation that she forced them into. He had momentum, but that faded away. All that remained now was a struggle and an exit strategy. Though he feared with the rage that filled Miho, that wouldn’t be an option. Even outmatched and outmaneuvered.

Yori pondered his choices that remained. They narrowed. He controlled his breathing as his training pounded into him. Calm was his only ally in the moment. The emotional path should be rejected. Even with the risks that it brought, he needed to accept that the only real choice needed to be made. He still withheld it. The path that he closed off. One he refused.

He suddenly felt his head growing fuzzy. It had the feeling of almost being low on blood, but he knew that was wrong. The control it clawed into his body became stronger. “Mental spellcraft, damnit…” He had nothing prepared. And for low-ranked sorcerers, a difficult element to weave. It was a bad sign.

Before the spell could fully take effect, Yori unleashed a cross clash on the ceiling. Ceiling tiles fell around him as he jumped up, breaking the sorcerer’s line of sight. His mind already started to improve, but the haze made it difficult for him to remember which was the caster.

Pulling out a small smoke canister, he slipped it out of the hole. Rapidly, gray clouds filled the hall, expanding at an extraordinary rate. It already rose enough to leak into the ceiling he clung to between the rafters. He slid out in a swift motion and darted back towards where he was certain Miho had to be. The only recourse had to be escape.

However, as he expected, the melted wall where he left her wasn’t where she remained. And the smoke already failed to reach into the adjoining spaces. The hole led into a large warehouse with shelves and shipping containers. There weren’t many of the sorcerers hanging around as flame and lightning splashed everywhere. If any of the goods stored here mattered to the syndicate, they were going to need to write them off. Miho wasn’t holding back. She was only lucky that her tattoos gave her invisibility from the Veil.

But he rushed after the chaos, trying to reach her. The others would be regrouping soon.

A third final roar came from the Cu Sith. By comparison, the fear he had felt prior was like wading through a kiddie pool, whereas now it was as if it was a thousand-meter-deep ocean. Freezing and heavy, it trapped him, unable to move. Every part of his body was too heavy to move. His heart ran at double speed, thrumming to a panic that he couldn’t even process. His body knew, but his mind was blank. A terrifying white sheet of an endless expanse.

There was nothing.

Fear claimed him. The inescapable shackled him.

He was lost.