Himari Fights at The Great Lake

“WA HA HA HA!”

BOOOM!!

The shock waves from Alice’s spell pushes Himari down. Ruby rushes over to climb the monster. Its roar bursts out like the raging waves with another explosive spell from Alice sending Himari flying. Estelle rushes over while Alice blows up the monster’s legs. Her laugh echoes with the impact sounds.

THUD!!

Ruby decapitates it and they both cheer.

The sun finally rises after the surprise attack. The cool morning air warms up slowly. The blood soaked grass glistened.

“Himari! Did you see how I blew it up!”

“Alice…” A harsh tone escapes Estelle’s lips.

“Eh?”

Estelle is healing Himari’s head. It seems the intensity of their battle had some consequences.

“You were supposed to wait until Himari and I were out of your range… I understand we were attacked but Ruby could’ve handled it…”

“A-Ah… I’m sorry!!” Tears burst out as Alice rushes to Himari.

“It’s alright… I was still sleepy so I couldn’t move quickly enough.”

She pets Alice while she continues to cry.

Today while on their quest to the sealed grounds, their journey leads them to the Great Lake of Lapispire. Three rivers connect to this large lake that spreads across the lands. Some believed that there are secrets at the bottom of the lake however no one can survive long enough to explore it. Due to the lack of humans exploring it, monsters have gathered near or in the lake.

The lake has also been used for different folktales among the beastfolk tribe. In Ruby’s tribe, the original chief hunted the “Great Beast” of the lake and refused a great blessing offered by the 4 Gods of Origins. This supposedly is the reason that the feline tribe has been known to be an “Avoider of Death” as the Gods blessed their tribe because of the selfless answer of the original chief.

“Just over this hill everyone!” Ruby rushes ahead. Her tail sways in a circular motion.

“Are you excited for the fish Ruby?” Alice catches up to her.

“That’s half of it.”

“Come on Estelle.” Himari holds Estelle’s hand as she is struggling to keep up. Estelle breathes heavily as she slowly climbs the hill.

Just ahead of them the colossal lake stretched across the horizon. Its surface shimmering beneath the morning sun as certain aquatic creatures jump out in pairs. The surrounding hills were like walls around the water, their green slopes reflected perfectly in the calm blue surface. Large, deer-like creatures with bright red horns dash along the edge of the lake. Strange bird-like monsters perched upon the rocks along the shoreline, each taking turns to grab fish.

“Ah! That’s a Grey Feathered Scooper!”

“Huh?” Alice blinked at Himari’s outburst.

“Look! They prefer to sit on stones rather than trees. Their eyes can see movements in the water far better than most! They lose feathers easily so we even use them as writing tools. I’m so glad I could see one in person!”

“Let’s not forget our goal here!”

“Y-Yes. Right. Kill a monster… Not the Grey Feathered Scooper?”

“No. They are harmless to us. You need to be able to go for the kill when facing a monster. That way you are ready for the Demons.”

“Ah okay…”

She pulls out her wand and follows Ruby. Estelle and Alice stay behind to watch. Stopping near the shore of the lake, Ruby steps further from her.

“We of the beastfolks have a unique skill that you humans can not do. We fight to kill and survive. Even in certain situations we can use this to draw monsters away to let the others survive. Himari, what is this skill?”

“…Infuriating Pulse.”

“Correct. It makes things easier to explain with your knowledge of the world.” She draws out her claws. Her pose is not a pose for combat. Like a cat ready to pounce on its prey. She stretches before whirling her tail in a zig zag motion.

A dark fiery aura surrounds her and it pulses outward.

Sweat drops from Himari’s face. Her legs began to shake.

“Oi! What does that do?” Alice screams from behind.

Something is moving around the hills. At first, it was barely noticeable. Then the field went completely silent.

The noise the animals and monsters were making stopped.

Boom.

The ground started to shake. The thumping sounds began to be louder.

Without warning, a beast lunged over the hills. It slashes its claws across the fields causing Ruby to jump far back.

“Go on and attack it to bring the attention toward you! I’ll watch for any lethal attacks!”

“Ehhh!” She stumbled before pointing her wand.

The dark green beast hissed after seeing Himari charging an attack. Rushing toward her, Estelle starts to panic.

“A-Alice! Himari…! She’s going to get hurt…!” She tugs on her arm

“Right… Here we go-”

“Stop.” Ruby grabs her arm and her grip tightens. “Let her kill the beast on her own.” Frustrated, Alice stands down. Estelle fidgets as she continues to watch.

WHOOSH

“Eeek!!”

THUD! THUD!

She tightened her grip on the wand, trying to ignore how badly her hands were shaking. She had practiced many times each morning, but standing before an actual monster that was trying to kill her terrified her. The monster's hissing seemed to vibrate through her chest.

She has been able to dodge well but the massive movements from the monster being so close is the main issue.

“Young Himari, why are you playing with it?” Poppy appeared on top of her head.

“I’m trying NOT TO DIE!”

“Just attack it.”

“I’ve learned that my light magic takes time and concentration! I can’t in these conditions!!”

“You really are such a simple minded little human. Light can shape into anything. You do not need to make large scale attacks.”

“Huh!?”

Whoosh! SLASH!!

“f it takes too long to attack with a large spell, think of something smaller.”

Himari reached the top of one of the hills. She can see the others watching in the distance. She sighed knowing she had breathing room on top of the hill.

“Alright! Now that I am further up from it I can-”

The monster leaps skyward causing Himari to slip from the sudden movement. She tumbles down the hill as the beast lands on where she originally was.

“AHHH! SCREW IT!” As the monster lunges back down Himari points her wand at the beast. Several small light blades the size of feathers surrounded her.

Fwooooosh!

They scattered forward, piercing the monster’s body and head.

THUD!!

It growled as it slid down the hill nearly hitting Himari. Alice cheers loudly and Ruby watches with an intense gaze. Her tail slowly swayed side to side and she lowered her claws.

Himari gets up with her wand ready as if it was a sword. She is disgusted that whole body is dirty from her sweat and the grass. The thought that they haven’t arrived at a town for a proper bath stressed her out. She slaps her cheek with one hand to help her focus.

The monster makes a soft hissing sound. Blood that pours down where the light attacked it. After her spells attack the light fades, leaving no evidence besides the wounded beast.

“Please…Forgive Me!” A circular blade of light formed from her wand and quickly decapitated it.

It’s dead right?

A weak laugh escaped her lips. She couldn't believe it. She was able to fight it on her own and survive.

“Ahhhhhh…” She sighed deeply as her legs gave out. This is the most she has ever moved and attacked yet.

“Himari!” Alice and Estelle rush toward her, both embracing her.

Ruby inspects the monster, peeling certain parts off. Himari grows curious while Estelle and Alice continue their praises to her.

“How…? How did you do so much damage to it? The first blades hardly dug deep into this. Yet it collapsed and nearly bled to death.”

“I don’t know… I just panicked and attacked with whatever came to mind. ”

“In addition to that, you never say any incantations even though you lack experience.” When it comes to magic in this world, if you don’t use the spell often you must use incantations to use it. If you use it more often, your own thoughts can use it with ease.

“Does it really matter? Himari did it!” Alice nuzzles into Himari’s chest.

“Regardless, Divine Magic is something we still do not have an understanding of…” Estelle helps Himari up.

Ruby stares at Himari. Her eyes are intense. Himari has a hard time determining Ruby’s thoughts through her eyes. They usually are heavy and a bit scary at times.

“Eh? What is it?”

“For now just do what you just did to the next monsters or demons… Actually I need Alice to study your magic.”

“Eh? You want me to study her?”

“Himari told me you were a magic instructor before meeting her.” Ruby smiled.

“You told her!?” Alice tugs on her arm as Himari sticks her tongue out with an innocent smile.
Before Estelle and Alice were sent to find Himari, Estelle was training in healing magic under the Great Sage. Alice was hired to be one of the educators for the children of the church on how to use and the histories of magic. Being an Elf, her understanding of magic exceeds most. In this group, Alice is the only one who has the highest chance of possibly figuring out Himari’s Divine Magic.

The Holy Magic Estelle studies is man-made to replicate the Hero’s powers. While strong, it still takes effort to do damage to demons. Holy Magic attacks are designed to only harm demons while the healing magic is designed to treat injuries. They were not able to achieve the possibility of curing diseases so they turned to apothecaries.

***

The group has decided to camp near the lake as they attempt to study her Divine Magic. Estelle starts to cook their dinner out of the beast Himari killed. Alice first educates Himari on the basic understanding of magic while Ruby patrols the area.

The sun is getting low and the wildlife sounds slowly fade as certain insects begin to sing for the night. The air is cool with the Great Lake of Lapispire being near.

Dinner was a little stale. They need to restock on spices and salt as soon as they reach the next town.

“Himari…”

“Yes Estelle?”

“May I sit next to you?”

“Of course.” Estelle sits down and turns her head towards her.

“Are you feeling alright…?” Her slow gentle tone tickles Himari’s ears.

“Y-yes. I still feel a little shaky after that fight. I c-could’ve died…”

“Oh Himari…” Her eyes were saddened. Although she still looks cute in Himari’s vision.

“Y-You know, Alice taught me that the magic we make is connected to our souls. Our souls are what makes us…well us. The barrier around our souls is the mana that ignites our magical potential. The mana we have has evolved over centuries yet our souls remain the same. However when a soul does evolve with the Mana, they become Elves or the Beastfolk. That explains why Alice and Ruby look like us but with different features.” Himari lays down to look up at the night sky. Estelle copies.

“Yes, that is all true… I do have some questions about all that… For instance, I wonder why Alice and her people get an extended lifespan…”

“Oh and their ears are super cute too! I like seeing Alice's ears move when she is happy.”

“Are my ears cute…?” Estelle moves the side of her hair and veil. Himari can see her face flushed red and even her own ears capture the same color.

“Y-Yes! They are! Uhhh… Oh another question we can add is about Ruby and the other types of Beastfolk. Why do they get features and instincts like the animals and monsters that roam our lands? It almost feels like we humans are pointless…”

“That…may be true but based on population, humans outnumber all of them combined…” Estelle plays with Himari’s hair gently.

There are only 5 Beastfolk tribes with strict mating seasons and the Elves are dying out due to their long lifespans affecting their fertility. Humans are the only ones who can repopulate the fastest in the past few centuries.

“There’s also the mysteries of the 4 Gods of Origins. Including the existence of Demons. And the Heroes… Specifically their Divine Magic.”

“So many questions and not a lot of answers…”

“I would like to be able to find the answers to a few of them before I die. I want to live my life gaining more knowledge before time runs out. There's so much beauty in this world that I want to understand. Not learning about anything feels like I’m wasting my time here. That’s why I love the Adventurers Archive so much.”

“Himari…”

Estelle watches as the stars reflect in Himari’s eyes. Her face feels warmer than ever. Without warning, tears ran down her cheeks.

“E-Ehhh!? W-W-Why are you crying Estelle??”

“Please forgive me… You’re just so beautiful, Himari…”

“Eh!? Me? N-No! I am just an ordinary girl…You are far more beautiful!” Both blush in embarrassment. “A-Alice and Ruby too! All of you are so brave and your magic is interesting to watch. I am envious of you all… I wish I could be braver and be more confident in my abilites… But at the same time you 3 give me the confidence to keep going. Without you I would’ve given up… So what I’m trying to say is uhhh….”

“Pfft…” Estelle starts laughing. This is the first time Himari sees Estelle laugh. She has been very mellow and kind throughout their journey.

“W-Why are you laughing!?”

“Forgive me…! Hee heh!”

She is…so cute… Himari felt a tug in her heart.

A strange warmth bloomed in her chest. She had felt this happy before but this feeling that is growing is different. Estelle’s laughter sounded a little sweeter in her ears. 

She can’t help but laugh with her. The two giggled under the stars and snuggled closer than before.

Alice smiles as she watches the two enjoy a good laugh. Ruby watches from a distance before returning to her nightly patrol. Another day ends with the groups growing closer than ever. Himari slowly gained more knowledge and experience for their travels.