Beast Mode On (2)

"Hell's Berserker,"

The wind started picking up around Yllana forming a swirling cone around her. Two, Three, and the twin brothers fell back a few steps.

Their eyes widened once they heard her words. But they soon steadied their gaze. Yllana's berserker widened in scope. "Get inside," she said to her four comrades.

As they went inside, Yllana summoned Laia from her space ring. Long fluffy ears appeared on her arms. It perked up, then a small button nose with fingers followed. After recognizing who summoned the ball of white fur, it sniffed the air. Its bloodred eyes glanced at the girl with red hair. "Blood Rabbit...time to show me what you can do."

As if it understood the command, it squeaked and placed a paw on her chest. Then it hopped through the twister.

Unaware of what was happening inside the twister, the southern knights tried to hit the swirling winds. But the wall-like wind did not budge. Nor did their swords or spears penetrated. It stood proud and tall defending the northern knights. So when they saw something came out of it, they raised their weapons to prepare for an attack. But...

"A rabbit?" General Rua watched the small creature scamper a few more steps away from the twister. He chuckled at the sight. "The North seems to have run out of soldiers. They are now sending us rabbits. What will it do? Cuddle us to death?" A bout of laughter erupted from the ranks.

Before they could finish laughing, Laia's squeaks turned into a growl. Its small paws, ears, and tail grew longer and longer until it grew bigger than an average human. The tiny red bead eyes went rounder and a streak of a red line formed under it.

In Laia's chest, a red teardrop shape emerged. From a cute white rabbit, it turned into a wolf-like appearance with longer, longer fur and the symbol of blood on its chest - the true form of a blood rabbit beast. It shook its body. Arrow-like metals appeared on the edge of her tail and ears.

When Laia glanced at the knights beside her, she gave them a toothy grin. Then swish! She was out of their sights. Laia's eyes searched for that girl that her master told her to hunt. When she found that half-masked girl, she opened her jaws wide into a welcoming of death for that Holy Knight.

"It's a Mid-Holy ranked beast," General Rua clenched his fists. Laia started snarling at the soldiers snapping their heads off in just one bite. On the other side, Yllana's whirlwind has transformed into a swirl of fire and wind with blade-like gusts that slices anything in its path. No matter how many berserkers planned to contend with it, the hell berserker swallows others and just transforms into a bigger one. And anyone who manages to jump inside meets the other northern knights' blades.

"Shadow serpents," Yllana released her snakes and crawled to the unexpecting knights' feet flailing them into the hell berserker one by one.

Almost half of the southern army has now fallen into Yllana and Laia's hands. General Rua made a sharp intake of air. He took his shield lying beside him and a broadsword. With one jump, he was now in front of the hell berserker.

Exhaustion started taking a toll on Yllana. She could feel her feet and arms going numb. Her previous wounds started opening up. 'Master!' Blue kept calling out to her inside her core. But she wanted to persist. She could only think of the fallen knights and the mocking they received from the southern kingdom's army. Did they want to wipe out the north? Let's see if they have the ability.

General Rua slammed his sword on the ground creating a forceful wind against the fire berserker. Yllana felt the berserker shook. A smile crept on her lips. But it didn't last long. Her knees started shivering...shivering...until she finally fell on her knees. But her fire berserker just went wilder. The other Holy Knights tried to go near her but she shouted for them to get out. "Go, before I lose control,"

"Circle of St. Teron," General Rua jumped into the berserker when the other knights went out. The battle still pursued. When he successfully got inside, he saw Yllana standing in the middle with her eyes on the sky.

Clang!

Their swords clashed against each other. General Rua looked at her face. He could see the fire in her eyes! Red hot flames burning with an image he could only see when he was near her. In the middle, there is a black figure...a demon? A burning demon in her eyes? Who could that demon be?

'Wait...if she's the Number One Holy Knight of the North Kingdom, wouldn't that make her the...' General Rua gasped as his realization startled him. He leaped back. His medium-built body created a cloud of dust as his feet landed on the ground. "You're the Accursed One."

He wanted to say something more but Yllana already summoned her serpents back and now she caught General Rua in her grasp. There was no trace of emotion in her face. It's like her soul suddenly disappeared. She took her sword and walked near him slowly and steadily.

~~~~~~~~~~

Fairkeep Forest

"Kill me now, because I'm done saving myself." Tori's bleeding eyes peered at the two pairs of boots on the ground just in front of her eyes. Somebody has come. But to be rescued now would be a shame for her.

"Since I am not the one who gave you life, why would I take it away?" he had this kind of crisp voice like a spring morning. And his golden hair illuminated in the morning rays.

"Please..." she closed her eyes. Her body was sore, bruised, and almost all of her bones are broken. Darion still let her live so she would remember how she let her sisters down as he said. There were still a few minutes left on her but her chest felt heavy. Every breath she took gave a sharp pang of pain in her gut. She crouched on the soil. Feeling the cold soil on her damp body made her shiver and sneeze. Even the sneeze was mixed with blood.

The man beside her pressed his hand on her head. A soothing feeling enveloped her whole body and she felt her muscles relaxed. After a few minutes, she felt her eyelids went heavy. There was a distant light approaching her. She tried to reach out, but her eyes gave out.

When Tori fell asleep, the man sighed. He searched for a stone in the brook. He took a black stone and placed it on his palm. Water flowed out from the stone and made a drop-like symbol "I have returned,"

The waterfalls broke into two. Four waterfolks came out with spears and sharp eyes observing the man before the brook.

"The floating isles have been burned to the ground, Your Majesty. There were no signs of the prince."

"Then let's try to carve the tribe's fate in our hands. We can't let humans make decisions over us just because they have seen the future. The future is never a fixed event." The empress peeked at the woman lying on the ground behind him. "She's struggled so much under that man's oppression. Take her back to her master. She will know what to do with her." The empress turned to look at the plants near the brook. Whenever she touched them, the plants will bloom its flowers and produce lavender and lemon scents. It relaxed their senses and created a garden scene beside the brook. More waterfolks went out of the waterfalls and enjoyed the peaceful surroundings. And a little waterfolk girl even placed a flower on Tori's ear.

~~~~~~~~~~

Yllana's sword was now stuck on General Rua's shoulder. There was a large gash on her forehead that opened up. And another on her right shoulder.

"You half-blood demon! You are the curse of this kingdom! If I could bring you back to the South Kingdom, you might be a good match for the emperor. What do you say?" He could still make a deal out of this powerful enemy. And since she is the Accursed One, she is obviously feared by many. That could also make the South Kingdom gain even more power.

"Mine."

Lucien's domineering voice echoed through the skies. The knights fighting on the battlefield felt an oppressive aura pressing down on them. It was so powerful that even the Holy Knights had a hard time breathing. All eyes fixed on the man in black robes descending from the sky.

"Is that an elephant?"

"A giant worm?"

Nobody knows who asked but everyone had the same question when they saw where Lucien came from, a thympile. As he jumped inside Yllana's fire twister, he took a glance at the bleeding general across her.

"She's mine." He declared. There was a hint of possessiveness in his tone. "Yllana..." he tried to call out. But when he saw her blank expression, he took her face in his hands. Pain shot through him as his hands caught the glow on her body. Hotter than fire, heavier than stones, he had never felt this kind of oppression from any powerful entity before.

"Yllana!" This time, he shook her face. A little bit of recognition flashed across her eyes. Her whirlwind died down. That same fatigue seeped into her bones again.

"You..." She felt like cold water had been dumped on her body. 'What happened?' She thought. General Rua fell in her line of sight. She felt furious once again. She gritted her teeth and shook off Lucien's hands off her face. "You coward! Taking a weaker kingdom that had just been at war! I will never forgive you!"

"Your kingdom got in the way of the emperor's plans."

"Your emperor is gone." Yllana took out the stone with the engraved word. General Rua recognized the stone.

"Why do you have that stone? We have been searching for that stone for years," The stone that determines the strength of the holder. And in her hands, it says, "Ruler".

"An elder gave it to me. I know you recognize this stone and only you among these soldiers know what this is. You can choose whether to leave or stay. But I won't take in any follower from the previous emperor." She crossed her arms. The battlefield went still. A general was on kneeling on the ground before a young woman with red hair and red eyes.

'Your emperor is gone,' were the words General Rua remembered her say.