The Snaps In the distance

Fiercely turning around he checked his surroundings around him while feeling that aching pain travel around his back. From the power he had felt behind that attack he didn't feel too much pain so he assumed whoever it was wasn't insanely stronger then him or that they held back but the thing that worried him the most was that none of them could sense anything in their surroundings. Xilo was confident in his detection skills even't if they weren't perfect so whoever it was near them had to be just as good or have an ability helping them and most of all he was a little angry at the way they attacked him.

Not many Astral Beasts in this area had a high level of intelligence so Xilo's first assumption was that it was another person because the way they went about attacking him by forcing him into making a choice of protecting Xelfia or letting her potentially get hit by whatever it was that was thrown. "Bastard." Clenching his teeth he settled down his anger to prepare for whatever was coming next but no matter how much he surveyed the area he didn't see anyone.

"XIlo! are you okay?"

Seeing Xilo get attacked suddenly Xelfia jumped up and quickly came to his side to make sure he was okay while checking the surroundings as well. Unfortunately she felt a backlash and recoiled in pain slightly. Panicking she hoped Xilo wouldn't notice as he checked but breathed a sigh of relief a second later "Phew." Thankfully Xilo was too hyper focused to notice that as she retracted her Astral Energy and let Xilo work instead..

"I'm fine, but be careful I can't sense anyone. You and Tearia should get together. Make sure you protect her though because well it seems they're after me with that attack it never hurts to be careful."

"Bu-"

"You're not allowed to refuse. I should be fine anyway."

Sterning speaking he pushed her to safety. He didn't want to see her hurt again so soon after last time so he made sure she was away from the fight. Hearing his cold stern voice Xelfia got a little depressed but she understood he was just trying to protect her. That thought made her a little happier as she cheered up and walked to Tearia.

He really wanted to know why someone wanted to attack him especially when they were so close to the entrance and a lot of other people. However now that he was paying attention he finally noticed a difference in his surroundings. Before he heard people laughing, chatting and fighting each other or Astral Beasts but giving it another listen he heard nothing but the sounds of their breathing now. It felt like they were in their own world all of sudden.

"But when?"

Confused as to when it happened he kept vigilant. He had no clue who would want to attack him so boldly but it was too late to ask questions now. It was going to come down to a fight regardless now. He could always question them later. "If I win that is..." Thinking that he finally heard a faint snap further ahead of him in the forest.

"Whoever it is, they're coming."

Xelfia so badly wanted to fight with Xilo at this moment but she also knew that Tearia was the weakest out of the three of them and she had to keep her safe just in case. If anything happened to her and XIlo got distracted fighting it would probably be his death sentence. Trying to distract herself from that thought she turned to Tearia beside her who was oddly quiet but assuming she was scared she tried to comfort her.

"Don't worry we'll be fine."

"Mmmhmm."

Tearia absent mindly replied as she stared at Xilo. Each snap of twigs he heard drummed on his heart harder and harder as they got closer until eventually he saw something appear in the clearing. Finally coming out of the clearing was a slender man with Black hair and scars all over his face while wearing a jacket that hid his body. Xilo couldn't even recognize the sounds of his steps or movements as he approached. Feeling a sense of danger Xilo didn't let his eyes leave the man in front of him.

"So you heard it. Impressive."

But even after speaking up Xilo didn't say anything and just coldly stood there ready to attack at any moment. Seeing that the man grinned a little.

"Not much of a talker, are you?"

"..."

"Well that just makes this easier then."

With that sentence finisheed XIlo watched as the man sped at him with a speed he could barely see. Taking his sword out his jacket he slashed down at Xilo without another word. Barely able to catch the blade being taken out Xilo stumbled to the side as he barely managed to avoid being impaled in place without even blinking. Breathing hard as panic ran through him already Xilo forced himself to calm and focus. Whoever this person in front of him was, they were definitely stronger then him and he knew he could definitely lose this if he made even a single mistake.

"Haaa... That's a shame."

Seeing his sword miss his mark he sighed as he pulled it out of the ground lazily and faced Xilo.

"Well, that was your chance you know. Why didn't you take it?"

Xilo wasn't sure if he referred to attacking him or something else but he had no reply to either. Fighting people and fighting Astral Beasts was very different and while an Astral Beast might not be smart enough to stop his attack the man in front of him definitely had the capabilities. With his sword out of the ground again he rushed Xilo and slashed again but this time halfway through he switched his direction as Xilo dodged and managed to slice Xilo's stomach a little bit and at the same time stop the attack that came from behind him.

Seeing the man turn his back on them Xelfia attempted to throw a water ball at him in surprise to see if she could help Xilo but little did she expect her attack to be stopped so easily. "Damn,that was too weak." Cursing herself she watched as the man turned to look at them. But instead of attacking them he turned to them both deeply for a second and after leaving Tearia's face turned around back to Xilo and blocked a fist coming straight at him.

"Much better."

Grabbing Xilo's fist he put pressure on his arm as he attempted to smash it while Xilo tried to break free. But nothing he did could do anything to help him at the moment. Trying to think of a way to escape he ended using his claws on his other hand to stab the hand holding him. The man taken by surprise at that action reflectively loosened his grip as little but it was just enough for Xilo to break free while kicking him away but not before receiving another slash on his leg.

Feeling two cuts across his body even if they weren't very deep Xilo still felt incredible pain run through him. "What the heck." Xilo had felt plenty of pain before in the past but not so much from some simple cut. "Is it him or the sword?" Trying to think of the reasons why, he ran out of time as the man was already in his face once again. Dodgding and trying to attack whenever he could Xilo kept backing up as he was slowly losing this battle. "Not good." He needed to not be on the defensive but he kept getting caught up in the man's pace and at this rate he would lose. Thinking fast he summoned ice beneath the man's feet causing him to trip up a little and give himself enough room to gain some distance.

He already had received countless scratches throughout his body and they all stung just the same as before but the more they fought the better grasp of the man's strength Xilo got. "At this rate. I'll need Xelfia's help as well." Xilo was slowly losing confidence that he could win alone.

"Why are you here."

He didn't care who the person was because it didn't matter but he wanted to know why someone would attack him randomly well also gaining some time to heal.

"So you finally speak."

"Answer the Question."

"Haha, Straight to the point., Well if that's what you want to know I'll be happy to oblige. It's simple really."

Giving a disgusting smile the man grinned widely for the first time since showing himself

"Business."

"Business?"

"Oops seems like that made them angry. Sorry boy no more questions for you. Don't take it personally."

Thankfully the marks he had recieved near the beginning were healed enough to bear. Bracing himself he watched as the man came at him once again but something was different this time. As the sword slashed at him a giant fire roared as it surrounded the blade and entered his vision. "Fuck." Seeing the blade now enhanced with Astral Energy Xilo guessed getting hit by that wouldn't leave such a simple scratch anymore. The only thing he could do was dodge it. "I need a weapon…." Unfortunately the only weapon he had at the moment was the dagger from his ring but that wouldn't be useful at the moment so he was saving it for a surprise attack.