8 Part 8 : Danger

Soft crackles gradually turned harsh, indicating that the zombies were on fire, literally.

The entirety of the horde's front row all lit in flames, gradually turning to ash. The sight was horrendous but strangely... beautiful. Wait, I feel mental if I put it that way. Let's just say that it's, a unique sight.

Grey continued to plow through in the middle, showing no indication of stopping as he clawed everything in sight. Since he was still an infant, he was unable to cast magic spells like a regular magic beast. I heard that the beast needed to be at least 2 years old to do this.

BOOM!

The crackling sounds then changed to the sounds of explosions. Dust clouds riddled the air, causing the scene to look exactly like a battlefield. Since Clayden's element was water and fire, he swiftly extinguished the wild flames. He had used some kind of a magic fire grenade to blow up the beasts.

I may have not mentioned this before, but Andrew's element was said to be wind and anima. But he focused primarily on wind and had never used anima. Mostly because no-one had ever taught him to since anima is a rare element to begin with. So there was no point in him coming to train with us aside from, ahem, bickering intimately with Clayden.

Andrew created sharp invisible blades of wind, around 20cm in size and he pierced the body of the beasts with it, cleanly splitting them in half. But he couldn't form more than 2 of them since his mana capacity wasn't quite there yet.

We wiped out horde by horde to see more beasts appearing yet again, seemingly endless. And so, we decided to simply run away from it, seeing that our mana capacity alarmingly started to run out.

Beads of sweat covered my face as we ran, wiping it off, I turned my head back once more to catch a glimpse of the horde seemingly... fidget exactly like a holographic figure, Like an illusion. But in actuality, they are not an illusion, they're real.

Could this possibly be someone's doing?

Since anyone with a dark attribute type of magic could create things... like these.

Aside from that, after burning a bunch of em, I finally realized that... they weren't able to see and seemed to react from the sounds of our footsteps atop the muddy grass. Since when I stood in silence, doing nothing they didn't seem to notice me.

So I decided to act out this speculation.

"Everyone, go ahead first! I want to try something!" I yelled at them and ran off without giving them a second to retort.

[Master! it's too dangerous!]

Grey protested with a worried tone as he ran alongside me to the direction of the horde.

"Airene, don't! that's too reckless!"

Andrew shouted to my direction as well whilst Clayden strangely remained silent and unmoving, his emotions couldn't be seen.

"Trust me, I'll be fine!"

I shot a glare to both of them which made them stop in their tracks.

With clear eyes, Grey silently looked at me and spoke to me via telepathy.

[Alright then master, I trust you. Please be safe.]

Knowing that he wasn't a fussy pant, my impression of him skyrocketed even more. Meanwhile, Andrew just shouted a 'be careful!'.

In front of the incoming horde, I stopped running. Though I trembled, my eyes remained calm and I was unmoving. Closely adjusting my breathing, I shut my eyes.

They're coming

I chanted in my heart through clenched teeth,

I am air... I am air... I am air...

One...

Two...

Three...

The horde went past me, as though I was air. Though I silently shifted my body as to not bump into them, they didn't seem to notice my footsteps.

Relieve engulfed me and I exclaimed with glee, turning my head to the direction of my companions.

"It worked!" I exclaimed, waving my hand and grinning with joy, looking like an idiot. Grey was the first one to teleport to me and he held me tight to his embrace, earning the strange looks of both Andrew and Clayden.

"Master, you're alright!"

He softly said in a tone filled with relief. I smiled gently at him and turned back to where the horde was. Sadly, my job is not quite done.

I gathered up my courage and inhaled, puffing up my chest,

"HEY MEATHEADS! OVER HERE! COME AT ME, YOU DUMBASSES!"

My voice echoed loudly in the thickets, causing the tree to seemingly rustle in surprise. Grey jolted up as my shout pierced through his ears.

Realizing my mistake, I turned to him apologetically, 'Whoops sorry, Grey'.

I ran swiftly in a random direction while constantly shouting like a madman. This act successfully earned the peculiar gazes of Andrew and Clayden. With one of them attempting to hold their laughter.

But the laughter subsided when I charged towards their direction. Seeing my figure along with the horde behind me, their faces abruptly paled, and quickly, they started running along with me.

"I'll explain later but for now step aside and be quiet for a moment. I will rejoin you later."

Though I was panting, I still warned them loudly while so they could hear.

They quickly did as they were told and stood aside, with Grey simply floating above the horde to avoid it. Seeing as they were nowhere in sight, I finally shouted curses at them "Why was I such an idiot to let myself be the one to suffer like this?!"

"GOD DAMN IT!"

I picked up my pace with a bitter expression on my face.

.......

The whole fiasco lasted for about ten minutes or so. With a disoriented look, I loomed over the two idiots sitting comfortably behind a tree. These useless idiots! I just wanna-

....

But since I was the one who willingly sacrificed myself, I have no right to complain. Entering their line of sight, I fixed myself while straightening the loose ends of my hair. I felt fortunate to have decided on wearing darker shades of clothing. After I was done, I shut my eyes and took long breaths to calm myself.

"They are sensitive to sounds. In other words, they only react to sound." I explained.

All three of them nodded their heads in approval that indicated their understanding. Grey inched closer to me from the right, and Andrew who realized Grey's actions sat closer to me from the left, gazing at me with apologetic eyes. I could tolerate Grey, but this idiot though... well, at least he said thanks.

Sighing helplessly, I decided to simply do nothing since I was too exhausted, even when Andrew kissed my forehead. He looked dissatisfied when I lazily glanced at him as a reply, though. In my past life, though I may lack friends, I actually kinda had a lover, so this is nothing to me.

But looking at the direction of where Clayden is, I couldn't help but find something off about him. The entire time, he seemed too quiet. This is strange considering that he would mock Andrew nearly every time they met, exactly like a married couple.

And so, suspicious of this Clayden, I squinted my eyes to observe him.

As if he noticed my probing gaze, he lazily smiled back at me. Exactly what the normal Clayden would do. That was when I realized, like that beast horde, this guy could also possibly be a real illusion.

Aside from my suspicions of this 'Clayden', we had another crucial problem.

The mana trail... is gone. In other words, we are lost. But since I was more concerned about Clayden, so finding our way could wait. Though he may sometimes be a pain in the arse, mostly to Andrew actually, I... consider him a friend.

Cocking my head out, I stood up once I determined that the area around us was clear.

I then turned towards Clayden who was in the middle of standing up. He looked at me and he realized that I was glaring at him intently, my back straight, my arms crossed, and my gaze sharp.

"Who are you?" I asked in an interrogative tone.

'Clayden' flinched slightly before he stood up completely, his golden eyes meeting mine. He dusted off his outfit before revealing a devious grin.

"Haha, impressive. You've seen through my impersonation."

'Clayden' said, laughing slightly.

While alarmed, I still tried to remain calm. Raising one of my eyebrows, I asked him once again.

"So, who are you?"

Eerie laughter filled the area, and his entire body seemed to melt with mist enveloping it. Moments later, as the mist dissipated the small figure of a child could be seen. The tiny child inched closer to me and spoke with... an old man's tone which utterly contrasted his appearance.

"Girl, what's your name?"

Instead of answering me, he redirected my question.

The small child was only as tall as my legs, yet his voice made me wanna laugh. This seemingly adorable yellow-haired child with golden eyes then stared at Andrew who looked at him with a startled smile and Chrona who trembled slightly.

"......"

Not bearing the sudden silence, I reluctantly answered while letting out a sigh.

"Airene. Airene Annelise Roselle of the Roselle dukedom."

He then turned his gaze towards me then looked back at Andrew.

"Aigoo, so you guys are the guests master's been expecting? Then quickly go lah, go, sorry for keeping you waiting for a long time. Master was the one who told me to test you young'uns, so don't blame me ah!"

Seeing the way this child spoke caused my belly to be filled with laughter, therefore my wariness gradually lessened. So, I asked him again, no longer using the interrogative tone I had.

"Then... is Clayden with this master of yours?" I asked.

"Quite impatient aren't you."

He clicked his tongue and chuckled before he turned back and started to walk. Naturally, I followed him along with everyone.

Andrew still looked suspicious at him, but it seemed as if he had been informed about this matter. Chrona on the other hand, eyed confusingly at the kid in front, a pale complexion on her that practically screamed 'why is my brother is a child?!', Whilst Grey silently concealed himself.

"Just follow me to my master's place. And yes, he is there."

He said with his back turned against us.

I went back a few steps and whispered to Andrew, "You knew?''

The latter simply smiled deviouslt at me and replied, "Indeed. My father alerted me beforehand about the Grand Mage's tests. Besides, you handled the situation well. As expected of my future queen." He then reached out to kiss my hand.

Hearing his answer, I became infuriated and smacked his hand away before quickening my pace. Egoistic, stupid, two-faced brat! Just wait and see what I'll do to you once we get back!

........

As we followed him, Grey whispered to me using telepathy.

[Master, I can feel it. This... child is also a mythical beast like me.]

I only nodded as a reply. I had a feeling that he wasn't human, but I never thought he was a mythical beast as well. No wonder Grey felt alarmed and hid.

"What type of beast is he?"

I silently asked.

[I... don't know. But he is certainly far stronger than me.]

He replied with a hesitant voice.

So... in short, he is really strong. "Then, is he an old beast?" As I silently muttered the possibility, the face of a child appeared directly in front of mine, only a few millimeters apart. The child then floated back down and chirped with his old man's voice.

"Haha, quick-witted aren't ya? That's right, I'm just a 400 years young Kyuubi!"

He appeared to have teleported, successfully startling all of us.

"Girl, my hearing is superb you know."

He proudly declared with his chest puffed up.

He then glanced towards the concealed Grey and began talking yet again.

"Quite the shy one, aren't ya? Hahaha, don't worry, this old man was a friend of your mother's.

"My mother?"

Grey finally revealed himself and looked at him with a baffled expression.

"Your mother is that Fenrir isn't she?"

"H-How did you know?"

He stuttered.

The fake old man spoke with a resentment filled tone.

"Relax, relax, my master and I are old friends of hers. But you sure are lucky to survive those vagabonds... tsk, whenever I think back on how they killed Ilya, my blood boils with rage!"

He then continued again,

"Though I've avenged her, you...

sigh, Forget about it. Airene girl, you better take care of this one well, got it?"

"I will don't worry."

I nodded with reassurance.

"Then, you youngsters can call me Fyre. What about you, youngun, what's your given name?"

"Grey."

"Grey... please enjoy your life. Like what Ilya... your mother had hoped."

Fyre then got closer again and pat his back. Strangely in such a scene, the normal reaction would've been to cry... but he just cast a solemn look to the ground.

The entire time, Andrew and Chrona stood on the sidelines, knowing that this matter does not concern them.

We then continued walking along the mana trail and Grey asked if Fyre could possibly train him. Fyre then nodded in approval and agreed to train him, he of course had also asked for my permission to which I naturally agreed. After all, a fire type Kyuubi and a fire type Fenrir should be a great match.

Grey embraced me once more, determination filled his eyes.

Master, I will become stronger so I would no longer be the one protected but the one protecting...

..

____________________

A large structure loomed over our three small figures. Fyre looked back and faced us while he gleefully announced,

"We have arrived."