5 Let The Feast Begin.

Vincent's eyes glowed with a deep shade of azure. The small black sphere inside his chest revolved; wisps of violet threads flew out and merged with his blood. Time crawled at a snail's pace in his vision while all sounds faded out.

A violet glow appeared around his arms and enclosed his fists.

Then the air rumbled across as Vincent threw out a punch.

Crunch! Kendall's chest armour caved in from the impact; he knelt on the ground and vomited out fresh blood.

"Just leave. I don't want to burn all the bridges with the Empire," Vincent said.

"Too late, the guardian is already here," Kendall said with a sigh.

Vincent's face turned solemn, "Hertha! Come beside me!"

"Wh..at?!" Hertha said in confusion.

A towering figure dived down from the sky, right on top of Hertha. Vincent's eyes narrowed into slits; four pairs of skeletal wings burst out of his back. He took to the air and shot forth towards Hertha.

He took her in his arms and curled her up close to his chest. Then his skeletal wings elongated into spikes and bashed at the incoming enemy. The towering figure swiped its tail at him in return.

Boom! Inhumane roars pierced into his ears; pieces of chitin flaked off, and green fluids seeped out of its battered tail.

Vincent stood still and observed the enemy at his front.

The creature masked the face of a lion with human eyes and ears; thick brown mane skidded down from its head and all the way down to its neck. Covered head to toe in black fur, it stood on four limbs with two leathery bat wings arching from its back. The bruised tail resembled a scorpion’s sting; green fluid dripped down from it and sizzled on the ground.

"A Manticore," Vincent narrowed his eyes.

The legions regrouped and formed a solid shield wall before the Manticore.

"Hertha, I need you to do something," he said. "Conjure up your most powerful attack."

"I will try, but you might also get hurt, and I will be defenceless after that," she said

"Trust me," he said.

She knitted her brows, but looking deep into his calm and serene eyes, she resolutely said, "All right!”

"Now!" he shouted, ramming right into the shield wall of the legions.

She hovered free from his embrace and went behind him. Eyes turning blank, a twister was generated above her head; the legions lost their footing and tumbled down when it drew in the air like the eye of a tornado. Blood trickled out of her mouth, but she clenched her teeth and held on.

Deafening sounds of thunder resounded from within when the twister turned into a pale white sphere. Then, she rose above and merged herself inside the centre of the sphere.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!" she screamed.

The sphere popped, and she fell down unconscious.

BOOM! Bones cracked, armours shattered, and the legions were tossed into the air. Vincent did not fare any better, his entire back was peeled off, and his skeletal wings were split into pieces. However, three-meter long spider limbs grew out in the place of his shattered wings.

Rip! Tear! Rip! Tear! The airborne legions fell one by one when the spider limbs reaped them like a scythe of death by piercing in through the gaps in their armours.

They could not attack in this tight space in fear of hurting their allies, nor did they have enough time to recover their bearings and put up a desperate fight. Thus their only fate was death.

Vincent was drenched in blood when their wails eventually died down. The manticore gave an enraged howl, steam flushed out of its nose, and its eyes glowed crimson. It opened its gaping maw and leapt at Vincent.

Vincent threw out a leisurely punch in return.

Eyes filled with mockery, the manticore closed its mouth and crunched on his arm.

Crack! His arm broke apart as its jagged teeth dug deep inside his bones.

Rip! But in exchange, his spider limbs pierced into its throat, the beast howled in anguish.

Vincent jumped up behind its neck and stomped on its head.

BAM! It fell flat on the ground. His spider limbs rose up and plunged down, piercing through its paws, like an animal in a butcher's table ready for slaughter.

"My CHILD! Answer my call," he gave a bestial roar facing the heavens.

"Kkekekekekekekkeke," A shrill screech from the distant cave greeted his call.

Something crawled out of the cave and rammed into the manticore. It wrapped its segmented body around the manticore's neck and burrowed its limbs deep inside its flesh.

"My lovely daughter! Let the feast begin!" Vincent gave a wicked smile.