Abyss Hounds

The group stepped forward, grinning.

"Was it you trying to scare us?" one of them asked.

Aya tugged on Oasis again. "Are they bad guys?" she asked.

"Yeah, they are," Oasis replied, sensing their killing intent.

"Just stay behind me, and you will be fine."

!!!

"She will be fine, huh?" one of the men mocked, and the rest of them laughed.

"Playing hero, are we? You court death, little brat," another man raised his voice.

"Leave him to me," one of the men said, jumping toward Oasis with a menacing glare.

"Fire magic: Phoenix Blaze," Oasis whispered.

A burst of blue flames erupted from his hands, engulfing the attacker.

!!!

The man's screams were short-lived as he was incinerated into ashes, which crumbled to the ground.

Aya's eyes widened in awe.

"That's Phoenix Blaze," she thought, "but big brother's fire is blue. Little me doesn't know blue fire."

"How dare you kill my brother!" one of the remaining men roared, charging at Oasis in a fury.

!!!

"Don't! Let's regroup," the other man warned him, but it was too late.

"Wind magic: Wind Blade," Oasis whispered, slicing the man's head clean off while covering Aya's eyes with his other hand to shield her from the gruesome sight.

Immediately after, the last man fled.

Oasis didn't bother chasing him.

"Little me wants to see," Aya said, removing Oasis's hand from her eyes.

"You are my big brother from now on. Little me calls you big brother," Aya declared.

"What is with this girl? She's not frightened by death," Oasis thought. "Has such a little girl killed before?"

As they moved together, Aya talked nonstop, asking countless questions.

"Say, big brother, why is your fire blue? Little me's fire isn't blue," she said.

"Little me wants blue fire. It's pretty."

Oasis continued moving without answering her.

"Come to think of it, Azura said it's a mutated fire," Oasis thought.

"And big brother, why do you whisper when you fight?" she asked again.

"Wind magic: Wind Blade," Aya whispered, imitating Oasis.

"I whisper... I've never thought about it," Oasis mused.

Oasis kept quiet as he walked with Aya, who kept chattering.

They picked different herbs along the way and killed mystic beasts.

As night fell, they made camp and roasted mystic beast meat, eating together.

---

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Tir na Nog, a group of men sat in a small camp inside a large cave, eating and chatting.

In one of the larger tents, a man with a heavy voice addressed someone.

"Why did you come back alone? Where are the others?" the man demanded, flanked by two scantily-clad women.

"Boss, they were killed. I just managed to save my life," replied the man who had fled from Oasis.

"Since you are alive, it means you killed the one who killed them, right?" the boss asked.

"No, boss, I ran away," he replied.

"How many were there?" the boss asked.

"The boy was alone," he replied.

"What do you mean a boy? You shame my name, being bested by a boy. Leave my sight at once," the boss commanded, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Dammit, they're useless. We only have a few months before we leave this place."

"We must rob and collect as many treasures as we can," he thought, seething.

The women beside him tried to calm him, brushing against him and soothing him with gentle touches.

As the night passed and dawn broke, the boss roused everyone in the cave.

"Wake up! Wake up!" he shouted, his lackeys emerging from different tents, obediently lining up outside his tent.

Around 100 people, men and women stood in front of him.

"We are the 'Abyss Hounds'. We spent a lot to come here, buying many spirit link crystals to quickly regroup."

"Let's get out there and do what we came here to do. Don't come back empty-handed," he bellowed.

"You, come here," he commanded, pointing to the man who had fled from Oasis.

As the man approached, the boss unsheathed a large saber and, without a word, decapitated him.

"I just killed a coward, a deserter who left his brothers to die and dared to return empty-handed," the boss declared.

"Killed by a boy who still smells of his mother's milk. Pathetic!"

"We're all going to do what we came here for. We'll regroup here in three months, and no one shall return empty-handed," he continued.

"You will be in groups. Triumph together or die together."

He called forward nine people who seemed the strongest among them, assigning the rest to their groups, forming ten groups in total, including his own.

"Go out there and carry out what you are here for!" he roared.

"Yes, boss!" they hailed in unison.

The Abyss Hounds dispersed, each group heading in different directions to hunt and loot.

---

Oasis woke up to find Aya standing near him, watching him intently.

"Aya, what's wrong?" Oasis asked, surprised. "I didn't even realize you were awake."

"Little me is awake," Aya replied.

"Big brother, little me wants to look for Uncle," she said.

"Okay, okay, let's look for Uncle," Oasis agreed, also recalling Zane and Tyla, realizing he needed to look for them too.

"I'm babysitting now, huh?" he thought. "But it's been days since we came here. How has she been surviving alone?"

"Aya, where do you come from?" Oasis asked.

"Uncle says I must not tell," she replied.

"But I am your big brother, Aya," Oasis insisted.

"Why does it feel like this 'little me' thing is forced? That's not how she speaks," Oasis thought.

"Let's try this."

"Aya, I can tell you can speak normally. Why are you lying to big brother?" Oasis asked.

"Little me... Big brother is wise. I don't want big brother to leave me alone. Okay, I will tell big brother," Aya confessed, dropping her act.

"I am Aya Volacris. I am from the Phoenix's Peak in Avaloria."

!!!

"Volacris?" Oasis stumbled back in surprise, falling down.