Halt

As the mages scrambled to get rid of however many blisterhounds there still were while preparing for the elemental and hellmaw to attack, the two in question simply stood there in the distance and hung back, yet they did not leave.

It did not take long for the mages to dispose of the last of the hounds, and now, free of immediate enemies, they turned their sights towards the two creatures still standing back and observing them as they too were seemingly observed in turn.

The mages, seeing how hellbent the Origin elemental was on slaying the High Mage, hoped that it would leave now that it had accomplished its goal.

The creature in question, however, simply hovered about lazily while the hellmaw growled and snarled incessantly, moving its gaze from one mage to the other like a rabid dog on a leash. It seemed that the two still had unfinished business with the expedition's mages.

The two parties stared off against each other, the mages continuing to bark orders and shuffle around as they prepared for the imminent clash, while the two creatures seemed content with simply waiting.

Despite needing the time to regain their energy, the mages opted to go on the offense first as they'd be giving the elemental the chance to do the same. And thus, after preparing spells to counter the invading duo, the second round of the battle began with a burst of explosive spells aimed at the blue elemental.

The elemental was not taken by surprise again however, conjuring a barrier of swirling Origin ether around it that took the brunt of the assault in its stead. At the same time the hellmaw charged towards the mages, its massive body reaching incredible speeds.

Its sprint was only barely stopped with the combined efforts of many mages casting all sorts of effects from slowing it and cooling its flames to weighing the beast down with Gravity magic and hastily built barricades to interrupt its gallop. And as it engaged the frontline, the knights and mages there could barely keep its attention while also keeping their lives.

The Origin elemental also took an offensive approach as opposed to the supporting role it played in the fight against the High Mage. It kept slowly moving closer towards the mages' backline, conjuring barriers to defend itself while retaliating with small surges of extremely dense Origin ether that severely weakened or outright incapacitated anyone they came into contact with.

To the mages, it seemed that the attacking duo split their attention between the mages' front and rear, with the elemental taking the brunt of the mages' attention to allow the hellmaw to reduce their numbers.

To Rethys however, things seemed completely different.

He could clearly see the Origin elemental slowly and inconspicuously moving towards him while fending off the mages, even shifting direction slightly whenever Rethys himself moved with the civilian group at their formation's rear.

It even seemed to him as if the hellmaw was restraining its might when it could very obviously decimate the mages' vanguard, and the mages too could not miss such a discrepancy.

"They are up to something! Stand ready!" Turavar announced while focusing condensed spheres of flames and flinging them at the flying elemental.

As if on cue, the hellmaw instantly went into a frenzy, its flames flaring and turning bright blue as it charged straight to the formations' rear, tossing away any who stood in its path. It did not even bother to defend itself as spell after spell came flying at it, its eye-less gaze focused entirely on the backline.

On Rethys himself.

"Let loose! Push them back!"

The mages, seeing the battle escalate, couldn't afford to hold back and ration their energy for a battle of attrition they wouldn't live to see, and their spells began gaining unprecedented power and concentration. Now with their mightiest gone and his protection lost, the mages fought with unmatched fervor. Their dignity, honor and lives were on the line in this battle, and their attacks carried all that intensity.

Waters surged, earth rumbled, and all sorts of arcane effects flared as the mages let loose in an attempt to push back the evolved monster, but to no avail. The beast's seemingly endless stamina soaked their attacks without slowing down for even a moment while its flames burned far too strongly for any spell to affect them.

The situation with the Origin elemental did not fare any better either, as the creature continued to shield itself from all the mages' attacks all the while disabling more and more of them with its debilitating attacks.

Things were quickly becoming dire. Both fronts were suffering and soon, they'd lose any ability to retaliate.

None of the mages' epic struggle concerned Rethys however, as he was going through his own. For as absurd as it would sound, the young man knew wholeheartedly that the origin elemental's second target after the High Mage was none other than himself. Seeing both creatures slowly making their way across the battlefield to converge exactly upon him made his survival instincts flare up.

Every fiber of his being screamed at him to do something.

But do what? Run away? What place in these hound-infested gods-forsaken canyons would be safer than the backline of a mage regiment. Not that a magicless youth like him could ever outrun the behemoth of physical and magical might that was the Hellmaw, and neither could he ever escape the flying elemental in these canyons.

'What do they even want with me?!'

He could accept how the mysterious elemental may have had a grudge against Lord Zeritel. A High Mage of the Kingdom like him was bound to be well traveled and it was feasible that he could've angered an arcane spirit or two during his career.

But what had Rethys ever done to anger it?

"Get back!" Yelled one of the rear mages before being almost instantly flung away by the hellmaw who after a few strides was now standing but mere steps away from Rethys.

He could very clearly feel the heat of the beast's flames as the two faced each other. From this distance the creature's appearance was much clearer, even with the fire covering its entirety.

It fully lived up to its name, its vast maw was the only feature adorning its otherwise faceless head. It looked demonic, hateful even, and utterly terrifying.

It lacked the majestic feeling that all other creatures of its caliber would inspire in Rethys upon seeing their diagrams and depictions in books. The Hellmaw instead gave him an impression of brutality and suffering, the fires covering it looking as though they were a curse rather than a power, and he could almost see it in its non-existent gaze. It seemed in pain.

But there was something else underneath what he felt from the beast. Behind the pain and flames, he could sense a sort of understanding forming between him and the magical beast, and the realization horrified him. It wanted him, or rather it was its mission to secure him.

'Oh gods.' He thought. The elemental controlling the beast wanted to kidnap him? Why him in particular? And for what reason?

Both Rethys and the massive canine were so transfixed by the sight of one another that neither of them noticed the silhouette of a burly man approaching them.

"Away from my apprentice you bastard!"

Charging at speeds that should've been impossible for his size, Fulgrith reached the hellmaw and poured all his momentum into an explosive punch that sent the monster reeling.

"Get out of here Reth!" He ordered his apprentice.

For a moment he wanted to run away, his master after all was strong enough to hold his own. But he couldn't let his mentor face the beast all by himself and his mouth moved before he could think twice about it.

"Wait! I know what they're after!"

Fulgrith fixed him with a confused frown and was about to ask him what the hell he was on about, but the hellmaw recovered from its daze and flared its flames.

"There's no time my boy." The old man said before grabbing Rethys by the collar of his coat and tossing him as far as he could, towards another mage who caught him.

As he rose back to his feet, he could see knights pouring in to back Fulgrith up, surrounding the hellmaw. But it was not at all interested in them, not when it had its target within reach.

Taking everyone by surprise, it unleashed its blue flames in an explosive eruption that covered the whole area in smoke and dust. With its assailants dealt with, the beast once again dashed towards Rethys.

Fulgrith however was not so easily shaken, and using his superhuman strength, could keep up with the beast and go toe to toe with it.

Seeing this, Rethys feared the worst would happen to his mentor, especially as there were few who could help him, what with everyone scattered in the chaos caused when the hellmaw broke their ranks.

Unfortunately, his fears came true when another spell from the Origin elemental hit Rethys from behind and continued onwards, its blue ether covering the battlefield and disabling many mages, his mentor among them.

"Wait!" He screamed.

The hellmaw was almost entirely unaffected and, lunging at Fulgrith's staggering form, breathed a stream of flames on him, before trying to get rid of its other pursuers.

"Master Fulgrith!"

As Rethys rushed towards his master's side, many thoughts ran across his mind. Whether Fulgrith could survive such intense fire or had enough ether to somehow shield himself at the last second. Whether the hellmaw would finish off the brawny old mage or be satisfied with what it came for. Whether him getting there would matter at all, not that he cared.

As he reached his mentor and fell to his knees to inspect him, he was greeted with a gruesome sight. His master was completely covered with extreme burns and the thought that it was too late flashed in his mind. Quickly chasing away such thoughts, he called upon his entire focus and sensed his master's presence, he was still alive.

'Of course he's alive.' Thought Rethys, relieved beyond belief. 'This isn't enough to take him down when using Life infusion.'

Of course, his magic would protect him. Even his mentor's grisly wounds, bad as they may be, could easily be cured by a competent healer. Everything was still okay.

Though his mentor would survive with his innate resistance, Rethys wracked his brain to find any way he could help. He wasn't a healer and didn't know much about first aid aside from the basics. He could only call for help and hopefully even the nobles would rush to save their colleague and best vanguard.

'I can do this.' Deciding on a course of action he made up his mind to grab the hellmaw's attention and draw it away while calling for help.

As he turned around, however, he was met with the sight of a great maw full of yellowed fangs expelling a vile breath directly at his face. It smelled of burnt flesh.

The beast simply stood there staring at Rethys and baring its fangs at him. It was uncomfortably close and though its flames were now extinguished, it still radiated an aura of intense heat.

The sight almost made the young man have a heart attack but seeing the hellmaw once again refuse to attack him, he took a moment to check his surroundings.

'Oh no...'

All around him, the mages of the expedition lay scattered on the ground. He almost panicked thinking everyone was dead but could quickly see that they were still alive, only unconscious. It seemed that the fight between them and the Origin elemental ended in the latter's favor. The creature itself though was nowhere to be found.

That is, until Rethys looked up and saw the swirling cloud of blue ether hovering directly above him, approaching him.

'What do you.... even... want from me?' Looking at the brightly glowing sphere within the elemental, he could feel his thoughts growing slower and heavier.

As his mind began failing him, he started looking back and forth between his master's wounded body, the hellmaw that inflicted them, and the enigmatic elemental.

'I need... get help... master...' He thought as his mind became more and more clouded and each thought felt like wading through increasingly deep mud.

When he tried standing, the world started spinning around him, making him lose his balance. And by the time his head hit the warm stone underneath him, his mind had already ground to a complete halt