Arc 1 Chapter 23 : Nazarith Bird

[3rd POV]

That night at the northern beach, Piers sat in front of a campfire, looking bored after spending the entire day without doing anything. This was because Raul had only instructed him to bring Scarlett and search the northern area, which had been abandoned by the Dragon Clan.

"Ughh..."

Piers heard a groan. Scarlett, who had been asleep all this time, was now waking up.

"You're awake?"

Scarlett held her head, seemingly still not fully recovered from the effects of Mana Exhaustion.

"What happened? Ughh... Where are we?" Scarlett asked in confusion, suddenly realizing she had woken up in a different place from where she had fainted.

"After you fought with the Captain, you passed out for an entire day," Piers explained to Scarlett. "The Captain said you won't be able to use mana for a few days."

Hearing this, Scarlett remained silent, trying to process the information. She also thought about the battle yesterday and Raul's words about her not understanding her true power.

"Is that so? Where is that man now?" Scarlett asked. She wanted an explanation regarding what Raul had said earlier.

"I don't know," Piers replied. Raul hadn't explained his detailed plan to him, only saying he would face the Griffon Clan alone. "He just told me the location of the crystal he's going to hide for us to find on the last day of the exam."

"Huh, what do you mean? Why would he do that?" Scarlett still didn't know what had happened that day.

"The Dragon Clan and the Lion Clan have merged, and their main goal is to hunt down Captain Raul during the rest of the exam," Piers explained. "That's why the Captain ordered me to head north and watch over you while you were unconscious."

Hearing this, Scarlett looked shocked. Those two clans were quite intent on avenging Raul.

"It's only natural, right? His actions were something unforgivable," Scarlett said.

Piers then handed Scarlett a piece of grilled fish he had just cooked. "Eat. You need to recover quickly so we can help the Captain."

---

[Raul POV]

After negotiations with Elena failed, I dug a hole somewhere to bury the crystals we had collected over the past four days.

"Done. I think Piers and Scarlett will be able to find this uniquely shaped tree if I give them the location marker."

Once the crystals were buried, I sat down for a moment to think about my next plan.

First, there's no way I can defeat nearly a hundred academy students in direct combat. If they set up a perimeter to trap me, I doubt I could last more than a day before they corner me.

I need something to separate them so I can take them down one by one. I think I have a way to do that.

Second, can I defeat Brian, Geralt, Elena, Ariel, and Valeria all at once? If the battlefield suits my current abilities, I think my chances of winning aren't zero.

I was beaten up by Elena last time because we fought in the open field. I haven't even used my Nature Mana and Blessing yet. By utilizing the shadow Nature Mana I possess, I could easily defeat all five of them if we fought in a place with sufficient light.

Do I really have to use it just to fight academy students? I don't want to rely too much on one skill, so I guess this is a good chance to improve my current abilities.

In close combat, I'm confident I can handle Brian and Geralt simultaneously. However, Elena's speed will be a real problem. I'll have to target her first.

I need to lure them into fighting on my terms.

"Looks like I'm going to have to kidnap someone's child tomorrow."

---

[3rd POV]

The next day at the Eagle Clan basecamp, everyone was preparing for the hunt.

"This time, we'll be helping the Griffon Clan to hunt down Raul de Garcia," said Elena as she explained their mission. "I've already sent 20 people to scout for his location. Once we find where he is, we'll surround him and wait for the Griffon Clan to arrive."

The Eagle Clan now had nearly 50 members, making them the largest alliance on the island. However, their combat quality was still far below that of the Griffon Clan, which had around 30 members.

"Leader! I have good news!" someone ran towards the group from the forest. "The scout team spotted that filthy noble heading to a valley south of the basecamp."

Hearing the report, Elena felt a bad premonition again. But this time, she couldn't back down, as they had already made a deal with the Griffon Clan.

"Alright, let's follow him," Elena commanded. "Leave six people to guard the basecamp!"

She then approached the scout and asked, "Has anyone gone to inform the Griffon Clan about this?"

"Of course, Leader."

"Good. Prepare yourself for the chase."

---

On the eastern side of the island, at the Griffon Clan basecamp, Brian and Geralt stood before their members. Their faces were set in determination, eager to take down Raul after what he had done to them in the previous days.

"My friends, we are gathered here not to compete against or bring each other down," Brian began in a rousing speech. "We are here together to punish a man who has dishonored the sacred duels of knights!"

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

Geralt then stepped forward.

"We will make that vile noble pay for everything he has done to our clan! I, Geralt de Jimena, swear to avenge my fallen comrades!" Geralt's voice was filled with such intense hatred that smoke started to rise from his body.

After Geralt spoke, Valeria stepped forward, turning to face the members.

"We've just received word that the Eagle Clan's scouts saw that perverted man heading toward a valley in the southwest of the island," Valeria revealed. "They'll corner him there while waiting for us."

Hearing this, the members of the Griffon Clan were fired up.

"You hear that, comrades? Let's hunt that man down!" Brian ordered, signaling for the group to move.

"Ouhh!"

With that, the members of the Griffon Clan began heading southwest, toward the valley where Raul was located.

---

[Raul POV]

Ughh... Climbing this cliff is more exhausting than I thought.

I was currently on one of the highest hills in this valley. My goal here was simple: find the nest of a Nazarith bird. This species was the largest bird in the world that hadn't yet gone extinct, with a wingspan of 12 meters and an average weight of around 400 kilos.

Normally, these birds weren't aggressive towards humans. But if their territory was disturbed, they became ferocious creatures.

Earlier, I had made sure to reveal myself to the Eagle Clan's scouting team, ensuring they saw where I was headed. I lured them here to remove Elena from my plans, as she could ruin everything.

After climbing for what felt like a long time, I finally reached the top of the rocks. There, I saw a pile of straw arranged into a nest.

A large Nazarith bird was asleep, while a smaller one was playing not far from it.

The male Nazarith would stay in the nest to protect the young while the female hunted for fish to feed them later.

I took out a piece of rabbit meat, wrapped in leaves, from my uniform pocket.

Carefully, I tossed the meat in front of the young Nazarith.

The small bird, noticing the meat, cautiously approached. Seeing this, I threw more meat to lure it closer to me.

Come on, little one. Eat up so you can grow big and spread your wings like your father.

Once it was close enough, I quickly removed my uniform and grabbed the young bird.

Just as it was about to squawk, I rushed to cover its beak, hoping not to wake its father too soon.

"Alright... Let's go meet the Eagle Clan."

I had some trouble descending while holding this baby bird. It squirmed to free itself.

Caw!

Damn! That little sound escaped! I hurriedly pressed its beak shut tightly with my uniform. But suddenly, I heard something from above.

I looked up and saw a huge bird's head watching me from the top of the rocks.

"Easy, boy… I'm not kidnapping your chick."

I slowly continued descending the rocks, careful not to draw its attention any further. However, the baby bird continued to squirm uncontrollably.

- Caw!

Shit!

"Roar!"

I heard its father's loud roar from above. There was no doubt; he had heard his chick's squawking!

I descended as quickly as I could, jumping down the rocks.

Whoosh!

I felt a rush of wind above my head. At that moment, a massive bird was glaring at me from about ten meters away.

It was flying fast!

Caw!

"Oh, can you be quiet for a moment, little chick!? I'm trying to execute my plan here!" I shouted at the annoying baby bird.

"Grrrooooh!"

Oh no, your father has realized that you're being kidnapped.

The giant bird pulled back slightly before lunging at me.

Crack!

I managed to dodge just in time as the enormous bird smashed into the rock wall. However, it didn't seem to feel any pain and started shaking its head.

It glared at me again.

"Grrrooooh!"

Damn! Damn! Damn!

Run, fast, fast, fast!

I zigzagged down the rocks to avoid the giant bird's talons. Without looking back, I had only one goal: to meet the Eagle Clan as soon as possible.

Crack!

Again, the huge bird tried to stab me with its sharp claws. Fortunately, I managed to evade it.

After a long escape from the bird, I finally spotted the Eagle Clan below. They looked confused about what was happening.

"Here, take this! I'm not cut out for babysitting…!" I threw the baby bird to one of the Eagle Clan members.

"Huh? What do you mean?" The man looked bewildered as he suddenly caught a baby bird in both hands.

Grrrooooh!

"Damn! What kind of creature is that!?"

"Run!"

The giant bird began attacking the members of the Eagle Clan present here. One man was even grabbed by its feet, lifted into the air, and then dropped from a height.

"What's going on here?"

I heard a familiar voice from behind. When I turned around, Elena was running towards us with dozens of students from the Eagle Clan.

"Raul, we found you!" Elena exclaimed, looking ready to activate her magic.

But suddenly her focus shifted as the giant bird flew toward her.

"Crooookkkk!"

The bird rampaged and attacked the newly arrived members of the Eagle Clan.

"Raul! Is this your doing?" Elena shouted, dodging the giant bird's attack.

"How would I know? That bird is rampaging because your members took its chick!" I lied to her.

"Filthy noble! How dare you slander us!" said one of the members, visibly angered by the accusation.

"Crooak!"

The bird went wild again, having already taken down four students from the giant creature. This time, it lifted another member into the air with its claws.

"Help me, Leader!" The man looked terrified, and even the area around his pants was starting to show signs of wetness.

Elena appeared to activate her magic, her body enveloped in a yellow lightning aura.

"Blitzkrieg!"

Elena then soared into the air and punched the bird's beak, forcing the giant creature to release the member it was clutching.

This time, the blonde woman was grappling with the Nazarith Bird in the air. They drifted further away, eventually leaving this valley.

"Well... It seems your Guardian Angel is busy," I said, looking at the members of the Eagle Clan with a sadistic smile.

Hearing my words, several members of the Eagle Clan prepared to fight. However, Elena was no longer here; their leader and protector was preoccupied with battling the raging father.

"Raul! I finally found you!"

"It's time to pay you back for your dirty deeds from a few days ago!"

From the east, I saw a group from the Griffin Clan arriving. Brian, Geralt, and Valeria were at the front of their line.

"Well, the main characters are all gathered here."

They began surrounding me from all directions.

"Surrender, Raul! Your resistance will be futile. We outnumber you!" Brian said confidently.

"It's time to make you burn to ash!" Geralt exclaimed, clearly eager to torture me.

"A pervert like you is destined to lose!" Valeria looked wary, even though she had cornered me.

Shouldn't she have arrived by now? What could be keeping Mother so busy? She wouldn't be playing around while Husband watches the kids, would she?

Crooaakkk!

The members of the Griffin Clan heard the bird's cry from above.

"It seems Mother has returned from work," I said to them with a smile. "She seems angry to see her child struggling without Father around."

Croaakkk! Croaakkk!

The giant bird then began attacking the members of the Griffin Clan, disrupting their barricade around me.

Seeing this opportunity, I activated Acceleration magic and rushed to escape this area.

"Damn! That filthy noble is escaping! Chase him!"

"We can't! This bird keeps attacking us viciously!"

I could clearly hear the Griffin Clan members struggling against the Nazarith bird.

I glanced back and saw four students still following me: Brian, Geralt, Valeria, and Ariel.

Well… We would fight in the forest without other interrupting us now.

"We won't let you escape, Raul!"