12

Thor pulled the boy closer to him and closed his tired eyes as they fell from the night sky. Air swished past them, making their hair and clothes flutter vigorously.They crashed in the ground, giving rise to thick clouds of dust.

Thor coughed violently, spitting out blood-stained sputum. He opened one of his honey gold eyes and peeked at the boy laying safely on his chest. He gave out a sigh of relief. Rin was safe.

He heard heavy footsteps approach them before a head appeared in his line of vision. It was that man. He didn't know his name or his motive but one thing he was sure of was that he was an enemy. Anyone who hurt Rin could never be a friend of him.

The man raised an eyebrow, his sting rising above his head.

"Are you dead already? What a shame on Kage's name! The Imperial council has got weaker the past few years."

Thor saw the man extend his arm and he tightened his grip on Rin's body.

"Tch", the man clicked his tongue and stepped on Thor's leg. His bones cracked audibly and Thor bit his lip to keep his painful cries from escaping.

"Trying to be a hero? It's useless, you fool!",the man laughed and kicked Thor in his side. He kicked again and then once again but the boy didn't let out a single cry instead he turned on his side, shielding Rin with his broken body.

He heard the man huff before he was kicked in his head. His head snapped to the other side and blood trickled down his forehead, staining his white hair as he struggled to stay conscious.

From the corner of his, he saw the lion and he smirked weakly, the tip of his bleeding lips rising up.

He feebly raised his index finger and murmured,"THIRD STANCE: THUNDERCLAP."

The man looked up to find a large magic circle hovering him, its gold radiance reflecting in his black eyes. Thor covered Rin's ears with his hands, the blood on his hand smearing Rin's hair and neck.

Bright sparks emerged from within the circle and a loud thunder filled the air. The man stepped away from the boys, his hands on his ears. He bent over screaming as the sound made his ears bleed.

And there was the punch Thor was anticipating. Loid's fist smashed into the man's face taking him by surprise. It was followed by a kick into his side and then a punch under his chin. The man went flying up into the sky, his dark eyes rolling up into his head.

Loid looked over at Rin and Thor saw his red eyes turning a shade dark. The air felt heavy and Thor gulped even though he wasn't the target of Loid's bloodlust.

BLAZING CLAWS.

Loid's claws caught fire; bright red like his glowing eyes. He flexed his knees, the earth splitting open under his feet and jumped up in the sky, leaving behind a thick cloud of dust. He clutched the back of that man's kimono and swung his arm, throwing him down. The man dashed through the forest before hitting a large boulder and getting stuck in it.

He opened his eyes to find the lion standing in front of him. The man fell on his knees.

"What great strength! So thrilling!", he said laughing like some insane creature. Loid caught a glimpse of his sting from the corner of his eye and jumped away from the man. The sting's tip hit the ground instead.

He attacked Loid once again. Loid jumped away and turned abruptly to grab an arrow just an inch away from his forehead. The arrow disappeared and the man laughed, "You are so much fun!"

Thor laid down on his back, looking up the starry sky. He was losing blood from that sneak attack of the man but he didn't have the strength to use HEAL UP, not after casting THUNDERCLAP.

There was a slight movement and Thor snapped his head towards the boy next to him. He saw him sit up and blink his hazy blue eyes

"Took you long enough, you sleeping beauty."

Rin's eyebrows went up,"Thor? What are you doing here?"

Thor reached out for the boy and grabbed him by the back of his head, pulling him down to his shoulder. He closed his moist eyes, relief rushing through his body. He muttered,"Why did you go berserk, you fool? You had me worried."

Rin's face softened and he felt guilt and happiness build up inside him.

"I'm sorry", he said, giving Thor's shoulders a gentle squeeze.

Feeling his hands getting wet, he brought them up and his eyes went wide when he saw the blood staining them.

Thor whispered,"That's nothing. I'm fine."

Rin frowned,"Nothing? That's nonsense! Stop playing cool, Thor!"

Rin stretched out his palm, casting a blue magic circle. HEALER'S CONFINEMENT.

Thick blue crystal walls surrounded Thor and he smiled floating inside the orb. He could finally allow himself to close his eyes.

Rin looked around and found Loid in the forest about two hundred yards away from him. He was dodging the sting of that man.

He must had been knocked out for a long time. Thor was badly injured, Loid looked more like a beast with his razor sharp claws and blood thirsty eyes and that man. How on earth had he got a scorpion's sting? Had he fused with his kemono? But that was a cursed spell.

Then it dawned upon Rin like pieces of a puzzle coming together in a perfect manner. That man had used an additional core to acquire such tremendous power. That undead being that Yuki and the priestess saw the other day and the attack of those creatures on the village. All that was to acquire more cores.

Loid did a backflip and landed on his feet.

"You are not my enemy, boy. It's that fire mage. Don't get in my way",the man said before raising his index finger. Two large black magic circles opened up on either side of Loid. Hundreds arrows emerged from them and dashed towards Loid.

The man turned around and his eyes met Rin's blue ones."There you are, you rat!",he said, his wide grin reaching his ear. The man raised his sting.

There was a loud blast behind him before he was grabbed by the back of his neck, sharp claws digging into his skin and drawing out drops of fresh blood.

"Stay away from him",he heard Loid's deep voice before he was pushed down, his head pressed hard against the ground.

Loid was in a trance. His glowing red eyes reflected the dangerous desire o kill that man. He put together his hands, a red glow instantly surrounding them as he casted the one spell he had promised Rin he wouldn't.

BEAST SPIRIT.

A strong gust of wind began to blow, circling around him. His body began to grow in size, his bones cracked loudly as fur sprouted from his skin and joints. Dark black hair grew on his face, his red eyes glowing among them. His canine teeth morphed into long razor sharp fangs and he roared, shaking the sky and the person in front of him down to his core.

That annoying grin of the man disappeared for the first time and his black eyes grew wide, unable to hide the terror he felt upon seeing that colossal creature.

The king of the beast spirits.

The lion raised its huge paw and hit the petrified man in his side. Rin held his breath when he saw the man thrown across the clearance and crashing into the ground. He felt the earth shake under his feet and turning around, he saw the lion sprinting towards them.

It pounced and Rin's mouth hung open as he saw it jumping over him and Thor, its huge form casting a shadow over the two of them. It landed a yard in front of them, splitting the earth open by the force of the impact.

The man staggered to his feet, the left half of his face completely drenched in blood. He put together his index and middle fingers, casting a large magic circle in between him and the approaching lion. Hundreds of arrows came out of the circle.

The man swung his fingers once again and another magic circle opened up right above the lion, revealing another batch of magic arrows.

The man wiped the blood from his lips and huffed,"I'll gather your cores after this spell finishes you brats."

The lion stopped a yard way from the man. It raised its head and its core began to glow in the center of its chest.

"That.. Isn't that Alicia's core?"

Rin turned his head to find Thor stepping out of the HEALER'S CONFINEMENT. Rin looked at him and then at the lion spirit. He nodded, muttering,"It is."

Thor clenched his jaw, a frown appearing on his face,"Why on earth does that lion has her core?"

That was the reason Rin had asked Loid not to morph. Now he had been exposed.

The boys watched as the lion roared, breathing out bright red flames that melted all the arrows within its course. The man cursed, his cries piercing the sky as the flames ate him up, leaving nothing but his ashes behind.

Strong red light surrounded the lion and Rin watched as it morphed. Rin turned his head and said, "I need you to trust me, Thor."

"What kind of a mess have you created, Rin?", Thor said, pointing over at the changing lion,"That thing has Alicia's core inside it and you want me to stay quiet about it!"

"That thing is a person, Thor! That core is his life now! I can't just pull it out!", Rin cried.

Thor cursed, shaking his head. That person had Alicia's core but could he kill him to get it back? Heck, no. He looked at Rin,"Can you defend him in front of the council?"

Loid was back to his human form. He looked over at Rin with his hazy eyes.

"I will fight for him", Rin gave Thor his answer before walking towards Loid.

The boy swayed at his spot and Rin caught him into his arms, falling on his knees. Loid rested his head on the boy's shoulder.

"I morphed", he whispered into his ear.

Rin patted his head,"I saw."

"I'm sorry."

Rin shook his head, whispering,"You should be, you idiot."

"Yeah, I'm an idiot", Loid whispered, closing his eyes.