Chapter 3

When humans first met the beasts of Elonaria, they realized that all beasts, insects and plants, had been able to unconsciously absorb aether. This was because aether was everywhere, like air, making it impossible to avoid it.

Though some beasts had died due to the accumulation of excessive amounts of impure mana in their bodies, those who survived gained monstrous abilities. They were divided into six ranks, and those who were past rank three, formed their own spirit, giving them the ability to talk.

The Feral Maaka was one of them. Descendant from what the ancient humans would call tiger, the Maaka is much more evolved. With it's perception skills and crazy strength, it was a fearsome predator.

Lyra turned and ran, dragging Elyssa with her. They were no match for a rank three beast as she had only recently broken through to low combat soul. Even if they combined their strength, the girls were still far from defeating it.

Primal fear filled her and her mind focused only on one goal, 'survival'. Fear and danger flared through her when she realized that there was no way they could outrun the Maaka. They were going to die, so she did the only thing she knew that would save Elyssa. She stopped and turned, facing their fear.

"You... can't.. r..un!" The beast raved as it edged closer to them, it's voice pained as if it had only recently started to speak and it was it discomfort.

"Not anymore." Lyra retorted as she placed herself in front of Elyssa. Even though she did that mostly out of sisterly love, it was also part of her strategy.

She was a battle mage, one who was well versed in the art of battle, especially close combat while Elyssa was a beast tamer. They relied mainly on their beast to do the fighting for them. The fact that her bonded beast was a cat whose ability was camouflage, just rendered her useless during a fight.

"Elyssa," Lyra whispered, "when am fighting the Maaka, I want you to take that chance and run. Go straight to the city and call for help, and don't look back."

Elyssa stared at her best friend in horror.

"You don't mean to sacrifice yourself right? There is no way am going to let you do that."

"You don't seem to understand the situation here. Am the only one who can fight. My life depends on how fast you can call for help, now go!" Lyra yelled as she drew out her sword.

Without taking her eyes off the beast, she opened her core, allowing mana to run through every channel in her body, powering it and enhancing her muscles.

Seeing her determination,"Elyssa brushed off tears that had started blinding her eyes and took off into the trees, her bond, fast behind her trail.

The Maaka gave one look at the disappearing figure and decided not to pursue it. A more interesting toy was standing in front of it.

"intriguing" it growled eyeing it's prey.

Lyra stood, feet wide and offset. Sword combat was all about balance and reach. Keeping the enemy at bay and your feet firmly rooted on the ground was essential.

Baring it's fangs, the Maaka rushed forward on light paws, only stopping at the edge of her sword. Before it act again, Lyra spun her sword in a horizontal arc, and a razor-thin flame flashed from the sword's blade. It surged towards the beast who only dodged it with ease.

"to.o..weak." It snorted but soon his eyes bulged when a volley of flaming sword arcs, twice the speed and size of the first one, launched at him. It was clear that the first was just a disguise to make him let his guard down.

The Maaka moved fast, dodging the flames with great agility but several of the struck home. It hollered in pain and stared at the human in front of him. How dare a puny human hurt him.

With an ecstatic screech, the beast threw itself at her.

Taken back by it's sudden action, Lyra braced her footing and thrust her flaming sword with all the strength and speed she could muster. The tip of the sword bit into the Maaka's shoulder and she twisted the shaft, making green blood splutter on the ground.

Lyra's muscles burned as the creature's momentum tore her sword from her hand and slammed into her. She flew backwards and smacked hard against the trunk of a tree. She slumped to the ground, and tried getting on her feet only to fall again.

Pain shot up her back like fire, making her cringe as it exploded in her head with a blinding whiteness. It made her dizzy. A liquid trickled down her face from somewhere on her head.

"Dammit!" Lyra mumbled. Things weren't going as planned. She had miscalculated the strength of the beast, a fatal thing to do during battle, and now she was going to pay it with her life.

"I will...make your...death painful" the Maaka snarled, clearly agitated from being injured. It's strolled towards her, it's claws out, ready to torture it's food.

From the corner of her eyes, Lyra saw a figure flash past and stood infront of her.

" is it Elyssa? is it the help?" she muttered.

Looking up, she could barely make out the small masculine shape of a person. Long black hair hung down to his waist. Glancing down, she noticed that he was bare feet. Despair flashed through her when she noticed that the short man would more likely be a beggar than a savior. But before she could say anything, the figure talked.

"Leave her alone."

Somehow, the Maaka had grown cautious of the person. It's fur stood up, the tips crackling with energy as it prepared it's trump card. It glowered down at them and opened it's mouth wide. A guttural roar rumbled, drawing an intense orange glow from deep within the beast's throat.

The beggar threw his left hand behind him and a gust of wind exploded from his palm, circling around Lyra, forming a barrier around her.

The Maaka convulsed like it was about to vomit, only to hurtle a giant ball of flame the person.

The beggar's hand grabbed a staff from the ground and spun it, slowly at first, but then with so much speed that it became shimmering circle of deep blue. He held his ground as the fireball slammed into the the spinning staff with explosive impact.

The beggar grunted as the impact pushed him back, his grounded feet digging deep into the ground. Flames poured around the edge of the shield, threatening to overwhelm it. With a grunt, he pushed forward with both hands, blasting the blue energy of his shield through the flames, sending a cataract of fiery flames in a wide arc. Some of them spattered across the ground while others landed on the Maaka causing it to yelp in pain and stumble backwards.

Without giving the beast time to recover, the figure rushed towards it, his fist trembling with power as he initiated a killing blow.

The crack of snapping bone echoed through the forest as the impact sent the beast flying into a giant rock. It fell down, dead, with numerous cracks spidered across the rock.

Lyra stared wide eyes, stunned at the whole scene. She tried forming words but her mouth was still in shock from what it had just seen. Thoughts wondered aimlessly around her head, questioning about who that master was.

She watched, curious, as her benefactor made his way to her. The shadows of the trees, hid his face as he spoke in a soft voice.

"Are you okay?"

Before she could answer, fatigue engulfed her and she fell unconscious.