"Hailstorm?" Kilian muttered questioningly.
[Yes, Hailstorm. It should be able to assist you in the battle.]
Kilian wiggled his fingers, feeling clusters of Mana gather at his hands on command. It was rather comfortable but his mind was on something else, the new skill.
"What does it do?" He asked. Kal promptly answered.
[This skill is of the ice element, much like your Ice Bolt. It has quite a wide range though and its attack power is very strong, though it saps up Mana like a sponge so I suggest you use it in moderation.]
"Okay, but what does it do exactly?" Kilian nodded his head.
[Find out! That's the exciting part, no?]
Amused, Kal chuckled before disappearing into the silence of Kilian's mind, forcing the man to return to reality and focus on the lion within his view. The lovely yet dangerous creature was... pawing at the gems on the platter, the same gems Kilian came across just a bit ago. Kilian tilted his head.
With the current knowledge of his skills, Kilian wasn't very confident in being able to take the lion down. Neither did he know what the beast was capable of. How frustrating. Should he trust Kal? Would the skill be as promising as he hinted? Only the seraph knew, and Kilian... he was interested in finding out.
'Heh, it's been a while since I was this pumped. What- nearly a decade?'
Being cooped up in the organization wasn't a fun ride. He was a wanted man, and he was old after all. His rickety bones wouldn't be able to handle running about so he just settled whenever he could and ran his organization from behind the scenes until death. What a boring life.
But here he was, facing a beast out of some weird fairytale book. 'I guess this shouldn't be a fairytale anymore.'
It felt real. This wasn't a dream and he had established the notion just the night prior.
A small whisper in the back of his mind urged him to leave his hiding spot and confront the beast. To give in to his desires and finally break back into the world of action.
What was he waiting for?
Kilian's eyes darted over to the entrance, his only exit now. Surely he could outrun the beast for only a moment before he gets caught. Unless the lion was slower than it looked, Kilian didn't like the risk. He would have to fight that thing and if he must choose a battleground, then this messy hall would be for the best.
He smirked, before dawning an awfully devilish smile, and positioned himself properly.
He charged up Ice Bolt, pointing directly at the beast with a hand as still as a statue.
"Oi!" He called out loudly, prompting the beast to swivel its large face around to find the source of the voice that dared interrupt its inspection. Its mane was fierce, but its predatory gaze was even more frightening as it locked onto Kilian's frame.
It roared a mighty roar so loud the man felt it vibrating in his chest. But he wasn't afraid. Meeting its eyes, Kilian felt nothing but a long lost and oh so familiar feeling... excitement!
Without a moment of hesitation, Kilian fired the Ice Bolt. The beast didn't have a second to react as it was hit smack dab on its eye by the attack. Its skin was thick and so was its skull, even on a weak point such as its eye, so the Ice Bolt didn't directly end it.
But that wasn't what Kilian was going for.
The ice from the attack slowly spread across half its face, blanketing its eye all the way to its ear with solid and shimmering ice, successfully blinding it from one side. It now had a liability.
Kilian had already began to charge his second attack, firing another Ice Bolt at the lion before it could roar out in rage. As expected, it missed, but it hit its shoulder instead. That was fine, not a total waste of mana.
Furious, the lion glared at Kilian, who had already came out from behind the corner. He had a small blue glow at his hands, he was charging up another attack just in case.
"Big kitten, aren't you?" Kilian mocked.
Although spoken in a language the lion couldn't understand, it felt as if its pride was damaged! Just from that attack alone, the lion had a perfect reason to end this pathetic creature!
it had no shell, no thick hide nor any muscles! What could it even do? Yet it had easily blinded the lion with a measly attack!
Fury burned within its eyes as it locked on its prey; Kilian.
In return, Kilian simply smiled.
--
Somewhere else within the forest...
"Did you head that?!" A gruff voice sounded out.
A man in a cloak reached for the hilt of his broadsword. The woman behind him did the same, touching upon both her bow and dagger.
The roar from miles away triggered their fighting sense. Thieir race was sensitive to battle, and that road just now came from a creature that was incensed. A strong one at that... and oddly enough, it came from the direction they felt the wave of mana come from.
The direction they were heading in.
"That's where the lion's nest lies." The woman spoke up, alert.
"We must go." The man replied.
Underneath the cover of the cloak's hood, the woman bit her lip. "We might get caught in the battle." She replied, "we'll have to be careful."
The roar could've come from a Glory's Lion. They stumbled upon its territory a while ago to scout it out. For some reason, this powerful creature had been sitting dormant. Their hidden village thought it may either be dying or pregnant, considering this creature sought to dominate instead of let other encroach on its territory.
Though, the lion's territory had been receding without it giving a care... it seemed to become uncannily aggressive when one steps foot in a certain area. No one knew why, and as such, teams were frequently sent to explore this phenomenon.
Why was a creature that normally tear anyone that came into its territory, suddenly spend no effort to protect it and instead, place its focus elsewhere?
This was odd. Since the village didn't live so far from this creature, if was placed under constant monitoring.
"Let's go, Tarrim." The woman said to the cloaked man. Her strong and lithe legs took her in the direction of the roar.
"Yes, Remi!" Tarrim followed closely behind.