Aeon eyed the two speeding figures ahead of him. They were slaying any monster they encountered, but, ultimately, the two's goal is still to regroup with the other staff members so that they could take down the beasts as a group.
After all, even though they were strong, they couldn't possibly handle hundreds of large beasts just by the two of them.
Then, Aeon's gaze shifted to the beasts that rampaged around the area. The creatures were greedily chomping on human meat and even fought amongst each other to get a larger share.
Aeon's eyes burned with rage and he slowly reached for his two swords. Fortunately, Suri and Korona's families lived in the eastern district, the area where he was currently in. Aeon silently hoped that their bunkers were much tougher than the others that were pried open with brute force.
Aeon had an excellent memory and he could easily remember where the two lived. He decided that he would go get Korona's family first since it was closer to him.
Without wasting any more time, Aeon moved forward. He tried to avoid as many beasts as he could. Preserving energy is still his top priority so that he could protect the people he needed to protect at his peak condition.
Based on what Aeon saw earlier when he stood on the eastern city wall, he realized that most beasts were heading towards the center, so he encountered fewer monsters than he should.
Along the way, he witnessed people getting eaten, and even torn to shreds. The beasts did not discriminate. Be it elderly or children, they would attack everyone.
Every time he saw someone who fell victim to the magical beasts, Aeon would feel his heart sink. Being powerless was a feeling he knew very well. He knew it too well that he didn't want to feel it ever again. But now, there was absolutely nothing he could do. Trying to act like a hero wouldn't get him anywhere, either. He could only turn a blind eye and inwardly ask for Hecate's forgiveness.
If those people were his loved ones, would he do the same?
He worried about his father. But knowing that the person did not need any help at all, he felt at peace. At least that's one burden off of his shoulders. He needed to go straight towards Korona's home.
A mage's magical constitution could be passed on to the next generation.
However, this is a tricky process. When a mage is born from two mages, whose constitution would the fetus adapt?
The answer is neither.
The offspring would have an entirely different magical constitution.
So, for particularly excellent mages that hope to preserve their techniques and practices, they usually marry a non-mage. By having a child with a non-mage, the constitution would only be altered the slightest bit.
It is still unique, but the essentials would remain. It might become a stronger version of it or a weaker version, but with more strengths in other fields.
Mr. Samo and Mr. Arvent were people with such hopes.
They married non-mages.
Now, possibly, their households were already under siege with only a few guards to protect it.
Aeon pounced at a nearby beast that was wandering alone and severed its head cleanly with a single swing of Verdure. He skidded to a stop and rolled sideward to hide behind a broken wall.
A few dozen beasts passed by without noticing him.
Aeon needed to move faster but the feat wasn't quite easy especially when he's also trying hard to be discreet.
Think! How in the world am I supposed to get through this?
Aeon's eyes suddenly fell on the head he recently cut off. He smiled crookedly as he thought about something really stupid.
Aeon looked left and right. Seeing that there were no more beasts around, he immediately retrieved the head. It looked like something that belonged to a lizard but its base was already too hard to recognize due to the way it evolved.
He dragged it to a nearby alley where he could execute his plan.
Three minutes later, Aeon emerged from the alley.
However, this time, a lizard-ish head hid his entire body. He basically wore it as a costume after he crafted a space inside it where he could comfortably stuff himself in. Although he felt disgusted being covered in lizard brain juice and blood, at least he had a plan.
The lizard beast looked like the rest of its body was stuck underground.
Aeon swaggered forward, albeit awkwardly.
He hoped that his camouflage would work.
….
Ten minutes later. Sera City, central district.
Toran Fiore controlled the gray lion's movements as much as he could while Montis Leroux attacked.
The two who had been fighting conservatively suddenly exploded with power. It seemed like the two had been anticipating the appearance or an extremely dangerous beast.
Due to the lion's sudden appearance, the beasts within a certain range dropped their current activities and rushed towards the center. They frantically pounced on the mages, disregarding their own well-being. They were trying hard to display their desire to protect their king.
The pressure on the staff members almost doubled. They couldn't erect any defensive walls because the stream of beasts was almost endless.
Each staff member was surrounded by an aura with a hue depending on their element. Usually, this kind of defense was only used when fighting duels against other mages. It's not exactly ideal when fighting against a horde of magical beasts because it consumed magic by the second.
Nevertheless, they still used it. Having a defensive layer was still better than having nothing protecting them at all, especially now that they could come face to face with a beast at any time, without warning.
This move only showed how desperate they currently were.
They needed to hold the beasts off as long as they could until the military arrives!
Rain continuously poured as they struggled.
Suddenly, the staff members saw a streaking line of fire in the air that looked like a meteor.
It arced in the sky as it inched closer towards them.
As the meteor got nearer, they realized that the flames burning around it were purple. The meteor pulsated once and it gained a huge boost in speed, breaking the sound barrier.
A-ranked spell, Descent of the Phoenix.
The meteor crashed heavily in the midst of several beasts that cramped together near a crossing a few meters away from the open area where the staff members fought. Purple Flames roared outward from the spot where the meteor landed, scorching any beast around.
D-ranked mage, Dan Velruf.
Dan slashed forward with his blade, sweeping through the beasts that harassed the staff. Although he was a rank lower than them, he was still at his peak. He could still fight fiercely without worrying about his magic reserve.
On top of a pillar that still stood tall, a man wrapped in electricity was casting a spell. As if in tune with his incantation, the thunderclouds above him got thicker and thicker.
After he finished casting his spell, he gently touched the piece of crystal that held his white cloak in place. The crystal responded by zapping his fingers with mini bolts of lightning, but it didn't seem to hurt him at all.
The mage lifted his hand crackling with electricity, two fingers pointing forward.
The mage's long silver hair fluttered in the wind.
A-ranked mage, Klaus Lorenheim.
A-ranked spell, Lightning Avenger.
The thunderclouds above pulsated with electricity.
Then…
His hand fell down.
Crackle!
BZZZZZT!
Blue lightning bolts continuously rained on the ground. One by one, it struck a magical beast without fail, scorching their bodies. Any beast that fell victim to the ruthless blue lightning bolts did not recover. They lied on the ground, dead, with their bodies still twitching.
After killing off the surrounding magical beasts, the blue lightning focused on the colossal lion.
It dodged several times but there were just too many bolts. After one of them landed, its movement greatly slowed down, making the succeeding lightning bolts hit it accurately. It groaned in pain as lightning continuously struck its body.
However, it did not fall.
After the series of attacks ended, the body of the lion was filled with black marks burnt by the lightning strikes. Electricity crackled around its body attempting to paralyze it.
It wasn't enough.
The muscles on the colossal lion's body bulged as it stepped forward. The electricity surrounding its body immediately dispersed.
Then, it started inhaling deeply. A ball of fire formed in front of its open mouth, rapidly growing in size.
Unsurprisingly, the colossal lion was able to cast magic.
Because it was a lesser demonic beast.
"Dodge!" Montix Leroux yelled.
The staff members immediately dropped what they were doing and jumped away multiple times.
The gray lion stopped inhaling and roared with force. Along with it, the ball of flame erupted and turned into a ray of flames.
The flames shot forward like an unstoppable beam leaving destruction in its wake. Even the approaching magical beasts that were trying to assist the lion were immediately burnt to a crisp. Their remains turned into ashes that were swept away by the rain.
The lion moved its head sideward, spreading the flames all over the place.
The rundown houses around suffered even worse fate and were disintegrated. The area was immediately filled with fog as the raindrops that fell from the sky turned into water vapor.
Klaus appeared right next to the principal who was standing on an empty street.
"Principal," Klaus greeted with a slight bow.
Toran Fiore nodded. "Where's Merell?"
"A few kilometers east of the city together with the other students. I left them there because we noticed that a battle was ensuing inside the city," Klaus responded as he eyed the colossal lion. It seemed that he was still quite calm despite the beast's display of power.
Montis also appeared right next to the principal. He sighed with relief when he heard Klaus' last statement.
"Anything in particular that you noticed with this beast?" Toran Fiore asked as he gestured towards the lion that continuously spat gigantic fireballs at the staff members.
"It does not have the scar on its left waist," Klaus replied curtly with a frown.
"Exactly. This isn't the King of Grey Forest," Toran Fiore walked forward, "it's the prince."
….
Near the peak of Mt. Eirene, a man with a long, grey hair stood, unmoving.
A scar ran through his left waist.
....