Aveline wiped her brow as she stored away the tenth blue Nectra Flower inside of her sheath. They stacked together, similar to a video game. Regular Nectra Flowers had already reached forty, so Aveline called it quits.
"We have enough. Let's look for the others. I can sense where Eneli is, so we shouldn't have to much trouble heading there."
Kaley and Enna nodded. They were sweating as well, but Enna was only resisting Vayr.
"They're this way."
Aveline ked the way back towards the original clearing that had been in. Once there, she headed off in a direction the girls didn't originally go.
"Didn't they head that way?"
Kaley pointed towards the path they had taken.
"Mhmm, but I can sense Eneli this way. She's a summon, so I think I can rely on... it..."
Aveline dropped to her knees and looked around.
"What the hell... her trail went cold. Miss Lenora!"
Lenora immediately appeared beside her. She knelt as well.
"What's wrong?"
"Eneli's trail stops here. She's just gone from this point onwards."
"How can that be? She's a summon. As her master, you should be able to trail her perfectly... Unless something with dark magic severs the trail itself. This is bad! The only creature out here with that capability is a Shadow Wanderer. Rare dark variants of the Stone Wolf. I thought they were all gone!"
Aveline stood and scanned her surroundings. Her eyes trailed the ground and the tree bases.
"This way."
She launched forward, her eyes catching something akin to blood leading further into the forest. The others followed her quickly, their faces overcome with worry as well.
'Dammit. You're strong Eneli, please protect them until we get there.'
The girls blazed through the forest, kicking up dust and leaves. Aveline had to use wind magic to aid Kaley as she wasn't a physically inclined student. Enna had no troubles, being at least a B rank in physical.
"Aveline, where the hell did you learn to track like this?"
She looked over towards Lenora and smiled a bit.
"My first love. She taught me when I was in a different forest. I lived there for three years, doing my best to avoid dangerous beasts and hunting what I could eat."
"How did you get stuck in that forest?"
Kaley was floating on a small tornado, her skirt lifting just enough to give Aveline a nosebleed.
"Bandit attack. They didn't know I was there, thinking I died in the carriage they blew apart. I killed someone for the first time back then. It was too easy... and I hate that. We went over the cliff edge and fell into the forest below."
Enna drew near, panting heavily.
"And you didn't climb back up?"
"Lyla had a slavery ring around her neck. The runes were still active, so we chose to move deeper instead. The slavers that owned her could have recaptured her if we climbed out."
'Why are we getting into this? Who even cares about the intricacies of my time living in the forest?'
Enna frowned.
"Slavery is banned here. How did they do it?"
"Kitsune. She wasn't human."
The other three grew somber. They obviously hated slavery and had no problems with other races. It lifted Aveline's spirits.
"But why three years? Couldn't you have found your way out? And where is she?"
Aveline slid to a halt, changing course and slowing down.
"Lyla was killed protecting me. I blamed her for something she had nothing to do with, and broke our hearts. That forest... was the Grand Forest of Illusion. It hid the way home and tricked me for so long. I'm planning on going back with Lilly Wisps. She loved them."
Aveline suddenly stopped moving. Her eyes had grown round as she reached for her weapons. Lenora stepped forward, her face suddenly contorting in rage.
Standing ahead of them, Eneli was pushing back three Gigas Stone Wolves and a massive black wolf that wouldn't let up. Behind her, Taylor was over Megan, attempting to keep pressure on a gaping wound.
"T-Taylor! How's Megan?!"
"I-I don't know! She's not waking up... Eneli!"
In her moment of distraction, Eneli had been sent flying. In a quick burst of speed, Lenora snatched her from the air. She landed hard, almost letting Eneli loose.
"These bastards..."
Aveline sent one of her blades flying, gouging out a chunk of a Stone Wolf's shoulder.
AWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
The four wolves howled in unison as Enna and Kaley made their way towards Megan and Taylor. Aveline noticed a massive gash across Taylor's thigh.
"Hehehe... to think that you bastards find yourselves strongest in this forest!"
Launching forward, Aveline pulled her loose blade back as she reached an uninjured Stone Wolf. In a heartbeat, the wolf's snarl faded as the blade reattached through its neck. The light faded from its eyes.
Aveline backed off, drawing the remaining wolves attention.
"Lenora, Kaley and Enna! Get them out of here! Now!"
'That big wolf... he's corrupted. I'll need to use some of my actual power.'
Drawing closer, Aveline slammed her foot into the first wound she made. It squelched and bled profusely as she kicked off of it. The wolf whined and fell to the ground, the pain overwhelming it. At that moment, she sent a blade across the nape of its neck, severing it's head.
"Two left."
As Aveline dashed through the trees, she noticed four dead wolves nearby. Some had been hacked through, while others had been killed with magic.
'They fought for so long... dammit!'
Aveline leapt over the larger wolf, kicking off its spine to rip both blades from the ground and tore apart the remaining Stone Wolf. She landed with a soft step and glared at the big one.
"It's just you and me now, you corrupted fuck."
AWWOOOO
"You... kill my followers! I kill... you!"
The wolf spoke with a hefty growl.
"That's just creepy. You're the ones that attacked my friends!"
"Hagh. They... smelled good... enough to mate! Tried... to not harm... but they fight back!"
He snapped his jaws at Aveline. Her eyes no longer seemed to process him as deserving to live.
"Hehe. Which one should I use... to kill you?"
On her back, Aveline could feel the Celestial and Infernal marks begin to glow bright. The center, the heart, emitted an otherworldly aura as the white and black wings erupted from Aveline's body. Reaching up, Aveline adressed them.
"You're both angry that you were corrupted too. Fine, let's rip him apart. Champion's Mark of the Descending Goddess."
All three marks erupted in power as Aveline's outfit suddenly faded. In its place, a pair of white and balck heels were strapped to her legs. They coiled around her legs up to her knees. A pair of long gloves, one white as snow the other black as night, covered her arms. A halo formed over her head as small dark horns sprouted from her brow. Her skin was covered by a billowing gown that only reached just below her knees from the front. The back trailed back behind her for a meter and a half. The white part of her hair had grown out, covering half of what was black. Opening her eyes, Aveline's blue eyes had become white and black. Her gaze pierced the wolf that growled towards her, kneeling down in fear.
"Hmm. The Goddess has descended."
Aveline reached for her sheaths, connecting her shakrams to them. They suddenly erupted with deep shadows and blinding light. One chakram suddenly grew out, becoming a pearl white greatsword embedded with silvery blue gems. The opposite chakram erupted into a deep black greatsword embedded with blood red gems. The swords were twins, but opposites.
Lifting her gaze, Aveline smiled with her beautiful pale lips.
"Think you can take me?"