Three shadowy canine figures lept out from the dense foliage, They had jet black fur with a yellow star like pattern atop their foreheads with fierce golden eyes.
Black Star Wolves!
Before the wolves could even howl out Artemis had already chanted with a wild smile on her face.
"Ice Style: Cone Of Cold!"
Instantly a thick mist of white ice shards whirled around her as she ran to the vanguard. Ishmael & Seraph didn't even bother drawing their weapons or casting spells, Artemis was more than enough to handle a few mutts.
As the mist rolled towards the three wolves the two positioned on the right and left dashed to the side while the one in the middle howled loudly as a dark baleful aura swirled around its body. The mist from Cone of Cold attempted to penetrate this barrier but lost some of its effectiveness, Although this wolf had put up a decent attempt it was not prepared for the intelligence of this white haired human.
"Ice Style: Frozen Tomb"
The residual mist that had been repelled rapidly condensed into thick crystals that grew together surrounding the wolf! It tried to dodge but the mist that had penetrated its barrier had trapped its feet.
Aroooo!
The last sound it was able to make was a cry of sorrow. It's last echo drowned out by the crackling expansion of white ice. Maric watched from afar and took a sharp breath, Artemis had amazing combat instinct and magical control but most importantly she never hesitated or wasted a movement.
In the next moment Artemis drew her blade from the scabbard attached to her back. It was a long silver blade with a beautiful white ivory handle, as it rested in her hand it began to softly hum and emit a blue light. Artemis's hair began to flow due to an unknown energy gathering in the air and the two remaining wolves began to snarl wildly in fear.
"Such a show off…" Ishmael rolled her eyes as she looked at her sisters back. She looked over towards Maric and his eyes were wider than saucers. She smirked before turning back to Artemis.
"Weapon Art: Bladesong"
Artemis spoke and it was as if her voice was everywhere! The mysterious energy became visible taking on the same hue that ran along the blades edge and it too was everywhere in the atmosphere. Magical energy was raging like an ocean with Artemis as the eye of the storm but oddly enough the environment was silent and tranquil like the bottom of the sea. Then Maric heard it.
It was like the most beautiful song he had ever heard. Was this even Magic? He felt something well up inside his heart, it wasn't even something he could describe. It was like he was whisked away to a frozen mountain peak where he could see the entire world below him. The cold wind blew softly around his skin and the sunlight was radiant and heavy. It was beautiful. In the next breath he was sucked back into reality and the wolves stood deathly still, Artemis sheathed her sword and turned to the group still wearing that same smile.
"Well? How was it? The mighty power of Artemis is undeniable!" Artemis spoke loudly while looking directly at Maric.
Maric was still awestruck by that vision and that song.. But what he saw next shocked him even more
Plop plop
The two wolves that were standing behind Artemis slowly collapsed to their sides as their heads rolled cleanly off. An instant death. It was at this moment Seraph took the chance to explain especially considering he knew Artemis was just showing off and not actually intending to make this a lesson.
"Maric. That is known as a Weapon Art, This is an extremely rare form of Magic only attained through dedication to the comprehension of the essence that lies in each weapon. It is said that this form of Magic was born through the efforts of mortals from long ago who trained themselves furiously attempting to understand the Way of the Sword or perhaps the Way of the Bow but they never had the ability to tap into it like we, their descendants do. Artemis is the most talented in this area among us three, she has a profound understanding of the blade so she is able to cast Bladesong, which I might add was a creation of your father."
Maric was almost stunned by the chain of events that had just occurred. This was the world of Mages? That technique would have defeated him in the exact moment the song whisked him away to that illusion, Could he even reach this level? He was quiet for a moment before looking towards Seraph.
"That was.. Amazing!! You said my father created this Weapon Art? He never mentioned it to me. How could he be so stingy!" Maric replied jokingly but he truly knew nothing of this Weapon Art, he didn't even know of their existence before this but could only guess his father had plans to teach him in the future.
"Hah Young Lord do not fret. You will inherit all of your fathers techniques one day, you must develop a sound foundation then you can focus on these horizons! For now though, help Artemis clean up this mess. We don't want to attract the alphas attention quite yet.." Seraph said while looking at the headless corpses.
Artemis and Maric disposed of the bodies before regrouping and continuing into the ever darkening forest..