Armin's screaming died down, however, he was clearly still in pain. He gritted his teeth as he stared into Arya's eyes, trying to will through it all.
"Are you able to cast a spell?" asked Arya, to which Armin shook his head in reply.
Casting a spell took a considerable amount of focus, if one tried to cast a spell without being fully focused they would end up wasting mana for nothing in return.
"Fuck!" Gray didn't seem to be holding up too well either. The beast pawed at him as if it were playing with its food, tiring him down with every clash.
Even with the strength enhancement of a knight, the physical difference between him and the magical beast was merely too much.
"Sanatio Astria," chanted the yellow-haired boy, this time a brighter light engulfed Armin's body, healing a large portion of his searing red burns. However, there was still discoloration, meaning that he hadn't been completely healed.
And due to the healing process, Armin lost consciousness. Healing spells used magic to speed up the body's natural healing factor, draining its resources in the process.
{This won't work out well, if we don't figure something out so-} Arya's thoughts were disturbed by the sound of a wood creaking.
Gray had been flung into a nearby tree, destroying both his bones and the tree's trunk in the process.
"It seems that the beast has grown tired of playing with us," realized Arya hopelessly. And that's exactly the way he felt, hopeless.
If he could use magic, there were at least a million ways he could think of getting out of this. Sadly, that wasn't up to him.
"Pyro Dravia," shouted an old voice, interrupting Arya's final thoughts.
A split second later a massive template appeared in the sky, shooting a beam of blazing hot flames atop the magical beast.
"Argen!"
"Streygas, they don't die unless you fry them. That, or you find something sharp enough to pierce those scales," replied Argen, as he stared at the Streyga's charred corpse
"W-Was that a tier 5 fire spell?" asked the yellow-haired boy, eyes wide in awe.
"Gray needs healing, he's over there," said Arya once he remembered that his brother had been flung at a tree.
After healing Gray, and making sure that there were no other beasts in the vicinity, they began heading back towards Estren village.
"Your mother wouldn't stop pestering me to search for you guys. Apparently, she was 100% certain that you guys had gone into the forest," said Argen as he carried Gray on his back.
"S-Sorry," apologized Arya.
"Oh, I bet you will be. Just wait till your mother gets you," chuckled Argen.
The two had gotten closer over the past three years, however, Argen would always be the grumpy old man who hated being disturbed unless it was about magic.
If Arya wasn't such a magical treasure, then he probably wouldn't have wasted his time coming out here.
"E-Excuse me, but who are you?" asked the yellow-haired boy as he struggled to carry Armin on his back.
"Tier 5 fire spells can only be cast by high-ranked mages, and pardon me for being rude, but I haven't seen you in the courts before," said the boy in a sort of formal tone.
"I've got a better question. Who are you? And why were you in the forest alone?" interrupted Arya, a dangerous look in his eyes.
{This idiot nearly got us killed,} he thought. If he could use magic, he would've probably killed the boy where he stood.
{Don't be so harsh, maybe he had a reason to,} replied Esla, trying to calm Arya down.
{Ye, right,}
"I-I came hunting with some of my guards, but they got wiped out by the Streyga," whispered the boy.
"Sorry, I didn't get that, can you speak any softer," snarled Arya sarcastically.
"And why were you hunting in these woods? As far as I'm concerned Elden is quite a distance away from here," interrupted Argen, looking at the boy's expensive attire.
"F-For training. My father said that I was weak... and that if I wanted to have any chance of getting into the magic academy I had to..." mumbled the boy with a bitter smile on his face.
***
Once they arrived back at the village, they found Cassandra and Lillian waiting. The first thing Lillian did was hug Arya, before pinching him on the cheek.
She then turned to her other kids, hugging them tightly.
"Are they okay?" asked Lillian, her hands shaking in fear.
"They're okay, this won't be enough to kill them," chuckled Argen, before Cassandra's dangerous glare quickly put a stop to it.
"No more going out to hunt. From now on you guys will train at home!" shouted Lillian, still caressing Gray's cheek.
"Yes mom," replied Arya.
"And who's this?" asked Cassandra, noticing the yellow-haired boy for the first time.
"My name is Leon Strenberg, son to the Count of Elden," he announced in an almost grandiose manner, if not for the mud covering his face.
After explaining what had happened, it took everything Lillian had to prevent herself from slapping the son of one of the most important nobles on this side of the kingdom. Although she felt some pity for the boy's circumstances, she still couldn't overlook how her sons were put in danger because of him.
"Arya, wait here with Armin while I take Gray home," she said finally, putting Gray on her back.
"Do you have a place to sleep boy?" asked Cassandra, looking to Leon.
"T-Thank you, but I really must be heading home. I'm sure my father is worried about..." he trailed off before he could finish his sentence.
"The road to Elden cuts through a section of the forest, I doubt you'll be able to make the trip alone," replied Cassandra.