*Bam!*
Both Tarantulas hit the wall at such speed that their exoskeleton ended up completely destroyed with several cracks, from where blood swiftly flowed outside. Stunned and incapable of moving their body, the Tarantulas helplessly fell into the river.
Aurea however, started to cough violently as she clutched the wall to avoid dropping to her knees.
She ended up coughing so hard that some drops of blood appeared on her palm before quickly brushing them off and putting the neck warmer back on.
She looked toward where both Layer Beasts fell and sighed. Without wasting a moment, Aurea quickly called Phoenix to come and assist him.
Zenon, though, was too busy trying his best not to succumb to the pain assaulting his mind. It was piercing enough to make any average human faint.
He, subconsciously, started hyperventilating and the density of the air that wrapped the canyon was not making it any easier. The more he tried to breathe the dizzier he felt.
Noticing his condition, Aurea pressured her Familiar, which spent no time on arriving near both. She looked at Phoenix and said,
"You know what to do."
The Familiar nodded and climbed on top of Zenon's shoulder. The boy got startled by the sudden apparition of the bird, but nonetheless, he let him do whatever.
Phoenix put both of his wings on top of the boy's wound and they suddenly got wrapped by... waves? Zenon didn't know what he was seeing but he knew that it was taking the pain away and didn't want it to stop.
After some seconds, that piercing pain disappeared and Phoenix flew toward Aurea. Zenon looked at his shoulder and was left amazed when he saw how the wound stopped bleeding.
It was still open, but seeing how such a deep injury wasn't leaking a single drop of blood whatsoever blew his mind.
Aurea whistled at Zenon and said, "Get up already."
Zenon nodded and slowly got up while still being charmed by her Familiar's ab-
*Slap!*
'Huh?'
Zenon felt how his cheek started aching and got taken aback when he saw Aurea with her palm up in the air.
He blinked twice and muttered, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"You should be asking that to yourself." Aurea chuckled, "First lesson on fighting, just because you got some strikes in a row doesn't mean you are going to win a fight."
Zenon frowned his forehead and she continued,
"If I weren't here you'd be dead already. When you are battling against two or more Layer Beasts you should always know where both of them are.
If you manage to lose sight of only one of them, well... I guess you know what happens. You get impaled in the shoulder or better yet, between your eyes."
"Are you saying this is my fault? If you are expecting an apology, then I'm sorry to break your dreams but I won't."
Aurea gave Zenon an indifferent look before clicking her tongue and walking past Zenon. After some seconds of silence, she peeked back at him and said with a serious tone,
"I don't need an apology, I need you to improve. Use this fight as a starting point and grow better from now on."
She began walking once again toward their destination, followed by Zenon. Something about her tone took him by surprise, but he still couldn't understand what did so. It was as if...
'Was she repeating someone's words?'
---
Hours went by and Zenon was feeling rather excited. But how he could not feel this way after killing three Venomous Tarantulas with his own skill!
Along the way, they happened to come across some Layer Beasts, usually alone. In case they were in groups of two or more, they'd turn back and find another safer path.
It's not that they couldn't fight two Tarantulas at the same time, but both of them still needed much more experience before going against more numbers.
Not only that, but he was lucky enough to watch Aurea fight one versus one against a Tarantula as well! And - oh boy! - he was surprised about how out of his league Aurea was.
Every movement that she made, every tiny detail when handling the sword, every use of her Ability was so sophisticated that Zenon forgot for a second that this was real life and not some sort of dream!
Her usage of the sword was so perfect and flawless that it could be compared to that of a swordmaster. How come a girl from his age was so talented in this art?
There was a brief moment where Aurea got cornered by the same Tarantula she was fighting yet her expression remained the same, completely unfazed, and managed to kill it!
And not only that, but Zenon found her Elemental Ability extremely interesting. It seemed like any order that she gave without the neck warmer... turned into reality?
The clearest example was when a Tarantula ran toward her and she just said, "Stop." And the very next moment the Layer Beast remained briefly stunned before escaping Aurea's command, even though it was enough for her to give the final blow.
Although, every time he used this Ability it made her violently cough some seconds after. I guess that's the price to pay for being able to command anything at your will.
Zenon silently sighed as he heard Aurea's coughing. She used this ability four times this day and it made her voice turn hoarse as she coughed some blood.
'So much for a powerful Ability... I hope that the void doesn't demand something like that from me.'
Trying to distract himself, Zenon summoned his runes.
[Void Sacrifices: 8/1500]
'Six Sacrifices today... it's going to be a long road until reaching the limit. Yet... I wonder what will happen once I do.'
Zenon looked upward to see the sky filled with beautiful sunset colors. They were currently walking toward a cave that Phoenix found not too far from where they were.
Didn't take more than half an hour to reach it anyways.
Both Unseens got inside and followed the new-made tradition of setting up a campfire to enjoy today's hunt. Though the ambiance was really gloomy, as the cave was filled with constant violent coughs from Aurea.
Zenon tried to enjoy his food but seeing her companion acting this way was affecting him more than expected. They only met two days ago, but since they spent the day either fighting alongside or talking...
Experiences like this made Zenon appreciate her presence more and more. After some minutes, Zenon said,
"If your Ability requires such a big... uhm, price could be said? Why don't you just use it when there's no other option left?"
Aurea lifted her warmer and said, "Because your non-existent combat sense will get you killed if I don't intervene. So many years living in that shitty place and you can't even handle a mere spider."
...
'I take that back, she only finds excuses to roast me.'
Embarrassed, Zenon finished his meat trying to avoid eye contact with her. After some seconds, however, he said,
"Can't you teach me how to gain that sense you are talking about?"
Aurea rose an eyebrow before saying,
"I'm already teaching you a lot of things... what do I win in return?"
"I don't know, maybe a proper teammate that won't fuck everything up as you say."
Zenon stared at Aurea as she did the same. After some long seconds of intense staring Aurea took a deep breath and said,
"Whatever... as long as you are willing to learn."