Mattius was at the school when he received a message from one of the first-year teachers who were staying in the clearing where a dais and tents were pitched up. He grabbed a Warping Orb and teleported to the clearing.
The first thing he noticed upon arriving, was that a bunch of students were pouring into the clearing. The students were scared and panicky. The staff members were running about trying to calm them down.
He instinctively spread out his mana and searched the area of the Evershire Forest. He instantly picked up the mana of a wyvern. The mana fluctuated, telling him that the creature was in a confused state of mind. The teacher that had contacted him ran forward when she noticed him. "The students reported the arrival of a dragon. We're trying to calm down the ones that have returned."
Mattius nodded along, a serious expression on his face. Instead of correcting her, he gathered some of the knights and mages that were stationed in the clearing in case of emergencies. He directed them into two groups, one to search the forest for missing students and the other to fight the wyvern.
Just then, two students appeared. "We need to go back!" The boy yelled at the girl with long, matted blonde hair.
"Are you crazy! They're already dead!"
Mattius recognized the girl as Ophelia Rosewood. If he remembered correctly, he had placed Dane Willy in the same group. He walked over to where they were. The boy was making a grab for the Warping Orb in Ophelia's clutched fist.
"Will you mind telling me what happened out there?" He wore a fake, comforting smile on his face while keeping his tone soft yet commanding.
"Headmaster Arien!" The two exclaimed in shock. They both bowed and politely greeted him.
* * * *
Remi ran forward, following the general direction of where the wyvern had gone, Demian hot on his heels. He stayed right with Remi, even slowing down as to not surpass him. He wanted to keep this reckless beta in his sights.
They barreled through the woods, jumping over large rocks and slicing through foliage that might slow them down. They didn't encounter any wildlife, including magical beasts, which helped them speed along. Before long, they cut through the treeline and into a large clearing.
The remnants of a camp were seen. The tents had been slashed and items were strewn about. There were broken tree shards and branches all over the ground. A girl with long black hair was slumped limply on the ground underneath a tree. Thankfully there were no visible injuries on her that Demian could see.
The beast that had caused all this mess was locked in a fierce battle. Its silver scales were bleeding in several spots and one of its glowing silver eyes had a long gash going through it.
Dane, who had been fighting the wyvern by himself, had the legs of his trousers torn with blood seeping through the material. One arm hung limp at his side while in his other hand was a shining black sword.
"Check on Shana!" Remi told Demian as he ran towards Dane's side.
Demian reached an arm out and stopped him by grabbing a hold of his wrist. "I'm a much better fighter. You go check on Shana." Demian didn't leave any room for argument as he sprinted toward the injured beta. He called forth his water magic and fine-tuned it into a sharp blade around his dagger. It sucked that they were only allowed daggers and no other weapons.
Demian reached Dane's side. The guy looked even worse up close. "Let me help."
Dane didn't even acknowledge him as he lunged forward. Demian didn't pay it any mind as he did the same.
Dane ran low, his balance uneven as he sliced his sword in an arc. His sword was made of black sapphire curved, slicing the wyvern's toe cleanly off.
Demian jumped high in the air and sliced towards the monster's arm. The wyvern lurched back just before the blade of water made contact.
The wyvern released a low growl. Its large tail flicked up before swinging towards Dane. The tip of the tail struck the beta square in the chest, sending him flying.
Demian landed on the ground and leaped back, sparing a quick glance towards his fallen comrade. Dane had struck a tree and was lying on the ground in a crumpled heap. Blood flowed freely from the open wound on his shoulder. Remi ran over towards him, and the white glow of his healing magic flowed from his open palms.
He returned his gaze back to his opponent. He readjusted his stance before charging forward once again. Adding water, he extended the length of his blade.
The wyvern flicked its tail, raising it in the air and aiming it at Demian. Demian dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way. At the same time, he brought up his sword and made a slicing motion, cutting a vertical line that extended a few feet into the thick scales.
He jumped back to his feet and ran straight at the wyvern, avoiding its tail and feet in its rampage. He sliced his sword through the air, glancing a hot on the creature's back leg.
The battle went on for what felt like hours though it had only been for a few minutes. Demian was able to score in a few good nicks. . .but unfortunately, so did the wyvern. Demian had a sprained wrist and cracked rib from where he had been hit with an unsuspecting wing.
"Let me help." Remi appeared beside him.
"No. Stay back and protect the others," came Demian's immediate reply. He didn't know what he would do if something were to happen to Remi. It was a thought he didn't want to entertain.
"The others are healed and safe. I pulled them away from the battle. Let me help." To emphasize his words, Remi shot off a fireball, hitting the creature in the snout.
"Fine. But stay back."
Demian continued attacking with his water blade, his mana slowly draining, while Remi supported him by giving him quick heals every once in a while and throwing perfectly aimed fireballs at the wyvern. The wyvern's once silvery scales were now covered in dirt and blood, open wounds, and singe marks.
The creature snapped its jaws at Demian, just missing him by a hair's breadth. Demian had jumped back to avoid the snapping teeth while keeping a constant vigilance on Remi's position so that if he needed to, Demian could swoop in to protect him.
The wyvern flapped its wings and jumped into the air. A terrible situation had just turned into a grave one. They were equipped to fight on the ground, not in the sky where the wyvern had a clear advantage.
Remi shot off a fireball, one far larger than those before it. The fiery mass soared in the sky and hit the wyvern in one of its wings, burning through the tender material.
The wyvern let out a screech that made Remi and Demian flinch. It frantically flapped its remaining working wing to no avail. The massive creature plummeted towards the earth, landing with a ground-shaking thud that sent Remi falling to the ground and Demian onto his knees.
Demian quickly readjusted his posture and ran toward the disoriented creature. He raised his water sword above his head and brought it down, slicing the creature's head cleanly off. Remi looked away, green in the face.
A smile spread across Demian's tired countenance. He wanted nothing more than to pass out from exhaustion, but he fought against the urge and staggeringly made his way towards the still green-looking Remi. "We did it!" His blue eyes shone as bright as his smile even though sweat soaked his hair, making it appear black, and poured down onto his face.
Remi didn't look much better than him with his bangs plastered to his forehead and his face, finally not green anymore, had splotchy red patches all over it. "We did," he said tiredly, a small smile tugging on his pale lips.