Naya was sitting on the chair in the room Sarah had given her while Rula sat cross-legged on the bed before her.
Rula's eyes were closed, and she sat with her palms faced upward and rested on her knees.
"You should be able to feel the Arcana flowing through the air. It would feel like you were beneath a flowing river."
Naya was trying to help Rula awaken, but she wasn't sure how effective it would be. For Elves, awakening just came naturally once they became 10. The best she can do is describe the feeling of Arcana.
Sitting amongst the flowing Arcana was a pleasant feeling, and many did it even when they weren't absorbing any, just for the calming environment.
"I don't feel anything, no matter how hard I try!" frustration rang in Rula's voice.
[She has a difficult time sitting still. However, perhaps the awakening methods of Dwarves are different.]
"Don't focus too much on it; it may just as easily happen naturally."
Naya wasn't sure of how many methods there were. She knew of forceful awakenings, natural awakenings, and artificial awakenings. However, the details of each method weren't known to her since Elves were naturally awakened.
It's only been an hour since they left the villagers to their celebrations over the Flameclaw's corpse.
Naya wanted to immediately try the awakening, but she underestimated how difficult it was for other races to awaken. Rula had been sitting there for the remainder of the hour, trying in vain to feel the Arcana.
Rula's difficulty sitting perfectly still was frustrating, but Naya chalked it up to a personal trait that she couldn't help.
[She may end up forcefully awakened].
Naya would need to place Rula in an environment filled with dense, high-purity Arcana, where she would be forcefully adapted to the environment via her core awakening. That option was the easiest if they could find such a place, but the most likely method would be to steadily inject her with Arcana, which needed a special device.
But she wasn't sure about the specifics of both or how dangerous they could be.
Either way, it appeared Rula would not awaken before the Flameclaws attacked.
She was evidently thinking the same way, given the frustration in her tone and on her face.
Naya stood and moved to sit beside her. "It's no matter; you will awaken soon regardless."
"But I'll do nothing but watch again!" Rula snapped her eyes open and turned toward Naya with a desperate look. "When you fought Mora and the one earlier, I was just the audience!"
"You were only a painter just two days ago." Naya shook her head. "You cannot expect to suddenly become a powerful mage."
"At this rate, a good painter is all I'll ever be," Rula muttered.
Naya understood how meaningful it was to her, but she seemed to be comparing herself to her, which was a foolish mistake.
Even though Naya dislikes her abilities being tied to her race, it would be moronic to dismiss the connection. She would automatically be stronger than most mortal mages, even if she were just a normal Elven Mage.
[But that doesn't mean I won't try.]
She spoke grandly earlier, and Naya wouldn't allow Rula to be anything less than the best the mortal races can offer.
Of course, she didn't really know what the mortal races could offer since her only real battle encounters were with a witch, a homunculus, and an ice mage—not counting beasts.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized how vast the world truly was.
[I haven't seen any other race cities.]
The scale of the world was dawning on her, as well as a sense of dread over her own duty.
[How can I possibly expect to find all the witches?]
As much as she didn't want to let it affect her, she was starting to understand how insurmountable her task was. It was obvious, and deep down, she knew it because how could the Elves willingly let someone accused of murder re-enter Aleria?
"Are you talking to Lia? Can she help me?" Rula eyes lit up as if she had found a piece of the puzzle.
Naya shook her head sadly. "Lia is... asleep."
"Oh."
Naya sighed. "Stop worrying about it. Do you think so little of me to believe that I would need anyone's help to kill some wild beasts?"
"Are you saying I would get in your way?" Rula said sadly.
[Yes.]
Naya paused to consider her words. "Unless you somehow got to Sarah's level within the next few hours, unfortunately, Rula, you would."
She didn't argue, but her frown deepened. She closed her eyes and went back into her meditative posture. "I will try my hardest!"
Naya wasn't sure how to help her; the process of natural awakening was something that seemed just to happen.
[I think I need to ask the human. Damn you, Lia.]
She reassured herself that it wasn't for her but for Rula.
"You stay here and meditate; I will check in with Sarah."
"Okay," Rula responded absentmindedly.
While she admired Rula's persistence, it would likely not end in success.
Naya stood up and moved toward the door.
She was about to turn the handle, but her ears twitched, and she heard the sound of rapid footsteps.
Multiple people were running toward her room.
Naya pushed the door open and was greeted by the sight of a male guard outfitted in old iron armor with a long spear. This was the guard that guarded the gate last night.
"Miss Naya!" He spoke with panic in between pants. "A group of Flameclaws are approaching the village, led by two humans!"
"What?! Already?!" Rula shouted and jumped from the bed.
"How close?"
"Madam Sarah and Chief Sora are both at the gate right now!" He suddenly bowed deeply. "Miss Naya, please, you have to help them!" He pleaded, with a begging look in his brown eyes.
A glance behind the man showed two more people, a man, and woman, dressed in shotty armor with hastily made spears.
[This village truly isn't outfitted for any sort of combat.]
"Move aside; I will take care of it," Naya commanded. "Your people will not fall here."
"Let's go!" Rula eagerly said. "Before they attack Sarah!"
The guards stood aside, and Naya, followed by Rula, walked out of the room.
It wasn't dark, but it was approaching nightfall, and would rain soon.
This was the worst possible time for the Flameclaws to attack.
[What are these beasts planning?]
Minutes later, Naya saw the closed gate with Sarah and Sora standing tall on top of it.
Sora was wearing a black tunic that was outlined with golden patterns. The tunic reached to her thighs and was cinched at the waist with a black belt, which sheathed a short dagger. She wore simple black leather pants and boots that reached up her calf.
She appeared more like a rogue than a mage.
Sarah wore the opposite of Sora, only simple brown leather pants and a white tunic.
Neither outfit was fit for a battle against fire or a close-range encounter unless they had physical abilities Naya didn't know of.
Sora turned to Naya, "You're here." She spoke with a relieved smile, yet her face immediately became grave. "There's 5 of them approaching, including two in human form."
[5? That's surprising. I wonder if they left anyone behind. ]
"Will you be okay?" Rula tugged on Naya's arm. She had never looked so helpless.
"Of course."
"Is that so?" Sarah looked down at her. "Well, hopefully. They should not be attacking us this early; they must have some sort of idea."
Naya swiftly jumped to the top of the wall using some protruding stone as leverage rather than climbing the steps.
Rula was left behind, which led to her clenching her jaw and looking down.
[I better awaken her sooner rather than later.]
Her desperation for power wasn't unknown to Naya; it was how she felt when she found out she had a Null core.
Rula suddenly climbed up the stairs to meet them on the wall.
"What are you doing?"
"I am not a coward!" Rula glared at Naya. "I may be weak, but I will never cower in fear again!"
Naya stared at her for a moment; Rula maintained her resolute expression, so Naya nodded. "Fine."
They eagerly watched the distance, awaiting the Flameclaw group to appear.
"How did you know they were coming?" Rula asked.
"Same way as when they first attacked us; one of our hunters discovered them," Sarah answered, not taking her eyes off the stone road.
"They let him get away?"
That time, Sora answered. "Yes." She sounded angry.
"The beasts want us to be prepared so they can enjoy it more when they tear us down." Sarah sighed.
"Unwarranted arrogance." Naya snorted.
"To you, but this village would be gone were it not for us," Sora replied.
"I need one of you to cast a spell for me," Naya changed the subject and looked toward Sarah.
"Is this related to your strange ability?" Sarah quirked a brow. "You absorb my spells and convert them to your own Arcana."
"Yes."
"That's... unfair." Sora stared at Naya with newfound awe.
"Naya's really strong!" Rula added.
Sarah turned toward Naya, "I can cast a spell for you, but how strong should it be?"
"Your strongest."
Sarah looked at her dubiously. "I want to offer some assistance in the fight."
Naya's face was cold, "And I want to teach the Wild Beasts what it means to catch my irr."
She had been waiting for this moment, and she wanted to kill them all without even a hint of resistance, just like the one by the lake.
Sora stepped forward. "I'll do it. Better I than mother."
Naya looked her up and down.
[It probably doesn't matter.]
"Fine."
Sora got started right away; she held her palms out, and a blue magic circle started to form.
[Is human magic hereditary?]
The lines quickly expanded from the circle to form various complicated glyphs, circles, and symbols Naya could not recognize.
[It's the same spell, too.]
Yet it was also different; the magic lines seemed less straight, and the complicated parts weren't as significant as on Sarah's.
Finally, it all connected to a + in the center; it looked like a worse version of Sarah's, but what mattered was the power.
Once the mist began to form, Naya reached out and touched the circle.
The purple vortex formed instantly, and the circle shattered. Visible blue Arcana burst into the air and dispersed, some into the air and some into Naya's palm.
Sora jumped and whipped her hand away.
She shook her hand. "That felt like... my blood was being drained."
[I haven't seen someone react to it before. Interesting.]
Naya felt the purple lines climb to her wrist, and her glow came to her pupils and hair.
"Is that a lot?" Rula asked curiously.
"It's enough."
"I hope so because that took quite a bit of my own." Sora looked displeased at the purple lines.
She likely hoped it would do more as if it were a competition.
"It would be better if you gave me everything," Naya said, looking pointedly at Sarah and Sora.
Both shook their heads, but Sarah was the one to respond. "And be defenseless? Refining Arcana is not a quick process."
Naya shrugged. "They will not pass me."
"They know what to expect," Rula said.
"A plan created by wild beasts would not mean anything," Naya reassured her.
"Unless it's [that]," Sarah spoke with venom and gestured to the distance.
Naya turned, and her eyes widened.
Her enhanced senses gave her a better look, and what she saw raised her ears and enraged her.
There was a group of Flameclaws, with Mora and the Chief standing at the front while three more in beast form followed closely behind. The red flames from their bodies illuminated their surroundings, and it was brightened on purpose.
Standing between the group was a human and halfling child, one of the children Naya recognized; how could she not?
It was the same child that looked at her in terror at the village.
"Those detestable bastards!"
Neither of the children looked upset, though they kept taking nervous and curious glances at the Flameclaws.
It told Naya a lot.
[They pretend the Flameclaws are their tamed beasts, and the two in human form are the keepers.]
While it was good that she knew now, it wasn't enough to suppress the rage filling her heart.
The children were clearly not there against their will, so when Naya attacked, they would be caught in the crossfire. She also wouldn't put it past them to use the children as shields or a threat if their position became bad.
She believed that was the most likely; those children would not save them unless they were only there as a threat.
"What's going on?" Rula asked nervously; she was looking up at Naya's expression.
Naya didn't look away. "They have children with them."
"What?!" Rula's eyes widened. "Are they going to-"
"No, they are not there against their will." Naya's tone was cold.
The Flameclaws were taking advantage of the prior night's events; Naya didn't believe the children were chosen randomly—at least, not the young girl.
"What do we do?" Rula tugged on Naya's arm. "They might..."
Sarah shook her head. "We will have to separate them."
Sora looked questioningly at Sarah, "How though, mother?"
"I'm not sure..."
Even Naya wasn't sure; she wished she didn't care about the children's lives so she could go down there and rip the beasts apart.
Still, if the Flameclaws believed bringing children along would prevent their deaths, they had made a mistake.
Naya's fists were clenched tightly, and her nails dug into her palms.
"Let's get off the gate and let them enter the village!" Rula suddenly said.
"Are you crazy? One misplaced fireball, and the entire village could ignite!"
Naya considered for a moment, "No, Rula is right," she added. "Their plan isn't as intelligent as they'd like to think."
"Right." Rula continued. "The moment they attack the wall, we can separate them and attack at once."
Naya jumped off the wall.
Sarah and Rula quickly followed.
Sarah sighed. "I only hope this goes well."
Rula pointed to the Flamelcaw's head on the pole a short distance from the wall, "Naya killed this guy before he even had a chance to fight back!" She spoke reassuringly, though perhaps more trying to convince herself.
"But 5 of them, and without harming the children, will be difficult," Sora said.
"They can't kill the children," Rula added. "I'm not sure what the idea is, but they would only matter if it were a way to get us to let them live."
Naya nodded, though her face was still cold. "They hope we won't blindly attack."
Rula nodded, "Yeah, I think they just want to burn the village down."
"What do you intend to do?" Sarah asked Naya.
"I intend to rip them apart."
"I'll trust you."
"Prepare your spells," Naya commanded, "You must time and aim perfectly and make your arrows far longer."
Not even 5 minutes later, the Flameclaws approached the village gate and stopped.
"We're here, you villains!"
"Your evil ends here, wicked Elf!"
The two children shouted.
Naya heard it all and was only further enraged by the Flameclaws' methods.
[Truly the result of that bitch's experiments.]
"Now, now, kids, I'm sure the Elf will get what's coming to it."
"Okay, Chief!" They both shouted.
[It]
Naya didn't wait any longer.
She held out both her arms and pulled on her Wild Arcana.
Silently, purple threads came out from her palms and began to twirl in the air around her.
The threads wrapped at a point, forming a tip before expanding to the body.
Naya didn't make the feathers.
Moments later, Naya had two small purple arrows without feathers floating atop her open palms. She had an idea of how she could maximize their force.
Then she waited.
"What should we do, Chief?" A deep male voice asked.
"Burn down the gate."
"Allow me!" Mora's voice echoed.
"Step back, kids. The rest of you prepare for battle."
Mora roared, and the village gate burst into red flames.
[Stupid.]
Naya walked up to the gate and touched the flames.
A purple vortex formed and instantly sucked in all the flames like sand through an hourglass.
"You!" Mora growled, "I will kill you personally!"
"Silence, beast," Naya commanded.
The gate started to open.
Naya heard Mora jump back and the shuffling of footsteps, which she assumed meant they all retreated.
Seconds later, it was entirely up, and Naya saw the group.
Mora's arm was held in a brace, and the Chief leaned heavily on a makeshift wooden crutch while the three Flameclaws formed a barrier around the children.
"You should accept your fate; our children..." The chief evilly smirked. "... want to see the villains defeated."
Mora smirked as well, "That's right, you bit-"
"Shut up," Naya interrupted and let go of her hold on the arrows.
Both the Chief and Mora suddenly looked down at their chest in horror; a streak of purple shot through them and embedded itself within the trees beyond. The distinct thud of the arrow's piercing bark reached Naya's ears.
[Did they really think I'd listen to their speech? ]Naya smirked.
The Flameclaws stood frozen, stunned, and still processing what just occurred.
During that moment, Sora and Sarah moved.
Their blue magic circles soared into the sky, leaving a misty trail behind them.
They anchored in the air within seconds, and the mist transformed into more elongated ice arrows, hurtling forward with pinpoint precision.
The long, icy projectiles pierced the ground to form a perfect, circular, solid barrier, which enveloped the two children in a protective ice wall. They aimed the wall of arrows precisely to not only shield them from danger but also conceal their view within.
Each Flameclaw snapped out of their stupor and sprang into action.
"YOU DARE?!"
"MORA!"
"DAD!"
Two of the Flameclaws lunged toward the fallen figures of the Chief and Mora. Both had a hole through where Naya had assumed their hearts to be, assuming they were also based on human anatomy in that form.
The children, their vision obscured by the ice, pounded frantically against the arrow wall.
"What's going on?!!"
"Chief, Mora?!"
The children's concern for the Flameclaws, who were nothing but violent beasts, fueled Naya's rage further.
The older male redirected his attention toward the wall of ice arrows and charged a ball of red fire in his open jaw.
Swiftly, Naya surged forward, and a forceful kick sent it hurtling back.
[Their reaction time sucks. ]
The creature halted just short of a tree, its jaws momentarily parting before swiftly snapping shut and looked momentarily confused.
[The Chief must have warned them against using magic.]
"You killed them!"
"Die!"
The third snapped from its stupor, "All at once!"
The Flameclaws' voices were rage-filled as they charged toward Naya.
"Naya!" Sarah's urgent cry reverberated.
Naya nodded, which marked the synchronization of their actions as Naya lunged forward to confront them head-on.
Contrary to her expectations, the Flameclaws moved with perfect synchronicity.
One leaped mid-charge, a slashing motion aimed at Naya's head from the right.
Another crouched low, intent on slicing at her lower legs from the left.
The third unleashed a fiery projectile aimed directly at her torso from the front.
She reacted swiftly; Naya kicked off the dirt and propelled herself backward, her arm outstretched to intercept the blazing projectile.
The Flameclaw that had unleashed the fireball surged forward along with it, staying close behind it with its clawed paws stretched out.
The other two missed and skidded to a halt, but they both immediately charged after the third.
However, more arrows of ice shot at them and the ground around them, which left them no choice but to redirect their attention.
"I will teach you the lesson again!" The female Flameclaw roared toward Sora, who now stood atop the wall.
Sora looked eager, "I've been waiting for this!"
As for the other, it didn't make a sound as it switched targets to Sarah, who was standing within the open gate with her hand pointed at it.
"I will personally teach her loss!" it growled and charged toward Sarah.
Before their attention was diverted, and with impeccable coordination, a cascade of icy arrows descended and landed directly behind the fiery projectile's trajectory.
The newly formed wall created a buffer, which afforded Naya the time to absorb the flames before the brute force of the Flameclaw collided with the icy defense and lowered its speed.
With the fire now fully absorbed and her purple lines up to her forearm, Naya twisted her body midair and landed with her feet against the village wall.
She used it as leverage and launched herself forward.
The Flameclaw was right before her, and in the moment before impact, Naya saw the horror in its eyes. Its body of red flames expanded, and it tried to twist to mitigate the blow.
Midair, Naya executed a precise twist, and her kick connected solidly with the Flameclaw's ribcage.
Naya felt the bone shatter, which punctuated the impact as the creature was propelled into a nearby tree.
It fell to the ground with a soft thud, but it still breathed weakly.
Naya turned toward the remaining two who were fighting Sarah and Sora.
"Die, bitch!" The Flameclaw had its red flames roaring around its body in a fiery blaze; it burned every arrow launched by Sora instantly.
Naya did not expect Sora to not even be able to touch it; her heart sank when she realized it may have been her fault.
The Flameclaw launched itself up the wall and slashed with its fiery talons at Sora, who winced in preparation for the impact.
Naya could not stop it in time that high up. Still, she charged forward.
The wall of frost appeared beside Sora's ribcage, but it was in vain as the paw shattered it instantly and hit Sora dead on.
She was flung off the wall and sent rolling into the village.
"SORA!" Sarah screamed but was occupied with the male Flameclaw and couldn't divert her attention.
She was fairing much better than Sora, with her icy arrows not melting around the fiery blaze.
The beast could not get close as Sarah had one magic circle aimed near her body and the other aimed at it. It was spending most of its time attempting to dodge the cascade of arrows that would keep coming back. It was a tense situation for her, and she could not divert either of the circles.
She sent Naya a pleading glance, and Naya caught Rula running up to Sora's body.
"Stop hurting my people!"
"Yeah!"
The children's voices and smacking on the ice wall momentarily froze Naya, and she diverted her attention to the wall of arrows beginning to dissolve.
She shook her thoughts away and looked back at the wall.
The female Flameclaw glanced back at Naya, saw her limp ally, and rushed toward Rula.
"NO!"
Naya launched again; however, the village gate suddenly slammed shut as the Flameclaw cut the suspension chains effortlessly.
"STOP!" Rula screamed.
After that, Naya heard Rula's high scream and a loud crash; she also didn't see the soaring red flames anymore.
Her heart sank.
She moved at max speed, squatted below the wall, and launched herself over it.
"Naya, watch out!" Sarah screamed.
As Naya launched, the Flameclaw previously battling with Sarah suddenly appeared above her, with its teeth showing in a victorious grin.
Naya flashed her arms above her to block the blow.
She absorbed the flames, but the force of the impact sent her stumbling back to the ground.
"MOVE!"
The Flameclaw descended right above her; Naya stepped back slightly.
It landed with a thud, but Naya was immediately before it and shattered its bones with a kick to its side.
As it was flung, it still had the victorious grin, and it landed a short distance from the wall.
Naya panicked. Rula hadn't made a sound since the scream and shatter, and she hadn't heard anything else.
She did not check on the Flameclaw and launched over the wall again.
When she landed with a soft thud, she looked over in shock at Rula's perfectly fine condition, though her mouth agape and eyes wide.
Carla's Garuda stood before Rula with an awe-inspiring presence, though not nearly as tall. It had its pitch-black steel armor, an Eagle head, and two perfectly functional black wings furled at its back with golden tops and bottoms.
Its long talons were pierced through the heart of the Flameclaw, and its piercing yellow eyes glared at it.
Right beneath it, Rula's sketchbook, which she seemed to grip whenever there was a tense situation, was opened on the ground.
"What... is this?"