'This is my first time working with others during a fight! I have an idea of how Ray fights but no idea how Lexis fights! Ugh! I can only trust them to have my back!'
The three of them jumped away from where they stood to dodge the rabbit quickly and tried to scatter itself. The rabbit preparing himself again, jumped again but this time towards Artis.
"-Ghk!" Artis barely had time to react as the massive rabbit-like beast lunged toward him, its sharp teeth snapping inches from his face. He instinctively dropped to the ground, rolling to the side as the creature landed heavily where he had just stood.
The beast that was attacking them was called Black Horned Rabbit. This beast stood over 4 meters tall, only found deep inside the jungles where they were the predators. With their sharp teeth, they could tear apart any flesh of a beast they target.
Its powerful hind legs were built for explosive speed, capable of launching it great distances with a single bound. The beast's massive body was balanced by a long, tufted tail that swished like a predator's as it surveyed its surroundings, constantly on the hunt for its next target.
Its ears, long and pointed, twitched at every sound, serving as acute sensors to detect even the slightest rustle in the underbrush. The creature's eyes, a vivid crimson, glowed with an unsettling intelligence, reflecting a hunger for the thrill of the chase.
But the most striking feature about this beast was the pointed black horn attached to its head. If its target gets struck with that horn, the target gets paralyzed, unable to move for a minute as the rabbit devours its prey slowly and surely.
'I've read that the Black Horned Rabbit, when attacking a group always aims for the weakest member of the group. That means Artis is the weakest of us 3! Damn it!'
Ray clenched his fists, cursing under his breath as he noticed the rabbit's predatory gaze fixed on Artis. That rabbit perceived Artis as the weakest and just like a hunter, aimed at it's prey!
"Artis! Don't let its horn touch you! If it does, you will be in trouble!" Ray called out, trying to divert the rabbit's attention as Lexis stood still, closing her eyes and crossed her fingers of her right arm and mumbled a sentence.
"O Spirit, Raftel, I plead you to give me the power to control water!"
Immediately, a little whirlpool of water swirled around Lexis, its spiraling energy growing as she concentrated. She lifted her hand, directing the torrent toward the Black Horned Rabbit. With a swift gesture, she sent a powerful stream of water hurtling at the creature's head, aiming to disorient it and throw off its relentless focus on Artis.
The water struck the rabbit with force, splashing over its eyes and coating its black horn. The beast shrieked in irritation, its vision momentarily obscured as it shook its head, trying to rid itself of the water. Ray seized this opportunity, darting forward to draw its attention. He moved quickly, shouting at the beast and clapping his hands to keep its gaze away from Artis.
"Artis, this is your chance!" Ray shouted, urging him to take action. "Lexis has it distracted! Go for a weak spot!"
Artis, hearing him, steadied himself as he took out the knife with the black gem attached to it. Remembering how to use a knife from his academy days, he emitted his energy to the knife as the black gem started glowing as he channeled his focus into it.
The knife emitted a dark aura as Artis paid it no mind and quickly took position to slash it.
Using [Flash Step], he got closer to the rabbit and slashed its legs. The rabbit got no time to cry as Ray got in range and threw a barrage of punches shaking off his balance and Lexis, with her torrent, aimed under the ground making the rabbit fly as it fell backwards.
The Black Horned Rabbit, completely thrown off balance, let out a guttural howl as it struggled to regain its footing. Artis, Ray, and Lexis watched its massive body hit the ground with a heavy thud, dust rising around it. The creature, though weakened, still twitched with a last surge of defiance, its crimson eyes blazing with fury as it attempted to push itself back up.
Ray, clenching his fists as a dark aura covered him, and gritted, "Ugh! What's a damn Horned Rabbit doing here in outskirts!? Aren't these beasts found in forests and jungles!?"
"I would like to know the answer to that myself, genius!" mocked Lexis, managing to regroup as she was panting heavily, "Seriously, this is the first time something like this has appeared in outskirts...How come this rabbit is here...and why is it so big?"
"Big? As in, bigger than the normal Black Horned Rabbits?" asked Artis, also panting as he clutched his head in pain.
"Yeah, way bigger," Lexis replied, her brow furrowing. "I've only read about them being around two meters, tops. This one's over four… something's off." She cast a wary glance at the rabbit's still form, as if expecting it to lunge back to life.
Ray's dark aura flickered as he let out a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "So, this wasn't just a random attack. If this thing managed to get out here, someone-or something-must have driven it here."
Artis nodded slowly, pushing back his exhaustion. "But why? It's like… it was purposefully set loose to cause chaos." He tightened his grip on his knife, the gem still faintly glowing as he struggled to make sense of it. "Who would benefit from releasing such a creature here?"
Lexis's eyes narrowed, suspicion settling in. "Whatever it is, we can't leave it unchecked. If one's here, there could be more. We need to warn the Professor and let the others know. We'll let them handle it!"
Ray nodded, agreeing with the sentiment while Artis looked down in frustration, realizing his weakness, but internally agreeing with the sentiment.
As they were about to leave, a cry loud enough snapped them out of their thoughts as they turned to look back and see that the Black Horned Rabbit stood up, positioning itself to launch an attack again.
Ray's jaw clenched as he positioned himself in front of Artis and Lexis. "Get ready! This thing's tougher than we thought!" His aura flared, casting a dark sheen over his fists. He could feel his own exhaustion setting in, but the rabbit's sudden resilience fueled his determination.
Lexis and Artis nodded, both preparing to support Ray as Lexis clicked her gauntlets and Artis summoned his wand as he held the knife with his mouth.
"Artis! On my count, use your smokescreen, Okay?" ordered Lexis as she stared at the rabbit.
Artis nodded, as he glanced at his wand, and waited for the signal.
"..."
"..."
"NOW!"
At Lexis's signal, Artis jabbed his wand into the ground, summoning a thick, swirling smokescreen that billowed outward, enveloping the battlefield in a dense fog. The Black Horned Rabbit let out a confused snarl, its vision and acute senses muddled by the dark smoke.
Taking advantage of the rabbit's disorientation, Ray darted through the haze, his silhouette barely visible as his dark aura flared around him. He struck the beast with a powerful kick to its side, aiming to destabilize its stance.
The arms around him hardened as he delivered another barrage of punches to the rabbit sending it fly.
Taking advantage of the situation, Lexis chanted under her breath, as a sphere of wind formed under her palms, focusing her energy. "Take this! [Wind Sphere]!"
She flung the sphere at the rabbit, hitting it square in the eyes and further disrupting its senses. The creature staggered, its massive body reeling from the combined attacks.
Artis, knife at the ready, used [Flash Step] to move behind the rabbit, avoiding its massive horn. He took a deep breath, gripping the knife tighter, and with a fierce slash, he aimed for the back of the rabbit's leg. The beast buckled, letting out a strangled cry as it sank to one knee.
Not giving it a moment to rest, he activated [Magician], as he aimed his wand towards the rabbit as a streak of embers was released from the wand.
The embers grew in size as it became a small worm, a small worm to a small snake and then from a small snake to a little red blazing dragon circling around the rabbit waiting to devour its prey!
The rabbit noticing it shrink and cowered back in fear as noticed by Artis. Artis aimed the ring of fire at the rabbit's horn and hit it with full force. The rabbit cried in pain trying to run away from the fight but Lexis and Ray wouldn't allow it.
Ray, with a final burst of energy enveloped his fists in fire striking the rabbit square in the chest with a powerful punch that sent shockwaves rippling through the clearing.
Meanwhile, Lexis took a deep breath, her fingers weaving an intricate pattern in the air as she focused her energy. She chanted softly, summoning a spiraling gust of wind that gathered above her. "O Spirit of Tempests, grant me the power of the storm!" With a forceful motion, she directed a whirlwind down upon the rabbit, the powerful gust lifting it momentarily off the ground as the dragon's flames intensified, fueled by the air.
The rabbit fell heavily to the ground, its body smoldering from the fire, its energy thoroughly depleted. The once-menacing Black Horned Rabbit lay still, defeated.
As the last of the smoke and embers faded, the three of them stood in silence, each catching their breath, staring at the creature's unmoving form.
"It's dead this time around right?" asked Ray.
Artis and Lexis stared at the creature, which was covered in burn marks laid down not moving anymore.
"Yeah....It's dead...."