After a few minutes, they reached a long gate completely covered in plants, signifying its age. At the center of the gate, there was a golden symbol. Arcia was thinking about how to open it and asked Zellto for any ideas, but she didn't receive a reply. She turned towards him, and a smile covered her face. She moved towards him and snapped her fingers in front of his face to bring him back to his senses.
He muttered, his eyes rolling with tears, and he began crying. "T-this is actually real. Thank you, thank you a lot, Arcia. Thank you." Arcia hugged him to calm him down.
Zellto's eyes closed, and he awoke in the real world.
"What is happening?" the beast shouted. Zellto's power began to increase again.
Zellto's muscles around the spike contracted, and he broke the spike. He fell to the ground, his blood draining onto the ground, flying due to the impact. In that blood, he recalled his memories. "Father, Mother, Brother, sorry I failed you that day, but... this time it will be different."
"My name is Zellto Blaterous. A proud blacksmith." As soon as he completed his words, a piece of his blade covering the gem shattered. As a result, the entire area was covered in a reddish glow. Within a few minutes, the reddish glow intensified. The blade began to break; a large circular portion of the blade fell to the ground. Zellto sat down to pick up that part and put it on the gem.
His blood started rolling across the blade, and the blade began to transform. The broken parts moved to a new position. The blade transformed to represent his family sign.
His voice filled with pain, "Thank you, Arcia," he said. A memory appeared in front of him: Arcia lying in his hand, her last words, "I will always protect you, my sweet Zello."
He moved towards the beast, who was surprised. The beast stopped himself from making a reckless move as he was well aware that if the attack landed, he would be done for. "What's this feeling? It's similar to what I felt that day." "What is this voice? Who are you and what are you doing in my body?" the beast roared.
The beast ignored the voice and decided to focus on Zellto. He cut his vein and soon covered himself in blood with an evil smile. He shouted, "Die!" His blood moved at a very high speed, leaving marks on the ground around them.
The beast smiled. "I know my blood will be evaporated if it comes in contact with that power you have, but if I use my blood from inside your body." The beast roared, but his smile suddenly turned to fear and disbelief. "No, no, this cannot happen! My blood cannot fail me!" He fired blood spikes at Zellto.
The blood drops began burning as they entered Zellto's 5-meter area. Around 4.8 meters, they completely vaporized. The blood spike vaporized at 4.5 meters. The death ray vaporized at 4.3 meters. The beast charged his Corrusive beam, and it vaporized at 2 meters.
Zellto was about to reach the beast, just 5 meters away. The beast's body began to burn. Zellto cut off his limbs and hands. The red blade evaporated the blood before it could even exist on the beast's body. With a final blow, the beast's head was removed. As a result of that immense power, his body ached, and he collapsed, but he was happy. He muttered, "I have finally avenged you, Arcia."
Zellto could only complete his words as a dark energy tried to escape from the beast's body. Zellto remembered the same dark energy present that day near Arcia.
Zellto shouted, "You are the one! I will not let you go. I will avenge her!" Zellto tried to stand up, but his body wouldn't move at all. He placed his hand on his wound to slow the bleeding.
Zellto tried to attack, but he collapsed, his face facing the beast's body from which the energy was coming out. "I will destroy you!" Zellto said. The energy pointed its hands towards Zellto to kill him but stopped as its energy was depleting. "I will kill you next time," the energy said, and left Zellto screaming, "NO! This can't be true!"
"I am sorry, I cannot avenge you. I am still weak. I need you, please come back. Arcia!" As his consciousness faded, his eyes grew heavy. He muttered
After an hour, they reached deep in the forest and began searching for what they came for. They both searched for a very long time but hadn't found it yet. Zellto, tired, sat on a nearby rock.
"Arcia," he said, "what are we searching for? Please at least tell me its name this time."
She hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm also unaware of what we're searching for, but I'm certain it's here."
Zellto took a long breath in disappointment and got up from his spot, starting his search again. While searching, he said, "Okay, let's search every last corner for the nth time, if it takes. But if we find it, who will know we found the correct thing?"
When he didn't receive any reply, he turned to see her and saw she was working very hard. She turned towards Zellto when she sensed someone was looking at her for a very long time and asked, "Did you say something?"
Zellto shook his head and resumed his search.
After another hour, Zellto was lying on his back, watching Arcia search. He thought for a second and said, "Are you actually certain that thing, whatever it is, is here? I don't distrust you, but maybe it's not in this place, but one identical to it."
Arcia looked at the surroundings, confused. She started muttering, "Everything is the same, then where is it?"
She moved towards Zellto and took his hairpin. She poked his finger with it, and Zellto tried to resist but failed. He asked in pain, "What are you doing?"
Arcia ignored him and began collecting his blood, at least that's what it felt like to him. She put the blood on her palm, moving it from one hand to the other. Her lips were moving very fast. When Zellto saw her lips, he realized she wasn't just playing. Unable to understand what she was doing, he decided to wait for her to finish.
For another hour or so, her lips and hands moved continuously. After a few more minutes, she stopped. Her face was filled with joy. She turned towards Zellto, but her face turned pale when she saw he was unconscious. She rushed towards him but was relieved to see he was just sleeping.
She shouted in his ear, "Rise and shine!"
Zellto jumped back, his eyes still closed. He moved his hand as if holding a sword. He quickly opened his eyes and saw her. He said in an annoyed tone, "How many times have I told you not to do this?"
Arcia held her ears to apologize and said, "Sorry, I promise I won't repeat this again." She ruffled his hair and continued, "I have more ways to make you mad, but still, my promise is valid for this day only."
Zellto ignored her and asked, "Any luck?"
Arcia's face reflected happiness. "There is a place that resembles your energy a lot," she said. "Maybe that's what we were looking for."
Zellto was confused and asked, "What are you referring to? Why is it so important that you rushed here without explaining first?"
Arcia didn't hear a thing. She turned back and called out, raising her voice, "What are you doing? Come fast!"
Zellto took a breath and started moving towards her.
Flames in the blade rise to one meter along with the temperature. The blade starts to turn red hot. Zellto condenses the flame into the blade and rushes towards the beast.
The beast roars, blood rushing out of its body. It roars again, the blood forming thousands of drops around it. It charges for another black beam. Within a few seconds, the beast is ready and blasts the beam at Zellto.
Zellto has covered half the distance and sees the black beam rushing towards him, followed by the beast's blood drops. The speed of the attack is very fast, but it doesn't frighten him.
Zellto dodges the drops and increases his speed. Just before the beam can touch him, he jumps into the sky, confirming his suspicion. "As I expected, you are injured. Right?"
Covered in rage, the beast attacks Zellto with his remaining drops surrounding him. All the remaining drops rush at high speed towards Zellto. As Zellto is in the air, he's unable to dodge. He smiles. "If I can take you down..." He raises his power, the blade turns even redder, and the air around him begins to heat up.
Zellto doesn't stop and increases his power further. Within the next few seconds, the air around him starts to burn. His entire body is covered in sweat, and his body is also starting to burn. As soon as the blood drops enter the air, they vaporize within seconds.
The beast's face, which was once covered in a smile, loses that smile as the corrosive gases present in his blood also vaporize with the same attack. Zellto condenses the entire heat at the blade's edges. The temperature of the blade is so high that it starts to melt. He shouts, "This is the end for you!"
The beast is shocked and covered in fear. With each second, his fear increases as he wasn't expecting this outcome. He shouts, but no clear voice can be heard. The air around him is so heavy that he's unable to vibrate it.
The beast tries everything in his disposal to attack Zellto. He creates blood spikes, throwing them towards him. Zellto jumps over one of them, increasing the heat again. Due to the intense heat, the attacks evaporate. "This is the end," Zellto declares, attacking.
But the beast smiles. Zellto is unable to understand his action and tries to attack him again. Suddenly, his weapon falls to the ground.
The heat covering the area is lost. Using this opportunity, the beast attacks him with a large blood spike. The spike goes all the way from his chest to the other side as he hangs in the air. Drop by drop, blood moves across the spike and falls to the ground.
Zellto starts coughing and spits blood on the ground. His eyes feel heavy as he struggles to maintain consciousness. Trying to remain awake, he starts repeating, "People are counting on you. I can't die yet."
Zellto's struggle comes to an end as his eyes flicker for the last time and close. In his final struggle to retain consciousness, he sees the beast's face still covered in a smile. When Zellto's eyes finally close, the beast's smile fades away, and he falls on his back, thinking, "Luckily, they aren't aware of my full powers yet and misjudged me for one of the weak ones." The beast closes his eyes to rest for a while before finishing off his prey.
Zellto's life starts running in front of him like a movie: happiness, sadness, guilt, everything comes back. And between those memories, he saw her.
"Zellto, I'm going to fetch some herbs. Want to accompany me?" a voice grabs his attention. Zellto removes his blade and says, putting his sword in its safe place, "Let's move."
He adds, moving inside his room, "Wait a minute, I'll bring my other sword for today."
She replies with dissatisfaction, "What's wrong with this sword?"
After a few hours, they reach near the forest in the northeast of Acroniya.
"Zellto, be on your guard. This place is not an ordinary one," she replies, but Zellto cuts her off. "Don't worry, I will protect you."
Meanwhile, Zellto reached the source of the immense power and began walking slowly towards it, taking care not to make a sound.
After a few minutes, he saw a razor beast. Its body resembled an ordinary razor fang, but much bulkier, with intact flesh and, to his surprise, completely unbloodied. Zellto approached cautiously, thinking carefully while walking. "Although this beast may not have killed anyone yet," he thought, judging by its appearance and power, "it's no ordinary creature." Its pitch-black fur absorbed all light, making it difficult to see. "Even in this bright sunlight," he thought, "I can only make it out like a painting."
The beast turned towards him, its eyes crusted with blood. When their eyes met, a strange pressure enveloped Zellto's entire body, forcing him to the ground.
He tried to move, but was unable. "I'm stuck, but... why... just move..." he muttered, struggling in vain. The beast's face stretched into a long, mocking smile. "You can't escape. That's a shame," a voice echoed in the area. Zellto scanned his surroundings, confused by the disembodied voice. Looking back at the beast, he stammered in confusion, "Were you the one who...?"
His words died in his throat as he saw the beast's smile widen. Zellto quickly took a fighting stance and demanded, "So... then it means you can talk and think?"
The beast remained still, the same creepy smile plastered on its face. Its throat vibrated as it spoke, "Yes, Human, I can." There was no movement in its face at all.
Zellto became more conscious of his surroundings and cautiously asked, "Why? What's your reason to attack? Don't you know war only brings chaos and destruction?"
Another voice echoed, "That's exactly what we want."
Zellto braced for an attack, but the beast remained motionless. A drop landed on his hand. He looked up at the sky, shocked and worried. Thousands of drops, each radiating dark energy, fell from above. Realizing they were the beast's blood, Zellto examined the area where the first drop landed. It appeared normal, except for a dark red mark.
In a hurry, Zellto opened a vial filled with blue liquid, quickly drank from it, and splashed some on the mark. When nothing happened after a few minutes, he took a deep breath. "Okay, let's end this," he said, locking eyes with the beast.
Zellto charged at the beast, but stopped abruptly. He jumped back just as the ground where he had been standing melted away like butter. "If I'd been a bit slower, I'd be toast," he thought. Running at an angle to increase his speed, he dodged the falling blood drops. The beast remained still, watching Zellto struggle.
In a short span of time, Zellto was covered in sweat, his breath ragged. Sensing something was wrong, he ripped off his long cape, revealing a gem glowing beneath it. Its red light cast everything in a crimson hue. A black energy blast hurtled towards Zellto. In a split second, he grabbed his blades and raised them, the red gem engulfing them in flames.
The two attacks collided. Though Zellto was pushed back, he didn't attempt to defend himself further. The energy was about to connect with him, turning the area of impact black and burning his skin, but he held his ground, waiting for an opportunity. His chance came. With a shout, he roared, "Now it's my turn!"
Everyone starts working according to the plan. Within a few minutes, they prepare the net. Ilar, putting an old man down, said, "Nice work! Everyone hold it tight." Ilar stopped for a second, thinking for a moment. He opened a miniature crossbow and loaded his arrow. Before launching it, he slid it again on a stone, causing it to ignite. He launched it into the sky and ordered his Kazo's, "Everyone get ready! More people are incoming."
Shortly after, the consequences of his action became clear. A group of people started flying towards them. After a few minutes, hundreds of people were rescued by the net.
Ilar ordered the Kazo's to take them to safety and turned towards their group healer. He simply said the name of that Kazo, "Alliena..."
She nodded her head before he could finish his words unevenly. "I will do everything I can, Ilar. Don't worry, no one will die here."
Ilar turned towards the hundreds of beasts, then towards his fellow Kazo's who were busy helping the injured. He looked towards the herd of beasts and tightened his grip on his sword. After a brief pause, he started rushing towards the core with a worried plea, "Please, keep Kalza safe." But before he could reach near the beasts, he sensed a strong power coming from the core. He quickly changed direction and came back to his Kazo's.
With a powerful voice, that power blasted. Due to intense heat and pressure, nearly all the beasts were severely injured, with the majority unable to fight. Andeer's voice filled the area, followed by a large sun-like structure. Due to that structure, the entire area was covered with intense heat and light. Beasts started to move back upon realizing the power of that attack.
But that person didn't let them escape. His voice trembling but still filled with determination, he mocked the beasts, "Until now, Acroniyans played prey, but this time it's your turn. So, don't leave so soon!" His expression took a serious turn, and he launched his attack. Within a few seconds, the power exploded, destroying all the beasts.
The attack power was so powerful that it vaporized them in a fraction of a second.
From between the flames and smoke, Andeer appeared. His flesh was covered in flames and burns. Ilar shouted his name, "Andeer!" Andeer was unable to understand his concern and shouted, "I am fine... But..."
He sensed something wrong and turned to see one beast completely covered in flames, but still standing.
Ilar spoke up, helping Andeer to go to the healer, but due to the flames surrounding his body, they were unable to come closer. They heard the roar of the beast. Andeer shouted, "Ilar, forget about me! This beast is on its last breath. Kill it fast before it can call backup!" Before Ilar could react, he gave another order, "Wait, let me take this down first..." Ilar looked at him in confusion.
Andeer understood his concern and said, "Take the civilians to that cliff. They will be safe there. Also, take some Kazo's to defend the cliff from any incoming beasts."
Ilar was still confused and started moving to execute the plan. Andeer stopped him and asked, "You're still confused, aren't you?" Ilar simply nodded his head. Andeer said with a deep breath, "How fast we go there is limited by the distance we can travel." He paused and pointed towards the area, continuing, "This place is best to fight those beasts, as the damage to both life and property will be minimal here." He looked towards Ilar, who was still confused. Andeer put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine." Andeer realized something and quickly moved his hand back, apologizing, "Sorry, I didn't mean to..." Ilar said, pointing towards the recent burn mark he received from Andeer's action, "Don't worry, I'm not that weak."
A powerful roar covered the area. Andeer realized something and shouted, "Ilar, take the civilians as far away as possible NOW!" Ilar wanted to ask something but stopped himself after witnessing the tension on his face.
Andeer looked towards the source and saw a huge area covered in dust clouds where the last beast was standing. He tried to see, but nothing was clear. He could barely see a black dust or cloud-like substance moving towards the beast. Andeer started moving towards him, muttering, "If I kill him, then whatever that thing is, it will be meaningless." Before he could reach any closer, his body froze in place. From between the dust, he saw two red eyes. The intensity of these red eyes only increased as the dust clouds started fading. He saw the beast's body covered in black blood, its half-burned eyes now appearing normal.
Andeer recognized those eyes. His flames once again began burning brightly. He moved towards the beast and shouted, "This is your last time! You will be dead for good this time!"
Although it was just a scratch, his body started bleeding. His internal organs began to melt. Even in these last moments, he wasn't afraid. He raised his sword towards the beast responsible for his condition.
That beast stood at a distance, its eyes clouded with immense hatred. A few blood vessels remained destroyed in its eyes, a reminder of its anger. Andeer didn't wait long and attacked. The beast wasn't ready for that kind of attack. In a single strike, the beast was down for good.
Andeer's face began to turn pale. He searched for healing blood. His face turned serious as he tried to dodge attacks, but some connected. His condition worsened with each passing second. Due to his injuries, beasts once again surrounded him. His condition became worse than before with each passing moment. In his last breath, he saw the Acroniyans filled with fear, then the faces of the surrounding beasts. All the beasts were looking towards him. "Well, if this is the end, let me take some of you, I mean all of you, with me." He raised his head, his pain starting to fade in front of his determination. He kept a sharp eye on the beasts' movements. He quickly switched the vial he was holding inside his bag.
He opened a vial filled with red liquid. When the vial came into contact with air, the liquid started turning red, a layer of smoke covering it. Andeer's hands began to burn, but he just smiled. He poured the liquid on his sword, and after a second, he put it on his stomach area affected by the beasts. As soon as the liquid touched his skin, it started burning. He controlled his pain and looked towards his blade, now covered in flames. With the flames, the blade started to turn red. Ignoring his pain, Andeer rushed towards the core of the Beasts.
Andeer smiled to overcome his pain and shouted to grab the beasts' attention, "This pain is not worth mentioning. I will not let anyone have the same fate!" He swung his sword, making his path forward.
Meanwhile, Ilar and Kazo's were making their way in, but were unable to do so. When they heard Andeer's voice, they were filled with sadness. "Ilar, let's help Andeer. He is our leader!" One of Kazo's, his eyes welling with tears, said. Ilar, killing beasts to create his way, spoke with disappointment, "I know, but there are so many. If I was strong enough, wait..." He threw a beast's body aside. Some of the beasts noticed then and started attacking them. He started dodging their attacks and asked the Kazos watching from the cliff, "Where is Kalza heading?" He conveyed his message using disturbances in the air.
Kazo, who was in charge of communication, heard Ilar's voice from a circular disk-like device made of aluminum. Although the message wasn't entirely clear, it was enough to understand. He muttered, "Where Andeer is heading."
He started scanning the area and found his path after considering all possibilities. He stood in his place, used sign language by moving his body, and told them, "Despite his seemingly random movement, he's heading towards the injured."
After understanding the situation, Ilar ordered the killing of the remaining beasts. "Everyone, be on your guard. People may..." Before he could complete his sentence, he saw an old lady being sent flying towards him. He jumped to save her and ordered one of the Kazo's to take her to a safe location.
He quickly turned towards the beasts and charged, ordering as fast as possible, "Everyone leave your weapons NOW!" No one understood his order and hesitated for a moment. Before he could tell them further, a few more people started flying towards them. He shouted again, "Do it fast!" Due to urgency, they left their weapons. Ilar rushed towards the people at the same time, ordering, "Catch them! The rest, join cloths to make a net!"
After riding for around half an hour, they reached a cliff. A strong stench of blood grabbed everyone's attention. Andeer raised his hand to signal the Kazos to stop, and everyone obeyed instantly. They dismounted quickly and carefully from their beasts' backs to avoid any noise. Led by Andeer, all the Kazos crawled slowly to the edge of the cliff and scanned the area below. They saw a large number of beasts surrounding something, but everything was blurry.
He rushed back to his beast and started searching for something in the bag strapped on its back. "This should work," he muttered, holding up a completely transparent crystal. He returned to the edge of the cliff and adjusted the crystal over his eyes. With some fiddling, he was able to see more clearly. It wasn't perfect vision, but enough.
He started scanning the area, relaying his findings to the others. "There are around 300 beasts, all Razor Fangs. Most are weak, with only a few slightly stronger ones." He tried to see what the beasts were surrounding. After a few minutes of effort, he spoke again, "Acronyians are surrounded – about 1200 people. More than 250 are dead, and there are at least 450 injured, including serious and minor injuries. The beasts are eating the corpses, and the people are terrified."
Ilar started to ask for orders, but before he could speak, Andeer had already leaped from the cliff. He used his sword to stab into the cliff face, slowing his descent to a safe and manageable speed.
Ilar shouted for everyone to follow him. Understanding the urgency, they all jumped from the cliff, using their swords to slow their descent.
They were only halfway down when they began to hear the sounds of battle. By that point, Andeer had already killed around five beasts.
Dodging the attack of another beast, Andeer continued counting, "One, two, three... fourteen, there it is!" He weaved through the pack, killing one more beast. By the time the remaining Kazos reached the battlefield, he had eliminated 23 beasts with no losses on his side.
As the Kazos reached the bottom of the cliff, they saw Andeer's pace slow. Ilar scanned the area, formulating a plan while observing Andeer's condition. "Though he's not injured, still..." he trailed off, looking towards the battle-ready Kazos.
"Kazos, move forward!" he shouted. Responding to the call, the Kazos surged forward to aid him. Ilar issued further instructions. "Divide into two groups! One group will surround the people and escort them away from here. The rest, come with me to distract the beasts. Our priority is to protect the people. If killing the beasts is necessary to achieve that, then so be it. Remember one thing: nothing is more important than the lives of the people. Your lives are equally valuable, but this is not the time to think about yourselves."
He raised his sword and yelled, "For Acronyia!"
All the Kazos raised their swords in response, their voices merging into a single, powerful roar: "For Acronyia!"
The beasts turned towards the Kazos, giving Andeer an opening to dispatch two more. The beasts turned back to him, and one of the closest lunged. Andeer tried to dodge, but his legs felt heavy, hindering his movements. He simply smiled, raised his sword, and said, "If I can't dodge, I have to fight head-on."
He took a deep breath and attacked the beast. His hands moved with incredible speed, landing the first blow. His sword sliced through the beast's hands, but he had overlooked a possibility.
He cut the beast's hand at the wrong angle, and his attack didn't stop. The beast's claws pierced his armor and scratched his stomach.
Zellto started moving towards his destination, but he was abruptly stopped. He turned to see what caused him to halt and was shocked. His wind beast was holding onto his clothes with its mouth, its eyes filled with tears. It was clearly terrified, yet unwilling to let Zellto go alone. The wind beast found it incredibly difficult to move under such pressure, but it continued to try, its entire body hardening progressively. Zellto's eyes, too, welled up. Until now, he had always treated them like any other animal, but their actions showed him they were more, akin to humans.
Calming himself, Zellto said, "Don't push yourself. I'll need your help and I'll be safe, don't worry about me. When you sense the feeling disappear, or that he's defeated, rush towards me." He paused for a moment, then continued, "Even though I may be able to defeat it, I have an uneasy feeling. It might be his reaction affecting me, but I still need to be careful. If I'm seriously injured, take me to the Kazos."
After talking with his wind beast for a while, Zellto started walking towards the source of the power. He covered about 15 meters before realizing something. He turned back to the wind beast and said, "How about I call you Arcian? The one with a soft yet strong heart, who cares for others' well-being. Does this name suit you?" The wind beast nodded its head, a mixture of emotions swirling within it. Tears still clung to its eyes, but there was also a glimmer of happiness. Zellto's expression turned serious as he resumed his walk towards his destination. "Don't worry, Arcian," he said. "I won't die here. I'll be alright."
Meanwhile
Under Andeer's leadership, the Kazos had slain 231 Razor beasts. They were now taking a break. One of the Kazos started a conversation with another, "We were given clear instructions not to kill unnecessary beasts, so..."
Andeer overheard the question and turned towards them. His eyes, turning redder by the second, were enough to instill fear. In a harsh tone, he addressed the Kazo who initiated the conversation, "Did you say something, Ilar?"
Fearful and trembling, Ilar replied in a barely audible voice, "Sorry, Kalza. I didn't mean to challenge your decision."
Andeer turned away and returned to his spot. Before sitting down, he commanded, "Don't waste time on pointless chatter. Rest quickly; we need to keep moving. The sun is already up."
After a short rest, they mounted their wind beasts and headed towards their next location. Andeer glanced back at the slain beasts, their bodies mutilated, devoid of blood, and some organs missing. He signaled one of the Kazos holding the torch to ignite the corpses.
Andeer observed the loose soil on the ground. Within minutes, the beasts' bodies were half-burned. They turned entirely to ash after a few more minutes. Andeer ordered the Kazos to move, and they continued on their journey.
Meanwhile
Zellto ordered his Kazo's, who were moving towards the northwest of Acronyian.
"We have to hurry," he said, worry etched on his face as he saw the sky, which showed the beginning of the second day.
Wind beasts understand concern and increased their speed. All the Kazos asked their respective wind beasts to increase their speeds. The wind beasts increased their speed, but none were as fast as Zellto's beast.
Zellto turned his head to see whether they were able to match his speed or not. He turned front and muttered, "As expected, these beasts won't run faster than their riders can handle."
The Kazos were trying to convince their beasts to increase their speed, but after a certain point, everyone refused. Disappointed, they looked at Zellto. His face was tense, but with no sign of shock, as he was already aware that this was bound to happen.
Zellto understood their concern, but he looked towards the sky. After a deep breath, he ordered, "Kazos, I'm moving forward. Try to catch up with me. Remember one thing: our priority is to protect people and take them to safety, not to kill the beasts." With those words, his beast increased its speed once again. Within a few minutes, he was out of their sight, leaving them behind.
After 25 minutes...
Zellto reached closer to his destination and muttered to himself, "Around 1 hour is enough for me to get there." The wind beast suddenly froze in place. Zellto was unprepared for such an event, and due to his negligence, he was almost thrown from the back of the beast. He balanced himself and looked towards the beast, who was completely frozen. His heartbeat started to fluctuate wildly. He tried to convince it to move forward, but it refused. After trying for some time, Zellto gave up.
Zellto looked towards his destination and said in disappointment, "Without the wind beast, it may take me at least 3 to 4 hours." He had never shown fear for anything... He thought for a second, then turned to look at the wind beast, who was turning rock-solid. Zellto tried to calm it, and although he was still afraid, its condition was much better than before.
Zellto understood its condition and said, holding his head in his hands, "I will defeat that thing. As soon as I defeat it, rush towards me, okay?"