Far below the surface of planet Hex in a frozen lake a few strange beasts were swimming nervously. Their earlier targets had vanished, their prey escaped. Only a tiny heat source stayed above the lake, but their instincts prevented them from launching attacks.
Loiava observed the beasts' movements silently. Her race had documented a big part of the Frozen Hell and its inhabitants. They had named the beasts living in the frozen lake Ice Dwelling Eels. Mihva didn't know this but from time-to-time her race would catch some of those beasts as food.
Therefore, the eels normally feared their race. They wouldn't dare to attack one of their members. They would only sink deep into the ice, pretending not to exist.
Something was definitely off this time. With Loiava's experience she wouldn't lash out in anger. A mental wave spread from her, sending a message back to her race.
After having taken precaution the rank seven beast slowly focused her senses. Just like Mihva she was able to filter out life in her surroundings. But naturally she had way higher sensitivity.
Loiava's vision concentrated on the ice lake. She penetrated its surface, pushing deeper and deeper. Thousand of eels shuddered as they felt invisible danger passing them.
Further down the butterfly beast was astounded by the colorful world opening up in her vision. At those depths the ice wasn't so simple anymore. Tempered by mana and the Frozen Hell's special environment it had already transformed into natural treasure.
Ice in all colors created their own gorgous world in the lake's depths. Loiava faintly had an idea what might have happened here. If an Ice Dwelling Eel lived in such an environment and consumed those natural treasure it would surely… advance.
At this moment a stinging assaulted Loiava's mind. It wasn't dangerous yet, but something obviously tried to fight back.
She was sure she had found the perpetrator.
"So, you advanced to rank six. Do you think you are some king now?!"
Pulling back her vision, Loiava made up her mind. For daring to hurt her precious niece only one punishment would await the beast leader. Death.
An unbelievably dangerous aura spread from the palm sized butterfly. Anger radiated from her eyes. Killing intent permitted the surroundings.
Golden runes suddenly formed in the air before Loiava. The cave's mana rushed towards her at top speeds. A moment later a massive storm began brewing.
It spread from Loiava throughout the whole cave. The space, which took Mihva multiple minutes to cross was instantly filled with violent winds. Sharp blades of air ravaged the rock walls.
The ground in the Frozen Hell wasn't made from normal rock. Over the years it had already transformed, hardened, became resilient.
But the storm caused by Loiava shaved of the sturdy material. Pieces of rock and gravel raced through the air. Rumbling echoed through the tunnel system. Sensitive beasts everywhere escaped quickly. The vibrations even loosened bigger rocks elsewhere, letting them crash to the ground.
Loiava's attack resembled a natural disaster. It would have been able to cause wide-scale destruction, but the beast focused her anger towards the ice surface.
Like a drill the mighty tornado shot downwards. Rocks and windblades crashed into the ice, decimating it.
Soon the first few eels were too slow to escape. They were sliced into halves by the storm or smashed to pulp by rocks. Flesh and blood mixed into the tornado, but Loiava calmly continued. Those deaths couldn't face her.
After a few moments a big hole had been burrowed into the ice lake. An angry growl sounded out. Before the storm could damage the colored ice, a new layer formed.
The rank six Ice Dwelling Eel had made a move. It hid in its favorite environment, doing its best to block the storm.
Suddenly ice spikes shot up from the lake surface. Under the eels control they resisted the storm, shooting at Loiava. Huge masses of ice threatened to smash the butterfly to death.
But Loiava wasn't a rank seven beast for nothing. Fluttering her wings, her body nimbly dodged at incredible speeds. Only some splinters might hit her body, but despite its tiny size it had a high defense. Those small attacks weren't worth mentioning.
Suddenly the rank six eel felt some confusion. Loiava's mental strength had interrupted its own. For a moment it wasn't able to see its opponent. In such a high-leveled battle a small mistake could be fatal.
Before the eel beast understood what happened, a black sphere shoot through the ice without any hinderance. Terror engulfed the beast. A burst of death magic suffocated its body. Suddenly it felt extremely weak, as if its lifespan was nearing the end.
Loiava was satisfied. A rank six beast just couldn't contend with her. The difference in basic stats was too big. If the eel's mental strength was on a similar level to hers, its perception wouldn't have been so thoroughly blocked, granting it enough time to dodge her attack.
But as things were the beast never stood a chance. Loiava's victory was assured, but she wasn't hasty. She would never underestimate any situation. Thus, the experienced beast stayed in the air as her storm continued to destroy the ice.
The eel had difficulties keeping up its magic. Its conjured ice was destroyed quickly. Its attacks were weak. Despair appeared in its eyes. Suddenly it let out a long, angry growl.
Although the rank six beast wasn't able to use a real language, as a beast Loiava could understand the meaning of its growl. It was a call for help.
The butterfly beast focused her attention. Something about this situation was off, just as she had suspected. It seemed there was more then one assailant.
Suddenly Loiava felt movement towards her right. From the cave exit appeared a huge beast. Its four strong legs heavily stomped on the ice lake. Cracks formed under its feet.
Vicious eyes locked onto Loiava. Disgusting slime dripped from its huge maw, which was framed by sharp tusks. The catastrophic storm ruining the surroundings only ripped out strands of its thick, grey fur.
A rank seven Grey Rinn? How could this be? How did we miss so many advancements?
Despite the appearance of a worthy opponent Loiava remained calm. Her attention focused on the Rinn while she continued to suppress the eel.
Suddenly the Grey Rinn vanished. Even for Loiava it was hard to react to the beast's agility. Just as she dodged towards the side, a huge maw snapped the place she just left. Even with the massive storm one could hear the explosion as the Rinn broke through the sound barrier.
Now, Loiava was slightly unsettled. She wasn't the best fighter. Therefore, she had already asked for help earlier. From her estimation someone should have appeared by now.
Unfortunately, there was no time to worry. A massive body once again shot towards Loiava. The small butterfly leaned into the raging storm, letting it accelerate her tiny body. The Rinn kept chasing.
Sporadically some Ice Spikes shot towards the small butterfly. Giving it her all, Loiava fluttered around the cave. She mostly ignored the eel beast, focusing her attention on the Rinn. From time-to-time dark spheres formed before her. They shot towards the grey beast, forcing it to dodge.
A wild chase ensued. Loiava felt the strain on her mana after a few minutes. The storm weakened as the butterfly went for more focused attacks.
Windblades shot towards the Rinn from all sides. With an angry roar it gave up on dodging. It traded injury for injury as it smashed apart the windblade in front with its thick head.
Blood sported out. A long wound formed. Riled up from the pain, the Rinn finally reached Loiava. Not having expected her opponent's actions, the butterfly was too slow to dodge. A massive impact hit her, throwing her away.
Pain ravaged her small body as she crashed into the rocky walls. A deep ravine formed. Dust and gravel spread everywhere. Even the planet surface felt some tremors.
The Grey Rinn was elated by its success. Trying to push its victory, it raced towards Loiava again.
Quickly getting rid of her dizziness, Loiava did her best to separate from the wall. She knew she had to get out of this pit. Otherwise, she didn't have enough space to dodge the next attack. Her thoughts raced. She realized the Rinn would come any second.
Suddenly she knew what to do. Unbelievably complicated runes spread over her body. The difficult spell took a bit to pull off. She could already feel the Rinn's foul breath.
Just before Loiava received another blow, her body suddenly dissolved. Her already tiny body separated into thousands of miniature butterflies the size of a speck of dust. A strong stream of wind blew out. The Rinn was confused as its head smashed into an empty place.
Loiava sighed in relief. Carried by the wind, the tiny butterflies made it to safety. Still, worry stayed on her face. She looked at the blood running down her waist. Every butterfly the Rinn just smashed apart accumulated into injuries for her real body.