Daristan hovered a few centimeters above the ground, his form radiating pure anger. The mana emanating from him was terrifying, but the person standing in front of him—Lucas— couldn't care less.
Lucas was slightly annoyed. He raised his hand, now covered in white fur and claws, again. "As you wish..." he sighed as he spoke those words. "I came here to kill monsters anyway."
After uttering those words, Lucas disappeared from his spot. Some of the stronger soldiers could see him leaping between the nearby trees. The flexibility of his body was terrifying, partly due to his beast form.
Yes... he had the StarHold family's Legacy skill, as someone of pure blood.
Daristan began to move his head around, searching for Lucas, but it was futile. Although he was a prodigy character by all standards, he was still not ready to fight Lucas.
"You are very young, but you're truly skilled!" Lucas appeared above Daristan suddenly, his appearance having changed significantly.
He now had a long tail, and the clothes around his feet had torn as they transformed into paws, just like a cat's. Even his ears had changed shape.
Lucas lifted his feet and kicked Daristan's head with great force.
A large crack appeared on his helmet, continuing to expand rapidly. Daristan's sword moved irrationally, seemingly trapping Lucas completely. The eclipse behind his back intensified, and the surrounding shadows began to move.
The shadows of the trees, the soldiers, Lucas, and Daristan—all moved under the command of the eclipse, targeting Lucas.
"Even my shadow?!" Lucas was slightly surprised, but he still refused to fully transform. 'Half is enough,' he thought.
With unnatural flexibility, he twisted his back, avoiding the sword, then grabbed Daristan's arm and flipped him to the ground. All the shadows that had emerged to kill Lucas began stabbing Daristan's armor. he used him as a shield.
"Your ability is truly strange, but it's clear you haven't mastered it yet." Lucas laughed as a white orb of light appeared in his hand.
He aimed it at the eclipse, which remained in its previous position.
{Vitalos}.
The eclipse vanished instantly into the white orb, which changed color from white to black.
"Such unique energy!" Lucas laughed as he observed Daristan, whose white armor began to disappear on its own.
"Your entire energy source is in the eclipse, so now you're out of mana." Lucas placed his foot on Daristan's chest, who was still lying on the ground.
Before his eyes, Lucas swallowed the eclipse orb.
Daristan's eyes turned red as he saw this, especially when he felt Lucas's power increase slightly.
"Don't worry too much; all I did was absorb the energy..." Lucas laughed a little, then continued, "Now, how do you want to proceed? I suggest you calm down to hear the story." The feline features began to fade from his body, returning to his normal form.
Strangely, the clothes that had just torn were restored to their original state.
Waiting for Daristan's response, Lucas was surprised by another arrival. "You actually came?" His voice turned cold as he looked at Alios, who appeared suddenly.
"The main squad has already captured all the dwarves, and we've dealt with the war machines." Alios approached Lucas slowly, then continued, "As for you, it seems you're fighting humans instead of foreigners."
Lucas frowned slightly but quickly responded, "It's really beyond my control; he attacked me first!" He lifted his foot from Daristan's chest as he spoke.
Alios closed his eyes for a moment, ignoring Lucas's words. He focused on Daristan's angry face below. 'It's him...' he thought with some concern.
"It doesn't matter now... didn't you say the prince's identity was confirmed?" Alios calmed himself, then continued without waiting for Lucas's response. "That makes them his own party; the important thing is to get them to the city now."
Lucas stepped back slowly, releasing Daristan, then began to think for a moment.
"Since you're well-informed about the situation, tell me what we should do about 'that' person." Lucas's tone became more formal now, considering Alios his superior and needing to follow his orders.
If he wanted to complain, it would be when this mission was over, and their positions returned to normal.
Alios asked for confirmation: "Ah... you mean the one with the white hair?"
"Yes," Lucas responded immediately.
"If the prince wants to take him along, so be it! Just give them a vehicle; getting them to the city takes priority now!" After giving his orders, Alios began walking away.
"I'll check the surroundings for more dwarves. Send a report to the family headquarters about the situation. We might return with the prince if things are too dangerous here." Alios disappeared instantly, leaving Lucas standing there without giving him a chance to protest.
'He really enjoys his role as leader now...' Lucas frowned slightly but still proceeded to carry out the orders.
Regardless of his opinion, his actions had a significant impact, and he couldn't disobey the squad leader now. On the other hand, Alios had moved far away, almost 300 meters from where he had been a second ago.
When he invoked his beast form, Alios's top speed broke the sound barrier.
He was much faster than Jin—the person whose speed stats were at rank SS-.
'I can't wait to see Loana's expression when she hears about this...' he couldn't help but laugh as he flew through the air, his appearance now very regal.
His beast form was truly unique... brown feathers sprouted everywhere, accompanied by a long golden beak. Hawk talons replaced his feet, tearing through the air effortlessly, while his arms transformed into large brown wings.
As for his eyes, they became a blend of black and yellow, but the internal changes were far greater than the new appearance. He could now see even the ants on the ground, despite being hundreds of meters above.
Although his beast form appeared to be a hawk to people, it could be proven otherwise upon closer inspection. The tail that emerged for Alios wasn't similar to that of hawks... it was a different creature.
***
Cassian rested on the main road, close to where the carriage had been forcibly stopped by the dwarves. Looking at its destroyed state, he couldn't help but frown, attacked by a flood of thoughts at that moment.
But he ignored most of them, as there were more important things to think about.
'My resistance to healing potions has become very high... Only potions above third rank can affect me now, and even then, only slightly,' he thought, feeling a sense of danger upon realizing this.
To maintain the balance of danger and safety in this world, Cassian had made third-rank potions common for almost everyone.
But drinking large amounts of them in a short period increases the body's immunity, making their effect less and less.
In Mountain of Fog, he consumed almost four potions in one day, and at the puppet society, he drank one after each battle. He considered using the healing part of the sacred fruits as a substitute, but that wouldn't work.
That healing part only works on injuries caused by the harmful part. That's why sacred fruits reduce fatigue and refresh the body, but they don't heal as much as even a low-level healing potion.
From now on, only fourth- and fifth-rank potions would work on him; lower-ranked potions would be useless, offering nothing but a water-like taste.
"This is bad..." he looked at his wounded arm as he spoke.
"How was it?" Jin appeared suddenly from the distant trees, his cold gaze unchanged as he looked at Cassian.