"Dammit, we're surrounded!" a man with long silver hair glanced around calmly. Three other men and two woman stood in formation around him, "We might not survive their attack, be prepared!"
A tiger, spanning over seven metres in height, with its entire body covered in gleaming metallic spikes leaped out of the shadows and through the trees, dashing for the man at the centre.
Before it reached him, the woman dressed in a silver bustle dress behind him waved her hand in an erratic manner, and a spear of ice fell from the sky, impaling the tiger to the ground, "that's one!"
As soon as the tiger fell to the ground dead, staining the ground with blood, more tigers stepped out of the shadows. They cast a gaze on the dead tiger, then focused on the woman who killed it.
"Shit, these "Silver Claw Tigers" have our escape path cut off!" someone exclaimed from within the group, snapping his finger as the illusion of a golden roaring lion appeared behind him, "attack!"
A tiger leapt into the sky, opening its maws wide as it fell down with its claws cleaving in a fierce arc. A burst of flames blasted it from the side, and the tiger was sent rolling across the ground.
"Create a path! We must make sure these cats do not reach the main gates!" the second woman, a beauty with short black hair shouted, her hand raised, melting away, "I can use it only more—"
Three white crescents suddenly surged through the air, and in an instant, blood was spilled across the ground — the woman who held her hand out split into three halves, dying the green grass in red.
The shock was plastered across the faces of the men and women forever, and the tigers pounced without hesitation. The fierce roars drowned the screams as the group was ripped to bloody shreds.
Deep into the bush, a young child sat with his eyes fixed on a small ball of black fur rolling across the ground. A smile, wide and bright, was plastered across his face. He reached out a hand to the ball.
As soon as he touched it, the black ball of fur glitched then turned a deep purple. The child wasn't dull in his retreat, leaping into a tree and observing the creature with a smile, his eyes like a hawk,
"They did not tell me that this was a Class 0. How am I supposed to contract this thing?" With his eyes fixed on the ball, he watched it roll over and deeper into the forest, "Oh, wow. There it goes…"
The child quickly climbed down the tree, running after the ball who'd busted into a full rotation. It dove deep into the forest, leading the child, who'd entered a fierce dash, into the bloody smog.
As soon as he entered it, the smile on the child's face grew and a strange light flashed through his eyes. His eyes scanned the area, and metres away he noticed the approaching tigers, "Class Nines?"
The classes of demon beasts in Area Horizon was between 0 - 9 in order of their decreasing rarity with 0 the rarest type and 9 the most common. Although, angel beasts — like the ball — was different.
"I can beat those things, but come here little girl, let's just go—" The child raised his hand to grab it while it rested stationary, but it leaped into the air and dashed out of reach, "—back home!"
The tigers sighted the strange ball, but they did not attack it. Unlike humans who would gladly kill another beast master to acquire their collection, the lower class beast dared not attack a higher class.
The child on the other hand hid behind a bush, his heart beating in his chest as sweat rolled down his face, "I am hidden in this thick smog, for now. I need to prepare before Lillith leads them to me…"
⦗New Event!⦘
"If I rush out and use «Demon Angel Twilight Steps» then I would escape through these tall trees." Ignoring the screen that had appeared at the corner of his eyes, the child calmed himself, "I'll get her."
⦗Festival of Blood!⦘
⦗Sacrifice 0/100 Lives⦘
Even in the life or death situation, the child faced it with a smile. Despite the smile on his face, his eyes were cold and calculating, scanning the entire area, "All I need is to start the sacrifice of blood."
The tigers were drawn by Lillith's aura, and the child hidden behind the bush turned around and began to draw a circle across the ground with his finger. His eyes bled, and his skin paled like a paper.
When he was done, a pair of glowing silver eyes appeared above his head, and the world around him was consumed by darkness. In that instant, all the blood was drained from the forest — all of it.
The tigers paused for a second, then turned around to glare in the direction where the child had hidden. They pounced, dashing past the black-purple ball and opening maws wide, still bloodthirsty.
"I knew that you'd rush to attack once you noticed the weak life force." The child grinned and he spread out his hands, strings shot out of his fingers attaching themselves to two tigers, "Haha!"
⦗Festival of Blood Strengthened!⦘
⦗Sacrificed 10/100 Lives!⦘
His fingers began to move erratically, and to the horror of the other tigers, their own duo turned against them — confused — and began to attack. When a puppet fell, the child switched to another.
"I can only control two at once for now…" the child frowned, glancing from side to side, "but for me that is enough. Welcome to my, Aaron, grand show! Sit back, and observe Lillith."
The black ball hopped in a single spot, rolling around then repeating. The tigers turned to it with bloodshot eyes, but their numbers had thinned to a third in mere minutes. This child, showed these beasts what it meant to feel fear, a smile plastered across his face.