Chapter 26 - Encounter with a beast

*Klock, Klock, Klock,* A class filled with the gossips and normal chatter of students to one another came to a sudden halt. The rather annoying sound of high heels approaching the Class 2A got everyone's attention. The bell hadn't rung, without the fear of breaking any rules, everyone resumed their conversations.

*Briiiing, Briiiing,* The door opened as soon as the start of class was announced.

"Morning students,"

"Morning teacher," It was Sophie Mirabelle, after losing her crest, she was but a mere teacher and

the wife of some nobleman. Everyone at the academy slowly grew to hate her, they didn't show it but the anger was there. Among the students of class 2A sat Julius Garnet, the strongest out of the second year. His anger towards Sophie was palpable.

"If I may have your attention, today we'll welcome a new transfer student coming from the west Claireville academy."

Blonde hair, a petite body, cute and underage, "Hello everyone, my name is Autumn Garnet." She introduced herself in a dignified manner.

"I hope you guys take good care of her," Sophie tried being friendly, but everyone shrugged her off. *Sigh,* "Autumn, go take the seat at the back next to Julius there."

"Now that is settled, today, by the order of Director Josiah, I will brief you about the situation growing in the north. As you know, conflicts between Dorchester and Kreston has grown more imminent. If you have any questions, please speak up this instant, no question will be allowed during

the lecture."

"Teacher, would you spare me a moment of your attention," Julius spoke, frustration kept hidden.

"Go ahead,"

"Will students be drafted?"

"If the situation demands it then yes, it is all in the hand of the order, anyways I shall begin."

"As you know, we live in the age of magic and magical equipment. The thirst and fight for power are always present even if we live in Hidros. A continent which is supposed to be ruled under a single monarch. However, with its sheer size, trying to control everything proves to be difficult. So, the six provinces are divided and ruled separately from one another by a council of nobles. If war arises, in fear of a coup, the royal army keeps to the sidelines while the provinces go to war. The king has the right to forcefully stop the war but that will do nothing. When war breaks out, its war, none can stop it unless a victor is declared. Some of you may fly overseas which is completely fine. Now this is where mages come into the mix, we as you know are directly controlled by the order. However, we are free to pick sides and fight, the strength of one sorcerer of A-rank, for example, is enough to rival thirty fully armed soldiers in a platoon. During war, you can be drafted to fight, it all depends on the provinces which will do anything to get the upper hand. You can also freely join their camp; us mages are completely free to choose sides. For S rank and above, that is different, they are bound by the order. Too strong to partake, they are assigned to guard the royal family and palace, nevertheless that doesn't stop them from fighting. Now I'll take a real example, Autumn and Julius Garnet here as you know are already full-fledged battle mages of C-rank. If war does break out, if you've signed a contract with the duke or duchess ruling a province, then you'll fight for said noble. When defeated, all mages are sent back to the order's headquarter situated in Vlaiwia which is under the rule of the emperor."

*Briiiing, Briiiing,* The lecture ended, Sophie left faster than anyone.

"Good morning big brother," Autumn spoke.

"Good morning to you little sister, I'm very proud you made it into my class, Staxius would be very happy." He replied.

"Staxius who?"

"Don't worry about it," He smiled.

"Staxius Haggard, hmm, a forgotten name, a student who managed to topple over the hierarchy of this academy, the one who showed me how to be a better person," Lucy spoke, she sat directly in front of Julius.

"Lucy, I'd refrain from using that name if I were you," Julius's aura got denser.

"Julius calm down, he's dead. Nothing will change that, he was a great guy, but isn't it time to move on and find your own ideals?" She spoke monotonously.

"Move on and find my own ideals, ha-ha. Never, I've seen how the world works, without power your nothing, people are but tools waiting for a craftsman to use." He spoke to himself.

"No matter, have fun with your brother and sister time, I'm off to have some lunch."

"Brother who is this Staxius Haggard?" Autumn asked.

"No one important, don't worry, just think of him as a brother you never had."

On the roof of the main building, a place restricted to students but allowed to instructors. Sophie sat, on a bench and stared towards the north.

"The warmth from the sun feels nice," Josiah spoke.

"Morning uncle, yes, it feels nice."

"What's troubling you?"

"Nothing much, I just feel empty. Even though I'm married to an awesome man, I can't get rid of this coldness. My heart feels like it has already been taken by someone, sadly, I don't know what or who did that to me, I'm just confused."

"Coldness, don't worry about it, maybe it's just premonition of things to happen. I heard from Piers that you'll be fighting in the frontlines if war breaks out.

"That's true, I want to go out there and reawake my past, it's the only thing that may calm this feeling of regret.

Two days went by, Staxius's party were on the way down from the mountain. *Achoo,* "Bless you Annet, not very ladylike but who am I to complain." Staxius teased the already bright red Annet.

"Adelana, how long till we arrive on solid ground again? This cold is slowly driving me insane."

"In a few hours, we should reach the foot. I'll advise us to camp and set out early in the morning."

"Very well,"

*Rrrrr* A deep and menacing groan slowly got closer. "Adelana…"

"Yes master, something is approaching, the horses are feeling it's murderous intent."

"Quick, Viola, I want you to protect Eira, Annet, I want you on over-watch duty, get up high. Alyson,

I want you to watch our back's just in case. Adelana, stay with Viola, I'll be the decoy and investigate."

Orders were given, without losing time, Annet vanished into thin air. She was atop the carriage, bow fully drawn and waiting. Alyson and Adelana both got off and stayed close to the rear, sword fully unsheathed, everyone was ready for the attack.

*WOOF,* A pack of wolves, jumped out of the snowy tree lines simultaneously. *Lightning element, Flash-step.* A spell which increases the wielder's pace, it was Alyson, using her rapier, she cleanly stabbed every single one who threatened the back.

*Fire element, infernal heat,* A support spell which increased the user's defensive as well as offensive prowess. With one swing, Adelana struck down enemies coming from the left.

*Wind element, Vacuum,* A spell which grants the user the power to make anything he desires impervious to air, a barrage of arrows unaffected by air resistance soon rained down the right side.

Everything happened so quickly that Staxius's focus changed from left to right without knowing what to do. He was so mesmerized by the teamwork shown by the silver guardians that he forgot to cover his area.

"Master watch out," Annet screamed to no avail, Staxius got scratched by claws so massive it put even a sword to shame. Bleeding profusely from his left arm, he retreated. Staring him down, a wolf, so massive it sent shivers down his back. The silver guardians rushed down to help, "STAY BACK," He shouted. Staxius was smiling, even the giant beast got confused for a second.

"FENRIR, THE DEVOURER OF THE SUN, HA-HA-HA-HA."

Hearing his name called out, the giant wolf groaned even louder and unleashed his true nature, an aura so sticky and vile it made the snowy pure white ground turn dark black.

"So, you understand me," Staxius's eyes grew wider, he stared the giant monster in the eye, both of them seemed as if conversing with one another.

"I understand, if it's a fight you want, a fight you will get, PREPARE YOURSELF."

The wolf howled, so powerful it shook the entire ground around them.

*Death element activate; Unleash aura, Daemonum Gladio, Shadow Step and finally Undrar's blessing.*

The malicious aura coming from Fenrir was blocked by an aura as murderous and vile as him. Staxius was giving every ounce of power he had, in this fight, holding back wasn't an option. Daemonum Gladio, the demonic sword materialized fully instead of only being a black and dull blade, it was shiny and covered with blood. Shadow-step is a variation of flash-step, which increases mobility. Finally, Undrar's blessing, a spell unique to Staxius, it's the protection of the bringer of death, his magical defense goes up to one hundred percent, however it's one element only. For example, if he chooses protection against fire, then every other element becomes potentially lethal if he's not careful. Undrar's spell can be very useful, it doesn't take much mana and the casting time is almost instant for recasting. Changing protections on the fly is possible but very hard to master.

"Viola, you've known him far longer than us, who truly is this man we call master?" Adelana asked.

"He's a mystery, this is the first time I've seen him being so impulsive."

"FENRIR, let's dance." Both opponents rushed each other at full speed, the wolf was far bigger and had a longer reach compared to Staxius's sword. Still injured, he dodged the first horizontal strike from Fenrir by lowering his head and jumped straight up aiming for his head. *Clang,* The beast stopped his attack by using the massive teeth it had. Useless, he left the sword inside, went under the beast and stabbed it with the poison darts. Feeling the sting, the wolf jumped backward and left the sword. Blood still pouring down like a waterfall, the bleeding got worse. He began to feel lightheaded. *Whoosh,* He dashed forward, grab his sword and fell back.

Both Fenrir and Staxius finished their evaluation of one another. Without time to recover nor breathe, ice beam spear came out of the wolf's mouth. Using shadow step, Staxius managed to dodge most of the attack, a few hit him but his ice protection was a hundred percent. Unscathed,

*Dark Arts, Mana cancellation,* With the mana flow blocked, Fenrir rushed Staxius, sword against claws. Every block he made sent shock-waves throughout the body, blood unwillingly starting dripping out of his mouth.

"The power of this beast is so intense I can barely keep up. Look at that death stare, he's toying with me. I'm but a distraction for his strength. I have a trump card, but if I use that spell, Fenrir will die instantly, I can't let that happen, the stare, the sheer vigor, the courage, the power, I love it, so beautiful."

*POOF,* Smoke bombs, no longer able to defend, Staxius retreated. Sword inside the ground, he rested on the handle. *Huff, Puff,*

*Healing element activate; FULL-BODY RECOVERY.* Ancret screamed as she joined back up with his party.

"Welcome back and thanks for the help Ancret," He shouted and rushed into battle once more with his strength back to normal.

"Adelana, what is happening here?" Ancret asked after healing her master.

"It's a battle between entities with strength far beyond our comprehension." Soon after she explained in detail the whole situation.

The more hit Staxius took, the happier he got. The sword's ruby eyes began to glow, a red vapor surrounded Staxius. The aura he emitted changed from dark black to crimson black. The power of a demon sword who slowly fed off the dark aura created by the death element. The longer the battle got, despite getting injured even after successfully blocking, Staxius pressed on. *ROAR,* Getting pushed back, Fenrir got serious at last, the presence he emitted got ten times stronger. Staxius's presence also grew to match Fenrir. None expect Undrar felt it, Staxius had already died several times. Each strike he took from Fenrir shattered his internal organs. The death element's immortality was working without rest to stop his body from shutting down.

With every lethal blow he took, he pressed on like a berserker, the only thing focused on was to defeat Fenrir. Strike after strike, rebirth after rebirth, the aura slowly matched the god-slayer, devourer of Odin. Minutes turned to hours; the battle raged on. Bored, Undrar set up camp and played with Eira, as the silver guardians slowly gathered one by one around the fire and watched with amus.e.m.e.nt. The epic battle had turned into a drama, everyone laughed, ate good food that Ayleth brought. Millicent, still silent and lifeless, watched the battle unfold. Her heart began beating once again.

The expression was faint but even Fenrir was having fun, both of them fought over and over until night finally came. Exhaustion and mana depletion finally caught up to both adversaries, the demonic sword was on the verge of shattering. A quick nod from both parties signaled the end, the last strike. A fierce battle cry from Fenrir and Staxius was heard. Undrar who fell asleep awoke. *Whoosh,* They rushed each other, *Clang.* The sword shattered, Fenrir's claws broke, the left-over momentum had nowhere to escape. Instead, both the legendary wolf and wielder of death magic collided. Fur so thick and smooth, Staxius fell asleep at the same time as Fenrir fell onto the ground. The massive wolf laid with Staxius sleeping on its belly, anger vanished, the beast finally gave in. Such tenacity from him was godly. After a quick lick, Fenrir gave in and slept.