Spirit Immortal

Although the skies were void of rain, the fragrant aroma of sweet rain dew filled the bloodied battlefield, calming the tense hearts of all the anxious fighters present. Even Shin, who was already somewhat peaceful, seemed to forget that he was in the midst of a battle with a Tier 5 Spirit Beast, as he closed his eyes to embrace the comfort that the aroma brought.

"Senior Rahwil’s Spirit never ceases to amaze me... Even in such a dire situation, it can make me lose my senses..." After a brief moment of relaxation, Shin snapped himself back into reality.

The Epione Magnolia. A divine flower-type Spirit that was bathed in the elements of light. Bearing the name of a goddess of myth, the Epione Magnolia was a unique Spirit in which every Spirit User that awakens it, would gain the same first spiritual ability. A passive power that soothes the hearts and souls of any that roam near it, Spirit Users that possess the Epione Magnolia are always sought after by healers.

Nonetheless, even though the Epione Magnolia was in nature a gentle Spirit, depending on how the Spirit User was raised, it could also, in turn, change into a vicious tool for destruction. Not wanting to waste any more time dilly-dallying, Healer Rahwil charged straight at the Tempest Wolf King while it was still under the effects of his passive.

The Epione Magnolia on Healer Rahwil’s hand began to glimmer in a holy light as he edged closer and closer to the colossal beast. Realising that something was approaching it at high speeds, the Tempest Wolf King banged its head on the floor to snap itself out of the soothing effect that the Epione Magnolia had hit it with. Once the blurriness of its vision settled, the Tempest Wolf King saw a man flying straight towards it at full speed.

"Too late, you mongrel!!!" Taking this opportunity, Healer Rahwil released thousands of beautiful white petals into the air, surrounding the Tempest Wolf King before it had a chance to react.

The petals flew erratically with the wind, with no sense of directions. Figuring out that the enemy had done something during the brief period of weakness, the Tempest Wolf King howled in anger, releasing a flurry of wind blades. Unfortunately, since the white petals numbered over a thousand, there was no way for it to get rid of it all.

Enclosing his fists, Healer Rahwil sent a significant amount of mana to the Epione Magnolia petals floating without instruction. All of a sudden, as if they had gone alert, the white petals stood erect at their positions, like soldiers waiting in attention. A playful smile crept up the face of Healer Rahwil as he felt a surge of blood rush up his face. It had been a while since he had used this ability in battle. Thus he was looking forward to seeing its effects.

"Shrapnel him down... ’Petal Rain!!!’"

Turning into white luminous raindrops that fell directly at the Tempest Wolf King, the thousands of magnolia petals pierced into the flesh of the beast, hoping to tear off bits of its body in the process.

"*AAAWWOOOOOOO!!!*." Howling out in agony, the Tempest Wolf King bore the full brunt of the attack.

"Tssskkk, even though its a speed specialised beast, its hide is still that thick huh?" Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Healer Rahwil shook his head in disappointment. Being in full control of his ability, he was the most aware of its effectiveness. Even though he could break the first layer of its skin, the sharp petals were unable to penetrate any further.

Calling down yet another tornado, the Tempest Wolf King cleaned itself of the foreign invaders that were currently stuck to its body. The flesh of the beast seemed to be untouched by the previous attack, bar some light cuts on its flesh. Clearly irritated by the strike, the Tempest Wolf King’s eyes turned crimson as it snarled viciously at the foolish creep that caused it such pain.

"No, you did well, Healer Rahwil!!! Let me take it from here!" From the side of the disappointed middle-aged man, an enthusiastic cry emerged.

The constable officer that was sent to oversee the entire group summoned out a pair of Auburn Iron Gauntlets and equipped them onto his hands. Controlling the fire elements that surrounded him, the officer compressed his mana to create a flaming globe that encompassed his entire body.

"Haha, time for me to teach you a lesson..." Rich orange flames spun at high speeds melting the floor beneath the constable officer. Slapping his fists together, the warrior sped straight at the Tempest Wolf King that was busy staring Healer Rahwil down.

Pissed off at the constable officer’s actions, the Tempest Wolf King threw a few wind blades at the man charging towards him. However, whenever it came into contact with the globe of flames that surrounded the officer, the wind blades dissipated into nothingness. All the while, the hungry gauntlets of the officer was fringing ever closer.

After many failed attempts, the Tempest Wolf King finally hopped backwards for the first time since its arrival. For now, it had to swallow up its pride and figure out the best way to deal with its opponents.

"Healer Rahwil! Can you send more of those petals to bind its movements?! It is too fast for me!" The constable officer shouted. Being a pure physical Spirit User, the officer was no match for the specialised attribute of the Tempest Wolf King.

"I can try... But it sees me as the number one enemy now after that attack..."

"Don’t worry, I have a plan that would push it towards you! All you need to do is to use those petals once more!!!"

"If you say so..." Readying his Epione Magnolia once again, Healer Rahwil summoned out a few thousand more white petals. Flowing around him, as if being carried by a spring breeze, Healer Rahwil seemed to become rather picturesque.

Once the Tempest Wolf King witnessed its dreaded enemy summoning out his power, it growled in irritation as it glared at Healer Rahwil with vicious eyes. It was as if it wished to tear the middle-aged man’s body, limb from limb.

"Hey, hey! I’m your opponent!!!" Taking advantage of the short moment where the Tempest Wolf King moved its eyes away from him, the constable officer closed the distance at an alarming speed. Still protected by the flaming globe that surrounded him, the constable officer didn’t have to fear the raging tempest that was created by the beast.

Stunned by the sudden arrival of the constable captain, the Tempest Wolf King pivoted its body to move away from the flaming man. Sadly, it was too late.

"Expand!!!" Hollering out at the top of his lungs, the constable officer’s body shone with an incredible light as fire burst forth from the side of the Tempest Wolf King’s meaty torso.

"Wow! What a move!" Shin exclaimed out in excitement. It had been a long time since he had seen a high-level fight such as this one. Typically, he would either spar with children his age or witness fights that were beyond his comprehension level. For instance, the one-sided beatdown that Lady Althea gave the Black Masks was one example. All the aged woman did was lift a few fingers, and her foes were already struggling on the floor. Therefore, it was a rare occurrence for him to be able to witness a fight that he could analyse.

Pushed to the side by the blistering hot flames, the gigantic beast retreated at the fastest speed that it could, without any sense of where it was heading towards. Its grey fur had been charred by the scorching heat that the flaming globe had produced. At this point, the Tempest Wolf King was exasperated. Opening its mouth, it sent a concentrated blast of wind towards the constable officer, hoping to destroy his enemy in one shot. Unfortunately, the attack was too telegraphed, and the officer managed to evade it with ease.

"Haha, nice one officer!" However, the Tempest Wolf King’s troubles weren’t done. From its hind legs, a cheerful voice sounded out.

Healer Rahwil sent a significant portion of his mana to the floating petals in the sky and called forth yet another Petal Rain. With nowhere to run, the Tempest Wolf King could only curl up into a ball and let the attacks land upon him.

"WOOOOO!!!" Whimpering in pain, the beast bore the full brunt of the attack while protecting its burnt side. Thankfully, the petals weren’t powerful enough to pierce through its resilient hide. Thus it could still hold on.

"As if I’ll let you recover!!!" Not allowing the Tempest Wolf King even a second to rest, the constable officer bolted straight that the downed beast with a clenched fist full of mana.

The flames that surrounded him had been concentrated into that small gauntlet as it threatened to end the beast’s life. Behind him, his subordinates had started to fire all of their offensive abilities to give their superior support as he closed the distance.

"TAKE THIS!!!" Slamming his fist straight into the crown of the Tempest Wolf King’s head, the constable officer roared out.

"BOOOOOMMMM!!!" A deafening explosion that destroyed the eardrums of any who stood near reverberated through the battlefield, creating a dust cloud thirty metres thick.

"Did he do it?" Kesyl timidly asked from the side of Shin.

"Too early to tell..." Shaking his head, Shin was unable to confirm or deny the young girl’s conjecture. The only thing that they could do was patiently wait for the dust to dissipate.

Luckily, they didn’t have to wait for long. After a few seconds, the smoke began to settle revealing a triumphant man standing atop the carcass of the Tempest Wolf King. Appearing like a champion of a Colosseum battle, the constable officer raised his Auburn Iron Gauntlets high in the air amidst the cheers of his peers.

"Wow, that officer really is strong..." Kesyl unconsciously blurted out. As the Duke’s daughter, she had seen her fair share of mighty warriors. Therefore, impressing her was no small feat.

"Yeah, Chilyoja Waypoint has become really strong..." Shin smiled bitterly.

"Well, now that that’s done, we should really move the patients to a safer place. Lest another Tempest Wolf King appears..." Although the battle was over, Shin still felt somewhat unsafe in such an open environment. Shaking his head, the young boy asked Bingbing to undo the ice barrier that encased him and headed straight back to his patients.

~~~

"The Tempest Wolf King has been killed, sir!" Unknowingly, Shin had accurately predicted the menace that was encroaching upon them. A safe distance away from the battle, a scout dressed in total darkness knelt before an entity that was hidden among the bushes.

"I’m not blind. I saw that battle. Well, its purpose was not to kill anyone there anyway..." A hoarse and tranquil voice nonchalantly replied the scout.

"The problem is the boy is always protected by that Tier 8 Spirit Beast when he’s outside... If we want to have any chance of reaching him without the hindrance of his master, we must do it within the confines of the town..." The voice acted as if everything was all part of his calculations.

"B-But sir! Won’t we be too exposed?!"

"There’s no helping it... We have no other choice. All the preparations are complete. Also, he will be leaving the town for the Capital in a few months. By then, we would be unable to reach him entirely..."

"I-I-I see... So, sir! What do you propose we do?" The scout asked quizzically.

"Hmmm... Give me a few hours to think..."

"Yes, sir!" Bowing down his head, the scout promptly left the area.

"Ahhh, young master! You have grown tremendously..." Now that he was left alone, the entity cried out in a celebratory voice.

"Not to worry... Our reunion is near... I must control my emotions... My brothers above, watch over me as I proceed on this perilous mission!!!" Steeling his resolve, the entity’s voice turned solemn as he took one last glance at the black-haired youth before disappearing into the shadows.