The feline beasts had backed up when they felt Nero’s aura, but as they observed him for a while, doubt crept into their minds. They had sensed a dangerous aura from him - one that was ancient and terrifying. Yet that aura had come and gone like the wind.
They began to doubt that they had even felt it at all, for as Nero fought Dave, he no longer gave off that feeling which had caused them to retreat.
Still, just the memory of that ancient horror caused them to proceed with caution. Completely ignoring Lina and the rest, the beasts slowly moved towards Nero. As it happened, Nero hadn’t forgotten about them either, and flung Dave’s body at them like a whip.
Dave, too, finally reacted. If the first punch to the face had stunned him, then the second one, despite being incredibly painful, woke him from his stupor. A mix of anger and fear filled his chest as he finally started listening to his innate ability.
As Nero flung his body through the air, Dave activated the arrow card he had been using, and aimed it at Nero’s hands. Nero was forced to let go, resulting in Dave’s body being thrown through the air. But the danger was far from over for him, as he had attracted the attention of the feline beasts.
One dashed towards Dave, while a couple more dashed towards Nero while the rest stayed back.
Nero looked at the dashing beasts and used Mud Fortress to summon a mud wall to hide him from view.
Name: Mud Fortress
Image: A hut made of clay from the ground
Type: Construct/Fabrication
Star rank: 0
Ability: [ Use the earth beneath the caster to build a protective cabin ]
Flavour text: "The storm comes unannounced, but it will always find us ready," - Shaman Burrow
Hidden from view, he summoned a couple of Snowflakes, covered them in his azure flames and leaped to the side, throwing them at the changing beasts.
Name: Snowflake
Image: A single snowflake falling
Type: Innate
Star rank: 0
Ability: [ A snowflake that grows stronger and sharper as it absorbs heat. ]
Flavour text: "I have no enemies, just volunteers who help paint my snowflakes red" - Marilyn Grant
Since he had been hidden from view when he summoned the snowflakes, no one anticipated his actions, thus his attack caught the beasts by surprise. The first beast was struck by the flaming snowflake right in the face, and yelped in shock and pain as it fell to the ground. The second, being slightly behind the first, managed to dodge just enough that the flake landed on its torso instead of its face.
As Initiate level beasts, they had a greater tolerance and resistance to aetheric attacks. Nero had once faced an Initiate before as well, and back then Nero had to resort to cleverly using his cards to hypnotize the opponent to even have a chance at victory. Now, though, not only was he vastly more experienced, he was also considerably stronger himself. Whether it was his physical strength,
Though still within the realms of a Neophyte, his power was not something that could be ignored. The beast with the snowflake embedded in its face yelled and screamed as it tried to dislodge the flake from its face, but any attempts at pushing the flake would only cause cuts on its paws.
The blue flame had also engulfed its face, causing frost to start accumulating on the fur covering its face. It cried out in pain, the very moisture in its eyes beginning to freeze. Pain was beginning to drive it insane, but there was no relief to be found. At least the other beast didn’t have it nearly as bad.
Nero used the brief opening presented by the situation and rushed past the beast, ignoring even Dave who was trying to resist an attacking beast, and arrived in front of Lina.
"Apply first aid, first heal yourself, and then any other survivors. I’ll keep the enemies at bay," he said, his voice as deep and reassuring as it was commanding.
There were only two soldiers still able to follow orders, Lina who was standing, and another who was knocked to the ground, but was still conscious.
As soon as they got their orders, they stopped paying attention to the fight, and instead started to heal themselves. At first Nero took their actions as nothing more than the pattern they had displayed so far - following orders without question - but the look Lina gave, one filled with pain, anger, and a little bit of complaint, said otherwise.
Had Nero closed off his heart, that look would have been merely enough to tell him that she was recovering from the effects of the curse that had plagued her for so long. Since he hadn’t, that look caused Nero’s body to tremble. It was simple. Only their eyes had locked, and no words had been exchanged, and yet the magnitude of her suffering had been communicated in that one look.
The helplessness of watching her friends due beside her while she could not save them... it was simply haunting. He looked away. Right now, the only thing he could do for her was take care of the situation before them. The rest could be left for later.
Nero put his foot underneath a dropped spear and kicked it up in the air, catching it. The weight, the feel, the length, it all felt so familiar. Nero used to think he was a master of all weapons, and while that was kind of true, it seemed that he had to accept that he just had a thing for spears.
He used Mud Fortress again, and erected a massive mud wall between himself and the fallen soldiers. The wall wasn’t much of a barrier, but at least it hid them from view, keeping the focus off of them. This way they could heal and recover.
The beasts looked at him, their fear now gone despite the fact that he had easily killed one beast, and gravely injured another. Yet surrounded by so many enemies, Nero felt no threat. It seemed Initiate humans were a lot more dangerous than Initiate beasts. At least, in his memories, it was a lot harder to injure that Initiate human.
Nero used This is us to create a few copies of himself spread around, making it look like he was the one surrounding the beasts, and ran forward himself.
Name: This is us
Image: Three identical people pointing at each other.
Type:
Star rank: 0
Ability: [Create illusory duplicates of yourself for 10 minutes.]
Flavour text: "Being alone is for the weak."
The illusions couldn’t move, or do anything else. They were mostly there for intimidation, in case that worked on the beasts, and in the least as a distraction or a decoy. The sudden appearance of so many Neros took the beasts by surprise, at the very least, but that did not stop them from rushing to meet Nero head on.
Nero knew none of the beast’s abilities, but a quick glance at them told him they were all of the same or similar species. Usually, beasts of a particular species had the same ability throughout their members, so as long as he figured out one of their abilities, he could predict the rest of their abilities.
Yet his second clash against the beasts wasn’t as easy as the first. Now that they were wary of his snowflakes and his flames, they would not become victims to them so easily.
They were faster, but he was stronger. Despite the realm difference between them, the benefits of so thoroughly training his body were coming in handy. But Nero could feel that the difference would not last long. Steadily, the beasts were growing stronger. He had to kill them all before they got too strong.
In their clash, Nero gained a small advantage, but instead of pressing it, he retreated. Though there was a cold, curious anger raging in Nero’s mind, it did not deprive him of his senses. He was strong, but not that strong. If he was going to win, strategy would play a big role in his victory.
So, Nero retreated without hesitation, kiting them as he pulled them towards Dave. The disfigured little traitor would help with the fight whether he wanted to or not. As an Initiate, even a brand new one, his capability should not be underestimated.
After all, even with a broken jaw and a caved in face, even while seemingly lacking star cards above 0 star, he had managed to survive being attacked by a beast.
The moment Nero got close, Dave noticed and he couldn’t help but curse.
"Dammit Nero, why don’t you go die in a hole!" he screamed as he shot an arrow towards Nero.
A simple sidestep was all Nero needed to dodge the arrow, not even slowing him down as he brought all the beasts towards Dave.
"Don’t you worry Dave. I won’t die so easily. I’ll live, and I’ll make sure you live a long, long life in interrogation."
Dave trembled as a certain dread began to fill him. No matter what happened, he did not want to suffer through a Kolari interrogation.