A few days flickered by as Yura and I traveled together. We had gotten along for the most part, but there was odd tension between us. She was always staring intensely at me, making sure she could run or kill me if I ever lost control.

At first, I found her attitude to be adorable, but as we walked through the forest killing monster, she would always give me a predatory stare.

“Damn it, Yura, can you stop staring at me like that,” I screamed, clearly annoyed.

Snorting, she shook her head, giving me a cute yet cold reply, “No,”

A large vein surfaced on my forehead as I tried to remain as civil as possible when we suddenly heard a rustling in the bushes. Frowning, we drew our weapons, “come out slowly,” I said, feeling it was a human.

“Please don’t kill me; I mean no harm,” a soft whimpering voice said as I could see a young boy crawling out the bushes covered in blood.

“Ron Dolton,” Yura whispered in surprise.

Bending down, I took out a small healing pill from my storage, watching as the large wound within Ron’s stomach was slowly being mended.

“Lady Yura, it’s an honor you remember me, “he said in a prideful yet weak tone.

I narrowed my eyes, staring at his wounds before smiling, “How did this happen, Sir Dolton? For the son of an Earl to be wounded, the beast that attacked you must have been powerful.”

“Arsène, The Ashen Prince,” He muttered before smiling, “Yes, it was a Blood Stained Anzu that attacked me.”

A mocking look appeared in my eyes as I smiled elegantly, “what happened,”

Yura had given me a subtle look, but I ignored it looking deep into Ron’s grey eyes, “My crew was wiped out; before we knew it, a massive monster with blood tip feathers with the head of a lion a but body of a Griffen appeared.

Tears slowly began to fall as he mourned, in a hollow tone, “it slaughtered my friends and comrades. It was a stage three monster, we stood no chance, but the Blood Seed was within my reach. We tried to…We…failed…Everyone is gone…Dead…”

Watching him break into tears, I laughed inwardly, sending my senses to their limit, picking up on about ten signatures hiding a few kilometers away.

Yura sharply eyed me as I looked at the tearful Ron, “Sir Ron fear not, we shall help avenge you, although I may look weak, I am more than capable of at least defending against this beast, and Yura here is more than capable of killing it.”

Arching her brow disdainfully, I could her soft voice cursing my name below her breath as I stared with righteous indignation at Ron.

As if looking at an angel from heaven, Ron slowly arose, gripping my palm, “Thank you, Ashen One, Thank you,”

A few hours began to pass as we waited for Ron’s deep injuries to heal fully. I could see at the corner of my eyes his mocking smile causing me to chuckle. As we travel, I could sense a powerful beastly qi hovering in the atmosphere.

“Arsène, we need a layout of the area,” Yura whispered as she vanished from my perception. Ron was quite shocked as he gripped his fist. A few minutes passed as she returned with a grim expression.

“I saw the Blood Seed, but the beast was sleeping. We need to make a choice, either to steal it or kill the Anzu.” She said, glancing at me with a sneer before drawing closer. The slight scent of Jasmine filled my nose as she whispered close to my ear,” there are two Anzu’s.”

Gently curving my arms around her magnificent curves, I licked my lips, “Yura dear, stop being so naughty. We are in front of someone,” I said, trying to make our interaction as real as possible.

Blushing heavily, Ron turned his head while Yura stared deep into my golden eyes. Chuckling at her clueless gaze, I laughed, flicking her nose. Turning to the embarrassed Ron, I gripped his shoulder, looking him in the eye, “Brother, shall we avenge your fallen comrades,”

With cold eyes, I smiled, charging out as Yura and Ron followed behind. Staring at the sleeping Anzu, a chill flew into my body as a powerful pulse of power flooded the area. Making a fist notifying Yura and Ron to remain still. I gulped, drawing closer, using the tree’s shade to mask my presence.

With sweat on my brow, I gazed up at the massive glowing tree. Laying there were two black and white-colored seeds that looked similar to apples. With a low hum, I shot forward, snatching the two Seeds before charging at Yura.

‘ROAR!!!!!!!!!’

Hearing the beast awakening, I didn’t dare turn around as I flew behind Yura. Ron smiled heavily as he stared greedily at me. Not taking my gaze off the beast, a chilling battle occurred.

Yura shot out surrounded by an earthly Qi bursting forward as she matched the beast head-on. Shadowing her every move, my spear shot forward with dark, sinister light slowly piecing through its tough skin. Blood seemed to stain the floor as the Anzu roared.

Anger flooded the Anzu as the wind within the area began rushed towards us like a storm. My eyes shot up with shock as I saw hundreds of wind blades storm the heavens.

“Scatter!!!!” I roared, pushing my body to the limit as we dodged the emerald blades of death.

Yura’s eyes glowed as she yelled, Qi burst from her body, guarding against the Anzu’s attack, but the shockwave blasted me back towards Ron. A sinister light flashed in his eyes as he shot his sword out in an attempt to pierce through my heart.

I gave a knowing smile as I tilted my body, dodging his strike to his surprise as a black light glimmered from my legs. Ruthlessly kicking Ron towards the Anzu as I roared, “YURA RETREAT, NOW!!!!!!”

Seeing Ron flying towards her, she smiled as her blade shot forward, severing a leg from his body. My eyes shot up in excitement, but it quickly faded as I felt an even more powerful bestial qi descending.

The winds around Serien began to shift as the eyes of Yura and I grew wide with fear. Violet starlight engulfed her body as she flickered off like a bolt of lightning, shattering the sound barrier in an instant.

Gritting my teeth, my body was consumed in black light as I used the only Arte I knew at this moment, “Dark Flash,”

Suddenly my body exploded off into the distance behind Yura in a beam of dark light. The Second Anzu had arrived bellowing in rage as it eyed Ron with disgust.

I could hear Ron’s bones being shattered and feel the Anzue coldly staring at me. Its body giving off a saintly pressure causing the hairs on my neck to rise.

Not stopping for anything, I slowly began to slip, skidding over the ground after a few hours as I felt my qi running dangerously low. Looking at the setting sun, I sighed in exhaustion as sweat and dirt dripped from my body.

“…You lived…” said Yura without a hint of exhaustion on her beautiful expression as she flickered to my exhausted body.

Twitching my brow, I laughed, throwing her a single blood seed, “Your payment,”