Fay and Horin watched as Mirage flew off, her form shrinking into that of a small dragon, likely to avoid staining her dress with the blood she was about to spill.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Horin asked.

She hadn't seen Mirage's terrifying rampage through the castle or the full extent of her true form, so Fay thought it was a good question.

"She'll be fine, don't worry," he assured her. "But we need to find her a meal. She's going to need to eat a magical beast. Just plain meat won't satisfy her."

Horin accepted the challenge with a firm nod and began leading the way toward a spot she thought might have something worth hunting.

"There are really only two ways to find a magic beast," she explained as they moved. "One: we stumble into one by accident, which happens more often than you'd think. Two: we find a herd and hope one's hiding among them."

They were headed to one of the best places for that, a wide, open stretch of land where all sorts of herbivore creatures often gathered.

Unlike watering holes, these areas offered a clear view of any incoming danger. Herds seeking safety would naturally gather there.

"Perfect. I see what you were going for… but which creatures are we looking for? How do we know which one is magical? I can't use my spirit vision with so many animals in one place,"

Fay asked, not even attempting to, to conserve aether.

"Simple. We look at their eyes. I'll be the one scouting. Did you forget Maji? My buzzard can see from afar. It'll be easy. No one runs from him, so I'll try to see which ones show signs of having magic cores."

Fay nodded at the suggestion and began scanning the herd himself.

He might not have the best eyesight between the two of them, but it had improved ever since he summoned Mirage.

It felt like he could do more with both his body and mind, as if the creatures he summoned were gradually enhancing him, their abilities bleeding into him over time.

"Oh? I found… three… but we might have to hurry. Two of them are leopards. It's strange, but they're working together here. It must be their element that helps them sync up to fight. As for the other, it's a Mastodrake… that one is going to be hard."

Fay recalled the name. It was the elephant-like beast with armored plates on its back and a massive wrecking-ball tail.

So deadly that hunters rarely tried to kill one.

It was uncommon to catch them alone. They had a call that could summon others of their kind from afar.

"How are we going to fight them? Do you have any idea?"

Horin stayed quiet. Fay saw her bird's position overhead and how it began to circle, as if searching for the right path.

"I think we just need to move fast. They're just below where my bird is flying. We need to wait for the fight to become one-sided and strike then. The loser here looks like one of the leopards, so if we don't hurry, it might retreat."

Horin dashed forward, and Fay followed.

The two ran without caring about the other creatures, who quickly scattered at the sight of strangers rushing past them.

Fay summoned both Grin and Somni, preparing to call out Jolt once they were closer.

"Get on. There's no way we're running faster than Grin!"

He grabbed Horin's hand and pulled her up as he leapt onto the back of his massive hyena.

"Should I summon Nuel?" Horin asked.

Fay wasn't sure what her kitten summon could do, but he nodded anyway.

More backup wouldn't hurt.

Fighting always drew attention from both predators and herbivores, and things could easily spiral out of control.

Soon, Grin was closing in on where the fight was happening. Fay had just enough time to summon Jolt and set him spinning toward one of the creatures, though he didn't yet know which one.

"Keep going, Grin. You handle the big elephant-looking monster. I'll take care of one leopard. Horin, you take the other. Jolt will back you up."

Horin suddenly leapt off Grin and began setting up her bow.

Fay continued charging in until he was close enough to draw his new wind sword.

"Come on! This will be three for one!"

He jumped from Grin's back and held his sword tightly, feeding it aether until it pulsed green.

That small infusion of aether was enough to activate its wind affinity, which not only added a devastating elemental effect but also helped correct his posture midair.

He was nearly three meters off the ground, and the wind was now guiding him at terrifying speed toward one of the leopards.

The beast had just begun to lunge at the Mastodrake when Fay intervened, slicing one of its legs cleanly.

"I love this weapon!"

Fay tried to draw all the creatures' attention, mostly to give Horin time to back him up. The other leopard, which had already been struck by the Mastodrake's wrecking-ball-like tail, was too slow to assist its partner.

Horin took advantage of the opening. She loosed two arrows without hesitation.

Fay only heard the whistle before seeing both strike with an astounding accuracy, one hit the leopard's neck, the other its stomach.

It was his turn to finish it off. All he had to do was reactivate his wind sword and start slashing, or so he thought.

The leopard he had attacked first began recovering quickly. To his surprise, it wasn't healing normally. It was using the surrounding shadows to form a new limb.

"A shadow beast, huh? No wonder Kimya had one of you. But I'm sorry… we need your cores today."

Fay slashed at the creature, unable to land a decisive blow on the one Horin had already struck.

"Horin, keep it busy! I still have to handle the other one!"

He managed to shout the warning as he focused on channeling more aether into his sword.

Fay had plenty left, but didn't want to overuse it, especially not in a zone this dangerous.

Soon, his blade pulsed green again. Fay took his stance and waited. Two of his creatures were about to attack.

Jolt was the first. His speed still astounded Fay. After evolving, he was faster than ever. He swirled around behind the enemies and struck their flank, slicing off another leg as it sped through it like a rotary saw.

Somni, on the other hand, was busy putting the leopard already wounded by arrows into a deep sleep.

Fay only had to decide which of the two was the stronger target to keep attacking. So far, they were doing great.

Grin, however, was struggling.

He was large and powerful, but so was his opponent.

The Mastodrake matched him in size and wielded a massive wrecking-ball tail, along with a thick, plated hide.

Grin couldn't bite into it or tear through it with his claws. The armored plating was too tough, though part of Fay couldn't help but hope he might later craft armor from it.

As he turned back to his own prey, Fay felt briefly disoriented. The leopards were using their surroundings to hide and confuse him, a tactic Kimya had often ordered his own shadow beast to use.

Then, two more arrows flew through the air. One finished off the leopard Somni had put to sleep.

The other struck the Mastodrake in the leg causing it to miss the strike he was about to deal on Grin.

Fay glanced back and saw Horin still in position, perched on a tree branch that gave her a perfect, unobstructed, and steady vantage point for her shots.

With one swing of his sword, he sliced through the remaining leopard, then turned toward the large elephant-like beast.

"Somni, help Grin and me. Jolt, keep your eyes peeled once that thing senses it's near death, it'll start calling for backup!"

Fay readied himself to attack. Grin continued dodging the tail, but the creature was growing more frenzied by the second, as if it knew it was next one to die.

Fay tightened his grip on the sword, waiting for Somni to lull it to sleep.

They needed to take advantage of that moment to attack from all sides.

He would aim for the heart… hopefully, the skin beneath was soft enough to pierce.

They just needed to count the seconds as his dream specialist began placing tendril after tendril on the creature's head, each one pulsing with dream energy.

When the beast began to wobble, struggling to remain upright, the three moved in unison. Horin, who had moved closer, aimed for the eyes.

Fay targeted the underbelly, and Grin prepared to shove the monster aside once Fay landed a heavy blow, keeping it from crushing Fay if it fell to its side.

Time seemed to slow as Fay closed in, but something felt off.

This wasn't just adrenaline.

Something was actively distorting time.

Then he remembered the forbidden gem which Elaruîn spoke of.

The one that controls time, one that is too powerful to use carelessly.

The elephant-like creature was slowing everything around it while accelerating its own perception.

"Damn it! Jolt attack! And send me sparks, I won't be able to get close on my own!"

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