Ashan's grayish-white whirlpool eyes scanned the battlefield, analyzing every living being.
The Manuga, like the Ganshka, wore half-torn rags.
'Never thought I'd see talking animals in clothes,' he mused, his gaze settling on the Vrkuka threatening his team.
'Awakened stage of the Bodhir rank. I'll need to kill it in one swift motion; there's no room for retaliation.'
A few seconds had passed as he calculated the odds.
'Five seconds of [Conceal] remaining.'
***
The Vrkuka launched its assault.
It threw its head back and let out a shrill, deafening cry.
"Woff! Woff!"
"Ouch! My ears!"
Everyone clapped their hands over their ears.
Imla's face darkened as the sound left her momentarily dazed.
"Watch out, it's coming!"
The Vrkuka leapt, claws extended.
Dris and Roderic were still stunned.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Arrows sliced through the air toward the hovering beast.
The Vrkuka swatted them aside with its claws, but the distraction gave Dris and Roderic the moment they needed to roll backwards.
'Three archers, four close-combat, two spears. We must keep our distance and attack from beyond its reach,' Imla strategized rapidly.
"Dris, Roderic, with the archers! Prepare [Elemental Bolt], Chaya element, on my command! The rest of you, with me! We hold the line. Don't let it close the distance!" Imla barked, rushing to intercept the creature.
No one questioned her. They moved.
Damara and the two other swordsmen flanked Imla, weapons raised, prana strengthening their bodies.
Dris and Roderic took positions on the left and right, mantras on their lips.
In the rear, the three archers loosed a steady stream of arrows to harass the beast while also beginning their own chant for [Elemental Bolt].
The Vrkuka's eyes glinted with crazed annoyance. "Pesky insects!"
It flexed, prana surging through its body. Dark-green energy wrapped around its extended claws. It took a long, powerful jump, appearing right in front of the front line.
"Brace yourselves!" Damara cried.
The two swordsmen performed the [Traya Vetra] kiriya, their blades meeting the Vrkuka's claws.
"Huek!" They were thrown back in an instant, overwhelmed by the force.
Damara lunged into the gap, performing the same kiriya with her spear, aiming a thrust at its skull.
The Vrkuka ducked and swiped its claws, forcing her back.
Damara used the weight of her spear to parry, holding her ground.
'Shit! We can't keep this up!'
Imla came to her aid, her spear slashing horizontally.
The attack grazed the Vrkuka, leaving a shallow cut.
"Woof!!" It roared in anger, its tail whipping out to smash into them.
Both Imla and Damara used their spears as shields, stumbling back from the impact.
"Now!" Imla shouted.
[Elemental Bolt] x5
Five bolts of dark-black energy tore through the air, converging on the beast.
The Vrkuka responded with a massive, claw-shaped projectile of its own.
BLAST!
The forces collided.
"Huff... did we get him?" Dris asked, his breath shaky.
"WOOF!" The hostile roar was their answer.
"Doesn't look like it!" Roderic clenched his sword, signaling to Dris.
The Vrkuka had tanked the combined attack.
Though its fur was singed and bruised, it had taken no significant damage.
Dris and Roderic charged, performing [Traya Vetra].
The Vrkuka met them with a surge of prana, its claws moving to tear them to shreds. Swords and claws clashed. Dris and Roderic barely held their ground.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The archers fired, their arrows infused with prana.
The projectiles were a nuisance, easily evaded or crushed by sharp teeth and claws.
Imla and Damara rejoined the fray.
The other two swordsmen were gasping, their bodies pushed to the limit, barely able to channel any more energy.
The Vrkuka was holding its own against nine humans.
The reasons were clear: it was Awakened, its Muldhara chakra fully active, allowing for efficient urja use.
And its opponents were exhausted, battered, and running on fumes after days of relentless survival.
"Huff! How much longer can you all hold?" Dris asked between ragged breaths.
"Not much!"
"Same here!"
Damara and Roderic shared the same weary look.
Imla's expression was grim. Ballio and Helma's arrow fire was dwindling as they fought for breath.
Imla saw the exhaustion in her teammates eyes. The enemy stared back with hungry, crazed intensity.
'Are we all going to die here?'
The thought was a cold spike in her mind.
'No. I refuse.'
She shook it off, tightening her grip on her spear.
"Everyone! Fight and live!" Her voice cut through the despair, pulling them back from the brink.
Weary but resolute, they stood again, weapons raised against the inevitable.
The Vrkuka merely snorted and widened its stance, claws ready.
This entire exchange had taken only four seconds.
In the fourth second, a dark-black elemental bolt struck the Vrkuka squarely in the face.
The attack came from nowhere.
Everyone froze, stunned.
The most surprised was the Vrkuka, which had sensed no presence near it.
It clutched its face, howling in pain and shock.
Ashan's concealed state vanished as he materialized before them.
He didn't waste the opening, pressing his assault on the blinded beast.
His sword moved with basic kiriya, guided by his siddhi to strike at weak points.
"Everyone, attack now!" Imla's command broke their stupor.
Arrows flew. Dris, Roderic, Imla, and Damara followed Ashan's lead, unleashing a continuous barrage of kiriyas, giving the Vrkuka no room to breathe.
Caught by surprise and overwhelmed, the Vrkuka sustained injury after injury, but it refused to fall. It flailed its claws wildly.
"Oh, shit!" Dris was knocked down, left exposed. The Vrkuka loomed over him.
Thwack! An arrow pierced the beast's shoulder, making it stagger.
"Stop sitting there! Put everything you have left into one last attack!" Roderic shouted.
"I know, idiot!"
The arrow was the turning point. The Vrkuka's focus broke for a critical moment.
Seizing the opportunity, Ashan channeled his last bit of prana into a final kiriya.
The others followed, pouring their remaining energy into a collective finishing blow.
"Woof..." The Vrkuka let out a final, dying breath and collapsed.
"Finally!" Dris slumped to the ground. "Let's take the vestige!"
Ashan shook his head. "No time. We run. Now."
Dris groaned but didn't argue.
They were still in the heart of a war zone.
The Vyaghruga and Vrkuka were still tearing each other apart nearby.
Forming a vestige took precious seconds they didn't have.
Ballio hesitated, his gaze drifting toward where Cloe fought.
Ashan gave him a brief, assessing look.
'He really does love animals. I saw the whole scene with Cloe. She believed in coexistence even before meeting them, and his curiosity reinforced it. A noble, if naive, idea. But now is not the time for philosophy.'
"Everyone, follow me! Don't look back!" Ashan commanded.
Everyone, including a reluctant Ballio, turned and ran, leaving the raging battlefield behind.