Divine Beast Ascension

Oli’s essence armor was far sturdier than expected, only allowing the barbed knuckles to scratch Oli in the end. All that effort for a free attack with little to no results. Also, Gamun knew that he was next on the young man’s hit list.

But as Oli dispersed one hammer to grab Gamun by the throat, he flinched backward and threw his other hammer.

Lakd had charged into the ring of bandits and vines, coming to Gamun’s aid. His icy blades slashed crudely at Oli. It wasn’t what Oli had expected but that was before Oli noticed something strangely familiar about those swords.

The ice on Lakd’s blades was no longer solid but broken into sharp bits of blade. And those sharp bits of ice began to rotate around the sword, gaining more speed by the second.

“Where did you–”

“You’ve chosen death!” Lakd shouted with a maniacal grin.

.....

Oli evaded the blades, watching them tear through the ground with ease. He backed into Gamun but he wasn’t worried. As Lakd lunged again and Gamun reached to stop Oli’s retreat, the young man dropped his earth essence and effectively vanished yet again.

Both Lakd and Gamun were on full alert as Lakd’s first swipe of the sword nearly hit Gamun.

Gamun was relieved to stop in time and avoid accidental injury. But he suddenly found himself pushed into the steady blade from behind.

“AAAaaahhhhh...”

Gamun howled in pain as Lakd retracted his sword, pulling out of Gamun’s torn-up flesh. A gory hole was left in Gamun’s side for all to see.

As Oli redirected his attention to his injured party members and those still attacking them, a loud whistle sounded off. Oli looked back to spot the half-masked man retreating with the brawny, injured man leaning against him. At the same time, the remaining bandits scattered as well. It was a great sign but Oli wasn’t happy by any means.

Oli prevented a loss but he couldn’t quite call this a victory. Leon and Johan both showed brutal injuries. Even Shadur had cuts and wounds lining his torso, despite the vines protecting him and ensnaring his foes. Also, the bandits running off would potentially leave the party open to another attack in the near future. Should Oli give chase and hunt them down, that would leave the others susceptible for another ambush, the exact situation that Oli wanted to avoid.

“Here... Let me heal you,” Shadur sighed, using more essence to surround Leon and Johan in nature energy.

“Where were you?!” Johan shouted, holding nothing back.

Oli blinked. “I got preoccupied...”

“What do you mean?! Your job is to–”

“To protect you and Shadur from harm. Though you were injured, you’re all still in one piece and able to move,” Oli interjected. “I agree that I should’ve remained here but that was beyond my control.”

“How is that beyond your control?! Explain–”

“Johan! That’s enough!” Leon shouted as well, staring at the ground with a confused look.

“Leon, stay out of–”

“That’s enough!” Leon shouted again. “Oliver just took on that lead bandit and forced them to retreat.”

“But for all we know he’s working with them! Does he have any proof against that, cause it sure seemed convenient for him to vanish just before they attacked...”

“Then what about them?” Both of the young swordsmen followed Shadur’s finger pointing at the dead bandits, particularly those that had their necks cruelly snapped. “I do think Oliver should explain his absence, but I don’t see a reason to doubt his commitment to protecting us.”

“Thanks, Shadur...” sighed Oli, putting his hands behind his head in thought. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything that will help heal them or yourself, would you?”

“Well... I have a few things that may–” Shadur responded but Oli stepped forward at the same time, grabbing Shadur’s hand and dumping a few gold coins into Shadur’s fingers. “That’s–”

“Consider it me trying to make up for my momentary absence. That won’t be happening again.”

Unsatisfied, Johan demanded, “Explain yourself! How could someone hired as a bodyguard leave their employer unattended? Even with a logical explanation, it’s unacceptable!”

Leon thought about saying something more but found himself agreeing with Johan’s statement, curious how Oliver would explain himself.

“Well... I had to wrestle a leopard that dared approach the camp.”

“Got any proof?”

Shaking his head, Oli continued, “I have none. But I swear on my cultivation that’s what happened.”

“That’s doesn’t mean anything! You want us to forgive you for fighting an imaginary beast moments before the bandits attacked?”

“Whether it’s imaginary to you or real to me, that’s what happened.”

*****

“Man up, Gamun. Drink a potion already...” Lakd grumbled.

“Easy for you to say...” Gamun grumbled as he popped the cork on a small vial. Downing the liquid inside, Gamun’s breathing gradually steadied as another bandit bandaged him up carefully.

Away from the fight, Lakd thought back to before the battle. “Gamun...”

“What is it?”

“That black leopard, how do you think the kid got away from it?”

“...”

No reply came. All of the surviving bandits were stumped by the question.

Lakd continued thinking out loud, “That thing should be at least be an elder, so the kid should’ve been killed or captured. That kid should never have been back in the fight, yet he reappeared moments after it began... It doesn’t make any sense.”

“You called for the boss, right? Then we’ll wait for him,” Gamun replied with a pained shrug. “Then we’ll be able to take down the kid and claim all the lilies for ourselves, securing us a nice and steady income...”

“True... Waiting may be our best bet. Still, I’d like to understand that kid and how he managed to escape an elder realm beast, especially something as smart as a leopard,” added Lakd, accepting minor treatment for his trivial injuries, along with the unconscious group leader that Oli had launched out of the battlefield.