Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

“Whatever enemies have found us, they are bound to arrive any minute now. The evacuation of the wounded is almost complete, but that means that there will be another hour before another portal can be opened.

Whirl should be back any moment now to give us at least a hint of what might be awaiting us. Your teams will be given positions around the cave, as defensible as we can make them during the little time we have been given, while the cave itself will be our fallback position where the dedicated healers will see to the injured as well as where the team on reserve will rest and stand guard.”

The scout platoon was gathered in the more spacious central part of the cave system which made up their rendezvous-point gathered in their respective teams while Grim was briefing them on the situation. In a nearby cave, the nine injured iron-rankers were being led through one of the elf’s portals, taking them as far eastward toward the base camp as possible. Their current location wasn’t within portal range from the three fortified spires, but getting over three quarters of the way should be enough to put them out of harm's way and hopefully be found by their allies.

“Once the wounded have been portaled away, why don’t we just run for it? Why make a stand here?” one of the gathered iron-rankers asked.

“Because there are multiple bronze-ranked monsters heading our way.” Whirl broke in, as he seemed to emerge out of the air itself beside Grim in the cave. “Us bronze-rankers present could probably escape, but that would leave you on your own. And I believe you agree with my sentiment in that it doesn’t make for a very satisfying plan.”

“Besides, we would be more vulnerable while on the move, as we can’t assist one another or the wounded very well.” another of the iron-rankers present chimed in.

“My own and Grim’s teams will act as roving support for the six defensive positions. Use your judgment and keep watching each other’s backs. You have all faced bronze-rank monsters before so you know that things can get dire rather quickly, so don’t hesitate to call for assistance.

Also, while I didn’t get a clear sense through the auras of the monsters, I believe that there are enemy essence-users out there as well. Exercise caution and keep your wits about you.

And remember; this is about survival, not glory or honor.” Whirl finished, letting the final statement sink in as he gazed around at all of the gathered adventurers.

Kite could feel the auras around them mirror his own tension, but he quickly centered himself, bolstering his resolve further from the comfortable feeling of his companions’ presence. Then they all went out into the dark of the evening, to face the dangers which drew ever closer.

Grim joined them on their way out, falling in stride next to his young master and spoke low enough that none other than them, except maybe Serene, heard.

“Young master, as your guardian, I must at least urge you once. One more iron-ranker may pass through before it loses coherency. Please, take it. Guard the wounded and go for aid.”

The younger blonde elf looked at this manservant, answer only given through the even, silent stare he leveled at Grim, who sighed with a slightly defeated look.

“Forgive me, young master, but I had to try. Then at least be careful.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Grim. My Heavenly Shaft yearns to be thrust into my enemies, and no legend was forged by fleeing when others stood firm.” Will answered with a cheeky grin, misunderstanding the reason why Grim winced at his words.

“When we get back, I will finally have to put my foot down to his governess. This whole ‘not spoiling his pure mind with base paraphrasing’ is getting out of hand.” Grim thought to himself, as the prospect of that particular conversation filled him with more trepidation than the life-or-death battle which now lay ahead of them.

Dancer on the Broken River stood firm before the frustration of her bronze-ranked ‘ally’. The priestess of Undeath, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth, her grumbling tirade still in full swing.

“-couldn’t even stop them from escaping. What kind of ambushers are you even? I can not see why the sect leader holds you in such regard. We will send word to the high priestess of this, be so sure. Later-”

“I must remind you, priestess, that you almost let the remaining bronze-ranker get away. And now that I think about it, I have only your word to go on in that regard.” River said, tone frosty and bearing proud even as the other woman’s aura ground against hers.

“You want proof, whelp? Here’s your proof.” the priestess hissed, reaching into a murky haze which appeared next to her and producing a severed arm with a still bleeding stump. River recognized the dark leather armor with wooden plates as belonging to the bronze-ranker with the plant weaponry. “He ‘lost’ it before I finished him. We’ve already sent his body away for processing, although it was a poor payoff compared to what this debacle cost us.”

“Either way, there is still no more reason for us to tarry here. We will return to the sect for new orders. The next stage of the counterattack should already have been put into motion.” River said, with a dismissing gesture as she started leading her group out of the stone tunnels of the outpost. For a moment, she thought that the priestess would bar her way, but the woman eventually moved out of their path, only staring hatefully at them as they left.

River left the outpost, feelings of frustration held in check through an effort of willpower. The ambush had indeed not paid off, even costing them a bronze-ranked thrall with nothing to show for it. The previous groups of sect students had been a lot more predictable, either freezing up or trying to break through River’s squad to flee back out. These adventurers had instead created something akin to a miniature siege after forcing their way deeper to a more defensible position, complete with an escape option in case things went poorly.

She felt dread in reporting this to her father, in confessing her failures. And as she passed from the outpost out into the forest, darkened by the evening gloom, River also had the distinct feeling that she had just been lied to.

Kite was impressed with what a team of dedicated adventurers could achieve in short order. In the few minutes that were available, the bronze-rankers had cleared a few meters of trees to at least give them a semblance of open ground as well as leaving the fallen trees and debris where they fell, forcing the assailants through rougher terrain during the final stretch.

Some of the natural rocks were moved closer together through essence abilities, arrayed into a handful of smaller clusters to form simple bulwarks for the defenders. Unfortunately, there was not enough time for ritual traps and other preparations, but each of the forty-odd remaining members of the scout platoon contributed in what ways they could.

Different essence abilities were at work around the teams’ respective defenses, spreading flaming traps and reinforcing their cluster of stones with conjured ice. Kite could even see what looked like a thick briar patch spreading outward around one of the bulwarks. As neither he nor his companions had much in the way of more lasting powers, Kite’s conjured walls of force being the closest but not lasting enough to be deployed in advance, they simply waited not far behind the defensive line.

Serene, who had stood with her eyes closed, was the first to give warning. “They come.”

“Finally.” Dragonfly said where she was bouncing lightly on her feet, pink curls making a merry dance along with her movements.

“Indeed. Another stitch in the tapestry of my legend.” Will grinned, equally enthusiastic.

“Young master, please hold to the plan at least. There will be plenty of opportunities tonight.” Grim stated, his stern facade broken slightly in consternation as he swept back his black hair, making sure it was kept in place.

Serene said nothing else, already beginning her hum as the initial notes of her goddess’ song started to fill the air. As her auras reached out to the surrounding adventurers, the following surge of collective aura power was enough to be clearly felt even without straining. Close to this many adventurers, her aura which boosted all other aura powers in range caused the overlapping blanket of auras to veritably hum with potential.

The sudden spiritual din caused Glint, who had been hovering next to Kite, to twitch and dart back into her dimensional bottle, only poking out a pin head with whiskers feeling the air around her. Sage, on the other hand, seemed fascinated by the experience as it almost vibrated along with the sensation.

They could all hear the growls, howls and other noises as the monsters drew near, as well as feel the wave of aggression on their primitive auras. Even Kite could make out the increased agitation, not normal even to monsters entering the berserk stage of their life cycle. And there were a lot of them. Kite had not fought in a monster surge yet, but he imagined that he was experiencing something similar.

“May Fortune preserve us, my friends.” he said, just as the first clusters of monsters broke through the treeline. It was a pack of moss prowlers, the normally solitary feline monsters moving in a loose pack as they bounded gracefully over the terrain, their auras feeling almost driven to madness.

Volleys of ranged attacks and spells tore into them from the positions within range, obliterating the beasts. However, they were only the tip of the wave which was about to crash over them. Ogres of different kinds, margolls, galezards, gladespinners and gyrmlings alike charged out from beneath the canopies as the battle was joined in earnest.

In their role as mobile response, Kite and his team would follow Grim’s lead and intervene where they deemed the fighting to be thickest, providing relief and aid to the points under the most pressure. Therefore, their role was to only provide lighter ranged support initially and conserve their strength in order to unleash it where it would make the most difference.

Still, they were not idle from where they were positioned in the open space between defensive bulwarks. Kite fired arrow after arrow into the throng, seeking out gyrmlings and other creatures where his dispelling force would make a difference. Dragonfly’s thrown axe and Will’s conjured javelins attacked with more abandon to help thin out the swarm as close combat warriors met the monsters at the edge of their formations while those better suited to ranged combat dealt death from within the defenses or from atop the boulders.

Unsurprisingly, Grim’s area attacks of glass shards and cutting winds was the most devastating of the group, even his lesser spells making quite a difference when he was allowed to remain unoccupied by other matters.

In the chaos of battle, the ambient mana was churning from all the drain and expenditure. This also provided Kite with a new experience as he could feel Sage’s reserves being filled faster than he had ever experienced before, as the familiar gathered the remnants of mana spent from all around them.

“When everybody adds fuel, the flame rises high. Let’s do our best, little friend.” Kite said, followed by Sage hovering up to his side and unleashing a white beam of resonating force which punched through a small stone elemental, scattering it to dust.

While the adventurer’s reaped a heavy initial toll, their response grew more scattered as more and more monsters were pouring in while more of them became engaged. But it was the bronze-rank monsters entering the field that really started stretching their capacity closer to their limit. Both of the mobile response teams were called into action as an ogre chief followed by its small pack made a charging assault towards one of the defensive positions, the chief itself in the lead using a conjured stone slab pushed by its strength and mass to plow fallen trunks and other obstacles out of the way. On another side of the field, a bronze-ranked gladespinner matriarch led her daughters and their spiderlings out into the field.

Kite’s group had the dubious honor of taking on the ogres in support of the defenders of a nearby bulwark, who were already engaged with a great number of smaller stone elementals. Kite let loose another arrow, getting a ferocious, frustrated roar in response as the conjured stone slab lost cohesion under his Disrupting strike. The team was already striding out into the field to face the monsters, and the ogres diverted their charge to meet the challengers.

While his team sent attacks into the approaching ogres, Kite continued his attacks against the chief in order to whittle down its innate resistances from its rank in addition to the withering effects of his newly evolved Chakra implosion. His throwing star darted out again and again as the final dozen meters which separated them became five then zero. Just as the ogre pack, having lost a third of their members, were about to collide into the smaller adventurers using their great bulk and horns as bludgeons, Grim and Will unleashed spells in tandem.

“Face the defiant phalanx!”

“Feel the thorns of the glass rose!”

Overlapping lines of spears angled diagonally upwards rose from the ground, intertwined with large spikes of similarly angled glass. The ogres crashed into them, their charge ground to a halt as those behind the first line started colliding with their packmates. While injured by the sudden defensive measures, the chief was the only one who still came out of the ordeal in something still resembling a charge.

As Will and Dragonfly charged and leapt into the mass of hampered iron-ranked monsters, Kite strode resolutely toward their leader as he chanted a quick “Ward”. The barrier appeared right in front of the lowered horns of the monster, but even the well-timed ward was not enough to repel the charging attack. As the ogre chief came barreling through what remained of his personal barrier, Kite had already planted his feet and was swinging his combat staff in a wide, two-handed arc.

The head of the staff connected with the ogre’s skull, chiming slightly as the ground beneath Kite’s feet cracked audibly from the transferred force. However, the staff's force-absorbing enchantments in conjunction with Unyielding left him unmoved and unbroken as the monster’s head was snapped to the side, forced to a stumbling halt.

However, the ogres of the Autumn lands were durable creatures in the upper tiers of power for their ranks, and while Kite’s blow did damage the thick-headed brute, it came back swinging. Kite deflected a punch from its huge fist on another barrier, getting a spear strike in before dodging beneath a swung club formed of magically gathered stone. With a flick of a wrist, he sent his throwing star to destroy the conjured weapon while his other hand was already punching out with the katar, blade surrounded by the nothingness of the void. It plunged into the body of the monster, void tears unfurling to shred its insides while Kite activated the shockwave to further tear through his opponent.

Kite, feeling good about this first exchange, had his mirth cut short as a warning spoken by all of his mentors became stark reality. Instead of conjuring a new club, the ogre swung inwards with both of its arms to grab Kite in a crushing embrace. And as Kite was nice and close after his strike with the katar, his attempts at evasion failed as the creature’s superior reach more than made up for Kite’s agility.

While his ability to avoid restraints and movement hampering [Implacable motion] made it awkward for the monster to really find purchase, there was still enough crushing force applied that Kite could hear his armor start to creak as pain spread through his body. Fortunately, the raging battle had refilled Sage’s reserves yet again. Another beam of white force shot into one of the ogre’s arms, drilling into it at a respectable pace. The added damage to the arm saw it faltering enough for Kite to wiggle and crouch out of the bear hug, rolling to the side to avoid a foot stomping down on him.

Now cautious from having first-hand experience with the dangers of a larger opponent grappling him, Kite fell into a more defensive stance, making sure to keep some distance and employing counterattacks instead of a more relentless offensive. He did get an idea during those scant seconds, and as the ogre chief attempted another grab Kite responded differently.

“Wall!”

A force wall sprang up at either side of him, angled to catch the converging arms at an awkward angle. While the monster had great strength, the awkward angle and the attack being a grapple rather than a punch left both arms stuck halfway to their target. The conjured walls of force left only a half-meter gap exposing the monster’s head and parts of its torso. This was enough of an opening for Grim, who took an opportune shot and sent a large spike of glass zipping over Kite’s shoulder and straight into the ogre’s chest.

Having seen the attack being prepared and launched through his all-round vision, Kite swung his staff a mere moment after the spell struck home. He hit the end part of the spike which protruded from the creature’s ribcage, the impact driving the shard all the way in. Grim, standing some meters behind Kite, gave a casual snap of his fingers, the faint sound still heard clearly through the din of the battlefield. All at once, his conjured glass shards exploded outwards in clusters of razor shrapnel. The detonation of the rather sizable shard inside the ogre chief’s chest proved too much for the bronze-ranked monster, and it collapsed to the ground as Kite let his conjured walls of force disappear.

Will and Dragonfly had already handled most of the beleaguered iron-ranked ogres, while Serene, upon judging that her companions had the battle well in hand, had shifted her focus to assisting the nearby defensive position by scattering the monsters piling in through use of her hurricane spell.

The cleanup of the ogre pack was short and brutal, and only the beginning of many upcoming interventions as the pressure increased across the small battlefield. Already, Kite could see the roiling mass of roots that made up an autumn pawn roil towards a nearby position while Whirl and his team were finishing up the arachnid brood further away. Everywhere, auras flared and projectiles flew accompanied by chanted spells or just simple battlecries.

Forming up on Grim, they all steeled their resolve and stepped back into the chaos.

Tamer of Instincts observed the battle through the eyes of a galezard perched up in a tree, a specimen he had spent time on and performed the necessary rituals to properly dominate. While he still could not achieve true control, the gifted essence from lord Pain had put him on the right path. One of the powers was a ritual which, if applied correctly to properly break a monster’s instinctual resistance, forced it into something akin to a familiar bond for the duration of their existence and even prolonging it, albeit a lot less harmonious than the conventional contracts formed in such a bond.

Weaker individuals had called it a perversion of what was proper, but for Tamer it was the most natural thing in the world. After all, there was always the need for an alpha in every relationship, the hierarchy of dominance clear.

Next to him, his most prized pet stirred, shuddering as Tamer’s aura prodded it. As he was currently limited to one bronze-rank monster bound to him, he had made sure to acquire one of the most potent creatures possible in this region. The myriad eyes of the forest hydra were locked on the battle raging ahead, barely visible through the stretch of forest in between. Every once in a while, one of the heads would glance at their master before twitching as their eyes met.

“Relay the message that the herders shall join the fray. The adventurer scum are pressured, but we will need a bit of a push if we are to break them. I will go after those roaming groups. It will be good to have that nuisance dealt with. For the glory of the sect!”

“Yes, senior disciple. For the glory of the sect!” the two nearby disciples echoed as they set off to relay his orders.

The wide line of monsters which had been spread wide across the area was now converging on the adventurers. It would only be a matter of time before they were overwhelmed, but Tamer didn’t want to lose more of his little project than necessary. The utter dominance over their enemies was their core tenets, after all. But he did intend to keep his final trump card for the more intense battles that loomed in the days to come, allowing the bud that was his project to bloom into a flower of pain and violence.

With a smile in the very image of a predator, Tamer called his pack to him and started advancing. The hunt was on.

While the battle that the scout platoon had been embroiled in was constantly putting strain on their defenses, Kite and his comrades found a few seconds to rest and swallow recovery pills, having stopped just behind the defensive line. The intensity of the battle put strain on all of them, the group having made several interventions in short order to lower the pressure on the defensive formations, albeit Kite thought that among the iron-rankers he might be the one who felt the least overwhelmed. The Jade-Sky gate had been a trial in more ways than one, and he felt that the tribulation had tempered his mind along with his abilities.

“How are they even doing this to all these monsters? Can you even control monsters?” Dragonfly asked, incredulous as she looked out at the carnage. “Or has the surge just surprised us with an early beginning?”

“Their auras are off, agitated even beyond normal. I know little else, but I can feel as much. Their harmony is corrupted and broken.” Serene answered, Grim nodding in agreement.

“I can feel it as well, but am left without answers like priestess Serene.” the somber elf confirmed. “Hopefully, we can survive and shed some light on this new tool in what we can only assume to be employed by our enemies.”

Shortly thereafter, their respite was broken as more packs of monsters pushed into the artificial clearing, the open space now even wider as trees fell and bushes burned from stray projectiles and attacks unleashed by the defenders. The glow stones spread around the battlefield and the many different glowing conjured weapons, armors and other more exotic effects created an otherworldly landscape of violence in the encroaching darkness of the evening.

One particular pack of monsters caught their attention, mostly due to the huge forest hydra which slithered into view among the trees. This hydra species had the mottled scales of green and brown along its long serpentine body which shifted more toward yellow and orange up towards the five heads, to better camouflage it in the forests of the Autumn lands. Two iron-ranked ogres prowled next two it, along with a forest prowler, a lone galezard and a tall, whip-thin plant elemental.

The hodgepodge group moved as one, the bronze-ranked hydra at its center as they entered the battlefield.

“I believe our next target has arrived.” Grim stated, tone true to his name as winds started whipping around him.

“Their auras feel different from the others. Be wary.” Serene’s voice whispered to them, still heard clearly over the battlefield.

“Different or not, they will fall before us like their kin, as long as our hearts remain steadfast and our trust in our paths absolute.” Will stated, eagerness filling his aura as several spears started manifesting around him.

As they moved to intercept the newly arrived pack, making their way around or over corpses of fallen monsters, Kite noticed with a twinge of concern that their targets were already moving right at them, all while the fresh wave of other monsters went straight for the defensive positions which left the odd pack relatively unharassed in their approach.

“Approach with the usual target priority. Serene, I will need your help to hold off the hydra for Will and Dragonfly to do what they do best.” Kite said as he approached. While Grim was the official commander of their group, he tended to leave the tactics among the iron-rankers to them, as they were the ones who had trained intensely together for the last month. Their usual target priority when facing mixed groups was for Kite to engage and occupy the largest or most powerful targets to leave his friends more free to rampage through the lower-ranked enemies.

Both Dragonfly and Will benefited as a fight progressed, the former as wounds increased her power and speed while the latter’s abilities increased in potency along with his speed for each spear currently conjured or scattered about the battlefield. Unlike most conjured weapons, many of Will’s different spears remained for a while even as the attack which brought them forth was finished, causing any battlefield he was part of to become almost littered with the scattered weapons.

The chosen approach had both of the more damage dealing members already launching themselves towards the edges of the pack through empowered leap and carried on a wave of spears while Kite sent his throwing star ricocheting among the hydra's heads to gain its attention, although it was mostly the attention of the two mana-draining vortices of Spirit singuarity now focused solely on it which truly caused the five heads to lock their gazes on him. Meanwhile, Grim had started sending rending shards of glass up against the hydra’s many eyes to further blind and disorient it as Kite engaged it.

However, the two sides had barely begun their clash as the trap was sprung through the strike of an unseen hunter. Suddenly appearing as if emerging from everyone’s periphery, a human man with a bronze rank aura launched himself at Grim like an apex predator pouncing on its prey as a jagged trident ripped open the elf’s side, tearing through his black combat robes. From the snarl the man gave off, it was obvious that his aim had been for the vitals of his target.

Even as Grim flashed away, his silhouette seeming to shatter in a burst of razor shards, it was obvious that the wound caused pain way beyond what such a wound should. The manservant still showed remarkable resilience as his aura stabilized within a heartbeat, glass welling up from inside his body to seal the wound as winds whipped about him and spells were already shooting towards his opponent.

Grim’s escaping the ambush without crippling injuries turned an almost guaranteed disaster into a situation that was still quite dire, as the team now had an enemy bronze-ranker in their backline engaging Grim whose power set was not as well suited for more intense close combat, his opponent’s constant pursuit hinting at something along the lines of the hunt essence or predatory confluence.

Kite’s instincts were screaming at him to be at two places at once as he was currently being pressed hard by the five heads of the hydra, even though he possessed what was probably one of the most perfect perception powers to combat such a being. He still knew he ought to run to Grim’s aid to engage the new threat, allowing the elf to leverage his whole power set, but he couldn’t just leave the hydra either, at least not until Dragonfly had hit her stride properly.

Gritting his teeth, Kite shored up his resolve. Being an adventurer was all about surpassing oneself after all, and building one’s path towards the heavens was never without strain. Activating his perception power and letting it remain as such, Kite became even more defensive in his battle against the hydra as he wielded his staff to batter heads out of the way and catch snapping jaws on conjured barriers.

Every time he had a hand free he flicked his wrist to send his throwing star against the bronze-ranker who continually harried Grim, the small weapon humming with dispelling force to remove boons and shred magical defenses. Only the first throw slipped unchallenged through the man’s defenses as he seemed to disregard the iron-ranked attack, only for the strike to cause one of his active boons to wink out, removing the stacking enhancements he gained as he pursued his target of choice. Most of the attacks following after it were either dodged or deflected, but that too had a purpose as it gave Grim just a little more metaphorical breathing room.

However, the strain on Kite’s mind was quickly taking its toll and he knew he couldn’t keep this attempt of being everywhere at once up for too long. But without any intervention, it looked as if Grim might be worn down as he was pushed hard, finding it difficult to regain initiative and control over the struggle. And eventually, one of the hydra’s attacks would snake through his strained defenses unless something changed.

That change came as Serene’s voice was projected into Kite’s ear.

“I believe I can do something to occupy the hydra. Pray for my success and be ready.”

Immediately afterwards, Kite could feel Serene’s fourfold aura clamp down around the hydra, but not with the usual vice of an aura suppression. Notes half heard and half sensed on a spiritual level seemed to emanate around it, their discordance seeming to further aggravate the hydra. At first this only seemed to make it renew its assault on Kite with new fervor, but Kite could soon see that the aggression was losing its focus as one of its heads instead snapped down towards a nearby three-horned ogre currently staggering back from a wave of flame released by Dragonfly, clamping down on the monster’s muscled shoulder.

Kite wasn’t exactly sure what Serene did with her aura, but got the sense that she was aggravating it to the point of insensate madness beyond even what control the bronze-ranked beastmaster seemed capable of handling.

The man seemed to realize it as well, snarling at Serene as he leapt back from Grim and threw his trident at her. From the sickening red-purple glow and the amount of mana unleashed in the attack, Kite knew it to be a devastating one indeed. Serene, her focus almost entirely on the hydra and the aura-grapple she was currently engaged in, would not be able to dodge and neither had the time to cast any spells in response.

Kite’s world seemed to slow down. Grim had already showered the man with clusters of shrapnel in an attempt to distract him from the attack, but the pain seemed irrelevant to the snarling beastmaster. As the trident flew through the air, Kite knew that his throwing star would not reach to intercept it in time, and neither would even his shortened spell chant be quick enough to protect his friend from the higher-ranked attack.

There was suddenly a third place Kite needed to be. And even through the sheer impossibility of it, he knew that he had to. He just did. Almost unthinking, as if his soul had already processed something that the rest of him had not, Kite’s arm swung upward. The katar had already appeared on his hand as the slashing motion tore through empty air, and the glowing trident continued along its deadly trajectory.

Until it suddenly didn’t.

With the sound of an ephemeral mirror breaking, the light on the weapon winked out and it was pushed upwards and away by a small dark ripple in the air, no, in the space itself as Kite’s strike suddenly was just where he intended for it to be. Even if that place was meters outside the normal range of his weapon.

It was only then that his mind registered the gray light shining out from within him, another source of illumination in the chaos of the field of battle.

WWJS:

Essence gift (Void) - Void Sheath has evolved into All is Void before Intent

All is Void before Intent - Gain a pocket dimension capable of storing weapons.

When drawn from the void, the first attack with a weapon will deal additional damage of the weapon’s type as well as increasing any added from special attacks or abilities.

The first attack may also be carried through the void by your intent, allowing it to be made at range even if it would normally be a melee attack. There is a small delay before the attack manifests, with the delay being longer the farther away the strike is carried through your intent.

Even as part of his mind sang in elation at the sudden development, there was little time to process it. As the hydra descended into an uncontrolled rampage, Kite activated the charging power of his belt and used a barrier to disengage from the monster while blocking an attack aimed at his back, hurtling over fallen monsters through the flickering lights of the battle and toward the bronze-ranker who still seemed a bit stunned by the sudden development as his higher-ranked mind struggled to process what had just happened.

But Kite did have the time to feel a bit of satisfaction. His path had proved its worth yet again as he went beyond his limits in the aid of his friend. This. This was where he belonged, and where he should be. Defending the bonds he had forged.