22 Mission Alert; Kyon - Wind Ratatoskr Squirrel (1/2)

Seeing the firmness of Rentaro's att.i.tude, Wilhelm merely chuckled as if he already knew Rentaro would react this way, his voice filled with approval despite trying to dissuade Rentaro's decision previously.

'Hehe, Alright, alright. Go ahead with whatever you've decided. I'll support your decision 99.99% of the time!'

'Oh? Not 100% of the time?'

'There may be times where I need to knock some sense into you. If I sit around and watch you do anything stupid that would end up harming you and our companions, I'd regret not stepping in!'

Smiling, Rentaro resumed his mental link with Kyon. 'Kyon, actually-'

Before Rentaro could finish speaking, his heartbeat sped up as a strong sense of unease filled his heart. Suddenly, his eardrums were filled with a rumbling sound as the ground below him vibrated heavily and he fell to the ground at the sudden occurrence. The animals in the surroundings let out several squealing sounds of panic, as they fled underground, onto trees, and into the sky.

A crackling sound rang out as a large tree seemed to break in half, cras.h.i.+ng down onto other trees as it collapsed to the earth with a booming sound. Panicked and at a lost, Rentaro's eyes followed the fallen tree to its origin which was far to the east, where he made out a large beast-like figure.

A sudden system notification resounded in his mind, forcing Rentaro to try and split his attention between both sudden occurrences.

[System Alert] [System has detected a beast at Qi Foundation Establishment Stage 4, the river stage, in close proximity to host's current location. Best course of action is to flee, followed by-]

'Huh? Stage four, d.a.m.n!' Before Rentaro could finish listening to the system notification, the figure of a beast approached, revealing a panther upon closer inspection. Disregarding the notification, Rentaro forced all of his attention on maintaining his cool.

The panther's fur was a dark brown color, though its body seemed to be shrouded in a dark aura. Its deep green eyes glowed with a murderous intent. The murderous intent seemed to be without any specific target, directed towards any living beings weaker than itself for the sake of releasing its bloodl.u.s.t. The panther locked its gaze on Rentaro and Kyon as it noticed them, followed by it releasing a loud roar, one which reverberated in Rentaro's mind as it seemed to pierce his eardrums until they popped and all he heard was a ringing sound.

Rentaro remained kneeling on the ground from his initial fall, his hands being the only method of holding himself from collapsing as the pace of his breathing quickened, with an even heavier intake of oxygen per breath than before. His vision was a blur before it ultimately faded away, with only the ringing sound as a measure of confirmation that he was still awake, consciously at least.

The constant ringing brought with it a nauseous feeling, a sick feeling which pervaded the depths of his stomach and traveled up his esophagus, as he vomited. His face overcast with a deathly pale color and his condition which seemed to only worsen, the pressure continued. With the continuing pressure, it wouldn't be surprising if Rentaro started bleeding from his pores and the seven orifices.

Off to the side, Kyon was holding up much better. After all, he was in the form of a spirit with his body sealed protectively within the crystal. Furthermore, his cultivation level before he was sealed was surely anything but weak.

Currently, Kyon's hazel eyes seemed to carry an ever growing intent of wrath as he focused his gaze on the panther. His current phantom-like figure suffused an even brighter aura, as the natural green and sky blue colors seemed to mix, forming a cyan color.

Kyon reached his pudgy arm outwards, the cyan aura flowing from his body and forming into a barrier which obstructed the panther's pressuring aura.

'Hmph! Some lousy cat who doesn't know his place dares to invade my territory! Just when I thought it was going to be a peaceful night as well!'

*Growl*

Kyon's current aura was surely daunting, but strangely enough, the panther didn't pay any heed towards it whatsoever. Instead, it increased its speed as it moved in Kyon's direction, five silver metallic claws extending from its paws. Seeing the panther continue in his direction, Kyon raised his hands as he concentrated the cyan aura along his hand, where it seemed to gather and condense on his small fingertips.

'Oh? To ignore my aura so easily, you're definitely no beast. In fact, you don't even seem to be living anymore. Must be the work of some sort of necromancy spell... has that evil cult returned? Hmph! Very well, I shall return balance to this soulless body. Hear my cry! With the soul in the underworld, the body shall return to the grave!'

Kyon pointed his pudgy arms in the sky, 'Tempest!'

Storm clouds formed above the trees, turning the once picture-perfect scenery of beauty into a frightening maw of horror as the clouds emitted a bright yellow light and the sound waves of lightning crackling traveled through the air.

Thunder boomed, and a lightning bolt struck towards the panther that seemed to be without its own consciousness.

*Bang*

The lightning crashed into the beast, and another tree crackled as it exploded into countless splinters. Rentaro managed to open his eyes ever so slightly, only to feel sick in the stomach at the panther's current state.

The panther's body was severely burnt, with sections of its fur and skin succ.u.mbing to the lightning, turning to ash and dust. Its body was impaled by several wooden splinters, a gruesome scene. Oblivious to the pain, the panther, or rather the reanimated corpse, continued trudging its way towards Kyon.

'Hmph! How annoying! My qi reserves have already emptied out long ago otherwise that attack would've been more than enough to incinerate you. Not to mention, my cultivation stage is only falling further apart as I forcefully use these abilities; pretty soon I'll be back in the early stages of Foundation Establishment.'

'So be it, I'm getting really angry now. Disrespect I, the big boss around here, and pay the price. Aero Conglomeration! Blade!' Kyon shouted as a cyan-colored aura slowly gathered in front of him, taking on the form of a long blade. He reached his pudgy arms out, grabbing what appeared to be a light-grey hilt, with the sword finally taking form and revealing a smooth, cyan blade.

'Now I'm serious. Even the simplest of attacks with this blade will end you. Whirlwind Slas.h.!.+'

Raising the blade up, the pattern of the wind current suddenly changed with the wind submerging the blade, traveling around the sword in a constant cycle, the blade appearing to be the eye of a cyclone. The wind emitted a shrill screech as it reached an intense frequency and Kyon seemed to hold a glint of expectation in his eyes, steadily swinging the sword straight down with determination.

The panther was still out of Kyon's reach when he swung the blade down, but the unthinkable happened. The wind seemed to have been launched off of the blade, rus.h.i.+ng in a straight line towards the panther who lacked the most basic of intelligence to dodge, while bringing destruction to everything in its path.

Having unleashed such attacks, the surroundings were an absolute mess, with the wind current being chaotic and the storm still brewing above. Kyon sighed as he looked at all the destruction, 'Zephyr, a soft breeze that brings peace.'

The storm clouds above dissipated, while the wind currents seemed to return to their normal calm. The blade in his hands reverted to the initial state of mere wind elemental qi, returning to nature. Kyon's chant appeared to be part of his method of controlling the nature of wind itself.

'Hey, kid, you alright.' Kyon asked, breathing heavily. His phantom-like figure was almost transparent, as if it was on the verge of vanis.h.i.+ng altogether.

'Yeah, for the most part. What about you? You're not looking very good after that last attack....'