Tessia Eralith

Ducking under the claws of a mana beast, I stabbed upwards and hit its throat, signifying the end of the battle. Turning around to my squad I checked on their condition before giving the order to return to camp.

It has been a year now since the attack and I was finally allowed to join the war. Thankfully it was a lot easier to convince my parents as I had proven myself by helping during the attack on Xyrus Academy and grandpa Virion was supporting me.

It didn't take long for my old team to form. Darvus was just like how I remember him, boisterous and fun to be around. Stannard was still shy and a bit awkward but a dependable companion. And Caria was still the energetic girl in love who lacked the courage to confess.

It felt great being reunited with them, even if said reunion was one sided. And while I still carried the guilt for letting them down during the battle in the Elshire Forest, this time we would all be walking out of this war in one piece. And hopefully my efforts to help Caria and Darvus get together won't be in vain.

As we walked back to camp, conversation was lighthearted to help decompress but we still kept our guards up just in case a stray beast made its way towards us. Darvus as usual kept asking about Arthur and I used the same excuse as usual, that as Lance Alea's Flagbearer his missions were confidential and even my status as his fiance didn't give me the clearance to know the details.

We kept going in a back and forth until arriving back at the camp where I separated from the group to go report to captain Drogo. After I finished my report he told another group that just came back a few minutes before mine had found the boss room and we would be departing in two hours to kill it. Exiting the command tent I went to the area where my team was resting to let them know and prepare.

They complained a bit about the lack of rest when I told them about the boss room but I could see determination in their eyes to get this done over quickly. Most people would see that as a sign they wanted to avoid the worst outcome but I knew better, they were just looking forward to the time we were getting after this dungeon was conquered. And so was I for that matter, I desperately missed real baths.

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"Is it just me or was getting down here a tad bit too easy?" Darvus asked no one in particular.

"The team who found the path just did a good job clearing." Stannard commented.

"Maybe. I just have a bad feeling about this." Darvus replied, trying to hide his nervousness.

Unfortunately I was inclined to agree with him, something just felt wrong about the mana on the other side of the door. It was similar to the feeling I got from the decay mana of a Vritra.

"Be careful you guys. Darvus' instinct might be proven right for once." I warned them.

"Appreciate the vote of confidence princess, but did you have to throw in that jab at the end?" I just smiled in response to his question.

But that smile quickly fell as the doors began to open, revealing the mana beast we were supposed to fight. Standing in front of us was a pitch black wyvern, double the size of a normal one and sporting for black horns on its head. One pair curved backwards while the other downwards. And if that wasn't enough, soulfire could be seen dancing inside its mouth.

This was the first time I had seen a mana beast capable of using decay type mana. It was not something Agrona had done in the previous timeline and if he did, he never saw the need to use it against Dicathen.

Looking around I could see fear quickly taking root among the mages as they looked at the mutated wyvern in front of us. This wouldn't do, they would all die if they let fear dominate their minds. Deciding on a course of action, I shot several wind blades towards the beast and shouted. "Do not let those flames touch you, it is this thing's most dangerous weapon!"

It seemed my spell did the trick as the unit started to break out of their stupor and regan composure. Captain Drogo started shouting orders and getting the teams in formation and soon the battle began.

Spells were flying towards the wyvern doing little to no damage, but it was still enough of a distraction for the frontliners to close in and attack. I planned to stay back with the conjurers and only fight directly if needed.

Darvus and Caria were doing a good job of damaging the wyvern legs. Unfortunately the beast decided to start using its tail as a weapon as well, forcing the two to retreat for now.

But that provided the opening Stannard needed to blast the thing with one of his stronger spells right in the face. While it did significant damage, it also served to anger the thing and focus on us.

Seeing it was preparing a breath attack I told the others to dodge out of the way or redirect the attack as the soulfire would eat away at the mana of any barrier of the most mages that weren't strong enough. Using a combination of a vacuum like barrier and strong wind currents I managed to safely avoid having any of the flames touch me and the five or so other mages that were around me.

Checking on the condition of those around me, I realized it would be better to take an offensive role in this battle. Wounds were accumulating quickly on the augmenters and I could see that some of them would have to retire if they walked out of this alive.

I have the strength and mana reserves necessary to kill this thing, so it's time I put it to good use. Only wish Regis were here to help, he could one shot the thing if he felt like it, but he had better things to do. And as much easier this fight would have been with him around, I can't let myself to always rely on others to fight my battles for me or rescue me when things get dire. No, I'm tired of that, it's about time I start winning on my own, or how else will I be able to consider myself Arthur's partner for life.

Letting my desire and determination take over, I leaped towards the wyvern and aimed for the base of one of its wings. My sword connects and the beast is now crippled. It looks at me in rage and starts spewing soulfire towards me but I hadn't dispelled my barriers leading to me taking no damage at all. Seeing ranged attacks would'n work, it tried using the one functioning wing to swipe at me but Darvus intercepted the attack.

Taking the chance he gave me, I move to disable the wing before backing up again just in time for spells to rain on the beast, hurting it significantly more than the previous attempt and giving me an opening to finish it off for good.

Lunging towards the head, I'm met with a wave of soulfire but my barrier is enough to stop it. Adding another spell into the mix, I start using wind to propel myself towards my target. Once I'm close enough, I extend the wind to cover not only limbs but my weapon as well, using as much mana and physical strength I could muster to stab through the skull and pierce the brain, finally killing the mutated wyvern.

Cheers could be heard around the chamber now that the battle was over but I didn't pay much attention to them. My mind was preoccupied thinking about the report I would have to give Commander Virion later today. The fact that a mana beast was using decay type mana was extremely concerning.

Hopefully this was a one time thing, but my intuition said otherwise. THe operation to clear the dungeons on the beast glades would have to change. The council will have no choice but to deploy at least one of the Flagbearers alongside the dungeon cleaning teams.

But those are thoughts for later, there is still a lot of cleanup to do post battle.