The Path 031 (Patreon)

"Who was it!?" exclaimed Aisha, having regained enough awareness to rise from the shallow water that now blanketed the hexagonal chamber. "What killed this Báirseach!?"

"Technically speaking, it was never alive," remarked Will, earning himself an annoyed glower from the young half-zoan as she accused, "Of course it was you..."

"Is that what's important right now?" asked Will, indicating with his head to the summoning circle that was still active at the center of the chamber. "If that's any indicator, this isn't over. Pull yourself together."

Turning to face the group behind them, who had begun to relax after the death of the Báirseach, Will added, "That goes for you as well. Unless you are certain all threats have been eliminated, lowering your guard is a good way to get killed."

Prompted by Will's words, everyone quickly got back into formation while the trio of Mages that hadn't participated in the battle transferred some of their Mana to Sile. The procedure was extremely wasteful, but as Sile was far more skilled than them, keeping her reserves topped up was the best way to ensure they endured to the end of the exam.

"Don't ignore me..." said Aisha, having made her way over to Will with an ill-tempered, pouty expression.

"Do you have something you want to discuss...?" asked Will, meeting the diminutive girl's gaze with his right brow perked.

Clearly reluctant, Aisha clenched her jaw a few times before pulling out an ornate, ostensibly ceremonial dagger formed from bone and shaped like a claw, stating, "My life might not have been in danger, but my shame would be even greater if I didn't repay you for saving me..."

Accepting the dagger, Will asked, "What am I supposed to do with this?" as if he was unaware of the customs that governed Theas.

"That is my totem..." muttered Aisha, averting her eyes and keeping her voice low as she explained, "It represents my honor. To reclaim it, I must either repay the favor you showed me in kind or fulfill a singular request I otherwise would have refused..."

"What happens if you refuse?" asked Will.

"If it became known, I would be exiled from my tribe and hunted for a minimum of twenty years..." explained Aisha, her vestigial ears drooping and her expression exuding frustration. Simultaneously, Azir gazed at the totem with such intensity that Will felt like the taciturn youth might shoot lasers from his eyes.

"Hmmm...so I just need to make a request you would ordinarily refuse...?" asked Will, spinning the totem dexterously between his fingers, much like a switchblade or spin pen.

Before Aisha could respond, Will stopped spinning the totem and said, "Then, unless it's an emergency, follow your brother's example and don't speak for the remainder of this exam..."

Offended by Will's request, Aisha gazed up at him with a pouty, fury-filled expression. However, as there were doubtless people at least tangentially related to her tribe watching the exam, she remained silent.

"It's a shame you didn't ask her to take a vow of silence..." remarked Ohta, sporting an amused grin. Aisha glared at her in response but appeared to calm down quite a bit as Will chimed, "Eh, she's not 'that' bad. It would be one thing if she behaved like this as an adult, but children should be given at least a bit of leeway while they're still trying to figure things out."

"You sound like an old man," remarked Ohta. 

"I'll take that as a compliment..." responded Will, signaling toward the summoning circle with his chin as he stated, "Looks like my suspicions were correct. This just became a war of attrition."

As everyone looked in the direction Will had indicated, Ohta asked the question on several people's minds, specifically, "Why not time an earth spike right when it appears?"

"Did you forget about the part where I was giving everyone else a chance to show what they can do?" countered Will. Then, tapping the three silver stars on his lapels, arranged in a triangular formation, he added, "Besides, everyone watching knows I can best Third-Grade monsters. The Warrior's College doesn't issue these things based on connections."

"That wasn't just an accessory...?" asked Ohta, having no knowledge of the Warrior's College outside the fact it existed and was one of the most powerful organizations in the world.

"Uh...guys? Now probably isn't the best time for a conversation..." said Tim, sporting a cramped smile as he held up his buckler and gripped his basilard tightly, tense but ready to face the green, cheetah-like monster taking form above the summoning circle. Its proportions weren't all that different from the previous Báirseach, but it was noticeably sleeker, and the spines covering its body were dark green and adorned with feathers, a testament to its affinity with the Wind Element.

 "Troi, you're up," said Will, looking back at a youth with fiery red hair and ember-yellow eyes. His reserves were down to half after transferring his Mana to Sile, but he had the greatest proficiency with Fire Magic among the four prospective Mages.

"R-Right...!" replied Troi, doing his best to exude confidence as he held a silver staff tipped with an unrefined, eye-sized Fire Ruby.

"E-Ember arrow, take flight. Let this flame pierce even the shadows! Fire Arrow...!" exclaimed Troi, causing a roughly meter-long arrow of orange fire to appear above him before it took flight, pinpointing the Báirseach's head.

'Good accuracy...' thought Will, nodding approvingly. Unfortunately, while Troi's spell impacted the center of the Báirseach's head, it failed to pierce the monster's thick hide, much less its skull. Instead, it exploded, dazing but failing to cause substantial harm to the now-enranged beast. 

"Archers! Keep him pinned...!" exclaimed Will, his outburst startling many within the group and prompting Ishyll and those with ranged weapons to open fire.

Having recovered nigh-instantaneously, the Báirseach unleashed a loud yowl that caused a pale green veil to form in front of it, shimmering like an inverse waterfall that deflected or tore apart any projectile that came into contact with it.

'Second Circle Wind Wall...' noted Will, outwardly shouting, "Troi! Again...!" in a loud, commanding tone.

Doing as he was told, Troi hastily cast a second Fire Arrow. His accuracy the second time was much worse than the first, but it didn't matter as the moment the flaming projectile came into contact with the Wind Wall, the Mana forming it reacted, causing a sizeable explosion. Unfortunately, due to the water covering the ground getting drawn into the Wind Wall, it was less than half as powerful as it should have been.

Leaping through the explosion, the enranged Báirseach made a beeline for the formation, generating several swirls of bright green energy around its body. Said swirls then shot like bullets toward the group, impacting the shields of those standing at the front with a force comparable to a punch thrown by a Grade-Two Fledgling, shattering the formation instantly.

"I'll stop it...!" exclaimed Tim, rushing forward with reckless abandon even though he had no hope of stopping the Báirseach's charge alone. He was well aware of that fact, but as his sister had already been eliminated and the formation needed time to pull itself together, he was keen to sacrifice himself for the good of the collective.

Not caring who it slaughtered first, the Báirseach happily leaped to meet Tim's charge, its paws fully extended and iron-rending claws ready to cut through his body like hot knives through tofu. At least, that was its intent until a tiny figure abruptly appeared above Tim's head, stepping on top of it and causing him to face-plant as Ohta extended his right hand and said, "Piss off..." with an annoyed look on his face.

Though it recovered quickly, the Báirseach was left feeling perplexed, blood leaking from his mouth and nose after what most perceived to be an invisible attack unleashed from Ohta's palm. Will, however, sported a look of intrigue as he immediately recognized the attack as a very rare form of Psychokinesis. What made it unique was that, instead of targeting physical objects, it influenced externalized Mana and Aura, employing the very membrane meant to protect a person from injury as a weapon.

'But how could some random Demon possess such a skill...?' wondered Will, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. After all, he had only met a single person capable of using such an ability across all his lives, and they happened to be one of his allies, specifically Sarah.

Exhibiting traits eerily reminiscent of the person in question, Ohta held up his right hand like a claw, staring down the Báirseach as he asked, "What the fuck are you looking at, you shitty, water-clogged cat?"

While it couldn't speak, the Báirseach could understand that it was being insulted, compelling it to bare its fierce, dagger-like fangs and hiss. Then, as it was too scared to approach her directly, it began gathering energy in a green swirl around it, gradually forming a waterspout.

Reacting quickly, sparing Ohta the need for further action, Sile raised her staff high and shouted, "From storm aloft to earth asunder! Strike my foe with Divine Judgment! Lightning Bolt...!"

Realizing what Sile was planning the moment she began gathering Mana in her staff, Will dropped to one knee and pressed his hands to the ground beneath the water. As he did so, a circular wall rose around the Báirseach, separating the water around it from the rest of the chamber.

Finished with her chant, Sile sent a bright, violet-colored bead of Mana flying from the tip of her staff, zig-zagging to a point above the Báirseach. It nearly struck the ceiling but stopped a few centimeters short to form a bright purple magic circle, followed by a thunderclap and a bright flash of purple lightning. 

Though monsters attuned to the Wind Element were typically resistant to thunder and electricity, the presence of water and the fact the Báirseach was soaked through allowed Sile's Lightning Bolt to bypass its resistance completely. It didn't sustain any life-threatening injuries, but the invasive Mana coursing through its body caused tiny bands of purple electricity to course between its whiskers and fur as it was momentarily paralyzed.

Eager to make up for her previous mistake, Aisha rushed forward as fast as her feet could carry her, sickles held out to her sides. Will noticed this and, feeling a bit sorry for her, took advantage of the chaos to discreetly send an earth spike into the paralyzed Báirseach's stomach, nipping any chance it might recover and launch a counterattack in the bud.

Unaware of what Will had done, Aisha issued a loud, almost feral war cry as she reached the Báirseach and brought her sickles down on both sides of its neck. Her attack was too weak to decapitate it, but the two sickles could be linked together, enabling her to use leverage and torque to dig deeper into the creature's neck until its arteries were severed. The end result had Aisha covered from stomach to feet in crimson, but she didn't appear to care as she stood over the downed monster, breathing heavily with a wide-eyed, elated smile.

Deciding to leave Aisha to her brother, Will took a moment to help those who had yet to recover to stand up and collect themselves. Several had broken arms and ribs and showed signs of internal bleeding, but thanks to the quality of their shields and equipment, provided as a courtesy by Will himself, no one had been eliminated.

*BOOM*

Drawn by the sound of an explosion, everyone who could looked to the center of the chamber to find Ohta standing atop the summoning circle, having just destroyed it with a heel drop. This didn't herald an immediate end to the exam, but unless the formation had a self-repair function, there wouldn't be any more Báirseachs emerging from it...

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