[20]

The claws deepened into the neck of the wolf as it continued its whimper; streaks of crimson blood gently laced and trailed down her blackened furred arm. Any moment now and she could kill it, any moment now and she would kill it.

"What are you doing!?"

A loud yell thundered in her ears as a force crashed into her body. She jerked and spiraled sideways as the Azure Wolf left her grasp.

Rolling upon contact with the floor and finally crashing in a final stop with a heavy thud.

The boy flipped within the air and the soles of his feet found contact with the ground. The blades in his hands glimmered in their natural black dauntless luster and his purplish gray eyes glared towards the direction of the girl.

"Are you trying to kill it!?" His voice oozed out, this time with a bit more power.

Ashe staggered upwards, clutching the side of her face with her beastly hands, she looked towards the boys. Her crimson eyes had narrowed into two bloodied glares as rage filled them.

"This is my fight," Her fangs bared against her teeth.

"So, stay out of the way." Her voice was fully laced with killing intent.

Rain briefly shuddered as that statement echoed into his mind. The barrier had been immediately forcefully collapsed-removing the demonic core that kept it up-after they had found something exceedingly wrong with the pace of the battle. He had rushed within and delivered a kick to her face before she could kill the beast, being the closest to the arena.

"It's nothing more than a spar." He was in disbelief, did this girl know what she was saying? This was death they were talking about, and although not human, it was still the death of a companion to that man.

Ashe stood comfortably against the ground, she sneered as her voice mimicked the guild master's, " 'as long as they're still breathing and all four limbs are intact' ."

"So that means you should kill his companion?" Rain asked, his sword pointed directly behind him.

Curley had already raced beside his wolf, grasping its body tightly as he poured what manner of mana he had remaining into its body. Maria had also closely reached the wolf, she crouched down directly next to the man as she looked over its corpse.

Her hands placed onto its body and she began to chant a scripture, "oh light that guides me, heal the wounds of this mortal body."

The golden light weaved from her hands as it spread onto the wolf, slowly healing the injuries it sustained.

Ashe looked at this through gritted teeth, her heart had already begun to race once more as beats of drums spread through her body. The demonic energy rushed from the core within her heart as it transformed her blood.

'Kill them!'

That voice she had become so familiar with resounded into her head; choosing now, now that she was forcefully aware of her past, to break through her will. She tried to force it back as her head throbbed with pain. Sweat trickled down her forehead and her eyes lit ablaze with rapt heat. Slowly, she was beginning to feel the taste of blood trickling on her tongue, nauseatingly familiar; like the taste of rusted iron with the trickle of rain. Ever so familiar to herself. Like the blood she had drawn on that day; cold-almost piercingly so.

"Leave while you can." With the last shred of will she had remaining, she gave a warning.

"What do you mean?" Rain asked, feeling something was definitely far off with this girl.

Her body shuddered and he could clearly hear a rapt of breathing trickling his ears. His mystical eyes glanced over the body of the young girl, he could see her muscles tense and her heart beat ever increasing. He had a definite bad feeling about this, his head turned towards the group behind him.

"Are you done yet?"

His question was followed swiftly as Arthur's voice proclaimed, "Be quiet! There's a bit of an injury within its brain and spinal cord, and healing internal wounds is much harder than external, so Maria's going to take a while."

"What about you then?" Rain asked back.

"Did I not just say it's harder to heal internal wounds than external!? The last time she had did that was nothing more than a fluke to heal you in desperation! If I leave, who is going to teach her how to properly do it?" A voice yelled back in annoyance.

Maria looked over as she gave a nod: Even as she and the man named Curley worked together, unless she directly exhausted all her mana at once like she had done before, this would take a bit of time.

Rain glanced back towards the shuddering girl, "fine, I'll do it myself."

'Kill!'

It was becoming ever so louder and clearer, entrancing her amidst its warmth. Her body was beginning to feel at peace as it called for her to do as it wished of her.

Her thoughts were beginning to shift; Why couldn't she kill them? Was there a law that restrained her and said so? Was it out of her powers to do so? No, they stood in her way from taking the life of a beast which name didn't belong to it, it was only right for her to do so.

'Yes,' her judgment began to cloud 'it's only right for me to kill what blocks my path, this is the law of this world...it's nothing more than the third I would do so.'

Her thoughts concluded as her crimson eyes shifted over the boy. Her eyes where glisteningly clear, there was no emotion that held her down any longer, no emotion.

Her feet kicked off the ground.

A deep clash resounded through the area as Rain brought his swords above his head. His body cracked against the earth and a shudder of numbness ran through him.

Crossed above, the blades blocked the furred hand of its attacker and almost flew from his grasps.

'Why is she so strong, my blade can't even penetrate through her fur?' His mystical eyes glazed over the girl in front, for a moment, meeting those crimson eyes of blood.

'When is the guild leader stopping this?' He wondered, 'why is he just watching?'

His body rolled in time as he managed to dodge a blow.

The leg of the figure pounded into the ground, creating cracks along the broken floor.

He grasped his blade tighter.

'This will hurt a bit.'

His blades flashed as they arched towards the unfurred area of her body, her chest and abdomen.

However, Ashe evaded the attack, directly stepping backwards slightly and her hands flashed to grasp the weapons.

The creaking of wooded iron against her claws that were just as sharp.

"You don't have any powers of your own to aid you, do you? No mana to strengthen your magic? No skill to compliment your fighting."

If they hadn't been within a fight, he thought that face that stared into his would have definitely been so much more beautiful.

"And you do?"

A small smile plastered on her face as her voice left her mouth, "<Phantasm>!"

Before she had become a beast, she had definitely developed her own skill.

Rain's eyes widened as he saw the hazy figures flash from her body. Seemingly made out of light, colored in ashen gray, they replicated her appearance as the two figures wallowed from her sides like the wisps of mana.

They charged forwards.

'I can't see what their next action is!?' Those beings were not living; they held no muscular system nor bones, no breathing nor heart rate. The small millisecond before their movement was not enough time.

A force pounded against his face, he could hear the crunch as his figure spiraled backwards and his swords left his grasps.

His body flipped within the air and crashed against the floor. However, he quickly stood back up as he raised his arms against the side of his face.

A thundering blow once more shook his body as he forcefully stood his ground, the phantom's leg already carved deeply into his defense.

'There!'

He moved his right hand as he grabbed the leg of the figure. At the same time, his left hand shot towards his belt at blinding speed.

Grasping the silver needle in his hand, twirling it into direction, he ruthlessly stabbed down.

The length of the needle pierced into the neck of the figure.

And as the phantom began to fade away in a wisp, Rain had already grabbed another with his hand and hurled it directly at his front.

A small thud resounded harshly as the needle struck through the charging phantom's head, a shudder ran through its body as its motion stopped, then it too began to dissipate into a wisp of hazy gray light.

A striking clank echoed as the needles each fell upon the earth.

Ashe's head throbbed with great pain as she clutched it, dropping the swords from her hands. There was a weakness in every skill, and although she did not receive the physical pain or injuries of the phantoms, she had mentally received the entirety of the pain they had taken. An assault of head-splitting pain was sent towards her brain.

Agonizing, yet she didn't scream, she had faced much worse before.

Her teeth gritted to return to battle.

However, silently, like the drifting wind, a figure appeared behind her as her golden hair blew. The blue hilted sword with its silver blade was grasped in her hand as it immediately traced the air.

"I'll take it from here." The emotionless voice spoke, and by the time Ashe had realized what was happening, the weapon had blurred into rays of silver as the strikes shot forth.

Shoulder, arm, shoulder, arm, leg, leg. Finally, the back.

It traced her body in a pattern as it left a welded gash.

She gasped, her body coming to a stop and the pain assaulting her figure. Blood trickled down her back and her eyes began to wander.

She was falling, she knew, she would fall.

Ba-dum!

Her teeth gritted.

Ba-dum!

Her foot pounded against the grounds as she forcefully stopped her descent, creating cracks amidst the ground.

Ba-dum!

A heartbeat, like a drum, echoing through her body.

'Battle!'

The pulse was quickening as the throb of her heart tightened.

It had been long since that voice had encountered true battle, it wasn't ready to give up right here. The blood of the demon rushed even more so through her body, and her eyes were beginning to cloud over.

A figure appeared within her hazy mind, its head raised into the sky as a roar escaped its mawed jaw. Every foe that faced it cowered with fear, and only death awaited any who encountered it.

Being the king of one of the Five great dungeons, it had a reason to be as proud and haughty as it was. It couldn't stand to lose a battle, even if only its core remained after its death, it could never stand such a disrespect to its name.

Its body covered in azure flames, the head of the Hell Hound roared against the heavens once more as a thunderous energy echoed amidst her soul!

'Kill!'

Her body morphed even more so, those gashes that had just been made seemed to be covered by another layer of blackened fur.

An azure light flashed amidst the crimson glare of her irises.

'Holy...' That was all Rain could think to what he was seeing, his mystifying pupils reflecting azure light.

'What is this girl?'