As the massive tail sent Mira skidding across the ground, Rhydian leaped into action. A growl erupted from her throat. Her eyes blazed golden, reflecting the ferocity of the beast within.
"...Dog?" Rhydian snapped back as she grabbed the nearest and weakest scaly beast before ripping it apart with her bare hands, spewing blood everywhere.
"Hmph!" She let out a cold snort, then jumped into the swarm of beasts, using this experience to get more accustomed to her human form.
The previously silent battlefield exploded into a cacophony of roars and snarls. The beasts, their patience exhausted, lunged at the duo. Rhydian was a whirling storm of claws and teeth, slashing through the onslaught of beasts.
Meanwhile, Mira used the momentum of her fall to roll and come back to her feet, a murderous glint in her eyes.
"Such insolence," she muttered, the corners of her mouth twitching into a wicked grin.
She dashed forward, the grip on her scythe tightening as she wove through the beasts. A sweep of her weapon sent several beasts flying, their roars of rage turned into cries of fear.
"Rhydian, l don't hold back!" she shouted, her voice ringing out across the battlefield.
The response was immediate and vicious. Rhydian moved in concert with Mira, their coordinated strikes slicing through the pack of beasts.
In the midst of the chaos, Rhydian was a feral force to be reckoned with. Each lunge of her clawed hands left nothing but destruction, each swipe ripping apart flesh. Claws met scales, and teeth bit into flesh. A cascade of blood sprayed onto the underbrush, creating evergrowing puddles and streams which slowly trickled down the mountainside.
Mira, on the other hand, was a reaper incarnate. Her scythe, bathed in the silver glow of the moonlight, weaved through the battlefield like a lethal wisp of smoke. Each arc was a promise of death, each thrust pierced through them like butter.
Beasts fell in her wake, sliced apart and in pieces.
And yet, amidst this whirlwind of violence, the biggest beast stood its ground. Mira hadn't forgotten about this hulking monstrosity of muscle and scales, but after it sent her flying, it just stopped and watched as its subordinates fell one by one.
'What's it doing?' Mira thought while cutting down another scaly lizard-like beast that had lunged at her without regard for its life.
'Is it waiting for something? But what? And is it not concerned about its subordinates?' She had figured it'd get outraged at the current sight, but…
That's when she realized she hadn't gained any energy back after killing those beasts earlier.
In an instant, an ominous feeling washed over Mira. For a moment, it felt like she was back in one of her previous lives, a mere bird in a cage, trapped to provide entertainment for her 'owner'. It would poke and prod at her, forcing her to 'perform' just to see what other sides of her it could discover.
Without warning, her killing intent skyrocketed, freezing the battlefield to a halt! A misty red haze exuded from Mira, filling her surroundings with killing intent so dense you could practically touch it.
While everything was still, Mira didn't hesitate to use her strongest technique.
Mira's heartbeat echoed in her ears, a rhythmic drumming that drove her focus. Every pulse pushed her intent outward, her senses attuned to the sudden stillness that blanketed the battlefield.
Then, with a whisper barely audible to anyone else but herself, Mira spoke, "Paragon Blizzard Obliteration."
At once, the surrounding atmosphere recoiled. An oppressive wave of cold descended as if the world was plunged into the heart of a glacial storm. The air thickened, the very atoms vibrating with anticipation.
Mira stood amidst this escalating tempest, her body radiating a chilling aura. Elements heeded her call, and the natural forces within her reach began to converge in a collection of primal chaos.
Earth quaked and shivered, its essence reshaped into fine particles of frost. Water molecules in the air, succumbing to her power, crystallized into a flurry of ice, shimmering and ephemeral. Wind, carrying the brisk bite of the northern tundra, whipped about her form, a spectral veil.
Yin Fire and Yin Lightning, their brilliance muted and ghostly, imbued the storm with an unsettling iridescence, their ethereal flames crackling with muted energy.
Darkness seeped into the spectacle, its haunting presence intertwining with the elements.
And amidst this elemental vortex, Illusion came to life. Seven spectral images of Mira sprang forth from the heart of the storm. They were mirror images, painstakingly perfect and disconcertingly real. Each bore a scythe crafted from ice, looking almost exactly the same as Mira's.
Moving in perfect harmony, these illusions plunged into the fray. Each maneuver, each attack, was an extension of Mira's will. They embodied the elements, their attacks seething with the raw energy of Earth, Water, Wind, Yin Fire, Yin Lightning, and Darkness. Each icy slash from their scythes was a statement, a declaration of her power.
The illusions rampaged amidst the battlefield, brutally destroying everything in sight. As they surged forward, the battlefield was transformed into a winter's battlefield. Beasts froze where they stood, their final moments encased in solid ice, a stark tableau of frozen despair.
But the crescendo was yet to come.
As the illusions reached the peak of their dance, they stopped. Each image turned back towards Mira, their ephemeral gazes holding an echo of her intent. And then, with a synchrony that was almost painful to witness, they self-destructed.
The resulting explosion was cataclysmic. An eruption of icy devastation, it mushroomed into the night, its light reflecting in the frozen faces of the fallen beasts. The force wave shattered the encasing ice, sending razor-sharp fragments scattering across the battlefield.
The echo of the explosion died down, replaced by an eerie silence. Mira stood at the epicenter of the devastation, her chest heaving and her eyes glowing with a lethal gleam.
All that remained was the beast leader.
She turned to face it, but her face, for the first time in who knows how many years, morphed into disbelief.
Yes, something had finally broken that icy exterior of hers, causing her to feel something she hadn't felt in countless years. Shock. She was completely and utterly shocked.
The black, scaly beast with murderous red eyes stood there without a single scratch on its body. It had tanked her best attack, a full-powered hit using everything at her disposal, and came out of it as if nothing had happened.
She had just killed a Rank 9 beast the other day with it! Was this bastard really stronger than a Rank 9 beast?!
Mira truly didn't know what to say at the moment. She was so shocked that she didn't even realize that she couldn't feel any kind of aura coming from the beast.
Fortunately, she didn't have to speak up, as the beast took the initiative.
"You gave me quite the scare there, Fox Progenitor." Its mouth opened, this time speaking in a relatively normal, deep voice, but its words instantly put her on guard. "I didn't expect you to have so much power with your measly cultivation. This world is truly full of wonders, isn't it?"
"..."
The beast smirked, making it look especially creepy, seeing her remain silent, but didn't comment on it. Instead, it moved on to something else.
"I'm glad I came out to see what all the noise was about. Not only did I find a treasure, but I even discovered the reason behind tonight's actions!" The beast cackled for a moment, finding this whole situation amusing, especially the look on Mira's face right now.
She kept an icy look on her face, but the anger and killing intent brewing deep within those eyes told a completely different story. He could tell that she was in the middle of contemplating whether she should attack him again, run away, or stand her ground.
However, between it all was confusion. As if it had no idea what it was talking about.
And that's… what filled the beast with euphoria.
So, it decided to fan the flames a bit.
"You know, Fox Progenitor," it emphasized 'progenitor', "I think you're more suited to be a beast than a human. You may stand on two legs, talk like a human, adjust to human culture, and follow the human cultivation system, but your morals and actions are nothing of the sort."
"..." Mira remained silent, but the beast wasn't bothered by this and continued.
"If you want to explore your beastly roots and how to tap into your primal potential, then come to the Convergence in a little over five months. You may face some pushback from a few of the beast clans, but just kill them like you did today, and you should be fine."
Suddenly, the beast glanced in the direction of the Battle Maiden Sect and exclaimed, "Ah! It looks like my time is up!"
It then gave Mira a deep look as its body turned into a black mist and dissipated. As this happened, the beast corpses all over the ground also dissipated, along with their blood and guts, and disappeared without a trace.
Finally, felt heard a whisper enter her ear, saying, "Fatten up a little more, Fox Progenitor. Maybe then you'll be worth consuming."
A thin red line spread across Mira's neck, with blood seeping out and dripping onto her shoulders, but it immediately closed up thanks to her regenerative powers.
An audible CRACK sounded from Mira as if something had just snapped. The veins on her forehead throbbed, and her face reddened in anger, but she said nothing.
She stared at the spot where the beast, who she didn't even know the species of, left in silence.
