“Sarah is with me and she is safe.
Echo will now be returning to you.”
The instant Kael heard those words, a smile appeared on his face. As six seconds passed and the Beasts started moving again, Kael gave another order.
“Focus on defense,
Do not engage.”
There were only six Flying left, he just needed to wait a few more seconds and once Echo was here, taking on these six wouldn’t be a problem.
“Yes, Hero Kael!”
The soldiers nodded.
Kael continued to run as he waited for Echo and then,
“Kuuu!!”
He heard a voice.
Echo was here.
His smile widened as he sped up and rushed towards Echo. The Bond descended and Kael jumped on top of him.
“Kuu…”
Echo let out a weak voice.
He felt guilty.
He abandoned Kael in the middle of the battle, putting him in danger. He didn’t know how to react but suddenly, Kael placed his head on Echo’s head and,
“You did well.”
He spoke in an extremely gentle tone.
“I am glad Sarah has someone like you protecting her.”
“Kuuu!!”
Echo let out a loud voice.
It was as if he was saying,
‘I will always protect her!’
“Mhm, I know I can trust you.”
Kael nodded as he gently rubbed Echo’s fur. The Echoing Luminark purred.
“Alright, now let’s get rid of them, shall we?”
Kael questioned.
“Kuuu!!”
Echo cheered, roaring to get his revenge and then,
“Now, run away!”
Kael ordered.
“Kuu…?”
Echo looked back as he glanced at Kael with what seemed like a dubious look on his face.
‘Are you fucking with me?’
That was what the Luminark was trying to say, or at least that’s how Kael interpreted that look.
“Do what I say.”
Kael nodded reassuringly and Echo turned around, distancing them from the Flying.
Four Flying followed them.
‘Alright.’
Kael nodded inwardly. With this, the soldiers only had to worry about the two of them. It was a number they should be able to handle together with their bonds.
Lyra said the situation was under control on the Eastern side. Kael decided to take her word for it and trust her.
Now, he could move freely.
“Move to the North, we need to separate them from the rest.”
Kael ordered and Echo did as he was told.
Then, Kael suddenly leaned forward and,
“I’ll be leaving my defense on you, Echo.”
“Kuuuuu!!!”
Echo nodded confidently, and then,
Kael closed his eyes.
Darkness enveloped him but soon, his surroundings were filled with ember sparks that shimmered almost blindingly.
Yes, this man was planning to meditate and refill his Mana Reserves while he was sitting on top of a Magic Beast who was flying at the speed of 250 km/h and had four corrupted beasts chasing him.
If Elira heard what he was doing, the Court Mage would have lost her mind.
For now, however, Kael didn’t have the time to think through such matters. His focus was on the Fire Elements that surrounded him.
Because of his chaotic surroundings, these Fire Elements weren’t as calm as they normally were. It was much more difficult to control them.
For the first few minutes, Kael couldn’t do it. There were too many factors that were making it difficult for him to focus.
It wasn’t just his chaotic surroundings,
The death of those soldiers, Sarah’s condition, the injured soldiers, and how he could have changed everything if he hadn’t acted selfishly…
All these thoughts made it difficult for him to focus.
‘No…
I don’t have time.’
Soon, however, Kael shook his head.
He could feel it. Echo was getting tired. Why would he not be? The poor thing had been on the move since the start.
Once again, he suppressed his emotions and emptied his mind. His focus solely remained on the Fire Elements, and then…
It happened.
Hundreds of Fire Elements rushed into his body at the same time, filling his Mana Core. Yes, it was difficult to control them at first, but as Kael continued to focus, the process became more and more smooth.
He completely left his defenses to Echo, and the Bond did a spectacular job at it.
He wasn’t even in the position to use Roar of Dominion in the middle since he couldn’t keep track of the cooldown time.
It was all Echo.
The Bond used everything in its arsenal, the sound waves to slow down the enemy and maintain distance, his enhanced senses to evade their attacks before they could harm Kael, sharp turns to further make it difficult for the enemy to get close, until finally, around 15 minutes later,
“You did well, Echo.”
Echo heard Kael’s voice.
“Kuu!!”
Echo nodded desperately, his breathing was heavy, his heart was pumping blood aggressively, he was extremely tired and Kael understood it.
He needed to end this quickly.
“Alright, Echo, the same tactic.”
“Kuu!”
Echo turned around, looking at the Beasts following him, and then,
“RRROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!”
Kael roared again and the Flying froze.
Echo quickly dashed towards the strongest of all the Flying that had been following them for a long time now, and Kael, using Draconic Strike to increase his strength, tore the beast into pieces using his claw.
He used the same tactic of using Flaming Chains to pull another beast towards him while he killed another Flying that Echo had gotten closer to. Then, he dealt with the beast the Flaming Chains had brought him.
[CE: +532]
[CE: +475]
[CE: +488]
Three Flyings fell down in six seconds.
‘Tsk, just my luck.’
Kael snorted in his head as he stared at the screen in front of him.
[CE: 2989/3000]
‘To think it would fall short by 11 points.’
Kael complained in his head.
“SCREEECCHHH!!!”
At the same time, the last remaining Flying screeched as it stared at Kael and Echo. Then, it turned around and ran away.
Well, it tried to,
Kael, however, had already recovered his Mana.
Pierce
A Flaming Spear pierced through this Beast’s body and its body spiraled onto the ground. Echo descended and got close to it and Kael beheaded it.
Slash
[CE: +435]
[Ding!]
[Name: Kael Carter]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 22]
[Level: 19 -> 20]
[CE: 412/3400]
[Talent: Dragon Genesis]
[Talent Rank: SSS Rank]
[Strength: 46 -> 52]
[Agility: 47 -> 53]
[Speed: 44 -> 50]
[Stamina: 47 -> 53]
[Defence: 49 -> 55]
[Mana: 57 -> 63]
[Intelligence: 45 -> 51]
[Charisma: 44 -> 50]
…
Kael levelled up.
“Kuuu!!!”
Echo screeched victoriously and Kael patted his head as he jumped down from his back.
“Rest for a while.”
He spoke, worried about Echo, but,
“Kuu!!”
Echo shook his head as he signalled Kael to climb up.
“Huh? Weren’t you tired?”
Kael frowned.
“Kuu!”
Echo shook his head and soon, Kael realized what he wanted.
“You want to be close to Sarah, huh?”
“Kuu…”
Echo nodded weakly, he knew he wasn’t supposed to go against Kael’s orders but…
He was worried.
Kael smiled as he gently rubbed Echo’s fur.
Then, he climbed up and,
“No need to act like this, you were the bravest today. Let’s go see how Sarah is doing, shall we?”
“Kuu!”
Flap
Echo nodded as he flapped his wing, soaring into the sky.
Despite being extremely exhausted, despite his heart racing aggressively and muscles aching, the Luminark didn’t slow down, he wanted to get to his friend as soon as possible regardless of his own condition.
That was simply how much he loved her.