2025-04-18 01:44:40The mountain wind howled through the cave’s entrance as the first echoes rolled in—a low, guttural growl that made the very rock beneath Ethan’s boots tremble.
Celestia had already unsheathed her claws.
“They’re not just hunting,” she said, her voice cold. “They’re communicating.”
Ethan tightened his grip on the Void-Cleaving Blade. “Multiple signatures. Five, maybe six. That’s not a rogue. That’s a pride.”
They moved to higher ground, scaling the cliffs above the ravine. From there, they saw it—beneath the haze of a mist-covered moon, a pride of chimeras roamed the valley floor. Not just one, but at least four fully-grown beasts and two juveniles, each with lion heads, scaled tails, and deformed wings twitching with anticipation.
Ethan let out a low whistle. “This isn’t a fight. It’s a siege.”
“Then let’s win it with strategy,” Celestia replied.
They began the ambush from the cliffs. Ethan launched a barrage of enchanted arrows from his pouch’s hidden quiver system, each one charged with elemental glyphs. The first exploded in a burst of fire, scattering the chimera pack.
Celestia descended like a comet. Her new Darkmoon Armor flared with lunar energy, and illusion runes shimmered as she sprinted through their ranks, confusing their senses. Her wings created phantom afterimages that darted in opposite directions.
The lead chimera—the alpha—roared, its three heads snapping in different directions.
Ethan dropped into the fray behind her. He focused his detection aura to predict the creature’s movement. An arrow launched at the perfect second struck the beast’s left eye.
It howled.
Celestia used the moment to blindside the next chimera, wrapping her flames into a spear of shadow and launching it point-blank into the beast’s chest. It staggered—but another chimera rushed her flank.
Ethan activated the pouch’s dimensional shift. A phantom wall sprang up just in time to deflect a gaping jaw.
“Appreciate the save,” she muttered.
“Next one’s gonna cost you,” Ethan replied, ducking a swipe.
They fought together as if fused by instinct. Ethan’s Void-Tear Edge slashed through sinew and scale alike, while Celestia’s shadow-infused breath attacks corroded armor-like hide.
Two of the juveniles tried to circle behind them. Ethan spun and pulled a trap orb from the pouch—one of Eileen’s newest additions. He slammed it into the ground.
A burst of vines, tipped with glowing sigils, erupted like a net and locked the juveniles in place.
Celestia leapt off a boulder and slammed both feet into a chimera’s back, sending it crashing to the dirt. Before it could rise, Ethan struck downward, blade piercing its heart.
The alpha charged.
Both of them turned.
Ethan launched a grappling chain tipped with void energy—looping around the beast’s forward leg. Celestia conjured a blast of shadowfire, blasting its eyes.
It screamed.
“NOW!” Ethan shouted.
Celestia flew upward and came down in a spinning dive, her claws glowing with runes. Ethan ran low and slid beneath the creature, his sword flashing in a sweeping arc.
Two strikes. One from below, one from above.
The alpha hit the earth with a quake.
Silence returned to the mountain.
Ethan leaned on his sword, breathing heavily. “You okay?”
Celestia, bloodied and scratched, nodded. “I think... that was all of them.”
They took a moment to gather the spoils—fangs, armored scales, venom sacs, and most importantly, intact chimera hearts glowing faintly with mana.
“Eileen said these parts were insanely rare,” Ethan muttered, tucking the largest horn into the pouch’s reinforced compartment.
Celestia turned one of the talons in her hand. “There’s enough here to buy passage to an entire region. Or fund half a guild.”
They glanced at the horizon. Dawn was breaking. The cave they’d slept in was still in view, but it felt like a world away.
“We’ll need a contact,” Ethan said. “Someone who can get us fair trade value for all this.”
Celestia’s ears perked. “Dasi had a merchant who mentioned the Crimson Caravan.”
“A trade network,” Ethan nodded. “They deal in rare beast parts and magical reagents.”
As they turned to leave, Ethan looked over his shoulder.
The battlefield was quiet. But in the center where the alpha had fallen, a black sigil was burned into the earth. It hadn’t been there before.
Celestia saw it too.
“That... wasn’t us.”
A cold wind swept the canyon.
And far above, a shimmer of red eyes blinked once—then vanished into the trees.
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The city of Avelline had never known such silence.When Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx stepped through the towering doors of the Adventurers' Guild, they were met not with the usual bustle, but with a hush so deep it seemed the walls themselves held their breath.The pair stood side by side, battle-worn and exhausted. Ethan's armor was scorched and dented, a makeshift bandage wrapped around his shoulder. Celestia's obsidian-scaled armor was dull with soot and streaked with dried ichor. And yet, their eyes gleamed with an unmistakable fire.The silence shattered."They did it!" roared Garrett, the grizzled senior officer whose voice rarely rose above a bark. "They actually cleared the hellhound den!"The guild erupted.
CHAPTER 12: Hellhounds
The blood-red sun clawed its way above the jagged horizon, staining the peaks of the Northern Crags in hues of fire and shadow. Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx stood at the final ridge, overlooking a scorched plateau marred by melted stone and sulfuric steam. This was the hellhounds' den.Charred pine stumps jutted from the earth like broken spears, and the acrid scent of brimstone clung to every breath. Ethan tightened his grip on the Void-Cleaving Blade, knuckles white beneath his gauntlet."They’re close," Celestia whispered through their mental link, her claw resting over the lunar runes etched into her cuirass. "I can feel the heat pulsing beneath the rock."Ethan gave a slow nod. "Let’s test our plan."Sliding down a loose slope of shale, they reac
CHAPTER 11: Guild Assessment
Morning in Avelline broke with a golden cascade of sunlight that poured over slate rooftops and chimed against the cobbled streets like music. The city stirred from its slumber, and with it, so did Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx.They stood at the threshold of the grand Adventurers' Guild hall—a towering stone structure with steel-framed windows and the emblem of a phoenix engraved on its twin wooden doors. As Ethan pushed the doors open, a wave of noise, warmth, and clashing personalities washed over him.Sword tips glinted under chandeliers. Quest boards stretched from wall to wall, covered in yellowed parchments. Burly mercenaries laughed over mugs of ale, while cloaked rogues studied maps with whispered urgency. Hawkers offered magically-infused trinkets, trying to tempt every newcomer with "limited-time enchantments."
