Rael: The Journey of Creation

"Fortunately, I didn't put much mana into that; otherwise, it would have done more harm than good." My hand was stinging a little, but I had to live with it. I wasn't a master or well-trained in magic, with most of my theories or ideas coming from self-experimentation. In the future, stuff like this wouldn't happen, but for now, it just had to be. At least with fire magic—the other elements didn't seem as dangerous to use.

I felt mana gathering behind me and ducked. "Uh?!" was all I could think. A bright beam of white light shot past where I had been standing and traveled into the walkway where our visitor was hiding. It—no, they—came into view as it passed by.

"Fuck, four of them? Seriously?" I complained as four wolves with black fur emerged, each bearing a different color of tattoos: brown, gold, silver, and blue. The one with the gold stood at the front with the silver right next to it. The brown and blue were behind, clearly waiting for orders—or at least, that's how it looked in that quick second when they were revealed!

"Nice job making noise," Kyoko's voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Yeah, as if Kyle not speaking earlier didn't already let them know." I matched her sarcasm while keeping my focus on the path ahead.

"Hah! You think they could hear that measly whisper?"

"No shit. Not to mention they could smell us! Wolves are natural predators with a strong sense of smell, and it's safe to assume they sensed my mana while I was practicing."

"So you agree that you put us in this situation..." I couldn't shake the feeling that she was making some mocking face behind me, but I wasn't worried enough to turn around.

"Oh, sorry~, I freed you guys and wanted to practice some more. It's not like I knew we had inhuman guests outside." I matched her sarcasm again, and I won't lie, it was welcomed. I was kind of nervous, as this would be my first direct involvement in combat. I could kill that bear from back then because it was already injured and clearly couldn't move, but now I'd be going against perfectly capable enemies.

"Guess I can't blame you for that."

Kyoko and I walked out through the hole I made, with Selene and Kyle following suit. I took a look at Kyle and thought it was time.

"Kyle, we will get rid of them, and you can go. Remember, don't look back or come back. Just run straight, and we will meet up with you."

"I'll leave marks for you all to follow." I thought it unnecessary, but if it made our journey easier, I wasn't going to tell him no.

Kyoko and Selene took the front, and I stayed in the back, playing my role. Our formation was perfect in my eyes.

"Light, condense, and erase my enemies." Kyoko started things off again with the same spell but with much better accuracy. The beam struck fast and instantly made its way toward the wolves, with only the gold and silver ones reacting quickly enough to dodge. The brown one was obliterated, and the blue one had its front right leg eradicated.

"Omni-boost!" Selene followed Kyoko's attack and dashed into the tunnel straight toward the blue-marked wolf. She punched with her right fist, and the poor thing was turned into mincemeat. This only left us with the gold and silver wolves, but these two wouldn't be as easy as the others.

Selene retreated back to us, and we once again formed a triangle formation.

'I'll let these two distract the wolves, and I'll snipe them... No, I shouldn't. My aim isn't good enough yet. What can I do?' I thought as we were in a standoff. The two remaining wolves didn't want to make a move yet, as the quick death of their teammates had bought us time.

Selene and Kyoko had looks on their faces which I could now see- as the area outside the cell was better lit -that showed they knew what they'd just done wouldn't work again.

'Ah!'

"Kyoko, can you light up the tunnel?" I calmly broke the silence. If I wasn't confident in hitting the enemy while they engaged with my allies, then I'd just snipe them without my allies in the way.

She nodded but looked rather curious about what I was planning to do.

I raised my right arm, with my hand facing forward like the barrel of a sniper. I channeled wind mana throughout my whole arm, with only one image in mind: a 7.62mm caliber. It should be enough. I didn't know how much energy it would take, but if it could secure our way out of here, I could manage the rest when we had a more open environment to play with.

'I just need her to light the place up, and I can release my [Action] to make the spell take place.'

"Light, reveal the path in front of me!"

'Bingo!' The gold wolf was the first revealed, followed by the silver. I already knew my target, though, as the gold one seemed more powerful. The first surprise shot should be aimed at the strongest so we would struggle less later.

I moved my arm to face the gold wolf, who was definitely on guard, but I doubted it had enough experience to expect this.

"Release!"

PAH! Wind broke, and a little shockwave pushed me back, but that didn't matter. The bullet struck true and fast. I'd say the wolf got a chance to react, but that would have been a lie. The wind bullet tore through him, leaving a gaping hole straight through his body, from head to rear end.

The silver wolf took a quick glance at where its ally had been, but that was a mistake on its part, as Selene took the opportunity to rush in once more and kick it into the ground. Of course, this wolf was stronger than the one she'd previously turned into mincemeat, but that's why we were a team.

"Shadow, pierce!" A massive shadow spike shot from the side of the wall and delivered the finishing blow.

"Alright, Kyle. Go!" I gave Kyle the go-ahead, and surprisingly, he didn't hesitate. Perhaps our display gave him some confidence? Yeah, that was most likely the case.

Fwoosh~!

'H-He really is fast.' Lightning covered his body, and then he was gone. All it took was a blink of an eye, and he'd already escaped my vision.

"Haha, he wasn't kidding!" An infectious smile broke out on my face; I could feel it. Kyle moving like that reminded me of one of my favorite heroes, but I only had that thought for a flash. We needed to escape ourselves, after all.

Selene and Kyoko smiled awkwardly. I guess they didn't know what to say.

We followed Kyle's trail and made our way out of the tunnel. The gloomy atmosphere wasn't my taste, so I was glad to return to the outside.

"DA?!"

"Where did they—?!"

"ACCURSED BEAST!"

The tunnel wasn't that long, and as we neared the exit, the chaotic situation became all the clearer. No wonder things weren't as expected—who the hell would've seen this coming?

"A beast tide..." Selene and Kyoko's expressions turned grim. If I were an idiot, I would've asked what the problem was, but fortunately, I wasn't. I didn't need to ask what they meant—or the dangers that came with it!

Countless beasts of all varieties were attacking the camp of our supposed captors. Wolves, lions, tigers, bears, massive spiders—you name it. All of them bore unique markings similar to the wolves we encountered in the tunnel.

Standing around watching wasn't going to get us anywhere, so I said, "Clearly, a change of plans is necessary. We can't treat beasts like humans."

Kyoko nodded. "Yeah, especially during a beast tide when they're many times more ruthless and bloodthirsty."

"I think we shouldn't follow Kyle's trail."

"Really, Selene?! How is he supposed to know that? We can't leave him without letting him know!" Kyoko was visibly shocked by Selene's suggestion.

I agreed with Selene over Kyoko. It wasn't like we were completely abandoning him—it'd just take longer to catch up. Plus, as his sibling, Selene probably knew something Kyoko didn't. Even if they weren't that close, she clearly had insights we didn't.

"Hah~," Selene sighed before continuing. "I gave him the signal to head straight home before he dashed off."

Just as I thought. She'd done something subtle, which explained her confidence.

Kyoko looked startled. I didn't really see why it was so shocking, though.

"That wasn't part of the original plan!" she argued.

"Beasts attacking us instead of humans wasn't part of the plan either. Trust me, it's for the better."

"How can you say that?! Does he even know the way home?!"

"Probably not, but with his speed, he should be able to reach a city before evening falls."

Oh, I hadn't even noticed. It was afternoon, and from the sun's position, it seemed to be around 1 or 2 p.m.—slightly past its peak and heading downward. Her words made me observe the surroundings past all the beasts, and I realized we were both screwed and blessed.

It was an open plain, and we were coming from inside a mountain. Unfortunately, it was part of a massive mountain range, so going around wasn't really an option. Maybe if there weren't any beasts and we were fighting humans, we could've tried, but beasts definitely had the advantage in this environment.

This brings me to the open field in front of us. It revealed everything, which was perfect since it didn't allow for surprise attacks, but it also meant we couldn't hide. Either way, this wasn't going to be easy, but thankfully we never thought it would be. Our mental state was still solid.

"How'd he even make it past so many of them?" I asked as I started counting. The number exceeded 400!

"As his sister, I'm going to guess he used his full power from the start."

"Uh... wouldn't that be taxing on his body? What if he collapses from exhaustion in front of another group of enemies?"

"Don't worry. He's not that stupid. Although you're right, I don't think he should've gone max power at the start!" Selene didn't seem worried, so I chose to trust her judgment. Kyoko seemed like she wanted to argue further, but in the end, she relented. That meant we could finally focus on the task at hand.

"Can you guys protect me? I'll find us an optimal path out."

"Sure."

"You sure you can handle the strain, Sele?"

Ah, she switched back to the pet name. Kyoko was so quick to change...

Selene tore a piece of her clothing and used it to tie her long black hair into a high ponytail. Closing her eyes in the same motion, a slight surge of mana burst from her body.

She just went from beautiful to... I couldn't even think of a word. Ah—I couldn't let my thoughts wander like that right now!

With the conversation still in my head and Kyoko's concern clear, I broke down what Selene was likely doing. Most likely, she was using space mana to gauge distances, map the breakdown of enemies, etc. Basically reconnaissance, but on a whole new level—something akin to satellite technology from Earth.

'Hmm?' Something entered my vision—something I still didn't fully understand. A particular outline manifested in front of Selene. It was a massive bird-like creature I couldn't even begin to describe, clawing down with massive talons toward her body!

I quickly raised my hand and gathered mana as fast as I could. Much like before, it was wind mana, but it was a little more violent—and for good reason!

"Shotgun!" My right arm recoiled slightly, but I didn't care. The moment I released my magic, the bird creature fully manifested. Maybe it thought it had succeeded, but it instantly met with wind shells that pierced its body, leaving many holes in its corpse as it fell to the ground.

'You know, in hindsight... shooting a shotgun-type spell near my ally is pretty stupid. Thankfully, nothing happened, though!' Protecting Selene had come first before thinking, so I hadn't planned well, but she was safe, and no one had to know.

"How'd you know?" Kyoko asked, shocked.

"I'm not too sure myself, but it's a gift of mine." I told her the truth. I didn't understand why I could see things like that, and it was clear from her reaction that not many—if any—could. She didn't push further, and I made mindless chatter with her in this silent agreement.

Thirty minutes passed. I could tell as the shadows on the ground shifted slightly, though whether it was truly thirty minutes or I was pulling that out of my ass, I wasn't sure.

"I got it!"