The Hive (Solo/Job)

Elyx... I am so sorry for the damage I have done... If you promise to go by what you have said to me, I would hope to take your offer. I'll travel with you wherever you go. She would explain as she then would fold her hands on her lap, then tilted her head to the side. Her Phoenix bird would lose its flames as it came up to her, giving her a loving gentle nudge. It was kind of cute while it was not so angry and in attack mode. The Wind Phoenix would come to his side, though it would not lose the wind since, well, it was made from the winds. Thus, it would just arrive as a gentle breeze as it would perch onto the ground, awaiting the next orders from the summoner. There was none currently that he could think of. There was only one thing to do now, bring her back to Black Rose. But wait.. What about the people who were in the hive!? Did they make it out alive? Ignite, Tyme! Neko! There were also a few more, but as of currently, he could not think of their names from the top of his head due to the lacking amounts of energy in him. The flames in his body would finally begin to cool down. It was nice to feel nothing once again but the air. The night time sky was beautiful, nothing to stop them now. He did not have any words for her, but Adrelissa did. Let me make it up to you. I will be back at Black Rose. I know you have others to care for, I will wake you up from this illusion I made. Pretty neat stuff when you learn about it. Anyways, I wish to see you back at Black Rose, and maybe I will give your advice a chance. Please do not let me down. And with that, she would give him a gentle wave of the hand to show that he was going to be sent back? Where was his body while in this illusion? It was definitely the most realistic illusion that he ever went through, he gave mad props to the fire mage for being able to create something so realistic, just for them to battle to the death. It was a good thing he changed her mind, in him, he felt like he made the best choice by not trying to kill her. She was way above him, like always in all honestly, but she was truly a good person who did not want to be alone anymore. She thought that there was no one looking after her, and that she would be devoured by the ones she dared trust. They were not coming after her anymore, she did not have to do anything that she was training to do for years. It was no longer time to fight the war.

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Thread Word Count

80/100

The world around him would begin to blur. As his eyes blinked, the image of Adrelissa would suddenly disappear. The Wind Phoenix and the regular Phoenix would both be gone as well. his body would return back to reality, where he belonged. His light brown eyes opening again, he would be back at the scene where he, Ignite, and Virgo would all be traveling down the road to be confronting whatever was causing all of the chaos. However, there would be a lot of work to do, and his body was quite drained. However, no more blood was pouring out from his body, it seems like the self heal repair system was back up and at it once again. It placed a smile onto his face, he did not need anyone else knowing of him and his friend. It was like he was never gone, did she have the ability to freeze time too or something? Wherever she learned this stuff, Elyx would like to go to and learn from as well. Naturally, he would not use it in the same ways that she had, but it would definitely make his life a lot easier. For example, if he was able to manipulate time completely, Iza would never be able to pull a stupid stunt on him again. Priorities, right? Anyways, there would also be a lot of enemy bosses that he could take down using time. However, it was not going to be easy to do that, things were a lot easier said than done. What cost does using time magic use? All right, back on topic, he would have to have a bit of assistance. There was not too much magic power in him. Running along with the She Phoenix and the Celestial Spirit Maiden down the hive road, he would put his right hand into the pouch of Celestial Spirit Keys that he had with him. It was too perfect, and so he would then pull out the Black and Golden key. It was not as costly as Virgo, and the amount of power that she had possessed in her body was definitely great. However, the only flaw in her, depending on how big or small it was depends on the person that you were, was that she would normally be busy since she was a Guild Master herself. Still though, he could call her onto the scene and wait for her as they go and begin to take on the source of all of the chaos in the hive. So he would slash the key down as he would try to summon her. It was all right if she did not come out right now, she could take her time. I open the gate of the Nine-Tailed Fox! Come forth, Aiyana! He would announce, trying to open the gate. And now it was all a matter of when she would answer, and she could answer at anytime since he gave her permission to enter, now she needed to give her permission.

81/100

Well, she did respond, but it was expected though. He knew that she could arrive on the scene whenever, but if she arrived too late, then she might miss out on her reward that she could obtain. The rescue of the crowd would definitely earn her a reward from the Magic Council, they would be forced to pay her due to the fact that they were able to save many mages of high leveled power from the giant hive. Now he was glad he had all of the food that he did, it would have been hard to survive on an empty stomach. Heck, he would be dead by the hands of Adrelissa hands. It was not too easy to think of that, and just the thought of it being successful was enough to make him cringe. The Wind Slayer would shake his head from side to side before he would look up towards his opponents. A smile would appear on his face before he then charged forward along with the Celestial Spirit Maiden and the She Phoenix. The steps that he took ticked quickly before he then saw the nightmare that the parties were dealing with. Two giant bees have arrived on the scene, it was not that good of an idea to approach it alone. It was nice to see that they were working together and all, but they all seemed to barely be denting the giant bees that blocked the exit. All of the smaller bees may have been taken out by their power, but that did not mean those two giant beasts would be taken out so easily. Ignite would look at it with a snarl on her face, both of her palms flaming once again before she would look over to Elyx and Virgo. Once we get past these two pricks, we will be home free! Lets go kill them right now so we can go home! She would announce before looking forward again. Elyx would nod his head in agreement, he missed his home, he had to be honest. And these two were going to try to stop him from getting to his house? Like hell did they have a right to do such a thing. So he would match Ignite's snarl before two palms of spinning wind would be in his hands. The hivelords would be too busy deflecting the attacks of the armies that were the mages that were trying to get out of there. It made him wonder who had the most force, those hivelords, or Aiyana while she was in her force form. It was a nice thought, but he was pretty sure he had his answer. There was a reason why they were all called slayers.

Hivelord 1: 6 S Ranked Hits left
Hivelord 2: 6 S Ranked Hits left

82/100

And so the three of them would charge towards the Hivelords, beginning their battles off with the first Hivedlord. Ignite would aim to place the spheres of fire into the stomach of the bee, only for a sudden bit of honey to emit from its mouth and send her away from it and into one of the honey combs walls. The flames would begin to burn the honey off, but since it came in such a huge amount, it would take a bit of time before she would actually be released Fortunately, because of the distraction that she had provided for him, Elyx was able to enter the scene with a palm full of wind before striking its stomach successfully, but he could see why there was not too much damage done to it, because of its soft and fuzzy stomach being able to take a lot of damage. However, it would not stop him, pressing his second palm against the enemies stomach, and due to the intense amount of wind, the bee would let out a scream of anger so strong that it launched all of the mages back. Seems like the Wind Slayer had done some damage onto it. But because of that, he angered one of the two giant guards, which probably was not the smartest move he could have done. It was a nice attempt though, and hey, he did inflict some damage. When the Rosella was losing hope, his attack brought hope back into them, and though they were on the ground, they would quickly recover by rolling back up to their feet. And so once again, they would continue to charge at the enemies with battle cries, desperate to go home. A nice army at the end of the day when they wanted something, and because they had full stomachs, it was not like this battle was going to be hard for them, thus allowing them to handle the bees once again. Admittedly, they were not doing too much damage onto the enemies, but it was a nice attempt at least. With a smile on his face, he would watch with his arms crossed, very much proud of them for their effort. He needed to take a bit of a break though, the recent battle he had with his friend took a lot of wind out of him, his magic power was at a critical state right now, and only a bit of rest would bring him back to enough strength. This was why he was glad to have Celestial Spirits fight alongside him. Virgo was right next to him, ready for his next commands whenever he gave them, but he did not want her to fight alone, so he would avoid having her go out yet until he was ready.

Hivelord 1: 5 S Ranked Hits left
Hivelord 2: 6 S Ranked Hits left

83/100

The battle continued between the Sky Slayer and the hivelord, or would if he were not so low on energy. Still though, there was a reason why he had Bound Iris, so that he would have to not put any more effort using his magic. That was also why he tried to summon Aiyana, so that she would be able to use her magic onto the enemies. With a smile on his face, he would now begin to jog instead of run, his energy not being there so much anymore. The mages were kind of hard to get past without bumping into, but he was able to do the job anyways. Once he breezed right through them, he was able to get close to his target, none of them will to do melee attacks onto it before he would jump into the air once again. a honey spew would attempt to staple his body to the wall, but Virgo would quickly extend out her chains to protect him from the incoming attacks. It was nice to have such a loyal Maiden fighting alongside you. She did everything with such loyalty, yet at the same time, her poker face neutral expression would make it seem like she did that sort of thing effortlessly, nothing to it. Though there was now some honey on her chains, she was still able to protect him from any more attacks coming his way. There was so more honey comb attempts that tried to put him down, but in the end, he was able to slice the blade up the stomach once again, the sharp blade without any honey being able to inflict critical amounts of damage. It was a beautiful sight. One that was amazing for sure. In the end though, he was going to end up probably sleeping for a week like he did the first time he took The Desert while he was a B ranked mage. Still though, this was definitely worth it, it strengthened him, gave him a new friend, and allowed him to meet many other sorts of mages and learn that he still had a lot left to learn, but if he put his mind to it, he could one day be with the rest of the powerful mages. The blade was then retracted as he would activate Air Step, allowing him to walk on the air before jumping back, using the air as a platform to prevent himself from falling down. There was more damage done onto the bee, but not quite enough yet, yet being the keyword. The Rosella family was once again motivated. They were leading a now determined, somewhat useless, but determined army regardless. That was for better or worse depending on how you look at it.

Hivelord 1: 4 S Ranked Hits left
Hivelord 2: 6 S Ranked Hits left

84/100

Getting a bit dizzy, he would have to use a desperate move in order to help regain his magic power back. His eyes would begin to calm down as they shut very gently, no longer revealing the light brown color in them any further before he would then have winds surround him gently, but quickly, using the effect of "Champion Flow" to begin to regain his health. The other mages were distracting the opponents, which was good since the rest was heavily needed. While in his resting state, he would look over to Virgo, who would quickly whip her chains before making a move on her own. It was weird seeing her go out without command, but she was determined to put an end to this and freeing not just Elyx, though he was the main mage she wanted to have escape from the hive, but all of the mages that were there as well. It placed a smile on his face to see that she was willing to act on her own without his command. She would slip through all of the mages without any trouble, her grace rather obvious before he would jump into the air. The honey on her blades made things a bit hard for her while she was carrying out the attacks, and she ended up hitting the stinger that the bee ended up blocking her attack with. She would attempt to try again, only to be blocked by the stinger before being shot with a spew of honey. Though she blocked the impact with her chains, the recoil would launch her body a little bit before her feet slid back towards him. Before she would try again, Elyx would place his palm on her shoulder before telling her what he thought. Thank you for doing that for me Virgo, I am really grateful for it, but do not worry. I just want you to be safe, so as an order, I will ask for you to wait here with me until I tell you otherwise. The Wind Slayer would tell her, and the maidens muscles would begin to relax. Despite being covered in honey, she would fold her palms in front of her with a neutral facial expression on her face. At the end of the day, she truly was designed to serve, it placed a smile on his face to see her so loyal. There was no doubt that she was worthy of being one of the 12, wait, no, 13 Zodiacs. Elyx could definitely not forget Zack, a Wizard Saint worthy man for sure, but he was also a Zodiac key as well. Not may knew this, not many Celestial Spirits knew it surprisingly. Then again, he could not blame them. At first, he did not know either.

Hivelord 1: 4 S Ranked Hits left
Hivelord 2: 6 S Ranked Hits left

85/100

One of those things being the fact that many fears out there exist, and have quite the reason to exist as well. The blood one was casual, it was not something that many people would just ignore. But considering the brutality of the training that he and the soldier had just been through, they were no longer scared or even phased by blood. Now it just seemed normal to the boy, he could see it being shed for quite a long while and still not even give any notice to it. Such insanity and cruelty, sure, but what could one do? After being forced to swim in it for a long amount of time while fighting a dog and breathing air that heavily lacked in oxygen, he still survived. Now a sword wound would look like nothing to him now. When he saw someone about to die, he could go in and stop the blood flow instead of freezing there in panic. Some of the military areas had the right idea to be honest, but before this whole job, he could not disagree now. And now that he was able to embrace their logic, he can execute their training to work in his favor. Fortunately for him, he still was very clear on the concept of ethics, and would refuse to let himself become insane because of the dreams. None of this was real after all, but the effects that they had on him most certainly were real. Both positive ones and negative ones. Arianna may have helped him out a little bit at one point, but she was not real, and even if she were, she was not here. The real one is in the ground, sleeping already, somewhere in which he can not wake her up. Maybe she deserved to be there, or maybe she did not. Elyx did not know, and as of right now, he did not care. He was in the hive, he was not in Iceberg. Only a little bit more and he would be able to escape from the hive with the rest of the Rosella family. They would be free, but in spirit, they would all be together. They were not going to bother wasting their time thinking about what was in the past. This was the present, Shadelle and their actions were in the past, Arianna and Diablos was in the past, and even now... This will be in the past as well. Well, at least during the monologue Virgo was able to obtain a hit or two, but just barely, and she would be back by his side. Her sense of free spirit finally being revealed to her? If that were the case, it would have been worth her disobeying him.

Hivelord 1: 3 S Ranked Hits left
Hivelord 2: 6 S Ranked Hits left

86/100

What a fine day it had been in the Pharoah's Call guild hall! No one had had any pressing matters to bring to her, from the guild or from the town slowly growing around them. The town was getting larger, getting to the point of being a city if they kept it up, and crime seemed to be very low with a guild being at the center. The leader of the town kept in contact with her, quite often in fact, and let her know what they were in need of and what they could help each other out with. It was a good system, relying on each other in a dangerous area, and was one where they could place a lot of trust in each other.

While Aiyana was thinking on these things, a strange feeling came over her stomach as some words reached her mind. It was Elyx, again, calling for her help. There was an issue however, the woman was completely naked. "Well...what should I have on today? I wore my normal clothes last time...maybe that formfitting black dress from the wedding job with Mao way back? Yeah! That would work!" Aiyana, being a magical creature now, needn't actually put the clothes on. Instead, she could simply alter her own body to have the clothing on! After making sure she had all of her weapons, and Memory was in her own shadow, the nine tailed fox made her way through the celestial gate and summoned herself to the location her contractor was in.

No talk was needed, as it was quite obvious what needed to be done, as Aiyana saw the two massive bugs that the large group were being attacked by. One seemed to be under control, the second being left to its own devices and needing to be handled quickly. Charging, not wasting any time, the woman had Memory summon Bacor; who in turn summoned his five zombies. The suddenly large group all charged at the bug that was just now responding to them.

Three zombies found themselves cut in half before slowly fading away, the two surviving ones able to latch on and get a few good bites into the limb of the creature even as Bacor was able to get a good hit on the head of the beast; leaving a large bleeding gash in the process. Aiyana, her magic not too good against beings that did not use magic, simply her body in the element that was signature to her magic; frostfire. It had the added benefit of protecting her against the physical attacks of another, reacting aggressively to anything that came too close. Hopefully she would be able to take down the thing before it killed anyone in the area.

A sudden Celestial Spirit would arrive just on time, so his magic power had not been wasted. Seeing her right in front of him placed a smile onto his face, as he would quickly welcome her to the scene. Hey Aiyana, we are currently as war so... Here you go! He would quickly tell her before compressing air into his lung by breathing in. By doing this, he was creating the Sky Deity Wind Bellows spell in his lungs, amplifying it to as much power as he could. The Knight of Frostfire would take form right next to him as he mentally summoned the lineage right next to him. The Knight had his arms crossed and his eyes closed, acting like he was above this whole scene and what not. Regardless of what he wanted or not, his Frostfire would begin to mix with the Wind Slayers spell before Elyx would then release a giant spiral of blue and black magic towards her. This was his own spell mixed with the effect of Knight of Frostfire, hopefully she would return back to the force mode that he had once seen in her, that would make things a lot easier for everyone, though the mages that were in the way most likely better move. The spiral of ice, fire, and wind was sent directly towards Aiyana, so unless for some reason she dodged it, chances are that it will likely get to her only and nothing else, which was good since he did not really need anything else to be hit, especially his own allies. If his plan had worked, she could solely work on one enemy alone while the mages can focus on the other one, the one that was already damaged.

Aiyana's previous attack was definitely successful for sure, but it barely grazed the enemy at her current power, it barely recognized the Frostfire, thus not even reacting to it. That must have been embarrassing, but the Nine-Tailed Fox will have her shot at it in no time, and then it would regret acting so bold. The Fox claimed to be better than the Zodiac's, and with the amount of power that she had displayed against Arianna, it was kind of hard to argue against it. Being able to instantly hit force for one thing with just his lineage alone, a coincidence, but a worthy pairing regardless. And now... They were about to prove it. Elyx was gaining his magic power due to Champion Flow still running, but since he had to use Bellows, his magic was placed in a nasty critical state once again, which could have prevented provided he did not use one of his higher ranked spells for her to eat up. What was done was done, and now all he could do was hope that it was worth it.

Hivelord 1: 3 S Ranked Hits left
Hivelord 2: 5.5 S Ranked Hits left

87/100

While her attacks, and those of her summons, successfully hit, they really did not deal a whole lot of damage. The massive creature was quick, shrugging off attacks that should have dealt massive damage due to the speed it had as well as the heavy armor its body had naturally. Dodging a few attacks, but barely doing so, Aiyana heard Elyx call out to her before turning to see a mixture of frostfire and wind coming towards her. This was probably going to hurt, but it would be worth it in the end! Absorbing the spell completely, her body disliking the wind element added, the woman began a change that scared all but the one man that had already seen it happen.

The pain was expected, this time, no cry of pain or terror mixed in with the loud roar that left her mouth as the transformation quickly made it's way through. The massive blue dragon was suddenly beset by the hive lord she had attacked earlier, her summons still alive now that a bigger threat had made itself known. A flurry of attacks would strike dragon scales, leaving large scratches but not breaking the skin, as a mouth full of teeth latched onto one of the hive lord's arms before the frostfire dragon bit down with all of its might. Whether the roar of her enemy was of pain, surprise, fear, or a mix of all three was a question for historians that were here to see it. To Aiyana it meant she was winning, and that she should carry on the fight to a pure victory. The dragon urge to kill made it's way to her main thoughts even as she let loose a dragon roar that brought forth a blizzard of frostfire. The massive stream would slam into the creature, bowling it over and pushing it into the far wall away from everyone else. Her victim, her prey, her quarry, would find that her flight was quicker than expected; the beast finding teeth coming at its head just in time to bat her head away with its one arm still left. Face would meet wall, smashing a large chunk as rocks fell on both of them.

Only one of the monsters would leave this battle alive, and the great celestial would make sure it was her. She was under contract, after all, and had better reason than most to actual win. His life, and the lives of all those he was trying to protect, were at stake here and he had graced her with the honor of helping in his time of need. There was no time for loss, for death! She had to take her place in the order of power and prove that she could protect those that needed it!

The fight was back and forth for the longest time after the falling of rocks, both getting dazed by the repeated hits from both natural formations as well as each others tooth and claw. A whip of a tail here, a bite or a claw there, the fight soon became bloody for both. The hive lord slowly found weak points in the scales even as Aiyana Shuer did the same; both looking ravaged in their short amount of time they had fought. A kind of roll began, each trying to pin the other down all the while trying for a killing blow or something to give them the advantage throughout the fight. What felt like a scale being torn from her face turned out to be exactly as she thought, blood spraying as a claw dug in at it and tore it and the skin beneath free.

Through a roar of pain the younger woman slammed clawed forearms into the body of the creature even as she flapped her wings to bring forth a hail of ice that began to pummel the wall nearby even as it tore the flesh and natural armor of the being she was rolling on the ground with. Any person that knew what Aiyana was like might misunderstand what was going on, thinking she was trying to mate with something her size as a dragon. Even with the blood and magic, one would wonder just because of the grappling involved. It wasn't until Aiyana landed a solid blow to the head of the creature, knocking its head into the ground hard enough to dig in slightly, that one would fully know it was a death battle between giants.

It seemed the creature was still alive, that was bad. Or was it good? Aiyana's mind was losing control of the dragon instincts now, the fight too long and dangerous for her to think on it enough to realize she was reacting instead of controlling her own movements. Both arms would rear back before slamming down on either side of the creature's body, great spears forming from between her wings and arms to both pierce into the skull of the being beneath her. The creature let loose a single whimpering scream before the entirety of its body went limp, dead without a doubt. A triumphant roar left her mouth before a single trace of doubt entered her mind. She should not be happy...Aiyana was never proud of a death, even something that she could not help.

The thought brought forth a reversion of her dragon force, turning her back into the celestial form she had shown up in. "Sorry for the scare everyone," the woman clad in back would state groggily, "but with that done I'll get out of the way. Good to be by your side again Elyx. Maybe we should do a job together from the start next time. Keep you safe without using me as a last ditch effort, right?" The last words would be wise-cracked before she slowly went back through the celestial gate to head back to home, and to her bed to rest after the most exhausting battle she had had yet.

Those who were around the new formed Celestial Spirit Fox would witness her enter force for possibly the second time ever, which was just too perfect now as she would then charge as the other bee that did not seem to have taken any damage quite yet. The mages that saw this were hesitant, not too sure which side she was on, but at least they did not dare try to attack her Instead, when Aiyana attacked, they would move out of the way, a smart move on their part before witnessing her battle with the other giant bee, and they seemed rather happy that the giant dragon was on their side. Looking back over to the other bee, the mages would begin to crowd around it, preventing it from moving too much further. With the damage that he and Virgo were able to inflict onto it, the mages that were on Elyx's side would begin to attack the other bee with much hope in them now. Meanwhile, his palms would press against his knees as he bent down a little bit, this was rather exhausting in his opinion, exerting so much magic power. It seems like he was still not quite limitless like he thought he might have been when he obtained the lacrima from Alcore, or when he obtained his new rank and magic from Nimpha. Clenching both of his teeth, he would then place his back straight up, his grip on Bound Iris forced, but still firm onto the heavy weapon. Virgo would help him by putting his arm over her neck, pulling him up with her sticky honey covered chains before he would return back to normal. Ignite in the meantime finally got herself out of the sticky honey trap that she had been put in, and her light purple eyes were glowing so intensely as her teeth looked razor sharp now. To be able to put her off guard so easily, the She Phoenix was not going to let go of something that embarrassing already. Looking over to her as she would step, she would proceed to try to go through the mages, her head hung down as she was then being given way once the Rosella family realized that it was her. To see her so fired up, it was nice to see that she was taking this seriously, even if it was to fulfill her own selfish purposes, it would have helped them regardless. The She Phoenix would continue to press forward slowly via walking, both of her palms filled with her red flames before she would finally make it to the hivelord, and did she have a message for it for sure. Best stay out of her way.

Hivelord 1: 3 S Ranked Hits left
Hivelord 2: Down and OUT!

88/100

Aiyana had taken down her opponent before returning back to her regular and elegant form, one that shown her true appearance to them. The Guildmaster of Pharroh's Call, it should be expected that they knew of her. And for her to be a Celestial Spirit summoned by the brown haired Elyx was something they could not quite understand, but they would give him credit for anyways. Her announcement would only receive a few nods from some mages who would take the time to look back at her, but many of them were still in the heat of battle. It was clear that the Nine Tailed Fox needed rest, being able to drain the power out of one of the giant bees was enough. And so she would address him, saying that it was great to work alongside him once again. In addition, she would also state that maybe they would have a point in time where they could work together instead of using her as a last minute and last effort. It is a pleasure to see your presence, I can not thank you enough for this. The Wind Slayer would reply before bowing to her formally, as if he had finished a performance with his Violin. A smile would reveal on his face, a rather tired one to show that Elyx has been beaten down to almost the last wire, but it was very close regardless. And so he would add onto her last comment. I will be looking forward to it, can't just have every encounter be a battle, eh? And with that, she would close her own gate without any need from the Wind Slayer. Good, he did not have too much in him already, moving his arm across his stomach and into the pouch to pull out a key must have been so much work. At this point, it did sound like such a hard task, so being able to slice at the bee once again seemed like a chore. Now that was truly the power of one who are better than the Zodiacs, no offense to Virgo of course. It placed a smile on his face to see the mages with so much hope after the appearance of the Nine Tailed Fox, they were still emitting their magic attacks despite them having almost no effect onto the enemy. Elyx was willing to give them credit for their effort, it was not like they were not trying. They were just not very effective. Not that he was going to tell them that, after all, why should he kill their already high muse? Ignite was still traveling to meet with the bee one on one, her steps still just as slow as ever.

Hivelord 1: 3 S Ranked Hits left

89/100

Virgo would attempt to dash over towards the bees once again, but to no avail as she would end up trying to fight through the giant crowd of muse induced mages as they all wanted their shots at the bees, despite the fact that their attacks were not able to break through the major defenses. The Celestial Spirit Maiden would end up being unable to break her way through the scene, it placed a smile on his face to see her trying to hard. Eventually, she would just drill herself into the ground when she found herself unable to do the trick without hurting them. He wondered where she would end up, hopefully somewhere that did not trap her and drown her in honey. Ignite would finally approach her target before she would be attacked by the giant stinger of the bee. It had electricity on its tail this time before the She Phoenix would grip the stinger by the edge, not even phased by the stinger. Perfection, she was just too angry to take damage, her instincts and physical stats were raised heavily. A true Immortal Phoenix in her was awakening, this was only a taste of her power. The Sky Deity Slayer knew exactly what was coming up, and since she had quite the amount of strength in her, he would hope that be had enough defense to protect itself, because it was going to face the most explosive strike that it could. The She Phoenix would then grip the stinger with both of her palms before pushing foward with all of her strength, slamming it against the wall before the whole hive would shake. Elyx would fall in the meantime, since he did not have so much balance. The hivelord would once again yell, causing everything around it, including Ignite, fly all the way to the back. It did not go down that quickly, and such a nightmare inducing beast as well. His palms would press against the ground, body shaking as he knew that he was alone, and with the Bound Iris blade that he was going to have to pick up, it was going to be impossible to truly recover. His right side would suddenly be lifted up, causing him to turn his head towards that direction to see Tyme with a smile on his face as he pulled up the Sky Slayer onto his feet. His left side would have Neko, doing the same thing for him. They were truly his friends, the tribes together were strong. Standing all together side by side by side, they would all look over to the bee as the mages would charge at the giant once again. They would just remain stationary however.

Aiyana had taken down her opponent before returning back to her regular and elegant form, one that shown her true appearance to them. The Guildmaster of Pharroh's Call, it should be expected that they knew of her. And for her to be a Celestial Spirit summoned by the brown haired Elyx was something they could not quite understand, but they would give him credit for anyways. Her announcement would only receive a few nods from some mages who would take the time to look back at her, but many of them were still in the heat of battle. It was clear that the Nine Tailed Fox needed rest, being able to drain the power out of one of the giant bees was enough. And so she would address him, saying that it was great to work alongside him once again. In addition, she would also state that maybe they would have a point in time where they could work together instead of using her as a last minute and last effort. It is a pleasure to see your presence, I can not thank you enough for this. The Wind Slayer would reply before bowing to her formally, as if he had finished a performance with his Violin. A smile would reveal on his face, a rather tired one to show that Elyx has been beaten down to almost the last wire, but it was very close regardless. And so he would add onto her last comment. I will be looking forward to it, can't just have every encounter be a battle, eh? And with that, she would close her own gate without any need from the Wind Slayer. Good, he did not have too much in him already, moving his arm across his stomach and into the pouch to pull out a key must have been so much work. At this point, it did sound like such a hard task, so being able to slice at the bee once again seemed like a chore. Now that was truly the power of one who are better than the Zodiacs, no offense to Virgo of course. It placed a smile on his face to see the mages with so much hope after the appearance of the Nine Tailed Fox, they were still emitting their magic attacks despite them having almost no effect onto the enemy. Elyx was willing to give them credit for their effort, it was not like they were not trying. They were just not very effective. Not that he was going to tell them that, after all, why should he kill their already high muse? Ignite was still traveling to meet with the bee one on one, her steps still just as slow as ever.

Hivelord 1: 2 S Ranked Hits left

90/100

Virgo would suddenly appear from the side of the hive with both of her chains whipping down onto the bees head, successful as it was then slammed against the wall due to the force. The Maiden definitely did plan things well without command, and once again the mages were able to swarm around it despite their futile efforts. It was the thought in their actions that mattered though, it placed a smile on his face to see them no longer scared, but determined. Elyx had to remain determined as well, and so would begin to limp forward, despite what Neko and Tyme were trying to say, maybe trying to get him to rest or whatever safe thing they would tell him to do. That was not what a true leader would do while there was battle going on. Bound Iris was in his grip, and his limping would make him go by unnoticed, and there would be memories triggering in the process. The first time he had left Shadelle, it was while he was looking around Endelle with Takaro, looking at the falls where Alcore and Miharu fought... Just the thought of returning. There was one time he went to Endelle. It was him with Mr. Takaro, his teacher. The both of them were looking at the river that Alcore and Miharu fought on top of, they looked like father and son. Both of them had a ball of rice in their grip, Elyx with the food on his face and smiling while looking at the water. Elyx, do you know why this is such a sacred place? Mr. Takaro would ask, placing his hand on the back of his student. The young boy would look up to his teacher with a grin that had a piece of rice on one of his teeth. Alcore and Miharu! They once fought here, right? He asked before biting into the snack of rice once again. The teacher tilted his head as he elaborated. And why was their battle so important to Shadelle? Why would their lives even matter to us? Elyx remembered why, and the next words made so much sense. It was an important battle to Shadelle because they were the role models to the tribe. "The reason why they fought the battle was because they have fought with all of their soul, and they respected each other as much as they loved each other. They had respect and soul..." And now Elyx truly knew what those words actually meant. Now that he knew it, he would let out a little chuckle before returning back to reality, where he was still in the hive, and a bit of determination and hope had been placed in him.


Hivelord 1: 1 S Ranked Hit left

91/100

Another memory would flash in his mind, this time it was in black and white. It was of the time where he met Nimpha Yukino, his teacher that taught him everything that he needed to in order to survive. It was when she had handed him the medicine with a smile on her face, and he would just look at it through teary eyes. Such a little child with much to learn, despite the fact that he was almost an asult during that time. He lost so much water just because he would often cry himself to sleep, and now such a thing would occur to him. This thought however showed how the luck mage was able to save him and give him hope, and because he took it, she was able to provide for him. It was so beautiful, a smile would be placed onto his face as he remembered the pink haired mage once again. The moment where she was teaching him of how to use his first secondary magic, the wind make lock magic against caster types. Ironic now considering he was a caster type himself. What more? He was a slayer as well, which helped him even more while facing off against his own type. It was a good thing that the only one who had it was Nimpha, a great fire mage during that time, little did he know at that moment that she was a lot more than that. Alcore was a lot more than that as well, he wondered who would win a battle between the both of them. The thought of the yucai handing him the lacrima gave him a bit more determination as well, it was nice to know that such a man would give him an assist. A bit of audio played on the back of his mind as he would remember how he said that the Wind Slayer reminded the Yucai a lot about himself. They both had the same beginning, and it was that beginning that would bring Elyx to Shadelle and Alcore to Seria. In the end though, the Yucai was able to spare Seria, and Elyx was able to spare Shadelle. And in the end, or what was current rather, they were both a lot more than happy now. The Wind Slayer had Iza now to take care of, despite the tanuki being such a pain, but maybe that was why he liked her. She was a rather bright light that brought fun around to wherever she went... Though sometimes the fun that she brings can be damning. Still though, to remember her smiling face, the one of his girlfriend... It DEFINITELY brought him hope. The walking would continue.

Hivelord 1: 1 S Ranked Hit left

92/100

It was his time now, he would be able to limp through the crowd, despite his body swaying a little but to the sides as they were pushing him while they were attacking. His body would tilt to the right before being pushed right back onto his feet, it was truly crowded here, he understood why Virgo was having such a hard time with this. It placed a smile on his face though as he got out, the dreams that he had were keeping him going, despite all of the energy that had been drained from him, it felt like a new energy was placed into him. It was great in all honesty, being able to have such a rush through his body, despite him having none of his own energy. Maybe he was insane for thinking of it to be such a great thing, but that was exactly the case whether one may like it or not. Bound Iris was placed by his side before he look look up to the giant bee, still quite the distance away. His shaky right arm would begin to lift, the weapon going along with him before he would activate the final ability of the sword. The Worlds Story, light magic would extend so suddenly from out of the blade, going from 10 meters to 150, piercing through the heart of the bee and bringing silence to all of the mages. Bound Iris ended the hivelord, the bee ended up falling down to the ground. It was kind of nice in all honesty, just to have his final blow towards the enemy. A smile on his face, his eyes blurring, he was happy. The final blow had been dealt, the job had been done. It was a great to have done the final hit. The Rosella family was free. His body would tilt to the side before he would close his eyes completely, fading out all of the way, unable move. He'd be left in a helpless and motionless state, no thoughts running through his mind that he could control. His breathing would be softly, adding an adorable effect onto him. The Rosella family did not rush towards the exit and go home but instead they would go over to him. The one who placed his life on the line, all of his energy and time spent on the battle for it to end up like this. The full well knew what he had done for them, and they figured that the least they could have done was end up bringing him to his home. Weird visions would occur however while he was asleep... Hinting at the next fight he was going to have to endure...


Hivelord 1: Defeated

93/100

The morning was bright and nice. And that was the perfect moment for him to wake up in a nice world where nothing seemed to be going wrong. Until he would then see that he was not on a bed, but the wooden ground in a little kids bedroom. There light in his blurred eyes looked like light from something like a candle, his nose would catch a quick whiff of what it actually was, and he was not happy with what he ended up getting a whiff of. The Violinist would cough as he then stood up. The next person was located in the corner of the room, and unfortunate scene would show him crying. This time, the dream proved his theory wrong as he would then make out calls for his mother and father. How old was this kid!? And why was he one of the 20 vessels to be attacked? Regardless of the answers, he was going to have to get the kid over his fear. It seemed it was either being trapped that he was scared of, or fire. Regardless, he was not moving an inch as he would continue screaming for his parents. Elyx had to move to him and quickly get the both of them out of there. If Elyx died now, they were done for. Placing his feet on the ground and pushing himself up with his arms, he would be on his feet. A few steps towards the boy would be taken before the violinist was able to shut up the kid with his presences. It seemed that anyone there to save him would have worked, now there was nothing but the sound of crackling fire and breaking wood. He would bend down so that he could look the kid in his eyes, making sure that their eye contact can not be broken from each other.

Hey there little one, I'm here to get you out of the fire! Come with me, I am a firefighter, and I will save you from this mess! He would cry out so that he voice was able to overpower the sound of the fire and the breaking wood. The kid was shivering, very scared for his life. He had to give it all up to one man, and for a kid, that was a lot for him to take in. A smile would emit on his face as he then would hold his arms out open for the kid. The kid would then slowly stand up before taking one step towards Elyx. Two steps, three steps, and eventually, he would be walking over to the other person in the room. Once the kid got there, the violinist would give him a gentle hug before standing back up, bring the victim up into the air with him. He did not have to fear if they got out. Now the goal was to get out of the house, hopefully his parents evacuated from the scene, because if not, there was a high chance of them dying. Stats hurt, but in this life, that was all you ever had. So be realistic with them, and you can minimize what is negative. You can't fix a problem you don't know about. And you won't get things done until you move and revise what is stopping you. What an odd dream... And he would wake up from it suddenly.

94/100

Everything around him felt kind of odd. Odd in the sense that he was able to beat a 100 year job, and now he felt completely different. It was supposed to be happiness for sure, but that was not just it. It was accomplishment, something he had not felt for a long time. Beating something that was a challenge to him, it was actually nice. However, things could not end here, the Sky Deity Slayer knew that his power has not been learned to mastery, and until it has been, he would put many other lives at risk. To do such a selfish act would be unethical to say the least, provided he did even save their lives anyways. So that was going to be his next goal. again, he would rather not bother Nimpha with such a request, since she was always so busy and has been doing nothing but making Elyx her priority. So she needed a break, and this was going to be it. Instead, he'd go to Alcore for the help that he needs to master the art of Wind Slaying. Sadly, he had not done enough research on Slayers, and though he was actually hooked up with one, that was still not enough to allow him to claim that he was a fledged Slayer. So the Yucai would have to be questioned. It seemed the popular icon had an interest in him, and that was practically the dream that any Lerale Mage would love to have, and now that he had it, he was going to take full advantage of it. With a smile on his face, he thought about how he might be recognized a bit more in Fiore, possibly he could try to help out the Magic Council by working as a Wizard Saint. They were scarce as of this moment, meaning that a few open slots were available. The bold road would be to challenge the top four for their roles. And the safer path would be to roll along with the open road. And though the former of the two was surprisingly tempting at the current moment, it would not be fair to force someone out of their high chair just because he wanted a title. Elyx was ambitious, but he was not selfish. Or at least, not selfish to the point in which he would damage someone, take their things from them, and harm their reputation.

The jewels that he had collected, well, they were all for Aiyana. It was not a secret that she had just opened up a Guild, all by herself, so she would need the support. In their contract, he promised her an even share of jewels for their jobs, but he honestly did not need them, not while his current wallet was as heavy as it is currently. So he'd gladly fund for her, and so they would begin an unofficial alliance. The Magic Council might not approve of an actual alliance, but Black Rose was once Neutral too.

95/100

To be walking alone, it was his time to go to the secret area, the home that he could truly be alone. It was a small and subtle house, but while his body laid in the Rose Gardens, he might as well have been there. As to why Ignite was not there, that was anyones guess, but he would not blame her for anything. His body had all of the equipment that he needed, so she would place his palms against his hips before looking over to the gardens, he knew exactly where he was and to get out of here. So he would begin to pace over towards the safe house. It was not too far from here. The walk was getting harder and harder, but he was almost halfway there. He was actually at the rose gardens, where his secret hideout would be located. It was a recently built area designed for just himself. I had a 20 meter radius exactly, a perfect circle. In it was his own house, a small and humble one, but it was well enough to be considered a place to live in. It had a bedroom, a restroom, a closet with a few clothes that gained dust due to them being hung for so long, a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room, even a basement. It was sort of like a checkpoint, and he was going to rest in it. In his pouch of keys, he would find a regular silver key before placing it into the lock slot. With a simple twist, the wooden door would open, revealing the small house. It was a place where no one can find him, since the cirle was so isolated and would be a sudden random sight. No one will know that he was here. It was good, since there were many times in which he needed some alone time. As he walked in, he would lock his eyes onto a small red couch with two cushions on it. Taking no time to stare, he would jump onto that couch and rest right there. A smile on his face would show as he continued to think about what had happened. The Hive, and the people who were running the camp, who were they, and why did they not know about the Hive? Regardless, it was not time to question it, all that the Sky Slayer could do now was rest in this place once again before standing back up and going home, Ignite probably was waiting for him, and for her effort, the last thing she needed was to be worried about him and where he ended up. He was not going to ask her why his body was in the Rose Gardens, but just this once only. Then next time, it was home game for her.

96/100

He did not get any other visions from the dream that he had received. It was simply him once again as a street performer. Nothing new in all honesty, just him playing three pieces. The first one was dedicated to Iza, The Gift. The Gift was a piece played and made by a composer who had a baby boy, and that child meant everything to that father. To prove it, the piece was made in dedication to his pride being born. It was a nice and gentle piece, where all of the strings had the melody at some point. It was a sweet piece, slow, and it took its time. Though the insane tanuki never really took slow things to heart, he still liked to play the piece in honor of her. After all, it was a symbol that she was his gift, regardless of the amount of trouble that she may put him through, and trust him, there were many times in which she had troubled him. After the gift had been played, he decided to give the audience a little history lesson with the second song called "The Elizabethan Legend", where there was a sweet slow blend of Elizabethan music being played. Some of the people started to call him Elyxabeth, and he did not really mind, just as long as they were enjoying the music, they were allowed to give him a nickname. There was not as much of a story behind the piece, though it did provide a lot of challenge to anyone who tried to learn it. If Elyx were forced to be honesty, it was one of the shortest pieces he had to play. It was also one of the most brutal pieces that he had to play. And the final song for the crowd would wake them up from the sleep that he probably had put them in. It was kind of hard since it required him to play both the first and second violin parts of the song, which required a lot of string crossing and many times, a lot of pressure onto the bow. Mantras had a change in tempo and musicality as time went by, a legend being told in the first forty measures before it was slowed down and became a waking part of the song. Like a legend being born, a hero in a way. Finally, with a triumphant cry, the strings would exclaim their strength as all of the arm weight was placed into the bow. The journey continued as he played before the song came to a suddenly slow part, before the final note was played. The crowd loved it, the performer loved it, they were all having fun, now if only this moment could last forever. How sweet it would be.

And thus, a normal dream before the young mage would wake up in reality. The feelings he had were now normal, and in all honesty, it felt amazing to be back. In almost mint perfect condition. And so he would awaken, his body restored from the nap. Taking a moment to sense everything around the house using his senses, he would not feel another source of magic coming. It was not because he was unsure of his home security, it was just a precaution that needed to be taken before he can exit his house. No one was supposed to know, and when someone other than him found out about it, he was going to destroy this house and build a new one somewhere else. Probably underground since the world seems to have taken a lot of the land to exist, and there were not too many other areas where he would have his own land. At least, not alone. Sure, he could claim land any day, he had the jewels to do it. But it was pointless to just simply act like he was alone when people knew of the location. Sadly, this project would require Virgo, a lot of her as well. She was going to have to be constantly summoned so that they have a giant space in the ground, have the earth be put back together so that they would not be found out, and eventually, they would have to make a secret entrance that only they knew. Maybe it could be activated by music, but then the maiden would be unable to enter. A shame. But it was still fair to at least let her in. Though she does not seem able to summon herself out onto the battlefield and into the outside world, he'd still like for her to have some access, to have her act like a normal human would. It would be like having her titled Very Important Person. And though she does not think of herself so highly, he was still going to command her to accept it, because then she would have no choice.

Walking out of the house, he would be greeted by the nice afternoon air, almost evening as the sun was already drifting away. Seems like he damaged his sleep schedule, not that he would blame it on himself though. He'll gladly blame it on the dream that Arianna gave to him. What did she want him to see with that message? Well, maybe it was something to do with Shadelle, and though he did not see how they were able to relate, he was only Elyx Reiaki. He was a human, an extraordinary one at that, but a human regardless. So it was expected that he did not know everything. On the plus side, he did have the advantage of being able to access the Black Rose library, and they had done tons of research on the land of Fiore and their history with other nations. Maybe they knew Shadelle. Or if not, at least Endelle so he could learn about Alcore. And even if that were not available, maybe Klaydelle, because it was a fun tribe to learn about. Time to head home.

Word Count 1005

97/100
98/100

Walking to his home, it was time to go back to Black Rose. He needed at least a week to recover from this, it took quite a while, and it did give him quite the training, even if this was not quite he had expected. It was expected that none of this was not actually what the people who made the program wanted of the training camp, but that was their fault for not checking out the hive to see if anything would happen if it went a bit too unstable. With a smile on his face, he decided to not focus on that, but instead just continue walking away from the scene of the Rose Gardens, his safe house being isolated from the rest of the world, no one has found it yet, not a single thing had been touched. That was exactly what he wanted. It hid everything that was valuable to him that he could not look over all of the time, even in his sleep. And so this was a much more secure way of being able to keep his stuff safe. Walking out of the Gardens, he would hum an earworm to himself, a gentle sounding one since the original ways played on the Piano. The song was called Mirror night reflection. Or Reflection Mirror Knight. Minor Knight? Screw it, there was no confirmed name for it yet, but it did sound rather pretty. The reason why it was stuck in his head? Well, that was what an earworm does, it sticks with your head for the rest of the day. It was going to be a short day, because when he got home, he was going to fix up his sleeping schedule by sleeping at night, the proper time to be sleeping. The song specifically however was the song that he wanted Iza to play, since she was going to learn how to play the piano and all. Though he did know how to play the piano, in his personal opinion, he liked the sound of the Violin better. Many react violently to this when they had heard him say this, saying that this was a biased view because he used Wind Lerale Magic that required a violin. But any lerale magic can be played on any instrument. If he was choosing his instrument and ended up choosing the violin, what exactly was so biased about it? There were too many people in the world to spread this message to, so every time he'd express his opinion, many people would jump onto him. Such a world, where you can meet many people and express your opinion, just so they can try to shoot you down and make you feel bad. It would have many different locations for all sorts of different people and their mothers, and regardless of what group you choose to be a part of, you will be shot down because of something wrong you might have said. If such a thing were to exist, Elyx will gladly name it, the Internet.

And so he would finally return back to Black Rose, a smile on his face as he knew that Ignite would be waiting for him back at his house. There were two was this might have gone, the weird way being her hugging him and telling him how worried she was for him, and that she was waiting all day for him and all of that crap that he would not believe until he would buy something for her to get her to shut up. The better option would be to have her just wave to him before going back to the magazines on her rifles. It was best for the latter, so that he would not be annoyed by her existence. Ignite was indeed waiting for him in his house, sort of. She was reading a book for once, and not only that, but there were five of them already on her left side to show that she had finished them. She had spent all day learning thing? The She Phoenix already impressed him, and she did not even say a word, yet at least. A smile on his face would show as he came in the house, but Ignite did not let her eyes escape from the book. Still, she was able to speak to him at least. Where were you, idiot? Asking, but her eyes were still glued to the pages of the book. It made him wonder what she was reading. Having a bit of curiousity in him, he would look over her shoulder to find out that she was studying parts of a weapon. A rifle in fact. He himself was not too smart with those things, he did not like the loud noise that they made, the nasty recoil on the hand, and the fact that the bullets are so limited. Not to mention how he would have to constantly reload before he continued. Oh well, if Ignite became responsible for one, maybe he would take the extra step for her and buy her one. Provided she obeyed and did not do anything stupid with it, he'll let her use guns. And a special rule will be given to Iza, never let her get her hands on it. Because that tanuki will start firing for fun, possibly trying to steal it because of its metal. And he was not willing to let that happen, so no guns while Iza was around. And if she so happens to find it, make sure to get it out of her hands. Rifles huh? I guess you yourself want one? He asked her as he tilted his head to the side. She'd nod her head, still not letting her eyes get away from the page. With a chuckle, Elyx would continue walking with his hands in his pockets, his goal being his bedroom.

Word Count 984

99/100
100/100