Astoria Pendridge

Fifteen

As Astoria had expected of the simple creature, the kobold took the bait. It roared, and its jaws opened, shooting flames. The air crisped with a mixture of red and orange. She dodged the attack, leaping to the right of the beast, her crimson hair fluttering behind her.

As it turned to face her, she commanded.

'Tig!'

A bolt of lightning struck the beast, and it staggered. Its mana was emptied now and Astoria grinned.

"Gotcha!"

Her blades gripped tightly, she leaped in for the kill.

Yet her eyes widened a moment later as flames exploded forward once more.

"Wha-?"

She had little time to think, instinctively slashing a blade before her as she activated <Mana Breaker>. The flames touched her weapons and vanished just as quickly as they came. Astoria's eyes narrowed, activating <Guardian's Sight>.

'Its mana is back?' She thought as she tilted her head and back off from the creature. A beast whose mana had all but been depleted mere moments ago was now back to near-prime. 'It must be its aura,' She thought, 'Somehow, its aura replenishes its mana? Isn't that too broken?'

Then, she had a new thought.

'I want it.'

Though she was currently without any mana fueling her, she decided she would definitely kill the kobold. That aura was simply too tantalizing if her conjecture was true. She would use her own, which she had termed <Aura Devourer>, and take it for herself.

The creature came for her, claws swiping, and she dodged as she stepped back, moving side to side and lowering her head. Though she was without mana, she was still fast and strong in her own right. The space wasn't large, however, and soon she was pushed back towards the enclosure of the rift, the faint dome that surrounded the place.

Astoria rushed forward, sliding between the kobold's legs with her daggers angled up, ripping a tear through its already battered skin. Like that, it expelled more mana to heal itself, and she smiled, leaping up as her leg lashed out behind her, striking it in its back.

That momentum propelled her back, and she flipped in the air, watching the beast's body crash against the dome of the space as she landed. Then she charged at it.

And that was when the flames came once more, covering an area far too wide and tall to dodge.

The element sparked onto her skin and she screamed at the intense heat, stopping immediately in her charge. Her knees found the brittle floor of the rift, and her hands shook as fire crawled onto her.

'I can heal. I can heal. I can heal.' The thoughts ran through her mind as she gritted her teeth, flesh beginning to peel, scorch, and burn. 'I'll be fine. I'll be fine. I'll be fine.'

Tig's screech rang in the air. The bird swooped down from the sky, landing upon the kobold's head, furiously pecking. Its beak pierced through its skin, riddling holes of blood upon the creature within moments. The beast roared, flailing and closing its jaws, trying to throw the bird off.

She blinked her eyes, looking up through a hazy view of fire. Its mana had died down once again. It had used all of its remaining mana in that one attack. Even as she burned, she couldn't help but find it comical.

The beast grabbed Tig from the air with both hands, the bird screeched in pain while the creature's hand began to close upon each other, wishing to crush it.