A dark wind howling

Leila Vergious  ❃  Z-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Crossing the mountains was a rather easy task for Leila. After all, she had memorized this path years and years ago. It was not quite the same as when she was headed to the now-abandoned shack of memories, but its location still meant that knowing one’s way toward it also meant that you knew the way to the other side.

And on the other side lied the elusive jungle of Joya. A tribal nation filled with vegetation, unique fauna, and what many individuals called a paradise of catgirls. While that did sound appealing to the silver-haired mage as well, she opted to not think about it too hard for now.

After all, she had a job to do. Hopping forward a bit, she entered an extreme downward slope, her reinforced booths sliding down the rock face until she reached one of the lower plateaus. From there, the view of the land was not quite as good but also allowed for much easier access to an actual path into the jungle that would eventually lead to one of the many tribes.

It was Leila’s goal to locate one of them for the sole reason of information gathering. A contract that was given to her by Leona herself, strangely enough. It was one that described an elusive dark beast lurking in the shadows of the vast jungle, resistant to blows of conventional weapons and using dark arts of sorts to attack the tribes.

Although the damage so far was very small, the people of this land had no means of defending themselves against such forces after their ancient guardians had disappeared. Naturally, Leila had accepted the task at hand, even though she didn’t hold any stakes in this land aside from a certain sentimental value.

Letting out a sigh, she ran her hands through the silver locks as her ocean blue eyes scanned the area. The humid atmosphere was always difficult to get used to upon entry, but having the experience, she left behind all of her heavier attire. Not that she could get left stranded with her powers.

Nodding to her current state, she didn’t wait around too long and headed into the green heart of the vast overgrowth ahead. Using the standard navigation tools, it didn’t take more than a few hours to get to the correct tribe, given Leila’s supernatural speed. But she had little intentions of actually entering the village.

She already knew all that the cats could tell her. What she really needed was the tracks of the beast and anything else that it might have left behind. And sure enough, there was a certain air of strangeness the moment she entered the area. A sort of darkness that could be felt even by less experienced mages.

“No ordinary beast, huh…”

“That’d be a bit too easy for ya anyhow, right?”

The voice nearly startled the girl if she didn’t know it was coming ahead of time thanks to her newly acquired powers of clairvoyance. Still made her shake her head as she turned around to witness the small form of a flying cat with fur that was textured as the night’s sky itself, including stars and other galaxies.

“You sure that you should be coming out at a time like this, Orion? This place could be pretty dangerous.”

But the cat seemed to completely dismiss any and all dangers along with the warnings, simply twirling himself in the air and flying around his owner before giggling and just kinda waving his paw in the air as if he was indicating that none of that could ever possibly matter in any way imaginable.

“Oh ya know me, there is no need to worry! Even if something with claws comes out and swipes at me, I can return to the Garden! Or make myself into a crystal ball, no way they could hurt me when like that.”

It was true that he had such an ability. The ultimate defense that made him pretty much completely impervious to any and all damage. If it also didn’t make him completely useless, Leila would even admire such an ability, but alas. Scratching her head a bit, she looked around and finally nodded in response.

“Fine. Suppose I wouldn’t be against the company.”

“Nyahaha! Ya won’t regret nothing! I will sniff this beasty out for ya right away!”

But alas, even an hour later, there was nothing. The traced of the beast, whatever it was, were still there in the form of broken branches and trampled leaves and other flora. But the prints were not really ‘there’, no fur or anything else present either. Even for a clever predator, that was rather strange.

The only truly unique and telling sign of the target was the dark atmosphere that covered the area, unmoving and unbending. Sitting down on a fallen tree, Leila just couldn’t figure much out. With so few clues to go on, there were only very vague guesses that she could possibly make and not put her self in the danger of pursuing something with the wrong info.

“Well… the beast has to be either of magical nature or a cursed one, no way around that.”

“Ueeee, can’t smell anything of it-nya!  Normally I can smell at least something, but it’s like this beasty just up and vanished…”

“We would have seen damage to the branches and tops of trees if it could take to the skies and fly off. But instead, the tracks just stop at some point… could it be capable of warping or completely disappearing from this space..?”

Having Orion with her surprisingly helped put things together, even if it just made her seem less insane for talking to herself. Not that there was anyone around who could possibly judge her for her words or the way she was trying to put this whole scene together. Getting back up, she looked over the entire area once more.

“A creature that has to be involved with dark magic in some way to leave behind such a powerful trace… and one that can seemingly just vanish. The tribals described it as an actual beast so it can’t be a wraith. The tracks are also too big for any regular animal… it could be a cursed one. But even then, this oppressive aura is just too much…”

“Would something so scary really live here..?”

Unfortunately, Leila had to nod. While the Joyan jungle might have looked fairly standard for an outsider, she knew that it was actually rather special. An ancient primordial dense jungle that harbored great magical energy, giving birth to mighty beasts within. It was also why the Joyans lived in such close communion with nature here.

“Well, there is no much we can do now except-”

Suddenly cut off by an extremely bad feeling that crept up the back of her mind, quickly got up and dashed to the side while also grabbing Orion by the face and taking her with her. The action was very sudden and seemingly unprovoked. But only seconds later a searing laser cut through the trees and vines, scorching the exact area where she was sitting until now.

“NYAAAA WHAT WAS THAT?!”

“Our target! Transform right now, it ended up finding us instead of the other way around…”

Facing toward the direction from which the attack came, she paid little attention to her companion who transformed himself into a small crystal ball that gently floated into one of her pockets where he could hopefully stay safe. And the whole situation was getting all the stranger by the moment.

Her eyes fixed forward, she watched as something calmly walked through the scorched land and toward her in quite the contrast to the surprise attack. Soon enough, the beast finally revealed itself. A giant wolf of sorts, its fur pitch black and eyes glowing crimson, leaving behind an ethereal ribbon-like trail.

And not just that. It seemed like some black flames surrounded it as well. Or rather, its very fur was made of these dense dancing fires. Its own eyes stared right back at the girl, their gazes locked and unwavering, all the way until it was only a few meters away from where it finally stopped and let out a sound akin to a snort.

“You’re different… not her. Yet you are the same, cometh from the void to this world. But strong enough to rival her. Who are you?”

The voice was gravelly and rough. But also devoid of malice. Leila took a firm stance in front of the beast and decided to answer it fully. After all, there would be no benefit to antagonizing it. Since it was very clearly sentient and even clever, the girl wanted to end this as peacefully as possible.

“I don’t know who ‘her’ is, but my name is Leila Vergious. I am a child of Eden. So yes, I technically do hail from the Void between worlds…”

She certainly didn’t know what to make of this. She could easily sense the great power from this being. And its appearance… the only ‘species’ that matched it was an Abyssal. Terrible beasts of darkness that emerged from eternal darkness of black magic. Normally they were powerful constructs of dark mages, but some came to be naturally as well.

“So will you tell me who you’re looking for? It’s clearly not me, but someone who is like me… wait… Noheme..?”

That was the only individual Leila knew to be from the Void as well. But she had not seen the other woman in literal ages. There was a snarl as the beast moved its snout closer to the silver-haired witch, its piercing crimson gaze raising a certain level of discomfort inside of her despite knowing that she could probably win in direct combat.

“So you do know of her. Grah, enough of this. I have searched for long enough! I shall use your remains to find her!”

Suddenly raising one of its front paws up, the clawed limb swiped right down on Leila with enough force to crush her if it was a direct hit or cut her into ribbons if she was grazed instead. Thankfully the girl’s foresight and speed worked well together, allowing her to dash backward fast enough to avoid such a fate.

And since it seemed that she would have to calm the beast down by force, after all, she wanted to do it somewhere where they would not cause as much damage. Quickly planting her hand onto the ground, she used a substantial amount of power to suddenly raise the ground beneath the wolf, momentarily throwing it off balance as well.

A giant chunk of the earth with both of them on it started rising to the skies, carried by enormous vines that jotted out of the ground. Creating this makeshift arena to fight on, Leila felt much more comfortable with her chances of defeating this opponent without destroying a good half of the jungle in the process.

“I’m not sure what happened with you and her, but I’m afraid I can’t let you just kill me.”

With a growl, the beast dug its paws into the ground before lunching forward at full speed, its sprint far faster than anyone could have ever fully predicted. A spike of dark magic even created right in front of it, transforming the wolf into a sort of battering ram that was headed straight at Leila who was not quite fast enough to dodge something this fast.

Locking her hands in an X shape in front of her, she at least tried to assume a defensive stance as both of her arms god covered with Eden’s corruption, making them much stronger. An invisible barrier erected itself around her body as well, else her mortal body would surely not be able to withstand the blow.

Even with all of that, the moment they made contact, she was swept up and carried along with the dash, feeling the full force pressing against her. Thankfully she managed to move her body a bit higher up, getting over the abyssal’s back and landing back on the ground as it passed by.

Quickly stopping and turning around, it was clear that the enemy did not intend to just stop after that one move. Jumping into the air, its landing shook the entire platform as the ground suddenly became covered in creeping dark shadows, markings of darkness that spread relentlessly even beneath Leila’s own body.

Sensing the dark magic gather, she broke into a sprint as explosions of dark energy started happening right behind her. It seemed that this wolf had quite an arsenal of different moves, very unlike an average opponent she’d be going up against. But she was still determined to survive and win this conflict somehow.

The problem was that she didn’t want to attack the beast directly. After all, it was in rage due to some problems it was going through. A peaceful solution was possible, surely! But dodging the explosions happening right beneath her feet was getting harder. Focusing, she spread the roots and vines inside of the platform, having them all emerge at the same time around the beast.

They spread around its body and limbs, trying to tie it down. And while that made the exploding markings on the floor disappear, it clearly did not stop the wolf itself. It struggled for a moment before its own body gathered additional energy and then released it, causing a near-blinding explosion of black flames that completely incinerated the vines and roots holding it in place.

Perhaps enraged by this even further, it took a firm stance and started gathering energy in its maw this time. The same attack that it tried to use at the very start, a laser-type! Except it was using way more energy this time. Not to mention that from this distance, it could probably angle the beam even as it was being fired, making it near impossible to fully dodge.

Leila had to block it. And to do so, she utilized every defensive mechanism she had. Once again, several trees and roots jotted out from the earth in front of her, creating a barrier that would guard her body. But wood would get destroyed quickly. She had to use more… so this time, she had to tap into it. Her new power!

Enormous wings akin to petals of roses formed from her back, quickly embracing her in a shielding manner as a crimson barrier build itself around the girl, reinforcing itself with additional magical coating. With a deafening roar, the abyssal unleashed its devastating roar attack, the crimson and black laser slamming into the barrier hard.

So hard that it started pushing Leila backward. Reinforcing her body with Eden’s corruption and vines that kept her in a place like shackles, she unleashed the transformation of her body and started pushing back. While the clash lasted only a few seconds, it felt like an eternity. From the first wooden barrier incinerating to the Rosen one cracking.

But the combination of both of her magics managed to stand victorious. As the beam faded away, even the large barrier was completely evaporated, the last defense of Leila being the wings that were heavily burnt and slowly falling away. But her body managed to hold on, mostly unharmed from the attack. Giving the wolf a sharp gaze, she showed that she would be able to withstand anything it would throw at her.

Letting out a low growl along with a considerable amount of smoke from its mouth, the wolf stared back. But slowly, it's fighting spirit seemed to fade away. Leila was unsure of what to do until it finally spoke again, making the situation clear to both of them as there would be no winners if they were to continue.

“Resilient, unbending, powerful… You are indeed a kin to my master. I would not be able to use you no matter what I did.”

And with that, it bowed its head. There would be no more fighting. The abyssal admitted its defeat even though Leila did not land a single attack on it. But she was certainly glad that it ended this way. She didn’t want to hurt the beast if it’s intent was not one of evil. The platform got slowly lowered back to the ground.

The girl approached and sighed as Orion’s ball flew out of her pocket, taking back on the form of a flying celestial cat again to gauge the situation now that he could no longer feel any killing intent or earth-shaking impacts from the different powerful spells being cast. Thankfully not too much damage was done to anything around them.

“Umm… are we good now? Wait, the wolf is still there!!”

“Yes, we’ve stopped our conflict. There will be no more fighting so calm down.”

Planting her hand on the cat’s head, she rubbed its fur and ears a bit to calm the celestial being down some before turning her gaze back to the wolf. Their fight might have been over, but there were still many questions up in the air. And Leila planned on asking them right away. After all, her original task was not yet resolved!

“Alright, first of all… who are you? All I know is that you’re an Abyssal and that you’re somehow related to Noheme. And second, why were you attacking the local tribes?”

Letting out another snort, the wolf decided to lay down in the tall grass and close its eyes before it would start explaining. It seemed that using all of those powerful attacks did make it tired at least a little bit. Or perhaps it was just not interested in doing much else other than lazing around when the need to fight was gone.

“My name is Visor. I am what the locals used to call ‘Ancient Guardians’ as I’ve protected the jungle against invaders thousands of years ago. It is a shame that the current generation does not even remember, seeing me as a monster. But I should not be in this world. The chosen huntress, Noheme, was able to make contact with my soul.”

All Leila really knew about Noheme was that she was connected to one of the local tribes of fox folk. And that she has originated from the Void as well. They interacted quite a bit at some point, almost regarding one another as sisters due to their somewhat shared origin. But one day the other woman disappeared and Leila realized just how little she actually knew about her.

“I, along with other guardians, have become part of her magic. But something expelled me. And now I cannot find her anywhere. I have scoured every last bit of the jungle, but all I have achieved was scaring the tribes, their hunters trying to end me. Without her as a master, my being is stranded in this mortal realm!”

Well, that certainly explained some things. Once again, misunderstandings were made and resulted in the girl being here in the first place. But then again, she could understand how the locals could mistake a giant abyssal wolf for a dangerous monster. His appearance was not exactly welcoming by its very nature. And abyssal in general tended to be dangerous.

However, this one seemed to be of the natural variety rather than one created by a dark mage. And even one with a noble mind, willing to help the people of this land. Or at least used to be. Now he justed wanted to rest his own soul and fulfill his duty as the bonded soul to Noheme who seemed to be missing. Scratching the back of her head, Leila sighed.

“I think I understand the situation now… and with what you said, it seems that she is not in Joya anymore. Say… you wanted to use me to somehow find her, right? Well, what if I just willingly helped you? I often visit different nations so we could look for her all over and if your form stays hidden by my side, there should be no more misunderstandings!”

Opening his eyes again and staring blankly at the woman for a moment, it seemed as if the wolf almost didn’t believe her. But ultimately, he yawned and got back up with a nod. Still not looking exactly welcoming of the situation or even the idea, but he knew that there was little else he could really do to fulfill his goals.

“Very well. I shall entrust my soul to you… for a while. Find my master and return me for eternal gratitude.”

And just like that, his form suddenly dissipated into dark particles that vanished with the wind. But Leila, given her vast magical abilities, was still able to sense him. He was around, only not materialized. Which also explained why she wasn’t able to track him at the start here. That aside, it seemed that her task was completed and she was free to head back.

And be on a new quest to find a long-lost acquaintance of hers. Things were shaping to be rather interesting. She just wondered with Leona herself bothered to relay this task to her back at the guild. Was there any deeper significance here? She had to ask the lioness herself once she returned.