Prince of The Abyss

’I have to somehow restrict its flying... but how would I even do that? I can bind it with my chains, but it can still use its feathers... so then what? We will never be able to beat it if it just keeps flying, and it definitely won’t make the same mistake it had made before... It’s good that I got one pierce on it. If I stack enough, I might be able to try and deliver a killing blow, but again, I need to hit an organ... and it’s hard if it’s moving.’

The owl continued moving through the sky, sometimes getting closer so it could unleash its feathers, even killing one of their men. If this continued, they would only lose men, so he needed to think about something, quick.

Aether clenched his fist... as he waited.

The owl dove down slightly, preparing to use its wings to fire its feathers, but just as it was about to start, chains wrapped around his body. Aether felt pain, and his essence was running out as his chains continued to wrap around it. That was his plan: to forcefully pull it to the ground. He knew that overusing his manifestation was bad; not only did it use a lot of essence, but he was going to have a hard time fighting with his mind screaming at him... it was also going to be useless to use them afterward, as they would be easy to break.

The monster, seeing the chains slowly wrap around it, tried flying away, but Aether pulled on the chains with all his power, holding the owl in place... but this was not enough. He took a deep breath before forcing himself, his veins pulsing in his arms, as his arms started burning from pulling on the chains, which were still trying to fully immobilize the beast by wrapping around its wings and legs.

...

[Mental Fortitude: 77]

Aether groaned as he pulled harder, his body slowly starting to scream at him in agony, as he continued to force himself more and more.

...

There was no way; it just wasn’t possible. A beast that size could never be taken to the ground by someone like him...

...

That is, if Fate didn’t have a word in it. That is where the beast had made its mistake; it still had Sena’s string attached to it... Luck was on his side.

Aether tensed all his muscles as he pulled down one more time, slamming the beast onto the ground. Seeing this, Sena commanded the men to rush towards it. While the chains were still able to hold it, they wouldn’t get another chance after this one; they needed to kill it now.

Releasing the chains, Aether limped; for a second, his mind was blank; he had pushed himself too much, to the point that not only his body was exhausted, but also his brain. But if he let himself rest now, his efforts would have been in vain. So he pushed through it, making his way to the bird, where the other had started to pierce and slash at it, doing minimal damage; after all, they were weak, Readers; they had nothing to do with something of its strength.

Yet, as he made his way to it, he noticed his chains break. His eyes widened.

"So fast?!" The Owl was already close to breaking away; he pushed off one of his legs, throwing Voidpiercer at it, before it blew into the sky, dragging him with it.

Floating in the air, Aether wrapped around the chain connecting his blade to his arm and started climbing on it, slowly, as the bird shook violently, trying to make him fall.

But it wasn’t enough, and it knew it; that’s why it released its feathers;

He had nowhere to dodge.

The only options he had were to let go of his blade and fall, probably to his death, but also fail to kill it.

...

Or let them hit him.

Aether gritted his teeth as he tensed his body as the feathers pierced into him. If he wasn’t wearing his armor, he was sure that he would be dead right now. Looking down at his stomach, his own blood painted his mantle. But he pushed through it, continuing to climb until he finally reached the top. But the moment he stepped onto it, its feathers turned into spikes, piercing right through his foot.

He groaned in pain, gripping his knee.

The pain was... a lot.

But... the more pain he felt, the more he felt as if it was for nothing if he didn’t win.

He raised his foot as he took another step and then another, his feet continually getting stabbed; he did this until he reached its wings, which was a long way. Along the way, he had also retracted Voidpiercer with his chains, lifting it up in the air, before turning to thrust at them, but as he did, the owl started to screech, and being so close to it was even worse. His ears felt as if they were about to explode, and he had almost dropped his blade...

[Mental Fortitude: 74]

But in the end, it did not stop him. The blade pierced through its wing before being raised and thrusted again and again, each time growing stronger, before its wing was detached from its body, and they were both falling to the ground.

Aether cursed as he hugged the beast, his body being punctured by the spikes, but it was either that or having a chance of falling, and either way, this position gave him the best survival chance.

...

But the pain was still bad.

The moment the owl hit the ground, not only did he feel the force of the impact, but he also felt the spikes dig deeper into his body.

Aether slowly rose to his feet, limping from the beast, as he bled from multiple places... but this was the end.

Moving to its head, he raised his blade ready to obliterate its skull.

...

...

"Wait."

He stopped as a small boy rushed between him and the guardian.

"Please... don’t do this; he did nothing wrong!" The boy’s eyes started to tear up.

Seeing this, the owl used its other wing to shield him, just in case Aether wanted to hurt him.

Aether let his hands fall to his sides, watching.

"Mister... I don’t know what reason you have for wanting to kill it, but please. don’t do this..." The boy stared into his eyes... how could he kill with such puppy eyes staring at him?

...

...

...

Quite easily, actually.

Aether pushed the boy aside and thrust the blade into the owl’s skull, right in front of his own two eyes.

...

[You Have Killed a Seeker Beast, Guardian of the Tall Mountains]