Chapter 106: Protector Gets Protected!

An unsheathed her longsword and held it before her. Mia was faster than her, as she held her katana ready to chop off the enemy. Ruella took a few steps back in fear, while Fero bared his fangs against the winged mammal.

'How the hell is it standing up?'

Lee could not move, but from how he laid on the ground, he can see the whiplike tail moving away from his sight. Lee almost skipped a heartbeat when he saw the Perrafin standing up and putting up its guard.

He wanted to stand up and defend his companions, but not even his pinky could move. With his face pressing to the ground, he prayed for their survival. He channeled all of his strength, but D assured him that all of his attempts are futile.

Perrafin was experiencing an intense headache. It felt disoriented. The law fragment's energy did not harm it, but overloaded it with enormous power. It is a common standard that too much of anything, be it ambrosia, can be lethal. But this theory did not apply to Perrafins.

With wobbling legs, it somehow took stance. Seeing Lee lying on the ground motionless, it felt ecstatic. The beast can tell that these humans can never even touch it's fur. But it did not let its confidence take over. With caution and a splitting pain, it stepped sideways.

Ruella found the Perrafin regularly shaking its head as a sign of disorientation. She recalled the lightning rampage that made even Lee go numb. She softly conveyed her findings to Mia and An. This piece of information helped them to muster their courage to an extent. Though not completely confident, An was ready to put her life on the line to save her husband, and Mia wanted to save her brother!

*rustle*

Mia slid her left leg forward and leaped at the beast. Perrafin, with the pain haunting it, could not accurately aim its paw at Mia. An saw this inability and charged forward. The towering beast found itself unable to fly up as its wings were temporarily out of order. But, it found another use of it, as it began to twirl from where it stood. The wings lifted up from ground and gave them trouble closing in.

The Perrafin soon regretted this decision. Previously, it was able to stand up, at least wobbly. Now, it witnessed the whole world going upside around it. With incomprehension and perplexity, the actions became disordered and chaotic.

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1 P.M.

24861 Essence harvested.

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[Essence reserve depleted. 3327 progress points left to go.]

'.....'

[Be a good boy and lie down. Let me watch the strength of those you protected till now.]

'You can see them fighting?'

[Of course, I can. I am only a wisp of soul, but a powerful one. So I can sense my surroundings and detect the motions.]

'Mind doing commentary?'

[NO!]

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*slash*

*whish*

The katana and the longsword flew in the air restlessly. They grazed the thick defense of the beast and relentlessly wore it down. The Perrafin longed for some rest to recover, but An and Mia did not leave it peaceful for a second!

The organised attacks pissed off the beast to its core. Mia avoided the neck, head and torso, and concentrated on its limbs. Due to the katana's length and characteristic shape, it was suitable for slashing continuously, and was perfect to wound the four sturdy limbs.

An aimed her longsword at the beast's torso and neck, as it's length and speciality was apt for dealing with more tougher parts. The blade shone with the pink hue, which made Mia raise her brow in appreciation. The blade's vibration oscillating at a very high rate, was successful in bleeding the Perrafin. It's pink blood soon flowed down onto it's fur, and signalled the broken defense.

*GRAAaaaa….*

The continuous poking of the fast vibrating longsword blade and restless brushing of katana eventually brought agony. Ruella slowly pulled Lee out of the battlefield. The nonresponsive log was difficult to pull, but she did it. The Perrafin, which was slowly re-orienting itself, regardless of all the scars and injuries, found the swords utterly annoying. A rather accurate set of attacks took off, but still missed the target. Though the beast is capable of biting the swords to two, the neck could not keep up with the swords' airborne velocity.

*huff….huff….huff….*

An was showing signs of fatigue, while Mia was panting between her breaths. Fighting an overpowering, yet disoriented beast for more than 30 minutes was indeed tiring. They could have fought longer, but the beast wouldn't just sit idle. It was moving and twirling in the most unpredictable way. So the major portion of energy spent by An and Mia were used to correct their steps and movements. And due to that, they were lucky enough to not be brushed by the Perrafin's tail.

*thud*

Finally, the beast fell on its side. The wings expanded in an attempt to balance, but ended up in vain. The white fur with pink blood smeared on it, looked like a beautiful and random design. This behaviour made An go vigilant, as it previously exhibited a higher level of intelligence. Mia wanted to thrust her katana deep into the beast's underbelly, but An stopped her. Cautiously, Mia and An tiptoed towards the Perrafin.

*gesturing*

*nod*

An signalled Mia to round the beast. She gestured not to kill or further wound it, but to always be on guard. Mia nodded in response and moved towards the beast's head. An stepped towards the immobile tail. Slowly and steadily, they walked around the beast. The Perrafin lied there, heavily panting. Its stomach rose up and down quickly. The proud lone hunter's head lied on its side. Heavy gusts of breaths vigorously escaped its nostrils.

*gurrr….*

The beast slowly raised its eyelids and glanced at Mia. It realised its helplessness as it saw the katana held before her. After making a loud purr, it gave out a sigh. Mia felt its reluctance to fight anymore, and An carefully walked past its tail, heading towards its torso. Due to countless battle experiences, she was able to sense its discomfort in further fighting. As she reached in front of its underbelly, she lowered its sword and poked it hind-limb. The beast squirmed and stretched the leg that got poked. An glanced at Mia and signalled to lower the blade, while slowly taking a few steps backward. She promptly did so.

Lee can now move to a good extent, but not perfectly. Ruella supported him to stand up, and he limped towards the beast. He tried to support himself on his legs, but found it slightly troublesome. Thus, he decided to sit down for a moment. Cross-legged, he channeled his breath deep into his lungs and exhaled it. A few repetitions and a new found energy bloomed inside Lee. He jumped up in a single leap, without exhibiting any signs or weariness. Ruella enquired how he feels, and his answer was satisfactory to her. After thanking his sister for taking care of him, Lee walked to the beast lying in the ground. Hearing the footsteps of the troublesome among the bunch, the Perrafin climbed on its feet.