The seven Creed members moved with practiced ease through the dense underbrush, their voices low but filled with the arrogance of men who thought they had already won.
"Upper wants the dual-affinity boy intact," one of them muttered, adjusting the straps on his gear. "They doubled the reward just last night."
"Intact?" another laughed. "He fried two of our guys last time. I say we drag him in with a few bruises."
"The real prize is the girl though," a third one said, smirking. "They say she’s stabilized her affinities. That kind of control? They want her studied... maybe even broken in first."
There was a round of ugly chuckles before the leader, a tall man with a sharp jaw and a quiet authority, raised his hand to silence them.
They fell into line as he glanced around, expression thoughtful.
"It’s too easy. We were told exactly where to find them. That doesn’t mean we’d be carefree. Stay alert."
"But isn’t it strange how the upper always knows their location?" one of them asked, lowering his voice. "It’s like they’re watching this group... testing them even."
Another nodded. "Maybe. Or maybe they’ve got someone tracking that Arden guy. I also heard he tore through the bandits like paper."
"Still," someone added, "feels like something big’s coming. Everyone’s talking about it. Secret meetings, more resources, experimental squads being recalled to the base."
The leader didn’t answer. He was already focused ahead.
They came to a clearing, and there she was.
Standing alone in the dim light that filtered through the tall trees, calm, quiet, her hands at her side. Her cloak fluttered slightly in the wind.
"Well," one of them whispered with a grin. "Looks like we won’t even need to chase."
"Don’t get too comfortable," the leader said, frowning.
But the others weren’t listening. Their feet moved forward, cocky and careless, drawn by what looked like the easiest mission they’d had in weeks.
That was their mistake.
Because they never even sensed Zephyra until it was too late.
The Creed members barely had time to process Zephyra’s presence before the first man went down.
No warning, no sound.
Just a blur of blue and white as Zephyra tore through the trees and latched onto him, fangs sinking deep before he could even scream. His body hit the ground with a dull thud, and silence followed for a breath, then chaos.
"Beast!" one of them shouted, backing away too late.
Another man tried to draw his weapon, but Zephyra was already behind him, her claws tearing through his side with a quiet ferocity. She didn’t roar or snarl. She didn’t have to. Her movements were clean, efficient, and terrifying.
"She’s not just some beast, what the hell is that thing?" someone gasped, stumbling as he saw his third comrade fall in less than a minute.
By the time they turned to regroup, Nyra had already moved. She raised both hands, her palms glowing with a faint shimmer, as one side crackling with frost, the other humming with faint wind currents. Her focus was calm, not aggressive, as if she’d done this before. Not wild or frantic, just controlled.
That’s what made them panic.
"She really can control both!" one of them hissed. "What kind of freaks are these?!"
Their leader didn’t answer. He was already barking orders. "Form up! Control your lines! Take her down first, and don’t let that beast near you!"
But it was too late for order. They were reacting, not attacking.
Arden stood a few meters away, leaning against a low branch with his water in hand. Rael glanced at him, confused.
"You’re not going to help?"
Arden smiled without looking. "Why ruin the fun?"
He spoke softly, but it carried. Rael blinked at the absurd calmness and glanced back at the battlefield. Nyra’s control was unnerving, every attack she released was measured, flowing seamlessly from wind to frost, disrupting their movements and defenses. It wasn’t raw power. It was skill. And it was deliberate.
The Creed members were being pulled apart.
Zephyra moved from blind spot to blind spot, her movements near invisible except for the moment her claws met flesh. One tried to escape into the woods but he didn’t get past the first tree. Another launched an fire blast that missed Nyra and struck his own ally instead.
Their formation crumbled.
"Who the hell is this Arden guy?" someone shouted in frustration. "He hasn’t even moved!"
That silence, the way he just stood and watched. it unnerved them more than Zephyra’s attacks or Nyra’s control. Even the leader noticed.
He turned to one of the few left standing, a lean man with sharp eyes and no hesitation.
"Go. You’re fast enough. Report back. The uppers need to know what happened here."
The assassin didn’t argue. He nodded and vanished into the trees with practiced steps, fast and quiet, already preparing the message in his head. But Arden finally stepped forward.
Rael barely saw him move. One blink and Arden was standing in front of the fleeing assassin, face calm, eyes steady.
The assassin froze mid-run, skidding to a stop.
"I surrender!" he said quickly, his hands up. "I’ll say nothing. I swear—"
"You already said enough," Arden cut in.
There was no hesitation in his voice. Just quiet certainty. He reached out with one hand, and before the assassin could flinch, the light around them pulsed once, then stopped.
Arden stood there a moment longer, eyes narrowing slightly as a sudden throb hit his temple. He winced, but didn’t show it for long.
The memory hit him, the assassin’s last moments, emotions, violence... pain buried deep in the man’s actions. Arden didn’t flinch, but the weight of it pressed on his chest.
This was why he didn’t kill unless he had to. Not because he couldn’t, but because each life came with its imprint, one he couldn’t avoid. It wasn’t guilt. It was the noise that followed.
Zephyra padded up to him, blood still clinging to her claws. She said nothing, just stood by.
Rael looked between all of them, eyes wide. The battle had ended almost as quickly as it started. And Arden... hadn’t even drawn his weapon.
Nyra returned to the group, brushing her hair back, not saying much, though her eyes said enough. There was no joy in the fight. Only purpose.
Arden finally exhaled and muttered under his breath, "They’re watching closer now... Guess we’ll need to keep things interesting."
He didn’t smile. But there was something in his eyes that said he wasn’t done yet. Not even close.
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