“So for some reason, this flayer has much more mana than usual?” Devol asked. “How is that possible?”
“Well, the only way I can think of is rather…gross.” The diviner scrunched his face at the thought. “But there have been times when certain beasts were able to increase their mana, sometimes by eating large quantities of mana-rich substances. Occasionally, they would feast on special fruits or even pieces of cobalt. But the most common way would be to…well, eat someone like us.”
This gave pause to both his friends and they looked nervously at one another. “So if they eat a magi, they can also consume their mana?” the swordsman asked.
“Not merely any magi,” Jazai corrected. “All humans, wildkin, fleuri, and realmers have mana, but you would not consider all of them magi and these mana-enchanted beasts don’t roam the lands in droves. I don’t think even eating an actual magi would be enough in most cases. My best guess would be that it ate someone with an anima.”
“Ah,” Asla whispered and flattened her ears. “I suppose that makes sense.”
Devol looked at the bodies of the slain flayers. “I did not see any blood around their mouths when we fought them,” he recalled. “I assume the hunters who were here before we came in were all given to the alpha.”
“Most likely,” Jazai concurred. “It probably needs more than only flesh to sustain itself now.”
Devol turned resolutely toward the entrance and his anima surged. “Well, that means we have to eliminate it,” he told them and held his blade up. “After all, if this creature is able to kill a magi with an anima, where does that leave the townsfolk or farmers in the countryside if we abandon them?”
Asla took a breath to calm herself and nodded agreement, but Jazai shrugged. “You make a fair point, but I am starting to realize that ‘being strong’ is honestly a pain in the ass.”
“You could be helping Zier dust or something right now, you know,” the wildkin pointed out.
He rolled his eyes and took a few steps closer to the den. “I guess I’d rather die valiantly than out of boredom. Let’s get on with it.”
Devol nodded as he and Asla followed. The wildkin took point quickly when they reached the mouth of the unnatural cave as her vision was best in the dark. “I’ll be on the lookout,” she stated. “Devol, if you can, keep the light of your majestic dim. It may give our position away otherwise.”
“Or it could help to blind the creature,” Jazai countered in a whisper. “If it is used to living in the dark like this, of course. I’m only saying keep our options open. This is new territory for all of us.”
Devol nodded as the trio entered, all prepared to discover what this new creature was capable of and slay it as quickly as they could.
The den proved to be much deeper than they had originally thought when they saw it from the outside. It appeared more along the lines of a burrow and the ground sloped down as they walked. Devol looked at the ceiling of the cavern, where sticky gobs of flayer saliva were used to hold the ceiling in place. Not surprisingly, the remains of the inhabitant's meals were littered along what seemed to be the main path.
“Homey,” Jazai muttered sarcastically and his eyes, which were usually soft and almost disinterested at times, were alert and scanned the area continually in search of signs of the alpha.
Devol moved to the front, the flat side of his sword against his chest to keep the light to a minimum. “Asla, do you have anything?”
“I can smell it,” she stated, her voice low. “But amongst the rot of everything else here, I cannot pinpoint it. I can also hear…sickening sounds. It must be feasting.”
“Perhaps it will be too full to offer much of a fight,” Jazai commented and earned irritated looks from his teammates. “Fair enough. That might be a little dark given what it is probably feasting on,” he admitted.
They reached a fork in the path. One led to a larger chamber and one to a small hovel. “I believe these are their living quarters,” Asla stated. “The larger is for the alpha, of course.” She sniffed the air and blocked her nose hastily. “Yes, it’s down this path. I’m sure of it.”
As Devol stared into the dark chamber, an idea occurred to him and he turned to Jazai, “Hey, if this creature is full of mana, we should be able to see that using vis, right?”
The diviner considered this in silence, but his eyes began to glow with his dark-blue mana. “I would say that is likely but I don’t know for sure. This is my first time dealing with something like this.”
The swordsman nodded and used vis on his sight. “I should have brought torches.”
“Once we engage the beast,” Asla said quietly and tapped his sword, “you will be able to use the light of your majestic more freely.”
“I had hoped we could kill it in a sneak attack,” he admitted as he looked at his blade. “Fighting in these relatively cramped conditions won’t be easy for any of us.”
The trio shared a silent look of agreement. “That would be preferable,” she acknowledged.
“Who will attempt the killing strike?” Jazai asked.
“I will,” the wildkin offered before Devol could say anything. “I am the fastest among the three of us and will have the best chance to get close before it can react.”
The swordsman had intended to offer
