When Victoria gave the order to retreat, Brutas and the others hesitated for moment.
Meanwhile Rorguvv who was stunned momentarily by the retaliation regained his bearings and roared towards the group furiously. "You damned lowborn, how dare you!?"
The group couldn't understand what he was saying but the anger in his voice was apparent. His roar alone caused a tremendous wind to blow in their direction, causing their weakest Sebastian to be pushed back and almost blown away.
"Brutas, let's go!" That action from the Drakar was enough to convince the hesitant Ezmeralda that they couldn't win.
She tugged him by the arm and turned to run. He was stubborn until the end, not wanting to leave what was left of his family. "But-."
"Go, you arrogant child. Must you be a burden to me even here!? Without you our lineage could come to an end, don't make my actions go to waste by dying a pathetic death! Go!"
The harsh words from Victoria were enough to make Brutas cease his resistance and retreat with the others.
As they did so, he couldn't help but look back at his grand mother and curse himself for being so weak.
"Mikaa, do not let them flee, this one is mine!"
Rorguvv declared angrily with his gaze firmly set on Victoria, who didn't show the slightest hint of fear and returned his gaze.
Mikaa who was still in the air changed his course of flight and fluttered his wings with immense force. This created a sudden burst of speed that launched him a considerable distance in almost no time at all.
Because the paths formed by erosion in the mountains were too small for a Drakar Mikaa's size to pass through, he was forced to fly upward and over the mountain before starting his pursuit.
"Uh…guys…" As the group ran as fast as they could, a look of worry emerged on Sebastian's face as he glanced upward.
"Just run dammit!" A red eyed Brutas urged, maneuvering through the many twists and turns the paths took as fast as he could.
"Guys seriously, look up!"
This time Brutas didn't reprimand Sebastian but instead look up along with Ezmeralda. It was then that they saw Mikaa on their trail from the skies above.
"Dammit, what now? What if more come? We could-." Brutas began to panic when he saw the angry Drakar pursuing them.
Ezmeralda was just as worried as the others but she couldn't allow herself or the others to fall into disarray, not when their lives were on the line.
"Stop thinking and just run! It's too big to follow us down here, we're lose it if we just keep going-."
Before she could finish her attempt at reassuring the others, their situation turned even more dire.
'That tulsa actually brought harm to Rorguvv, if they escape and alert others like her…' While in hot pursuit, Mikaa had a worrying revelation. Each moment that passed with those thoughts made an uncomfortable and foreign feeling rise within.
Fear. Fear of actually suffering defeat to the hands of a race they treated as inferior.
He didn't want that to happen. No, rather he couldn't allow it to happen. With that in mind, he grits his sharp yellowish teeth and roared once again.
"Gather! All Drakar! Heed my voice and capture any tulsa within our domain!"
Mikaa unleashed an ear-piercing scream that echoed throughout the Drakarian mountains and beyond.
To the fleeing group, his cry felt like an attack as it made even their bones tremble and ears bleed. But despite this they continued to run, afraid that if they stopped, it would spell their end.
Their already slim hope became even slimmer as numerous roars followed after Mikaa's.
All Drakar who heard his voice roared back and took to the skies from their dens.
No matter how focused Ezmeralda and the others were on escaping, they couldn't help but look up and see the terrifying sight that had emerged, countless Drakar filling the skies, with their eyes set on them.
…
Meanwhile, in the forest north of the mountain range.
Osar, who had yielded to Aron, had just gotten a runic life seal placed on him when he heard Mikaa's roar albeit more faintly.
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
Both he and Greile had their scaly ears flutter when the sound reached them and caused them to turn I the direction of the mountain range.
They all still stood at the bloody scene from before, with Osar on his knees near Aron and Greile a few meters behind.
"What is it?"
Their reactions didn't go unnoticed to Aron, who hadn't heard the sound for himself because he hadn't expanded the scope of his hearing actively.
Osar first got to his feet, his body still aching from the brief clash he had with Aron. "An olden one calls to us. He wants some tulsa within the mountain range to be captured…"
As Osar spoke, confusion was written all over his hardened face. Before Aron could comment, Greile expressed her thoughts as she too was confused.
"This makes no sense, why would the olden one personally ask all Drakar to capture some tulsa when they are there themselves?"
Osar nodded at her words, as if he had been wondering the exact same thing. Aron then quickly shed light on the matter. "Some tulsa have strength that rivals my own."
When Aron spoke those words, both Osar and Greile showed grim expressions and saw some sense behind the whole scenario. Aron then continued on to say.
"Osar, are your people loyal to you or the olden ones?"
The gravity of those words wasn't immediately apparent to Osar so he answered quickly and honestly. "Me, they are loyal to me. Many dislike the ways of the olden ones, especially since the tulsa came."
Aron gave a small nod and turned away from the two. "Then go. Just ensure you and your people are ready when the time to act comes. Those hostile to me at that time won't be as lucky as you two."
Lucky? Was that a joke? Both Drakar got a bitter taste in their mouths when they heard him define their situations as such.
If that were truly the case, then what would it mean to be unlucky?
Neither could ask that questioned and they only watched as Aron casually left the scene, leaving behind only the sound of his fleeting yet heavy steps. Steps that the two now aligned with disaster.
"Should I be grateful for this?"
Osar spread his wings and looked ready to take off when posed this question to Greile, who was also about to take flight.
"What do you mean?" She saw that his mood looked low but wondered what exactly he meant by those words.
Osar first sighed, looking both miserable and defeated as he gave her an answer. "Should I be grateful that by losing to him, my people may live? If I opposed him at a time when he chose to act against the olden ones-."
"Enough Osar, such thoughts are pointless now. Let us just not waste the lives we could've lost. Even if we worry… we're powerless to stop it…to stop him."
Greile spoke in a heavy tone and showed the same defeated and miserable expression that Osar had, a clear sign that she too had lost her once fiery spirit.
Without saying anything more, she took off first. Osar lingered for a moment longer so as to observe the scene of his defeat one last time before following after her.
…
While many Drakar flocked to pursue Ezmeralda, Brutas and Sebastian, the scene at the central dwelling became tense.
A bloodied Victoria stood near the center of the large depression, holding her weapon tightly in her trembling hands.
The many wounds that now covered her body were a telling sign of how hard of a time she had in the brief time that passed.
However, her opponent wasn't any better off.
Rorguvv stood not too far away from her, he too having numerous wounds covering his body.
His face was a mixture of both anger and disbelief. He had been fighting the tulsa before him with all his might, yet she wouldn't yield.
Instead, she fought back and displayed power that he couldn't have imagined a tulsa possessing.
Now, he no longer rushed to attack. Because unlike before, he now had a sense of fear towards her, fear that he might actually lose his life to her.
A seasoned warrior like Victoria could see the change in her opponents thought process clearly. At first, he was haughty and always charged first, but now he hesitated to even make a single move, even stepping back if she advanced first.
"I like that expression on your face, it suits you. But I grow tired of this, one of us has to die here."
Victoria could feel that she wouldn't last many more rounds with the Drakar. Worse of she now worried about Brutas and the others because of the many Drakar that now plagued the skies. She needed to leave, and fast.
"What is with all the noise Rorguvv!'
Suddenly another loud roar resounded on the scene, coming from a cave on another mountain. This caused Victoria to show a grim expression.
If the voice belonged to a Drakar equal in strength to the one, she was facing then her life would be over. So, when Rorguvv turned in the direction of the mountain the voice had come from, Victoria launched a retreat.
"You!"
Rorguvv so her rushing out and wanted to pursue but he stopped himself from doing so. He was already on the verge of collapse as well; he couldn't risk his life chasing her.
This was the psychological wound she had left on him.
RECENTLY UPDATES
