Krista whipped the tree in irritation as her plan faltered. Now she and her team were hiding from the aggressive Tigrex. The whip cracked against the tree, leaving cuts on the trunk and pieces of bark on the grass.
"Maybe you should stop with the whipping…the monster might hear it…." Blake said in a worried tone.
"Do you want to take the tree's place?!" Krista shouted.
Blake quickly shook his head before Krista continued to vent her frustration at the tree. She whipped the tree so hard that she managed to separate the tree from the trunk it grew from, causing the tree to timber on the grass.
"Wow. What a good and loud way to vent your frustration," Eren said with steam rising from one of his ears.
"Oh shit, you got your hearing back?" Blake asked, surprised.
"Only in one ear," Eren said, pointing to his left ear. " My right eardrum still needs to finish healing."
'I like it better when he was deaf,' Krista thought bitterly as she made her Whip of the Doubtful disappear back into the ether. She glanced at Eren in disdain before pacing aimlessly around the field.
'I'll have to think of another plan. Annie is mostly out of commission; she could barely stand up without her legs shaking like leaves during the autumn season. Eren seems fine, except his hearing is a bit damaged, but he will heal. Blake and I are the only ones unscathed so far…'
"Annie, can you stand?"
"Barely," Annie said, rubbing her thigh. Eren's red sweater was used for wrapping on her left thigh, while Annie had to use her black hoodie to wrap the other one.
Krista resummoned her whip and grew an idea in her mind.
'Perhaps if I can stop the beast in its tracks, it would be much easier to defeat. After all, its speed is its biggest weapon.'
"I have another proposition to propose," Krista said, playing with her ancestor's whip. "One of the biggest things we need to be wary of is its speed. If we can manage to diminish its speed, we would have the opportunity to slay the beast."
"What's the plan?" Blake asked.
"Eren, I require you to become a distraction again, except this time, Blake could aid you."
Eren groaned as the steam finished dissipating from his right ear. "Great, time to become Tigrex food again. Which body part do you want me to damage next?"
"Hopefully, it's your head," Krista sneered at Eren. "Annie, you would have to sit out for this one."
"Whatever," Annie crossed her arms while carrying a neutral expression.
"Eren, have you recognised the Tigrex's scent?" Krista stretched her arms.
Eren got up from the grass. "Yeah, I did. Follow me."
Eren kneeled down, allowing Annie to climb on his back as he gave her a piggyback. Krista wanted to scoff, seeing Annie on Eren's back like a sorry child.
Eren began to run, making his way back to the Tigrex. Even with Annie on his back, he was still faster than Krista and Blake, who were trailing behind. Blake was riding a cloud of smoke while Krista was hopping from branch to branch.
"Do you want to make a cloud for you, Krista?" Blake asked. "I can make one for you, too."
Krista scoffed, her pride rising within her, "You think I need a cloud to aid me? Please, this is nothing to me."
Krista felt a little frustrated. Despite her opinions on Eren, to say that he was weak was being disingenuous even for her. However, that stupid beast made him seem like nothing but a minor nuisance. She gritted her teeth angrily; she won't fail here! She would prove to her father that she's worthy of the family name!
Krista and her team stopped and knelt in the bushes. The Tigrex was wandering around the enclosed area. Eren loosened his grip on Annie's thighs before he whispered to Krista, "So I just jump in there?"
"Yes, be more cautious this time," Krista whispered with anger in her tone. "Last thing I need is another liability."
Eren rolled his eyes before he took off his shoes. He leaped in the air and stomped on the back of the Tigrex, cracking and creating a crater underneath the wyvern.
"Oh shit, he's strong as hell!" Blake said.
Krista scoffed at Blake's compliment before she yelled at Blake to get out of there. Blake quickly leapt from the bushes. Eren jumped off the beast and landed near Blake.
"Get ready!" Eren shouted before the Tigrex stood up from the sneak attack.
Krista summoned the Bow of the Stoic. The bow was a recurve bow with its upper and lower limbs of the bow being a dark, smoky colour. The string and grip on the bow were black.
According to the copy from the page of her family's secret book, her ancestor who inherited this weapon was named Orlan Fritz.
A traitor to his own family during the Marley-Eldia wars when they were battling for the nation's mainland during the first half of the Kingdom Era.He wasn't part of the Throne Branch. So, seemingly out of jealousy, he and some of the members of the family allied with the Marleyeans and helped carry the exile of his own people from the mainland to the nearby island where she's currently standing.
'Damn traitor,' Krista seethed. 'It's unfortunate that one of my favourite weapons is tied to such a traitorous piece of scum. But your weapon shall be useful for me today.'
Krista leaped onto a branch of a nearby tree and began to pull the string; the embers of blue ether began to gather to form a black arrow. She released the string, and the arrow flew towards the beast, but it missed, hitting the ground.
The Tigrex chased after Blake and Eren. The two leaped in opposite directions. The wyvern dug its nails into the ground and turned to Blake.
"Why are you coming after me?! It wasn't me who hit you!" Blake shouted.
The beast opened its jaw, ready for attack. Blake gripped his baton tightly with both hands and swung at the tigrex. The beast's head swivelled to the right. It growled before quickly raising its head.
'It's going to roar again!' Krista noticed. She leaped up from the thick tree branch. She tucked her legs in and did multiple consecutive front flips.
Krista was now upside down in midair. She smirked before she summoned her bow again. She pulled her bow, summoning another arrow and released the string. The arrow flew and dove into the mouth of the tigrex, stopping its incoming roar.
The Tigrex began to retch violently as Krista landed elegantly on the grass. Blake grew a hopeful smile, witnessing the elegance and accuracy of Krista Lenz. She summoned her rapier as Blake blew a ball of smoke out of his secondary weapon and hit the beast in the jaw.
The beast fell back before Krista felt the surrounding temperature was suddenly starting to rise. She saw that Eren's left fist was coated in aggressive flames. Krista started to sweat before she and Blake stepped out of the way.
"Go and get Annie now!" Krista shouted at Blake before she started to sweat, with the nearby trees starting to catch fire.
"Time to cook this fucker!" Eren shouted before he punched the Tigrex in the back. The monster was sent crashing through a hurdle of trees.
Krista saw the devastation that Eren created. Some of the nearby trees were covered in flames, and others were shattered from the impact of the Tigrex smashing into them.
'Such destructive power…' Krista admitted. 'But the bloody fool's power is still very untamed.'
Krista heard the snapping of a nearby tree before she quickly glanced and dodged the falling tree. She and her group were attempting to run away from the fiery area, but the flames were devouring the neighbouring trees.
'We are going to suffocate if we don't leave the area in time! This bloody-'
A strong roar rang through the trees, informing her that the Tigrex is persistent despite the brutal hits from Eren.
"Seems that the monster is back on his feet," Blake informed before the Tigrex's aggressive steps were getting louder and louder. Annie told Blake to put her down as she stood on her own, but her legs were slightly quivering.
"Can you fight, Annie?" Eren asked. There was a bit of worry in his voice.
Annie made a small smirk, but it almost instantaneously went to a neutral frown, "I'll be fine. Just focus on the monster."
Eren nodded before the Tigrex was in sight, aggressively clawing the ground and making its way to them.
Krista tightly gripped her rapier. Her heart was beating quickly, and her palms started to get sweaty. She took a deep breath and focused on the incoming "flying" wyvern.
'Stop shaking and start focusing!' Krista told herself in thought. 'You trained with the Knights of the King; these beasts are nothing compared to them!'
Krista dodged the incoming charge from the Tigrex. The intense heat from the flames grazed her. She winced in pain, slapping the embers off her arms.
"We need to get away from the flames!" Krista shouted at her teammates. "Tigrex are adaptable to nearly any environment, so we will die from suffocation before the monster does."
"You guys get out of the area, and I'll catch up with you guys later," Eren commanded.
"Are you insane?!" Blake asked in a frantic tone. "You think that you can hold that thing off?!"
"I don't know, I'm going to find out just now!" Eren said.
"Fine. Just don't die, alright?" Annie said, but with her neutral expression and tone, Krista couldn't tell if Annie was truly concerned about him or not.
Krista scoffed. "You think I'm going to let you play hero and take all the glory? As if!"
The Tigrex smashed its left forefoot on the ground and dragged it across. Blake created a wall of solid smoke, blocking the incoming debris.
Blake started to cough before he covered his mouth with his shirt, "We have to leave now, we'll suffocate if we stay here!"
Krista growled, swallowing her pride before she had to run away from the burning area. Annie and Blake were running alongside her. A fiery tree was crashing down upon them, but Annie leaped up and punched the tree, shattering it in half.
When Annie landed upon the land once more, she winced in pain, grabbing her left thigh.
"Shit…" Annie muttered, kneeling on the grass.
Krista looked back and ran to help Annie. She extended her hand, "Come on, Annie, we have to keep moving!"
Another tree was falling, but Krista summoned her Shield of the Defender and blocked the burning tree. Krista squatted and pushed the tree aside.
Annie grabbed Krista's hand and slowly stood up.
"Let's keep moving."
Krista hovered the massive shield over Annie as Blake began to create solid walls of smoke around them to carve a path of safety.
She glanced back as she heard the Tigrex roar in the fiery area where it was trapped.
'You damn fool, you return to us alive or else!'