The cavern shook and groaned as the reverberations of magic echoed in its halls. The walls and the ground were filled with craters and cracks. More and more Shades rose to devour the pair of chaotic mortals disturbing their domain, their fangs gnashing against each other in twisted anticipation.
As Shade after Shade fell, the air was saturated with the sounds of chaos. The roaring of a vexed wave, the deep bellowing of a hurricane, the explosions of sudden yet violent combustions, the screeching of lightning. Like a calamity befalling the den, the sounds pushed on, drowning out the defeated monsters' wails.
Racarra felt as though her body were afloat. A wave of her hand, an explosion answered. A snap of her fingers, the very earth bore it's fangs at her adversaries with a ruthless enthusiasm. Her frame shook with elation, mana heeding her commands without hesitation.
A feral grin etched itself on her face as she continued to wreak untold havoc against the vile monsters of the depths. Her mind flooded with memories of long ago, when these things soaked themselves with blood and gore. Like a karmic maelstrom of recompense, she twirled her staff and lashed it towards a horde of Shades.
At her gesture, the air shimmered with bolts of heat. They shot forth with a vengeance and consumed the entities, turning them to ash.
"Enjoying yourself?", an oddly calm yet gruff voice rang to her, "Keep your wits about you, alright? I don't think I can gently reign you at the moment."
She glanced to her left to see her companion running along side her, with no trace of exhaustion on him. Like a dauntless gale, he sped forth, slashing with wild yet precise combinations of thrusts, swipes, slashes and parries towards six Shades that towered over him emerging from the walls like insidious ink.
Disbelief racked her as she tried to train her eyes in his frame that darted around the hulking masses. He leapt high with inhuman, nay, monster like strength and agility. A split kick heavily disoriented two Shades at his side, knocking them to either sides of the wide cavern's walls. With a reckless twisting of his body in the air, he dodged an overhead strike before slicing the tentacle cleanly.
The beast recoiled in pain and screeched at the man as he landed. He swept it off it's goat like feet and sent it careening into the darkness with a torrent of water, chunks of darkened flesh separating from it.
Not wanting to be outdone, she waved her staff at the three remaining creatures. The mana rippled in the air as the beasts were surrounded by small balls of fire. With a snap of her fingers, they orbs shot forth with a deadly precision, riddling the Shades with gaping holes. The stumbled over their assortment of feet, animal and human alike, before collapsing before her.
Myuriem, looking on at Racarra's demonstration of power, had his mind race with questions as his eyes squinted at the mana in the air.
'How she is doing that? At first, I thought it was a regular show of magic but she's actually controlling the mana in the air?'
The man trained his eyes on Racarra as she approached with a smile adorned on her face.
A contemplating frown marred his features, 'Her mana reserves hasn't even reached halfway to being drained despite all the strange assortment of spells she has used. Exhaustion hasn't even crept in yet despite the hours we've been here as well.'
He hummed to himself as his mind raced with speculations.
The wild woman lightly tapped his shoulder, "What are you pausing for? We aren't done yet, you know."
A knowing smile remained on her face, the man's thoughts littered on him for her to see.
'Curious, is he?', She wondered to herself, a certain glee flowing through her. The look of contemplation, the confusion marring the faces of those that witnessed her at work. These brought a sense of pride to her in a way that nothing else does.
She looked past him and surveyed the Maw that they were in. Contrary to the outside, the inside was unnaturally large, in width and length. The roof of the cave was nowhere to be seen, seeming to stretch on and on with no end in sight. Fuelling the suspicious feeling that nagged at her, silence had blanketed the previously deafening and restless den.
"Hey, Myuriem." She called out, suspicion settling in her voice.
No answer came from him.
A hint of irritation spiked in her as she roughly shook him, "Oi, Myuriem! I thought you said I should keep my wits about me!"
The man flinched as he steadied himself, "Sorry about that."
She huffed, "Now that you're back with us, I must ask. Have you noticed that this...cave has gone quiet? Forgive me if I'm wrong but the Shades, especially this amount of them, aren't known for being this quiet and near inactive."
Her skin flared with goosebumps. Memory served that creatures like these did not just go silent on their own, especially when prey was before them, stubborn and dangerous as they may be.
Myuriem tensed as he scanned the area, straining his ears for any auditory disturbance. His heart pounded as a sigh left him.
"I guess it's that time then." He said ominously.
Racarra tilted her head in question, "Time for what exactly?"
"Whenever a large amount of Shades have been defeated, say about two hundred or there about, within the Maw, the others flee towards the Elder Bane for security."
A scoff escaped the woman, "Security? Fleeing? Mindless monsters like these understand concepts like that?"
"Of course they do," Myuriem replied, "Mindless as they may be, they do have an innate desire live and perpetuate misery at a later date. Not like that decision helps them in the first place."
Racarra hummed in confusion, "Huh? What do you mean?"
Myuriem continued to look around the now desolate cavern, "The Elder Bane. It kills them upon seeing the survivors and devours them."
Racarra hissed with indignation, "Okay, so how do we find it? Surely that thing is going to get more troublesome as time goes on."
"That's the tricky part," Myuriem said gravely, "We don't find it. It instead, brings us to it so that we can be devoured to gain strength."
At that moment, the ground beneath them gave out. A jagged hole opening up to swallow them whole appeared.
"Woah!" Racarra yelped as she descended, "Couldn't you have said that sooner?!"
Myuriem shrugged carelessly as the wind rushed past his ears, "First hand experience is always better for first timers in anything."
"Yeah, anything that isn't sudden and life threatening!" She yelled.
Myuriem positioned himself with his arms and legs outstretched, his eyes focused on the incoming ground.
"Alright, you want a warning now?," Myuriem called out to Racarra, "The moment we get there, brace yourself quickly. It will attack the moment it knows we're there."
Racarra snarled at him, "Why are you just telling me this now?!"
"Admittedly, I forgot to. At least now you know for later."
The woman readied herself with a huff, a wave of anticipation racked her flailing frame. With a pulse of mana, orbs of fire trailed after her, illuminating the chasm as they fell.
An opening revealed itself beneath them as they rapidly descended. Along with it, a wave of malevolence greater than before collided with them.
Racarra's eyes widened at the raw malice tinted mana before settling with a grin.
"That's an Elder Bane?" She said to herself, a twisted mirth manifesting in her, "This'll be something to remember."
Falling into the opening, an impossibly vast section came into view. Jagged rock formations littered the base. The most eye-catching of the wide. Stalactites jutted all over the ceiling of the cavern like rows of crooked fangs. Crude pillars of stone stood at an odd uniformity as though it were carved out for the being residing in it.
There was an elevated platform that was littered with dark blood and gore, discarded pieces of flesh and limbs scattered it. On top of them, sitting on it's haunches with a cruel and twisted air of majesty, was a dark furred wolf.
Unlike the other Shades that lacked consistency of shape in their bodies, this being had the regal form of a wolf that stood at 8 meters. It's six blood red eyes swivelled about in every direction, a certain madness engraved in them, the two pairs of bone like protrusions that sat on its head gleamed an eerie shade of silver. Slowly moving in the air, were three bushy tails that occasionally flicked randomly. It's chest was covered with a bone like chest plate that neatly blended with it's fur.
Both warriors landed with an audible thump. The sound alerted the beast, it's scattered eyes snapping towards them. It's hackles raised menacingly and it's fangs gleaming silver. Out of its maw left a gutteral roar that sent forth shockwaves of malicious power and cratered the platform it sat on.
Racarra covered her ears, an incessant ringing dulling her hearing. Her teeth rattled, her bones trembled.
'What the hell?!' She thought to herself, 'Is-is that sound magic?!'
The beast crouched itself, tensing muscles that his underneath it's thick fur. Despite it's size it shot forth like a comet, shockwaves emanating from the sudden demonstration of speed.
Racarra's eyes widened as the Bane reappeared in front of her, jaws open. Time seemed to crawl at a snail's pace. Her mind raced desperately through a spell, any spell, that could counteract the beast that was soon to devour her.
Schooling herself, she raised her staff, a spell about to be fired from it's amber stone. The beast's head suddenly lurched to the side, it's body rocketing away from her. The Bane crashed into the wall, leaving a severe web of cracks in its wake.
Taking it's place was Myuriem, a clenched outstretched fist coated with concentrated wind bellowing.
"Like I said, brace yourself." Myuriem said, a scowl on his face, "Elder Banes are a different level of difficulty. Fear and mere moments of hesitation can and will be the end of you."
Racarra let a shaky breath escape her, "Yeah. That you did. Thanks for the save."
The grip on her staff tightened till the bark of it creaked under the pressure. A faint bitterness and embarrassment washed over her.
'The hell am I doing?!' She admonished harshly, 'It may be my first time witnessing an Elder but it isn't the first time I've been in a fight. I can't let him do all the heavy lifting.'
Shaking her head to clear out her thoughts, she readied herself beside Myuriem. The wolf righted itself, shaking it's body as though that would rid itself of the pain.
"Are you-"
"Don't worry about me," Racarra interrupted, "Like I said before, I haven't showed you anything yet."
Her eyes gleamed as mana was sent to her eyes, "I won't get caught off guard like that again."
Myuriem hummed, his heart that raced with dread moments prior now at ease.
He sent a pulse of mana to his glove. A weapon appeared out of it. A polished bone with long dark grey hair tied to the top that. It occasionally sparked, a dark purple static running through the hair.
Racarra raised a questioning brow but shrugged. There would be time for questions later.
The wolf snarled at them before letting loose a distorted howl. It rushed towards them once more at blinding speeds. A terrible boom echoed through the cavern, following the beast.
The two leapt out of the way, letting it ram into the wall head first.
Racarra aimed her staff at the beast, the mana in the surroundings shifting and coagulating at her command. A ring of orbs, fuelled with perpetual combusting mana, circled behind her, the air around her increasing. They shot forth, beams of destructive power bellowed towards the wolf.
Myuriem pooled his mana into his sword and the wand. Thrusting them forth, a devastating cyclone of wind and a bolt of lightning furrowed the ground as it moved to consume the beast.
Aware of the danger incoming, the beast scaled the wall, avoiding the attacks aimed towards it. The beams chased after the wolf with a calculated vengeance. The cyclone and lightning, though not meeting it's mark, decimated the wall leaving the wolf to flail in the air.
As the beams inched closer, the beast released a low howl, springing forth a cocoon of distorted ripples around it. The beams burst upon impact, showering the cavern with a harsh light and a massive shockwave that reverberated through the entire den. In its wake was a deep crater, the wolf singed yet still stood unperturbed. A wicked gleam passed through it's eyes as it snarled at the duo.
Racarra clicked her tongue in irritation as she looked down at the Bane, "That thing is awfully sturdy. I didn't think my tricks could be countered by a barely sane monster."
Myuriem readied his weapons, "It was one of the Divine Beasts. It, along with the others that fell into the madness of the Shades, aided humans against the Shades millennia ago. It shouldn't be that surprising that its as durable as it is."
Said beast leapt towards them.
Stabbing the ground with his blade, Myuriem sent forth geysers of water out of the ground to the beast. As it dodged them, contorting it's hulking frame with a sickening show of agility, a howl was released followed by a shockwave aimed directly towards them.
A cocoon of rippling water surrounded them, standing against the violent attack, the rippling wave dispersing the attack's impact hastily.
Racarra peered at the beast, it's eyes comfortably trained on them. An idea, risky as it was, emerged in her mind.
"Myuriem," Racarra called out, "I need you to follow my lead, just for a bit."
Though no audible reply came, the man nodded, a feeling of certainty settling on his shoulders.
As it subsided, the two rushed in opposite directions, the wolf's focus split dizzyingly. It's head turned to and fro, increasing it's disorientation. Never before had a mortal, much less two, dared to challenge it headfirst.
Racarra sent forth a wave of fire to the wolf. It retaliated with a howl, dispersing the flames ever so slightly yet the flames nicked at it's fur.
The woman brought her staff downward, a sudden force responding via bringing the airborne wolf to the earth. The beast struggled to push against the force from above that rooted it to the ground.
"Now!" Racarra yelled. Her muscles screaming with tension that threatened to tear her arm asunder.
As it landed, Myuriem focused air beneath his feet and skated towards the beast. With a pulse of his mana, he sent forth two spiralling tornadoes towards the beast.
Upon trying to dodge, a restrictive force held it at both sides. Racarra smirked maliciously at the Bane with her wand stretched out.
The tornadoes clashed with the beast, eliciting a roar of pain as they tore at it in a hurricane. The cyclones carried it relentlessly around the cavern till they burst as it crashed on the base of the cavern, digging an even deeper crater.
Dazzling lights of fire appeared above it as the beast staggered. A blazing pillar shot down at the beast causing a howl of anger to escape its maw.
With a mighty jump, it roared once more in the air. Another violent torrent of shockwaves rained down in the battlefield.
Racarra and Myuriem shielded themselves from the onslaught of chaos. Beads of sweat and laboured breaths left them.
A thwack was heard in the air, followed by Racarra's frame crashing into the wall. Blood ran down her face and matted her hair as she glared at the beast.
"Stupid mutt." She hissed under her breath.
Myuriem rushed towards the wolf as she left her crater. It brought down it's silver claws only to be met with Myuriem's blade pushing it back. Rising to the challenge, the Bane swiped and clawed at the smaller being. Despite it's size, it's claws were masterfully parried, making the beast stumble. For each misstep it made, it was punished with gashes courtesy of Myuriem.
Before long, a crack resounded in the air as six large blades of silver crashed around the battlefield. The nails of the beast had been severed.
The man twirled the bone like wand in his hand as he flooded it with mana, a screech of lightning screamed, in the air and swung it at the beast. Out of the hairs of the wand, galloped the lightning outline shape of a horse. With each attack it racked the wolf with a blinding pain that made it tremble to it's core. With a final mighty kick if it's hooves, it detonated in a blast of blinding power, paralysing the wolf it's tracks.
"Racarra! Can you still stand?!" Myuriem called out.
His response was the wolf's belly being slammed with a pair of jagged stony pillars. Dark blood spewed out of the wound. A spiralling drill of fire collided with the beast, eliciting an explosion that drove it back.
"What do you think?!" Racarra called out with frustration.
Myuriem ran towards the beast as it stood back up, shaking it's head. Sliding under the beast, he released a pillar of roaring water to its belly. The wolf got sent into the air, crashing against the stalactites. As it subsided, the wolf fell towards the shattered earth.
Racarra thrusted her hand forth, the mana in the air responding to her demand. An invisible force rippled across the air before hitting the beast, ripping it's weakened front legs cleanly.
The wolf opened its maw, mana gathering from it's throat to be released once more.
Myuriem growled, "Not that again." With a pulse of mana, both his sword and his wand were recalled. In their place, was a dark red bow.
Plucking the string and sending mana into it, an arrow of water accumulated along with an arrow of wind. The man released the elemental arrows from his grasp, they launched with precision and swirled together.
Entering the maw of the beast, it pushed the beast through the ceiling of the cavern. From the depths of the underground to the top of Abyssal Maw, the wolf was pushed. The arrows proceeded to violently explode in a whirlwind of water and wind, tearing the beast apart as well as the Abyssal Maw itself. The surrounding jungle shook as the mana released it's power over the horizon.
_______________________________
A moment of silence settled in the remains of the cavern. All that interrupted it were the laboured breathing of the two fighters. Exhaustion clung to them both stubbornly, urging them to rest.
Neither accepted the proposal.
Myuriem, recalling the attack that Racarra took, rushed towards her. She sat against the wall, gazing up at the now absent ceiling of the with a serene expression splashed over her face.
She winced as she tried to stand up.
"Yep, something's definitely broken." Racarra hissed to herself.
"Racarra?," Myuriem called out, his voice tinged with worry, "Hey, it's over. It's dead. We're done."
A roll of her eyes was his reply, "I'm sorry if I gave off the impression that I couldn't tell the obvious."
Her harsh reply brought back the silence.
The woman sighed, "No, sorry. I-I didn't mean that. This whole situation just, heh, really took a lot out of me."
So it was, both of their mana reserves had gone down by more than half.
Racarra smiled at Myuriem, "Sorry for being an ass."
"No, it's fine. I'm exhausted and irritated too," Myuriem said, as he sat down, "It's never easy fighting one of these things."
An exhausted wheeze of a laugh peeled out of Racarra, "Not easy? That's an understatement. I think I have a newfound respect for you, fighting these things on your own."
Her sides flared in pain, a hiss slipped out of her, "Shit!"
Myuriem scrambled over, his hands coated in water.
Racarra raised her hand, "It's fine. I can handle it. Not the first time I've been hurt this bad."
Myuriem halted and hesitantly pulled back, his panic not being abated.
Pooling mana to her broken ribs and bruised body, Racarra recalled the feeling of being healed. Her body slightly shone with a soft amber light. Bones realigned themselves and skin tissue were refreshed.
"There we go. All fixed." Racarra tiredly said.
Myuriem stared in shock, "I've...I've never seen anyone use magic like that. It doesn't look or feel like healing magic. Not only this, but your range of spells is like nothing I've ever seen before."
Racarra scoffed lightly, "That's because this isn't healing magic. It's also because, I'm pretty awesome in my own right."
The man smiled weakly, "Yeah, you are in fact, awesome."
"I'm sensing sarcasm. That better not be sarcasm" Racarra said while pointing an accusatory finger at her companion.
That brought a snicker out of Myuriem. His body was racked with exhaustion and pain yet laughing seemed to come easy.
Racarra tried and failed to hold in her own bouts of humor.
The previously oppresive air brought by the Elder Bane and it's spawn was replaced with the sound of laughter as sunlight slowly crept into the cavern.