The density mage had just finished a heavy lunch and was rather drowsy. He thought he was done for the day with his Knight duties and was hoping to get some shut-eye, as it had been pretty hard to get some good rest since the start of the festival. The festival had gone on long enough and Haru thought the excitement would die out eventually. But, his theory was proven wrong. The makeshift streets and stalls remained as crowded as day one, if not more.

Obviously, occupying such a large space within the forest for such a long time, had angered some of the forest dwellers who had now assumed that their turf had been invaded; the nasty forest Vulcans included. Just as he finished his food, a Rune Knight Page found him, notified him of a forest Vulcan wreaking havoc at some of the tents near the edge of the festival’s clearing, and vanished into the crowd before Haru could ask him to assist in warding off the beast.

Of course…

Sighing softly, he rushed towards the location the page pointed. It didn’t take him long to spot the ten-foot-tall beast flattening the ground with a tent that it had uprooted. Commoners ran from the edge, screaming expletives at both the beast and the ‘apparently incompetent’ Rune Knights. Haru was annoyed, but didn’t say anything. What were the geniuses expecting? That the forest creatures will allow them sit on their habitat for weeks without retaliating?

Nevertheless, it wasn’t the time for a debate. Pulling out his hilt and activating it, he charged towards the nature beast, hoping that he could do something to scare it away and not actually harm it. However, the angry Vulcan showed no sign of fear and charged right back, which in fact instilled fear in Haru, who was no longer sure he could handle this by himself.

Sliding to a halt, he lunged to his right just in time to avoid the large barky fists of the Vulcan. As the attack landed on the ground, creating a small crater, Haru gulped and immediately put a good distance between him and the beast. Where is Akira when I need her? he wondered. Standing there, looking for an opportunity to take down the angry ‘invader’ without actually harming him, Haru scanned the area in his periphery to see if there were any other Knights who had come to the scene to assist him.

WC: 407

It did not look like he could honour his desire to not harm this raging beast. If he held back, he could very well be smashed into pulp or worse, the people he intended on protecting could face that fate. Thankfully, however, he no longer had to bear that burden alone. Another Rune Knight had bravely come forward to defend the crowd. And from the looks of it, there were more from his faction attempting to steer the commoners away from the fight. While they ran at first, they were most interested in how things went once they were a good distance away. Haru couldn’t blame their curiosity; he was simply glad they were safe and won’t be causing any commotion amidst the battle.

Seeing the moment Noah chose to attack the beast, Haru gained some confidence in his fellow Knight. “Alright so far. Great timing. Thank you,” he said, nodding at him and getting ready for the next round. Introductions will have to wait. The Vulcan was already up on its feet and seemed angrier than before. Now it was two against one and this was what the Rune Knights specialized in; outnumbering and strategizing. “Let’s try not to injure,” he added, as the Vulcan reared to knock them both with one long swipe. Haru jumped away to the right side and hoped his comrade took to the other direction to dodge. Attacking from two different directions would be most ideal. While Vulcans are a lot stronger, they are usually very slow and are susceptible to feints. So, at least one of them will get a shot in definitely.

Haru could trap the beast with his Phase spell. However, he needed the Vulcan to stay still for a moment for him to not miss, and he can’t afford to miss. They will have to wear it down a bit. Upset that his second attack was dodged too, the Vulcan bellowed, beating is belly and then spewed out a barrage of moss-ridden small rocks towards the crowd that stayed back to watch the fight. Oh crap! The swordsman needed both his hands to cast his defensive shield. Unfortunately, one of them was occupied as he was wielding his sword. Again, he had to rely on his new friend on the battlefield for protection. “Shields?” he shouted, hoping that the man was capable of defensive magic. If not, they’ll have to improvise.

WC: 401

Haru was quite impressed as he watched Noah put up a shield to defend the bystanders even before he requested it. This is clearly someone who knows what he is doing. Most Pages he saw usually shat their pants at such situations and yet, this one was very different. The swordsman couldn’t help but smirk as Noah attempted to keep the Vulcan’s attention to them. “Good job! Let’s kite it away deeper into the forest. I think I have a plan to capture it without hurting it,” he said as he gripped onto his hilt and began running towards the edge of the clearing.

Consecutive failures had enraged the Vulcan to such a point that it lost what little cognition it had. The beast began beating its chest in anger, turned towards the running healer and chased him mindlessly. Haru hoped Noah would follow the Vulcan from behind, making sure it doesn’t change its mind in the last moment and turn towards any bystanders.

Once they were out of the clearing and in the forest, Haru slowed down and turned towards the Vulcan. Thanks to his speed, he was a good hundred meters ahead; but the beast’s acute sense of smell made sure it didn’t lose him and he was well aware of that. Deactivating his sword, he tucked it under his belt and stood there, waiting for the Vulcan. Once it was in his vicinity and he confirmed that it was charging straight towards him, he cast Feather-Light on himself and then put his palms together to get ready to cast Phase. When the Vulcan pounced where he was in a rampage, he quickly jumped up much higher than usual thanks to his Feather-Light spell and then pointed his palm towards where he was on moments ago and cast Phase. As the Vulcan’s large beasty hands slammed the ground, they sunk in, as though the ground was an illusion. Once the Vulcan’s hands were inside the ground, he clenched his hand into a fist and the ground was solid again. The Vulcan’s hands were now stuck deep underground and it was struggling to pull it out.

“Phew!” Haru sighed, as he glided down gently a few meters away from the beast. The Vulcan was still angry, but it realized its position and laid down in exhaustion. Walking towards Noah, Haru smiled and thanked him for his assistance. “Thanks! Could you fetch the other Knights so that we can sedate and capture it? It will go free if I leave the area,” he said, realizing the range of his spell. If Noah agreed and brought in the reinforcements, Haru would let them take over and leave the area.

WC: 448
-Exit-