Back in Astera. As much as Khalfani hated this city, it always seemed to reel him in one way or another. The air reeked of dead fish and the smell of the ocean didn't make it any better. So how did he end up in the worst city in the west region of Fiore? It was simple. Hanging with Konyo. The two of them had known each other for quite some time now, their relationship was healthy. Simple. Both of them were straight-forward people with cold demeanors. In fact, their demeanors were so cold that if anyone should get to close, they'd probably get a frostbite. Perhaps that was why, despite the people now knowing who Khalfani was, nobody got too close. Instead they would admire the view from a distance. It was rather annoying really.

Khalfani had left the kingdom of Desierto to follow his own path and not the one his grandfather believed was destined for him and yet here he was grabbing the attention of Astera's citizens. This was not what he intended and it was almost embarrassing. Doing all those quests this past week paid off, but the downside was the reputation the rogue prince of Desierto had built. With his shield on his back and eyes gleaming forward, he could feel Konyo's anxiety. If the demi-human had to guess, they were here for a quest. That much could be pieced together as a group of fishermen began to approach the two mages. If it happened to be another sea monster, Khal would ultimately lose his shit. He had a major fear of bodies of water this large and although he had been slowly working to overcome it, he feared that he wasn't ready to face this fear. Not yet at least. The idea of Konyo being revealed to that side of him was also nerve-wrecking. Yet, of course, the spell sword would maintain his composure.

The slayers golden eyes danced around the city, counting the number of people peeking over at them as his teacher spoke to the captain in charge. "Ahoy! I be glad ye could make it. Konyo, right? an' ye brought a mate, jolly! I be Cap'n grune. It seems we 'ave a problem an' I could think o' nobody better than the unyieldin' blizzard." the captain said. Khalfani folded his arms, biting the inside of his mouth anxiously. Dammit, it was another fucking sea monster. To make matters worse, there were eyes on them from virtually everywhere right now. If the young Morning Star didn't pull it together than everyone would know. The dragon slayer nodded towards the captain as he tipped his hat to the two figures. His Lackeys watched in awe, surprised to see Khalfani but moreso surprised to see Konyo. This was a good thing, Khalfani thought. Truly, he was panicking like on the inside and doing everything he could so that it wouldn't reflect on the outside. He was stoic enough though, hiding it wouldn't be a problem.

This was good training. As much as Khalfani hated the idea of dealing with the same reoccurring situation over and over again, it really was good training. Paradise Dawn would come into fruition in a short amount of time and the guild was centered around monster hunting and Mercenary work. Tasks like this would magically appear onto their door step damn near everyday. In fact, as word spread about a new guild appearing in the north, people had already come to Khalfani with their concerns. Some merely expected him to do the work for free, but he was adamant on only doing shit that paid well. Not just for himself, but for his entire guild. He would have to worry about an entire community after all. The thought itself sent an electrifying chill down his spine. The Black Panther had hardly been paying attention to the men in front of him, that's how excited he had grown.

Over a span of a few moments too. The only thing he managed to hear was tentacles and that alone was enough for him to determine the mission at hand. There was a monster who had been terrorizing the community and they needed a powerful mage to stop it. It was virtually the same thing every time. Perhaps this time the two mages could find some treasure inside whatever creature was causing the fishermen issues. After the man finished speaking, Konyo reassured the men that the duo would get it done. "Mhm. Not a problem." He nodded as his lips had tucked themselves like a newborn baby in a blanket. He could feel the moment approaching when they would have to get in a damn boat.

Khalfani watched as the fishermen began to prepare the boat they were using for travel. It wasn't anything fancy, but it would definitely do the trick. It was medium-sized, wooden hull and a mermaid on the front of it. It looked like it had been through hell and back, but she seemed sturdy enough. The archer began to prepare himself, twisting his ring and allowing his gear to manifest upon his body. It was a neat trick, Khal would have to get one of those. The panther nodded to Kon "Mhm." when he was done changing and was the first to take steps towards the boat.  

As if he wasn't the one who was practically shitting in his black fitted sweatpants. Gently, the Dragon Slayer stepped onto the boat. Bracing himself, he used every fiber of his being to contain his composure. When he was on the boat he closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath. He was as still as a rock on the boat, as they began to drift off into the sea. There it goes. It starts with the rocking of the boat, the small waves crashing against each other, swaying the boat to and fro. His body tensed up and his hands became clammy as he clenched them into fists.  

"How far do we have to go?"

"Mm mm." Khalfani managed to breathe. Words were incapable of parting the lips of the dragon slayer. He had been too focused on not dying by the the hands of the sea goddess. If it was up to him, he wouldn't have even gotten on this ship. Khal was clearly not a fan of boats, but it had more to do with the water than anything else. It seemed his attempt to hide it wasn't good enough. He wasn't the best actor after all. Konyo would likely never forget this moment and the panther couldn't blame him. If the shoe had been on the other foot, the mage of Infinity Wolves would be teased to the end of his days. Alas, this was not the day for Kon to be the center of his amusement.

The boat was sturdy enough to handle the minor waves. Nothing the Black Panther couldn't handle at the moment. As he rode in the boat, tensed up. Suddenly the waves began to strengthen and the captain of the boat seemed to grown concerned. Konyo handed the light mage a bucket which used to be filled with the guts of sea creatures. Some of the liquids remaining dripped down from the sides of the bucket. Khal turned towards Kon and mugged him, rolling his eyes as he grabbed the bucket and hurled out his insides. As much as he would have hated to admit, he definitely needed this right now. It was hard enough already trying not to freak out.

The boat suddenly began to speed. Now, it was becoming something he couldn't handle. As the waves picked up and as Kon grew impatient, the boat dashed through the waters. It was dangerously stupid for the unyielding blizzard to move in such a way. His actions would prove to be the demise of everyone on the boat aside from the black panther himself, and his partner. As they closed in on the rocks, a crash occurred. Khal had lifted his head in the nick of time as the boat made impact, grabbing two fisher man by the collar before stepping off to leap even before Kon had done so. However, the icy wolf was faster and had darted off of the boat, grabbing Khalfani's collar in the process and yanking it so hard he nearly choked. With the captain and another sailor in his hands, the four of them landed on a small island deep in the seas of Astera.

The captain coughed and the other sailor struggled to stand. The rest of the sailors were lost at sea, probably already forced to the bottom of the ocean through its sheer strength alone. What a horrible way to die. "Noooo! dammit! see what ye've done? ye killed me men an' ye almost killed me!" He exclaimed. He had a reason to be upset, the prince wouldn't take that from him. Konyo did take it too far. Still, things like this happened. Sometimes mistakes caused good people their lives. Khal pushed himself up with only a little scratch to his arm before turning to Kon. "Losing your touch, old man." he said with a sigh. "I'm sorry about your guys. We'll handle this and be on our way. Stay here." he turned to the captain and his lackey.

The panther didn't expect his cold words to provide any real comfort, but he truly was sorry, even if it didn't seem like it. Regardless, there was a job that needed to be done and the dragon slayer intended to finish it quickly. Contrary to what people believed, powerful mages weren't just on standby waiting for someone to call with a problem. They also had lives and other matters to attend to. Immediately after Khalfani spoke, a large screech bellowed from a cave on the small, barren island. No trees, no other signs of life, just rocks surrounding a giant cave. "Let's go." He said as he took the first steps towards the cave. The Spell sword was merely glad that he was no longer on the boat, at least not for now.

When this was over he would likely call to his Gryphon to fly him out of here. Shit, the Gryphon would probably have to fly them all out of here seeing as there was literally no way to leave the island without swimming. It could be done, but swimming a couple hundred miles would take all of his stamina and it just wasn't worth it. For now, the rogue prince focused on the task at hand. As he made his way towards the caves whether Konyo had decided to come or not, the ground beneath him shook. Again, the creature inside the cave screeched.

A giant octopus you would think would remain in the sea right? These monsters were growing weirder day by day. Soon they would take the form of something a lot more human-like. Constantly killing these creatures weren't going to stop the problem. A more sustainable solution was needed and fast. In any case, this was another beast that would be added to Khalfani's book of monsters. Khal had been working on a portfolio for all the monsters he had fought. From ghosts, to demons and sea critters, they were important to note should he ever encounter the same creature again. The captain and his lackey watched the duo walk towards the cave. They watched them closely. Perhaps they doubted the two of them would make it out alive.

Finally they had approached the cave. Without saying a word to his teacher, the light eater entered and tapped his earpiece causing the helmet to take shape around his head. Perhaps he couldn't see anything inside a cave that was completely dark, but he could definitely hear the slithering of tentacles about 30 meters out and he could smell blood..a lot of it. This is the part where Khalfani had missed his vampirism. If he had it now, he would be able to see in the dark too.

Khalfani enjoyed the hunt. Although he wasn't a vampire, he enjoyed the thrill pf hunting beasts and killing them, cashing their body parts in for some neat prizes or a hefty amount of jewels. Having vampirism would have made it significantly easy to maneuver throughout the cave, alas Khalfani would have to figure out another way to manage. Konyo on the other had had the abilities necessary to finish the task. Khalfani hated the idea of being useless, especially in a moment like this. However, he was a good team mate nonetheless. He knew when to step up and when to step back, as much as he may have despised the idea sometimes. Khalfani also didn't really have his magic under wraps.

Khal's magic, ever since turning back human, had evolved and he still needed to learn how it worked. For the most part it was like the magic he once had. A god-like magic that allowed him to teleport. Although this style of light magic hadn't allowed him to do such things as far as he knew at the moment, it turned him into something that moreso resembled Apep. Not to mention reverting back to his human form somehow didn't change the knife-like fangs he had. Regardless, he would manage how he knew how. He was a surviver. He couldn't stand by and do nothing, he thought. Although he could hardly see his partner, the sun eater turned to where Kon had been breathing and nodded. "Understood." At least with him here he could end it quick.'

Suddenly, Khalfani heard the shuffling of the feet of the men they left behind, but he could also hear the slithering of tentacles on the surface of the small rock island they had been on. "I'll meet you out front." He said to Konyo before turning and sprinting towards the entrance of the cave. The dirt beneath him was wet and sticky, almost like glue but it was not enough to slow him down. When he got to the entrance of the cave, he could see the light. He could also see a large octopus like beast crawling towards the fishermen who had pulled out whatever weapons they had. It amazed the panther that although the entire world could use magic, these men here had shown signs of using none. Khalfani darted towards the creature, stepping in front of the sailors before bringing his shield forward.

With a second to spare, the octopus began swinging his tentacle but Medusas gaze had been doing its magic. Quickly the creature turned to stone, starting from its tentacle until it finally reached its head. Then, the dragon slayer walked over to it and simply punched it where its stomach may have been, shattering the creature. With a sigh he turned to the men and nodded, calling his Gryphon with a whistle. It was a shame that he wouldn't be able to take any remnants of the creature with him. As stone it was pointless. After Kon had exited the cave he would know the job was done. He'd then hop on his Gryphon with one of the men and returned to the docks, leaving Kon to figure out how to get off the island with the other man.