The battlefield had gone silent after his words. No one moved.
The old bear said, "You look like a native of the Nightmare Realm. Surrender, and I'll spare your life. Hahah." He laughed in his hoarse voice.
"Marry my grandson. You are a beautiful girl," he tried to coax her.
Kira glanced at the arrogant boy sitting atop the hound. A feeling of disgust crept into her heart. Her instincts screamed. Something was not right.
Kira stood frozen, her mind racing yet empty at the same time. A thought flashed through her mind—he was stalling for time. As realization struck her, she understood his plan: delay the battle until she suffered backlash. He was a Rank Three native Nightborne and obviously knew the side effects of using multiple bloodline abilities.
Realizing this, she understood there was no clean way out.
She met his gaze. He was sure of his victory. Even in his bear form, a faint smile curved his muzzle.
Kael and Jim looked worse. Kael was almost admiring these monsters, yet at the same time he felt hopeless in this situation—even father isn't as strong as her, he thought. Jim was simply holding his dagger, but even he knew it was a useless action. Zuko had completely given up—his legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.
Drayen felt the color drain from his face. He was useless here—too weak to interfere, too weak to matter. Even Instructor Miller could barely fight or interfere in the battle. Compared to him, he was nothing.
And yet…
He refused to accept it.
His thoughts stormed. There should be a way out. What is it? What is it? Grandson…
As he thought, he had unknowingly finished absorbing the core. His mind grasped a new ability.
Wing reminded him:
[Butterfly Walk ability learned.]
He cursed the timing. What would he do with it?
"Kill them," the young man ordered casually from atop the Strength Paw Hound. The Rank One guards were about to attack.
Drayen looked up. His eyes locked onto him. Something clicked. A laugh escaped his lips—raw, sharp, and completely out of place. Yes. That was the way out. Hit the weakness first. The first thing he learned when he was disabled, and when he fought that organization, was to hit the weakness first.
"Ignore the old bear, Kira," Drayen said sharply, pointing at the young man. "We kill that one. Even if we die doing it."
The bear stared blankly for a fraction of a second. Then panic tore through him.
"NO!" he roared, spinning around. "What do you think you're doing?!" He abandoned his position and lunged toward his grandson.
Kira vanished into shadow. With the transformation and using every speed ability she had, she reached him in an instant.
Her poison-laced claws carved through the battlefield. The guards tried their best, but against Rank Three battle power, they were nothing but dust.
The boy screamed as he fell. "Attack her!" he ordered the hound. Kira's claws swung toward it. His face was filled with terror as he saw her claws bent on tearing him apart. Why did I come here? I could have trained manipulating hounds another time. Why did I choose this time? Grandpa was correct. Training is not the battlefield. His mind flooded with fear.
The bear halted mid-motion.
"Haaa," it rumbled, shock finally breaking through its composure. Its aura exploded outward.
"Touch him—and I'll kill every one of you." It abandoned Kira and lunged straight for Drayen.
Drayen's heart pounded. Was it instinct, luck, or something else? He activated Butterfly Walk.
His body slipped aside at the last instant.
The bear howled in fury and redirected its attack toward Kael, swinging its giant paws.
Miller moved without thinking, throwing himself in front of Kael. The blow crushed him. His body was flung into a tree, blood spraying as the trunk cracked. Bones shattered.
"Enough!" Drayen roared. "Your grandson is still alive."
The battlefield fell silent. The guards lay broken. The Strength Paw Hound had collapsed, its corpse blackened by poison.
The bear turned—and saw his grandson. Dark veins crawled across the boy's skin. His breathing was shallow.
"Leave him alone!" the bear bellowed.
Drayen's smile was thin and merciless. "He won't survive another day if you delay his treatment."
Rage shook the bear's body. In the end, he chose to back down. This had been a political fight for profit—but what use was profit if he had no grandson?
He snatched his grandson from Kira's grasp, eyes burning red as he glared at Drayen. "…Boy."
He would have won—if not for Drayen. He had planned to stall until the backlash crippled her. Then he would have slaughtered them all.
But Drayen had ruined everything. And worse—
He had touched his grandson.
The boy cried in pain in his massive bear hands. "I shouldn't have brought you," the bear muttered hoarsely.
---
The battle ended. Kira maintained her form, wary of the old man's return, as they rushed toward Instructor Miller. His body was severely damaged. Kael knelt beside him, his hands shaking as he tried to wake him.
"Instructor…"
There was no response.
"Teacher."
Still, there was only silence in the air. Jim placed Miller's head on his lap, tapping his cheek, trying to wake him.
Kael stared blankly, emotions surging in his heart. His eyes were only a moment away from tears. Jim's tears were already flowing. Zuko covered his eyes, unable to look at the crushed body.
Drayen and Kira didn't know what to say. Instructor Miller had been completely loyal to Kael, not just as a guard but as a teacher. If he wanted, he could have abandoned the students and saved his own life when the hounds attacked them in the beginning. He didn't.
Kael couldn't process what was happening. He felt something hard in his pocket—a core. He took it out, and the tears he had held back until now finally fell. Guilt crept into his heart.
I am the one who brought this disaster to everyone. I am the one who caused your death, Teacher.
He wanted to ask for forgiveness, but the words stuck in his mouth. He couldn't say them.
This man had defended him every time. He had guarded him and taught him. Now he lay motionless, having protected him one last time.
Kael lifted his hand, about to throw the core away.
Drayen didn't know why Kael was doing it. Judging by its size, it seemed to be a high-ranked core. He guessed it was related to what the old man had mentioned about robbery—but he still stopped Kael's hand.
"Leave," Kael growled.
Drayen's grip tightened. "You can't throw this."
Drayen felt Kael's grief. It echoed too closely to his previous life. But this was not the time for emotions.
Kael's claw opened, ready to tear him apart.
Kira intervened. "Drayen is right. This is a very precarious situation. You can't throw it away."
Kael's strength finally gave out. He dropped the core into Drayen's hands and broke down crying.
"Take this."
Zuko was crying as well. Even with his back injured, Miller had fought and protected him. Yes, he had made mistakes. Yes, he had been careless. But none of that mattered now.
The cause of this incident was not him. He was definitely capable of protecting Zuko and Lara—if not for Houndswell.
Kira's form finally collapsed. She coughed blood, and her body fell.