Five Years Later...

BOOM! Something exploded into dark magic behind me and surrounded my form with the resulting plume of black mist. "Thanks," I glanced at the teenage Saki on the ground below me as she nodded back to me. After the nod, she immediately refocused on another monster as it attempted to attack her. As her assailant died to a magic spell, I refocused on the rest of the monsters as they attacked the small town.

I absorbed magic from the air, then leaped into the air. From my vantage point, I surveyed the monsters that remained in the town. Though we had made a large dent in the monster population, there were still many of the annoying creatures left.

My wing slashed through a monster flying below me as I dove upon another beast close to the ground as it assailed a helpless Stellan fleeing from a burning building. I shredded the dark creature with my claws, then returned to my previous position high above the village.

Another flying monster attempted to attack me from behind, but it injured itself when it came in contact with my spiked magic armor. As it careened wildly to the ground, I swiped my enhanced claws at the enemy but failed to destroy it. However, the feathered monster exploded into a small plume of static-like dark energy and dust once it collided with the ground.

A scream interrupted my huff at the sight of the plume, and my focus immediately snapped towards the distant source: a man with a squalling child in his arms standing beneath the head of a beaked snake-like monster as it coiled around them.

With a growl, I descended upon the serpent, then purposefully somersaulted midair as I neared the beast. My spiked tail disintegrated the abomination's head, and the rest of the body immediately dissolved as well.

I landed hard onto the asphalt, but thankfully my armor took the brunt of the force. The magic barriers cracked slightly around my wrists, but the damage quickly repaired itself. The cracks in the pavement, however, did not heal.

The hazy energy from the snake absorbed into my form as I recovered from the hard landing. Then, I glanced at the man as I prepared to take off to the sky once again, but he remained frozen in fear-induced silence.

"Find somewhere safe," my deep voice rumbled before I returned to my flight above the town. I glanced down as I stabilized, but the man had already taken my advice and disappeared.

"Good for him," I mumbled to myself and glanced at Saki as she continued to run through the town launching spells. A lightning spell destroyed a monster as she doused a fiery building with a large water spell. She blocked another beast with a simple defensive charm, then killed the weakened being with another small magical attack.

The monsters that remained in the town dwindled, and soon, the remaining monsters should retreat. Another town successfully saved. I glanced at the charred and broken remains of a couple of buildings. We mostly saved the village, at least. Monsters destroyed those buildings before we got here.

I slashed another monster into dust. I'm getting a good harvest of energy out of this; It will last me a week or two. And with the increased frequency of attacks, I will live a long time without worry.

I paused as I felt a surge of magical energy appear near the ground. Portal, I glance towards the source of the signal. Sure enough, a swirling mass now sat in the center of the town, and the remaining monsters raced towards that point. They heard their master's recall in their minds. Though I no longer overheard his voice, I knew the other monsters listened to their master's voice in their minds based on their actions and my past experiences.

At least now they are easy pickings. I dove towards the portal and destroyed the monsters as they attempted to flee through the spieling energy. Though a few small monsters slipped through my grasp and into the portal, most of them exploded into a magic mist that greedily absorbed.

I glared at the portal, daring more monsters to erupt from the swirling mass. To my relief, the swirling shape disappeared, and I did not feel any more dark magic appear in the immediate vicinity. I sniffed the air, then exhaled. No tricks this time, thankfully. I can't sense any other sources of magic nearby.

With that detail, I absorbed my magic armor and tucked the energy separate from the dark magic I needed to live. I calmly turned around and trotted towards where my senses informed me Saki was.

After I walked around a corner, I spotted her worriedly casting a healing spell on a woman's leg amongst a bit of rubble from one of the few damaged buildings. She hadn't noticed me yet.

Though I tried to keep a calm countenance as I approached, the woman still squirmed and screamed when she spotted me. "MONSTER!" Her hand pointed at me as she tried to use her uninjured leg to slide away, but the large stone she was already sitting against prevented her movement.

Saki winced as her focus on the healing magic broke. She whipped her head around, then stopped when she spotted me. She lifted the stern gaze off of her face and visibly relaxed. "Don't worry," she turned back to the woman with a soft smile, "Hoshi is on our side; he's mostly harmless to Stellans."

The woman looked confused and still scared; despite Saki's attempts to calm her down, the Stellan remained fearful.

I decided it was in my best interest to remain in the middle of the street, several feet away from Saki. To better appear calm, I laid down and tried to look uninterested in the woman or Saki.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Saki redid her spell and healed the woman. "There, finished," the younger of the two females smiled and stood, then offered a hand. "I would try to stay off of your feet for a few days, but you should at least get off of the street and go home."

"Thank you," the woman breathed as she accepted her help. Once she rose to her feet, the woman released Saki's hand and began her journey home.

Once the stranger left Saki's presence, I calmly stood and moved to approach my magical companion.

When I reached a few feet away, a yell interrupted my progress. "LEAVE HER ALONE, YOU BEAST!" A man burst from a building with a piece of wood clutched in his hands. As he ran towards me, he brandished the makeshift weapon, then swung it at my head when he was in range.

The blunt object stunned me as it contacted my head and shattered in a shower of splinters. I staggered slightly as my eyes squeezed shut. That hurt more than expected. A groan escaped my lips.

"Don't hurt him!" Saki's voice screamed as rapid footsteps pounded towards me. "He's my friend!" I sensed her cast a small spell in my direction, which formed a wall of light magic between my assailant and me.

Shortly afterward, a thud reached my ears as the man who had attacked me grunted in pain.

I managed to open one of my eyes through the throbbing of my head and saw the man huddled over his hand. A simple magical barrier briefly stood between us but dissolved into glittery bits as Saki reached me.

"Are you ok?" Her hands gently lifted my head as she looked me over for wounds. "At least I don't see any blood."

"If fine," I retorted and attempted to lift my head out of her reach, but she prevented that as she put a hand on the sore spot between my right ear and my right eye. I bowed my head as I sharply inhaled, my eyes once again squeezed shut.

"Sorry!" Saki whimpered, then cast a healing spell onto my head. "I roared in pain and staggered again, but Saki kept my head firmly in her grasp. "I'm sorry, I know magic hurts you, but magic pain doesn't last as long as real pain with you. This is the better way."

"Still hurts," I growled as I recovered from her healing magic. I rustled my wings as the dizziness slowly faded. I glanced at the confused man as he continued to clutch his hand. "You should make sure he didn't injure his hand."

"Right," Saki blinked, then turned to face the man.

I refocused my attention elsewhere as Saki offered to look at the man's wrist and knuckles. People slowly began to appear in the street, but they eyed me cautiously and stayed away. I huffed in response to their gaze, then approached the partially collapsed building away from all the commotion.

I sniffled the piles of rubble as I wandered around them but continued when I didn't smell anything useful or interesting. Once I finished, I looked through the gaping hole in the corner building. Must have been a small store. I eyed the shelving and merchandise on the floor as I stepped over the bottom edge of the hole.

Produce and prepackaged food laid littered along the floor, all of it in various states of palatability. Shelving laid on their sides, the wares that once adorned them scattered across the food-splattered, off-white tiles.

After I ate a heavily bruised apple off of the floor in a single bite, then continued my rounds. As I traversed the space, I slipped a few damaged packaged goods and slipped them beneath my scarf as well as a few damaged pieces of fruit and vegetables. Saki will enjoy them. As much as I was a monster, I only stole damaged goods beyond selling.

I paused as I heard a squeak, then focused on my senses on potential sources for the sound. There were blood spots on the floor and a bit of dark magic residue from a now-dead monster, but thankfully, no Stellan bodies were within sight.

Though I couldn't smell or see anyone, my magic senses informed me of a different story. A free-standing shelving unit hid a dull source of magic beneath its metallic skeleton. I sniffed around the perimeter, but all I could smell was a mix of random canned foods: green beans, corn, tomato sauce and pasta, fruits. The combinations of foods did not smell appetizing. I couldn't even find a hint of the being I knew was still alive beneath the display beneath the concoction of broken food cans.

I heard another whimper as I stuck my nose between two of the shelves. That's where the Stellan is hiding or trapped. I lifted my nose away from the gap, then stepped back and studied the debris.

After I briefly walked around the area, I stood next to what would have been the top of the display if it had been upright. I wedged my shoulder beneath the top and slowly lifted it on that one end. I tried to refrain from growling, but a small one escaped my lips as my muscles were still sore from the battle. My wings flared as I momentarily lost my balance and knocked a hanging sign off of the ceiling.

I stabilized myself as metal groaned and a bit sliced into my shoulder. After a bit more work, I lifted the object as high as I could. However, though I could hear the Stellan tremble in fear, the food-covered person still did not move.

I released a huff, then used my shoulder to heave the object as hard as I could. The shelving unit briefly returned to its proper vertical position, then noisily fell in the opposite direction and crushed another display.

My calm golden eyes met with the wide brown eyes of the food-covered Stellan. For a long moment, neither one of us spoke as the humanoid remained frozen in fear. The person held her breath until he or she broke into frantic gasps for air. He or she glanced at my shoulder, then back to my face.

Before I could say anything, the rumble of a car engine reached my ears: the military. I broke eye contact and raced back through the hole.

"Saki!" I barked, and the townsfolk scattered at my arrival. "We gotta go now! They're here!"

Saki blinked, then grabbed my scarf and vaulted onto my back. Once she was secure, I spread my wings and leaped into the air with a single flap of my wings. The cut on my shoulder stung, but I pressed on.

As I continued to fly, I glanced down to the military caravan as the armed men and women dressed in beige and green leaped out of the vehicles. A white uniform caught my eye. When our gazes met, I could feel the pure fury in his glare despite the increasing distance.

I turned my focus away and continued to fly as far and as fast as I could. Once I was out of sight, I would change directions so they could not easily track our movements.

Author Notes!

Saki and Hoshi make a wonderful team! Did you enjoy this chapter?

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