A Battle of Youthful Wills...

Chase dug his feet into the ground, while simultaneously praying to all of the gods that he could think of.

Holding his arms in a crossed position in front of his head, the weight of the world crashed into his attempted block.

Pain radiated through his body, but he refused to let the beast win.

When he realized what was happening the beast was standing only half a meter in front of him, and its eyes were lowered to meet his.

Blood, and lots of it trickled down from Chase's arms, as he looked up with a grin to meet the beast's eyes.

They weren't shattered, but they were bruised heavily, and every surface wound you could think of had made their way onto his forearms.

Without a second thought, Chase pushed off of the ground, copying the same move that both Neo and Panda must have mastered a long time ago.

He dashed forward, and to the side of the beast. Granted, the move was weak as well as slow, but it was also unexpected, which just so happened to be the exact thing that he was looking for.

His shaky hands grabbed hold of the Manticore's chain, and pulled down with all of his might.

Of course, the beast did not budge, but it did anger it.

A loud growl escaped its lips, as it turned and thrashed toward the boy.

Chase pulled himself onto the chain, and held on for dear life, as it wrapped tangled against its own leg.

The Manticore roared, missing a violent bite by merely inches.

Ignoring his life flashing before his eyes, Chase pulled himself up higher, and remembered how he had defeated The Naga.

Chase let out a low, inhuman growl.

"Kneel..."

Spoken in-between raspy breaths, yet he was still brimming with a newfound confidence.

Now, he was holding onto the link of the chain closest to the beast's collar, as it was turned, and was now standing on three of its four paws. 

One of its legs was now entangled with the chain, limiting its movement heavily.

Not even bothering to spare more than a glance at the other students, as well as his teacher, he climbed up as high as he could onto the beast, and gripped it by its mane.

"I am not your enemy..."

Chase whispered into the beast's ear, preparing to draw his cobalt blade from his energy catalyst.

The beast roared again, this time much more violent, and almost panicked. 

It swiftly turned its head back, and its eyes once again met with the crazed boy's.

Fear...

Fear was the only thing that hid inside of those young Manticore eyes.

But it wasn't over yet, a terrible pain pierced Chase's back, as its scorpion-like tail had impale him from behind.

'Damnit all!'

Chase must have felt it, because a shiver ran down his spine, as he realized just how close the sharp tail was to severing a vital organ.

Out of pure anger, he grabbed the jagged tail that hung from the front of his chest. 

Gripping it at as hard as could, he kicked the beast in the back, and pushed inward.

With all the energy he could muster, he pressed the tail out of his chest, leaving a chilling pain where a gaping hole resided in his body.

He stomped on the Manticore's back, and let out a twisted chuckle, as he kicked off it, throwing himself into the direction the beast was not looking.

Flipping several times in the air, and growing extremely dizzy from the multitude of things happening at once. 

He hit the ground with an impact that left his legs vibrating furiously. 

Landing in an awkward position, he lifted his incredibly wounded body, as high as he could.

Lifting his chin with a sigh, he showed his grin to the beast once more, as blood began leak out of his mouth.

The taste of iron filled his thoughts.

'I'm not done...'

He pushed forward, taking multiple steps, as the beast threw itself at him once more.

This time much slower, and almost with hesitation.

CLANG!

Chase laughed violently.

The chain was now tangled with both of the creature's hind legs.

I was now in a half-prone position, looking directly at Chase, as he limped forward.

The burning rune on his shoulder then began to fill him with a euphoric sensation, as if he had been granted a second coming of energy. 

This was the sign that gave him hope...

Sparky was still alive, and awaiting the day when Chase could figure out how to summon him from the rune.

He had figured it worked the same as any lumen, since theoretically a beast could trap its own soul inside of a source of energy.

The story of Orion only confirmed his suspicions more, standing in the sky above Chase, was a second sun that burned bright with the soul of a long lost hero.

"Kneel."

Chase growled at the beast, now only a meter in front of it, and fully capable of killing him that very moment.

Its eyes grew angry, and its powerful arms flinched.

But then, the unexpected happened... The young Manticore lowered its head to the ground with growl, and cut the eye contact between the two. 

Chase stepped closer, and placed his wounded hand on the beast's head, as it let out a sound that resembled some sort of purr. 

He had won.

His hearing returned to him, as he dared not to take his eyes off of the beast.

A hand gripped his shoulder gently, and a soft voice escaped the lips of a familiar woman. 

"What the hell did I just watch, kid...?"

Professor Zelenna said amidst the silence. 

Her voice filled with shock, worry, and what could have even been mistaken for amazement.

Chase looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"I think I might need a healer."

He said, holding back a slight chuckle. The pain in his body somewhat distant, compared to the small feat he had just accomplished. 

With that, a booming laugh filled the air of the school yard. 

"I- I think- you might be my favorite first year."

She said, between laughs. 

"No seriously, I need a doctor..."

Chase said, as his vision began to get blurry.