Battle with General Varian

Boy stood amidst the wreckage, his breathing heavy and his body aching from battle and the attacks that he had taken.

The familiar feline summon stood at his side, tail flicking as its golden eyes locked onto the approaching figure.

The enemy general strode forward, his armour gleaming despite the grime of war and his blade was lowered, yet his presence carried weight.

He paused a few metres away, studying Boy with an expression that was neither hostile nor mocking- just… curious. 

It could see the pure anger and rage oozing out of the hyena and yet it did not seem to be directed at him but at the healers who were healing the soldier on the enemy's side. Seeing the injured beasts surrounding the hyena, he caught on and realised that the hyena was angry at the healers as despite the countless summons around it, they did not extend any help towards the summons.

This brought up a deep sense of curiosity inside him as he had never seen summons be this conscious and caring for their own kind. What exactly caused this hyena to be this different?

"Despair," he finally said, his voice smooth yet heavy, "it defines the weak. The strong rise above it, while the rest drown."

At this he took a step towards a nearby summons which had died and placed his foot on the summon while gesturing towards the battlefield where countless fallen lay forgotten, "Power is the only currency of worth in this world. The valued ones are those who seize it."

"The discarded?" he continued as he brought his blade onto the dead beast and stabbed right into its head, "They are the ones who hesitate."

Boy tensed, watching the general carefully. He could feel the weight of the man's gaze, assessing him and measuring him.

He could feel that the general knew what was troubling him and that the general's dialogue earlier was addressed especially to him. 

The words echoed in his mind, sinking deeper than he wanted to admit. He had seen the way the world treated those without power, the way summons like him were discarded at the moment they were deemed no longer useful. The general's words weren't just arrogance; they were a reflection of reality, one Boy had felt before and now once again.

Was power truly the only currency of worth? Did strength alone dictate value? 

His pondering was suddenly stopped when he saw the general speak once again, "Look."

As he said this, he raised a hand and pointed, Boy's eyes followed the gesture and it led to the Wyvern, the general's summon.

It was being treated… A group of specialised healers could be seen attending to its wounds, carefully applying healing magic to its torn flesh and broken scales. From simply their body language and pace of work, it was clear that they were working diligently, doing their best to ensure the beast recovered while whispering reassurances as if it were a valued ally.

Boy's breath hitched as he saw the treatment taking place…

'So that was it…' he thought, 'the strong are not just respected- they are treated as beings, not tools.'

The wyvern was powerful and deadly, and thus, was worth saving, worth healing. But the summons who had fought and bled beside Boy and against him? 

They were weak… And weak things are discarded.

His jaw clenched at the frustration that the world was once again, reminding him of this. If you are strong, you matter. Boy wanted to lunge at them, to snarl and bite and demand that they acknowledge the lives that they were letting slip away.

But what would that accomplish?

Nothing.

A bitter growl rumbled in his throat as he gained newfound determination and resoluteness. If this world only saw summons as tools, then he would become a tool they could never throw away.

He would become a summons that would be too strong to ignore.

'Strength Above all,' he thought as he looked to the feline next to him that was waiting on the signal to attack again and he said to it, 'Let's make this world bow to us.'

The general smirked slightly, as if he recognised the shift in Boy's aura. 

"Let's finish this now," he spoke with battlelust as he brought his sabre out of the head of the summon and then without warning, he moved.

Boy lunged first as he used Shadow Bite towards the general's chest. The feline summon mirrors his motion, darting low as it aimed to strike from below.

The general, however, barely seemed to move. With a single step, he twisted his body, avoiding Boy's strike entirely while his free hand shot out, catching the feline mid-leap before he rapidly spun his body and delivered a kick to the cat, sending it crashing into the dirt.

The cat let out a low, pained growl but quickly rolled to the side, landing on all fours as it locked onto the general with even more defiance burning in its eyes.

Meanwhile, before Boy was able to recover from his missed attack, the general's sabre came at a diagonal slash towards it which Boy barely managed to dodge using Spirit Dash as he moved to the other side of the general. but just as he arrived, the general's fist flung out, catching him off guard as a brutal strike to his gut was delivered and he was sent sprawling across the battlefield.

Boy groaned, coughing as he forced himself to his feet. 

'I'm fatigued from all the battles I've done earlier. I need to end it in this one attack. He's too strong, I'll have to catch him off guard,' he thought.

The feline was already moving again, darting forward to launch another assault. It pounced with incredible speed, its muscles rippling beneath its sleek fur.

It feinted left, then spun to the right as its claws aimed for the general's unguarded side.

Shadows of the Pack!

As it did this, Boy and his clones also charged forth once again and followed the feline as a clone struck from the left while him and the other would strike from behind, aiming for the sides that were not going to be attacked.

'Let's see how you dodge this now.'

Suddenly, the general's blade moved with blinding speed.

Shing!

The feline let out a sharp cry as it was knocked aside with a sharp clang of metal meeting flesh. It skidded across the battlefield as blood began to pool out of its side but even as pain wracked its body, it struggled back to its feet.

After dealing with the feline, the general then turned to his left as his sword began to take a silvery electric glow.

'I need to time it right,' Boy shouted in his head as he leaped towards the general, right next to his clones.

The clone barely had a second to react before the general's blade flashed, slashing across its side. 

'Now!' Boy internally shouted and in that instant, he turned his body and placed his feet on the remaining clone as his marking and his teeth glowed purple.

Spirit Dash!

"What?" the general was suddenly caught off-guard as he heard a voice come from the hyena, 'It can speak?'

The voice caused a moment of hesitation on the general and that chance was all that Boy needed as he took off using the remaining clone before biting down straight at the general's chest.

Although the moment of hesitation had caused the general to not be able to dodge the incoming attack, through instinct that had sharpened through countless battles, he brought his arm forward, blocking his chest while still managing to bring his sabre to slash.

Shadow Bite!

Chomp!

In that instant, Boy felt the sensation of his teeth digging themselves into a layer of hard armour before it broke through that layer and then proceeded further into the sensation of flesh, then bone, then flesh again before his mouth completely closed.

He had bitten the general's hand clean off as blood began to pool out of him, meanwhile, the sabre of the general had continued in its path, killing the clone but also slashing across Boy's side at the same time that his hand was bitten off.

A searing pain shot across this body, making him curl as he fell to the floor stumbling weakly.

Blood dripped onto the ground, its source being both Boy and General Varian as it began to form a small puddle. Boy's vision blurred and just as he stumbled up, he felt a huge force strike his head as he was sent flying across the battlefield once again.

"Arghhh!" the general screamed in agony as he felt the loss of sensation in his hand and a sharp pain followed. He struck Boy's head with a roundhouse kick in rage.

"I will not fall to the likes of you!" he roared as he made his way towards Boy, rage filling his eyes, "You can speak huh?"

'I don't have the strength to move right now…' Boy thought as he desperately tried to move his body but it would not budge as he felt his world still rattled and slightly spinning from the kick.

"Talk to me now!" Varian roared as his sword began to glow with a terrifying blue lightning, "You are not a normal summon, are you? Tell me how you feel right now!"

Boy was not willing to answer as his whole body began to scramble to find a solution to get him back on his feet.

The general has reached him, looming over him as his blade was poised for the final strike. Boy's body screamed in protest as he tried to rise, but he knew- it was over.

And then, a shadow fell over them.