Chloe's crimson nails traced hypnotic patterns through frost-laden air. "Must we stain these woods over mere appetizers?" Her sultry tone belied the lethal energy coiling around the wounded beast. "The true feast lies beyond this morsel, does it not?"
Kael's pulse quickened. Her casual reference to greater prizes confirmed his suspicions - this hunt masked deeper ambitions.
Daniel's broadsword thumped into thawing earth. "Out with your scheme, sorceress."
"Six positions." Flames danced in Chloe's pupils as she gestured around the clearing. "Let the beast choose its executioner. Only that sector engages - others stand witness unless..." Her smirk finished the unspoken threat.
The lion king's golden mane bristled. Intelligent eyes catalogued each hunter's stance: Yuri's glacial precision, Amelia's poised lethality, Sebastian's battered resolve, Daniel's brute confidence, Chloe's deceptive languor, Kael's watchful intensity.
Sebastian spat crimson onto frosted leaves. "Agreed."
Yuri's glacial staff pulsed once - concession and warning intertwined.
Golden eyes narrowed. The wounded monarch's gaze swept potential escape vectors, calculating pain versus opportunity. Sixth-level threats radiated palpable danger from Amelia and Yuri's sectors. Daniel's battle-ax gleamed hungrily. Chloe's flames licked mockingly.
Its bloodied flank twitched toward Kael's position.
"Clever beast," Amelia murmured. The injured mercenary heir and two fifth-level adversaries presented the weakest links. Golden claws flexed against frozen soil as the lion gathered remaining strength.
Chloe's laughter tinkled like shattering icicles. "Your gambit, Majesty."
The forest held its breath.
The lion king's claw stabbed through frostbitten air, singling out Kael. "You, human!"
Daniel's guffaw echoed through the clearing. "The cub picks the runt!"
Kael stepped forward with wry resignation, adjusting his spellwoven cloak. Across the circle, Sebastian gulped crimson elixir - pallor flushing to vigor beneath wary gazes.
"Begin." Yuri's glacial pronouncement shattered the tension.
Golden fur blurred. Kael's boots ignited silver trails as Stellar Steps carried him sideways, the lion's claws gouging stone where he'd stood. Heat radiated from Kael's staff as he danced beyond swiping strikes, earth trembling beneath each missed assault.
"Pyric Cage!" Scarlet flames erupted in concentric rings, ensnaring the beast momentarily. Kael's chant intensified even as metallic howls clawed at his concentration. "Infernal Grasp!"
A flaming titan's hand materialized above the roaring prisoner. The lion's retaliatory sonic blast warped the air, vibrations threatening to unravel Kael's spellweaving. Sweat drenched his back as mental fortitude held the incantation steady - lesser mages would've collapsed under the dual assault.
The flaming construct crashed downward. Golden scales sizzled as inferno met primal fury, the collision illuminating every hunter's calculating gaze. Kael's muscles trembled; even wounded, the monarch's might eclipsed standard fifth-level thresholds.
"Persistent gnat!" The lion's tail whipped through residual flames, singed but undaunted. Its lunge carried the stench of charred flesh and ancient wilderness, claws gleaming like executioner's blades.
Kael's staff traced emergency wards, azure barriers shattering under bestial momentum. Stellar Steps faltered as gravel scored his cheek - survival now hinged on improvisation rather than rehearsed tactics.
Amelia's fingers twitched near her concealed dagger. Across the circle, Chloe's flames coiled like eager serpents. The hunt's true game had begun.
The lion's sonic roar disrupted Kael's incantations, granting it critical reprieve. Golden horn pulsed with accumulating energy before discharging a searing azure beam - wrist-thick and humming with lethal resonance.
Kael's flaming construct shattered under the concentrated blast, though the retaliatory strike drained the beam's remaining power. Embers scattered like dying fireflies across the battlefield.
"Pathetic," Yuri sneered through crystallizing breath. "Even wounded majesty outclasses this whelp."
Sebastian's restored complexion twisted in grim amusement. Amelia's knuckles whitened around concealed blades, though protocol forbade intervention.
Kael staggered from dissipating heat waves, robes singed and breathing ragged. Then his hand dipped into dimensional folds, emerging with a pulsating violet-crimson vial. Collective breaths hitched - even the lion king's assault faltered in recognition.
Dragonblood Elixir.
The alchemical marvel glowed with primordial promise, its viscous contents swirling like captured nebulas. Memories surfaced of cauldrons steaming under competition torches, of judges' stunned acclaim. Now this temporary ascension catalyst grew warm against Kael's palm - equalizer against monarchal might.
Yuri's glacial composure cracked. "Impossible! That's..."
Sebastian's restored vigor drained anew, recognizing the legendary concoction. Amelia's tension eased into predatory anticipation. Even Chloe's seductive smirk sharpened into genuine interest.
The battlefield's balance shifted with the vial's soft pop.