The ravaged forest around Velmo and the plant-like aether beast trembled under another wave of devastating carnage.
The part of the tree where Velmo once stood was reduced to dust as the thrashing mass of vines crashed into it.
Velmo safely landed on the ground and looked up at the mass of vines already assuming its humanoid shape.
"If the Hydrangea Wraith dies then its spawn would also wither away." Velmo thought before glancing over in the brother's direction, "It seems like the brothers are dealing with them well enough." He continued inwardly.
Again, taking advantage of its prey looking away, the Hydrangea Wraith surged forward in another mass of roiling vines. In an instant, it crashed into the ground, destroying a large area of the forest's floor.
A plume of dirt was thrown into the air before quickly falling back to the ground, revealing the wraith's formless body.
It shifted erratically, focusing all its attention on the jade eyed figure gracefully gliding in the air. The aether beast felt a deep sense of frustration, unable to land a hit on the troublesome human.
Then, with a sudden burst of speed the wraith shot up towards Velmo. As it did, massive vines burst out of the ground from behind Velmo, intending to tear through his skin and feast on his blood.
"Good thing I lured you away from the boys." Velmo spoke whilst he activated another of his spite abilities.
Spite Ability: [Aery Shards]
Spite Description: You harness your animus in tandem with powerful winds into small shards of energy.
In the next moment, as the roiling vines threatened to breach Velmo's defense, five green shards of wind and surging animus had formed around him.
Following his will, two of the five shards shot towards the vines that approached him from behind; colliding with them in a large explosion.
Then, he activated another of his spite abilities, [Gale].
Spite Ability: [Gale]
Spite Description: You harness wind through your body and summon a sphere of powerful gales. You can release the strong winds as you please.
Another sphere appeared behind Velmo, but it didn't possess a strong surge of animus similar to [Aery Shards].
Instead, it was simply a powerful gathering of winds.
In a flash, the orb broke releasing a surge of wind and launching Velmo towards the Hydrangea Wraith.
Simultaneously, Velmo willed two more [Aery Shards] towards the roiling aether beast. The two shards surged towards the thick green vines and tore through them with ease.
As they ripped through the beast, they released a wave of powerful winds, scattering the wraith's amassed set of vines.
Velmo didn't see its facial expression – because it didn't have a face – but he could sense that the beast finally understood their difference in power.
However, it still pushed forward, the thick vines that survived the blast from Velmo's ability still lusting for his blood.
They reached forward to engulf Velmo, but he elegantly avoided the beautiful grasp of the Hydrangea filled vines by summoning another [Gale].
Releasing it near his abdomen, Velmo gracefully flipped over the wraith and its writhing mass of vines.
At the apex of his flip, just above the Hydrangea Wraith, Velmo concentrated his animus around his fist and dropped it onto the wraith's back.
A guttural screech forced its way out of the creature's body as it flew downwards and crashed into the ground.
Turning his attention back towards Xaryus and Zadius' direction, Velmo felt a sudden surge of animus and heard a loud boom.
He would have applauded at the brother's destructive power if he hadn't felt one of their signature's dimmed.
His eyes widened for a moment, then they shot apart.
"There's one more aether beast and their signatures have become so weak!" He thought anxiously before the winds encasing his body roared fiercely.
The few trees that still stood in the ravaged clearing violently swayed in the presence of the sudden tempest of wind.
His eyes gleamed in the moonlight and the boon of his title strengthened the fierce winds. So much so that the trees were slowly being rooted out of the ground and the Hydrangea Wraith was almost thrown to the side.
Velmo knew the insidious beast was only pretending to be dead in the crater below, waiting for a moment to strike.
He could slay the wraith so that its spawn would wither before it severely damaged the brothers. But there was a sliver of doubt in his mind.
"Would it wither fast enough? No, it doesn't matter, those two are too important!" Velmo thought before he seemingly vanished.
Then, the entire forest groaned as its thick trees were bent in Velmo's wake. The winds encasing his body forced the thick canopy apart, easily rooting the smaller trees out of the ground and throwing them to the side.
***
Back in the clearing, the Hydrangea Wraith's spawn moved its repulsive, crimson covered vines towards the two brothers.
As it approached its long-awaited meal, the hydrangeas littered across its body shifted with dark glee. The vine slithered through the moonlit air and grazed against Zadius' flesh.
However, just as it was about to pierce through his brown skin, the spawn heard a deafening boom and the splintering of wood.
The pale, horrific face of its host turned to one side of the clearing in confusion.
In the next moment, the Jade Tempest flew into the clearing with monstrous speed, the winds around him crying like a raging tornado.
The wind boomed, bending the surrounding trees and threatening to throw Xaryus and Zadius' unconscious bodies up into the air.
However, Velmo willed the wind around the two brothers, leaving them unscathed.
On the other hand, he wasn't as caring for the abominable corpse of the fallen adventurer.
Before the animated corpse could react to his movement or be thrown away by the violent winds, Velmo slammed his fist into the creature's body.
The violent force of the blow eviscerated its abdomen, leaving a wide spray of pollen, petals, armour, dried skin, flesh and bone.
The insidious pollen didn't even have time to spread as it was flushed out of the clearing due to the strong winds.
"That was close!" Velmo screamed inwardly before releasing a soft sigh, "Although these corpses were grade two, they might've been a bit more dangerous than I thought… I may have miscalculated." Velmo continued, speaking to himself in an awkward tone.
He glanced down towards the two brothers and observed the one remaining corpse that laid within the massive crater Xaryus carved with his [Solaris] ability.
"Xaryus possesses more raw power than I had thought… and Zadius' abilities are more insidious than I had imagined." Velmo pondered, thinking back to the plethora of holes that were left in the last corpse's body.
"A shame I wasn't able to see what type of abilities they truly possessed." Velmo ended wistfully.
His gaze had moved around the clearing several times in an attempt to discern the battle between the brothers and fallen adventurers.
He was impressed – to say the least – at their performance.
The brothers may not have realized because of their experiences with Valon, but Velmo would have rushed into the clearing at the slightest sign of danger.
Eventually, Velmo's attention shifted back towards the area where he had left.
The Hydrangea Wraith was on the move again.
"I won't let you off easy again." Velmo proclaimed, pointing his hand forward and shooting the last of his [Aery Shards] in the wraiths direction.
The shard screeched as it roared through the wide path Velmo had created, shining like a jade star amongst the forest's darkness.
***
The Hydrangea Wraith had just begun to morph itself back into its humanoid shape. The beast's hydrangeas rustled violently in the stark moonlight, frustrated at its devastating losses.
Turning away, the aether beast began to move in the opposite direction. It could find more prey with ease, so it was going to cut its losses and escape before the powerful awakened had returned.
Its attempt to escape was quickly thwarted.
The aether beast had suddenly felt the powerful surge of animus flying towards it. Its vines and hydrangeas froze in fear before its body shifted with great speed, erupting a massive wall of vines.
***
Standing near the brothers, Velmo waited for a moment.
Then, he waited for another.
Eventually, his shard had reached his target and released an echoing boom. He could clearly see a cloud of dust and dirt rise up above the dense forest's canopy.
Stretching his sense forward, he confirmed that the aether beast was slain and dawned a soft smile.
The threat was eliminated and he had gained a good grasp of the brother's capabilities.
But Velmo knew the daunting nature of the world outside human cities all too well.
"We need to move before more territorial aether beasts move towards the explosion." Velmo thought, draping the brothers over his shoulder.