Revenge pact

"Prince-"

Taking advantage of Tarzy's distressed state, the Korvus embedded its talons in his untransformed arm, ripping out a substantial amount of flesh.

SPLURT

"Shit?!" Prompted by the sudden injury, Tarzy focused on the magic beast which held his flesh in its beak.

"I'm fine... Let's just finish this." Marie groaned.

"Okay..." Tarzy rubbed his gouged bicep and steeled his resolve.

"KAWWWWW!"

Targeting Tarzy once more, the Korvus darted forward.

"I'm getting sick and tired of you!" He screamed.

DUMMMM

Seeing through the magic beast's intentions, Tarzy shot out two Earthly Aura coated quills.

SPLURT

The First Rising Star grinned at the sight of the magic beast disappearing into nothingness, his satisfaction palpable.

"Now for yo-"

TSU

Unlike both the Korvuses and the Kolumbas, the Aquila had no intention of letting the Rising Stars vocalize their thoughts and acted efficiently.

Using its prominent horns the magic beasts bashed into Tarzy's chest, pushing him back.

BASH

"Argh!"

DIMMMM

"Imperial Thunder Arts: Crackling Cleave!"

In an attempt to catch the Quila off guard, Marie swung her Holy Aura infused spatha in a horizontal motion.

CRACKLE

Responding swiftly, the magic beast skillfully dodged the girl's blade, dipping beneath it and shooting towads the side of her abdomen.

Using the lethal tips of its wings, the Aquila clipped Marie's side mercilessly.

SPLURT

"Ahhh!" She helplessly screamed.

Relentless in its onslaght, the Aquila ascended above her head and pivoted its body, its frightening pink eyes fixing onto the back of her head.

"Princess, Watch out!" Tarzy shouted, raising his hand in the beast's direction.

"KREEEE!"

"Eject!" Seconds before the Magic Beast could dart towards Marie once more, Tarzy drew its attention by propelling four quills in its direction.

WHOOSH

In response to Tarzy's attack, the Aquila effortlessly folded its right wing, easily neutralizing the assault while sustaining no damage at all.

"KREEEE"

Now locked onto Tarzy, the magic beast launched itself towards him, moving at a speed he failed to register.

TSU

"Whe-"

When the magic beast reached the boy, it dug its sharp talons into the skin of his untransformed arm, dragging its claws from the top of his wrist all the way to his bulky shoulder.

SPLURT

"GRR!" Growling in pain, Tarzy fell on all fours

"Tarzy..." Marie muttered, her silver eyes glowing with a vivid yellow hue.

DIMMMM

Gradually mending the wounds on both her abdomen and her thigh, Marie approached her comrade, aiming to face the magic beast together.

"Princess?"

"We'll face the beast together, at the same time." Marie placed her hand on Tarzy's arm, extending the effects of her Holy Aura to his wounds.

"But how? It's too fast..."

"I'll slow it down, you make sure to hit it as soon as it enters range."

"Okay." He nodded.

Realizing their time was up, Marie removed her hand from her comrade's arm, which was now in slightly better condition thanks to her healing.

"KREEEE" The magic beast flapped its wings slowly, preparing to dart towards both magic knights.

Marie clasped her hands together, hastening the manifestation of the large, simple magic circle beneath both her and Tarzy. Its diameter stretching an impressive four meters.

"Gravity Magic: Slow Zone!''

As soon the Imperial Princess activated the spell, every single particle grew heavier, their own mass becoming a burden.

With her hand now glowing a dim purple, Marie touched Tarzy's arm, releasing him from the burden of the increased gravity~ a privilege she could ony grant to one person, typically herself.

Now that she, the user of the spell, was much heavier, she was practically defecseless, struggling to even remain standing.

"It's up to you now..." Marie whispered, her jaw shutting under the spell's pressure.

"Got it..."

"Transformation Magic: Further Augmentation."

Aided by the magic circle on his chest, Tarzy willed both his arms to transform, their size almost doubling.

"Come at me you sky rat!"

Accepting Tarzy's taunt, the Aquila attacked.

TSU

Entering the magic circle, the magic beast's speed advantage dwindled, causing Marie to manage a soft smile.

But...

The speed advantage was still there, and it was not slight by any means.

Tarzy clenched both his hands together above his head and brought them down towards the approaching beast, aiming to deliver a powerful spiked hammer blow to the creature's comparably small body.

WHOOSH

Even under the effects of the gravity spell, the magic beast displayed remarkable skill and agility.

Changing its trajectory mid-air, the magic beast swerved out of the attack's range, twisting its body in a strange fashion.

The Aquila descended rapidly towards Tarzy's feet, effortlessly evading his attack.

Upon reaching its new target, the magic beast unfolded its majestic weaponized wings and accelerated, creating deep slashes in the boy's ankles.

His mobility now effectively destroyed, Tarzy fell to the ground, violently coughing blood.

"KREEEE"

Before exiting the magic circle, the magic beast decided to lock onto a new victim.

"We forfeit..." Before the magic beast could complete its assault on the Imperial Princess, Tarzy whispered bitterly.

[Ending Simulation...]

Right after Tarzy uttered his resignation, the magic beasat disappeared into mana particles.

[Tarzy Goliath and Marie Jupiter, status: Failed]

[Score out of 100: 40/100]

[Areas for improvement...]

[Emotional Stability]

[Space Awareness]

[Team chemistry]

[Efficient Aura Utilization]

[Identifying enemy weaknesses]

...

As the automated voice continued to list the pairs flaws Tarzy grumbled, his arms steadily returning to their regular state.

"Are you okay princess?" Tarzy whispered.

"Yeah." Marie deactivated her spell crouched infront of the injured magic knight.

DIMMMM

"I'm sorry I didn't protect you." Ashamedly, Tarzy spoke, relieved that the pain in his legs was slowly fading away, thanks to her healing.

"That's not your job." Marie dismissed, her focus directed towards Tarzy's legs.

"It is." Tarzy said sternly, his determination evident.

"You're not very good at it." Marie said coldly.

***

10 years ago.

"We apologize for not properly checking the carriage before departure. Although a replacement is on the way." A magic knight with long black hair said politely.

"It's fine, we're not in a rush." Empress Jupiter replied.

Empress Jupiter, wife of the current Emperor Jupiter, an elegant lady whose reputation extended to every corner of the globe.

Her striking appearance drew the attention of everyone around her; she possessed gentle silver eyes that graceed a sense of comfort and security upon anyone who looked into them.

The Empress's skin was equally remarkable as the rest of her eyes, boasting a stunning senna complexion that amplified her divine visage, free from any scars or wrinkles.

Completing her gorgeous appearance, the Empress had long, wavy chestnut hair that cascaded gracefully onto her shoulders, with a silver crown adorning the crown of her head.

"Thank you for being so understanding your highness." The magic knight bowed.

"It's nothing." She smiled gently.

"Where has Marie wondered off to." The Empress continued, turning her head toward the expansive beach.

"Princess Marie went to play by the sand, she has been accompanied by multiple magic kni-"

"Mother!" Barefoot, Marie ran along the sandy shore toward the large wooden cottage, where her mother was conversating with the captain, a broad smile adorned the child's face, revealing the gap from her two missing teeth.

"Hello sweethea-" Empress Jupiter smiled.

"Come see! Come mother!" Full of energy, Marie grabbed her mother's hand, determined to show her her newest discovery.

"Okay, okay." Empress Jupiter giggled.

***

After dragging her mother through the sand for a few minutes, Marie finally arrived at a spot on the beach, right beside the steady tide.

"Look!"

The area she pointed to was surrounded by Magic Knights, obscuring the Empress's vision.

"What is it?" The Empress asked curiously.

"Look!" Marie insisted.

"May you please move out the way."

Hearing the Empress's words, the magic knights scattered, taking cautious steps away from the central figure.

"Sprawled in the sand, soaked in seawater, and covered in a generous layer of it, was the figure of a small boy. His form was larger than the average child his age.

"Is he alive?" As soon as she laid her eyes eyes on the young injured Tarzy, Empress Jupiter's majestic countenance contorted into a concerned expression.

"We think so your Highness..." One of the Magic Knights confirmed.

"Who would leave him here?" Marie asked curiously.

"I'm not sure sweetie." Her mother replied.

"Your highness, how would you like us to proceed?"

"Help him!" Marie shouted.

"Your Highness, we believe he isn't from the Caelum Empire. But rather he comes from one of the island tribes and has recently washed up." One of the magic knights clarified.

"That makes no difference, we should help him." Empress Jupiter crouched and scooped Tarzy into her arms.

"Your Highness, I don't think that's advisable."

"We'll help him. That's an order..." She said sternly.

"Yes your highness, we'll call the doctors to assist him."

"No, I'll do it." The Empress clarified.

"Bu-"

"Come on Marie, I'll show you how Holy Aura works." Empress Jupiter turned to her smiling daughter.

"Yay!"

Extra Information:

Other than the five inhabitable continents, there exists one large one known as the 'Wicked Continent.' as well as a few smaller islands scattered around the world.