Affinity: Chaos

'I can't believe these guys are fighting for that.'

Alice was left dumbfounded by what the Magical Beasts were fighting over. It was actually for a Seelie. The Seelie isn't alive like hers, rather, it seemed to have died, but from natural causes else it would've already been consumed by now if it was killed by something or someone.

The essence of a Lightning Elemental Seelie is exactly what she needed for the next step. With it, she was a hundred percent certain she would be able to break through to the Sovereign Plane. The only downside is that her competitors' strength were superior to her, but it didn't mean she didn't have a shot at it. In fact, she had the best opportunity among them. All she needed to do was wait while the duo battered each other and swoop in while they were at their weakest and steal the treasure.

She could either do that, or she could wait and then sneak in while they were busy fighting and snatch the treasure right under their noses. This option posed more danger since the Beasts wouldn't be at their weakest and could attack her, simultaneously. If both Beasts attacked her, she wasn't too confident in her chances of not sustaining serious injuries. Hence, she was going to go for the first option which was to wait till both Beasts were seriously wounded. Of course, there's a chance she's not the only one on the sidelines.

The Beasts fighting were an Armadillo and a fierce Jaguar. The Jaguar was the one with the lightning element, so naturally it had more use for the Seelie's essence. However, even though the Armadillo didn't have the lightning element, it doesn't mean the essence wouldn't be important to it. So there's no way it would let go of such an opportunity. This was a Seelie's essence. A Seelie is one of the few things that can make people have the ability to use another element, so Magical Beasts or even humans wouldn't want to give up such an opportunity.

The Armadillo had terrifying defense and even its claws were sharp enough to cause damage to the Jaguar. But the Jaguar had superior agility, after all, it's from the cat family. Its superior agility means that it will be able to dodge most of the Armadillo's attacks, but the Armadillo has a very strong defense which meant that breaking through its defense was almost impossible, unless the Jaguar can manage to get its underbelly and attack from there.

The Armadillo knows its shortcomings, so it always ensures that its underbelly is always protected. Whenever the Jaguar has tried to flip it over, it has always stood its ground.

The Jaguar tried to use its superior speed to snatch the Seelie's essence, but the Armadillo was always able to block its path.

Alice watched as the two Beasts battled it out, she was waiting patiently for the opportunity to arise. If she saw a good opportunity, she didn't mind snatching the essence while the duo were locked in battle. At the moment, both were in a stalemate as there was no way for the other to get the advantage over the other.

Both Beasts were fighting cautiously, they knew there were others watching from the shadows, waiting to take advantage of them. No one wanted to fight in vain and watch someone else take away their treasures, so they were both cautious.

Ten minutes went by in the blink of an eye and both Beasts were still battling, but not as ferociously as they were at the start. Both hasn't sustained any serious injuries, just some superficial ones, the reason they slowed down was because they noticed the presence of another Beast that was on the same level as they were, and this Beast was watching the battle, clearly having no intention of joining the fight, only waiting to capitalize once the duo were weak.

The Jaguar and the Armadillo soon stopped battling. Both were quite wary of the newly arrived Beast, and they have every right to be. This Beast wasn't the strongest, but when it comes to speed, even the Lightning Jaguar paled in comparison. A Lightning Hawk doesn't have the attack power of the Jaguar, or the defense of the Armadillo, but its speed is comparable to none in the area.

Of course, its talons and beak were very dangerous and it could easily rip out flesh and pluck out eyes, but taking a single hit from either the Armadillo or Jaguar would prove deadly to it. So it naturally didn't act in a rash manner.

The Armadillo and the Jaguar paused, both standing on either end of the essence. They would not allow anyone else to take this thing from their hands. At their level, they were very smart, so they wouldn't fight against each other in such a situation.

The Lightning Hawk stepped out and made a screeching sound, as if asking them why they stopped fighting.

The Jaguar and the Armadillo made grunting sounds but didn't show any visible reactions.

The Hawk flew into the sky and seemed to vanish into the clouds. Its aura was untraceable. In a second, it appeared like a flash of lightning, a few meters away from the Seelie's essence.

The Jaguar reacted first, striking out. The attack forced the Hawk to take a detour, while the Jaguar opened its mouth and tried to swallow the Seelie's essence in one gulp.

The Armadillo made a move this time, swinging its tail, forcing the Jaguar to retreat.

All three Magical Beasts started a brawl, none giving the other a chance to collect the Seelie's essence.

Alice watched the battle continue to unfold, not taking any actions. With the presence of the Hawk, escaping would become even more difficult. She isn't as fast as the Lightning Hawk, so she didn't want to take any risk.

If she merged with her Seelie, she could boost her strength enough to at least slow down the Hawk while escaping, but she'll have to plan everything properly, including her escape and the timing of her going to take the treasure.

As she was waiting, she sensed the presence of a few people in the Late stages of the Venerable Plane. These Venerables were eight in numbers, but none of them were at the Peak of the Venerable Plane.

'If they try to make a move, then they're only courting death.'

This was the thought in Alice's head. Eight Late stage Venerables might be a strong lineup, but against these Peak Seventh stage Magical Beasts whose attack power rivals a Pseudo-sovereign, it was suicidal for them to try to engage in any form of battle with them. Especially since all three Magical Beasts might opt for killing all eight humans rather than fighting against each other.

However, to Alice's shock, the group of eight actually walked out. Two were in the Ninth stage, so they stood together, while the other six divided into groups of three. Their auras merged and their strengths visibly shot up. It was as if all three groups turned into Peak Venerables with strength close to the Pseudo-sovereign stage.

'Oh, there's also that.'

Alice forgot there were moves like these. Even her Faction has them, but she never learnt them nor did she have any interest to, hence her forgetfulness about it.

The three groups knew the three Magical Beasts would engage them in a battle, so they were already prepared.

They quickly started to fight, but they were quickly placed at a disadvantage. All three Magical Beasts had a superior ability compared to them, so even with the help of their combined strength, there was no way they could fight against them. They were continuously forced back, which was within Alice's expectations, but for some reason, they didn't give up, rather, they were more ferocious with their attacks, slowly drawing the Magical Beasts away from the Seelie's essence.

Alice soon understood something was wrong. These guys were fighting like people who wanted to win. Rather, it was as if they were acting like distractions.

'Could it be?'

She looked in another direction and squinted her eyes, an almost nonexistent hue left her body, impossible to see with the human eye. The hue spread across the place and within a short time, it covered the entire area and she saw more Beasts and humans hiding, but among all of them, only one stood out, a Peak Venerable.

She didn't know what element this Peak Venerable uses, but she was almost certain he was a Lightning Elementalist.

The Magical Beasts didn't go too far from the Seelie's essence, they knew doing so would give others a chance. There's no one on their level, but they knew there were weaker Beasts around, and even some weak humans. They didn't want to give them their treasure, they've been fighting so long for it.

The group of three gritted their teeth and forced an opening, with one of them trying to force their way through.