Rise of the Weakest Summoner

As Bryn’s energy healed Oria’s hand, she glanced to the side at her daughter. “Miria, before anything, make sure to remove her third fang from up—”

She paused mid-sentence after seeing the bloody mess that the other female’s face had become in the short moment she wasn’t paying attention to the duo. Barely any teeth remained in Long Hair’s mouth, knocked right out by Miria’s enraged fists, now decorating the ground beneath them. The panthergirl wasted no time getting serious.

“Never mind, then.” Oria smirked proudly. “Now, I believe we were about to have a chat.”

“The fuck we were.” Short Hair growled and tried to spit on her, but missed thanks to the feline lady’s impressive reaction time.

“You know, as I said, I wasn’t the best performer in our group, but I was very talented at making other people sing.” The older Pantherkin twisted the needle a tiny bit, evoking another despairing howl from the woman. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Though, I wouldn’t mind the latter.”

More pained cries followed, and Asterios decided to give his agitated mother-in-law some space. He could feel through the connection that she was eager to bring up her shelved repertoire, but at the same time, worried about how he would perceive her after witnessing such things. Even though he was certain nothing would change, save perhaps for how much more respected and skilled she would appear in his eyes, he turned his attention to his equally if not more infuriated mate.

Reaching Miria’s side, he examined the long-haired beastfolk in her grasp, witnessing a scene of pure carnage all over. The Painted Dog was still suffocating with just one of Miria’s hands wrapped around her throat while the other had gone to dance with her face and the rest of her body. 

Mainly face, though. She was hardly recognizable at this point.

His palm softly rested on Miria’s shoulder, making the panthergirl flinch lightly, but her feral growling lessened a tad when her eyes flicked toward him. Seeing his warm, reassuring smile, she gained a soft tinge of rosiness over her adorable cheeks, which remained just as cute even while splashed with bits of blood.

“I’m sorry, Master…” Miria shyly lowered her head. “I lost control for a moment…”

Asterios moved his fingers up to scratch her head. “It’s understandable. I’m amazed you were able to bear with it for so long. No one blames you for anything. Are you feeling better now?”

“Does it make me a bad girl if I say yes?” she asked a little bit anxiously.

“Not in the slightest.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “She got what she deserved. But, we’ll need her alive if Umbra is going to try and extract anything useful out of her brain.”

Noticing that the woman was on the verge of fading away permanently, Miria hastily let go of Long Hair’s throat and the female limply slid down the damaged tree’s trunk, balancing on the border of life and death. Her neck didn’t look exactly fine and Asterios had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to move around much going forward even if she survived this day.

“Besides, your approach was still rather mild compared to your mom’s.” Asterios let out a quiet chuckle, taking a peek over his shoulder.

She followed it and her eyes almost bulged out. The other female would have been on the floor too if not for Umbra’s shadows binding her limbs. Her entire figure was trembling as hints of white foam escaped her lips. They could both spot multiple tiny holes in her armor. Some were located on the side of her chest, some in the front, and a few in other seemingly inconspicuous spots, but the majority gathered over her pelvic area.

Sensing their gaze on her, Oria turned her head their way and smiled charmingly. The deep coldness in her fierce eyes and the terrifying splatters of blood on her motherly face made Miria shiver involuntarily. The disparity between her mother’s loving expression and the hidden intensity was way too eerie.

Asterios wrapped his arm around Miria’s waist and led them closer. “Did you get anything useful out of her?”

The girls stared at the Pantherkin lady with newfound awe, respect, and perhaps some traces of dread as she chuckled in amusement.

“A bit here and there. Unfortunately, it seems that I have overestimated her pain endurance and went a little too far with my interrogation, even with the help of your winged mate.” Oria grinned apologetically. “I really shouldn’t have abandoned my old training routine. But anyway, it’s pretty much confirmed they work for a whole pack of Painted Dogs from a certain location. I was able to lead her into accidentally spitting out the general direction.”

“What about the bastard pulling the strings?” Grea scrunched her nose. “Is it anyone you know?”

“Her brain went off before I managed to extract anything of substance regarding the leader,” the panther woman replied. “I admit that I’ve gone a bit too off the rails when considering my usual interrogations. You have my sincerest apologies.”

Seeing the state of the unconscious female, he could tell. And just like with Miria, he didn’t hold it against Oria either. She must have had a lot of pent-up frustrations and anger which were just waiting for a way to break out.

“It certainly was an… eye-opening experience.” Silvia smiled wryly.

“Even some True Dragons can’t hold a candle to your… savagery, Mrs. Oria.” Althea nodded respectfully. “And I meant that as a compliment, of course. This universe is difficult to survive in without a certain level of cruelty in our hearts.”

The last bit was quickly added after Oria’s gaze anxiously shifted to the side. Everyone noticed her discomfort and they were grateful for their wise companion making the first attempt at remedying the situation. Miria was about to make the second, but Asterios beat her to it, stepping closer to the feline woman and embracing her softly from the front.

“I’m both glad and proud to have such a strong and dependable mother-in-law,” he said calmly. “I might need to refer to your expertise in the future if you will allow it considering how vicious our opponents are.”

“I’m not sure if my skills are going to be effective on Dragons, but I’ll always be there to help any of you with whatever you need.” She hugged him back, releasing quiet, deep purrs. “However, you might want to consider not witnessing my expertise when I deal with males. I don’t doubt your composure, but even my old companions often opted out of such questioning.”

The ladies shared understanding looks.

Asterios allowed himself a nervous snicker. “Noted. And I’m sure your knowledge will do just fine as they still take humanoid forms now and then. Right, Althea?”

“That is mostly correct.” The Lesser Dragon of their family confirmed.

“Well, then just give me a word and I’ll be there.” Oria winked at him sweetly. “But, I think you have other things to worry about at this very moment.”

Wondering what it was about, he followed her eyes and found Miria pouting heavily while frowning hard and gritting her teeth in visible annoyance. The reason became more than obvious when he felt Oria’s hands still grazing his back and her outfit pressing into him from the front. 

Asterios quickly released the feline lady from his grasp and opened his arms for his dissatisfied mate. Miria immediately slipped into them and glued herself to him, trying to purr twice as loud as her mother had. Rubbing her rounded ears into his cheek, she shot the woman a fierce glare with one eye, evoking a warm chuckle from her parent.

Even amidst all this carnage, Miria was still fighting over such silly things.

“So, we know the general direction of our enemies.” Selene broke the silence first. “Anything else?”

“Their approximate number, possible gear, and some information about the ratio of Weres and normal beastfolk amidst their pack,” Oria answered. “For now.”

“I don’t think there’s a reason to waste more time with them,” Tina shared her thoughts. “If you don’t wish to interrogate them more, I think we should give them to Umbra.”

Miria’s mother pondered over her words briefly. “No, I agree any more would be pointless. I can take the rest of my revenge against the true masterminds. These bitches are already partially broken.”

~Which will only make my job even easier, huhuhu.~ Umbra’s sinister voice echoed in their heads. ~Give me just a minute.~

The darkness around them converged in a single point and the two Painted Dogs were pulled towards each other. Bound in one place by the shadowy appendages, they went still. As Umbra worked his magic, they started spasming and screaming in pain for exactly one minute. Then, they once again stopped moving completely and hunched forward lifelessly. The darkness extracted itself from them and formed the familiar towering silhouette of Umbra’s domineering form.

~They weren’t fully in the know, but here it is,~ he said before sharing the memories with everyone involved.

Images of a decently sizable stronghold flashed through their minds, full of Painted Dogs and some other subspecies of beastfolk. They seemed to live like bandits or a gang, terrorizing the nearby people with their acts of violence and not only. The scene switched to another region momentarily, but after realizing that it was about to show the pair’s encounters with Oria’s old allies, Umbra spared her witnessing such sights.

After a plethora of various information found purchase in their minds, they reached the most crucial bit. One of the memories showed the tracking duo in front of their supposed leader, taking on the task of figuring out the original Phantom Brigade members’ identities. As they had mentioned, they were supposed to capture their targets alive if possible, and bring them in. But, their boss had clearly underestimated their sadistic urges.

Taking a clear look at the man’s features, Oria cursed strongly and the show ended.

Miria glanced her way with a tinge of sadness and concern. “Was he a friend?”

Her mother shook her head. “Not exactly. He was one of the candidates for our successors. As you can imagine, we had quite an intense recruitment process with strict and very specific requirements. He is one of those who didn’t make it through. And it was due to his personality. He seemed way too eager to kill criminals. Almost to the point it could be said to simply take pleasure in it.”

“A tale as old as they come.” Tina sighed lightly. “There’s always someone who steps onto a dark path after failing to get what they believe is rightfully theirs by the natural order. I’ve seen students like that even at our academy.”

“Don’t even remind me.” Grea sneered, rubbing her forearms. “I personally failed one that looked at me like I was the only thing standing on her destined path, and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy not looking over my shoulder for the next year or two.”

“I wonder how this person ended up as a bandit leader of the Painted Dogs,” Bryn mused. “He didn’t look to be one of them, judging by his animal features. More like a raccoon?”

“That’s right.” Oria nodded. “But, it doesn’t matter. Nothing excuses his behavior. If he was dissatisfied with us, he could have simply started his own group like many others tried to. He made his choice.”

“What now?” Asterios asked, still caressing Miria, whose attention was on her mother too.

“These two might have gone after some of my friends already and planned to get to the rest after dealing with me, but I don’t trust him not to send more trackers for the same job,” the older Pantherkin responded. “I still worry about the pair hiding with the moles. If you are asking what I want to do, I want to make sure they are safe and warn them before it’s too late. Then, I wish to exterminate this vermin plaguing our realm.”

“Then that’s what we are going to do.” He acknowledged her desire.

“It looks like your past catches up to you no matter how fast and far you run.” Oria covered her face with her hands for a silent moment before looking back at him and his mates with strengthened resolve. “Our destination isn’t close. I know you have prior arrangements for the upcoming days. I can do the first part on my own and wait for your return with the second half. I promise I won’t do anything silly, Miria.”

The panthergirl rolled her eyes with a soft snort. “You are already being silly, Mom. We have Master. He’ll just fly us there in a flash. Come on. I’m not going anywhere until these bastards pay for what they did to you and your friends.”

The feline lady smiled tenderly and pulled her daughter into a loving hug. While the pair shared a moment, Asterios and Silvia got rid of the bodies with their joined flames, securing any gear or items that could be important later. 

Since the danger was gone, Grea and Althea bid farewell to him and returned to Kraedorion, hoping to tend to their responsibilities once more. Not without a firm smack to the crimson demon’s ass and a gentle kiss to the ladylike Lesser Dragon’s lips, of course. Tending to his beloved and their needs was Ast’s own responsibility in the end.

Bryn stayed behind this time and he shifted into his draconic form. The panther duo admired his impressive frame for a while before climbing up onto his back like the others. Zoe was a bit hesitant to join them, suggesting she stayed behind to keep an eye on the village at first, but she changed her mind before they departed. 

Deep down, as much as what she had witnessed recently bothered her, she wanted to be as strong as Miria, and even maybe as strong as Miria’s mother. There was no better opportunity to improve than by their and Ast’s side where she was certain to be safe in case she made a critical mistake or froze up at the wrong moment.

So, Asterios, Miria, Selene, Tina, Silvia, Bryn, Zoe, and Oria were on their way. They made a stop to dismantle the blood trap and clean up its surroundings before heading in the direction of the mole colony. Flying up above the line of clouds, Asterios gave his best and flew as fast as he could without unnecessarily exhausting himself, to the utmost joy of his passengers.

It took them two hours to reach their destination. Oria pointed at a rocky soil beneath them and directed their attention to the tongues of thick and heavy smoke escaping from the breaches amidst the stones. At first glance, one would never assume a community of Weremoles could be hiding underneath it as they preferred tender soil according to the experts in Ast’s current party.

The smell was already horrendous at the surface as they landed and it was hard to imagine how much more intense it would be underground. Tina borrowed a technique from Esil and surrounded each of them with an invisible bubble just like he had during their flights. In this case, though, it provided them with fresh air instead of protecting them from the wind and temperature.

“How do we contact them?” Silvia pondered out loud. “If this is truly the correct place.”

“Well, I would rather avoid breaking into their habitat through the soil as that could end up being difficult to excuse, but they should come to investigate if something extraordinary happens on the surface.” Oria tapped her lips thoughtfully, then looked up at Ast’s domineering figure and grinned. “I think I have an idea.”

A few minutes later, a powerful, loud, echoing roar shook the nearby area as Asterios released a mighty cry boosted with additional techniques from his beloved mates. For a moment, even the stinking smoke was pushed away, making a clean zone where they stood. He shifted back to his humanoid shape right after and they waited patiently for any reaction.

Just as they were starting to get bored, the pebbles around them began shuffling at a bunch of spots. They rose into small mounds before uncovering about fifteen individuals with crossbow-like contraptions in their hands, meant to launch some kind of spherical projectiles. Each of them shared similar quite forward-extending and sharp facial features with slightly squinted eyes. They were all Weres too.

“Who are you?” one of the men asked tensely. “Was the earlier quake your doing?”

Oria, Miria, Selene, and Zoe stepped forward to display their race and divert most attention to them.

“Yes, it was us, and we apologize for making you anxious, but we had no other way of getting in touch with your community without trespassing on your territory,” the panther lady explained. “We wish you no harm. I simply want to know if my friends whom you are sheltering are safe and sound.”

“We know of no Molekin befriending one of your kind, Panther,” he replied. “I would advise you to return where you came from. We do not mingle with other species.”

“My friends are not Molekin.” Oria shook her head. “I’m looking for the female Deerkin and male Bearkin you provided with safe haven long years ago.”

At her words, all the moles raised their weapons ready to attack. Asterios instinctually reached within himself to shift at a moment’s notice and protect everyone with his bulky body, but Miria stopped him with a raised hand. The other girls halted their preparations too and he decided to trust her on this.

“We know nothing of individuals you speak about,” the same man said with a bit more tension in his voice. “As I said, we don’t look kindly to any outsiders. Retreat before we assume you intend to invade our home.”

“Your reaction proves otherwise.” Oria showed a kind smile. “I’m not an enemy. Just tell Narmaya and Grigorji that I’m here and they will vouch for my credibility.”

The Molekin remained suspicious, but Asterios was able to spot the faintest shift in the leader’s facial muscles at the mention of those names. He knew something and was protecting that information.

Miria’s mother sighed heavily and reached into the neckline of her outfit. “Fine. Show them this. It’s a fang that belongs to Grigorji. He gifted it to me before we split up. I knocked it out during our first spar. No one else managed to even tilt that mountain of a guy no matter how hard they tried.”

Some quiet snorts escaped a few of the ambushers before they schooled their expressions. The leader caught the leather string with the fang after it was tossed at him and stared at it for a while. Then, without a word, he sank into the pebbles, leaving them alone with his men.

“That seems to have gone well,” Zoe commented with a faint smile.

“We aren’t in the clear yet.” Selene chuckled deviously. “Let’s hope we won’t have to hurt them to meet Mrs. Oria’s friends.”

A few seconds after she finished, a furry muscular arm burst out of the ground ahead of them, spooking Ast’s group greatly. It found purchase on the stones next to it and another one joined, doing the same. With a strong push, they hoisted a bulky male into view, pebbles flying everywhere from the sudden force. Half of a big and burly man with the features of a bear poked out of the soil as he spit a bit of gravel to the side before showing a massive smile on his heavily bearded face.

“Oria! Heavens above! I did not expect to see your exquisite fur ever again!” Grigorji said with a thick, kind of slurry accent and laughed deeply. “Just a moment!”

He grunted in effort while pulling himself up like he was struggling to fit through an invisible opening until his whole body was out in the open. It was immediately obvious this man was a bear by blood even without the small, cute, round ears atop his brown hair. He was built like a mix of a bodybuilder and a lumberjack. All his limbs were thick and beefy and even his torso was as wide and just as massive as the rest of him. He was easily a head or even two taller than Asterios.

The man leaned forward as if to rush towards them, but stopped himself and glanced back at the pit he had crawled out of. He then extended a hand into it and helped out a much smaller and leaner woman with brighter fur, leaf-shaped ears, and short horns poking out of her hair. Standing next to him, she looked really slim and small, reaching as far as his bicep with the highest point of her short antlers. Her demeanor was completely different too, closer to a refined and proper woman who cared about her appearance greatly and was effortlessly pretty.

“Gosh, Oria, you don’t look like you’ve aged a day.” Narmaya giggled quietly, shooting her old friend a delicate smile.

As the two women approached each other and entered a cordial hug, the man dug out one more person from the pebbles. It was another male, and they didn’t need to guess his identity. With his tall and muscular frame but with a much leaner and athletic build instead of powerful, it was hard to miss the features of both beastfolk who had come before him. He was only about half a head taller than Asterios and didn’t appear as burly. The couple’s son could be compared to a neat martial artist with an advantage of height.

Also, he was a Werebear just like his father.

Though, it was much harder to notice due to the mask he was wearing over his entire face. It was one of those plague doctor masks Asterios had seen a few times during his life, but styled into the snout of a mole.

“Come, Ulgier, greet your auntie. Don’t worry. As long as you keep your distance of three fingers, she won’t bite yours off, just as I told you.” Grigorji smacked his son on the back a few times.

Asterios raised a brow at his words at first, but then he remembered that even back in his hometown some people used to call a female friend of their mother an auntie in some cases if the two were close. 

“You musclehead! What are you teaching your children about me? Do you need another beating?” Oria huffed from the embrace of her friend and the two females chuckled cheerfully.

As the males moved closer, Ast’s party also approached. He felt the big man roam his eyes over their group, stopping at him to scrutinize Asterios the most, trying to figure out who he was. It was impossible to judge what the man’s son was thinking purely by his expression since it was obstructed, but his gaze seemed to orbit around the Pantherkin duo.

“So, this is the mate you have chosen,” Grigorji said while crossing his arms. “You’ve always had a thing for stronger males. I’m having trouble getting a full grasp on him. My instincts are panicking, and that’s a first.”

Oria snorted and finally stepped out of the other woman’s arms. “People change, Grig. I’ll have you know that my actual mate is the finest craftsman of our village and has never been in a real battle by choice.”

“Now, that’s a surprise.” Narmaya grinned and glanced at Miria. “But, since you are here, that seems to be the truth. You look just like your mother in her early years. It brings up so many memories.”

The panthergirl blushed timidly. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Narmaya. I’m Miria. I apologize for not using your family name but Mom didn’t talk about her past much.”

The woman gave Oria a knowing look before Miria’s mother turned her attention to their son.

“Would it be rude to ask about the mask?” She tried politely.

“Not in the slightest.” Grigorji shook his head. “Narmaya prepared a toxin that removed our sense of smell shortly after we arrived here.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry to hear that.” The panther lady brushed her fingers through her friend’s hair.

Narmaya snorted cutely. “Please. I get to live in safety and not smell nasty bear farts at night? I was considering doing that even before we separated.”

“Ah, yes. I remember you two always setting up your tent furthest down the line from the windward side.” Oria nodded sagely.

The Bearkin grumbled under his nose while looking aside, making them both laugh.

“But, we didn’t want to subject Ulgier to the same fate from a young age,” the Deerkin continued. “The moles helped us out by giving us this mask and I regularly resupply the herbs for him. That said, we should move somewhere else. It must be tough for you all to stand here atop this horrible reservoir.”

“It’s alright, Mrs. Narmaya! We’ve cleared up the air around ourselves with magic so we can even go inside!” Miria grinned at her cheerfully.

“Magic?” The female raised a brow at Oria.

“A tale for later.” Miria’s mom winked. “But, that means your son can take that thing off for as long as we are nearby. One more person won’t make a difference, right, Tina?”

“Nope!” Tina curtsied towards the women. “It’s done. I can keep this up for days with Ast’s energy supporting me.”

Everyone turned to look at the younger Bearkin and his mother gestured at him to do as told. He complied without a word of protest and unfastened the belts behind his head. Taking the mask off revealed a slightly rugged but kind of handsome man once more sharing some characteristics of both his parents.

Ulgier sneezed powerfully right after, clearing his throat as he lowered his head towards them. “Thank you. It’s been a while since the last time I was outside.”

His voice was rather neat too. Asterios deemed his features good enough to spark quite some interest amongst female students if he had attended Rosewind’s academy. Many did look kindly towards tall and strong-looking men.

“That’s true. We’ve been pretty much absorbed into the Molekin lifestyle so I can’t blame him.” Narmaya chuckled and turned to her feline friend. “So, what brings you here? I was certain we were about to spend the rest of our lives on our own. And how did you manage to find us? Not that I doubt your capabilities, of course. In the end, no one escapes the Death Hound if she sets her eyes on them.”

Oria grew slightly more serious and her eyes skipped to the younger Bearkin. “Does he…?”

The woman sighed softly. “Yes, he does. It was just a matter of time before Grig slipped and brought up one of his old conquests. Ulgier has been up to date for a while. Is Miria?”

Her mate shuffled awkwardly while avoiding eye contact, making the ladies chuckle quietly.

“Not yet. It’s very… recent.” The panther lady allowed herself a hint of a smile as she realized they had both tried to bring their children up the same way before it disappeared once more. “Roki is after the Phantom Brigade. He has already gotten to Charkes and Leonin. The three of us are the only ones left.”

“Son of a beetch!” Grigorji stomped hard on the ground while cursing with a weird articulation, making the nearby area shake slightly while his mate gasped in horror. “I knew he was a disguised hornet crazy about the honey from the very start!”

It looked like the bear man had a quite unique way of showing his anger, but considering the situation, no one felt like laughing. The problem they were facing was rather sensitive and serious.

Not every day you learned about the betrayal of someone you used to know.