"Can you be any slower? Come on!" I yelled back at Darius, who was panting while trying his best to keep up with Crimson and I. He was failing miserably.

"Well excuse me for having heavy armour!" The demon barked back "I'm sure you remember wearing this when you were in training."

"No, its design changed twice since I've worn it."

"Oh..."

"Focus, cadets!" Crimson barked at us as we neared the gates "This is going to be one hell of a battle."

"How'd you know?" Darius asked.

"I can just tell."

There he goes again.

I began pushing my legs to go faster, catching up to Crimson who had stopped in front of the gate. As soon as I skidded to a halt the sounds of weapons colliding and pained cries reached my ears. It sounded like a full on battle was going on out there.

"She said there was only three, how are they able to take on our entire defense force?" I muttered under my breath, but Crimson heard.

"You were able to take out an entire colony of venom weasels, weren't you?" He mused, causing me to mentally facepalm.

"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

"Not anytime soon, no."

Darius finally caught up to us, his breath ragged as he held his knees "Slow down next time, will ya!" He wheezed.

"We're under attack, do you really think we have time to slow down for a 2 mile an hour noob--"

"Iris."

I groaned at Crimson's 'big brother voice', rolling my eyes and muttering a quick 'sorry' before turning to the gate again and reaching for my sword "So what's the plan?"

"Stop whoever's trying to get in from getting in." Crimson answered simply, rolling his shoulders to prepare for a fight "You ready for this?'

I smirked "Naturally."

"Wait what?" Darius asked in disbelief "We're about to take on three crazy strong blokes who have managed to take out a fifth of our soldiers on their own, and that's the only plan you got?"

"Yup." Crimson and I answered, getting into our fighting stance. Darius was hesitant to do the same, a small gulp emitted from his throat.

"I don't like this..."

"You're welcome to retreat."

"I am not a coward!"

"Good," Crimson smirked "Move out!"

"Wha--" I heard Darius yelp as Crimson and I began charging towards the gate, and the heavy sound of his boots were heard not too far behind me.

He's gonna get eaten alive.

---

I inhaled sharply as the outskirts of Alzdrak came into view. It was worse than the refugee slaughter, I could say that much. There were dismembered bodies, decapitated heads, impaled soldiers, and of course blood everywhere I looked. I asked myself again if this was really possible for three people, but this time mentally. I didn't need anymore comments.

"This is worse than I thought..." Crimson muttered, his tail stiff and his ears up in alert.

"Can this even be accomplished by three men?" Darius asked "This looks like the work of some kind of monster."

"If they're able to kill so ruthlessly, then they are monsters." I growled, my hand clutching my sword tighter.

I felt somebody's aura from the trees, causing me to whip my head round in that direction. The sense was hazy, like the person had no feelings whatsoever, but I could still sense they were there.

"I know you're there!" I barked, getting Crimson and Darius's attention "Come out, don't be a wimp!"

Some rustling could be heard from the leaves, meaning whoever was there had jumped down a few branches. The rustling continued, and the branches seemed to thunk as if something was landing on them. I readied my sword, prepared for an attack to come at me at any moment.

The rustling stopped.

.

.

.

And then three black figures jumped out.

They landed in front of us, causing us to get into defensive stances as they rose to their feet. All three figures were dressed head to toe in black. Black boots. Black trousers. Black shirts. Black gloves. Heck, they even had black hoods over their heads to hide their identities. Though, I could tell they all had the same neutral expression, as their mouths all formed a straight line.

"Are you the ones who killed these men?" Crimson demanded.

They didn't answer, continuing to stand silently like statues.

"Speak." The man hissed.

Nothing yet again, as if they didn't even acknowledge him.

"Hey!" I yelled "It's polite to answer when someone's talking to you!"

This time they reacted, but not verbally. Their heads slowly turned towards me, and I could faintly see three pairs of ebony black eyes staring at me from under those hoods. They were lifeless, as if they were only puppets being forced to move by some invisible strings. That would explain why their auras were so foggy and lifeless.

"Iris Kester," they spoke in unison, sounding almost robotic as they each reached a hand out towards me, as if a some kind of force would pull me towards them.

"You are our target."

I gasped as the middle one lunged towards me, forcing me to side roll out of the way as he attempted to grab me with his muscular arms. Crimson and Darius watched with wide eyes, equally shocked by the man's speed.

"What the fuck?!" I squeaked, still a little bit shocked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Crimson's hands had flames dancing around them as he raised them up "But I think it's safe to assume these are the men behind this."

Darius took a step forward, suddenly having a glint of bravery in his eyes "Then let's take them down."

"Do not interfere," the man to my left ordered "Or you shall die as well."

"Oh, so they're planning to kill me, are they?" I asked no one in particular, spinning my sword around before holding it in front of me "Well news flash, little grim riding hoods, that ain't happening."

"Incorrect."

The man who tried grabbing me earlier pulled out a long silver sword, once again lunging at me with great speed and forcing me to push my arms to block in time. I winced as our swords came in contact, feeling his strength through his blade as our weapons clanged together multiple times. I knew they said I was the target, meaning they probably wanted to kill me, but the rush of adrenaline as soon as our blades touched. The fact that I had to stay high alert at all times. The feeling I could die with each swipe he made at me. It all just made me feel so alive.

This is the thrill I'm looking for. Not some goddamn letter posting quest.

---

Crimson's flames formed a medium sized serpent creature that circled around him. He watched as the man to his left seemed to analyse the creature of fire.

"Fire manipulation..." he stated in a flat voice. His hands came up to his head, index fingers placing themselves above his eyebrows as he seemed to concentrate on something. A moment later an almost identical replica of the serpent appeared next to the man, except this one was made out of purple flames.

"Copycat," Crimson was almost, almost impressed "This may make things a little more interesting."

With the command of their wielders, the fire beasts charged at each other, their jaws snapping as they chased, bit, and strangled one another. In the end both exploded into tiny embers. Crimson wiped some sweat from his brow, smirking slightly before bringing his hands together in front of him. The flames danced around his arms, but he was unfazed as they slowly formed an even bigger creature. A dragon.

His opponent once again mimicked him, a purple flame dragon coiling around him and baring its fiery fangs at Crimson.

The Foxeen slowly took off his mouthguard, exposing his menacing grin as he chuckled lowly "Let the games begin."

---

Darius glared at the third man, masking his uncertainty with bravery as his gripped his scythe.

"You're afraid," The man told him as if it was a fact "Retreat now, and you'll be spared."

"No!" Darius growled, his eyes going from green to crimson in an instant "I am not a coward!"

He shot forward, appearing in front of the man in an instant and swiping at him with his scythe. However he jumped within a millisecond of getting sliced, landing in a squatting position on a tree branch a few feet away. Darius growled, his eyes flashing as he readied his weapon.

"You have good speed, but you're lacking in stamina," The man told him as if he didn't know "Though, it seems that neither are your strong point..."

"You're right," Darius smirked, once again shooting forward to attack this know-it-all. He dodged again, only this time Darius wrapped his tail around the branch to swing after him. This forced the man to block his scythe with a small red dagger.

"My strong point?" Darius chuckled, his eyes flashing again as he fought against the man.

"That's agility."

---

Crimson, Darius and I fought against these three hooded weirdos for what seemed like hours, soon finding that our individual battles inched closer to form one battle. The boys and I stood back to back, watching carefully as the men circled round us. My limbs were shaking slightly from exhaustion, but I refused to back down.

"Iris Kester, you are our target."

I groaned, my shoulders slumping in annoyance as I glared at them "I know! You've implied it like, a dozen times!"

The third was the quietest of the trio, seeming to be observing each of our movements with more intensity. The second was the weirdest out of the three, always seeming to copy our attacks and adding his own flare to them. And the first- he was the strongest. It was shown with both his body and his attacks, which almost overpowered me on numerous occasions.

They sort of reminded me of some guys I used to know, but they disappeared half a year ago. It couldn't be them- these guys were trying to kill me! But their fighting styles were almost identical I just--

I blocked another attack from the bulky guy.

"Do you mind!" I snapped, pushing him back "I'm having an epiphany here!"

"About what?" Darius asked, blocking the copycat's scythe replica with his real scythe.

"These men, they move and attack like the Three Beasts."

"That's just a coincidence," Crimson claimed, sending a fire wolf at one of the men "Those three disappeared without a trace."

"Exactly." I pointed to him, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"Uhhh, I don't follow."

"They disappeared without a trace, meaning they could be anywhere at anytime..." I slowly gestured to our opponents.

"Oh," the man finally caught on "But if they are them, then why are they attacking us now? And why are they after you?"

I didn't answer, and instead stared at the men intensely until they lined up. I swung my sword with great force, forcing the men's hoods to fall off their heads due to the small yet powerful wind. The three didn't react, but I could finally see their faces clearly. Sandy blonde hair and ebony black eyes- they all had that trait.

I smirked "Knew it."

"Yes you did." A voice said from behind the trees, and almost instantly the boys fell to the floor, eyes closed. Emiliana walked into view, a purple orb in her hand as she smiled at us.

"What did you do?" Darius asked, looking down at the sleeping bodies.

"I lifted their curse," The woman answered simply, holding up the orb "They'll be asleep for awhile."

"Wait... curse?"

"Mind control," I spoke up, kneeling down beside one of the boys "Someone was using them as mindless puppets to do their bidding. That would explain why I couldn't read their auras."

"Regardless, we must take them into custody," Emiliana huffed "They'll no doubt be confused when they wake up, and we're not sure if panic will turn into hostility or not."

The boys and I nodded, picking up a beast each and dragging them through the gates to the cells.

---

"Alriiiiight... now can you run that by me one more time?"

Crimson and I groaned, glaring at Darius as he continued smiling sheepishly at us.

"Seriously? What part don't you get?" I hissed.

"I dunno," the white haired boy shrugged "It's kinda hard to understand when it's about something about a guy who could have potentially killed me."

"He had no control." Crimson argued, sending the younger male a look that said 'do not argue with me.'

I sighed "Fine, we'll tell you one more time. That's it."

Darius held his hands up in surrender "Alright, alright, I get it."

Crimson and I exchanged glances, still slightly annoyed, and he nodded as if to say 'you start'.

I sighed again "Alright, so the Three Beasts are three brothers originally from the Majeec tribe; a tribe full of high skilled bandits located in the mountains. The leader was their father, meaning they were automatically bound to the tribe even though they didn't want be."

"However, on the night of their twelfth birthday they ran from it. They ran away from their family, their home, everything they knew, all because they didn't follow their beliefs." Crimson ran a hand through his hair "They believed in peace and unity, and they traveled down from the mountains to seek just that. They traveled from villages, to tribes, to entire kingdoms, looking for a way to change themselves. They didn't want to be a trio of no good bandits any longer. Slowly, over the years, they earned a title for themselves.

"Drew; the strongest of the brothers. With his skills as a fighter, he has been known to knock out entire armies with his bare fists. Hugo; the cleverest. With his observant eyes and extraordinary brain, he can outsmart any mastermind. And Ross; the chosen one. He was born with powerful magic, and was able to flawlessly control it at a very young age. No desirable title, but he can hold his own extremely well in battle. Together, they are The Three Beasts."

"Sooooo in short, we have the brains, the brawn, and the weird one?"

I facepalmed at Darius's explanation, dragging my palm down my face "I suppose..."

Darius pursed his lips together, glancing over at the three boys detained in a cell "So how was someone able to control them if they're as badass as you say?"

"That's what we want to know..." Crimson murmured "We'll have to question them as soon as they wake up, to see if they remember any details about being taken over."

"We can only hope they aren't resistant." I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.