The Vengeful Extra's Ascension-Chapter 254: Catching the Lynx

The Veilstalker Lynx vanished into the forest like it had never existed at all.

One moment, there was the faint distortion in the shadows, the wrongness Albedo had pointed out previously, and then the next moment, the air snapped back into place, sound rushing in as if it had been held underwater.

All of the leaves rustled and the branches swayed, but nothing else occurred, as if the Lynx had vanished into nothingness.

Kaelith clicked her tongue as she saw this, "Fast little bastard."

Albedo straightened slowly, eyes half-lidded as his perception stretched outward again. Ember trotted a few steps ahead, hooves leaving faint, glowing impressions in the soil that faded after a heartbeat.

The forest here was not natural.

Professor Luna had warned them, of course. The Beast Taming grounds were stitched together from layered biomes and reinforced illusionary ecosystems, designed to simulate extreme conditions without actually endangering the Academy. But the Veilstalker’s presence made everything feel... hollow.

Mana slid away from focus. Sounds arrived half a beat late. Even Ember’s flames dimmed, white-blue light turning muted at the edges.

Kaelith rolled her shoulders. "It’s good. Really good. My Pyraxis can usually bully stealth-types into revealing themselves."

Pyraxis huffed, smoke curling from its nostrils in annoyance.

"This one’s different," Albedo said calmly. "It doesn’t hide itself. It’s using a special kind of magic to hide the space around it."

Kaelith snorted, "That’s cheating."

"It’s survival, my guess is all the Beasts here have that mutation to make this chase more difficult," Albedo replied.

"Knew there had to be a catch," Kaelith said annoyed as the duo began moving.

Not running, as running would be pointless.

The Veilstalker wanted pursuit. It wanted them to chase shadows, to overcommit, to waste mana. Instead, Albedo matched Ember’s pace, steady, unhurried, while Kaelith kept Pyraxis flanking wide, wings partially unfurled to disturb the air.

Minutes continuously ticked by and then Kaelith frowned, "It’s herding us."

Albedo nodded, "Toward thicker interference zones."

"Which means?"

"Either it’s leading us away from something," he said, "or toward terrain it knows better than we do."

As if in answer, the forest shifted again.

The trees grew closer together, bark darkening, roots twisting across the ground like veins. The canopy above thickened until sunlight was reduced to thin, fractured beams.

And then, a low thrum vibrated through the ground.

Pyraxis snarled, claws digging into the earth.

"There!" Kaelith snapped, pointing left.

The lynx appeared for half a second, mid-leap between two tree trunks, sleek, silver-black fur rippling with iridescent patterns, eyes like liquid mercury.

It saw them looking and vanished again.

"Damn it," Kaelith growled. "It’s baiting."

Albedo exhaled slowly. "Good."

She glanced at him. "Good?"

"It’s getting confident, we can exploit that," Albedo said.

Ember stamped again. This time, the flames sank inward. The white-blue fire collapsed into Ember’s core, her body glowing brighter as the soul-link between her and Albedo tightened. Albedo’s eyes flared purple, Source Code flickering faintly beneath the surface.

Kaelith felt a focused pressure emitting from Albedo and realized what he was doing.

"...You’re anchoring perception," she said slowly.

Albedo nodded, "It can bend ambient awareness. It can’t bend mine."

The forest shuddered. For a split second, the Veilstalker’s void-pocket slipped.

Pyraxis reacted instantly.

With a thunderous roar, the SubDragon slammed its wings downward, releasing a concussive burst of superheated air that ripped through the trees. Leaves ignited mid-air, branches snapping as the shockwave tore through the undergrowth.

The lynx screeched as it was forced fully into visibility, skidding across the ground before scrambling back to its feet.

"There!" Kaelith shouted.

The Veilstalker bolted, extremely quickly. It zigzagged through the trees, phasing between shadows, leaving afterimages that fractured perception.

Kaelith swung onto Pyraxis’ back in one smooth motion. "Try to keep up, Rank One!"

Pyraxis launched forward, claws tearing trenches through the soil as it accelerated. Ember surged alongside them, hooves barely touching the ground as space bent subtly beneath her stride.

The chase escalated.

The Veilstalker triggered environmental traps, mana-slick ground, illusionary doubles, sudden dampening fields that threatened to smother contracted beasts entirely.

Ember powered through them with stubborn brilliance, flames adapting, burning concepts rather than matter.

Pyraxis compensated with raw force, brute firepower punching holes through interference zones when finesse failed.

They were opposites.

And it worked.

"Cut it left!" Kaelith yelled.

Albedo lifted a hand, fingers twitching.

Gravity shifted, the lynx’s leap angled wrong by a fraction, landing it closer to Pyraxis’ path than intended.

Pyraxis snapped its jaws, but the lynx twisted away at the last second, claws raking the SubDragon’s snout before darting off again.

Pyraxis roared in fury.

Kaelith swore, "Okay, now I’m annoyed. Can we just get this fucking bastard,"

She slammed a fist into Pyraxis’ scales, mana flaring, "Containment protocol - Draven Style."

Runes ignited along Pyraxis’ wings and spine, crimson light chaining outward as Kaelith invoked a bloodline control art—not dominance, but restriction.

Fire spread, a burning net slammed down across the forest floor.

The Veilstalker shrieked as it collided with the barrier, concealment collapsing under sustained pressure.

Albedo didn’t hesitate. In one step, he crossed the distance, Havoc and Ruin remaining holstered as he lunged barehanded. His palm struck the ground beside the lynx, mana flooding outward in a precise pattern.

A binding seal bloomed, one of the spells Luna had taught him and the rest of the class.

The Veilstalker collapsed, limbs locking as the seal took hold. Its eyes darted wildly, body trembling as it struggled, but it was done.

Ember slowed to a stop, flames softening and Pyraxis snorted triumphantly.

Kaelith slid off her mount, chest heaving slightly before she laughed, loud, bright, unrestrained.

"...Damn," she said, staring at the bound beast. "That was actually fun."

Albedo straightened, brushing dirt from his sleeve. "You didn’t slow us down."

She smirked. "High praise from the rank 1,"

They activated the retrieval beacon, signaling Professor Luna.

Moments later, the forest began to unwind, illusions peeling away as reality reasserted itself. The clearing returned, Luna already waiting, eyes assessing both the captured beast and the students before her.

"Well done," Luna said simply, "As expected of you two,"

The Veilstalker Lynx was secured, wards forming gently around it as it calmed, resistance fading. Around them, other teams were still struggling, some lost, some arguing, some already exhausted.

Kaelith glanced sideways at Albedo. "You know," she said thoughtfully, "I came here planning to challenge you eventually."

Albedo raised an eyebrow, "Planning to."

She grinned, sharp and honest. "Not anymore."

He smiled faintly "Smart."

"That doesn’t mean you should relax. Watch out, some people don’t mind bending the rules to get to you," She left that as a final warning before leaving.