Spring in the Pride was filled with a constant stream of noise as more and more reinforcements arrived, and work began on expanding the fortress by building secondary and tertiary walls outside. They mostly used the stone being excavated when the boring machines arrived, also creating a paved runway for their planes. It was just like the day when Avalon was established, the difference being that many of the Vasas were also helping out in the labour, working just as efficiently as any Avalonian. They showed not only their natural strength and magical capabilities by carrying resources that would be too heavy for a regular man, but they also showed the capability of their minds, as they quickly adapted to whatever they were introduced to.

Watching the work being done, Seltana stood atop the wall, her winter cloak changed to a lighter variant, still drawn tight around her shoulders against the strong wind, her eyes fixed on the tree line, where some melting snow was still visible.

“Movement!” A yell came through her communicator all of a sudden.

“How many?” she called back, straining her eyes to try and see, hoping to catch where the trees moved or swayed, but she could see nothing.

“North-east quadrant! Four large signatures, closing in fast!”

By then, she was hurrying into the command tower, to the Imaginary display as the projection flickered to life. Indeed... Soon, four shapes emerged through the forest, all of them rather big, around twenty meters in height, maybe more. They were of the bipedal variety, something that Avalon began classifying as the 'Godzilla-variant,' sometimes also giving them strange names like Tyrannosaurus or Spinosaurus, things that for sure came from the Sovereign... Not that she would question it.

"Ignis again..." someone muttered, as the beasts usually did not come and attack when the winter's call had already ended.

“They’re walking a line…” Seltana murmured, noticing their weird behavior.

She wasn't wrong. The beasts were indeed fanning out, walking back and forth, from east to west, no longer in a hurry; instead, they were doing it slowly, very slowly, stepping closer to the Pride, always stopping, waiting, then walking in arcs, before moving just a grid forward.

“Artillery crews ready!” an officer called over the intercom. “Awaiting firing order!”

“Hold,” Seltana answered at once, "Do not shoot!"

Hearing her order, multiple other officers froze around her, looking at her questioningly, but orders were paramount, and they followed them to the letter. If the Sovereign trusted his people enough to place them in a commanding position, then they had no right to doubt their orders. Just then, Lazlow's voice came through Seltana's communicator, cutting over the silence.

“General,” he said, and she heard him climbing into his plane's cockpit, “My squad’s ready. Give the word and we’ll take off and hit them before they have a chance to get into range of the—”

“No,” Seltana cut him off.

"..." For a moment, there was only static when Lazlow asked back, “No?”

"For now, stay put. We aren't sending the planes forward just yet."

Once again, there was only silence, but not a surprised one... Instead, it was because people began thinking, and finally, multiple of the officers present had a lightbulb go off above their heads. In the end, it was Lazlow again who asked what everyone else was now thinking about.

“You think… they are testing our range?” he asked.

“I know they are,” Seltana nodded. “That Ignis thing wants to know how far we can reach from here. Maybe she wants to know how we track the horde and how we prioritize who we fire at first? Or... How far we can shoot and how close she can get before putting herself into danger. If we fire now, she’ll be able to measure our actual range, not to mention that if you fly out now, she’ll have a good read on you, too. She can’t know about our air force or your capabilities, not yet. We must hold back as much as we can, so when the time comes, we have the upper hand and can surprise her.”

"Mhm..." Lazlow let out a long breath, “Understood. Permission to stand by on the deck, engines warm?”

“You may,” she granted. “But nothing leaves the ground, not without my orders.”

When the feed was cut, Seltana returned to the Imaginary, studying the beasts’ movement. They paced, back and forth, never really charging, always moving in a testing maneuver, many times three of them stopping one getting closer, waiting... then having the rest follow the lead. Watching them, it was evident that they were being controlled, as their heads turned in sync, often moving stiffly or mirroring each other as if one string controlled all four of them.

“She’s learning fast,” Seltana whispered, grimacing, “Too damn fast.”

We should do something about it... That was the thought of everyone; the question was, how close do they let them come? If it's too close, the beast may realize they were holding back; if not, when it matters, she will have time to retreat from a trap.

"Sa'Ith, are you listening?" She spoke up when a decision had been formed in her head.

“We’ll deal with these.” She answered without waiting for Seltana to explain, already knowing what she wanted to ask of them.

“Are you certain?” Seltana still asked, but indeed she was about to tell them that this was their chance to fight and do something, as they had previously offered.

“Four puppets?” Sa'Ith snorted. “Hardly worth warming up. Leave it to my people.”

"Mhm." Seltana nodded. “Good hunting.”

As for an answer, they could only see four, red streaks flashing, running out, faster than any human could move, on par with their airplanes, surrounded by reddish, glinting energy. Looking at the Imaginary, Seltana watched as the Vasas' armored four split like shooting stars, each heading to one of the beasts in the distance.

Through it, Seltana watched the clash unfold, not wanting to miss a moment. It was her first time measuring the Vasas' power, and she wanted to know everything about them. As for the four beasts, they reacted the moment the Vasas made their move, their posture shifting to intercept their enemy. The Vasas closed the distance in mere minutes, weaving between the massive legs, leaping and clinging to the armored hide of their enemy, using their weapons, emerging from their own bodies into their hands, carving into their joints with precision. One of the beasts to the left fell first, the Vasa's spear lodging itself into its knee, then releasing a burst of fire, blowing it out with an explosion, before the warrior flung himself up into the air. His weapon was connected to him via a magical thread, yanking it out from the falling monster's leg, and wrapping it around its neck like a lasso... before yanking it. No matter how tough they were, the Vasas' weapons were made to topple them, so the creature's throat was immediately torn open, spilling blood everywhere, almost decapitating it in one move.

As it was happening, another one lunged at its enemy, with a sweeping arm the size of a watchtower, smashing down toward the Vasa warrior. Mud erupted where it struck, sending earthly chunks into the air, but the warrior had already dodged, leaving behind a red trail, flowing around the blow like water. Once again, as if rehearsed, she did the same as her sworn brother, leaping at the titan’s knee, her claws digging into the tendon around it, ripping it apart before summoning a spear. As if rehearsed, she drove it into the joint, twisting, rupturing, and then blowing out bones and flesh alike, causing the monster to fall over.

They were either used to fighting like this, Seltana thought, or they understood what she wanted and was doing... If Ignis is watching, if they fight only one way, she will only have a chance to adapt to one style, and could still be surprised in the future. For their own benefit, Seltana hoped Sa'Ith was doing and ordering her people to do the latter...

As for the four, Ur’Tokh was also amongst them. He was without his mounts as he cut under his target, stopping under its belly, in its shadow. The beast struck downward with a club-like limb, showing that it was already expecting the strike against its knees, trying to step out of the way... but it was too late for that. First, Ur'Tokh redirected the creature's swinging attack by summoning his spear, using the strength of a beast, able to even overpower his current target... But doing so had a surprising consequence:

Back at the Pride, one of the three beasts Ur'Tokh had suddenly flinched, shriveling up like a raisin, falling over... dead. It didn't escape Seltana's eyes, her mind already connecting the possible dots, realizing that it was probably a price Ur'Tokh paid to match a raging beast in strength... borrowing the life-force and essence of that he was bonded to.

As for the fight happening on the battlefield, Ur’Tokh planted his spear-staff against the earth, turning it into a sharp pole as he vaulted upward, and in one seamless motion struck the monster’s knee with the same bestial strength flowing in his veins, his fist blowing the joint out like nothing. Nevertheless, he wasn't done. As the creature buckled, he walked on air, as if it were solid ground, shooting up right above the monster, delivering another blow, sending the creature's head crashing down right onto his planted spear, nailing it and drawing it out from the other side of its skull.

Under him, the titan gagged and twitched, blood and brain matter scattering everywhere... dying. They were... done before anything could be done to the Vasas, four monsters dead and killed by four... people. If they can still be called people, that is. As for what Ignis had thought about her little experience... Seltana hoped that she would be as frustrated as possible.

"And they say they fear the beasts..." someone muttered, and as if hearing him speak, Sa'Ith's voice came through the communicator.

"Fighting lone monsters can be done... But the sad reality is that this end of the world has them in abundance. Even if you have ample power, it will be drained, and they will win in the end."

"Like what happened to the one that fell over?" Seltana asked, wanting to push for answers.

"Yes." Sa'Ith said after a momentary pause, not hiding it, "We have them under our control, just like Ignis controls them... But ours is also a two-way link that can share the blood, the bones, the magic between those who are linked with the beasts they hunt. It allows us to borrow all their power and preserve ours for the mere price of spending it in one go. As you could see, it will enable our warriors to not only match them, but also to overpower them."

"For a price?" Seltana asked... but this time, there was no answer. "But now you lost one," She added, making Sa'Ith chuckle.

"Beasts are plentiful, young girl. We can replace them, and we will replace them. They are nothing more than resources, just as you use yours, we use ours. The only difference is that our resources are made of bones, blood, and flesh. Or... are you feeling sorry for these abominations?"

"Not at all." She chukled, shaking her head, "I simply don't want to waste them for a simple demonstration. If you tell me you can do these types of things, I will have them memorized and use them strategically. Otherwise, it's just a waste. Every unit has its worth, its points... I need them so I can calculate when to spend them effectively."

"You aren't a Vasa, yet you do sound like one." Sa'Ith chuckled, "You Avalonians are not at all different from us."

"..." To that, it was Seltana's time to say nothing in the end, as there was nothing to say, really. Especially because she wasn't about to tell her everything about her past... Not right now.

"No new signals." The officers reported, "For now, it seems this is all."

"For now," Seltana nodded, "Keep up the surveillance. I want increased pings for the next twenty-four hours! Send a team out and retrieve the corpses... As I said... We aren't wasting resources."