The blue spiritual chains wrapped themselves firmly around Leylin, dragging her down to the ground as the flames in her palms slowly faded away, and gold-tinted tears streamed from her eyes.
"Eren. run. please!"
But Eren didn't move. Instead, a fierce burning heat was building up in his chest, as if the fire that he had practiced over the past few days had been kindled only now.
He could see the three hunters piling over her. One of them raised his staff to slap her into submission with a stronger spiritual shackle, smothering the last of her strength and dragging her off like a dead puppet.
"Let go!"
Eren screamed at the top of his lungs, extending his right hand out. This time, the fire was not small like before. Instead, he felt electricity coursing through his body, a sense of burning that did not hurt him. Instead, it energized his body as if the wind was propelling him from the ground.
The next moment, his hand burst into a fierce red flame and then the fire broke forth along his arm in streaks of fire that ran down his back.
The red light flashed out, covering his entire form. Behind him, a set of gleaming fiery wings appeared, beating in the air, as if made of raw fire.
The three hunters took a step backward, staring at him in awe.
"This. is impossible! He's human!"
Eren slowly opened his eyes, his red embers-like eyes glowing like hot coals. He could feel the wind rushing by him, feeding the fire instead of extinguishing it.
He flapped his burning wings once, a wave of heat whizzing by, clearing the fog and chill from the area. He felt he was soaring for a moment, before he quickly charged toward Leylin.
He slapped the chain of the spirit with his blazing hand, crackling, before the blue chain burst like broken glass, its pieces falling on the ground as icy ash.
Leylin's eyes widened in shock, staring at Eren in front of her, his blazing wings glowing behind him, as he extended his hand towards her.
"I said. I won't leave you alone."
She extended his hand slowly, and the moment theirs touched, a gentle warmth coursed through both of them. Not extremely hot, but warm, filling their hearts.
"How. How did you do that?" Leylin trembled.
However, before he could respond, the hunter at the center roared:
"Kill the human before he can control this power!"
One of the hunters lifted his staff, firing blue spirit arrows at Eren. Eren opened his flames and fueled them higher, pushing the spirit arrows away before they could hit him.
During that time, the fire and wind were incorporated into Eren's body. They were no longer forces, but pulses within him.
"Leylin. get behind me."
He talked in a steady voice, as he aimed his fiery wings at the hunters, and they began retreating, frightened by the red light that was growing in the darkness.
But Eren did not attack them. Rather, he let out a single shriek, thrashing his wings mercilessly. A blast of flame and wind shot out, flinging the hunters back, slamming them against the edge of the woods, before they disappeared into the mist, shouting.
Silence reclaimed itself as the burning wings gradually dissolved into thin air. Eren fell to his knees, panting, perspiration dripping down his face, but with a smile.
Leylin came near, kneeled beside him, and laid her hand on his cheek, her tears freely flowing as she smiled broadly.
"You. saved me."
Eren opened his worn-out eyes and gazed at her. He grinned and mouthed, "We will fight them together. this time I won't run away."
Then they realized, then, that the war was not yet over, but just beginning, yet they were together, wind and fire as one for the first time since they fell to Earth.