Elemental Cats

Since both buffalos chased the cat closest to them, they ended up going in separate directions. One followed Scrael, and the other followed Asilean.

It might have been because they were too angry. But the buffalos didn't notice they had been separated from each other and the rest of the herd. Scrael and Asilean's baiting and teasing had goaded the two strongest buffalos into giving their all in chasing them. And the two leaders weren't leaders for nothing. The rest of the herd couldn't quite catch up and, as the chase continued, only fell further and further behind.

After successfully separating the leaders from their herd, Scrael and Asilean separated the leaders from each other so that Nil and Lucy could fight them with as little disturbance as possible.

Fighting a strong individual in the midst of a group battle might have been better training for combat and would put more pressure on Nil and Lucy. But when the opponents were already stronger than them, it would only put them at unnecessary risk that would be more destructive than rewarding.

Scrael and Asilean had the two buffalos chase them until they were so far apart that they wouldn't accidentally interfere in the other's fight.

After doing that, Scrael and Asilean practically disappeared from the buffalos' view. But before the buffalos could react or clear their minds, Nil and Lucy took their place. And Scrael and Asilean went back to help Toz and Mindle with the remaining herd.

When the leaders had put enough distance between themselves and their herd, Toz and Mindle interfered and grabbed ahold of the herd's attention so that they would stop pursuing the leaders.

Since the members of the herd seemed almost mindless and chased after the leaders blindly, Toz thought it might be more challenging than he had planned. But it turned out to be a needless worry. The buffalos' empty eyes turned toward Toz and Mindle as soon as they appeared, and they changed targets. Toz and Mindle didn't even have to do anything to complete their part of the plan to let Lucy and Nil have a fight without distractions.

Toz and Mindle braced for the incoming battle while they waited for Scrael and Asilean. With their speed, it shouldn't take long until they came to help.

The members of the herd might be weaker and appear to be less intelligent, but they were still high level demonic beasts at the seventh and eighth levels. And there were at least twenty of them, all charging with incredible momentum at Toz and Mindle since she rode on his shoulders.

Since Scrael and Asilean lured the two lead buffalos away, the herd would arrive at Toz and Mindle before they did, but Toz didn't let the herd's unstoppable charge deter him from his plan.

Toz began by launching several Fireballs at the front of the herd to impede the charge, but it didn't seem to have a noticeable effect. The roaring demonic energy built up by the charge accumulated at the front and shielded the buffalos from the blasts. The buffalos charged through the dust clouds Toz stirred up with barely a decrease in their speed.

Toz quickly changed the properties on his Fireball. Instead of creating a large explosion that would disperse its destructive force in exchange for reaching more enemies, he concentrated the power. The ball of fire, as large as a dog, shrunk until it was barely larger than a fist.

The reduced size and increased concentration of power made it easier for Toz to control the Fireball's trajectory and flight. The Fireball flew forward, turning into an orange streak before arriving at the herd that was already alarmingly close to Toz and Mindle.

The Fireball pierced through the demonic energy's defenses and struck the buffalo furthest to the front, after which it exploded in a small burst of flames that enveloped the buffalo in fire. It was enough to kill the buffalo, but the rest of the herd remained untouched, and the charge continued unimpeded.

Toz gave up on stopping the herd since it was already in front of him. He threw two more piercing Fireballs before grabbing his sword and jumping.

The buffalos were so intent on chasing him that they also jumped without thinking, trying to ram him. However, they couldn't jump as high as Toz and fell back to the ground with a stream of heavy thumps. Toz solidified the space under his feet so that he stayed in the air until the herd of buffalos finished jumping. He landed at the end of the arc of buffalos.

He had been worried that the buffalos would head to their leaders when they lost sight of him, but it seemed like he was close enough to trigger their sense of smell as they turned around their charge to target him again.

Toz had greatly decreased their momentum with his jump and positioning, and he wouldn't let them get it back before he could do anything.

Since the buffalos were already so close, Toz decided to take advantage of that and their temporary disorder. Mindle also got to work at the same time.

After Toz landed, she conjured her four Tongues of Flame and sent them out to surround the herd and keep it in place by creating a boundary of heat and fire. Since she was fighting alongside Scrael and Asilean, she wouldn't be able to go wild and unleash as much heat as possible, so she took on a supporting role while Toz and the other two were in charge of slaughtering the buffalos. It would also let Asilean experiment with ways to attack while Toz and Scrael kept the herd in check. Fighting strong opponents that weren't too strong was the perfect situation for Asilean to try out different methods since the buffalos would put up enough resistance to show whether or not his attacks were effective. But they wouldn't be impossible to attack or injure no matter what he did so Asilean would still be able to figure out what worked and what didn't.