William ran at his prey, sword glinting in the moonlight. The battle had gone on for long enough that Twilight had ended without him noticing. As the lead wolf came into reach, William slipped low, bringing his upper body down to the left, flicking his blade up and through one of the wolf’s legs, bisecting it. William’s shield slammed into the snout of the second wolf making the beast yelp and whimper. He kept his momentum up and thrust into the third wolf. He had intended a killing blow, but the wolf was nimble enough to turn a lethal wound into a flesh wound on it’s front shoulder. William pivoted on his lead leg as he passed the last wolf, turning to face his foe once more. The two injured wolves were starting to back up, growling with eyes full of hatred and fangs promising death. The uninjured wolf had begun to run at William again, seeming angry at William’s rather painful snoot booping.
He managed to dispatch the wolf with ease, sidestepping a lunge and bringing down Flicker in a decapitating slash. William intended to finish off the other two, but was annoyed to see their injured figures disappearing into the trees to the South. He had been tempted to follow, but he couldn’t recklessly run into the woods and leave the others behind.
William began a light run back over to Stacey who had just finished another of the initially injured wolves William had gifted her with a [Fire-Bolt].
“Good work Stacey. Get any levels?” William asked, looking at the wolves prone before him.
He noticed that four of seven were now dead and smoldering. Three remained and seemed to be bleeding out as they were merely twitching and breathing slow.
“Two so far, I’m out of MP now though,” Stacey said, dropping down.
He noticed a regretful look on her face as she glanced at the wolves. Something was eating at her.
“William, how do you do it? Kill things I mean. I couldn’t help but feel sad when I killed those wolves. I know we need to kill to survive. Everything up to this point has cemented that...but...how do you not break?” Stacey added, wrapping her arms around herself.
William walked up to her, wiped off flicker and dismissed it and pulled her into a hug. He asked Echo to keep scouting the surrounding trees from the air and to let him know if more wolves approached. His bond complied in an instant and the light flutter of wings sounded above.
William kissed Stacey on top of her head and said, “Maybe I’m already broken? Maybe being broken is what enables me to do it. You know, I still think back to that first night when I fought that bandit. The pain I felt in that battle was the most painful experience of my life. It was me or him. If I died, you all would have too. Why do I still feel disgust at myself for doing it?”
“I...don’t know. You’re strong and fearless in battle and even if you were already broken, there has to be something that kept you going?”
“I won by luck Stacey. Luck. He got cocky and paid for it. I still killed a man though. I did what was so horrific on Earth, and I wasn’t even thinking clearly, consumed by my rage and my pain. I was afraid. Adrenaline is what got me through the earliest fighting I did here. I don’t know what else I can really say other than to do what you have to do and survive this world.”
Stacey gripped him tightly in her arms, seeming to need him as close to her as physically possible. William returned the tight grip with his, willing his very being to be a pillar of support for the woman in his embrace.
“I don’t know if I can William. It’s hard. I see those beautiful blue eyes in each wolf, looking at me as I kill them. How do I stand strong with that to deal with?” Stacey said, slightly muffled by her head being buried in his chest.
“Then use me.” William said, no hesitation in his voice, just earnest intent.
Stacey lifted her head to look at him with a confused expression and replied, “What do you mean? Use you? I don’t understand.”
His eyes met hers and he gave her a compassionate smile.
“Use me. I’ll be your pillar. Cry to me, vent at me, grieve to me. I’ll be here for you. I’ll be the bulwark to your heart.”
Stacey’s face turned from confusion then to admiration and she kissed him. Their kiss was long, warm, and right. The moment, to William’s annoyance, was ruined as the wolves started letting out attempts at low howls. The two stopped their embrace and turned to see the two that William had left further back struggling. One pawed at their eyes, and the other was trying to drag itself home.
“I don’t have the MP to finish them,” Stacey said, grimacing at the scene.
She had noticed the spread out remains of the majority of their attackers.
“You have your Scout Class still, why not use the daggers you have to finish them off?”
Stacey pulled one of the daggers on her thighs out of its sheath and looked at it nervously.
“Are you sure William?”
“They’ll die now anyway. At least this way they’re put out of their misery. If you can’t do it, I’ll finish them off so they don’t suffer more than necessary.”
Stacey seemed contemplative for a brief moment, but nodded with a face of determination, walking to the three wolves that were beside them. William watched as Stacey held the knife above the first one’s head, closed her eyes, then drove the blade down, snuffing out the life of the beast. She repeated this twice more and got back to her feet, looking at her bloodied knife in a mix of surprise and disgust.
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William walked up to her and held his palm out. She placed the knife in it and watched as William wiped it off on his sleeve.
He handed it back to her and said, “Remember to wipe blood off the blade once you are done with it. Blades can get ruined from dried blood being left on them.”
Stacey took the knife and sheathed it, nodding to him with a sad smile. She looked over at the two remaining wolves and started walking. It was only a moment later that she stopped, seeming to focus on something.
William was about to ask what it was when Echo informed William something was coming from the east. He assumed that Ashen had told Stacey the same thing. William sprinted to Stacey’s position and managed to get there just in time to stop a bite that was aimed at Stacey.
The beast’s fangs clamped onto the edges of William’s shield and tried to rip it away. William summoned Absolution and thrust it into the beast’s snout that had slightly protruded from behind his shield. A loud yelp made the beast leap back. William got in front of Stacey and they both set their eyes on the attacker.
The sight made William use some of the little remaining MP he had to Identify it, feeling it was a necessity.
{Ascension_Protocol}
Aether-fur Direwolf Level 19
{End}
The name seemed to fit as the beast had shimmering Fur and was the size of a small car. This beast was dangerous and William’s heart raced in fear as he realized that Stacey was no longer safe in her tree. He also didn’t know if he could beat the thing with his current MP. He only had enough for a single use of [Flash Stride] and a Vortex attack without being able to use [Mana Investment]. He also wasn’t stupid enough to think they could outrun it. Either the beast died, or the two of them and maybe their bonds would die. It was an oddly simple and comforting thought to William. It would be a battle between two predators. Nothing more, and nothing less.
“Stacey, When I charge it, you climb up the nearest tree. No arguments, just run as fast as possible.” William said, making his tone firm and commanding.
To err here was to die and he couldn’t have his girl near this monster. He then flared his Aura and channeled his killing intent in hopes it would make the beast’s attention stay on him. He then charged with a yell louder than he thought possible, realizing it was being amplified by his Aura. The Direwolf snarled and darted straight at William. Most of his skills were off of cool-down now and as the beast swiped a paw partway into it’s lunge, William used [Flash Stride] appearing next to the beast’s flank and used a [Vortex Slash] almost severing the left hind leg. He grimaced as he had hoped to fully sever the limb. About a half inch chunk remained attached and he wished that he had the MP for [Mana Investment]. Maybe he could find a ring of MP regeneration or something like it in Everglade later.
The beast let out a loud bark of pain and spun, kicking William with its other hind leg. The motion caused the beast to slump initially, but the effect on William was worse as the air was punched from his lungs even though he managed to block with his shield, and he bounced several times through the battlefield. He came to a stop with Absolution slipping from his grasp and clattering to the side. Two or three of his ribs had broken from the impact and he was lucky that he had raised his shield in time, otherwise he might not have had a chest cavity any more. William felt some relief as he saw that Stacey had climbed a high tree and was clutching onto a thick branch for dear life, looking at the battle with horror and concern.
He couldn’t focus on her any more however, as he spotted the Direwolf padding in a few circles, seeming to test its injured back leg. It would come for him any moment and he needed to heal. He had enough MP to infuse some into a Syphon rune and so he summoned Sharpie. Getting to his feet with pain biting at his torso and bearing a shield arm with no feeling, he moved as fast as possible for the blinded wolf, running Sharpie through its neck and using Syphon to heal from its life-force. He winced as his bones snapped back into place and the sensation returned to his shield arm. His other light wounds from the earlier wolves had also healed and he felt fighting-fit. William ran back over to grab Absolution, wiping Sharpie off on the way. With Absolution back in his grasp, he decided to place his back to a nearby tree.
He had a haphazard plan at best and the next few moments would either be a resounding success, or a bloody failure. The Direwolf had figured out a rhythm and started running for William at a slightly slower pace, but still one that he wouldn’t be able to flee from if things went south. He held, and held, and held, every new moment making his heart beat faster and faster. The beast was then upon him and with a last minute dive to the left, William avoided the swiping frontal paw and heard a thunderous boom as paw met tree. William rolled and got to his feet using the momentum generated. He felt a tiny bit of happiness at his success and looked at the tree expectantly. He was delighted to see a somewhat mangled paw that was missing several claws. He then learned that even an astronomically ferocious monster like that could pitifully whimper in pain.
His elation was cut short as he saw the beast wince at putting pressure on the injured appendage and a pair of almost glowing blue eyes locked onto his. He could see an intelligence and intense hatred in them. It promised a painful death. He had thoroughly pissed it off. He did, however, appreciate the silver lining that Stacey was as safe as possible in their current situation. The beast attacked once again, this time trying to bite into William. He was pleased that he could nimbly dodge the beast now. He may not have much MP at present, but he had plenty of SP. William believed that this would become a battle of attrition and didn’t intend to lose it.
William dodged another such attack and swung Absolution down into its frontal left shoulder, intent on crippling the beast more. He was immediately rebuffed as the fur on that area glowed a vibrant blue, shielding the beast and making Absolution bounce off. William was shocked to say the least. He might be able to get through with Absolution’s cutting ability, but it would only be a 50% success rate with no MP to channel into it. William leaped backwards dodging yet another bite, creating space between the two so he could try and come up with something.
Echo seemed to sense William’s dilemma down their bond and William sensed that Echo had an idea to help him. He was cautious about risking Echo. The little guy felt that emotion and conveyed his own sincere emotion back with confidence following after that. William conceded to his bond. His bond told him to attack and Echo would help when he did. William didn’t waste time and ran forth, with another idea of his own to secure a wounding blow, provided Echo’s own idea worked. As the two predators got within each other’s reach, the beast snapped its teeth forth, straight into a successfully timed [Indomitable Parry]. The beast’s head was knocked away and its torso raised up ever so slightly. The Skill was one he rarely got to use, but as it worked perfectly in that moment, William lowered his body, sending a thrust towards the chest of the beast.
Echo came into view as his blade neared the Direwolf and the little guy used his Echo Location style ability. William feared that Echo had risked both their lives, but smiled as he saw the blue fur of the Direwolf lose all luminosity and felt Absolution plunge deep into the beast’s chest. William pulled the sword free and darted back as the Wolf yelped, wailed, then snarled. The value of his bond had just skyrocketed now that Echo could counter Mana related abilities. The beast started a slower stalk towards William, eyes slightly dimmer than before and breaths more labored.
Seeing the beast approach, William had a bad feeling that this would be a long night.