7.

The echoes of the Essence based howl faded away and the world still spun about, but he firmed his stance and stood resolute as a massive dark shape came rushing through the trees. He held the dragonbone blade in front of him, angling it at a forty-five degree angle.

Pomp growled, vibrating on Erak’s shoulder as frost billowed out from between his clenched teeth. Erak smiled as the shape got closer, filling up his viewpoint as the massive creature hunched over and growled.

Bipedal with thick limbs full of corded muscle, thick black fur that rippled as it ran, a snout smeared with dried blood and flesh tangled in the gaps of sharp teeth. Red eyes glowed in the white light of the moon as it raced forward, closer and closer as it panted in bursts of smoky mist.

Lycanthrope lvl. 28

From the depths of Hell a demon prince cast his curse upon the integrated worlds. It had rippled for millenia destroying millions of lives.

Erak turned his head at the words. Werewolves were monsters from the old myths, prowling beasts that had haunted the great forests at the edge of the world. The information floating over the beast’s head was interesting, but not relevant at the moment.

The werewolf howled again, no Essence in its voice this time, and crossed the distance in a moment. It swiped out with a wide paw, talons dark as the night, and Erak was forced to block. The scream of talons on metal reverberated across the night and Erak grunted in shock as he staggered to the side. The power of the blow was fierce, deep scratches having clawed away at his shield.

Erak stabbed it in the gut, ripping sideways and through tough flesh with ease. The creature yipped in pain as its entrails painted the ground, staggering back and cracking a tree with a thunderous blow. Leaves rained down on it, but the werewolf stuffed its spilled intestines back inside as its wounds healed near instantly.

“Silver bane, it kills the beasts!” Sammus yelled as he swayed on his feet, still stunned by the howl. Erak didn’t have silver. He had a dragonbone blade. Erak cut the distance in a single leap, chopping down vertically and shearing an arm off the creature as it spun away from him.

He took a kick from a back foot and was thrown away, sailing through the sky to land on the ground in a crash of steel. He rolled, instincts screaming, narrowly avoiding a fist that cratered the ground where his head had been.

Pomp fired away an icy breath that swarmed over the side of the beast, black fur freezing and its body slowing as it still came toward Erak. Compared to the devastation that Pomp had wrought earlier against the Corpse-Eater, it was an abject failure of an attack.

Sammus sliced a hamstring apart as the beast’s attention was turned away. It howled again as it fell to one knee and Erak was there, a decapitating strike whistling towards its target. The beast fell and rolled, scampering on its two still functional limbs.

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By the time it got out of reach of Erak’s sword, the leg had healed and it stood back up to glare at them with rage filled eyes. Its lips pulled back as a deep snarl filled the air and it began to stalk forward.

Pomp leapt from his shoulder and circled to the left while Sammus went to the right while Erak remained in the center. The wolf huffed repeatedly, deep chuffing sounds that rankled Erak's spirit. Its missing arm was beginning to grow back, flesh warping and twisting as spears of bone and red muscle fibers flowed out of its torso.

“Erak, keep its attention, we’ll keep attacking till we find some way of putting it down for good,” Sammus said. The prince had finally recovered from the essence attack and was standing with his sword in a guard position. Erak grunted and walked forward to meet the black wolf.

It swiped at him, lashing the air and Erak ducked under the blow. He cracked a knee with the edge of his shield and drove the point of the sword back through the creature’s middle. It yowled in pain as bone shattered and the sword popped through it back, but its blood spackled smile just widened.

Sammus slashed apart the regrowing limp while Pomp’s sharp talons and teeth raked its other side. The half regrown limb hitting the forest floor seemed to finally breach the monster’s implacable facade. Erak twisted the blade and repeated his earlier motion, opening the creature’s guts to the world. As it bent down to scoop everything back up with one hand, backing up as it did so, Erak cut it hand off at the wrist.

He tssssked under his breath, having been aiming for the elbow. The hand began to regrow immediately, flesh and bone popping free from the forearm. Erak raised himself to his tip toes, blade extended outward as if to cut into the heavens. The red eyes rose to meet his behind the metal and Erak was pleased to see a level of fear beginning to enter the rage-addled monster.

He brought the blade down with all his considerable might, slashing apart the air in a howl before impacting the wolf’s skull. For a moment there was resistance, but then the blade was slicing through and emerging from the crotch, splitting the werewolf in half.

The two sides slowly fell apart, landing loudly on the ground and Erak smiled as he felt a rush of Essence flood through him. Not enough to gain another level, but more than the Corpse-Eaters had provided. More howls were coming through the trees, sounding closer and closer by the moment.

“Wolves are pack animals,” Sammus said as he tucked himself into Erak’s shadow. Pomp hissed as he stayed on the ground, the small dragon now tall enough to reach Erak’s shins while on the ground.

Pomp was looking more ephemeral and the dragon raised his gaze to meet Erak’s. The unspoken question was easily answered as Pomp sighed in annoyance.

“The breath attacks used Essence. I don’t generate any Essence, only you do, all of the extra generated going toward me to hold. Your generation rate is pitiful. I used up most of a day’s generation on just those two attacks. It will be difficult for me to maintain a corporeal form if I use a third.” Pomp somehow sounded both insulted and insulting.

“Sammus, do you have anything that could help with this?” Pomp asked a moment later for Erak.

“Most my skills are for groups. I am a royal, after all. There are buffs and things like that, similar to your aura. I could use them, but they won’t be effective with just the two of us.”

Crashing was coming closer, a tree groaning as it fell. The howls were layered on one another as Erak began to see the shape’s in the treeline. They were moving fast, rushing on all fours to get to their packmate’s killer.

“Before we are mauled to death, I would like to remind you this is your fault. We could have slept on nice beds, inside of strong walls, and had plenty of food,” Sammus complained. He didn’t waver though.

Erak shuddered as he thought of what those beds had seen and been through. Better to be here, in the pure night air, with a blade in hand and his enemies surrounding him. He wasn’t going to be able to level any other way after all.