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The lull in the battle ended as the lupine creature advanced, though Jack supposed it was hard to term it such given that it was now standing on two legs and seemed perfectly content to advance on him.
Its left forelimb and with it, its elongated claws were well on their way to flank his right shoulder with a promise to reduce it to ribbons of sinew and bone. Dodging was a possibility but Jack wasn’t sure if he was quick enough to pull back in time to avoid the blur of crystalline bone in time and even if he managed to dodge once, that didn’t change the fact that in it’s two-legged state, the lupine creature’s reach superseded his own.
So Jack attempted to parry the oncoming claw strike instead, only to once again find himself embroiled in a clash of strength as neither the force nor the angle of his slash was enough to redirect the claws away from his blade.
His enhanced senses caught onto Sarah’s footsteps as she frantically moved to close the distance between herself and the lupine creature while its back was still turned to her.
Jack’s expression was pale as he recalled the intelligence the lupine creature had already displayed and juxtaposed it with his awkwardly positioned shield. There were slim odds that the lupine creature wouldn’t use that observation to its advantage. If he didn’t pull his planned counter off, he would lose an arm, but Jack wasn’t sure if he was quick enough to pull off the maneuver he had in mind while the beast’s sole attention was focused on him.
Despite having risked his life more times than he could count in the last few days, there was something about the prospect of being torn into ribbons by those crystalline claws that made his stomach churn at the thought.
As he found himself on the verge of committing to a maneuver that had about an even chance of working, the whistling of Sarah’s spear as it shot forward with incredible quickness saved him from that choice.
Jack was forced two steps back to maintain his footing as the lupine creature intensified the push behind its forelimb with a sudden jerk, giving Jack the space to disengage.
Entirely too comfortable with its two-legged form, the lupine creature whipped its head backwards, pivoting on its left hindlimb and placing it’s other hindlimb in Sarah’s direction as it whipped out with its right claw.
Sparks of Moon Qi flickered in and out of existence at the sight of impact as the lupine creature stilled the Moonspear’s assault, having caught it in the gap between two of its four elongated claws.
It didn’t take long for Jack to reach the same conclusion, even though the lupine creature’s tall form blocked his line of sight from witnessing the clash himself. The sound of metal grating against crystal was familiar to him, having heard it moments before in their own clash.
The fact that the lupine creature could block a blow to it’s back with such finesse didn’t lend itself positively to the encounter, but still, Jack didn’t hesitate as he charged back into the fray.
Commiting to a running kesagiri slash wasn’t something he would resort to under normal circumstances, given that it was about as ungraceful as it left him wide open to a counter. Still, he had superhuman reflexes now and the lupine creature’s attention was occupied by Sarah. With Moon-flow empowering the strength and speed of his blade, Jack brought his sword down in a diagonal slash that he was certain, could rival the viciousness and quickness of Qi Projection.
Once again, the lupine creature repositioned itself. As it turned sideways, Jack noticed Sarah pulling back her Moonspear with a quickness gifted to her by moon-flow before the lupine creature pushed it back with a jerk of its shoulder.
As it stood between them, its arms were outstretched in both Jack and Sarah’s direction.
His devastating kesagiri slash, that was supposed to cleave the lupine beast’s shoulder off, was caught on the length of all four of its elongated claws on it’s left forelimb, raised like an overhead shield to defend itself from the crippling blow.
Jack’s confidence in the attack hadn’t gone unwarranted, as the lupine creature’s arm actually buckled under the weight of his strike, only for it to recover a few inches before he reached it’s shoulder.
Damn it! Jack thought, even as he pressed down on the claws, the screeching of metal and claw growing louder. That didn’t stop the downward force he had exerted from leaving him after the moment had passed and once it had, they had entered a contest of strength Jack knew he wouldn’t win. If only its blasted limbs were a little less longer.
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On the other side, Sarah utilized moon-flow with abandon, unleashing a flurry of light but devastatingly quick thrusts that rang out with the whoosh of an arrow.
A dance had unfolded on the battlefield, as on one side the lupine beast’s clawed forelimb parried spear thrust after spear thrust at the most awkward of angles, it’s forelimb bending this way and that to block the spearhead between two claws and push back with a firm force before it could so much so as touch it’s fur. On the other, Jack had pulled back and hacked at the lupine creature with reckless abandon, all manner of skill seemingly having left his combat style.
It’s not enough, Jack thought. He wasn’t sure if the lupine creature would recognize the Essence Syphon Art, but Jack was sure that it would see the threat it and consequently, he himself, represented.
The temptation to use it now at the cost of the risk was heavy, but Jack knew that for the beast, it was a battle of attrition. If he revealed the greatest threat in his arsenal and they failed to kill it, the lupine creature could simply slink back into the fog and opt for a safer approach.
“Hey, big ugly!” Marcus’s boisterous voice sounded out from somewhere to his side. “Why don’t you turn those butter knives towards someone that slice back!” He bellowed at the top of his lungs, surprising all three of the active combatants.
Jack’s gaze flickered over to Marcus for an instant, even as he committed to a sideward slash. He wouldn’t have blamed either of them for deciding to stay out of the battle, given that they would get slashed to ribbons if their reactions were even slightly sluggish, though it would have meant that Jack couldn’t trust them when it came to working as a team.
Marcus drawing attention and consequently, danger to himself seemed uncharacteristic of the man, so it was worth the split second distraction.
As it turned out, Marcus had Qi Sword active as he jogged more than ran towards the heart of the battle, his expression pale but determined as he held his short sword threateningly over his head, even going as far as to shake it for additional effect.
What the fuck is he—, The thought left Jack as he heard a different set of rapidly approaching footsteps sound out from Sarah’s quadrant of the battlefield and the query died in his mind.
Jack had already committed to the attack, so he refocused on following it through.
The lupine creature snarled, it’s chest menacingly rumbling as it shifted it’s claws towards Jack’s blade instead of angling for a parry. As Jack’s blade slipped between two of it’s claws, he realized the enormity of his mistake but it was too late to pull back.
With a flick of its wrist immediately followed by an upward thrust of its claws, Jack’s moonsword was yanked from his grip and sent flipping into the air.
Instead of finishing him off, the lupine creature turned and in it’s stead, it’s two tails slammed into his side with far more force than Jack had expected. The sheer unexpectedness of it all sent him tumbling into the ground, coming to a stop about a dozen meters away from the lupine creature.
Reorienting himself as fast as he could, Jack watched the battle unfold even as he pushed himself to rise to his feet, fighting against the pain he felt in his abdomen. It would bruise and maybe his ribs were a little fractured, but he needed to hold the Greater Recovery Pill for greater injuries.
Jack watched as the lupine creature, having recovered the use of both of its claws, unleashed a flurry of swipes and slashes with its claws, all camouflage for a whipping kick with its right hind leg that caught Sarah in the abdomen.
Even then, the lupine creature was just a moment too slow to be able to turn around in time to meet Jin’s Qi Spear empowered thrust in time. Instead of skewering the blasted creature in the back, Jin managed a puncture wound in the abdomen as she had caught it mid-turn.
For a moment, there seemed to be a disbelief on both sides, then the lupine creature howled in rage and wrapped it’s hooked paws around the spear’s shaft, tugging it free with ease. Purple blood leaked from the wound and splattered onto the ground, but that didn’t stop the lupine creature from flinging the spear away into the distance.
Had Jin doggedly tried to hold onto it, she would’ve been pulled directly into the lupine beast’s claws.
Instead, she now stood before it, unarmed.
Jack was already running towards her, but he knew that he wouldn’t make it in time.
Thankfully, there was someone else who hadn’t stopped jogging towards the lupine creature and now, had broken out into a full-bodied sprint.
“That’s enough!” Marcus roared as he leapt the last of the distance separating him from successfully flanking the lupine creature, with both his hands balled into a fist overhead, clinging onto his shortsword for dear life with Qi Sword active.
Jack almost couldn’t believe it when Marcus’ leap actually caught the lupine beast by surprise, his blade digging into the fur and bone of it’s shoulder with such force that only it’s hilt remained visible.
Marcus had ended up proving his declaration to be true as he had committed to the single most maniacal charge that Jack had ever witnessed, which was saying a lot considering that they seemed to be his speciality. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the lupine creature from thrashing the arm the injured shoulder was connected to and when Marcus’ ribcage connected with the lupine beast’s elbow, a loud crack rang out as his body tumbled backwards, ragdolling across the earth before falling limp.