“GRRRRRR...”
The white beast roared, showing teeth stained with blood already frozen from the first blow it suffered in that encounter. Though still aggressive to the extreme, the change in its stance was easily noticeable.
"What's the matter? Not feeling free to try your luck again?” Jake, fists raised, asked. “Don't you want a piece of this meat so bad? Well, come and get it, little puppy.”
The animal seemed almost too shy for it to be true. Prowling from one end to the other, all it did was nothing more than tô trace a single path around a circular area of about four meters. Jake did the same, keeping pace with each side step of the creature, so that they were always facing each other.
To anyone familiar with that concept — which most likely didn't refer to any inhabitant of that fantasy world — the boy and the big wolf recalled two watchful, anxious fighters in an MMA octagon.
Jake's raised fists showed the chill in his fingertips. Gradually, the tips of his phalanges ceased to be pale, taken by a new infusion of blood. Directly attacking the creature would also mean damaging himself.
"It's been waiting... Now that it realizes the full scope of the threat I offer, it won't give up on trying to take me down so quickly."
He didn't have the luxury of being able to attack indiscriminately. Each of his blows should be applied, singular and accurate. There was no chance to doing it the wrong way.
And that was why he wasn't counting on being the one to deal the final blow to that monster. Controlled in his stance, the boy of no Heart and Reality glanced sideways at his left side, staring at the true trump card of victory.
"I hope my words reminded her that she can also use Magic to end this thing for good... Or rather... I hope she's even aware of her capacity for it in the first place."
... ... ...
Enille, placed a good distance away from the two, knew there was no way she could stand and watch, and with all her strength she picked herself up, back on her two legs, aware that, in the end, Jake's words could not sound more correct.
"He's right. I became an adventurer for a reason and any adventurer who gives themselves the slightest bit of respect doesn't cower that way in the face of a creature they must kill..."
As much as the confidence in those words was still thin as a hair, it proved enough to at least bring about a significant change in attitude. It would be a mistake to say that Enille wasn't scared anymore, but after that, at least she had a greater focus on what was really important.
"It's the first time I've seen someone manage to punch something that big..."
The event from before was simply astonishing in her eyes, and even though it passed in a flash, the scene still ran like an accurate excerpt from an epic book in her mind. It was something she would never forget, given they get out of that situation alive.
“But I need to focus now. Jake needs me.”
Breathe in, breathe out... And repeat the cycle, as many times as necessary. She had to bring her racing heart back to a state at least a little closer to calm.
… And then, it was a matter of bending reality itself to fulfill that urgent need.
"Tap into your Magic Power… Feel it in the tip of your fingers… Picture your goal… And focus on it, Enille."
… … …
“GRRRRRRRAAAAWWW!”
“Come on.” Jake readied himself, in order to take the attack.
The creature charged with another lunge, focusing in one swift movement that at the same time threw the full weight of its massive body onto him.
“Too slow.”
Jake dodged to the right. Aware of how his newest capabilities worked — at least partially — the boy used his sharpened reasoning to infer what the beast's route would be based on its apparent motivations.
"Now that this thing knows how dangerous I am, it won't want to keep me alive for much longer."
“GRAAAAAAWWWW!” Wasting no more time, the massive wolf executed yet another attack.
This time, it was a bite propelled by the great strength of its hind limbs. In a great leap, the animal reached heights previously unimagined, with the plan to fall like a missile on the boy's body and tear it apart with its fangs on display.
“It means that I managed to annoy it enough, and so it will do his best to eliminate me first.”
He even thought about using the cursed blade hidden in his clothes, but didn't because of the obvious lack of time for that. The wolf was already falling at surreal speeds, getting closer and closer to piercing him in the face or shoulder with its large fangs.
"In this case..."
Jake didn't think much else of what to do and let his left fist do the talking, in the form of a powerful punch that connected squarely with the animal's muzzle, sending it about four meters backwards, back to its original location.
“... The best defense was just to keep attacking.” He finished his previous thought. “Enille, how are you doing there?”
A quick glance to the left revealed the most appropriate scene to view in that context; a small trail of good news in the midst of so many problems and concerns. Enille was already working on a spell that was gaining more form by the second.
It started as a mass of greenish light with no direction or reason to be, but which gradually acquired a piercing shape, just like the tip of a spear or arrow. It still did not appear to be compact or regular, however, gradually approached that ideal form.
"It'll take just… Some more... A little bit..." She said, seeming to have some level of difficulty.
In Jake's eyes, progress was progress, no matter how slow or laborious. However, at the same time, he couldn't ignore the possibility that it might take too long.
"Right. Close your eyes and concentrate. Keep doing your best, Enille.” He said, walking to cover the girl in her concentration process. “Don't you dare focus on anything other than this spell.”
“GRRRRRR...”
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"What's it? Starting to get scared? There's always a chance to run away and let us go, you know? If you wanna live.”
The creature, bleeding from its snout, watched Jake with extreme care, always taking as much time as possible to observe before taking a step. His movements were slower and the increase in breathing flow --- indicated by waves of icy smoke coming from his mouth --- showed just how much pain he was in.
“In the end, key rules always apply, it seems. The snout is an extremely sensitive area for any canine. This thing shouldn't be any different. I must have landed a good hit that activated all the pain receptors in the area.”
It was almost as if the beast was starting to get really scared of Jake and, in those seconds, had internally questioned its own ability to beat him.
"No... That's not it... That's what it wants to make it seem like it's about..."
It didn't take a big gamble or superior reasoning to figure that out. All the boy with fists raised to eyes level needed was to focus a little better on the distant eyes, as blue as sapphires.
“But what a smart hunter you are. Gotta give credit where it's due.”
“A-WOOOOOOO!”
The massive snow wolf leapt as high as it could without warning, until it reached an apparent height of about 7 meters. Every muscle flexed gracefully, recruiting every fiber for what meant a change of strategy.
“You noticed, didn't you?” Jake asked as he jumped back. “Realized that I am not the real danger here!”
In the distance, the animal was looking at the blonde-haired girl preparing a spell. Its keen hunter senses alarmed it, pointing at that magic wind spear and repeatedly saying: "kill it first if you want to live".
It was obvious that attacking Jake was no longer the right answer.
“Enille cannot lose focus now.” Jake hurriedly reached for the first thing he found on the ground. “That would mean the end of everything.”
A rock the size of a child's fist, of the most common kind possible. He still didn't feel properly in his left hand, so he switched to his right. It would be a single ball on target, so to speak.
He applied all of his newfound strength to throwing the stone with maximum speed. The course of the projectile, fortunately, turned out to be a success.
“GRRRRRRR...! A-WOOOO!” The huge animal complained, mourning the loss of its right eye.
The impromptu attack forced it not to follow through with what was previously thought. The rock followed a perfect trajectory into its face, sending pain signals that broke all rhythm. Once again cornered by the presence of that human, the beast was forced to step back and watch.
"You've got to be kidding if you think I'm going to let you get any closer to our chance of winning." Jake spoke, coldly. "You can even be strong and smart and your strategy is admirable, considering you're just another animal…"
The boy's gaze grew even more icy than anything else, including the creature itself. Intimidated, the only gesture the big wolf found itself able to make was baring its fangs and keeping the head low.
"But, you know what? Even for an animal of such capacity, you sin greatly.”
The dark-skinned boy pulled out the cursed knife in its sheath. Showing the dark shiny blade made the one-eyed wolf regress a little further in its stance, as if instinctively aware of what that meant.
“Scientists say that capuchin monkeys are already in the stone age. This is something they figured out through observation and research around their behaviors. Unlike you, they are smart enough to use tools for many tasks.”
Without wasting any more time, it was his turn to start the attack. Jake propelled his body forward, reaching peak speed in a leap.
“… Which should be a shame for you, since even a damn bird knows how to use tools to get what it wants.” [1]
At the last second, the creature tried to deviate to the right, which was not a successful plan, since the information coming to its brain was misleading.
"One eye makes you see… But two?"
Such event allowed Jake to land a clean cut on one of his front paws.
"They give you an accurate sense of depth and distance."
“GRRRAAWW...!” The beast screamed, startled by the damage to its thick hide.
“This is not where we call it an end, you and I.”
Once the hunter, the big canine now became the prey. The damage to its paw rendered the musculature partially unresponsive, which only made it possible for a second attack to arrive much more easily than expected.
"Now, let's put you in the perfect spot to get this over with."
A kick from Jake struck it in the center of the abdomen. His intention wasn't to deal damage, as blunt force-based strikes wouldn't do much when not applied to a weak point.
It was all just a matter of setting the perfect location.
“Jake… Now!”
Enille's emerald eyes flashed open, bathing everything around the girl with the green glow of her Magic. Focused, the young woman with long blonde locks pointed what could only be described as a Wind Arrow at the large carnivore.
There wasn't even time for it to even try and evade.
The magical projectile pierced through its path like a shot from a highly accurate firearm. Mercilessly, the compacted wind, culminating in a single sharp edge, did not hesitate to ruthlessly tear through anything that existed within the space of about 5 meters, be it mere leaves or the tough skin of a hunting beast.
In the blink of an eye, there was the onde majestic creature, downed like some deer in a sports hunt, with that huge, gaping hole that started in its throat and ended in its right leg — two entrances to a tunnel dug through hardened, muscular flesh — now covered by ice.
"We... We did it... Jake... We did it...!"
Enille's voice reverberated through the trees and reminded the boy of something important.
"We don't want questions, so better put this thing away."
Quickly, he returned the knife to its sheath, placing it in the same space between his clothes as before. He couldn't run the risk of being mistaken for one of those hooded ones.
"And something tells me the excuse of finding it on a dead body or stealing it from one of them won't work." He thought, staring at his company. "Yes, we did it. You did it, Enille.”
“Oh, please...! We destroyed this together!” She fired back. “Not to mention I've never seen anyone try to punch something like that before… And even less succeed!”
“Let's say it was a bit of luck...”
“Luck, I see...!" She spoke in clear sarcasm. "Jake, you are very strong! That was amazing!”
The tall guy didn't want to have to answer any more questions, so he decided to bring the conversation back to the obvious.
"Well, considering the trouble this thing has given us…" He kicked the motionless carcass, rather weakly. "What do we do now? Do we leave it there and just go on?”
“When you mention it like that...”
Enille took a good fifteen seconds admiring the “work” done on the creature. Her face filled with disgust at having to think about that idea, but wouldn't choose not to offer it anyway.
"Uh, Jake... Do you have any experience skinning something...?"
“Skinning? Hmm ... Can't say I have.”
“Good… That is really good.” She thought, gripping her sword tightly.
“Are you suggesting we can sell this thing’s fur somewhere?”
It was the question she didn't want to hear.
"Oh, of course not! No...! No way!" She waved her arms, trying to undo that serious mistake. “It was just a silly idea and...”
"Okay, I will do it."
He knelt before the dead wolf, and for a second, admired its form from top to bottom.
“Fur like this one must be worth something, no? The city can wait a little longer.”
“Damn it…! Damn that tongue of yours, Enille...!”
And just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, a direct glare from Jake accompanied by his outstretched hand brought a request that made her want to throw up all over again.
“Enille, could I borrow your sword for a moment?”