Whatever awful abomination the witch was currently creating from the leader's destroyed body, it was not something Lucius could easily overcome. Even if Sense Danger hadn’t informed him that the creature being born was a C-Class threat—an entire class higher than Lucius—the blaring alarm in his chest from his instincts was enough to let him know he needed to get away from the beast as quickly as possible.
Lucius grit his teeth as he reluctantly activated Flicker once again. Even before the skill fully took effect, a wave of dizziness passed over him as the consequences of overusing the skill began to manifest. The patch of dirt where he had been standing, directly in front of the still-forming beast, exploded from the force of his departure as Lucius took off running in the direction he’d last seen David. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself through the waves of dizzying exhaustion by sheer force of will, clenching his fists as he ran to prevent himself from collapsing.
As he crossed the area where the group of men gathered around the campfire, Lucius couldn't bare to look at their faces as he passed by, his brow furrowing deeply as he considered their fate. He knew that many of them were most likely as innocent as Sarah or Nicolai, but the circumstances were dire, and he wasn’t even confident he would survive the next few minutes himself. He didn’t have the ability to save anyone else right now. When the realization that he was about to use them as a distraction to buy himself time dawned on him, his expression resembled someone who had a foul taste in their mouth.
Lucius shook his head, rebuking himself for getting distracted by things he had no control over in such a critical moment. He doubled his efforts as he sped through the underbrush like a mad rocket. Zeroing in on David's location through Sense Danger before he even laid eyes on him—in actuality, he was sensing the man David was chasing, but it led to the same outcome nevertheless. Weaving through the trees, Lucius quickly spotted his target. David was moving through the trees with an angry grimace, struggling to catch up to the fleeing man, his injured side slowing him down and preventing him from doing so.
Without saying a word, Lucius dashed past David, lifting the large man into the air with telekinesis and pulling him along as he fled through the forest. Ignoring the startled shouts of his companion as well as the confused look on the face of the man David had been pursuing.
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Back in the clearing, a massive gray wolf the size of a full grown buffalo stood where the leader’s body had once been. The wolf was missing its left eye—an empty socket was all that remained on that side of its massive head. The beast let out a deep, guttural growl as it surveyed the clearing with its single remaining eye.
A small, elderly woman with a sickly thin body and long wiry white hair floated down from above, she was riding inside an oversized mortar and pestle as she stared lovingly at the giant wolf. The old woman leaned over the side of her unconventional flying device as she began to stroke the side of the massive beast's face with her wrinkled and boney hand.
"Happy birthday, you who are my firstborn child! Go and eat your fill—everything that moves upon this earth belongs to you!"
The wolf let out a howl so loud and powerful that it damaged the eardrums of the nearby humans, the men around the campfire fell to the ground holding their hands against the sides of their heads in an attempt to stop the painful sound. That was the moment they finally realized their usefulness had come to an end, the men watched in impotent terror as the large wolf rushed up to the campfire, tearing the closest member of their group to pieces before their eyes. Only now did the cowardly men find the courage to run or fight back, unfortunately their efforts were even more futile now than they would have been before the leader's transformation.
A short, overweight man with a crossbow in his hands stood before the creature. He knew he was the slowest man in the group, and didn't even attempt to run. Instead, he stood his ground and aimed his weapon at the approaching beast’s face, his voice trembling as he tried to talk his way out of the situation.
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"Boss! It's me! D-Don’t do this! I'll do whatever you say!"
"Good, obey and fill my stomach!"
The man's face turned pale in horror as he heard the sinister voice in his mind, squeezing the trigger just as the wolf launched itself forward. As the arrow reached the creature's face, the wolf shifted into an ethereal, ghostly image of itself, allowing the bolt to pass harmlessly through. It had apparently retained the leader's powerful aspect—that aspect likely being the reason Baba Yaga chose to use him in the first place.
The remaining men scattered in all directions, screaming in terror as the overweight man cried for help. His desperate begging went unanswered as he was devoured in a horrific display of violence by the hungry wolf.
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Lucius raced through the forest, a loud howl off in the distance sending chills up his spine. He continued to put as much distance as he could between himself and the clearing, ignoring the disgruntled complaints of the man floating behind him.
"Put me down, goddamn it! I'm gonna puke!"
David was currently floating upside down, his large body crashing through low branches and slapping into trees as they moved through the woods. Lucius' telekinesis wasn’t strong enough to properly carry someone as heavy as David. He was barely able to lift the man and drag him along behind himself. Any notion of holding him up properly or maneuvering him around obstacles was out of the question—hence the current spectacle of David being rudely smashed into one object after another.
"Quit complaining! You're too slow with that injury, and we need to get as far away as possible before that creature decides to track us down!"
"What creature!? What the hell are you talking about?"
"It's hard to explain. Just know that the leader is gone, and something much more dangerous has taken his place."
David wanted to keep arguing, but when his legs smashed into a passing tree, it sent him spinning like a top as he floated through the forest. He pressed both hands over his mouth, trying desperately to avoid vomiting. Unfortunately, he failed—a spinning flood of vomit shooting out from the twirling man like a sprinkler from hell.
"Uuuggh... w-where are we going?"
Much of the energy had drained from David's voice after the motion sickness overtook him, but Lucius' next words seemed to infuse knew life in him.
"First, we need to make sure that thing isn’t following us. Then, we’re meeting up with Sarah. From there, we’ll head back to the farm, where you’ll both be reunited with Maryanne."
Lucius had some experience with tracking and hiding trails, so he used the best trick he knew to cover their footprints and scent. Recalling the terrain he passed on the way, Lucius made his way to a small, flowing creek that cut through the forest. He let out a relieved breath when they reached it without any warnings from Sense Danger to indicate that the creature was close to catching up.
Waving one hand through the air, Lucius slowly lowered David into the creek, allowing the man to walk as they both traveled through the water in the general direction of David's waiting wife.
"So... Lucius, is it? How is... how is my baby girl?"
Lucius glanced up at the imposing man beside him, noticing how David's fierce expression had softened for the first time as he raised the topic of Maryanne. Exhausted from the overuse of Flicker, the tough fight, and the frantic escape, Lucius responded with more attitude than he normally would have.
"Hmph. Maryanne is doing well—no thanks to you. If I hadn’t stumbled upon her, the poor child would’ve starved long ago! Not only did I have to save your daughter, but then I had to come save you and your wife—almost getting myself killed! How did you even let yourself get captured by that psychopath in the first place?"
David looked away, his face turning a shade pinker than usual. He rubbed the back of his head, pretending to cough.
"Ahem. That... I was. Naive. The three of us had been hungry for weeks before I left to find food. When I stumbled across the leader, he pretended to be a generous, kind man. Willing to share food with my family. I was deceived."
Lucius shook his head as he peered ahead through the darkness. Just around the bend was the wooden bridge that crossed over the creek and connected to the dirt road where Sarah and Nicolai were waiting.
"Forget it. We’re almost there. Let’s get Sarah and get the hell out of here."
David nodded firmly and hefted his heavy axe over his shoulder, following Lucius as the two men climbed up the creek bank toward the road.