A single breath, that's all the time it took for the Wolverine to make its move, more so, that's all the time it took for Indra to end the battle.
The beast's saliva had an odd acidic smell to it, one that was uncomfortable to get a whiff of.
'Its poison.'
Indra was inherently afraid of poisonous creatures, especially fast ones.
'But the system mentioned nothing of poison, does that mean it doesn't provide one with all the information about opponents?'
Indra made a silent resolution to not be completely dependent on the information provided by the system from now on.
The mist seemed to be closing in and the Wolverine stalked just on the edge of his…sight or whatever it was called, he still hadn't figured that out yet. In a flash the beast attacked but to Indra, the movement was almost like watching it in slow motion.
Under his breath, Indra muttered two words. "Draigan Aansoo."
On the tip of his finger, what looked to be a single teardrop appeared. This was no teardrop, this was death.
He rotated his body to the side, letting the beast miss by only a hair's width and forcing it to take the dragon's tear with it. One moment the beast attacked with vigour and the next it was alight with flames. These flames consumed the Wolverine from the inside out. It was as if the fire was consuming it. The body seemed to implode and in seconds all that remained of his foe was a pile of ashes and a feeling of pure joy.
After a moment or two, some shimmering light radiated off of the ashes and Indra's body absorbed it. As soon as it came into his body Indra tried to circulate it immediately. This time he tried it without any posture, only his mind. For a few moments, he thought that it wasn't going to work but soon after his body began to feel better, and less fatigued. The energy was dispersed evenly throughout it. It seemed that any time he killed a beast he would get some amount of qi depending on how powerful it was.
With his second wind Indra began walking again through the dense fog that he hadn't gotten used to, he was still uncomfortable. Before he had even taken two steps, a very low, very dangerous-sounding growl resonated throughout the mist. He couldn't tell where it was, it just seemed to be all around him. There was only one thing for sure. Whatever it was, it wanted to kill him. It was more than that, whatever it was, it wanted to rip him to shreds. This feeling was as stifling as the fog itself.
Indra concentrated on the five-meter radius around him, he tried expanding it but no luck there. After that plan failed he had no choice but to wait. He would have to wait and watch. No, that wasn't a good plan he couldn't just wait to be attacked. The growling kept coming but that was it, only growling. Whenever he thought that something had moved in the mist it was only his mind playing tricks on him.
'What do I do?'
A crazy thought came to mind and Indra decided it was better than just standing there, so he didn't, he sat. The mist was a distraction and if he was going to survive he had to find whatever it was that lurked inside it. So, he began meditating. He chose something sometimes known as the five senses meditation. It was a simple form that didn't require any special posture just sitting. To begin all he had to do is focus on his body and close his eyes. He needed to touch each part of his body, not physically but mentally.
He started at his head, he simply thought about it being there and slowly moved his awareness down from there. It was odd, each time he thought about a different part of his body it was as if it glowed in his mind. Like he could see a view of his entire body and as he thought of his head it lit up like a beacon then his shoulders, arms, torso and so on. When he was done he felt in tune with himself. The entire process only took a few moments.
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
The next step was simple as well he had to focus on each of his senses in turn. The First would be sight.
Indra slowly opened his eyes. He looked into the mist which took up his entire view. Stopping there wasn't an option Indra looked through the mist.
'It worked. Mastering meditation is going to be my key to survival.'
After a few moments of this, the forest began to reveal itself. It was eerie and creepy. The trees were huge and all he could see was their, base, not even the lowest branches. Small creatures scurried up the wide trunks, their tiny claws finding handholds in the bark. As Indra scanned the mist, all around him were trees and small animals. Finally, he saw something different. His eyes widened. The other senses would have to wait. The beast was barreling through the heavy fog, straight towards him.
Words appeared before him.
"Dammit, did the system ever stop and think, maybe we shouldn't do this every time a deadly creature is charging at someone?"
There was no one around to listen to Indra complain but he didn't care he would do it anyway.
[Alpha Lightning Wolverine: Unlike its smaller counterpart the Alpha is more powerful and much larger. Unfortunately the larger the size the faster the Wolverine. Although the Lighting Wolverine doesn't travel in packs or even particularly like anything other than itself these creatures will protect their own if one is seen being threatened. This instinct is heightened in an Alpha who has an innate sense of duty for its kind. This variation is stronger, faster, tougher and a lot smarter. It relies on more than instinct to fight.
Rating: F
Class: Alpha ]
The giant Wolverine flashed out of view and in that same instant, Indra rolled backwards and sprung himself into the air with his hands. The next instant the spot he had just been in became engulfed in dust and dirt that billowed like smoke into the air. Indra could see through the fog still and the dust now.
The Wolverine stood on all fours in a crater that was at least ten meters wide. The cloud dispersed quickly and revealed the Demonic beast in all its glory. Indra was still in the air when the creature turned its head, growled that low growl and used its hind legs to launch itself straight towards him, teeth and claws bared and every bit intent on ripping him apart.
***
Jaakobah stood adamantly next to his master's chair where he was bowing his head low, awaiting his punishment. While he was Experimenting with the stolen device Ambevilious had called upon him. He had to hide the device before he arrived, he couldn't risk bringing it with him. This resulted in him being late, which Ambevilious absolutely hated. The titan lord had called him here to observe Indra with him.
I'm starting to hate this boy.
He actually owed everything to his discovery of Indra but at that moment he hated him.
"Why aren't you watching Jaakobah?"
"I'm sorry master, I only thought you called me here to perform a task for you, not observe the boy." His answer came immediately.
"Well, I didn't, if you misunderstand again and you will not like the consequences. As for your tardiness, come here." His lord pointed at a spot right in front of his throne and waited for Jaakobah to stand there. Which he did without pause. Ambevilius stared at his slave for only a moment then whistled.
A section of the pristine white wall slid open smoothly without even making a sound and within it were two red dots. No, those were eyes. A high-pitched screech like a banshee came from the hole and something came out so fast that all you Jaakobah could see was a red streak from its glowing eyes.
The streak made its way around the room a few times causing some of the other slaves to duck and cower and it came to a stop on the Titan's shoulder. The beast was small with long limbs sort of like a monkey but its skin was scaley and its back was lined with sharp spines along the centre, it had two leathery wings and a long tail with a spike at the end. The creature had long, menacing claws and sharp teeth which it displayed to everyone by hissing.
"This is Lilith." Jaakobah didn't say a word. He despaired under the master's glare.
'Will this be the end? Is this it?'
Ambevilius whistled again, this time in a different tone. The red eyes streaked from Ambevilius' shoulder and straight towards Jaakobah. He shut his eyes tight and awaited a death which never came. A second after he closed his eyes a noise from behind him made him open them again. A scream of sheer agony came from a man standing directly behind him, it made Jaakobah's own ears ache because it was so loud.
He turned with his eyes wide and all there was to see on the man was a small spot on his neck which was bleeding a slow trickle of blood and the strange monkey-like creature seemed to be smiling while perched on his shoulder. The man kept on screaming for at least ten minutes before he stopped. He hadn't stopped because the pain went away but because the strain of screaming had ruined his vocal cords.
Instead, he just writhed in pain on the floor with his eyes wide and bloodshot. At some point when he had fallen, Lilith had flown back to her master but with one final whistle, she streaked out of view once again. Jaakobah followed those tenacious red eyes. Lilith landed once again on the fallen man's shoulder and without hesitation began devouring it.