Chapter 4247: Wolf Blood (Part 2)

"Yes, but not good enough." The voice that came out of the mouth of the young girl was older and much more feral as she wielded Boros with both hands.

The blow bent the spear’s haft almost to the breaking point and pushed Narma away.

’Lilia...’ Protector’s voice held the worry of a loving parent.

’I don’t care, Dad. Just do it!’ Lilia’s voice held the fury of an older sister who had failed her sibling.

Wild Hunt altered her perceptions, slowing down the world around Lilia so much that the Awakened looked no faster than an average human. The young girl let her father move her eyes, pointing at the openings in Narma’s defense in the order she had to strike at them.

’Wait for me, Falco, I’m coming!’ She let the energy of the First Skoll course through her body, opposing no resistance as it guided her movements.

Something clicked inside of Lilia, and Narma seemed to slow down further. Protector didn’t need to send his Wild Hunt to her anymore because Lilia had just tapped into her own.

Boros slammed the point of the spear against the ground and then bounced off it into Narma’s face. The Awakened woman was still reeling from the first blow when Boros struck her chin.

Her eyes looked in the wrong direction, and her legs trembled like jelly, so she couldn’t react when Crash buried her under his weight and ripped her throat open.

’I might not be able to protect Lilia, but at least I saved her innocence.’ He thought. ’I stopped her from killing a fellow human being, and although small, this is a win.’

***

Protector’s arms and legs broke under the weight of Lilia’s sharp movements, and he started to bleed from his eyes and ears.

’Please, stop.’ Selia started to cry. ’You’re killing yourself!’

’Yet Lilia lives.’ He replied. ’Please, I need you to stay calm. If Solkar and Fenrir get worried about their siblings and try to help me, I don’t think I will survive. I can’t take even more wounds.’

Selia nodded and started to lull the babies, reassuring them that everything would be alright. Yet she had no certainty, only prayers.

***

Outside Valeron’s castle, at the same time.

Solus had returned inside her stone ring as Lith flapped his wings with uncanny violence. Something pushed him further than ever, to the point that Tista had a hard time keeping up with him.

’A few months ago, I bartered a few things for the location of the nearest geyser.’ Lith said via a mind link. ’We’re going straight to Lutia.’

A flick of his wrist turned the stone ring into a high-speed drill that burrowed through the ground as he conjured a life- and an array-sensing spells to ensure there would be no witness or magical device recording the events.

The tower needed a few seconds to form below the ground, but they seemed as long as hours to him. Then, the two Divine Beasts dived down, and the soil rippled like the surface of a lake instead of halting their charge.

’I’m already accumulating the power for a Tower Warp.’ Solus said. ’We’ll be there soon.’

***

The arrival of Boros changed everything. Now that the frenzied boy had a real weapon, Arkus couldn’t afford to take more blows.

"Aren’t you forgetting about someone?" Crash the Freki said as she spread a cold aura that affected only the Awakened man.

She cast air and water spells nonstop while throwing more and more electrified shards from her wings and tail. A single hit dealt little damage, and Arkus could still block the worst of it with his Spirit Barrier.

Yet the cold stiffened his muscles, slowing him down, while the electricity sent him into small spasms, ruining his coordination. The gap between the boy and the man was gone.

Leran howled and put all his strength in a blind charge. Arkus smiled, ready to dodge the telegraphed attack and put an end to the fight with a counter. Following the boy’s movement required his full focus, so he did forget about Crash for a second.

A sudden quake and the ground swallowed Arkus’ legs up to his knees. Incapable of moving, Boros smashed his head open at the same time as Crash cut him asunder with her razor-sharp wing.

’Dammit, Leran! What have you done?’ She said in worry, afraid that the child she was tasked to protect would remain scarred for life.

’Teryon... Dad...’ Leran wanted to chase after his friend.

He wanted to cry for the life he had taken. He wanted to run back to his father and make sure Protector was alright. Instead, Leran collapsed in an empty street of Lutia, his small body pushed beyond its limits.

***

"We found them!" Captain Xarko of the Queen’s Corps pointed down at the Awakened carrying Teryon and Falco.

The Awakened couldn’t fly because of the flocks of Crons ready to shoot them down, and couldn’t run fast because of the Rys and Shyfs that kept jumping at them from every alley and roof.

Lilia and Leran had failed to rescue their friends, but they had bought the Kings of the Woods and the Queen’s Corps a few precious seconds.

"One squad, one Awakened. Make no mistake and do not underestimate them. Go!"

The third squad kept following the rush of beasts, hoping to find another of the Verhen kids.

"Oh, shit!" Alusha said. "Why do these beasts pester only me? This isn’t fair!"

"Stop, and we’ll talk about this." A Ry who almost managed to bite her ankle replied.

The members of the Queen’s Corps landed in a five-pointed formation, making no requests and giving no quarter. The magical beasts made space for the humans, while also surrounding the area and blocking Alusha’s escape routes.

"Let me go, or the girl dies!" She yelled, pointing a blade at Teryon’s throat.

"If you do that, nothing will stop us, all of us, from tearing you apart." Xarko replied, and the beasts snarled in approval.

The captain raised three fingers and then two, following up on his warning with a lunge of his blade.

Alusha blocked it easily. The other two strikes aimed at the openings her block created, however, almost slipped past her guard. Even with the Corp’s tattoos potions, the body refinement gave her enough advantage to manage the three versus one, but it wasn’t easy.

She was forced on the defensive because while her attacks left her open, whenever a soldier attacked, their companions would cover for them. Even worse, holding Teryon forced Alusha to fight with one hand.

’What about the other two? Why do they stand there and do nothing?’ The fact that the remaining soldiers didn’t chant spells only worried her.

It meant they already had everything they needed and couldn’t afford to conjure more.

One of the two soldiers on standby exploited the moment when Alusha put most of her weight into a parry to smooth the ground beneath her feet with earth magic and freeze it with water magic.

She flailed her limbs to recover her balance and lost Teryon in the process. The other mage who was waiting on the sidelines Blinked the little girl to safety, while his companions attacked.

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