Another howl, this time excruciatingly closer, went off. The rain hit harder, the lightning overlapped in the clouds, clashing against each other. And Evelyn was very scared. The fragments of the Manaport fell off her hands, and then her tears followed. She had been confident. She had a plan. Hell, Jered was with her too. Everything was supposed to be fine. The Manaport should have gotten them away.

Jered, who had been impatiently watching, cursed under his breath, "Fuck..."

The Wolfkins didn't attack them. They waited, and waited, until a growl—that could have been mistaken for the rumble of thunder—announced the arrival of the humongous beast. Jered, still holding his chest, looked behind him. A shadow, easily over 8 ft tall, thumped through the shrubbery. Even from afar, its inflated muscles were noticeable, like balloons ready to pop behind thick, black fur.

The golden eyes.

The suffocating presence.

The snout curled back into an ugly smile.

"What do I smell? ~"

"Is it blood, or is it fear? ~"

A laugh.

"Oh, let the Angels ring the bell ~"

"The big bad wolf is here, you're now safe, my dear ~"

The Wolfkins parted, making a pathway for the Alpha to walk through. Jered coughed more blood as he stared at it. Evelyn was still in a daze—such bad timing too. She let herself slump to the muddy ground, "Sorry..." she whispered, her voice cracked, "I didn't know... I couldn't have known..."

Jered mustered his fading strength and crawled towards her, "Come on, don't give up now..."

"They betrayed us..."

"..."

"I didn't expect they would go so far to get rid of me. I'm sorry, Jered. This is all my fault. I'm such an idiot!"

He slung her arm over his shoulder, "It doesn't matter, we need to—"

"Need to whaaaaaaat?"

The Alpha tilted its head in a way that was reminiscent of a dog. Last he checked, it was still a good dozen of meters away from them, walking slowly. In such a short time window, it had managed to shorten the distance to just a few inches. Fuck. Jered shouldn't have gotten distracted. The Wolfkins surrounded them, though maintaining a respectful distance from the Alpha.

"Aren't... you... a lovely... creature?" Jered smiled, his teeth bloody.

"Ohhh..." the Alpha crouched down, its size so big that it was impossible for it to get to Jered's eye level. Its voice rumbled out, its putrid breath bathing his face, "Lovely. You look... lovely... human."

"..."

"I'm sad. You killed so many of us."

"..."

"But if you play with me. I'll be veeeeeeery haaaaappy!"

What kind of joke was that?

The Alpha reached behind its back, and presented an item to Jered.

It was a ball.

Evelyn also looked perplexed, not to mention concerned.

The Alpha's tail was wagging left and right excitedly, "You throw the ball, and I fetch it! Oh, it must be a strong throw! It must go very faaaar!"

"..."

"If you fail... I'll rape you, and then kill you, and then EAT YOU!"

Truly lovely.

Jered's face tightened into a frown, "Can't… we play… something else?"

If he could stall for time, he could recover enough mana to cast 'Soul Eater'. Admittedly, he didn't know whether that would be of any help. It was still worth a shot, though.

The Alpha tilted its head to the other side, "No! No! No! No! No! No! NO! NO! NO! NO! N—"

"Okay… I… get it," Jered said warily.

"..."

Evelyn watched them with a horrified expression.

"Ball."

"Yes, ball..."

The Alpha handed the ball to Jered, who cautiously took it.

It was heavy. Not to the point he couldn't hold it, but to the point that failure was right at the corner. There was no way he could throw it to a satisfactory distance. The Alpha would be unsatisfied, and then it would do all those unspeakable things it had just claimed it would do. Jered stared at Evelyn, who stared back. He didn't know what was going through her head, but if he had a penny for her thoughts, there was no doubt she was lamenting his bad luck, or thanking her luck, since she would most likely be safe from the vile things Jered had been threatened with.

And now what?

Jered clutched firmly the ball, loaded it behind his head, and with a powerful burst of 'Low Telekinesis', he let it fly high up in the air and over the treetops. The Alpha gave him a sinister smile before it leaped up and bulldozed his way through the trees. The Wolfkins stayed behind, ensuring their captives didn't do anything funny. Of course, it was just a matter of seconds before the Alpha retrieved the ball, came back, and lived up to its promises.

"Jered..." Evelyn muttered, looking extremely worried, "W-What do we do?"

He coughed, "I... need to... recover mana..."

Even in such a dire situation, his eyes didn't waver once. Evelyn didn't know what to think, "Do you have any ideas?" she whispered, scooting closer to him. His brief nod made the clouds in her heart go away. It didn't matter that they were betrayed, what mattered was getting out of there alive, "You said you need mana, right? Here, let me help you."

"Won't the Wolfkins sense it?"

"Don't worry. They're low-level creatures. We'll be fine as long as we're quiet."

She placed her hands on his shoulders, closed her eyes, and concentrated.

A cool sensation spread from Jered's back, shoulders, and nape, before seeping straight into his skin.

His heart throbbed, his two veins breathing in the lively energy.

[Mana Pool: 7/167]

[Mana Pool: 22/167]

[Mana Pool: 45/167]

[Mana Pool: 71/167]

Evelyn pulled back, her face pale, her hands trembling, "T-This is the best I can do..." not having anywhere to lean on, she fell down. However, she still retained a smidgen of consciousness, enough to see Jered stand up, enough to see him walk up to her, scoop her up, and secure her concerns with a steady gaze.

"NOT ENOUGH! YOU LIED! YOU LIED! LOVELY HUMAN, YOU LIED!"

A howl went off.

Then came the thumping stride of a very angry, autistic Alpha.

The Wolfkins seethed with worry.

Jered quickly cast his 'Soul Eater'. His eyes were painted black. A mist sprung up around him as his mana flared powerfully. Technically, 'Soul Eater' should be used only to absorb dark souls. Rainey had never mentioned anything about using it for combat. Still, the fact remained that Jered's mana density got higher whenever he was in that state.

A few trees shattered into a shower of splinters as the Alpha threw a tantrum, the ball clutched in its claw, "HUMAN!" then it noticed the rolling power coming off Jered. As a matter of fact, Evelyn, who was drifting off and on in his arms was also aware of the cold malice in his mana.

"Lovely... human?"

Jered couldn't help but feel the desire to do something crazy. He smiled at the Alpha, "I'll see myself out," and then he cast 'Fire Wall'. It was his first time casting a spell when in his 'Soul Eater' state.

The result was out of his expectation.

The heat skyrocketed so dangerously high that the surrounding Wolfkins' fur ignited, making them panic from the rising pain. The Alpha was clearly more resistant, but the white dome of fire that bled out of the ground was something not even an Elder Tier creature could take lightly. Needless to say, as soon as the 'Fire Wall' went up, several Wolkins caught in its area of effect were burnt to death.

[The system has converted Soul Essence into mana.]

[Your mana pool attribute has risen by 2 points.]

[Your third vein has been slightly stirred.]

[Your mana pool attribute has risen by 3 points.]

[Your mana pool attribute has risen by 2 points.]

[Your third vein has been slightly stirred.]

[Your mana pool attribute has risen by 2 points.]

'Amazing!' Jered was intoxicated by the orbs of energy flowing into him. The more he killed, the higher his flames soared. The immediate area around Jered was cleared of Wolfkins. They were safe.

"Bad human!"

The Alpha didn't give a fuck about the threatening flames, it sprinted into a bolt, and ran through them. Not unscathed, of course. The high temperature ate away his fur, charred the skin underneath, and slowed it down greatly. Even so, Jered couldn't react. He had two spells active: 'Soul Eater' and 'Fire Wall'. He had no time to swap one for another.

"I'll taste your flesh!"

A criss-cross swipe of claws whizzed at Jered. The air was split, and the sheer power behind the shockwave prickled his face. He rolled out of the way—well, he tried to. The mist around him gave him some time as it acted up as a shield, but it was nearly enough to stop the Alpha's rampage. Three bloody slashes tore through Jered's back, while the kinetic force jammed him and Evelyn against a tree.

"Ugh..."

The 'Fire Wall' was canceled, which meant he was most likely surrounded by the pack of Wolfkins. In fact, as soon as he opened his eyes, a cacophony of growls that outsounded the rain danced all around him. The Alpha was in the middle, its tongue flicking out to wipe the blood off its claws.

"Let me smell you, lovely human. Let me lick you, bite you, eat you!"

What a crazy motherfucker.

"Don't you want to be my little bitch?"

Jered wrinkled his nose, "Fuck you."

"Fuck me? YES! Fuck me, lovely human. Fuck me!"

The furry bastard even went as far as going down on all fours and wave its butt at him.

How disgusting.

With one step, the Alpha was in front of me, "Can I kiss you?" and then it proceeded to fling its fangs at him. Jered protected himself with an accurate burst of 'Low Telekinesis' on its nose. It stepped back, briefly stunned. Seeing this, the Wolfkins didn't stand still anymore. They all leaped at him. And while the sight of so many huge beasts charging at him was quite threatening. 'Soul Eater' filled him up with confidence.

Only the Alpha was the true threat there.

Jered, still holding a weak Evelyn in his chest, retreated behind the clump of trees and cast a powerful 'Low Conceal' on them. The Wolfkins chased them down, Alpha included. Thanks to the rain, their scent was washed away. 'Low Conceal' wasn't particularly effective against the Alpha, but the Wolfkins were lost once the sub-spell was activated.

He ran, and ran, applying short bursts of 'Low Telekinesis' as he did so. From time to time, he'd turn back, and fire a 'Giza's Gaze'.

[The system has converted Soul Essence into mana.]

[Your mana pool attribute has risen by 2 points.]

[Your third vein has been slightly stirred.]

[Your mana pool attribute has risen by 1 point.]

[Your mana pool attribute has risen by 3 points.]

[Your third vein has been stirred.]

The abrupt thrumming in his heart almost made him stop.

"Don't leave me, lovely human..."

The Alpha dropped in front of him, tears running down its muzzle.

"I'm so lonely..."

"..."

"I'm so scared..."

"..."

"Can't you be my friend?"