Arthur's Point of View

The Old Castle

A mix of blacks, whites, and browns all converged on me as I struggled with the pack of wolves. Many fell from the wall with me to an area outside on part of the castle rooftops. Given that it was old and decrepit, several of the beasts fell through since the stones gave out from their weight. They were all without injury from the fall. Instead, they’d run to the nearby overgrown trees and jump back into the fray after running up them.

Agile didn’t even begin to describe these wolves. Each could twist their bodies in an almost unnatural way as I did my best to fight them off. Racing across the roof, the pack gave chase. I had a sinking feeling these wolves were creatures from the Old World like Kandma. It was only speculation, but their power certainly seemed to rival hers, which wasn’t normal for wolves.

One latched onto my arm and pulled me through the roof down into a hallway. “Fucking! Bitch!” I yelled as I punched the wolf’s nose, and it yipped before letting go.

My arm went numb, and I looked to see green magic pulsing in my veins. It hurt far more than any magic a Ghoul could produce or even an attack from Arceana and Elincia. Sweat poured down my head as I cradled my arm as it wasn’t healing. The pack quickly surrounded me and watched me closely.

My vision became blurry as the room started to spin. Looking down at my arm, I saw that the magic was crawling up to my neck. Not wasting any more time, my finger cut into my arm with help from my energy as it was focused into a blade. From shoulder, all the way down to my wrist, I sliced through skin, muscle, veins, and more as it went limp.

Blood poured from the wound and created a puddle on the floor. All of the wolves kept a close eye on me as they even watched me from above where I fell from. With them giving me the time I needed, I pumped my energy into the arm as the green magic was expelled. My arm quickly healed up, and the blood began to evaporate. The wolves growled and snarled, while others snapped their jaws rabidly.

Opening a portal above me, I held out my hand as Defiance fell through. Swinging it around me, the overly large canines backed away some but stayed focused on me. My body began to change as I used my sword to transform. However, before I could finish, a howl in the distance caused each one present to perk up as their ears turned towards where it came from.

Lighting shot across my body, and the wolves all darted off in different directions. Not letting them go so easily, I felt my wings spread on my back as I quickly gave chase. My energy poured into the ground and slammed into the wolves from below while my gravity pillars slammed into them from every other direction.

“God damn dogs…” Blood began to decorate the decrepit castle as the wolves focused on running, but it made no sense.

Even while I was transforming, each one was still ready to attack until that howl scared them off or called them back. Wolves around the same strength as Arceana and Elincia could overpower me with their numbers in my regular form. Each was fast enough to evade attacks, while others that were hit ignored the blow.

One wolf tried to jump on me from one of the towers, but it stopped midair. Its body began to twist in several different directions while other sections twisted the opposite way. Blood poured out from the wolf as it fell the dead without so much as making a sound. However, it was when I finished the wolf that I realized the others had disappeared entirely.

“What?” I whispered, confused as I flew into the air to look around for them.

No magic signatures of any kind. Confused, I kept an eye open as I floated back to the room where they appeared. However, to my surprise, when I entered the hidden room to claim the other book, it was gone. My eyes stared for a moment or two in disbelief before I let out a bellow filled with rage.

Shooting into the air, through the castle ceiling, stones flew in every direction as I quickly scanned the forest from higher above. In the distance was a mountain, and on the top stood a lone wolf. It appeared to be bigger than all the rest. Even from miles away, I could see it looking right at me with my eyes. However, it was what was in the wolf’s mouth that caught my attention. Aydan’s second book.

I created a gravity pillar above its head, which it quickly darted from as it ran down the mountain. Dozens, if not hundreds, of gravity pillars started to slam into the slopes as it raced down, dodging each of my attacks. Racing towards it, the wolf bolted into the forest before it disappeared entirely.

Rage filled me, but before I could even focus on the fact that a fucking wolf that was three times the size of a tiger disappeared, a roar filled the air. My eyes darted down towards the base as large, webbed wings shot out from parts of the mountain that had crumbled, followed by claws. A stream of fire shot into the sky, and I watched as one of the largest fucking dragons I had ever seen started to crawl out from under the mountain.

Gritting my teeth, I sent out a burst of energy, and it dove right into the ground before shooting deeper into the forest. The Dragon seemed to focus on the rumbling sound and toppling of trees before giving chase. Thankfully, it ignored me in its rage and didn’t even turn back to acknowledge me. With the wolves having vanished and a Dragon roaming about, I had no other choice.

Dropping my form, I kept myself airborne with a gravity pillar. “Why is it always something?” I asked as I watched the Dragon tear through the forest before summoning a portal and heading home. With a sigh, I looked around my room as I fell on my back in anger and frustration before something else hit me. “What the fuck did Elincia do with my Leviathan tooth?”