Chapter 63

Chamelovores

Nayali stood; spell ready focusing forward. She felt her mind trying to relax itself as she readied herself for battle. With a legendary beast, she knew she would have to be at her best. She wanted to take a glance back at Lykan to see how he was doing but knew that if she took her eyes off of her invisible opponent for even a moment, she would lose him. Then after she lost sight of him, she and Lykan would be good as dead.

Zzz.

The mana coursing through her bruised but healing meridians stirred forth at her will and began creating a sheen of electricity around her fingers.

Rustle.

Nayali heard a sound behind her. At first, she thought it was Lykan coming to, but the sound was too far away. She glanced back, only for fear to grip her as she saw the outlines of another set of invisible paw prints on the ground. Her mind was reeling from the fact that there wasn’t just one chamelovore, but multiple. She wanted to look around to see if she could see the signs of others approaching.

Her situation went from tough to dire in the matter of one revelation. So many things were going through her mind that she paused as she tried to take a moment to process everything her mind was telling her. Or process what little her senses could pick up from the apex predators.

Thump, thump.

The sound of a four-legged beast charging forward could be heard as multiple sets of paws landed and then charged forward. In an instant Nayali knew she messed up; she took her eyes off the opponent in front of her. She turned towards the sound but couldn’t see the monster charging for her.

“AHHH!”

A fierce scream of rage sent a shiver down her spine. What manner of beast could produce such a scream, and from so close? The scream had been close, too close. She turned around more to find the monster that had roared to life from seemingly right behind her, only to find a blur.

She paused and then tried to follow the charging beast, only to realize a second later that it was Lykan.

Lykan had gone from passed out, to up wide and awake and charging at the monster barreling down on her in a second. She watched as a silver blade sliced through the air in an upward arc.

At first it looked like he missed, that the blade would only swing through air, leaving Lykan’s entire stomach vulnerable and exposed.

Slink.

Yet the blade struck true. There was resistance for only a second, before sprays of red viscera began to pour out from the air. The sprays of blood no longer coated in the monster’s natural obfuscation methods was now visible. Well partially visible. Anywhere that was sliced apart or covered in blood was now visible.

The monster’s head that looked like the maw of a particularly large bear with an extended jaw began to appear slowly as more and more streams of red blood illuminated the beast.

Then there was a final moment when the beast’s head became detached from the rest of its body. Only then did the sheer size and mass of the predator come to life. The beast wasn’t a wolf or even the size of a small horse as she had expected, this was a true apex predator. One who could mask their presence from both sight and sound. No wonder I could see their feet impact on the ground, with that much weight they should be easy to notice.

These thoughts rolled through Nayali’s mind as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. No one came to the jungle basin for exactly these reasons, monsters here were on their own evolutionary paths that were different from the rest of the world. This creature had obviously started off as a bear, or a distant bear relative, but was now something unique, and terrifying.

Thump.

With the sudden blow and strike, the large beast’s body stopped and fell forward.

“Here.” Lykan shouted, pulling Nayali’s mind back to the present.

Nayali turned just in time to see Lykan’s mithril sword flying. She watched, and then reacted on instinct by plucking the sword that had been gently thrown by the hilt. The throw was fantastic, but even still Nayali barely managed to grab the sword before she felt the ground behind her rumbling. The second chamelovore.

Realizing there was still a second Nayali turned and swung her sword knowing that even if she couldn’t see her attacker, she knew roughly when and where the beast would be for a strike. Trusting her instincts more than anything in the moment she swung.

Tink.

The sword struck true but met resistance. Nayali wondered if Lykan was going to join, when she heard a second chamelovore growling from off to her left, the same side Lykan was on.

Part of her wondered why he had given her the sword, especially when he was now unarmed against these invisible opponents. Realizing her previous mistake of taking her eyes off the target in front of her, she decided to let Lykan do his own thing.

This was good, for if she had turned to look at Lykan at that moment she would have thought he was shadow boxing. Dodging low beneath unseen blows, only to dart forward and make striking jabs at the air.

“Arghrr.” A chamelovore cried out in pain.

Rustle.

The monster that had been before Nayali turned its attention towards Lykan’s fight. Nayali could see this from the way the footprints in the ground shifted, how all the weight now leaned towards Nayali’s left. Seeing the distracted nature of the beast Nayali struck.

Clank.

Another blow, another shallow cut. While she had clearly hit bone almost immediately, she did have the benefit of cutting through the beast’s thick hide and producing a small stream of blood for her efforts.

With the strike, the beast’s weight shifted back, and Nayali could tell that she was once again the focus of the giant beast. Still, she was happy with her success. The blood began to pour down slowly, showing the front left arm of the massive beast. Smiling to herself, Nayali realized she could win. Death by a thousand cuts it is. She mentally thought as she began to slice into and through the beast.

While Nayali was not as blessed as Lykan, she did possess several blessings that pushed all her attributes well past the human maximum. She was also no slouch when it came to the sword, even though many who witnessed her battle with Lykan might say otherwise. The truth was Lykan was a Master of the Sword at the maximum proficiency, meaning he had found a sword form that fit his own personal attributes and body frame. He was to put it simply a killing machine, at least he could be if he but applied himself. Yet, his calm and relaxed demeanor implied that he had not hardened his soul enough for what would be needed for what was still to come.

“Hruph.” The chamelovore let out an angry huff as it redirected its attention back at Nayali before moving forward to strike.

This time Nayali was ready, not only could she see the way the front left leg leaned to the left, but she could also see the ground beneath the beast also twist and turn from the weight of the beast. Using this as her cue, Nayali struck wildly and often, turning, and darting around the beast.

Slap. Slink. Clank.

She stabbed, thrust, and sliced at the beast as she made her way over and around the beast. Blood began to pour from the dozens of wounds she had inflicted. Nonlethal, most barely more than a scratch to the great beast. But each scratch did one thing, they revealed a bit of blood that helped give shape and form to the massive beast before her.

Even her first slice now produced a thin line of blood. Even though she had to focus to see the trail, it was there, which meant she could see the beast’s face. At least that is what she thought the first slice hit, a hardened bone along the beast’s face.

This was good, she nodded to herself as with each strike she became more and more confident of her success.

There was just one problem, she had become so focused on her opponent before her, that she lost track of the battleground around her.

Instinct.

Nayali was about to make a vital strike to the beast before her when instinct told her to duck. Not wanting to doubt her woman’s intuition she ducked and rolled violently throwing her body to the right.

“ARRHAGH!” A mighty roar and an explosion of force crashed into the ground where she had just been standing a moment ago.

Nayali rolled and got up, only to see the faint outline of a second chamelovore appear before her. The only reason she could see this was was due to the cloud of dust that it had kicked up now began falling like gentle flakes of snow.

There was only one problem, once the flakes of dirt that were settling on the monster settled for long enough, they began to disappear. It was clear that in another few seconds, despite the warning, the second chamelovore would be completely concealed from her sight once more.

Moving quickly Nayali darted forward and began making quick long slices along the sides and flank of the great beast. Her movements were two-fold. First, she would make sure the beast would begin to bleed from the cuts, and secondly, she made sure the new attacker was directly in between her and her first chamelovore that she had been attacking.

While it might be smarter to take out the old enemy first, Nayali saw this moment of vulnerability for what it was, a godsend. She intended to use every second of momentary visibility by the great beast as possible.

Slink. Slice.

Then she saw an opening, the second opponent had been in the back for a reason. It had a hind leg that had clearly been broken and then healed incorrectly causing the beast to be slower. Seeing the weakness, Nayali struck viciously at the deformed limb. She struck at tendons, muscles, and compacted layers of fat that all sat in and around this limb. The beast tried to turn, but it could only slowly turn around, trying to avoid the myriad of strikes.

Nayali followed, not wanting this to get away. She had just made what would be a devastating slash to the tendon holding the leg to its body, when she felt a deep presence behind her. In an instant she realized the trap. The enemy she was facing turned its body, even giving up cleans trikes against it to one hold Nayali in place, and second maneuver her so her back was to the first opponent.

Realizing her mistake too late she did the only thing she could do. Rather than try to dart around the beasts, she instead chose to climb over the enemy before her. She took one step, then a second and jumped as soon as her foot hit the ground. She sprung to the air, while stabbing out with her sword into the side of the great beast.

The motion allowed her to continue moving forward. She used the momentum of her strike downward to help propel her forward, up and over the back of the great beast. There was a moment of resistance, as the blade caught in a flap of skin before Nayali turned the blade, allowing the sharp metal to cut through the beast’s densely packed side muscles.

“ARRHHH!” The beast cried out in pain, as it collapsed from the pain it was in. So much damage done to an already injured leg, and now the blow to the side.

Splash.

There was the splashing of blood, as the beast that had been behind Nayali was now covered in blood and viscera. Its previously hidden face was now red and glowed like a demonic hell beast bent for revenge. Nayali ducked low, as the beast enraged that it had missed her climbed forward and over its pack mate, trying to swipe at Nayali. This only further forced the first beast to collapse further to the ground.

Using the momentary stillness of the first creature Nayali scrambled up and right as she quickly moved out of paw range of the first chamelovore, the one that still seemed to be completely healthy despite the myriad of cuts along its body. Once she was relatively safe from a stray claw swipe she circled back and slashed at the beast’s open neck that seemed to be pressed repeatedly against the ground.

Slash.

Her sword struck true, as she didn’t aim at the top of the neck, where her sword might be stopped by this spine of the beast. Instead, she charged forward and pierced the side of the beast’s neck. She ran so fast, that her sword went into and through the beast’s neck, only stopping when her body slammed into the giant neck.

“Uph.” She let out as the wind was knocked out of her lungs.

The beast that was underneath its pack made and now had a sword in its neck began to squirm violently. Nayali tried to pull the sword free, but the two moved in opposite directions. Rather than pulling the sword free, a second cut was made that went deeper and wider into the neck before holding onto the blade completely.

Nayali wanted to give the blade a second tug, but at that moment the first chamelovore had scampered over its downed pack mate and was clumsily crawling to its feet after the awkward lunge over.

Realizing the blade was stuck Nayali turned and almost panicked before she remembered her one true advantage over these beasts.

ZZZap!

Lightning crackled from her fingertips as a bolt of pure energy poured out of her body directly into the beast. Nayali didn’t hold back, knowing that this was likely it. She only had enough for one true strike. Fortunately, she knew exactly where the beast’s head was, thanks to the thick coat of blood that drenched its features.

The bolt of lightning flew from her outstretched hand at the speed of thought, arcing out and directly into the chamelovore’s head. Nayali held onto the bolt, providing it every drop of energy she had, before finally her well went dry and the arc finally severed.

Nayali paused wondering if that was enough. She looked at the two chamelovores who had never managed to disentangle themselves from each other. Then with a stark looking at them, she saw the signs of dark brown fur, a sign that the camouflaging effect of their bodies had ended.

She stood there panting, watching both, even the lower one was still. She looked to see that there were singe marks around the blade of her sword. A sword that was still well and truly stuck in the second beast’s neck.

She thought about retrieving the sword, but then thought against it. She was tired. She watched the two monsters for a long second, before she was reasonably sure that neither were breathing. Beasts that size never learned the need to play opossum. They never understood the intricacies of needing to outsmart a superior opponent. Monsters that size, with that many advantages often forgot the reason they learned to be ambush predators to begin with.

Relatively certain that she was now in the clear, she let out a breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding. Then she made the mistake of breathing in and realized why she had likely been holding her breath.

There was the smell of burnt hair, copper, and charred animal innards.

In all the smells were not pleasant. Slowly, Nayali’s mind relaxed enough to let her take in the entire battlefield around her. And her mind instantly went on alert when she realized it was quiet, too quiet.

She grabbed the sword and wrestled it free of the downed chamelovore. Then trying to be stealthy, even after grunting for a bit at the strain of removing the blade she made her way around the beasts to find Lykan sitting on top of a downed chamelovore himself.

Looking around it was clear that there were five bodies on the ground. The first one that Lykan had decapitated with a single blow, the two she had managed to take down with Lykan’s sword. Then the two that were on the ground around Lykan.

Nayali moved closer, not quite believing her eyes. If she didn’t know better, she would swear the beasts had fallen asleep and Lykan was just resting on one’s stomach. Or at least that is what it looked like until she drew closer and could see the broken skulls of the beasts.

Shock.

That was the only word that could describe her mental state at that moment. She was in shock, and maybe a little bit of awe as she saw what clearly looked like fist sized handprints in the skull of the great chamelovores. Fist prints that were clearly enough to not only incapacitate but kill the great unseen predators of the forest.

Seeing her approach Lykan nodded and gave a slight smile. With that one look Nayali felt her chest lighten as her heart began to thump rapidly. He was covered in blood and gore, but to Nayali that only made him more attractive. She had grown up with the Azani warrior traditions beaten into her, and to those traditions nothing was more appealing that a warrior who could conquer any challenge faced before them.

Seeing Lykan in such a state, being able to take down two apex predators with his bare hands at the same time it took her to take down the same amount with a sword and magic. Such an event was unbelievable. Though Lykan was not without injury, he clearly had a slash mark across his chest and thighs. Looking at the wounds, it looked to be one strike that managed to get both legs in one ferocious swipe.

While that might make his victory look weak to some, to Nayali the sight of the wounds only added to the thoughts she was now thinking. For in her mind, he had gone above and beyond the call. Anyone can kill a monster when they are in full health, but to be able to fight through pain as he had and still deliver a killing blow. Such actions were what separated the merely great, from the truly exceptional.

Moving forward she went forward trying to get next to Lykan when, squish.

She stepped in something soft.

Looking down Nayali saw that a slab of cooked spiced meat lay under her foot. Seeing the steak under her foot she quickly jumped back, but the damage was done. She had tracked blood, dirt, and many other things onto the food.

Seeing the mess Nayali could only let out a slow aching laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Lykan asked coming over to be next to her and investigate the food.

“This.” Nayali said bending over to pick up the leaves that still held the steak from touching the ground. Though now there was an indentation in the center right where her foot had landed a moment ago. “This is what the great forest spirit provided for you. And it drew in the chamelovores, only for me to ruin it. I’m sorry.” Nayali said, almost wondering if she could make another prayer to the great forest spirit. She looked down to see that the flower filled with nectar had been trampled on by one of the chamelovores as well.

Looking at the meat, Lykan realized something.

“You prayed to the great forest spirit for food for me?” Lykan asked.

“Yes, she had provided an initial meal for us, but I was a glutton and ate it all. I wanted to stop but I was so hungry. Then I prayed and she provided one for you.”

Hearing this Lykan only chuckled in a deep rumbling way that made Nayali’s heart flutter.

Nayali stopped her complaints as she began to stare at Lykan.

“What?” She finally asked after a moment of silence.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have laughed.” Lykan began, “I made the prayer for you to have a meal. The fact that you would pray for me, is amazing. The fact that the great forest spirit accepted your prayer shows a lot about your true character.”

With that Lykan took the offered steak, bowed slightly as a thank you to Nayali then began eating the meal footprint and all.

Nayali couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved by the act.

“Come on we should get going before more monsters are drawn in.” Lykan said, turning away and about to take a second bite of the steak, before he turned back to Nayali with a bright smile on his face. “Actually, could you try something?”