Chapter 26-Yeti

Alice throws a forward punch toward Beowulf. Blocking it with one arm, Beowulf brushes the attack away. Ruthlessly Alice unleashes a six hit flurry of punches each aiming at a different body parts. Beowulf counters each one effortlessly without moving his feet from where they originally stood.

Alice pulls back and yells “Try this one old man!”

She rushes at him like a mad boar. Alice spears her shoulder into his gut with all her might. Her shoulder rests on his stomach for a few seconds before she stumbles back holding her shoulder in pain.

“Ouch that hurt!”

“haha maybe next time you won’t just ram your shoulder into me!”

Alice squats to the ground grumbling with anger. Digging into the snow Alice shouts “I have one more trick up my sleeve!” Alice throws dirt toward Beowulf causing a cloud of dust and making her invisible to him.

Alice launches herself off the ground into the air. At the height of her trajectory she begins to spin forward head over heal. As her heal strikes into where Beowulf once stood a burst of air shoots through the area clearing the dirt.

Beowulf is squatting with one arm flexed above his head and the other flexed around his abdominal. He is covering himself from attack that come from both above and below, almost as if he knew what Alice was going to do.

Not giving Alice time to recover from her attack Beowulf grabs her leg as she still floats in the air. He pulls her toward his stomach and gets her in a bear hug from behind. Her legs and arms are trapped under his massive strength. Alice struggles to escape wiggling her body around and smashing the back of her head into Beowulf’s chest.

After a few moments of struggling she drops her head in front of her and mumbles “I give up.”

Beowulf releases her from his grasp laughing. “haha maybe next year on your seventeenth birthday you can challenge me again! Who know, one day you might actually beat me!”

Alice is not a weak fighter; in fact in this small mountain village she is only second to Beowulf.

“But before that happens you need to get better at wielding Hei and Sei. You may have a very large amount Dei and capacity to wield it, but your skills are unpolished.”

Ignoring the last bit of Beowulf’s statement she swings her arms around excitedly “I just need more Dei that’s all.”

“hmph and that will come in time, while you wait you should continue to practice the Dei of hardening Hei and the Dei of quickness Qei.”

Alice walks over to me and pats me on the head with a smile. We are the same height when I sit down and she stands next to me. This is due to a combination of me being very large for my species and her being very small for her age. “But Fenrir has way more Dei than I do, and he doesn’t know how to use any of the five branches of Dei.”

Beowulf crosses his arms and sighs “Yes but he is also just a wolf, it is amazing that he can even store the amount of Dei he does let alone use it. Now stop comparing yourself to a wolf for goodness sakes, you’re my daughter!”

Alice rolls her eyes while continuing to pet my head.

“Come now Alice do some meditation while I set up something for your party.”

Alice gives me a kiss on the nose before sitting down in a meditative state. Beowulf heads toward the village to gather the towns folk and make preparations for her party. Under normal circumstances Alice cooks for the family because Beowulf does not know how, but today since it is her sixteenth birthday she will only need to meditate before she has the rest of the day off. This is my chance to go and get her birthday present that I have been scouting out. I run into the forest toward my destination several miles away.

…

Fresh crisp air bites at the tips of my whiskers. I breathe in deeply filling my humongous lungs with the arctic mountain air. The air is thin and wet due to the extremely high altitude. Breathing out I launch a cloud of snow into the air in front of where I lie down. The snow drifts forward shortly before dropping down into the ravine. At the bottom of the ravine sleeps my future prey. Burrowed under the snow is a yeti. They are extremely rare and powerful creatures, but their fur is very valuable. It is immune to all cold and water based attacks and environments. The fur is pierce and strike resistant and creates very strong light weight armor. The fur can be compared to Dei enriched items made by a master craftsman. The price of a yeti’s fur is equal to that of a fine set of armor. This rare fur is the reason I wish to fight it.

They are a monster that naturally circulates Dei though there bodies making them freakishly strong. That is why their fur is so tough. They look like large white apes, except they have a second pair of arms.

My mind wonders for a moment about the comparisons of this world and my last one. The Magic is the biggest difference.

In the last world magic came from the body. It derived from every atom in my body working together. As my body grew bigger and stronger so did my ability to use fire. On the other hand as my magic increased I noticed I would become stronger and faster as well. Each atom in my body had its own bit of power, and when they combined and I would pull bits of energy from each cell I could produce magic or fire. As I used more and more magic I would slowly become physically exhausted like I had been running in a marathon. To use magic I would sacrifice some of the energy in my cells. Because of this my explosive muscle technique was possible, because I would literally sacrifice entire chunks of cells in my body to increase my strength or my speed temporarily. I was literally burning away my body for power. My technique was just taking normal use of power to a sacrificial extreme.

In this new world the power radiates out from the world. It flows in and out of all living creatures. Living beings are saturated with this power called Dei, but can’t use the Dei that is a part of their bodies. Instead they have a large Dei core at the pit of their stomach. This core can absorb Dei from the food people eat, or from the air they breathe in. The Dei that is saturated in the body must constantly be replaced with new Dei as it is used up. The Dei core has veins called Dei channels that spread out from it through the entire body. Humans have learned how to manipulate these channels inside the body. The different forms of manipulation they have learned are called Rei, Hei, Qei, Sei, and Nei. Manipulating the Dei in these ways allows it to circulate back to the core keeping you from losing to much Dei. Pushing out Dei directly does make the power of explosions and other things happen but you will permanently lose that part of the Dei. Instead of becoming physically tired from the over use of magic in this world a person will simply become hungry and crave food and also need to breathe in more oxygen. This only happens at minor expenders of Dei, in a more extreme case you will simply die. The Dei core inside of you is the very thing that separates you from being dead or alive. It is your very life. If one has a Dei core then they are alive, if they do not then they are simply dead matter.

My attention snaps back to the world as I hear bustling inside the snow below. I see a tan fist surrounded with white fur pop up from a mound of snow at the bottom of the cliff. This is my time to attack. I swiftly pick my body off the ground and prepare myself. I pour the energy from my Dei core into every bone in my body and the tendons connecting my muscles. I strengthen these parts with Dei to harden them and stabilize myself. This is known as Hei. I engulf as much air into myself as I can before pouncing off the cliff side and challenging such a powerful beast for the first time as a wolf.

Plummeting to the ground I further examine the situation. The yeti has fully emerged from the snow but luckily does not notice my presence. Rocketing directly toward it I extend my Dei hardened claws. The snow and the yeti’s body will both cushion my fall, and hopefully the impact from my hardened claws will kill him instantly allowing me to skip the fighting sequence. Rapidly I impact with my prey slashing my claws into its hunched back. My front claws pierce through its fur and slice at its upper back. A moment later my hind legs impact its lower back but are unable to piece his fur fully.

Crying out in pain the yeti shakes his entire body trying to unlatch me from him. Using my claws imbedded into his muscles like hands griping onto him prevents me from falling off. He reaches toward me with his right arm but I bite at his fingers. The skin on his hands is much softer than the fur coating the rest of his body allowing me to rip at the flesh.

Failing to rip me off with one arm he attempts using the other three. This time he reaches two arms below me and the other one above me. I bite at the higher arm and kick the lower ones. His upper arm retreats immediately due to my giant razor sharp teeth that extend several inches. Kicking at his lower arms proves to be mostly futile since I am unable to see them well. One of his arms gets kicked back but the other one manages to grab ahold of my tail. I howl out in shock as he yanks me down with his unbelievable power ripping my claws out from his back. With the same fluid motion of pulling me down he continues the swing of his arm forward launching me toward a wall. Unable to control my flailing body in midair I prepare to hit the wall. I pull the Dei I was storing in my claws and move it into every bone in my body. As I collide with the wall cracks shoot out in every direction as a wolf shaped crater indents into the cliff side.

I can feel slight bruising in my back as I fall to the ground from the crater, had I not strengthened my bones I am sure several of them would have shattered. The creatures in this world are devastatingly powerful. I look up at the yeti and we lock eyes from ten paces away. He is nearly nine feet tall when standing slouched over on his hind legs. In comparison to my seven foot long body, he is only slightly larger. The biggest advantage he has is the extra set of limbs. But due to my previous attack I have the advantage. His two upper hands are both damaged with lumps of flesh carved out, and the upper parts of his shoulders are severely gouged. Blood streams from both his back and hands all over his beautiful silver fur, negating any camouflage he once had.

Letting out a war cry the yeti charges toward me. In retaliation I release my own war cry while pouring Dei into my muscles to heighten my speed three fold. This would be called Qei. I focus mainly on the muscles in my legs and jaw to quicken their speed and attack power. Pouring the last bit of extra Dei from my core into my claws and teeth I am fully prepared for the final confrontation.

The yeti slaps his upper arms together above his head preparing a hammer strike and pulls his lower arms back to thrust them forward in an open palm strike. With unexpected speed I weave past the yeti through his legs right at the moment of his hammer strike slamming into the ground and palm strike barely missing me. Snow shoots out of the ground as his hammer strike hits, and due to barely dodging I feel a few hairs being plucked from my tail. As I speed past his ankles I take a large bite from his right Achilles tendon. Due to his strong fur being thinner around the bottom of his legs and my Dei techniques I am able to cleanly rip his tendon right off his leg.

The taste buds of a wolf are strange. Fresh, warm , raw blood and meat are amazing to me. The pure ecstasy of both disabling my prey and the taste of their flesh is indescribable to humans. I swallow the tendon. The enjoyment of striking the last blow reenergizes me.

Turning around to look at the injured yeti as it screams in pain I come across another more terrifying sight. The combined yelling of myself and the yeti has caused an avalanche in the distance that is nearly caught up to both the yeti and I. Because of our constant noises neither of us was able to hear it before it was too late. If I had noticed it earlier I could have climbed up the ravine to safety. For now I do not know what to do, but I do know I should no longer worry about the yeti. Instead I split from the scene and sprint with all my speed down the slope.

I can hear the snow behind me enveloping everything in its path. The destructive force of Mother Nature can never be beaten, not even by the powers of the unbelievable monsters in this world. An unstoppable force with no obstacles in its way lunges forward. The snow is like a wave of death hurdling down the mountain killing all in its path.

I know that the impact of the built up snow would kill me even if I use Dei to build up the strength in my body. Perhaps if I had ten or twenty more years to train I could withstand such a force, but not in my current state.

Clearing all other thoughts on my mind I focus purely on increasing my speed. I pump more Dei from my core then I would normally allow myself. I can feel the very strength and hunger in my stomach drain out of me as I move Dei to the muscles of my legs. The speed of a wolf is already amazing, but with enough Dei to make my speed become ten times faster than normal, the very world around me begins to blur. I cannot see what is in front of me and blindly charge forward hoping to escape the horrible snow behind me.

Is this the last moments of my life in this world? Will I be leaving Alice and Beowulf behind? Will I be force back into purgatory once more?

As these thoughts pass through my head I notice something. The sounds of avalanche behind me have lessened. I slow my pace while pouring the Dei back into my core to both conserve energy and prevent myself form passing out. I turn around to see the avalanche still coming, but it is very far in the distance. If I didn’t have the superior sight and hearing of a wolf I wouldn’t be able to notice the avalanche at all. I can’t believe I was able to move as quickly as I did! My speed is terrifying. I can’t even control it yet. I do not know if it is because of my mastery of Dei or because of the creature I am, but I am extremely thankful.

Having acquired more time I decide to climb up the side of the ravine to avoid the avalanche. I perch myself at the top and stare down to examine the sight. The valance passes by me taking everything with it. After a minute of watching the snow flow like a river it stops and something catches my eye. A tan pair of hands sticks out from the center of the snow. I rush over to it and pull the yeti out. I check his heart beat with my ear to his chest. He appears to be dead. I slump him over my back after a minute of fumbling him around. I race of towards the direction of the village with Alice’s birthday present on my back.

…

I arrive at the village to see everyone gathered around Alice’s home. I go to the front of the house and am greeted by Beowulf.

“Fenrir! I see you brought back a marvelous gift for Alice. She will love it! I will make sure she knows it is from you!”

I bark happily and wag my tail. Then I look around for Alice but do not hear or see her.

“Looking for Alice? She is in the forest somewhere. Why don’t you go grab her, the party is almost ready and we just need her now.”

I nod my head and shoot toward the forest. For some reason in the back of my head I get an ominous feeling. Something bad is about to happen.

After I get away from the village I pick up on Alice’s sent. She is back at my old make shift home. When I get near it I can hear her humming to herself from inside. I crawl into the building to see Alice lying on her back with her eyes closed. I sneak up to her and lick her face.

Alice shoots up with a thumping heart. “Holy crap Fenrir you scared me!”

I bark back happily. Even now as a wolf I still love to tease and mess with my friends.

“You’re a really special wolf aren’t you?” Alice strokes my fur. “I haven’t been here in such a long time. You and I never sit and talk like we used to before we took you in. I feel like all we have been doing is training. What I really want to do is go on an adventure, but I can’t do that until I beat Beowulf in a fight or he dies.” Alice looks down sadly. “I really hope I beat him in a fight soon!”

I give her a bark of encouragement. I know that one day her and I can explore more of this world. Just not now, we still need to get stronger. Thinking the conversation is done I start to usher her toward the exit but she waves her hand in front of her face.

“Hold on a second, I want to talk a little more, I have something I need to tell you!” Alice shuffles her hands around “I… Well I have lived…”

Alice is suddenly cut off when the tree around us shakes and the earth moves beneath our feet. A terrifyingly loud roar echoes through the hole from high in the sky.

Alice and I rush outside to see what is happening. A giant read blur soars above the tree tops. As it rushes past us the wind from its wings throws everything around. I am forced to dig my claws into the ground so I am not blown away and Alice clings onto me. Several smaller trees fall over as he rushes past us. Another booming roar emits from the red blur and shakes the ground beneath us. I cringe in pain as the over baring noise rattles my eardrums.

After the blur passes Alice and I look at each other completely awe struck. Alice jumps onto my back and yells “I don’t know what that was but it’s headed toward the village! We need to hurry!”

Following her command I rush toward the village. Halfway to the village the smell of smoke and burning meat fills my nose as fear rises up in me. I hope everyone is ok. What on earth was that creature?

…

When we finally get to the forest clearing and within view of the village we see the village as it normally is. Only one thing has changed. Everyone is missing. The normal sounds of people running about has stopped. Their voices have quitted. The only one who still stands in the village is Beowulf.

Alice jumps off my back while asking “where is everyone?”

“They are leaving the village heading south. I am going to stay behind to try to stop… or at least slow down the beast. I heard its cry’s and I knew exactly what it was.”

“What is it?”

“The bane of man. The death of kingdoms. The destroyer of nations. It is a dragon.” Beowulf’s eyes widen. “It is hear! You must leave now!” Beowulf throws Alice back on my back.

Without looking I run south with all my strength as the deadly roar of the dragon echoes behind us. I run for not only my life but Alice’s.