Chapter 6: Is This the End?

The horses hooves made a steady rhythm as we galloped through the forest. At this point of day the sun had almost reached its peak, but there still wasn’t any sign of the wolf. That didn’t mean I let my guard down. Even with all the mercenaries around me, I still pushed my increased senses, listening to everything that was happening around us. After all, even if the wolf didn’t attack me yet it didn’t mean that some other beast won’t.

“We’re stopping for a short break once we find an area with a big enough clearing for a horse” shouted Foran from the front of the group.

Soon enough we were able to find a small clearing in the middle of the forest near a creek. Getting off my horse I led it towards the creek and tied it to a tree to prevent it from escaping. Observing my horse, I could tell that it was more tired than the others, but it makes sense.

When I went to buy a horse before I left, I couldn’t afford to waste a huge sum, so I bought a horse that wasn’t to cheap because I didn’t want it to drop dead on me. Instead I bought something for a medium price, worth 50 silver. Thinking about the price made me sigh. Within the past few days I have spent more money then I spend in a year.

However, all the items I bought were necessities and without them I would be in trouble later on. Like my horse for example, if I hadn’t bought it I might of not have been able to travel with the mercs, and it would take me a lot longer to reach Prares on foot.

Even though the horse isn’t at its prime; I’m glad I bought it, it's a good horse. My horse was a beautiful charcoal color with a light grey main. Looking at it made me forget how much it cost me, it’s as if its beauty captivated me and cleared my mind.

Finally, I joined the others at the small circle that they had made and took out my flask of water. I took a few gulps, before taking out a dry biscuit and nibbling on it. Listening, to the mercs tell stories and joke around with each other, but I couldn’t really relax and join in. The sense of danger loomed over me, not allowing me a peace of mind.

A few minutes later we set off on to the road again, this time we were planning to get out of the forest by nightfall because it would get more dangerous, when the nocturnal beasts started to come out. For the rest of the day we rode in silence, stopping only for a few short breaks before heading off again.

Traveling through the forest trail, it got darker and darker with every hour. “We won't make it out of the forest by sunset. I underestimated the distance,” spoke Foran.

“Let's go on as far as we can before stopping for the night,” decided Foran. Fear slowly spread through my body, knowing that I would be in the forest at night with the wolf still after me. Especially when the night is when it's at its strongest.

After another hour or so of riding we stopped for the night and set up the campsite. My senses worked in overdrive. To every sound within the forest, shivers and cold sweat ran down my body. The tension was too great. Not knowing when something will happen is the worst, especially if your life is on the line.

“Rye put up some traps, make sure that plenty of trip wires are set up. We can't let our guard down in this forest, even more at night.” Foran told one of the mercs.

Rye just nodded before leaving to do his job. Having nothing to do, I went up to the fire to get some of the tension of my back.

The flames roared through the night, lighting up the dark forest. Beast cries could be heard deep within, raising up my guard and making me unable to fall asleep.

Laying by the fire, I listened to the cries that echoed through the night, becoming more paranoid with every cry.

Then I heard it, a wolf's cry. The forest grew silent, only the cracklings of the burning wood could be heard. It was finally here, it came to kill me.

Another howl broke through the night, this time it was closer.

“Everyone get up, the beast is closing in. One of the trip wires has been set off. Don't let your guard down no matter what, and stay alive. I don't want any of you dying on me.” Foran brought encouragement to the rest of the men with only a few words. After all, no one wanted to die.

All of a sudden my senses went crazy, as if screaming that there was danger. I gulped and pulled out my short sword. In my current situation I couldn't use my scythe because it would cause trouble amongst the mercs if I just took it out of nowhere.

I heard light growling from the dark forest in front of me. Then I saw an all too familiar sight. Two red orbs of pure terror shone brilliantly in the dark. Compared to Leidolfs eyes, his just felt like a glare, but these, these eyes left me paralyzed in fear. I stared at the wolf's eyes, unable to move my body at all.

Was this how it was going to end? Me being paralyzed in fear and the wolf just killing me?

“Kill it! Don't let your fear take hold of you. Fight it, or else you will die.” A voice broke my stance, allowing me to break out of my paralyzed state. Returning to my senses I turned my head to the direction of the voice. It was Foran. He was holding a longsword and standing in a fighting stance, his eyes glued on the concealed beast.

Then next thing I knew, the wolf jumped out of the shadows towards Foran. A wave of dread and hopelessness washed over me after seeing its size. Its size was at least five times of what Leidolf was, whose size was around my own. The wolf swiped its sharp claws at Foran, almost slicing him in half. Luckily, Foran managed to roll out of the way before it was too late.

I just stood there, watching, not knowing what to do. How was I even supposed to fight such a humongous beast. “Hey Leidolf, got any tips? I asked hoping he could give me some sort of weakness of their kind.

“Look, thats my mom. I put my feelings aside knowing that you need to survive this or we both die, but I am not going to give you hints on how to fight her. She is still my mother, what kind of sick creature would help someone kill their own parent?” replied Leidolf in a bit of a pissed off voice.

“Sorry, I forgot for a second that she was your mom. I should be thanking you for even helping me with all this.” I answered with a slightly guilty tone.

“Ha, don't think I'm helping you out for free, don't forget that you have your end of the deal to uphold. Everything I'm doing is for another chance in this life.” Leidolf replied mockingly, as if he was laughing on the inside that I actually thought he helped me out from the goodness in his heart.

A painful scream broke out through the night, snapping me back to my current situation. What the heck had happened? I looked around to find the wolf's claws imbedded into one of the mercs.

Then, right before my eyes. The wolf raised its paw and slammed it into the ground crossing the mercs’ lower body. I felt like throwing up. Blood was splattered everywhere, some of the mercs had deep gashes on them that wouldn't stop bleeding. What did I do? Why had I led them to such a fate?

“Don't blame yourself kid, even if you are slightly at fault. People die everyday, some earlier than others, but we still all die at the end. If they die today that means it was their time. Plus, they are mercenaries, their lives are always in danger. They came into this forest knowing the dangers that lie within.” Spoke Ennius in my head.

“But if I never came here they would of lived.” I cried out desperately. “Look even if you didn't come they still could have died” replied Ennius calmly.

“They would have had a higher chance of survival without me.”

“True, they would have, but the possibility of them dying was still there. Now listen to me, they are fighting right here for their lives and yours. So, don't just stand here, acting like some training dummy. If you die, their deaths would be in vain.”

I nodded in agreement, before observing my surroundings. Three of the mercs were already dead, their lifeless bodies torn to shreds by the wolf's claws. The others had some injuries but they weren't life threatening. Foran, was facing off against the wolf, dodging and rolling to avoid the incoming attacks.

The rest were either trying to flank the giant beast from the sides or help distract it. I grabbed my short sword and circled behind the wolf. I crept closer and closer, making sure it was still distracted by Foran and the rest.

Somehow I managed to get closer without being noticed. Seeing as this was the only chance I would probably get, i set my plan into motion.

I broke into a sprint and slid underneath the wolf thrusting my sword into its bottom. The result was not what I expected. My sword barely penetrated its skin, leaving only a small scratch and stopping my momentum. Leaving me right underneath the wolf. Just how thick was it's skin to have my sword only leave a light scratch.

Only one word ran through my mind, “Fuck.” I kept cursing in my head. This stupid idea caused my death.

“Get out of there! I'll cover you.” I heard Foran shout. Trusting Foran’s words I yanked out my sword and rolled out from underneath. I got up as quickly as possible and leaped forward, barely dodging a claw.

I turned aunt and glared at Foran, “what happened to watching my back?” I asked with anger in my voice. He had almost cost me my life!

“It almost bit me in half, I’m not planning on dying just yet.” Shouted Foran back in response. I just ignored what he said and concentrated on the threat before me. On this field it seemed like every man was for himself. No one would risk their life to save yours.

Knowing this, it felt as if the guilt that was weighing me down disappeared. All the fighting had ceased, no one made a single move. Everyone was glancing at each other, including the wolf.

Finally, one of the mercs couldn't handle the intense pressure and charged. The wolf simply swiped with its claw, tearing the mercs body in half. The merc didn't even have time to scream before his body dropped lifeless lay on the ground.

Realizing what just happened all the mercs charged. Instead of engaging the mercs full on, the wolf leaped into a shadow, completely disappearing from sight.

“Where the hell did the bloody beast go?” One of the mercs cried out. Knowing about its shadow abilities my eyes scanned all the nearby shadows, searching for the beast.

A scream made my head turn faster than I thought was possible. What I saw before my eyes sent shivers down my spine. The wolf was halfway out of a shadow. It's sharp teeth shone brightly from the few moonlight rays. Between it's teeth hung the bottom half of the body, dangling from its mouth. As quickly as it appeared, the same way it disappeared.

Not knowing where the wolf would strike next, fear overcame me. Was I going to die just like that mercenary?

Another cry broke through the night. One after another, mercenaries kept dropping like flies, until only four of us were left.

“We have to do something or we will all be dead like the ones before us,” spoke Rye.

“What do you suggest we do? We are hopeless against it. The way I see it, the bloody wolf is just toying with our lives. It can kill us at any moment.” Foran answered. By the tone of his voice I could tell he was about to give up any second.

“Let's try to blind it, it's our only chance to get away from it alive. It's skin is too tough for our blades to cut. All we can do is try and blind it, so that we have a chance of escaping.” I proposed. From my perspective there was no way we could kill it at this point, our only option was to somehow get away.

“We can try, but with it hiding in the shadows we can't do anything.” The other mercenary spoke, I think his name was Sarc.

“If we stay together and don't give it a chance to catch us off guard it will most likely come out” I answered.

“Alright let's try it, at this point it's our best bet.” Foran spoke up in agreement. The others agreed and we put or plan to motion.

We got into a small circle, each facing a different directions. I watched the shadows nearby for any movement.

We stood there, waiting patiently for the wolf to appear.

Soon enough the wolf came out of the shadows. It stood in front of us, observing our actions and behavior.

“What do we do now?” asked Sarc the group.

“There isn’t much that we can do at this point. Find an opportunity to run away, I can promise you that the wolf won’t chase you because it was after me from the start. This was the reason that I asked you to escort me. I killed its pup a few months back and now it is trying to get revenge by killing me. When you see an opportunity just run.”

With those words I tightened my grip on the sword and walked off towards the wolf, not bothering to hear what the mercs had to say. Maybe I should summon my scythe, at this point I don’t need to hide my abilities any longer. So, there really isn't a good enough reason to conceal my abilities at this point.

I started slowly approaching the wolf, focusing its attention on to me. Slowly I circled towards the side of the wolf, not breaking my sight of the wolf. At the corner of my eye I saw a shadow formed from the few rays of moonlight and an idea struck me. I moved closer to the shadow and jumped into it.

I reappeared on the other side of the wolf. Taking advantage of the confused wolf, I broke off into a sprint and summoned my scythe. Using my scythe like a pole to jump higher into the air I landed on the wolf. At this point the wolf snapped out if its confused daze and tried to get me off.

I put away my scythe and started climbing towards the wolf's head. It tried to get me off, but I managed to hold on to its thick fur.

Somehow I managed to reach the top of its head. At this point the wolf had its full concentration on me, trying to get me off with its front paw. Barely dodging I climbed closer to the eye, took out my sword, ready to plunge it into its eye. Preparing to take care of the deed I raised my sword and was about to strike when the wolf shook its head, forcing me to lose my balance and fall off.

Due to me losing my balance, instead of embedding my sword into its eye I only managed to cut it. I got up quickly and rushed to the side, away from the wolf. Turning around to look at the wolf, I gulped. Cold sweat started to run down my body. The wolf looked pissed, no that's the wrong word. It wasn't pissed, it was enraged.

It glared at us with its remaining eye, as if it was trying to kill me with its glare. Taking a quick glance to the side I noticed that the mercs were long gone by now. Seems like they darted off while the wolf was distracted by me.

“Hey kid, run to the deeper part of the forest. It will be more dangerous but there are stronger beast there that are able to fend off against the wolf. As long as you lead the wolf into one of the beasts territory, you will have a high chance of escape. The beast within the deep part of the forest are very territorial and will try to drive anyone who therspasses. Just make sure you don’t get killed by one of them.” Ennius spoke up in my head.

Seeing as this was my only choice at the moment I ran as fast as my legs could carry me towards the deeper part of the forest. However, no matter how hard I tried to put some distance between us the wolf kept getting closer and closer. Its thunderous footsteps kept getting louder with each step behind me.

At this rate it's going to catch up to me. What should I do? Should I try using one of my abilities to put some distance between us? I could use my wolf form to increase my speed, but that would consume too much energy. My possession ability is useless at this moment, which only leaves me with one choice. The only other option was to use my shadow teleportation ability.

Deciding that this was my best shot I jumped into a nearby shadow. Now let me tell you something, the feeling isn't pleasant. It feels cold and empty, like you are inside a void and everytime I get the feeling that I will get lost within the shadow and will be unable to come out.

Finally, I popped out from another shadow which was the farthest one I could see from my original spot. I glance back to see if the wolf was still there to find nothing.

Realization struck me, causing me to run even faster than before. Ugh, how stupid could I be? I’m not the only one who can teleport using shadows. I cursed in my head, continuing to run as fast as I could. I jumped into another shadow, before I became completely paranoid from not knowing where the wolf will strike me. However, right before I was about to leap out of the shadow a strong killing intent exploded behind me, i felt like I was going to suffocate.

I jumped out as soon as I could. The sudden action tossed me into the air with enough momentum to fly through the air a bit. Even though I came out I could feel the killing intent right behind me. Looking back, I found the wolf right behind me leaping after me from within the shadow. Crap, when I land it's going to easily get me. What do I do?

Millions of thoughts ran through my head at those few short seconds. Somehow, I thought of a solution. Acting as fast as I could due to the shortage of time I summoned my scythe and hooked it around a nearby tree, swinging around the tree to change my direction. I landed in a different directions and continued to run. I willed my scythe to disappear to not drag me down. At this moment I needed the least amount of weight on me.

I ran, not daring to look back to see how close the wolf was, nor did I have too because I could hear its footsteps right behind me. Deciding to risk it I jumped into a nearby shadow of a tree, but this time I didn’t teleport right ahead of me. This time I came out a bit to the right, and oh how did I regret that decision.

Right in front of me lay a massive white tiger with golden stripes. On it’s back where two beautiful long wings. The sound of the wolf's footsteps caused me to panic, not knowing what to do.

“Possess the tigers shadow,” suggested Ennius. Not having time to decide on anything else I did as he suggested. I jumped into his shadow and waited for the wolf to arrive.

Soon, the wolf broke through the forest, and halted when it saw the tiger. The tiger who was sleeping before this, must of have sensed the danger and stirred slightly. Slowly it got up and stood at its full height. Seeing the wolf it let out a loud and angry roar.

The tow beast just stood there, neither attacking. “You got lucky kid, the White Heavenly Tiger is one of the few beasts that can take on the Phantom Wolf. However, I’m surprised to find one here. Usually these beasts live up in the mountains, to find one here is quite rare. It must of stopped here for the night to get some rest, which the wolf just disturbed.

Listen, when the two of them fight wait for the right moment to escape, since they will be distracted by each other you have a high chance of escaping.” I listened to Ennius and was amazed that there was another beast out there as strong as the Phantom Wolf. On the other side, dread and fear occupied my mind. Here I was in the middle of two powerful beast that were about to rip each others guts out.

I sighed mentally, this might seem like a stroke of luck, but to me it seemed like the whole situation just got worse.