I’m an idiot.

As his mind returned to him he could not believe how foolish he had been.

Not even bothering to see how this body produced mana? It’s not human, so it’s obvious it’s mana wouldn’t be the same as one. Moron.

Where the am I anyway?

After opening his eyes all that greeted him was dirt. He had been placed face down on the ground, his arms and legs were securely bound with a heavy rope, he could feel two weights of some sort resting on either side of his back, and judging by the lack of light he was most likely in some sort of shelter.

Great. What a good predicament you’re in, idiot. Good job.

Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts he began listening intently, trying to get a feel of his surroundings.

I can hear them sleeping…on me.

What he had originally assumed was some sort of bag or object placed on his back to notify his captors if he stirred was in fact the two hunters' heads, they had sprawled out in opposite directions on either side of him and were now using his back as a pillow.

Although…if I stir or roll over I assume they will wake up just as well…

Trying to shift his weight slightly his assumption was confirmed, making the slightest movement caused both hunters to bolt upright into sitting positions. They seemed momentarily perplexed at what woke them before they spun to face him, saying nothing; they simply watched him as he feigned unconsciousness.

After a minute one of the hunters broke the silence. “We know you’re awake.” Her voice was sweet but filled with a slight annoyance at his actions, he recognized it as the hunter that had not been threatening him with a bow.

“And here I thought my acting skills were top notch.” Realizing he had been found out he turned his head to face the one that had addressed him. “Lucky guess or excellent observation skills?'' He wasn’t sure where he was going with the conversation, just that he had to keep everyone talking until his strength returned. Mana feedback was an intense but short-lived ailment. He could already feel that he had crested over the conditions mid-point and was recovering his strength rapidly. Although he now knew better than to try casting magic again, he suspected his physical capabilities more than made up for that fact considering he had thrown a mid-sized bear off himself and effortlessly cut through its skull while in a weakened state.

“Your breathing gave it away.” The second hunter spoke up, he recalled her voice being much more menacing as she threatened him earlier, she was now rather relaxed and spoke casually.

I feel like I’m being underestimated here.

“So…” The first hunter spoke again, something about the innocent nature of her voice was very pleasing to his ears.

If her face matches that voice she will be a looker.

“I’m Luna,” she finally announced. “And this is my fiancé Shoji.” Motioning to the other hunter. “Mind telling us who you are?”

“Or why you were in the white woods.” Shoji interrupted.

“I’m Geneeva, wait…you’re engaged? I thought you were both women?” He could feel a moment of confusion wash over him.

Are they lesbians or have my ears deceived me? Is Shoji a man's name here?

Both girls looked towards each other before Luna answered. “Well yea we are both women...What else would we be? You don’t marry men.” Her words had a genuine confusion to them, as if what he asked made no sense whatsoever.

“I’ve heard of married ladies taking in a primary concubine, but that’s hardly considered marriage. They would just be given a better life than typical slaves.” Shoji spoke casually, as if it was a normal occurrence.

Whoa, wait the hell up…men are enslaved here?

“Wait…are only men slaves?” Despite his increasing suspicion that he was sounding increasingly foolish to these two, he could not help his curiosity.

Just what kind of world is this?! Where did she send me??

“Well…No, women can be slaves too.” Luna rubbed her head slightly mulling over his question. “But every man is a slave.” She quickly added the last line cheerfully. He could instantly tell by her voice that she felt nothing was wrong about this predicament.

Either she is a monster, or this has been common practice her entire life.

“But shouldn’t you already know this? Being male you should have spent at least some time in a slavers market, or were you born to an owner?” Shoji’s voice was filled with a slight annoyance.

She is beginning to think I’m an idiot, or that I’m screwing with them.

He could feel that most of his strength had returned, flexing slightly he felt the thick rope binding his arms strain slightly, with a little more force he could feel the rough fibers stretch out.

I can snap this.

He marveled at the strength he now possessed, only snapping back to the conversation as Luna faked a cough.

“Ah, yes, well to tell you the truth I’m not a slave. Never have been.” Bluntly blurting it out he was pleasantly surprised at the jerky reactions both girls showed.

Both girls sat stunned, before Shoji seemed to regain herself, lashing out at his comment. “You think you’re funny? Know your damn place!! Show us your blood seal!” At this point she had stopped sitting and was now standing above him.

“What the hell is a blood seal?” he almost spat the words up at her, his mocking tone accompanying the smile now plastered across his face.

“What do you mean!?! Don’t mock me!” Her voice was now thick with frustration. “Every man has one!”

Like a slave marking perhaps?

He mused over her words before nonchalantly replying “Well I’m not every man then”

“You little...” The sound of her teeth clenching could be heard even through her mask. Shaking her head side to side she inhaled a deep breath. “Maybe I should teach you some manners!” as she spoke she reached up to the buckle keeping her mask attached to her leather hood and began unclipping it, only to be interrupted by her partner.

“That’s enough Shoji! Now that he mentions it, I don’t recall seeing a blood seal on him either. Do you?” Luna was firm, but even so the innocence of her voice did not dwindle.

Like a child trying to be mad.

Shoji paused at her words before lowering her arm reluctantly. “No, I did not.”

Luna nodded before turning to face him again. “If I untie you, will you promise to be good? We just want to check the back of your hands.” Her voice had softened up, like the words themselves were smiling at him.

“I suppose I can be.” He felt himself agreeing before he had even had time to mull over her words.

This girls voice is dangerous…

“Excellent!” She clapped her hands together as she spoke, standing up she bent over his back and began working on the thick rope. After a minute of undoing various knots the tension holding his arms slackened off as the rope slid free, taking his time so as to not startle anyone he rolled over slowly, rotating his shoulders slightly to loosen the joints before sitting upright.

“So can I see your hands?” she knelt down in front of him, if she hadn’t been wearing a full face mask he would nearly be eye level with her, peering into the masks eye slits he tried to spot eyes, only to realize that some sort of darkened glass had been placed into the leather masks.

Completely sealed off it seems.

To answer her question, he brought both arms up, revealing the backs of his hands to the girls. She gently grabbed his hands in hers, inspecting them before turning them over to see his palms as well.

“Do you see anything?” addressing her partner she never took her eyes off his hands, he felt an odd sense of excitement building in the air.

Is that a good thing?

Shoji leaned forward slightly before inspecting his outstretched limbs as well.

“No! I don’t see any at all!” Her voice took him by surprise, what had originally been an aggressive tone was now joyful and filled to the brim with happiness. “This is amazing! The village desperately needs this!”

“Needs what?” His question almost seemed to fall on deaf ears as the girls continued talking to each other excitingly.

“This could recoup the burden the infection has cost us!”

“We could probably get a little extra since we found him too! We could finally get married!”

He could feel the annoyance growing in him as they continued ignoring his question.

“WHAT’S GOING ON?” His shout startled both girls as they jumped from the noise, falling silent in the process.

Taking a deep breath he tried to suppress the anger he had started showing, the attention of both women now focusing completely on him.

“What are you two talking about?” He finally pushed the words out as calm as he could muster.

Shoji tilted her head to the side slightly at his question, a slight confusion showing in her posture and voice as she answered him.

“If you’re not blood bound to a master, then our village will perform the ritual. Second we find your race we can sell you to them.” Her voice had returned to its previous blunt tone.

Like hell.

“And if I refuse?” Feeling the smile creep across his face again he began extending his claws slowly.

I’d say I’m at 80%...Should be more than enough.

“You dare refuse a woman's wish?!” Shoji shook her head as she clenched her fists together. “What?! You think you’re strong because you killed that infected? THE ONLY REASON WE COULDN’T WAS BECAUSE OF THE DISEASE!” Her voice had grown harsh and ragged as she spoke, taking a step forward he could see the leather suit she wore bulging out as she leaned over him, the sound of stitches beginning to tear met his ears as he stared dumbfounded at her.

Is she fucking growing?!

“It’s time we taught you your place male!” A growl of a voice escaped her as she reached up to unbuckle her mask, only to be interrupted as Luna lunged forward, firmly grabbing her hand.

“SHOJI NO!” Her voice filled with anger as she pressed between them, grasping her partner's arm.

“What’s gotten into You!?! Why are you siding with him again?!” Shoji pulled her arm violently free while stepping back. “Are you not with me? Are you just going to let him talk to us like that?” Her voice filled with ridicule.

Luna seemed perplexed as she stood between them. “I…I don’t know.” Her reply was slow as she mulled over her words. “You can’t hurt him though…”

A heavy silence followed as both hunters stood opposite each other.

Looking between the two he could not help but feel a slight curiosity grow within himself.

Why would she stick up for me instead of her fiancé?

“Fine.” Her reply was short and blunt, turning to leave the tent she paused before looking back. “I’m going for a walk, but his hands need to be tied before I leave.”

Luna looked down at the ropes along the ground, she hesitated slightly before answering. “O..kay, I can do that” kneeling down she grabbed the ropes and motioned him to bring his arms forward.

This is getting weird.

Knowing he could force his way free at any time he allowed her to bind his hands together, the rope was much looser than it had been before and her movements were much slower, as if she was in turmoil with her actions.

Shoji stood silently watching, as soon as the task was complete, she swiftly turned and left the tent, he could hear the snapping of branches as she began forcing her way through the brush outside, her footsteps were brisk and filled with anger.

His mind raced as he pondered why someone he just met would side with him over their partner. At first, he flattered himself with the idea that it was attractive at first sight, only to quickly dismiss the idea.

Unless her race is some kind of monster too that’s pretty unlikely, it’s not like I have a mirror to check myself out, but I doubt I’m attractive by anyone’s standards here.

Although…pretty sure that other one named Shoji just started growing rapidly into something a few minutes ago…

“She gets like that... things are fine.” Luna stood facing the tent before turning and sitting off to the side of the door. “I’m going to just gather my thoughts here a bit if you don’t mind…I think I need a bit of silence” Her voice trailed off slightly as she spoke.

Somethings wrong with her.

He eyed her up slowly, pondering if he should take this time to escape, or gather his own thoughts. Finally deciding that the best course of action would be to at least let her bring him to a road or near a village before breaking free he relaxed and started meditating.

My strength has returned, now I just need to figure out this body’s mana.

Sitting silently, he worked on drawing miniscule amounts of mana out from within himself, although producing it was simple enough, its properties felt alien in such a way that manipulating it was difficult. After nearly an hour sitting in silence he had just barely figured out how to move small amounts of it around within himself and expel it from his body.

Just as he was about to draw forth a slightly larger quantity he made a puzzling discovery.

There’s mana in this tent?

My mana…

He had assumed at first it was just the mana he had expelled earlier while meditating, and although he could sense that mana lingering around as well, it was only a small fraction of what was present in the tent.

Why’s my fucking mana all over the place?

He focused to find the source of the leak, carefully going over his body, only to find nothing. Using his control of mana he expelled a thin stream of it within the room, sending it out into the world around him.

It’s coming from…Her.

Why would his mana be coming from another person? Reaching out his mana line he searched around her presence, finally realizing that the energy was being given off not by her body, but the blood-stained armor she wore. His blood for some reason leaked mana out from it, spreading into everything in its surroundings.

She obviously can’t sense it, though even someone inexperienced in magic would feel foreign mana entering their body…is my mana different?

Reaching out his line again he strung a thin portion of mana into her, as he did so he could sense that a significant portion of it had already leaked out from the blood, mixing not just with her flesh, but even her very soul.

This….is incredible.

His mind again raced with the possibilities of what was happening, not only was his mana entering another without them noticing it, but it was performing a corruption of their soul on its own as well.

This might explain why she has been acting in my favor repeatedly.

Reaching his tendrils of mana deeper within her body he approached her soul with it, he could see the pristine white of it blinding outwards.

This is the soul of someone with magic?

Pondering just what kind of person she was, he continued inspecting her. The white light radiated out from her spirit to his closed eyes, save for one area, its light had faded and in its place was a dark purple swirling mass. He cautiously fed his mana into the exposed portion, watching in awe as it bypassed the soul’s defenses and seeped into it, like pouring water into the dry earth. Feeding more and more mana into the exposed soul he gleefully watched as the swirling mass grew larger, although it was still relatively small compared to the white light surrounding it, he would still estimate that it now had taken over at least 1/20th of her being, maybe more.

And no reaction from her?!

As if answering him he heard a slight rustle as she readjusted her sitting position. Fearing she might begin to feel his intrusion he quickly pulled back his mana line, drawing it back into himself. With an exhale he left his meditative state and opened his eyes.

She’s staring right at me…intensely.

Pretending not to notice the obvious stare down being thrown his way he let his eyes wander around the tent, only to find himself constantly glancing back at the hunter bearing down on him with her eyes.

Sweet lady death, she is not looking away at all.

Finding himself becoming increasingly uncomfortable under the gaze of the masked hunter he faked a cough, much to his relief the noise seemed to break her trance, as she shook her head slightly and looked towards the tent's entrance.

“Are you worried about her?” looking to break the silence he asked the first thing that came to mind.

“N...Yes I am.”

She was about to say no…

Wondering if it was a poor relationship or the corruption within her he pressed on with more questions, hoping to peer into his new Guinea pigs life, as well as learn about this new world.

“So, you live in these woods? How many people are in your village?” He could see her shoulders relax as he asked less controversial questions.

“Yes! Our village is in the south of the woods, 3 days walk from here. It’s not a big village, less than a hundred of us are left now.” She had started out cheerful as she talked, but he could sense a slight sorrow as she mentioned how many were left in her village.

Maybe something happened? Disease or strife?

“There used to be more?” Ignoring the fact he might be prodding at a touchy subject, he pressed her for more information.

“Well, yes. Ever since the white infection has started spreading throughout the woods our hunting grounds have been severely limited. Without skins and horns to sell at Felhold we have not been able to afford a yearly stud fee.”

He paused at her answer, mulling over the meaning of her words.

But they’re hunters, why would they need a stud? And if they do raise animals why wouldn’t they have a stud themselves??

“I’m Sorry, how did a lack of a stud lower the population? Starvation?” He again ignored common courtesy to satisfy his curiosity, pressing her for more information.

She tilted her head slightly in a confused manner at his question, pausing momentarily before answering.

“Without a stud the women can’t have children. It’s been almost two decades since anyone was born. Shoji and I were from the last stud, and we just celebrated our 19th winter together.” She spoke casually, ignoring the fact that her captive had dropped his mouth halfway through the answer and was now staring at her dumbfounded.

“You…stud out a man for the village? Why!? Does the village have no men itself??” His voice was thick with confusion at what he had heard.

Just what kind of place is this??

“How would we have a man in such a small village?”

“By…giving birth to one? Letting a guy live there? Has no one ever married a man before?” He tried to wrap his head around the fact that such a simple concept seemed bizarre to the person in front of him.

What’s wrong with these people?

Luna simply stared his way before bursting out into laughter, her innocent voice radiating out from under her mask.

“We should not be so lucky to have a man born to us, The Matriarch's blessing has not gifted us with one. And we cannot afford to buy one to live here, the price is too high and building a proper enclosure would cost too much.”

“Who’s the Matriarch and what’s this blessing?” He continued, determined to find out just how this world’s social hierarchy worked.

“What do you mean who’s The Matriarch?!” Her voice filled with surprise at his question. “She is the one true God of all women, and her blessing allows women to flourish in this world. Only one in a thousand children are born Male.”

You’re fucking shitting me, that’s not a blessing that’s a God damn curse.

“Honestly if our village could have a male born to us it would be a great blessing for us, perhaps this next stud will provide one.”

“I thought you said your village couldn’t afford one?” He already had an idea of where she was going but couldn’t help himself in wanting to confirm his suspicions.

“Well…Once we find out what race you belong to, we could sell you at their market, or in Felhold the market there could arrange the sale…” She seemed to return to her confused state as she talked about his fate. “If you had been human like us we could have seen about keeping you.”

“You’re human!? I swear your friend there started packing on some weight really quick when she got prissy with me. What was that then?” He found himself doubting her words.

I’ve only ever seen a very well-practiced mage start morphing their body, and that hunter wasn’t a well-practiced mage.

Luna's body language instantly changed as she took in his questions, bringing her hands to her front, she began fidgeting as she struggled to answer him.

“I…I can’t say…” She inhaled deeply as her shoulders slumped, her urge to keep a secret was fighting viciously with the corruption now firmly within her very soul.

Silently watching her, he debated if he should try to reconnect another mana line. Given enough time he was now sure the corruption would deepen, drawing her under his wing.

As he pondered his next course of action a creature howled out in the night, its voice cutting through the silence.

So they have something similar to wolves here huh.

Luna had stiffened at the howl, remaining completely motionless as it cried out through the night. Slowly she turned and approached the tent's flap, pulling it aside she stared out into the dark night. As soon as she had opened the tent up to the night air a distant noise reached out to his ears, the frantic sounds of something barreling through the woods towards them. Although he could hear it clearly, his instincts told him it was a great distance away.

“What is that? Some sort of pack animal?” His voice remained calm, without the burden of mana feedback coursing through his body he knew that even an entire pack of wolves would be of little threat.

“Can your race run quickly?” Luna’s voice had an odd sense of warning to it, whatever approached had stricken her with fear.

“I don’t intend on running from some animal if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

And I certainly won’t leave you behind yet, you’re currently the only source of information I have.

Facing away from him she reached her hand to the buckle securing her mask and hood and began unclasping it.

“I cannot beat her... even if I wanted to, but I cannot let her get to you either…you’re special…I just don’t know…”

As she spoke the mask that had been hiding her appearances fell to the ground, her long hair falling to her mid back.

It’s…Silver.

He couldn’t help but stare as she unbuckled the leather armor arm sleeves, letting them slide to the ground, her skin was fair and her arms were slender but firm, the slight ripple of muscle could be seen under a soft, thin layer of fat. Watching her remove her leggings in the same fashion to reveal well-toned thighs brought a generous portion of saliva to his mouth.

I could literally eat those legs up.

Pausing at his thoughts he shook his head slightly

What the fuck is wrong with you!?!

His thoughts had gone from a state of sexual arousal to physical hunger, rubbing his tongue along his sharpened teeth he couldn’t help but feel slightly ashamed of himself.

Wanting to screw and eat the same person is weird…

Pushing the thought that he had hardly eaten since coming to this place aside he continued watching the women standing before him. She had fully removed the leggings and arm guards of her armor. Leaving her torso and buttocks still covered. Straining his neck slightly he hoped to see her face, as her thick long hair completely obscured any view he had of it.

“What’s going on Luna?” Calling out to her he tried to gather her attention, hoping she would look back at him instead of steadfastly staring into the night.

“She’s angry, I don’t know why…” Luna's voice trailed off as she spoke. “You should flee.”

“And what direction should I go in?” He had little intention of fleeing from this place, but he found himself eagerly continuing the conversation. “And how should I flee when I’m bound in rope sitting on the floor?”

At his words she abruptly spun to face him, saying something in the process, though what he did not know. For his mind was now elsewhere.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Her fair skin complimented the slender appearance of her cheeks, while her elongated eyelashes and eyebrows almost reminded him of whiskers, the most stunning feature though was her eyes. The vibrant blue almost seemed to shine out invitingly to him.

Eyes you could get lost in.

Watching her luscious lips move as she spoke, he imagined his previous life, and how he had always neglected encounters with the opposite sex in favor of researching more and more powerful magic.

This women is amazing, the voice, the looks….I wonder what she’s saying?

Snapping back, he realized he had been completely ignoring her words as she tried to warn him.

“Sorry, what was that?” shamelessly he asked her to repeat herself, ignoring the disgruntled look that sprung forth from her.

Ignoring his question, she approached him and bent down to untie his bound hands. “Shoji is one of the shield maidens, her spirit beast is that of the bear. I don’t know what set her off, but I cannot stop her.

“Spirit animal? What’s That?”

Luna paused before leaving his bound hands and standing up. Taking a step back she smiled, “It is our village's secret, but I suppose you will find out soon enough, my spirit animal is the fox.” As she spoke a slight growl escaped her lips. He watched as hair began to spring forth over her body, her limbs elongating and her teeth extending. Within seconds her form had grown considerably as she transformed into a were-fox. Her body was now covered in a light silver fur, while her hands had elongated, now accommodating thin claws that sprung forth from her fingertips. Her facial appearance had changed as well, whiskers now shot forth from her cheeks, with a slender smile she revealed rows of sharpened fangs.

Like a werewolf…but more human.

Her presence gave off a majestic aura, answering his thoughts on why her spirit had shown signs of magical prowess. As she stood before him he could see her nose twitch as it sniffed the air, her eyes opened wide as she frantically looked towards her side.

The side where his blood soaked into her armor.

“What is this!?” Her voice cracked as she breathed deeply, smelling her torso.

Don’t tell me they can sense it now…

“You….You...Did This…” anger filled her voice as her eyes flashed menacingly towards him.

Probably explains why the other ones pissed off too, fairly sure I saw some of my blood on her suit too. Just enough to give it away when she decided to go for a little beastly stroll…

“YOU!!” shouting out she leapt towards him, her hand clawing through the air, rolling aside he narrowly dodged the swipe as it drove into the ground.

She’s fast!

Flexing his arms and legs the heavy rope binding him screamed as it tore away like a thin string, Luna's eyes opened in surprise as he so casually broke from his bounds. As he scrambled to get back into his feet she lunged forward again, taking his moment of vulnerability to strike out at his neck

He felt her weight barrel into his side as he tried to avoid the strike, narrowly avoiding her claws he avoided the potentially fatal blow, only to have her clawed fingers gouge deep into his shoulder instead.

As pain erupted forth from his wound he put his full power into his legs, driving himself into Her, his speed blew forth faster than she could react too, taking her feet clean off the ground and tearing the two of them through the tent.

It’s the same God damn shoulder! I’M SICK AND TIRED OF FUCKING PAIN!

Scrambling onto all fours he threw himself on Top of her before she could regain the breath his tackle had forced from her lungs. His full weight landed heavily on her chest as he reached out and grasped her wrists firmly, pinning her to the ground.

“Get….off….” Her voice filled with rage as she struggled futilely under his immense strength, failing to move him in the slightest.

“Well little fox, here I was thinking you would be mine already, I suppose we might have to speed things up a bit shall we?”

Bringing his knee up he forced her left arm under it, freeing his own. Reaching up to his shoulder he cursed himself again.

It’s fucking healed already??!

Realizing the wound had closed he instead brought his hand to his mouth biting it hard, as blood erupted forth from his flesh her eyes opened in panic as she realized his intentions

“No….please!” Her voice cracked as she struggled in vain again, desperately trying to remove him.

“In my defense, you two started this shit.” Nodding to himself he reached out forcing his hand to her mouth, as she clenched down in an attempt to keep him away. Working his fingers into her lips he pried at her teeth, marveling at his strength as he overpowered her powerful jaw muscles, forcing his bloody hand into her mouth. In response she bit down on his fingers causing a small growl to escape his throat.

“You only make it worse my little fox.” He smiled through the pain as more blood burst forth from his bitten fingers, pouring into her mouth, quickly ripping his hand out; he clasped her lips tightly shut, using his fingers to plug her nose.

“Swallow” his command was forceful and deep as he imposed his will upon her. She struggled violently under his hold, thrashing her legs about until the lack of oxygen slowed her movements. Finally he felt the instinctive reflex of her throat swallowing down the blood as she searched for air, letting go of her as she gasped for breath and tears began streaming down her face.

“That will take a bit.” Reaching down with his hand he grasped her throat, applying pressure to her arteries until her consciousness slipped away. As she went limp he stood and paused to inspect his hand, despite just recently being mangled apart from her sharp canines it appeared completely fine now.

Healed in seconds.

He could only assume his vast healing capabilities were linked to his body's mana flow in some way, which would explain why it did not kick in right away when he experienced the feedback.

Looking out into the woods he could hear the thrashing as branches cracked and snapped under the force of his approaching enemy.

The next little fox is close by.

As if on queue a massive figure paused at the edge of the campsite, its height towering above Luna's and rivaling even his own. As he gawked at the thick arms and robust legs of Shoji In her beast form, the words of Luna returned to his thoughts.

That’s a fucking were-bear.

Seeing her companion laying unconsciously on the ground she roared out in rage before bursting out towards him. Entering the clearing fully he could now see the immense difference between the two, while Luna had retained many human features, Shoji’s appearance was more beast than human. If it had not been for the leather covering her torso he would have assumed this was some sort of demon bear that roamed the land.

Her limbs had thickened with muscles as well as growing considerably in length, thick long claws now adjourned her finger tips, extending her reach by several inches. Her body was covered in brown fur as her equally thick hair fell down past her waist in a complete mess, unlike Luna who kept her near human facial appearances, Shoji’s face was almost identical to that of a bears, a long snout filled with teeth greeted him in a Vicious snarl as she charged, her hands stretching out to impale him.

Twisting himself he flung himself out of her path and to the side, lashing out with his leg in the process. The kick struck low, bouncing off her muscled thigh as she passed by him.

Little stronger…

As she turned to face him he could see a slight hesitation in her eyes as she sized him up, his speed in dodging her attack warning her that his earlier performance against the infected bear was not an indicator of his capabilities.

Her eyes flicked momentarily to her fallen companion before furrowing in rage.

“That smell….WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Her voice cried out in anguish as she again lunged towards him, swiping out in an attempt to disembowel his guts.

Thrusting his hips back he avoided the side swipe only to find her other arm barreling down towards his head from above. Shooting his fist up in an undercut he slammed into the clawed hand, blasting it back as his power countered her attack. The force of the connecting blows caused her to stumble back a step, not wanting her to regain her footing he lunged forward, slamming his forehead against hers. The force of the strike caused her to lose her footing completely, with a heavy thud she collapsed onto her back, shaking her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts.

Lunging forward he tried to pin her down as he did Luna, but found himself Struggling to contain the much stronger opponent.

“FUCK! Alright you asked for it then!” Unable to contain her he rolled off her and pounced back onto his feet, bringing his hand to his mouth he sunk his teeth into the flesh, allowing the blood to flow generously onto his fingers.

Not understanding his intentions Shoji scrambled to her feet and lunged towards him, aiming to strike his chest.

Ducking under the blow he dodged forward extending his claws, with a quick strike he plunged his bloody hand into the meat of her thigh causing her to howl out in pain.

Using his free hand he wrapped himself around her waist, refusing to remove his still bleeding hand from her flesh, as she cried out again she began delivering a series of fevered strikes to his exposed back, rending into his flesh.

Heaving with his legs he brought her waist up before driving her into the ground, the sound of breath escaping her lungs let him know the blow had been effective as he finally retracted his hand from her open wound.

The blood poured out from his back dripping down his side to fall into her thick fur.

You’re only making things worse for yourself.

Despite the pain screaming from his flesh he couldn’t help but smile. If his blood being exposed to their skin and clothing caused such high levels of corruption, what would directly putting it inside them accomplish?

As she pushed her clawed hands towards his face he momentarily removed his weight from Her, feigning a stumble to the ground as she tried to push him off. Believing she had a momentary opening she rolled to her front to get back to her feet, only to have him pounce into her back, sinking his arm tightly around her throat as he wrapped his legs around her.

Squeezing tightly, he felt her struggling under the rear naked choke, only to become sluggish and eventually limp in his arms. Rolling off her he slowly stood, stretching out his aching back as its flesh quickly healed.

Won’t have much time..

Sitting a short distance away from the two he closed his eyes and focused on meditating, drawing out a line of mana he sent it out to Luna. As it connected to her body he anchored it to her soul, the corruption on her side had deepened considerably while the blood she had ingested was already contaminating her from the inside. The once pristine spirit of light within her now spotted with darkness, like the fur of a Dalmatian.

Finishing his task, he left the line attached as he drew forth another from himself, reaching out he prodded towards Shoji, her spirit also showed signs of corruption from the blood he had placed within her, however instead of spots the spirit simply had a dark shadow enveloping it.

Probably because my blood is flowing throughout her circulatory system.

Pushing with his mana line he tried to anchor it to her being, only to find that without an obvious place of corruption to bypass her natural defense he could not. The soul was simply weakened but whole, unlike her companion.

Shit. I guess we can do this the hard way.

Withdrawing his line, he left his meditation, leaving just enough focus to keep the single line feeding his mana into Luna from dissipating.

Returning to the tent he found the remnants of rope that had been used to bind him, pulling the longest sections still intact out of it he quickly approached Shoji and tied her hands and feet together. He doubted it would hold her long but it would certainly delay her escape.

Placing her flat on her back he keeled beside her.

“This is going to hurt me a lot more than you.” Extending his claws he cut deeply into his palm, allowing the blood to flow down his hand and drip onto his unconscious captive. Repeatedly reopening the wound as it healed, he kept his blood flowing, even smearing his hands along her body until she was nearly completely covered.

As he worked, the slight groan of Luna waking met his ears, she stumbled to her feet slowly while shaking herself off.

Ignoring her, he continued his task only pausing as he felt her hand caress his shoulder gently.

“Anything I can do to help?”