CHPT 204: Lunatics

Claude heard Frosty's bark echo through the forest, signaling for the rest of the pack to follow him towards the black home of darkness within the forest.

His mana was low, he didn't need his system to notify him to know so. He could tell by the sweat that covered his body like a liquid sheet, combined with the odd unique feel of exhaustion that came with pushing your Mana pool to its limits. But he had enough, he had enough to root the Monster stomping through the forest behind him. He had to have enough.

Slowly, the sound of flames crashing into trees and canine barks lined with pain became easier and easier to hear until they were almost painful on his sensitive ears.

Despite not activating (Sensory Focus), he found his senses honed and aligned with the intense levels of focus he fought to maintain. He could almost hear each individual dry leaf crunch beneath the pack/Monster's feet as they approached.

With his hearing and smell, he had a perfect image of their whereabouts— despite them being behind him. They were close.

"Any second…." He mouthed silently.

Immediately after, Frosty dashed across the branch from beneath him, followed by the Phantom Legion and the unseen Glorian Lion. Their bodies only ever shown in stop motion images as smoking fireballs sailed overhead to light the darkness momentarily.

Time slowed. Adrenaline pumped. Like a spark lighting a match, his muscles came to life with a flaming hot start as he exploded from the trees like a starved ambush predator.

While he descended on the creature, the trees and their many limbs copied his movements, reaching down to hold the creature still. Still enough for Claude to land on its head and violently mask its body with his Element Resistant Cloak.

Immediately, howls and snarls broke through the darkness as Claude and the Monster wrestled with each other. He could feel the heat of the fire beneath the black fabric of his cloak while he fought to hold its maw shut.

"Quiet!" He snapped before reaching around to hold its jaws shut. While he held the creature's head and neck. The tree branches around them held its arms and legs, straining whenever the monster vibrated with a burst of super-powered speed.

He wasted no time unsheathing his sword with his other hand and pulling every bit of power he had into skewering the Gnoll through the heart.

Woo!

SHLCK!

He felt the resistance of ripping through fur, skin and organs before breaching the other side of the creature who let out a monstrous yelp lined with Lunar Flames.

He felt the Gnoll go limp in his arms followed by the signaling of its abrupt end.

[+400 EXP]

Ding!

[The constant straining placed on your will to change yourself and the events around you has raised your Willpower stat by 2 points!]

With a sigh, Claude pulled his sword from the Monster and removed the cloak, questioning, "What even is the Willpower stat really?"

He placed the thought at the back of his mind before proceeding with the current whirlwind of events.

Upon removing the cloak, he felt his heart skip a beat in response to coming face to face with the scalded remains of the Gnoll.

Portions of its face were burned down to the bone, revealing portions of a canine skull while the rest was covered in slimy burnt hair that reeked of Magic and blood.

"God damn…" Claude grunted before covering his nose and backing away.

With the creature defeated, he only had one more

obstacle in his path. With that in mind, he beckoned to the pack to follow and made his way towards the clearing.

Crch!

A sound from behind caused him to freeze and spin around with his nerves on edge.

The smell of magic was still present, but he couldn't tell if the scent was new or old. Then again, he didn't need to. The new dark glow of the runes told him enough.

"What the hell…? Claude murmured as he heard one of the branch bindings snap and free the monsters arm.

"[Necromantic Runes…..I don't believe it.]" Arne said in shock.

Claude didn't even have a chance to question what Arne was talking about as the Monster let out a blood curdling howl that came straight from the pits of its undead stomach.

The sound hammered his hearing and scattered his mind. Before he could spring into action, three beings in the dark charged the creature.

WOo!

"RAGHSH!"

CRSH!…CRSH!…SHRIP!

Frosty, the Phantom Legion and the stealthy Feline ripped into the monster before it had the chance to try its luck in a second round of battle. From his spot behind them, he could hear bones crunch and ribbons of burned Magic lined flesh hit the floor near his feet with a wet splat.

The destruction continued for another minute straight until all he could hear was Frosty snarling as he stomped random bits of flesh angrily— trying to expel the smell his kind hated so strongly. Then, there was silence.

He hadn't calculated the fact that they just ingested pieces of a Gnoll super charged by Lunar Magic.

"grrrRRRrr…."

"[Oh…dear.]" Arne said in his crisp English accent as the pack looked up from the brutalized remains of the Gnoll with eyes that mimicked the Full Moon.

They too were now super charged by the power of predators. Just like the scholar turned monster inside the base in the clearing. If push came to shove the match would be bloody— an equal matching of frenzied monsters. Ferocity vs. Ferocity.

But it wouldn't come to that. He could smell the WereWolf's fear creeping into the forest he occupied. It was faint— beneath his fuming rage, but he could smell it. The Gnoll was the only plan he had, and now it laid on the ground of the forest in bloody shredded pieces.

The other Shape-Shifter's plan had backfired, and now he not only had to deal with a tenacious Lupine who's had more than enough interruptions while in pursuit of his goal, but also a pack of predators on the brink of Lunar Madness.

The last thing the new Shape-Shifter heard before they descended on him was a single howl, slowly

joined by the beastial cries of many.