CHPT 236: Hack and Slash.

A Wolf on the hunt is a dangerous thing to behold, a pack of them is something else entirely....

***

Claude dipped and dodged through the shadow infested maze of the canyon with the ripped piece of bandage held close to his nose at the ready to reset his memory of the scent if need be.

Ahead of him, forming a wide barrier around him, The Phantom Wolves traversed the rocky terrain alongside Frosty with their usual agility and wolven grace. Any stray beetles that moved to throw him off the already dying scent would meet a wild frenzy of shadowy tooth and claw.

With his skill, (Sensory Focus) activated, the world around him sharpened in a way he could never accurately describe. Every step sent a rippling echo of vibrations through the path that he felt in detail, every difference in color of the shadow cloaked canyon walls stood out like stars in the night sky, and smells changed completely.

With his focus held firmly on Goren's scent of sage, leathers and soap-- the trail took on an almost physical form. Just as it did on the night of his first Night Run, when he hunted down his first band of Raiders. Back then, the individual scent trails were being bombarded and ruined by the steady rainfall. Now-- on his run towards the source of the scent, the wispy dull colored trail was ruptured from the other smells around them, causing it to look like a damaged rope. On the verge of ripping at any second, the scent was on the verge of fading any second.

The thought pushed him and his wolves to move faster, dashing past individual crevices in a flash of glowing eyes and black smoke until the trail thickened and the sounds of violence heightened.

They all slowed as the trail slimmed and snaked forwards, the scents of blood and sounds of beetles echoed off the walls and the distant rays of the sun fell out of importance as if Claude and his Wolves were in a dark corner of the Tangent for the first time.

"Creepy..." He mumbled to himself.

"[Ind--]"

"Stay back!"

The sound of a distant voice put him on edge and silenced Arne as the scent of their target increased, following the voice.

"Goren..." Claude thought before rushing deeper down the slim path.

It only took a few feet of travel for him to find the beaten remains of Beetles. Some twitched and jumped in response to his presence, causing the Wolves around him to spring into action-- quickly ripping into the half-dead Monsters.

After a few minutes, they emerged from the skinny path and skidded to a halt in a small room, kicking up clouds of dust and tossing discarded Beetle's limbs from the members they killed on the way.

Once the dust settled, the poorly lit room barely illuminated by the distant feeling sun showcased a space full of cautionary beetle's surrounding a cloaked student with his sword raised in a shaking grip.

"H-Hello,..... Claude!?" Goren shouted with partial confusion before slashing the face of a Beetle that scuttled too close for comfort.

"Hey, your team needs a Healer so lets get these Beetle's out of the way..." Claude replied before him and his Wolves descended on the Beetles in a flash of smoke and claws.

***

The sounds of snarls, snaps and shells being cracked echoed and ricocheted off the walls of the space for a long span of seconds before it was all reduced to a collection of labored breaths.

For a moment, it was so silent that Claude could hear the sickly green blood that soaked his sword, dripping onto the dry ground like a recently used faucet. The Wolves surrounding them huffed and panted silently with blood coated claws and teeth.

"....Thanks for the help....." Goren suddenly said with a sigh before raising his wrapped hands from his cloak and running them through his curly brown hair beneath his hood.

"No problem, can you keep going?"

Goren straightened in response to Claude's question while his eyes darted to the many Wolves sharing the space with them, "Y-Yes. Let's hurry back."

Claude didn't bother replying and simply led the way out in a whirlwind of black mist as the Phantom Wolves retreated back into the marking on his palm. He'd rather not let everyone see all the cards in his deck....

While they ran, no beetles interrupted their path and even less smells made their way to his nose-- allowing him to think clearly about the shy Healer, Goren.

He'd been in that small crevice of maze for a great deal of time-- in terms of combat. Yet, he was fine. Aside from the acute look of exhaustion on his face and in his movements. Even as they ran, his feet dragged slightly and his breaths were sluggish. He could hear it clear as day, but all he smelled was old blood.

"[He listened to Prof. Callista....fanboy, indeed.]" Arne interrupted his thoughts.

"What?" Claude thought in reply.

"[He was able to last in the fight because he was healing himself and fighting smartly. But to last that long....]"

"That's a lot of Mana...." Claude thought after realizing where Arne's thoughts were headed.

"[Yea it is.]"

***

After following the trail of battered Monster carcasses and bloodstained canyon walls for an unknown amount of minutes, the chaotic earth shaking pounds of the Chitinous Nightmares mallet-like arm shook the path ahead and notified them that they'd made it back.

Upon entering the sun soaked clearing, he felt the beginnings of an adrenaline rush heating his already worked limbs. The sight of the Boss was one to behold to say the least.

Built like a ten foot tall overweight man with a pregnant belly-- only with three arms and covered in thick chitinous armor. The creature looked nothing like it's much smaller counterparts. Even its color was off-- having an evil purple glow under the light of the sun instead of a pure blackness. It's face was also a cut above the rest in terms of horror.

Instead of one large horn, the Chitinous Nightmare had four that spiraled from its blocky head like a crown-- fitting. With every large swing it made, it's eerily yellow-green eyes intensified with bloodlust while its comically over-sized pincers snapped with the metallic sounding clash of two swords. Behind them you could see its rows of inhuman sharp black teeth as clear as day.

BOOM!....BOOM!!

The ground shook again from the pound of its overgrown left arm that thickened into a spiked mallet-like weapon.

All over the floor, dents filled with green and red blood stood out under the sun. They'd been busy in his absence.

Flecks of frost stretched across the creatures shell like iced metal along with superficial cuts and lodged arrows that blood dripped from at a steady pace.

The chaotic movement of his team kept the creature busy like a man bombarded by gnats. Warren hung at the back, arms shaking from both fear and exhaustion brought on by his continuous arrow fire. Maris darted in and out of the fight, picking her attacks wisely and succeeding in ripping open new cuts along its shell and exposed skin. Ursula and Isaac were functioning as the brawlers. The two that stayed in the creatures face, throwing heavy blows and giving it all they had to dodge the returning fire.

Luckily, Chase and Conroy kept it's focus spread thin. One moving with the speed boosting shroud of Lightning and the other with the shroud of a god.

Despite this, they needed help. Desperately.

"Alright, le--" His voice trailed off after finding that Goren was gone. He looked back to the battle and found him already in the mix. He didn't move like most Healers. He was active, dashing and dodging through the madness to send out his sage scented vermilion healing rays. The tide of battle changed immediately.

Claude could only think one thing before entering, "Damn....we need a Healer."

***

By the time he entered the mix, everyone's health was raised out of critical territory and Goren was off, heading towards Stacy and Brunson like a ghost in the shadows.

"Ah...W-Welcome back, Claude." Warren announced as he passed.

"Update?" Claude asked the students that loosely circled the Monster.

"it's armor is thick aS SHIT!" Ursula said through flickering eyes.

"A rather simple....way of putting it, but yes. The Monsters defense is quite formidable....." Conroy further explained from behind the creature.

"Understatement." Isaac cut in.

WOOM!

The Monster lost its patience for their conversation and lunged at Isaac.

In a show of great reflexes and quick thinking, the Knight shifted on his heels and activated, (Shoulder Charge), using the ability as an evade instead of an attack.

The creature missed the blow and its mallet arm smashed into the earth again.

"What about freezing it?" Claude asked the two Ice users in the area.

"It's big.....and hot. It'll take time and a lot of Elemental power to cool it considerably." Conroy replied.

"So, we just gotta cut it down." Claude concluded.

"For now, yes." The Elemental Mage replied.

Following his words, the Monster fastened its beady yellow eyes on the two new arrivals-- The Lupine and the PitWolf, scrutinizing them indifferently while its many arms shook with a hunger that was unimaginable. The stare shook up something primal within Claude, causing the eyes of his true form to ignite into existence along with the wolven traits of his partner to take him over more aggressively than before.

With a calming sigh, he raised his sword and clawed hand while Frosty shook and bared his fangs before responding to Conroy.

"Cut it down to ribbons.....I can do that."