V2Ch69 New Wolf

Lokes and I slowly crept toward the cave. We made our way through the brush as quietly as possible. As we got closer, a stench of death was emanating from the opening. I could only imagine how much stronger it is for Lokes. He peeked around the corner. He used hand signals to indicate that the immediate path was clear. We moved slowly once more. The cave was dark but not without light. An opening in the ceiling let in just enough light to see the surroundings.

This cave was filled with death. Animals of all kinds littered the surrounding edges. Humanoid skeletons from various races could be seen in the center where the light hits the floor of the cave. The most recent kill was still rotting. We were too late to save the boy. His head and an arm were missing. His torso and one of his legs were gnawed on.

I motioned to Lokes to ask him where the mark is. He shrugged. We both kept our swords at the ready. We split up and began to circle opposite sides of the cave. Sure enough, there was a rock near the back of the cave that hid our mark from view. He was busy chewing on something. I activated my strength and prepared to throw my sword.

While I failed miserably at archery, my throwing skills seemed to be quite good. With my strength behind it, even this sword should be enough to take out the target.

*Crack*

I heard it from the other side of the cave. Lokes fucked up a step. The dire wolf looked in his direction and I could see the panic on his face. It wasn't the kind of panic most people get. His panic meant he was about to charge his enemy because running would be cowardly. I knew that look well.

"BACK AWAY!"

I tried yelling out. He ignored me and the two began to charge at each other. Throwing was out of the question now. I had to help him. The wolf reached him first. He blocked a fatal bite with his sword. I leaped over, using my strength and sliced the wolf's rear leg off at the knee.

"AAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIII!"

A high-pitched yelp went out. Lokes used the distraction to slice at the wolf's throat. He quickly became covered in blood. The body started to lose strength and fall toward my partner. I caught a handful of fur near its head and pulled it away from Lokes.

The mark was dead. Our task was nearly done.

Lokes walked over to the backside of the mark.

"It is a male. I'm taking its balls."

I let out a smile.

"Idiot."

I pried its mouth open to observe its teeth.

"I'll take its largest fangs and eyes."

"So you made all that fuss about me choosing to take the balls, and you are just going to take the balls from the front end? Hypocrite."

"I might be able to stomach the eyes if I have to eat them."

He gave me a look of disgust. I wonder If I made him change his mind. I managed to cut free three of the larger teeth. As I started to work on the fourth, a large deep growl came from inside the cave.

"Where is that coming from? I don't see anything that could lead deeper into the cave."

Lokes whispered. I grabbed my sword and made my way over to where the wolf was originally.

"Oh shit."

"What?"

"There is a tunnel under the rock."

We continued to whisper. Either we weren't quiet enough or the other wolf is investigating the lack of a response from this one. I could hear footsteps getting louder. I took the initiative and tried to make my way to the rock above the tunnel. I got on top of it to get the high ground. With any luck, I can just land on its head and jam my sword down to finish it fast. I stood ready. Lokes was still near the body of the other dire wolf.

It was close. Any second now...

Almost as fast as lightning, I saw the eyes of the beast, then the teeth. It grabbed hold of my arm and threw me against the back of the cave.

"LAKE!"

I heard Lokes call out. I was grateful for the increase in power that comes from Anger. It reduced the damage from my landing against the wall. I attempted to brace myself before standing. I only rolled onto the floor. My left arm was missing. I used my explosive regeneration to almost instantly grow my arm back. I hoped that Lokes was distracted by the wolf enough to not notice.

This wolf was three times the size of the other one. It must have been crawling to get out of that tunnel below. Its back was turned to me. I looked over this new danger to see what I was up against. This wolf had horns all over its body. Longer horns curved while smaller ones grew straight. It was a combination of offense and defense.

The horned dire wolf was drawing closer to Lokes. I had to do something. Just then, Lokes did something that I had only heard about. The main reason that the trackers let him into the guild. He had a special ability that puts wild animals into a terrified state. A shout of terror.

"errrrRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

I could see the wolf back down slightly. Not by much, but enough to know it's paying attention to Lokes and not me. I lunged at the beast's backside and propelled my steel toward where the sun doesn't shine. As quickly as my steel entered, it slashed downward as it was removed and drew blood in ample amounts. The scream of pain this thing had let loose was enough to make a grown man shiver.

Lokes attempted the same maneuver as last time. He wasn't fast enough. The wolf swiped with its paw and knocked him back. The wolf quickly kicked me with its hind leg. I think I hit the same spot as last time, only from a different angle.

It raced over to me and was prepared to bite. I was out of view from Lokes so I opted for my void sleeve. I reached out and was expecting a bite on my arm.

It stopped short with an odd snort. Blood started to drip from the back of its throat. I deactivated my void glove and pulled my arm back out of the wolf's mouth. I saw white fur legs with boots and shorts.

"Took you long enough, Shiro."

I dropped my guard and relaxed my head back.

"Too soon for that, Lake."

"RRRROOOOAAAAA...*SNAP* AIE!"

I lifted my head in time to watch Shiro snap the neck of yet another dire wolf. It was about the same size as the one that Lokes and I killed first.

"Nah, see? You got this."

I told him. Lokes started laughing at my comment.

"You knew he was following us? You could have told me."

"Then you would have been even more reckless."

"Haha, true. True."

"Enough, children. Collect your proof and move along. But, only collect from the one that you two killed."

I sat up.

"Hey! I put some effort into the horned dire wolf!"

"That is true. If you want to collect its ass, be my guest. Otherwise, hands-off."

My eye twitched in annoyance.

"Fine, I'll keep what I got."

The three of us collected our proof and returned to the village. I was the one to deliver the bad news to the boy's parents while Lokes got to report to the village that the attacks should be over.

On our way back, Lokes was ahead of Shiro and me. Shiro leaned in to whisper.

"That was an interesting sight. You regrew an arm almost as fast as I could blink. That's not natural."

"Well, this isn't either."

I removed my hood for a moment to remind him that I'm part of an "extinct" species.

"Humans were not known for extreme strength or regeneration. You are something more."

"There is one exception."

The headmaster trusted Shiro and he has been a great mentor. I felt it was time to reveal the truth.

"The potion of Rage."

"Your explanation is a children's tall tale?"

"Up to you if you decide to believe me or not. You saw the proof for yourself. I'd prefer if you kept this as secret as my race."

It took another three days to return to the trackers guild.