Chapter 69: The Wendigo

The Beast lunged towards Ennio, kicking the sand up to try and blind him, as it aimed for a slash at his chest. Ennio stepped back and had his gun at the ready, trying to shoot at the creature, aiming for one of his legs. In addition, he'd also have the sand move away instantly to get a better aim, having the Beast swerve itself to evade the shot, pulling back its leg to preserve its movement. The Beast was at a standstill, and when it did, it did its whistle. Low, Medium, High. Low, Medium, High. Ennio was on his guard, strapping the guns onto his gauntlets, looking around at the area. The children, more specifically Harvard, was observing closely. "What...is that thing....?" Zazel would whisper.

"That right there...is a Wendigo. They're monsters that tries to hunt after humans to satiate its appetite. They can change their shape, voice, even color to camouflage themselves. They don't care what you are or what you have, only that they kill to eat. Super creepy..." Solomon explained softly.

"Super Cool too...." Harvard would add, much to the dismay of the other three children, stunned that Harvard would consider this to be 'cool.' He'd quickly notice the reactions and explained himself. "Oh C'mon, I have a weak spot for monsters like these! Sue me if you want, I can't help it." He'd murmur, keeping his voice low, yet his enthusiasm was high. Solomon couldn't help but be disappointed, while Stolas and Zazel would nervously laugh, somewhat understanding what the boy meant.

"So wait, if that's a Wendigo....who was he in life? Usually, Wendigo's were once human, yeah?" Zazel asked, to which Ennio would overhear and answer his question in a precise manner.

"An Urban Legend. One that people only called 'The Whistler.' Legends tell that anyone who hears that whistle is guaranteed to die. Today, I'm gonna break that Legend." As Ennio said those words, the whistling came again. Harvard was paying close attention to the whistling, looking at his left. Ennio took a quick notice, lunging a punch at that direction. Sure enough, it was the Beast, laying down at the sand, crouching over like a wolf, ready to pounce, with the gunshot being the trigger. It weaved quickly and silenced its tune to evade the bullet, before lunging forward to pin the Cowboy down. Ennio retaliated with a barrage, unloading bullet after bullet, breaking apart the ribcage and shooting at its vitals. The beast, while wounded, still unleashed its attack, delivering a slash across the man's chest, the wound reaching from his right shoulder to his left waist, bleeding profusely, yet was still alive. The Beast and Ennio were both badly wounded, and yet both stood tall, where both would prepare themselves for the next attack. Ennio by unloading bullets to try and strike at the Wendigo, despite its greater speed, and the Beast itself doing its whistle, only this time, it would be using it for its magic.

Low, Medium, High.

Low, Medium, High.

As the Beast did its whistle, Ennio would concentrate. Due to the blood loss and the wounded stature, it was difficult, which would open him towards the magic itself. More and more, he heard the whistling, and even though he was still focused, he was starting to see two of the beast. Then three. Then four. Then five. Then six. The creatures circled around the cowboy, realizing its magic. His whistling was being the cause of it, his whistling was making Ennio undergo a hallucination. An Illusion. "Sound Magic. Judging from the effects, it's specifically one after my senses. Of course it would have something like this." Ennio thought to himself, trying his best to keep an eye on the Wendigo, yet it was not possible. Quickly there was eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fourteen versions of the Beast. Fourteen identical versions, no less, all circling around Ennio like a vulture, all watching the cowboy as if he would drop dead, so that they could feast upon his corpse. All trailing each other around, making a marking upon the sand to act as the boundary he can not cross. 

As the tune was played, and as the beast circled itself with its illusions, Ennio would keep a close eye on them, trying to notice their movements, but was unfortunately unsuccessful. They were in-sync. Simply determining which is the real thing in this situation was impossible. When Ennio realized that, the Beast did as well, with all fourteen of the copies lunging forward, their bone-like arms sharpened into a blade, ready to cleave the cowboy apart. When Ennio saw this, he'd take this as his opportunity, and within that glimpse...

BANG!!

The shot was made. The Wendigo was somehow shot from its head, despite the clones. The Wendigo was bested at its own attack, and it quickly looked up from the top to see why: The Bullets Ennio shot that missed was still in mid-air, changing its trajectory, and fired at the Wendigo at its prime moment. "You're wondering how I found you, yeah?" the cowboy asked, to which the Beast looked on at the cowboy, as he struggles to get up. "Simple. They're illusions, yeah? Can't really make a mark if you're not real, yeah?" He gestured towards the sand on his left, one that made a small hole, while the rest were left untouched, save of course, for the very line in the sand Ennio couldn't cross. "You were reliant on that Sound Magic to throw me off, that you didn't even knew about the sand you were stepping on. Guess I thought too highly of you, huh, Whistler?"

The Beast said nothing. There was nothing that needed to be said. The creature merely stared at the cowboy, a standoff between one another, before both would lunge forward and try to do their attacks at once. Ennio's, with the bullets covering both sides as he sent his barrage to shoot more holes in the monster, and the Wendigo itself, sending its own barrage to stab and slash the man apart. Wounds were inflicted between them, and both were bleeding profusely from them. 

And yet they still stood. Their resolve unwavering.