Ambush

The morning soon rises once more, the soft scent of morning dew drops lingering in the air. The trees moved ominously in the winds as Astra walked towards the village with Celi by her side on her back straps of gunpowder was attached to it, the other wolves on high alert.

"Astra, are you sure this 'Belk,' is trustworthy," She spoke, the question only bringing unease to the young technician's face, her mind clearly wandering on whether she had made the right choice or not.

"It's fine," She said, more to herself than Celi, "the wolves are checking, all of them are where he said they would be—"

"Besides, with the gunpowder we have the advantage, all we have to do is line them up by the cliff's end." though her words did nothing to make her feel any more certain.

"Found you~" at the sound of a distant voice, the ground started to tear below them, causing puffs of dust to shoot up beyond the trees.

Both Astra and Celi hardly managed to escape the attack's devastating effects, her head raising to see a hunter walking up to them as the dust cleared. His wooden mask in the shape of what seemed to be an ogre, his tail whipping behind him almost ecstatic to start.

"I think I deserve a rematch, don't you? Witch of the forest—" the closer he got Astra noticed his missing hand that hung limply at his side. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized.

"You…" Her voice trembled with horror as she remembered it, the encounter that night, the time she almost died. 

The Aelavarian reaches for his mask, tossing it aside revealing his face. Baring his teeth in a sinister smile that almost touches his purple eyes.

"Remember this face as your body runs cold," his voice dropped to a near silent hush, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"Astra, get back!" Celi roared, her claws dug into the earth, pushing off as hard as she could to blitz into the foe, swiping her claws intercepting his staff. 

The collision sent sparks flying, Astra crawling back still petrified with fear. 

"You seem to have gotten a pet, no matter, I'll cut it down too," He muttered, gripping a saber tightly in his arm and charging at his new target. Celi growled, snapping her jaw where his arm was mere moments ago, only to be met with a sword on one of her hind legs.

She howled in pain, baring her fangs before quickly swiping at the hunter from behind. His body whips around, saber slicing upwards to catch her claws—mere inches from his face.

"You annoy me…" He muttered, his one hand effortlessly holding Celi's claw back. He sliced his saber upwards—His prey staggering backwards—and in one motion he struck her tilting the blade on its side.

With a decisive blow he struck, his saber splitting the air itself, colliding with Celi's skull with a loud deafening collision.

"Good girl," the hunter mocked, his hand rubbing through her fur, before turning to his next prey, eyes squinting with unspoken promises. "Your turn."

Astra's pupils dilated in horror, her fingers digging into the grass below her, breath breaking into desperate pants for air. 

'No, no, no, no, no! This can't happen, belk said–belk said no one would be here!' She thought frantically, legs kicking the grass below her as she tried to crawl away. 

"Where're you going?" His voice rang in her ear, his saber sticking her in the palm causing blood to squirt out the wound in a never ending stream.

Her pupils couldn't focus, as she stared in disbelief at the blade in her hand, her breath hitching before letting out a scream of agony that caused the birds to flutter past the tree tops. 

"Feels nice doesn't it?" He laughed at her agony, pulling his blade out of her palm and stomped on her wrist, keeping it against the ground. 

"Maybe I should start with your fingers first," He mused, rubbing the tips of his blade on each and every digit, "or maybe i'll cut each joint into segments~ Then take your hand,"

She couldn't form words, she could hardly keep her breath.

"Got nothing to say? Well, doesn't matter," he coiled his arm back, the blade shimmering in the patches of light that seep through the trees, before swinging as hard as he could before stopping mid strike.

A portal appeared beneath her, taking Astra in but the rift remains open, the sound of distant growling echoing from within.

"Now what could that noise be?" He mused, a wolf shooting out at full speed towards his face, the man leaned backwards, watching its underside as it flew over him, landing right behind the hunter.

Others seeped out of the portal, their fangs bared as they circled the hunter.

"There's no use running," He murmured, more to himself in annoyance at her antics. "Your companion's plan is going to fail…"

Despite his words the wolves closed in, their claws digging the very earth beneath them, ready to pounce and the slightest opening.

"Well, what's one more obstacle," He sighed, swinging the blade to get rid of Astra's almost dried blood.

Belk continued to walk amongst the forest towards the village, his gaze shifting to the distance as he heard the sound of a heavy collision against the earth. His brow furrowed with worry at what could possibly be the reason.

"Something you wanna tell me?" A familiar voice called out from above, Vagnis's judging glare on the back of the young scientist.

"There's nothing to speak of…" Belk muttered, his gaze narrowing as he stared back at Vagnis, silence befalling them for a moment longer than necessary. "If that's all you wanted, I need to see my father,"

He took a step further, but his path was blocked by an arrow shooting right at his feet. His gaze snapped back to Vagnis, his eyes staring down on the boy with the intent to kill behind his drawn bow.

"I'm letting you no where near my king—"