Time seemed to stretch for a moment as he tensed, before suddenly vanishing in a streak of light, and reappearing less than twenty steps away from me.
…He's extremely fast!
My panicked instincts screamed, and I conjured a barrier of water-attribute magic at the final second possible.
The barrier's surface rippled under the impact of an attack, electricity crawling across it and heating it so much so to the point that after a few seconds—it fell apart, flashing into pure vapor.
His amber eyes shone through the steam.
Already finishing another spell, I thrust my left hand forward, gathering the remaining steam and condensing it into dozens of needles.
They shot forward, but they were a second too late. I felt a section of my white overcoat tear as he swiped at me, barely missing my flesh.
The wolf jumped away as my sword cleaved through the air exactly where it was only a second ago, and he landed a decent pace away, golden horn glowing once more.
Crap…!
I dove, rolling as the ground where I stood erupted in a torrent of earthy materials.
By the time I recovered, he was already coming at me.
Conjuring a thin layer of fire-attribute magic around my sword, I rushed forward, preparing to meet him.
I should've used this to begin with!
As we closed in on each other the alpha suddenly flashed forward, leaving a trail of azure light as he appeared at my side, already poised to swipe.
I flourished my sword, prepared to block it, but just at that very moment, he flashed away again, reappearing to my left.
His paw tore through the clothing on my back, scraping harmlessly against my thin layering of armor, and failing to draw blood—though the strength behind that swipe had pushed me a bit off balance, and was much like simply getting punched.
Gathering mana in my open palm, I spun around, reaching for its face as a swirling ball of flames coalesced from thin air.
It was too late by then, though. He had already jumped out of range again, in the process of resetting his position.
I didn't let the flames simmer out, however, acting on a quick thought. I shifted stances while using my momentum to my advantage.
My body twisted as I hurled the ball of flames forward, imbuing them with a wind magic effect in order to help them travel faster. The result?
The swirling flames zipped through the air, aimed directly at the retreating figure of the wolf, leaving embers in its path.
A dark glint flashed across the alpha wolf's face, and before they collided, the cunning beast pivoted, turning directions, eyes still tracking the spell.
…It was because of that lack of awareness that he didn't notice that I'd suddenly appeared next to him until the last second, my sword flashing under a dying light.
Electricity surged, however, and somehow he managed to dodge just in time to avoid getting beheaded, appearing a decent amount of paces away before swiftly turning and lowering himself, attention latched on to me.
It wasn't all bad though. It's not like he got away completely unscathed.
My eyes briefly flickered to the upper half of what appeared to be an ear laying on the floor, crimson decorating its muted colors.
Across the plains from us, the sound of Caelora and Ivignes' battle roared furiously, their voices communicating to one another… though not as furiously as it had just been.
As if they were in the final stages of their two-versus-one battles, or perhaps, already settling them.
Likely the former.
C-rank beasts or not, being outnumbered with creatures who can manipulate some type of bioelectricity in order to speed themselves up, and can work together nigh-seamlessly is bound to cause an issue. And I was dealing with their leader—one capable of all that, alongside a long-ranged beam attack… one that he was, admittedly, not using as much as I would've thought. I wonder why?
Coupled that with the fact that we hadn't laid out any real game plans, strategies, or formations, and it makes sense why things have ended up the way they have.
…Though that idiot didn't have to just rush in immediately!
Calming myself with a deep exhale, I revisited this train of thought.
To be fair, this was an exercise aimed towards helping us figure out how we'd all work as a team together, as well as feeling out our roles.
So, it made sense, really. Thankfully, we decided against immediately taking on a higher rank quest.
I think I've garnered some information from this, as well as how to proceed forward with our team… but now's neither the time nor place for this.
From afar, the wolf let out a growl as low as the distant rumble of thunder, seemingly not too pleased about its injury.
I refocused my attention, my mind scrambling to form an on-the-spot plan.
Throughout this momentary lull, things were bound to change, though.
So it wasn't long before a charging sensation vibrated within the atmosphere.
What timing.
I was tempted to believe that either the wolf could somehow sense danger, or that he just happened to decide now was the time to take the initiative in order to deal me a very lethal attack.
Clearly, it wasn't the former.
Azure light danced on the twisting, muted-golden horn of the beast as he lowered his muzzle, aiming at me.
I broke into a sprint, keeping my attention on the rhythm of its charge, simultaneously conjuring a gust of wind at my feet.
The second he shoots I'll have to redirect myself…!
…At least, that was the plan, initially.
It was only a few seconds worth of running before I noticed a sudden change in the wolf's stance—as if he was tensing, preparing for something.
…Wait. Is he—?!
This thought occurred right as a flash of electricity streaked through the snowy plains directly at me. I brought my sword up, flames flaring in a panicked response, but as I swung, he flashed around it, reappearing to my side.
I reached for the part of my mind responsible for the dormant wind spell, ready to release the gust… however, my luck seemed to have run out at that moment.
A blinding headache flashed across my mind at that exact moment, obscuring the connection and making me stumble ever-so-slightly.
That split second was enough to leave me defenseless.
I briefly stared death itself in its eyes, time seeming to slow as I came face-to-face with the wolf, feeling the static electricity brush against the hairs on my skin.
A torrent of emotions, thoughts, and feelings swept through me in that instance, almost instantaneously, and even the barrier between my mind and Seraphina's grew thinner than usual, to the point where her own emotions bled with my own, becoming harder to distinguish where hers began and mine ended.
The most prominent one shared between us both, however, was a deep, guttural sense of pure dread.
The charged spell released exactly at that moment, crashing against a wall of silver that suddenly manifested itself in between us, layering on itself a myriad amount of times and hardening.
The impact from the beam rippled outwards, the energy spreading for a few split seconds before the wall of silver collapsed in a flash of liquid.
"...What?" The question that slipped from my lips was unanswered, drowned out by the chaos that ensued.
Ivignes was at my side by then, his longsword striking forward with crimson flames.
The storm wolf flashed away before attacking again, only this time he was met with a wall of steel, flames, and silver, quickly dissuading him—and sending him streaking a distance away.
Ivignes' voice cut through the fog in my mind, snapping me back to reality.
"Tch. Don't tell me you've already hit your limit, White."
"...White? When did… No, in any case, I haven't, it's just—" a throb of pain flashed, interrupting me.
"It's a drawback from a spell I used back during my examination…" I managed to say in between breaths.
"I used a lot of mana then, but… I'm fine, I can still fight."
From the corner of my vision, Caelora's silent gaze seemed to speak words, communicating hints of worry and being unconvinced.
"Right, sure. Just don't get in the way, trying to be some hero."
Bringing my sword up, I tensed, shifting to a more battle-ready stance.
For a moment, silence enveloped the plains.
We assumed a natural triangle formation with Ivignes and I at the forefront, meanwhile Caelora stood behind us ready to support us with her uniquely flexible magic.
I briefly admired the spectacle brought about between the flames enhancing both Ivignes' sword and my own, before breaking the silence, deciding to share what I've learned.
"That guy… His speed is the biggest issue," I coughed.
"Yeah. Obvi—"
"Ignis. Now isn't the time."
Caelora's soft voice firmly cemented its way between his next comment, promptly silencing him.
I silently thanked her and continued.
"I have a plan, though, I just need him to stay still for a second. He's usually most vulnerable after teleporting… or whatever it is that he does. Immediately afterwards, I mean. I've never seen him do it more than once repeatedly. That's when we'll act, just need to stall him out for a bit. Ivignes, can you do that?"
"...Sure. Leave it to me," he nodded, flames intensifying.
"Thanks. I can handle the rest, but Caelora make sure you're ready to support Ivignes in case something goes wrong. Alpha or not, that's still a C-rank beast, so this fight will be over quickly… Here he comes!"
Moving through the plains as a whirlwind of electricity, the storm wolf flashed forward with a dark glint in its gray eyes, an inferno of emotions raging behind them.
He was met with a fiery tempest of our own, the two breaking into a series of magical elements and spectacles.
Wherever Ivignes' sword went, his crimson flames followed as a herald of death, the heat distorting the air slightly.
His footwork and swordsmanship was steady yet adaptable, coming out in either unpredictable and aggressive bursts, or ruthlessly sustained notes—but more than that, he was capable of sufficient defense, dodging and sidestepping whenever needed.
…Sadly, the wolf was still too agile and swift, appearing and reappearing in bursts of azure light.
And while he never managed to land a hit on Ivignes, the same could be said the other way around, leaving the two in a standstill battle.
The scorching heat made the alpha hesitate with every attack, forcing him to fight a bit more tentatively, meanwhile Ivignes could rarely afford to put his full weight behind any of his attacks, in the case that the wolf dodged, leaving him open to a counterattack.
Like this, their battle ensued for almost a minute straight, requiring absolute focus between the two; like a tide of waves pushing and pulling.
It was a battle destined to reach its conclusion sooner or later, however, if not decided by a slip up between one of the two, then simply due to the fact that there was one deciding factor that the wolf—in all its rage and sorrow, having witnessed its pack being eradicated—hadn't considered.
A numerical advantage.
A split second after Ivignes' longsword streaked forward, sensing an opening—his full weight behind it—the wolf flashed to his side, claws glinting as it abandoned all pretenses of defense in favor of delivering a lethal swipe with its powerful paw.
"Now!"
Before it ever reached, though, a silver fluid suddenly wrapped around it, making use of the momentum behind the swing, alongside the wolf's very own physiology that denied its limbs full rotational movement.
The Silvermeld hardened around all four of its limbs, seamlessly restricting it, and in that same moment the ground underneath it opened and reshaped itself in order to reveal the materials within the soil, meshing together with the melted snow in order to create a thick sludge of mud—bolstered by the effects of my magic.
[Earth's Embrace]
The beast struggled fruitlessly against the spell, tiring itself out for half a minute before I approached, sword in hand, my expression cold and hardened.
Despite everything, I found myself feeling bad for the poor thing, as well as its pack.
Sure, they would've killed us, and they attacked first, but still… did things have to end this way?
Maybe… just maybe.
This idea was quickly snuffed out by reasoning and logic, reminding me that this was a necessary step in my journey to become a Hero, and to save my kingdom from whatever was going to happen.
There was still bitterness lingering, though, but there was no way around it. This had to happen. It was the price for strength.
…Just what price is being paid, exactly?
Seriously, the aftereffects of Voltstance suddenly have me so introspective. What am I even talking about anymore?
Whispering a silent prayer—one that I made up on the spot as a sort of way to feel better about myself, I guess, about what was going to happen—I beheaded the alpha, bringing this quest of ours to an official end. The one of many.
"May your soul find peace."
***