The three cored monstrosity lunged with its jaws wide enough to swallow her head whole. Rem sidestepped it, almost effortlessly. Her sword came up in a guard position that she had drilled into her muscle memory, but now the technique felt different—sharper, more precise. this shi is op
The beast's claws raked across the space where she'd been standing, scoring deep gouges in the ash-covered ground. It snarled and pivoted faster, flames rippling across its fur like living things. The heat rolling off it was intense enough to make her skin prickle even from several feet away.
Rem didn't give it time to reorient. She pressed forward, sword slashing toward its exposed shoulder. The blade connected with a solid impact that sent vibrations up her arm, cutting through the fur and hide, drawing a line of blood that immediately began to sizzle from the creature's internal heat.
The alpha howled, more surprised than hurt, and countered with a burst of flame from its mouth. Rem dove to the side, the fire washing over where she'd been standing and turning ash to glass. She rolled and came up already moving, circling around to the beast's flank while it tracked her its eyes that glowed like molten metal.
The fire alpha was testing her now, probing her defenses with quick strikes that didn't commit fully. It was smart, this beast, learning her patterns the way the lightning alpha had learned Kaisen's. She needed to keep it off-balance, prevent it from predicting her movements.
She feinted left and struck right, her blade opening another gash along its ribs. The creature roared. Close enough she could smell the sulfur on its breath, feel the heat from its fangs. Too close.
Rem brought her sword up in a brutal uppercut that caught the alpha under its jaw, the enhanced strength behind the blow actually lifting the massive creature off its front paws slightly. Blood sprayed hot across her face and chest, burning where it touched skin. The mark on her back pulsed with warmth, divine power flowing through her in steady rhythm.
The alpha staggered back, shaking its head to clear it. That strike should have killed it—would have killed the lightning alpha—but this beast was different, unlike the lightning adult this one was a fire born, pure incarnate, basically a pure breed. It would take more than slashes to bring it down.
Behind her, a bow sang. An arrow caught one of the pack wolves through the throat, dropping it mid-charge. ice magic manifested as sharp spikes that erupted from the ground, impaling another beast. They were handling the smaller threats, buying Rem time to deal with the alpha.
The creature charged, abandoning caution for raw aggression. Flames wreathed its entire body now, making it look like a living meteor. Rem braced herself and met the charge head-on with her sword held in a two-handed grip, she actually managed to stop the beast's momentum when it would have bowled her over before.
The impact sent shockwaves up her arms. Her feet slid backward through ash, digging trenches as she was pushed back by sheer mass. The alpha's jaws snapped inches from her face, close enough she could count its fangs. It was trying to overpower her through brute force, gosh so simple minded.
For several seconds they were locked in place, neither giving ground. Rem could feel her muscles straining despite the stat boost, could feel the heat from its fur starting to singe her skin. The mark pulsed harder, warmth building into actual heat as power responded to her need.
Then she felt something else—arousal.
Not from the combat itself but from the mark responding to her elevated heart rate, to the adrenaline flooding her system, to the life-or-death intensity of the moment. Her LST was at fifteen now, high enough that pain could trigger sexual responses. The mark glowed faintly beneath her torn clothing, warmth spreading across her lower back and hip
Fuck. Not now.
But the mark had other ideas. As the arousal built, she felt power building with it—the ability to convert lust into strength that Aria had mentioned. It was automatic, instinctive, the divine channels processing arousal through pathways that bypassed conscious thought. Her muscles surged with sudden strength.
Rem roared and pushed, actually managing to move the massive beast backward. its eyes widened with surprise as It released her and bounded back, reassessing this opponent who kept defying expectations.
"You're stronger than you look," a voice whispered directly in her mind, intimate and invasive. Aria, "But you're glowing, darling. Everyone can see."
Rem glanced down and saw the goddess was right. The divine tattoo was visible through the tears in her clothing, intricate black patterns pulsing with soft light that definitely wasn't natural. Anyone looking would see it, would know something had changed.
"Rem, your back!" Marcus called out, confirming her fears. "What is that?"
"I said later!" She forced the words out through gritted teeth while circling the alpha again. The creature was limping slightly now, favoring the leg she'd struck earlier. Multiple wounds leaked blood that turned ash to mud. It was hurting but far from finished.
The alpha gathered flames in its throat, that telltale glow building to dangerous levels. Rem braced for the attack but it never came—instead the beast exhaled a massive wall of fire that spread horizontally, cutting off her escape routes and forcing her to either retreat or charge through flames.
She chose retreat, falling back several steps while the fire barrier crackled between them. Smart. The alpha was buying time to heal using its regenerative propertie, standing behind the wall where she couldn't easily reach it. She could see its wounds already starting to close already, fucking over leveled furry.
"Need help with that?" Kaisen appeared at her side, he was fine at least, no deathly wounds " what is that? another three cored wolf?"
"It is," Rem confirmed while watching the flames start to die down. "a fire born and probably smarter too based on how it's fighting."
"Great." Kaisen raised his sword. "So what's the plan?"
"We hit it together, don't let it recover between strikes." Rem flexed her fingers around the sword hilt. "I'll go high, you go low. Aim for the legs—if we can cripple its mobility we can finish it."
"You're faster than before," Kaisen observed, eyeing her with obvious curiosity. "And stronger. whats with that mark?"
"Made a deal with a goddess," Rem said flatly. "I'll explain later if we survive."
The fire wall collapsed, flames dying to reveal the alpha now almost fully healed looking extremely pissed off. It roared loud enough to hurt her ears, the sound carrying physical force that rippled the air.
"Now!" Rem charged forward with Kaisen right beside her, both of them covering ground fast. The alpha met their charge with its own, three combatants coming together in explosive collision.
Rem struck high, her blade aimed at the beast's head. The alpha tried to bite her sword arm but Kaisen was there, his blade scoring a deep cut along its shoulder that made it flinch away. Rem's strike connected with its skull—not deep enough to penetrate bone but enough to draw blood and make the creature snarl with pain.
They broke apart and circled. The alpha was watching both of them now, divided attention making it harder to predict and counter their strikes. Kaisen attacked from the right, forcing it to turn. Rem immediately struck from the left, her sword opening another wound along its ribs.
"It's working!" Kaisen shouted while dodging a retaliatory swipe. "Keep the pressure on!"
They attacked in rotation, never giving the alpha time to focus on one target or recover between strikes. Rem high, Kaisen low. Rem left, Kaisen right. Each exchange drew more blood, each wound adding up even as the beast's regeneration worked to heal them. They were slowly overwhelming it through teamwork, exactly the way they'd practiced during the journey.
The mark pulsed stronger as Rem's arousal built from the intensity. She could feel it glowing brighter, But she couldn't afford to care about that now, not when they were so close to winning.
The alpha made a desperate play. It exhaled another massive burst of flame directly at Kaisen, who was too close to dodge completely. He raised his sword to block and the fire washed over him, armor smoking and skin blistering from the intense heat. He screamed and stumbled back, momentarily out of the fight.
Rem was alone again. The alpha turned its full attention on her, flames dancing across its fur brighter than before. It was spending its cores' energy freely now, abandoning conservation for raw power. Everything it had left focused on killing her before Kaisen recovered.
They came together in a flurry of strikes. Rem's blade met claws, parried fangs, deflected fire. The alpha was faster than before, pushing itself beyond normal limits. She matched it with divine enhancement and converted arousal, the mark channeling her body's sexual response into raw combat strength that let her keep pace.
Her sword found the beast's eye, the blade sinking deep and destroying the organ. The alpha howled and thrashed, its head whipping around to dislodge her weapon. She lost her grip, the sword still embedded in its ruined eye socket.
Fuck.
The alpha charged her weaponless, jaws opening to tear her apart. Rem dove aside but wasn't quite fast enough—claws raked across her back, cutting through cloth and skin, scraping against the divine mark itself. Surprisingly the wolf howled in pain, yeah bitch go pray or something
"Rem!" Kaisen was back on his feet, sword raised despite the burns covering his arms. "I'm coming!"
The alpha pulled her sword from its ruined eye and tossed it aside, the blade clattering across ash-covered ground. It turned to face her, one eye gone and fury written across its remaining features. Both combatants were injured now, both slowed, both running on fumes.
It gathered flames for a final attack, pouring everything into one massive blast that would incinerate them completely. The glow built in its throat until it was blinding, heat rising until the ash around it began to smoke.
Kaisen tackled it from the side mid-charge, The impact disrupted the flame-building, energy dissipating in a burst that scorched them both but wasn't the focused death beam it could have been. The alpha twisted, trying to bite him, but Kaisen held on and kept stabbing, his blade punching through fur and hide and muscle.
Rem scrambled for her discarded sword, fingers closing around the hilt. She forced herself upright despite the pain.
She charged from behind, sword raised, she put every ounce of power she had left behind the strike as she brought it down on the back of the alpha's neck, right where spine met skull. The blade cut deep, severing something critical. The beast's legs collapsed, its body going limp as paralysis spread.
Kaisen quickly drove his sword up through its jaw into its brain, the final blow. The alpha shuddered once, flames guttering and dying, then went still. Dead.
They stood over the corpse, both panting and covered in blood. Rem looked at kaisen, his burns looked painful but not fatal, already beginning to heal from some ability.
"We did it," Kaisen breathed, leaning heavily on his sword.
"Yeah." Rem pulled her blade free from the alpha's corpse. "Let's help finish—"
They turned toward where Marcus and Elise were handling the last few pack wolves. Three beasts left, manageable now that both alphas were dead. Marcus was supporting Elise with mana regeneration while she finished one with ice.
The third wolf—the one everyone had assumed was still engaged—had circled around behind Marcus unnoticed.
Everything slowed down.
Rem saw it, saw the wolf's muscles bunching as it prepared to lunge, saw Marcus completely unaware with his back turned and vulnerable, she was too far away
"MARCUS!" The scream tore from her throat.
But she was too far.
The wolf lunged.
Its claw extended, wickedly sharp and aimed directly at Marcus's unprotected back.
The claw pierced through his lower back and erupted from his stomach in a spray of blood.
Marcus's eyes went wide with shock. He looked down at the claw protruding from his abdomen, blood bubbling from his lips when he tried to speak. His hands reached toward the wound in instinctive gesture, trembling.
The wolf yanked its claw free with wet sound.
Marcus collapsed, hitting the ground hard. Blood pooled beneath him immediately, too much blood spreading too fast across white ash. the wolf's eyes were hollow as it bit on his neck, snapping it.