"How did you know we were under attack?" Alex asked as Rebecca handed him back the dagger.
Rebecca froze for a moment, and then, with a shy smile, she responded, "Actually, we didn't make it much far away since, en route, I suddenly decided to run away from the carriage."
Alex raised his brows, "You...didn't intend on going away in the first place, right?"
Rebecca just smiled shamelessly, proving his hunch to be right.
Edric, who failed to comprehend what they were talking about, asked Alex, "You aren't into her, right?"
Alex heaved a sigh, "Does it matter now? Let's get there and-ah!"
Alex's eyes slowly parted wide as he spotted the figure of the two finally appearing in clear sight as they stood across each other.
Unlike the wolf, who doesn't appear to have received much damage, Eric looked severely injured; several of his wounds continuously bled, making Rebecca frown.
She advanced toward her brother, and before he could receive another blow on his head, Rebecca used her blood to form several long spikes, piercing the Wolf's feet as she pulled her brother away.
"Brother? Why aren't you regenerating?" Rebecca asked in an anxious tone. Her brother wasn't weak enough to kneel before a mutt. And the self-recovery abilities of a vampire far exceed a wolf.
Then...how?
"It seems....the dagger Alex used to kill the wolves...that abomination absorbed the extract of it as well. And now, every strike from it renders me from regenerating."
Alex's frown grew deeper hearing that, "Such a thing is possible?"
Eric nodded, "There are several mysteries of Devour which we don't know."
Edric, who didn't hear most of their conversation, was currently looking at the abomination which sat lazily on its spot without showing any urgency.
"Umm...Alex, didn't you say this transformation is time-restricted?" Hearing Edric's words, Alex also turned to look at the beast and found the scene going beyond his expectations.
"Why...it seems so relaxed?" Alex muttered under his breath, only for Eric to explain,
"It's the skill of the security commander—Brain Split that allows the user to split its intelligence during the time of crisis and use the other subconscious half to formulate plans and tactics. The beast must be utilizing the skill to reduce the toll on itself."
In summary, it is bad news.
Alex looked at the dagger in his hand and realized that to kill the monstrosity; he had only one chance. He has to kill the being with the dagger by damaging its vital organ somehow.
Looking at Edric, Alex said, "Ed, you need to keep it distracted so I can move around and stab this thing in its eye."
"----!!" Edric's eyes widened and what he thought was uttered by Rebecca, "It's impossible to reach its eye, given its heightened senses. And there is a high chance that the dagger might not work."
"Do you have any better plans?" Alex asked with a tinge of frustration evident in his voice.
Rebecca was rendered speechless since she didn't have any idea how to defeat that thing at all.
Eric staggered back to his feet, blood dripping from his forehead, his voice sharp but urgent. "Alex, we'll keep it busy. Get to higher ground and aim for its eyes from a distance—"
His words caught in his throat. His instincts screamed danger. Without a second thought, he shoved Alex and Rebecca aside with all his strength.
BOOOOOOM!
The earth erupted, a deafening roar tearing through the forest as a massive explosion engulfed the clearing. Eric's vision blurred as the shockwave sent him flying into a tree, the impact nearly knocking the air from his lungs.
Flames and smoke billowed, swallowing everything in sight.
Above them, just parallel to the glowing moon, an enormous magic circle shimmered faintly, hidden by the moon's radiance. The wolf's guttural growls echoed through the chaos, its colossal figure illuminated by the eerie glow of its spell. The circle pulsed with energy, a silent threat now unleashed.
Alex looked at the spot where the detonation occurred, and he could see Edric still standing there; his form shifted.
His body was engulfed in smoke and flames, but the teenager held himself to his feet.
Alex thought not even once before he lunged into action, and using his enhanced speed, he brought Edric away from the danger zone.
Rebecca went to check on her brother as the blast just now was devastating enough to take down a whole fort.
"Edric?! Talk to me!" Alex took out a vial of recovery potion and hurriedly fed him.
Edric's whole body was scorched, a testament to the strength of the attack he tanked.
Edric gulped down the potion but he was left with no energy to fight the beast anymore.
If not for Alex supporting him, Edric might have fallen to his knees.
Looking slowly up, the raven-haired teenager warned, "Alex...run...." It was the few last words Edric was able to mutter before he fainted.
Alex held the boy close in his arms before looking at the beast with pure hatred.
The smiling face of the wolf showed that it was completely aware of the misery Alex was facing right now. It was not a mindless beast attacking whatever came in front of it; each action of the beast was targeted to hurt Alex in one way or another.
"Alex..." Rebecca arrived by his side before the silver head handed his friend to her and told her,
"Keep him safe." His eyes never wavered from the beast.
Rebecca took Edric from him and supported the guy over her other shoulder, before asking, "What are you going to do?"
Somehow she already knew the answer, however, hearing it from Alex only brought a faint smile to her lips,
"I am going to slaughter that dog." His whole demeanor oozed with a different scent compared to that time when he fought Edric.
Rebecca could sense it; the primal desire for revenge that Alex possessed at the moment cannot be soothed by anyone or anything.
She leaned forward and pecked on his cheek before wishing him, "Good luck~I will be cheering for you~"
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A/N: The next chapter would be the final of this arc. Thanks for reading.