Chương 34: Scars Don’t Fade (Pt. 2/2)

"W-what was that?" Aelia asked, hands flying to her mouth, stifling a gasp. Gusty lunged forward and sprinted toward the sound, his four legs a blur.

"Gusty! Hey—!" Sevran called, but the fox was already too far away.

"Where is he going?" Aelia shot to her feet.

"He senses danger. Don't ask me how—he's a weird fox."

"That part seems fairly obvious."

"Yes, he's somehow connected to the forest. Anyway, let's follow him. We can't lose him." They sprinted uphill across the muddy terrain. His boots barely left prints on the ground as he zipped through the woods, evading roots and stones. He noticed, mildly surprised, how well Aelia kept pace with him. Had she been training, or was this the result of her body assimilating to her yellow core? Perhaps both. Minutes bled into what felt like hours, and still there was no sign of the fox. The forest offered nothing.

No bark, no gust of wind, no orange blur between the trees. Just rain that had slowed but was still persistently annoying, thick mud, and the sound of their own labored breathing. Stopping at the crest of a slope, he scanned the tree line. Nothing.

"Gusty," he called quietly.

"We'll find him," Aelia whispered, her hand light on his shoulder. Aelia's reassurance did little to comfort him. Sevran wouldn't admit it, but sometimes he wished the damn fox would not leap into danger all the time. He wished Gusty would wait for him. They were friends, weren't they? Then the forest seemed to have gone silent, as though time had stopped. A low growl drowned out every other sound of nature. The loud stomps of paws followed.

And then eyes—four pairs of them, glowing a sickly yellow in the gathering dusk, ringing them in. A pack of Grull wolves had found them.

"We're not getting out of this easily," he said, placing himself in front of the girl.

"Stay behind me." Then he hesitated. What was he doing? Why did he care if she lived or died? But that thought vanished the moment his eyes locked onto a Grull that turned the corner, larger than the rest, its ugly tendrils writhing. Its fur was rust-red, as if it had just finished munching on a fresh victim. This was the very one he had been dreaming of gutting for so long. His breath hitched, and it wasn't fear but burning vengeance.

"Found you," Sevran hissed, unsheathing his blade.

"There are too many," Aelia added, her voice wavering almost as much as her hand did. She was right. He needed to get through four smaller wolves—smaller being relative, since each one was still the size of a cow—and the wretched alpha was as big as a bear. One wolf moved toward them, forcing him to leave Aelia's side as he ran to meet the Grull head-on. All he could hope was that she would be able to defend herself.

Another wolf appeared on Sevran's right—he ducked, but the first one threw its full weight over him. Damn Grull! Something else ran by, smaller and orange, all sharp edges. Gusty's claws and fangs sank into the wolf's coat as the little fox slammed into it, biting deep enough to draw red and make the wolf whimper. Sevran sprang up, but he didn't have time to relax because Aelia screamed as a wolf, jaws wide, lunged at her, its maw almost closing on her throat. Sevran blinked.

When his eyes opened, a thud echoed as the wolf's headless body hit the ground, its head rolling paces away. A one-armed boy stood over it, breathing hard.

"Who is that?" No, he knew this boy. That was her brother, one of the twins, the one who had received the black core. His face was pale, his hair and tunic matted with sweat, and he was missing an arm. Why was he missing an arm? He shook his head. Questions later. Right now, he needed to focus on the alpha. On his revenge. The twin was shouting something. Sevran had no idea what, but he sounded furious. Understandable after seeing his sister almost die. But the way he had killed that wolf… He's good.

"Listen, I'll take care of the big one," Sevran shouted, explaining.

"You two kill the other three." He didn't wait for a response and lunged forward, firing an arrow at the alpha. The Grull caught it between its fangs, snapped the shaft in half, and ate it, but that had successfully drawn its full attention toward him. Sweat beaded down his neck as he ran at full throttle. The Abominant Grull pursued, and Sevran kept running until he was far from the hill.

"You waste of flesh," Sevran sneered, the words dripping with venom.

"What you did to my dad…" His fists tightened around the knife.

"You will pay." The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Nocking two more arrows from his quiver, Sevran fired. The wolf easily evaded them, but it wasn't quick enough for the other three that followed. Blood spattered from the Grull's snout as one of the three arrows hit its snout after it evaded the other two. Torn tendrils twitched on the ground like dying snakes. Sevran smirked, bow in hand, and aimed again.

The quiver was given to him during the trial, a rare boon called Infinity Quiver, which, as the name implied, would always provide arrows as long as one real one remained inside.

"You should've killed me when you had the chance," he said, loosing an arrow, then two more in rapid succession, each targeting a different part of its body. The Abominant shook off its daze and evaded the first two arrows, but again it wasn't quick enough for the third. The Grull let out a guttural snarl as the shaft sank into its back, blackish blood welling around the wound. The pale boy didn't miss his chance.

The moment he'd released the last arrow, he had already been running, boots scraping against the dirt as he hurled himself forward and landed on the beast's back. The Abominant thrashed wildly, trying to throw him off, but he held on tight, legs locked around its ribs like a rider on a bucking horse. He stabbed it again and again, burying his blade into its hind legs, ribs, and stomach. Twisting its neck at an unnatural angle, the Grull sank its teeth into the boy's leg.

Sevran cried out in agony as the searing burn of its tendrils spread instantly across his skin. The wolf tried to fling him off its back, but with a desperate effort, Sevran seized its tail and slashed it clean off with his knife, dark blood spraying from the torn stump. The Grull wailed and hurled Sevran with brutal force into a boulder. He braced, covering his head, but Gusty, ever the savior, shot a gust of wind that shoved Sevran clear, sending him skidding into a bush instead.

"Thanks… Gusty," Sevran groaned, staggering to his feet.

"I might need your help to kill this thing." Gusty let out an approving, raspy bark and assumed an offensive stance. As the wolf pounced forward, Sevran quickly drew more arrows, taking advantage of the moment the Grull was airborne. The arrows struck deep into its belly, but the Grull didn't even flinch. It slammed into him, its heavy limbs crushing down on Sevran's ribs.

"Gods…" he coughed up a bit of blood.

"I'm not gonna end the same way. Not like this." The Grull didn't hesitate. It bared its fangs and tendrils, sinking them into Sevran's shoulder and tearing out a large chunk of flesh.

"Aaaghh—!" Sevran cried out, then bared his teeth in a pained grin.

"Hope it burns on the way down." Gusty shot another air blast at the beast, but the Grull simply shrugged it off, undeterred. The fox leaped, aiming for the wolf's tendrils. However, the Grull was watchful. It anticipated the move, jerking its head forward to meet Gusty with a nest of writhing tendrils. Before Gusty could evade, the Grull snapped its jaws around one of Gusty's small limbs.

"GYAAARRK—!" Gusty's jagged scream tore through the air.

"Gusty!" However, Gusty didn't back down. It took advantage of its proximity and blasted multiple sharp gusts of air that ripped through the Grull's neck, tearing fur and flesh off. It wasn't deep enough to cause any real damage, but it was enough to make the Grull loosen its grip on the fox's tiny hind leg. Gusty dropped to the ground, gasping exhaustedly. Just as the Grull was about to bite down into Gusty's neck, it froze. A violent twitch ran through its furry body as it collapsed, limbs giving out.

The Grull convulsed, vomiting thick gouts of blood from its maw. The Grull looked up at Sevran, who was already back on his feet as if having a chunk of his shoulder bitten off was nothing more than a paper cut.

"How'd you like my blood?" the Blessen asked in a grunt, a wicked grin splitting his face as blood bubbled between his teeth. It had worked. That was the effect of his Blessing ability, Rotten. It contained toxins and venoms that would attack the nervous system of anything that ingested it.

"C'mon, you ugly dog." He hammered the Grull's head with the bottoms of his boots.

"Try harder!" he said, laughing through the blood. The boy crouched, his brown eyes locking onto the Grull's white pupils. With one hand, he clasped its remaining tendrils and yanked them hard. The wolf shook desperately and whined in pain.

"No, no, no," he crooned, wagging a finger, his voice laced with mockery. The Grull's eyes widened, and Sevran knew then that the thing understood fear.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this," he whispered into the beast's ear.

"You killed someone precious to me right in front of my eyes. Do you remember?" The Grull did not respond.

"Of course you don't. You're just a stupid Grull." He tapped its skull.

"There's nothing here. Doesn't matter. I'm going to enjoy killing you." He let out a sigh.

"Sadly, I'm going to have to end it quickly. The effects of Rotten won't last much longer." Grabbing one arrow, Sevran pressed the tip beneath the Grull's eye. He leaned in close, his voice a low hiss.

"My old man had a saying. It was a stupid line from a stupid book." He twisted the arrow deeper.

"A hero becomes a new path." Sevran still wasn't sure he believed that line, even now.

"But I have my own." He grinned, teeth stained red.

"What is taken in blood is answered in blood. And you, my friend… you have a lot to answer for." After delivering that line, he drove his arrow into the Grull's eye sockets and carved them out, letting the orbs fall onto the dirt. Without hesitation, he pressed his blade to the neck and sawed in a circle. Blood streamed from the wound until the head was fully severed and thumped onto the ground. Sevran kicked it away and saw it roll across the field. What a triumph!

You have defeated Abominant-Class Grull: Tendril Stranglefang. With a sharp exhale, he stood up. His brownish leather armor was now stained black with the enemy's blood. His ravaged shoulder throbbed whenever he moved it, but it was already beginning to heal. Gazing down at the Abominant's carcass, Sevran stabbed between its ribs where the heart would be and pulled out a smoky Grullshard. It felt porous and hot in his hand. He turned it over in his fingers for a moment before pocketing it.

Gusty walked slowly up beside him. He bent down and patted the fox's head.

"Does your leg hurt?" he asked. The fox's throat vibrated with a low purr.

"Don't worry. I'll get you fixed." His eyes flicked to the side, where Aelia and his brother were. There was someone else there too… someone familiar, someone he hadn't expected to see ever again. His heart stopped.

"D-Dad?"