Chương 107: (B2) Chapter 34 - Wendigo

One of Ethan's greatest flaws was that his perception struggled to keep pace whenever he pushed [Mana Infusion] to its limits. His body could move far faster than his eyes could comfortably process. As such, every time he activated the skill to its fullest, he had to rely on years of experience instead. He had to predict where everything would be before he even moved, calculating trajectories and reactions ahead of time rather than trusting his own vision. It was the entire reason he wanted [Keen Sense] to evolve.

He'd hoped it would bridge that gap. Perhaps not entirely, but enough that he could finally stop gambling every time he pushed himself to his limits. Unfortunately, it hadn't evolved yet. Mana erupted through his already damaged pathways, the familiar burning instantly returning as fresh tears spread through them. Ethan gritted his teeth and reacted instinctively, wrapping his aura around the channels before the mana could leak into the rest of his body.

Intense pain tore through him as the two energies fought for dominance inside his body. His vision swam, black spots creeping into the edges of his sight despite his title desperately trying to keep him conscious. The world slowed as he looked up at the Wendigo sailing through the air. Its pale skull caught the light as dark antlers swept back over its head, claws stretching toward Leah. She'd seen it. Ethan could tell from the panic widening her eyes as one hand desperately reached for the hilt of her sword.

His mana continued building inside the reinforced pathways, pressure mounting until even his aura struggled to contain it. Tiny cracks spread through the channels regardless, stray wisps of mana escaping into his muscles. Ethan reached inward. His consciousness brushed against [Mana Infusion], buried within his soulspace. The world snapped back into motion, and the ground exploded beneath Ethan's feet.

He shot forward like a comet, trees and rocks blurring together until they became little more than streaks of color. His greatsword remained forgotten in his hand. At this speed, there was no way he could swing it without risking hitting Leah as well. So he aimed for the Wendigo itself. But he wasn't going to make it in time. The realization struck only a heartbeat before something unexpected happened. The Wendigo jerked. Its leading leg hesitated as though caught on something Ethan couldn't see.

That single heartbeat changed everything. Ethan slammed shoulder-first into the creature. Agony erupted through his left arm as something crunched violently inside his shoulder. The collision sent both him and the Wendigo tumbling across the ground. Ethan lost his grip on his greatsword almost immediately, rolling several more times before finally skidding to a stop.

"… Fuck." His shoulder hung uselessly at his side. The Wendigo hissed. A long black tongue flicked between rows of needle-like teeth as it rolled back onto all fours with unnatural grace. Ethan forced himself upright, ignoring the pain as he searched for Leah. She was alive. She stood several meters away with her sword still raised. A shallow black line ran across the Wendigo's chest, thick, tar-like blood slowly dripping from the wound she'd managed to inflict during the collision.

[Keen Sense] expanded automatically. Seb stood beside her, while Striker knelt several paces away, every muscle in his body trembling with effort. Only then did Ethan notice the shadows wrapped around one of the Wendigo's legs, holding it in place for barely a second before beginning to fray apart. So that's what it was. Ethan would have to remember to thank the man if they all made it out alive. Ethan grabbed his useless arm with his good hand.

With one sharp pull, a sickening pop greeted his ears, and his shoulder slid back into place. He hissed through gritted teeth, though the pain was nothing compared to what was happening inside his body. He looked inward, his expression darkening. His pathways were ruined. The damage from forcing mana through them had reached a point where even looking at them made him wince. If he activated [Mana Infusion] again, there was a very real chance he'd cripple them permanently. Not an option.

He drew the remaining mana back into his core as gently as he could, suppressing another wave of pain as his aura fought to keep the fractured channels intact.

"I'll take the front," Ethan said. He didn't look away from the monster.

"Leah, Striker. Support whenever you see an opening." The shadows binding the Wendigo finally snapped, and the creature slowly rose onto two legs once more, tilting its skull almost curiously as thick black blood continued dripping from the shallow wound across its chest. It didn't wait for them to make any further plans. Though that wasn't necessary. They had discussed everything they needed to on the ship.

The Wendigo's long arms snapped forward with enough speed that Ethan barely had time to roll to the side and pick up his discarded sword. He swung it around just as claws struck steel with a screech, the force of the impact traveling through the blade and into his arms hard enough to make his shoulders buckle. [Steadfast] rooted him where he stood, keeping his feet from being torn out from beneath him, but the skill did nothing to lessen the force passing through his body.

His fingers went numb around the hilt, and the bones in his forearms felt as though they had been struck with hammers. Ethan shoved back, using the full weight of his body to redirect the monster's arms before swinging for its ribs. The Wendigo bent backward with unnatural flexibility, his blade passing through empty air as its antlers nearly scraped the ground. Then it snapped upright and struck again.

Ethan twisted away from the first claw, caught the second against the flat of his sword, and was still forced several steps back as the monster pressed forward. It was stronger than him, he realized. And not slightly. If he tried to stand there and trade blows, [Steadfast] would only ensure he remained in place long enough for the creature to tear him apart. That understanding changed the way he fought.

Ethan stopped trying to block every attack and instead began moving with them, allowing the greatsword to guide claws aside rather than absorb their full strength. Whenever the Wendigo committed to a strike, he shifted around its reach and answered with short cuts aimed at its arms, ribs, and legs. The weapon wasn't designed for such restrained attacks, but Ethan had enough experience to make it work. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Steel sliced across pale flesh as he stepped beneath one sweeping arm, black blood spraying across the grass before the creature twisted and kicked at him with a long, bony leg. Ethan dropped his shoulder and rolled beneath it, feeling the rush of air pass over his head before coming back to his feet. He had barely regained his stance when the Wendigo blurred to the side, completely abandoning him as its skull turned toward Seb.

The healer stood several yards away, hands glowing as he prepared a spell that required him to come far closer than Ethan wanted. The Wendigo seemed to understand that. It lunged for the easiest target without hesitation. Ethan cut across its path, his greatsword coming down in a heavy arc that forced the monster to retreat or lose an arm. The Wendigo twisted away, its claws scraping along the blade as it changed direction and came for him instead.

Ethan met the next strike with [Steadfast], planting himself long enough to prevent it from slipping past him, then immediately released the skill and threw himself aside as the opposite claw tore through the ground where his chest had been. Dirt and shredded roots erupted around him. Leah moved through the debris before it had even settled.

Her hand touched the hilt of her sword, and [Silent Draw] activated, the blade leaving its sheath without a sound as she slipped past Ethan and cut along the Wendigo's exposed side. The strike was clean and fast, opening a line from its hip to its lower ribs before she continued moving rather than remaining within reach. Ethan felt a flicker of approval. That was exactly what he had taught her. Attack when the enemy's attention was committed elsewhere, then leave before it could respond. The Wendigo barely reacted.

Its skull turned toward Leah with a sharp click while the black wound along its side began closing almost immediately. Flesh drew together in slow, crawling movements, dark blood reversing its flow until the cut became nothing more than a thin line. Ethan's expression tightened. Leah had landed the strike perfectly, and it had amounted to little more than an irritation. Worse, the monster seemed annoyed by it. It launched after her with terrifying speed, using all four limbs as it crossed the ground in a pale blur.

Ethan moved to intercept, but without mana, the gap opened faster than he could close it. Striker's shadow stretched across the grass and connected with the Wendigo's own. The monster faltered for less than a second, one arm freezing in place while the rest of its body tried to continue forward. Leah used that heartbeat to throw herself aside, rolling beneath the reaching claws before coming up several yards away. Striker released the bind with a strained gasp, his knees nearly buckling from the effort.

Ethan noticed the boy's shadow snap back beneath him while sweat gathered along the part of his face no longer hidden. The ability was useful, perhaps far more useful than Striker himself realized, but its limitations were obvious. One second of restraint against something this powerful nearly emptied him. The Wendigo recovered before Ethan could fully reach it, turning its skull toward Striker now that it understood where the interference had come from. Ethan intercepted its charge.

Claws crashed against his blade and sent pain tearing through his hands, but he held long enough for Striker to retreat behind Seb. The healer immediately reached for him and cast a healing spell.

"Stay back!" Ethan shouted as he twisted the sword and forced the Wendigo's arm wide.

"Both of you!" Seb stopped, anger flashing across his expression, but he obeyed. There was nothing else he could do. Ethan already knew the healer couldn't cast over a distance, which meant every attempt to help required him to enter the monster's reach. That made him more of a hindrance than an asset during the fight. Striker at least had his shadow, though even that was only useful in brief moments.

Leah was the only one capable of causing meaningful damage, and even her strikes were healing faster than she could create them. Ethan hated the conclusion settling in his mind, but there was no avoiding it. If the Wendigo turned on Seb or Striker and he couldn't reach them without mana, then they would die. He would not destroy his pathways for either man. Seb was a prodigy, someone Ethan respected and hoped to recruit, but his life wasn't worth ruining Ethan's chance of saving humanity.

Striker had potential, perhaps far more than Ethan had first suspected, yet the calculation remained the same. Leah was different. If the Wendigo reached her again, Ethan would use everything he had left, consequences be damned. The creature attacked in a series of violent movements, forcing Ethan to abandon thought and focus entirely on survival. A claw swept for his head, followed by another aimed at his stomach while the Wendigo's jaws opened and snapped toward his shoulder.

Ethan ducked beneath the first, caught the second with his sword, and drove the crossguard into its mouth before it could bite down. The impact cracked several teeth, black saliva and blood splattering across his gauntlet as the creature recoiled. Ethan tried to capitalize, turning the blade and cutting upward through its chest. The strike opened pale flesh from stomach to collarbone, exposing dark ribs beneath before the monster leapt backward. For a moment, the wound looked severe.

Then black muscle crawled together and the skin sealed over it, leaving only a smear of blood behind.

"We aren't hurting it," Leah called from the side, reaching the same conclusion.

"I know." Ethan circled, keeping himself between the Wendigo and everyone else. His aura continued seeping into his muscles, providing the steady enhancement he needed to keep moving, but it wasn't enough to match the creature. Every exchange pushed him closer to exhaustion while the Wendigo remained disturbingly fresh. It had stopped attacking wildly now. Its head moved between them, studying each member of the group with an intelligence Ethan didn't like. Then its antlers began to glow.

Pale light spread from the tips and crawled down toward the skull, illuminating the monster's hollow eyes from within. Ethan felt the air change before the ability reached him. Fear wasn't the right word. It was something heavier, something that reached into his mind and dragged old memories to the surface. The clearing disappeared. Ethan stood once more beneath a black sky while the world burned around him. Bodies covered the ground. Faces he recognized stared upward with empty eyes.

Leah lay among them, her throat torn open. In the distance, something vast moved through the smoke, and Ethan knew with absolute certainty that he had failed again. Humanity was dead. Everyone he had tried to save had died because he hadn't been fast enough, strong enough, or ruthless enough. The vision pressed down on him, trying to lock his limbs and drown him beneath the weight of every mistake he had ever made. Ethan rejected it. He had lived through worse memories than anything the monster could create.

He had watched humanity fall. He had died knowing he had failed. His mind had broken and rebuilt itself around that truth long before this creature tried using it against him. The vision cracked beneath his will, and the clearing returned around him. Less than a second had passed, but the others remained frozen. Leah stood with her sword lowered, her face pale and eyes wide as she stared at something only she could see.

Striker had fallen to one knee, his hands trembling, while Seb looked as though he couldn't breathe. The Wendigo shifted toward them, understanding its skill had worked. Ethan didn't have time to wake them one by one. He could strike them, shout, or throw something, but none of those options guaranteed the illusion would break. So he reached inward and released the one thing he knew would force everybody in the area to react. [Aura Field] exploded outward.

Poisonous energy rolled across the clearing in a dense wave, no longer contained beneath his skin or focused solely into his muscles. Grass withered beneath his boots. Flowers curled in on themselves and turned black. Moss died across the rocks while the soil darkened as though years of rot had passed through it in seconds. The field struck the Wendigo first. It recoiled, claws digging furrows through the earth as it leapt backward and shook its skull from side to side. Then the field reached the others.

Leah jolted as if struck, sucking in a sharp breath while her eyes regained focus. Striker fell backward in surprise, and Seb stumbled, one hand immediately rising as he felt the poison settling over his skin. Their mixed expressions landed on Ethan. None of that mattered. Ethan tightened his grip on the sword and watched the Wendigo pace at the edge of the field, its head tilting as it searched for a path around him.

"Run," Ethan ordered. Leah looked at him.

"What?"

"I can't go all out with you here. Take them and go." Seb opened his mouth, likely to argue, but Ethan cut him off with a glance. There was no time to explain the cold truth. Without mana, he couldn't protect all three of them and fight the creature at the same time. With them gone, he could focus entirely on keeping himself alive. Whether aura alone was enough to win remained to be seen, but at least he would have the freedom to find out. Leah hesitated for only a moment before grabbing Seb by the arm.

"Move." Striker followed, his pride losing to common sense as the three turned and ran for the trees. The Wendigo watched them go. Its skull snapped toward Ethan, then back to the fleeing figures. Intelligence gleamed in its hollow eyes as it decided the weaker prey mattered more. It dropped to all fours and launched after them. Ethan stepped into its path.

"No, you don't." His greatsword descended with every ounce of aura-driven strength he could gather. The Wendigo twisted aside at the last instant, the blade smashing into the earth and carving a trench through the dead ground. It snarled, its black tongue flicking between broken teeth, before both claws came down toward Ethan's exposed back. He ripped the sword upward and turned, [Steadfast] locking him in place as steel met pale talons once again. The impact shook the clearing.

Ethan's arms screamed beneath the force, but he held. Behind him, the others disappeared into the trees. In front of him, the Wendigo leaned harder against the blade, antlers glowing faintly while black blood dripped from its healing wounds. Ethan snarled and shoved it back.

"Fuck you."