Chapter 21: The Shapeless Wolf

Chapter 21: The Shapeless Wolf Cold wind poured from the wound in the Void, crawling over Lucen’s neck, and whipping the grasses of the plain into a frenzy. The soldiers and Knights coming through the boundary wore wry smiles on their faces, seeing the spooked group of young knights. They brought with them five of these Shapeless Wolves, each warping between the glassy golden chains binding them. They bowed to Warren, and then most of them began returning to the castle, leaving a few of them behind to help with the exercises. "Each hound will be chained by the neck to a spot to prevent them from escaping," Warren explained, "Don’t think less of them, though. A Shapeless Wolf is generally more dangerous than a Bull wolf. Their sizes are similar, but rather than raw strength, Shapeless wolves rely on their intelligence and flexibility." Warren began splitting up the groups, and had enough sense, thankfully, to put Lucen and Set on very different teams. The dark-haired boy’s usually offended gaze had now deformed into pure hatred every time he saw Lucen. All six of the best students in the class would handle one team of five. Lucen, Set, Ymir, Callan, Tharic and Arielle. The people in his group glanced at him furtively, making Lucen uncomfortable, but he definitely wasn’t saying anything. First off would be Set’s team. Set, himself, had a High-rank channelling technique. He could use enhancement spells, increase his allies’ strength and use armament spells. His team had three people with Low-rank elemental channelling techniques and one with a Minor rank. Set looked over them. "Tell me what you can do." Once he got all the answers he needed, Set nodded. "I’ll handle its attacks. Gregor, stay close behind me to try and take advantage of openings," Set instructed, "you, heal me. You, use your earth spell to keep me stable, and you, stay alert, I guess—your spell is useful but too slow." Lucen did his best not to snicker. He didn’t even bother learning his teammates names. Lucen wouldn’t ask anyone their name, but he had been listening to people talk enough to know already. Warren gave them some time to deliberate, but Set was quick to make decisions and started walking towards the Shapeless Wolf, Gregor—a lithe, proud-looking boy—not far behind. Warren gave the Knights close to the wolf a simple single, and several chains disappeared, turning to drifting sparks of gold. The shapeless form of darkness shot forward, seeking the throats of its captors. But the short chain dragged it backwards, trapping it in a small circle. Gregor stumbled for a second. Set kept moving, murderous intent pouring from his eyes. As soon as he entered the circle, he drew a steel sword from his hip, and his skin began to glow with a golden radiance. Lucen raised an eyebrow. What happened to his Soul-bound sword? The wolf’s form was still an amorphous cloud of darkness. It lunged at Set, crossing meters in seconds, a dark, grizzled claw forming from the darkness and slashing at Set’s throat. Set moved, flying under the black claws of the beast and activated his spell. Over his head, a giant greatsword formed from golden light, and it slashed in a wide arc to tear the wolf in half. The black blob bent and slithered passed the edge of the sword, then shot towards Gregor, who had just been standing there watching. Its claw formed once again to pierce the boy’s throat, but Set reacted quickly, deflecting the claw despite how far he had been. "Focus, you imbecile!" Set roared, "Move with me!" The beast gave them no time, attacking even as they spoke. Its head formed from the darkness, a haggard and malformed visage of what could be called a wolf. Lucen wouldn’t call such a wretched beast a wolf, but to each their own. The beast’s jaws spread wide to bite off Set’s arm, but the ground beneath them rose, pushing them away. Lucen turned to one of Set’s teammates standing outside the circle, using his earth spell to save them. "Excellent!" exclaimed Set as he rushed back in to pressure the beast. Gregor was right behind him, moving slightly faster than normal. The two of them, using enhancement spells, engage the shapeless monster in a fast and deadly dance. Claws shot out from any position to try and reap lives, its heads formed occasionally to keep them back. The beast’s blows were powerful too, each time Set had to deflect them, the sound echoed over the field. He would have been thrown off balance and died to a counterattack without the Earth-user assisting him. Each time they took a blow, the only girl in the team would send a blob of water flying towards them, and soothe their bodies with a bright, blue glow. Set was fast and the beast, though faster and more flexible, could not catch him. The match was a stalemate as the beast’s flexible body was just too inconvenient to attack. But things went horribly wrong quickly. Gregor slipped while trying to attack. "Huh—" he said as he stumbled. Set was already moving to save him, but the wolf struck with vicious speed, its jaws reaching for Gregor’s neck in seconds. The ground opened up, pushing Gregor back, and something floated between him and the beast. A small mote of white light. As soon as the beast’s jaws touched the tiny white dot, it exploded outwards into a ball of ice, covering both Gregor and the Shapeless Wolf. Set reacted instantly, the golden greatsword appearing over him, and cleaved into the body of the wolf. Black blood exploded out of it, and a harrowing cry shook the field. Gregor sat there, covering the dead beast’s blood. Its body, now split in half, was eerily human, covered in black fur and unnaturally long and skinny. Set lowered his head, breathing loudly, sweat covered his bright skin. He pulled Gregor up and back towards the other three in the group, high-fiving them. The last boy, whom Set had told to just stay alert, received a firm handshake and a reluctant smile. "You saved Gregor’s dumb ass," said Set, "Thank you. What’s your name?" "Theo," The boy nervously said, and then pointed at the earth user. "It was his idea to create the tunnels under the ground. All I did was keep them from prematurely detonating and waiting—like you told me to." Warren clapped. "Good job, I will reserve my criticism till after the class. Next, Lucen, it’s your turn."