Chapter 22: One good hit

Chapter 22: One good hit Everyone turned to him immediately. The chilly wind flushing over the plains became still. Lucen did his best to look unbothered by their annoying glances. "Following our plan," a girl with reddish-brown hair said, "we’ll restrict the wolf with the stone shield. Kon will then fill the space with his Gas-flame, and Hither will ignite the gas. Sir... Um—Lucen, I will leave your actions to your discretion." Lucen nodded. He stayed quiet during their discussion, and Helie, the redhead, had taken it on herself to organise them. He would face the Bull wolves alone that day, Lucen thought, no point in relying on others to fight alongside him. They all stepped into the field, ‌alert. They couldn’t stay outside and use spells like Set’s team, but they did have more people with enhancement spells. Lucen was more interested in seeing their spells than fighting alongside them. He knew that under the four major elements—fire, water, earth, and air—there were many subdivisions. The more specific the spell, the more powerful it could be at low ranks, but it had limited applications. Helie was from a family of knights with earth spells that could control metal. Kon, whose family was smaller than Helie’s, ‌got an Air spell that could produce and control a cloud of flammable gas. Being from families of knights, they also had enhancement techniques that would help them fight on the front line. The other two people received spells gifted to them by Warren or other Lightcloak members who glanced their way. A fireball and an Earth shield spell that would be used for support. Lucen believed they could probably defeat the wolf without him, but he would only give them one chance before attacking it himself. The golden chains around the black form of the wolf exploded into luminous sparks. Once free, the wolf surged towards them soundlessly. A black claw shot from the black form, reaching for Kon’s throat. Helie controlled a metal whip curled around her hand to block the beast’s claw as it went for Kon’s neck. The sharp ringing of metal thrummed around Kon, fluttering between his ears. He shot after the wolf as it retreated, slashing at it with his sword. But a black claw deflected it. The wolf’s second claw formed from the dark to counterattack, but Helie’s metal whip slammed against its claw once again. The beast slipped away from Kon and went after Helie, streaking over the glass like a shadow. Helie’s whip chased after, silver lines cut through the air, fast as lightning, as it came down on the wolf, landing brutal strikes that the beast ignored. The beast loomed over her, a claw looking to disembowel the girl. A stone shield rose in front of her, cracking ‌as the black claws struck it. Three more stone shields rose around it, boxing it in with high walls. Kon, who had prepared his spell the moment the wolf turned its back on him, stood at the only open space between the three walls with a cloud of distorted air above his palm. He released this cloud and let it fill the space before a fourth wall rose in front of him, stopping the wolf from escaping. The cloud of darkness inside the four walls immediately surged up the walls to escape, but the last golden chain around its neck jerked it back. The chain was stuck between the walls. Helie’s metal whip rose above the four-walled enclosure and struck itself, creating a single spark. The field shook, and a thunderous explosion cracked the stone walls. Helie and the rest of the team retreated to where Lucen had been standing this whole time as the walls began to crumble. They remained silent as the sounds of rock falling echoed and the dust rose. Lucen thought it would actually be nice if the beast could just die. Less work for him. The field had been blackened and devastated by the explosion... but it was empty. No scorched body lay in the wreckage. Lucen ran his hands through his head, just a little annoyed. Then the ground beneath the charred grass blasted upward, and a singed but very alive cloud of darkness rose from the dirt. "It hid under the soil?" said Helie in disbelief. "How did it drill down so quickly?" The wolf gave them no time to think, rushing towards its shocked prey with vengeful madness. Helie was about to give another command when Lucen strode forward. She paused, watching his golden eyes, tired and very annoyed. "Let me try," he said casually. They all scattered as the wolf arrived, giving Lucen space. Claws formed from darkness, coming from above. He dodged, a movement that was fast and sudden. Breath of Rage, when he still had it, wasn’t like Set’s enhancement spell. It followed his breath; the harder the expelled breath, the stronger and faster he could be. In those moments between breaths, he wasn’t all that powerful, but the longer he held the breath, the sharper he could be when it was released. He led the beast in a wild chase, dodging claws and furious bites in a flurry of last-minute and sudden movements. He leapt over the beast, flipping through the air in a wide arc. As he landed, a silver spear appeared in his hand, making Warren flinch. One good hit, he expected, is the only way to quickly end this without any big spells like Set’s. He had been studying the creature’s movements, using [Reading] to observe its mana. The beast used mana to stay in its cloudy form and used mana to reform parts of its body anywhere it liked. He could predict where the claws would appear from the mana surges. One good hit. The creature didn’t bother turning. Its eyes, hidden in the cloud of darkness, simply reformed behind it—one to watch Lucen, the other to watch its back. Its black, mercurial form flowed towards him, twisting itself into a shape hard to hit with a spear instinctively. Lucen dodged the first claw, still holding his breath, and did the unthinkable. He stepped in closer. The beast was overjoyed by this and curled its body around him to attack from both sides at once. Its body moved soundlessly like smoke. "What is he doing?" Helie screeched, rushing towards him. They were too far behind. Two claws surged from each side—and, for good measure, its head, snarling, formed behind him. Lucen couldn’t block all three attacks. Warren raised his hand, Set frowned for some strange reason, and Ymir turned pale, rising to her feet. Lucen read the mana. He knew where all attacks would come from but was surprised to see its head forming. It was going to make it that easy, huh? He released his long-held breath sharply. There was an explosion of movement. Lucen’s body blurred, his spear drawing a line of silver. Before Helie and Kon could even get to the wolf, Lucen had jumped out of the encircling cloud of darkness and skidded to a stop between them. He stood, slightly red-faced, and turned to them. "It’s over." The cloud of darkness solidified into a dark-furred, skinny, human-like creature with the head and claws of a wretched-looking wolf. It fell to the ground, blood seeping from a single hole in its head.