183: Dire Straits (Patreon)

Vir had shuddered in fear against a single Ash Wolf. The beast he confronted had killed a half dozen. To fight it was to ask for an early death. And yet…

His eyes flickered to the mortally wounded woman who lay on the ground, bleeding. She still hadn’t noticed him—her eyes were locked on the enemy.

Sorry, lady. I can’t help you, Vir thought, slowly backing away.

Right into the Ash Wolf who’d brought him here, which shoved him forward.

“Hey! Cut it out!” Vir shouted, but the wolf wasn’t having any of it, growling as it pushed him, nearly making him stumble. “I can’t beat that thing! I’ll just die!”

The woman finally glanced at Vir, and when she did, Vir thought his heart might stop. Not because of any aura or prana. The woman had some Lightning prana in her, but not anywhere near on the level of the beasts surrounding her.

Rather, it was the look of desperation on her face that made Vir pause. She said nothing, but Vir knew. If he left, she, and all of her Ash Wolf friends, would die.

It’s none of your business, a voice in his head said. The voice of reason. Just slip into the shadows. You can escape from the Ash Wolf. It’s not even holding you anymore. Don’t throw your life away!

It was too risky. Vir was barely alive himself. He pulled prana from his legs and prepared to descend into the shadows…

The woman slammed her rod on the ground. A blinding flash of lightning hit him at the same moment as the thunder burst his eardrums. They didn’t even ring—Vir simply heard nothing in its aftermath.

Then he realized he’d sunk into the shadows on pure instinct. His ears had burst, but whether he was deaf remained to be seen.

Vir looked at the goddess, frozen in time, steam venting from her rod.

Then he saw what it had done to the beast… and stared.

In place of its torso was a gaping hole that split the animal nearly in two.

Vir was struck both with awe and terror at once. Even in her miserable state, the woman had mortally wounded a godlike beast. And she’d done it with a single strike.

I don’t belong here, Vir thought. How is this real? How can any of this be real!?

His mind struggled. For the first time in his life, he’d obtained what he felt was true power. He was making steady progress against the Domain Lords, who were among the most terrifying opponents he’d ever fought.

And now this.

What was he, if not an ant destined to be rushed by godly powers? He was nothing. Less than nothing. He was a single speck of dust.

I can’t do this. I’m gonna die. I’m going to die! Someone help me. Anyone!

He was panicking, and if he did want to die, that was a good way to do it. Vir wasn’t the same boy he was back at Brij. He had enough experience under his belt to stay cool, even in the face of mortal danger.

Vir didn’t want to die. A speck of dust though he might be, he still wished to survive, and he couldn’t rely on his ancestors anymore. Perhaps it was lunacy to think this way in the face of such danger, but he couldn’t allow his life to end so trivially.

Not after Rudvik, Apramor, Aliscia, and everyone else has sacrificed so much for me.

He couldn’t afford to die here.

Vir collected his thoughts, taking a precious handful of counts to stabilize his mind. Emotions suppressed, he snaked a hand out of a nearby building’s shadow and allowed time to play out in slow motion.

The blue fluid belching out of the goddess’ shoulder stump redoubled, though her expression betrayed no pain. Vir wondered what kind of metal her mind was made of, to ignore debilitating pain like that.

He looked at the avian beast. Its maw opened to scream in rage.

Vir stuck a bit more of his arm out, speeding up the world outside.

Ash Wolves flew at the creature, but even half-dead, it swiped them away with a single strike, breaking necks or even bisecting the fearsome wolves entirely.

Worse, its stomach wound began to close before Vir’s very eyes. Was it a special trait of this beast? Or was the prana simply so dense here that all beings recovered this quickly?

Vir didn’t know, but what was certain was the beast would soon recover, undoing the damage from the woman’s incomprehensibly powerful attack.

If she can shoot another one of those…

But the lady in white wasn’t readying another attack. On the contrary, her eyes dimmed and her motions slowed, as if her heart was failing her.

Little wonder, with all that blue blood pumping out of her. She’s going to die at this rate.

Vir considered his options once more. He couldn’t let himself be killed. But could he live with himself if he ran now? If he abandoned this woman to her fate?

He didn’t even need to think about it. Vir refused to become the sort of person who prioritized themselves when they could have done something to help.

And Vir could help. The woman in white had given him an opportunity—the avian beast was heavily injured and distracted right now. Assuming he got lucky, he might be able to end the beast.

But even if he did, what of the woman? How could he help her?

If he was honest, he desperately wanted her to live. It wasn’t even the protection of her godlike might that he sought, though that certainly didn’t hurt.

The thought of surviving here in this blighted realm, alone, terrified him almost as much as the nightmares where he’d lost Maiya.

He had to keep her safe. For protection… For his own sanity. And because he wanted to.

There would be only one opportunity. One strike, hidden by the element of surprise. The moment the beast noticed him, he was dead.

Normally, he’d have doubted he could even puncture the prana armor it wore like real armor; Vir hadn’t thought prana could ever solidify so much that it resembled metal, but this beast had done exactly that. There was no doubt it was many times stronger than even the best seric plates humans could build.

Which was why he needed a weakness. Something he could exploit.

Like the gaping hole in its stomach. Lacking armor of any kind, it allowed Vir a straight shot into the very core of the beast. He need only get to it.

There could be no hesitation. No holding back. He’d have to use his most powerful strike, and pray that whatever his ancestors had done allowed his body to weather the torrent of prana that would pass through his body.

Vir bided his time. With his arms out, he had a few minutes in the shadows, and if this was going to work, he’d need to nab the right opening.

He watched as the wolves fought together as a team, swiping at the beast with vicious fury. They moved so quickly that even with time slowed, they were hard to track.

There was one among them that stood out to Vir. A large one—the Alpha. It moved quicker, struck harder, and barked orders to its brethren. If there was a color darker than black, this was it. It was regal, majestic, and utterly terrifying.

The Alpha Wolf used its brothers as diversions, springing back and forth, taking small chunks out of the avian beast’s flesh each time.

But the avian beast resisted. While it stood on only its hind legs, the bat-winged beast proved dextrous nonetheless, dodging most of their blows, countering several. Any injuries it incurred healed healed quickly. Already, its stomach wound had closed to nearly half its original size.

Vir’s window shrank.

The Alpha Wolf leapt again, seeking to take another chunk from the beast’s flesh.

Distracted as it was by its brothers, Vir prepared to dart out of the shadows, timing his attack to the Alpha’s.

Until the enemy beast spun and impaled the wolf with its claws, using the Alpha’s own momentum against it.

The wolf went sprawling, blood surging out in a river.

A bloodcurdling scream pierced the air, and for a moment, Vir thought another enemy had attacked her. But no, she’d screamed for her wolf. There was genuine pain in her eyes—a look of pure horror.

The wolf had meant something to her, and now it lay dead.

Its brethren howled. They launched a frenzied attack.

Vir waited no longer. The avian beast defended itself against the incoming wolves, using both its arms.

Vir sprang from its shadow, Blinking upward. His leg burst with pain, but he ignored it.

His katar entered what little remained of the stomach wound. Nearly closed, but not fully healed.

He made it just in time, lodging his katar inside as the creature’s flesh wrapped around it.

Vir didn’t bother with Prana Blade. He went straight for Blade Launch… and screamed in pain.

Where prana surged, his blood exploded. The Talent sucked prana from the air and ground alike, and Vir was horrified to watch his arm literally burst with blood.

Then it activated—the discharge so violent, Vir was forced to let go of the weapon.

There was no sound or flash, unlike the Goddess’ strike. The beast’s torso simply vaporized, disappearing into a bloody mist.

The creature was dead… It just didn’t know it yet. And that made it lethal.

The beast continued to swipe at the wolves. One took a claw to the heart, and the life winked out of its eyes. Another was backslapped with the force of a sledgehammer, sending it flying—dead.

“Stop!” Vir cried, but only blood came pouring from his mouth.

Even as the beast’s upper half slid and slipped off its legs, plunging to the ground, it continued to swipe relentlessly—clutching doggedly on to its last moments of life.

Its head crashed into the ancient road. Its legs fell over, and it finally stilled.

Vera’s wrath had finally come for the creature. Just as it had for the dozen fallen wolves that lay scattered around it.

It was a Pyrrhic victory.

Vir couldn’t walk. He couldn’t even crawl. How he maintained consciousness, he did not know. Perhaps it was the pain, preventing him from slipping into the darkness of unconsciousness. Perhaps it was his desire to ascertain the woman’s health.

He pulled himself on the ground with a single arm, slowly making his way to the white woman, who lay on the ground in a pool of her own blood.

The light in her azure eyes had winked out completely, and she moved no longer.

I was too late, Vir thought. I couldn’t save her. And now, I’m critically injured.

He didn’t even know if his wounds could be healed. Certainly not on his own. Not without Cirayus.

“C’mon,” Vir choked out, sidling up to the lady. “Don’t die on me.”

Vir nudged her shoulder, but she barely budged—she was far heavier than her frame would suggest.

“Wake up!” he shouted. To no avail. The goddess was well and truly dead.

Vir just stared blankly at her features. Her eyes remained open, staring back at him in death.

Why! Why is it always like this? I never have enough power. I can’t protect a single person. How am I supposed to save a clan?

An orb fell in front of Vir’s eyes. He felt it thump onto the hard black road.

The crystal was the size of a C grade orb, and it swirled with black Ash Prana, yet it radiated a beautiful twinkling white inside, filling it with a mysterious energy that was part prana, part physical.

It’s beautiful.

Awooo! An Ash Wolf howled, right next to Vir’s head. He barely heard it, given the state of his ears.

The wolf was running from the orb to the dead lady’s back, howling madly.

What’s it… Wait. It’s trying to tell me something?

Vir propped himself on a shoulder. “You want me… to do something? With this orb? You want me to give it to her? But she’s dead. Can’t you see?”

The wolf howled in frustration, placing a paw upon the woman’s back.

With a hiss of steam, her back dissolved away to reveal her innards.

Except, instead of organs and blood, a clean compartment revealed itself, containing something very familiar.

“An orb!? But it’s spent. It’s… I see. So you want me to—!?”

Debilitating pain wracked Vir, sending him crashing to the ground.

Darkness crept in at the edge of his vision.

He began to black out.

No! Not now! Not when I was so close…