The piercing gaze of the predators and the blood on their jaws showed that these creatures were not here to play. This was a battle, something real.
Them or Us. Beasts or Men...
However, now. Oliver was half one and half the other.
The beasts wanted him, the need to prey on him was visible, and so he gave them exactly what they desired.
He lunged at the two wolves and saw their claws fall in perfect sync towards him. Their movements were fast and showed terrifying experience, but Oliver was still in control.
His body slid across the ground and slipped beneath the creatures' attacks, slashing at their flanks with both hands, or rather, with his two claws.
Blood gushed, and it seemed his attacks were growing stronger. Flames ran through his veins and clashed with the dreadful cold. Something was happening, and he didn't want to know the consequences of it, not in the middle of a chaotic battlefield.
For a few seconds, now that he was behind the wolves, Oliver caught a glimpse of a slight smirk on the short-haired girl's lips as she drew a rapier.
A rain of thrusts fell upon the creatures, and blood poured.
"Fast!" Oliver's thoughts distracted him for a moment, but he still had time to see her dodging the wolves' claws.
He ran to gain momentum and used the half-destroyed wall of a house as a springboard, launching himself onto the back of one of those furry creatures and sinking his claws into its spine.
A howl of pure pain echoed, and taking advantage of the beast's distraction, he drove his other claw into its lupine spine. Oliver pushed with all his might, and it wasn't long before he heard the sound of something breaking.
The wolf collapsed to the ground. And the sound of another body falling dead came from a few meters away. The girl had her rapier embedded between the creature's eyes.
Her breathing was labored, but she still smiled.
"Melissa. It's a pleasure to meet you..." She paused, waiting for Oliver to introduce himself, and this time. He gave in.
"Dakron, pleasure to meet you. Rapier girl." She laughed, and he hoped it was because of what he called her and not the made-up name he had just invented.
"You're new around here, right? Tip: grab the crystals before the army comes to collect them. You're responsible for your kills, and they'll love it if you leave behind the profits of your efforts." She winked at him and pulled a translucent crystal from the wolf's forehead.
"Eh... Thanks."
"Relax and let me heal those wounds, I think the battle is far from over."
While Oliver searched the wolves, a green light fell over his forearm, and he felt his claws retracting. His body began to ache, and his breathing grew heavy.
[Combat: 48 → 24]
It was a brutal drop, and all his veins throbbed with pain. He had to grit his teeth hard not to scream.
In the end, Oliver held two crystals in his hands and a body exhausted from the transformation.
"Can you keep going?" He already imagined that something so powerful would come with a price, but it seemed far worse than he thought. Melissa placed her hands on his shoulders, and a slight cooling sensation ran through his body, far from stopping the torturous pain, but enough to ease it a bit.
"Yes, but no claws. I need a sword." Oliver spoke between sighs and fatigue.
"Bartolomeu! Throw me your spare sword!" The girl shouted to one of the archers still standing atop the houses, and soon a sword with its scabbard fell at her side.
"Make sure to return it! And don't forget to send some heals my way." The frail-looking boy pouted strangely, and Oliver saw Melissa roll her eyes.
"Ignore Bartolomeu, he's a bit weird but has a good heart. Here, take the sword."
"No problem. I won't argue with a guy who's taken down over half a dozen of those wolves." Indeed, now that the battle had calmed a bit. Dozens of beasts, all wolves, lay dead. Blood flowed everywhere, and several soldiers were being carried by their comrades inside the walls. Probably to be treated by Oliver's mother.
"She's going to have a lot of work today..." He thought and could almost see Draco agreeing with him.
Auuuu!
"Third wave! Prepare your shields and blades, these beasts are not superior to humanity! FIGHT MEN, SHOUT MEN AND WAGE WAR MEN!" Sebastian's booming voice echoed through the silence of the battlefield. The calm before the storm was over.
"There are women here too, idiot..." Melissa grumbled behind Oliver. It seemed her plan was to use him as a shield, and as long as she kept healing his wounds, Oliver would gladly take hits for her.
Then it began!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The clash of claws on metal. The sinister symphony of war, in that moment Oliver understood.
Humanity was truly at war, but still hadn't realized it. They could call this a battle, but it was much deeper.
As seconds passed, he saw more wolves hunting men, and many dying right there. Claws and blades, steel and fangs.
The poetry of war was the final sign. Humans were no longer the only predators.
The ancient struggle for survival of the fittest. However, this time. The beasts could strike back, no matter human technology. Now, they had magic, and this would only escalate. Until there was a winner.
Human or Beast.
Oliver picked up the steel sword, and for some reason, it felt strangely comfortable to wield. It was as if it had been made specifically for Oliver's hands. His fingers wrapped around the hilt, and he drew it.
[Primitive]
Flames burned through his veins, and the pain came stronger than expected. It felt like lava burning his flesh from the inside, but he did his best to stay focused.
"Let's use the houses as blind spots and ambush the stray wolves!" Oliver shouted to Melissa, and he barely recognized his own voice.
"Y-yes." A stammer echoed, and the two moved quickly between the half-destroyed houses, just in time for another wave of wolves to arrive.
Slash!
Oliver countered the lupine charge. One of the wolves' throats was slashed, and blood splattered on a ruined wall.
The symphony of battle reached his ears, and he entered the flow.
Little did Oliver know that something inside him had changed again.