Karl threw himself forward, fire roaring from his claws, his body a streak of molten fury across the broken street. His laughter cut through the smoke, ragged and wild, a man daring the world to bury him.
The wolf met him head-on.
Karl's claws slashed for his throat again, but this time the wolf was ready. His scarred jaw clenched, his aura flaring hard, and his clawed hand caught Karl's wrist mid-swing. The grip was iron, the pressure brutal. Karl snarled and swung with his other hand, fire snapping, but the serpent was already there. Her coils looped his arm, her green energy digging into his flesh, numbing the fire crawling up his veins.
Karl roared, the sound tearing his throat raw. He yanked, trying to burn free, but the wolf drove his knee up into Karl's ribs. The crack was sharp, clean. Karl's breath snapped out of him, fire stuttering.
Then the boar came.
