Chapter 418: The End of a Story
T almost felt bad, now that she considered things.
She stood, fully armored in ative iron and white steel.
Flow was now in her hand in the form of a ive. The wolf before her wasrger than her by quite a bit, and she felt like the extra reach would be useful at least at the beginning of the engagement.
A tungsten rod floated behind her neck, ready to protect that vulnerable area, while two tungsten balls hung in the air, one by each shoulder ready to deflect or redirect.
Her defensive discs floated around her in irregr patterns, orbiting her in preparation to interpose themselves between her and any attack.
Beside her, Terry stood, towering nearly double her height, eyes locked on his fellow predator.
He was <em>massively</em> outmatched in advancement, but he still had chosen to stand beside her in the face of this challenge, apparently iming her as a flockmate, and demanding the right to fight by her side.
On one side, the fight seemed incredibly unfair.
She was effectively an armored juggernaut with a teleporting murder bird,ing to kill a wild dog.
Yet, despite it all, she couldnt help but feel like the advantage wasnt hers.
* * *
Rane looked down from the wall top, standing beside his former master.
T looked like a mythical goddess of war, Terrybeside hera beast of legend.
The wolf they faced looked simple, yet the Anatalins were never as simple as they appeared.
Legend had it that the god-beast had never been inscribed, and he emphasized breadth of capacity and flexibility in tactics in those he taught directly.
This russet wolf seemed to be one such pupil.
Can she win? His voice was soft, but he knew that Master Grediv heard him. Master Grediv always heard him.
I dont know. She has powerful soulbonds and an honestly terrifyingpanion, but to face an Anatalin wolf and win? We will see.
* * *
T felt something echo through her very being.
It wasnt words that she had heardthe sireling hadnt spokenbut somehow with her threefold sight and still somewhat enhanced senses, she <em>heard</em> what the wolf was doing.
Ghost Steps on New-Fallen Snow.
Without any physical movement, and only the barest flicker of magic, the wolf was behind her, already biting for her neck.
An act of will caused the tungsten rod to shoot backward. It was too small to bridge the massive jaw, instead being fully engulfed before it pped against the back of the beasts throat, briefly arresting his attack.
At the same time, Terry flickered away, appearing on the wolfs back to rip and tear at the fur there.
His talons couldnt pierce the hide atop the Anatalins back, and he screeched in irritation at the realization.
T spun out of the way, whipping Flow around to cut at the wolfs face.
Even as she spunVoid Fire Disgorgementthe wolf hacked up a glob of purple fire.
The bloodstars in her tungsten rod winked out and when the fire faded, there was no trace of the rod either.
Flow had cut the flesh, but nced off the hardened skull of the lupine, evoking a yipping growl even as the sireling nted his front paws and lunged at her again, somehowing in low this time despite his size.
A small amount of clearish blood spilled onto the snow, the iron imed by T and pulled away.
T lined up her defensive discs, pping them against the wolfs head in sequence to nudge it to the side even as she twisted out of the way yet again, Flow licking out to leave yet more cuts through the attackers hide, iming more iron and continuing the flow of clear, yellowish rivulets of blood.
Terry flickered, appearing in front of one of the sirelings back legs, mping down on it with his powerful beak, and tripping the wolf up momentarily.
Yet, the momentary reprieve didntst.
The wolf twisted nearly in half and snapped at Terry, causing the terror bird to flicker to his other side, where Terryshed at lupine hamstrings.
A back leg jerked out of the way, before the attached pawshed out in a horse-like back kick.
T came in with a lunging thrust, then, trying tond a solid hit on the incredibly slippery foe.
She thought shed cornered the creature again, but
Ghost Steps on New-Fallen Snow.
A dozen yards away, the sireling snapped at Terry just as the avian flickered into being, the snow at their feet exploding in violent puffs.
Terry was <em>almost</em> caught, but flickered once again before jaws snapped shut.
What followed wasfranklyterrifying to behold.
Terry and the wolf flickered and moved around each other, ranging across the whole of the battlefield, each unable tond telling blows against the other.
Yet, T was not left alone.
Every other second or so, in no discernable pattern, the sireling would appear near her, striking at her with tooth or w.
He even body-checked her once, forcing her to absorb the energy of the hit in her armor before reforming theyers.
She was holding her ownwell, Terry was holding <em>their </em>own, and she wasnt dying in the confusionbut she knew that the young wolf was holding back.
Every exchange between them left another minor wound on the wolf, but they were just that, minor.
Hed only shown a single magical ability, except to remove an annoyance from within his mouth.
That purple fire had been of the void, somehow, and she did <em>not</em> look forward to facing it directly. It also made her hesitant to use Flow in its void form as void countered void with incredible ease.
<em>At least I have a ready defense if he tries to use it on me.</em>
* * *
Rane watched with growing concern as T was put on the back foot time and time again.
Her skill and Terrys mastery of flickering teleportation kept them relevant in the sh, but they were not in control of the fights momentum.
Terry seemed both more skilled in his teleportation, and could teleport more often, but the Anatalin was relentless, making efficient use of every movement.
Where Terry used his flickering to attack, defend, and maneuver, the wolf seemed to only use it to reposition himself in order to keep both of his foes properly engaged at the same time.
Rane couldnt help but grimace when T took hits that he could have avoided with his own magic.
He had no delusions that he would be doing better than T over all, but it was still a stark reminder that he could have been doing <em>something</em> if he were advanced enough.
If he had made a different choice.
Now, T was fighting when he might have joined her, and she somehow seemed to be losing even though she hadnt taken a single injury that Rane had seen.
He wanted to be out there, protecting her.
Then, a thought came unbidden to his mind. <em>Just her?</em>
That made him pause.
Did he just want to be beside T? Did he only want to protect her?
The thought was almostughable, yet he knew that hed clung to it in the past.
It wasnt true, though.
She wasnt actually what he desired most, even though he did want to stand by her side as an equal.
What did he want?
What was his driving goal?
He had a shing memory of burn wolves tearing an innocent family apart while he stood helplessly by, rendered so helpless by his own choice, his own folly.
He didnt want to advance in order to stay with T, to protect her.
She didnt need his protection, and she was a protector in her own right.
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He looked down and amended. Sometimes she could use his assistance, but that wouldnt be him protecting her. That was them working together to protect others.
That resonated somehow.
He wasnt seeking advancement to follow a friend, to pursue something more than friendship.
He sought something more than that.
He desired something deeper.
He wanted to protect <em>everyone</em>.
Deep within him, it felt like his gatehis very soulresonated with that idea, and he found himself drawn into deeper contemtion as he continued to watch the fight y out below.
* * *
T had always struggled when sparring against Terry.
Even the first time theyd met, when theyd truly fought, shed done terribly. Shed likely only survived because he was a cautious fighter and was surprised by her resilience.
Despite that, the main reason shed never seen him as a true threat was that hecked prative power, and shed believed that she could oust him. Even so, she had found herself utterly terrified when fighting him because of his sheer seeming inevitability and relentlessness in his assaults.
This wolf wasnt nearly as good at teleporting around as Terry was, but he hit <em>hard.</em>
Case in point, T staggered back as a paw caught her across the chest and tried to throw her to the ground.
The ative defense cracked, splintered, and gave way, causing much less force to actually reach her, and Flow left a shallow cut on the paw in retaliation, but that was it.
The de imed a bit more iron for her, but not nearly enough to make a difference.
It did seem like T was winning the battle of attrition, as he was bleeding and she wasnt, but she was also breathing hard.
She wasnt used to getting winded, but after fighting at full speed for what felt like hoursbut was likely closer to ten minutesshe was starting to feel just that.
It didnt make sense.
She felt like she was being hounded by an apex predator.
Unable to get away.
Unable to fight back.
All she could do was run and wait to die.
She was so much less than
<em>-Think. T.-</em> t sounded incredibly strained as she was operating on a vastly limited amount of power and mental capacity.
Ts eyes widened, intrinsically understanding what t was trying to convey, and she growled. <em>Mental magics, too? Rust you.</em>
Her iron <em>exploded</em> outward as dozens of spikes drove into the ground, and with greater aura superiority, she found the tendrils of power clinging to Flow and her white steel.
<em>Begone.</em> She banished the drips of power with unquestioned authority.
The sireling moved back, appearing a dozen yards away, watching her more warily now.
<em>He was taking hits toy the seeds of his magic. Now, hes reassessing how to approach this fight.</em>
She straightened, not even having realized that shed been hunching until then.
With another growl, T cocked her arm back and <em>threw</em> Flow in the form of a sword. Terry!
The wolf scoffed, taking the swords hit.
The de deflected off the thick fur and hide, even if it did leave a shallow cut in its wake.
But then, Terry was there.
He was smallerbut not shoulder smand both of his talons wrapped around Flows hilt, redirecting its motion. Then, he grew massive, and drove the sword downward.
A startled yelp sounded out, the first true indication of pain from the sireling since the fight began.
Terry had driven Flow up to the hilt into the wolfs back, between two ribs. The hit also ttened the lupine form against the ground with Terrys brief moment of extreme size and weight.
T felt arge amount of iron immediately imed, with a bit more added every moment that the sword remained.
Likely noticing something was off with the weapon, T felt something around the sireling flex, and Flow was pushed out.
The wolf had clearly be tired of the teleporting terror bird. Enough!
Void ShroudPurple light wrapped around Terry, utterly encapsting him for a moment.
The avian screeched in obvious paina bit of fear evident in the soundeven as Tshed out with her aura and broke the working.
Terry staggered as hended on his feet, his feathers smoking, many seemingly having been destroyed in some manner even in that brief moment.
T called Flow back to her hand, using the oft-forgotten ring around its hiltjust below the guardto whip it around for a parting sh against the wolf.
He just grunted, clearly focused on something else. <em>Altering his magics?</em>
Do you have more, Terry?
Terry flickered back to his feet, but then slumped sideways, clearly exhausted and injured.
Go. Ill take it from here.
He squawked in irritation.
You did well. I dont think Id still be standing without the time you gave me to figure out what was going on. I dont want you to die.
The wolf had returned to his feet, now bleeding a steady <em>drip drip.</em>
It was odd to see red begin mixing with the mostly clear, ironless blood, but that wasnt Ts focus at the moment.
The wolf seemed content to wait while T and Terry spoke.
Finally, Terry bobbed a nod, and flickered away, appearing on Ranes shoulder atop the wall, where Master Grediv seemed to instantly inspect him for permanent injury and the need for immediate healing.
Your care for your Pack does you credit, human. Are you ready for the next sh?
Yes.
T expected him to teleport again, but apparently, the wolf had adopted that tactic specifically because of Terry.
<em>He is taking the tactic of meeting us on our own footing and winning anyway.</em> It was a terrifying demonstration, but T didnt let it shake her.
Instead, she firmed her resolve as he crouched low and lunged toward her, his quick sprint eating up the distance between them.
T could tell that while the sireling was still injured, he was rapidly healing.
The magics around him had not included healing before, but now, she had enough familiarity with that type of magic to pick up on the workings specifically.
<em>He is changing his magic on the run?</em> That was T found herself in awe.
She only knew of two humans who did that, Mistress Cerna and Master Xeel, and both were among the more powerful and versatile Archons in all of humanity. They were both much, <em>much</em> older than this wolf was supposed to be.
He must be a dedicated student indeed.
She really didnt have time for these musings, given the normal level of enhancement to her mentality was absent.
<em>If hes better at magic than me, lets remove that as a factor.</em> Well, shed do that as much as she could.
The wolf didnt do a final lunge that she could have used to predict his attack. Instead, he just ran straight at her, crouched low.
T bent as if to jump left, but then moved right instead.
She used a massive amount of iron to <em>push</em> off from, connected to her only by a thin tendril, much as shed done against the syphon.
The wolf was caught off guard but still reacted well.
Flow became a ive and mmed into the lupine shoulder, driving deeplyiming more ironeven as the wolfs weight and momentum carried him closer to her, up the rtively short de and handle.
<em>A boar spear would have been a better weapon here</em>
His jaws twisted and bit, and T got a good look at his teeth for the first time.
She felt herself pale as she realized that, somehow, every tooth carried the aura and magic of a potent weapon in its own right.
The teeth bit down, barely slowed by heryered armor.
<em>Thats the weakness of this type of armor. Its for distributing iing force, not taking direct, sustained pressure.</em>
It was a fleeting thought as she enacted her n.
The iron spikes that shed driven into the ground around them whipped back inward, held together and empowered by her aura which reigned uncontested around them.
More than forty iron spikes buried themselves into the still closing wounds of the sireling, iming more iron and burrowing still deeper.
Those that tried to pierce fur and hide failed, only serving to spread iron across the wolfs outsides, which was helpful in its own way.
The wolf clearly did <em>not</em> like this turn of events. It growled even as it stumbled, dragging T along with him due to Flow still impaling him through his shoulder.
He shook his head with a vicious jerk, ripping off her left arm with a sickening, ripping <em>pop.</em>
T screamed despite herself, letting go of Flow with her one remaining arm to drive her fist into the beasts eye, forming white steel ws on instinct even as she struck.
The jaws released her arm, and he pulled backward, trying to get away from her wing hand.
She unbnced due to the missing arm even as the wolf surged forward once more, snapping toward her again.
She tried to jump away, but that just meant hetched onto her hip instead of her head or chest.
With another vicious jerk, her left leg was torn free.
<em>RUST!</em> She began building power within her lungs. If he wanted a close in fight, shed make him pay for it.
Flow <em>snicked</em> back into her hand, and flipped to its void sword form, T acting on pure instinct.
As she brought it down, a field of void popped up in the way, and T cursed herself a fool.
Shed already seen him use void twice. It was clearly something he was very familiar with. Void countered void almost perfectly, because two voids simply couldnt sh, it was against their nature to do so.
She let Flow fall back into its standard sword form, and that was able tond cutting blows once again.
The wolfs paw came up, raking at her with ws even as his jaws continued to snap and bite and tear.
They were both making rtively simple back and forth lunges, T far more awkwardly due to missing basically half of her body.
The wolf was still struggling as she imed more and more of his blood-iron in a slowly building cascade.
It wouldn''t be fast enough, though.
T saw red even as her vision began to darken.
She was going to die.
The wolf was on hisst legs too, but she was going to die.
She didnt have her magics, not really.
Even as she thought that, she took the power that had been building in her lungs and exhaled it out across the wolfs head, even as he struck.
His hair puffed away and his skin cracked and peeled, but she simply didnt have the potency to make the attack any more useful.
She was going to die, alone yet again. Alone, when friends were so near at hand.
Her healing was so slow that it was barely preventing her from bleeding out at this point.
Flow fell again and again as she screamed in impotent rage, the sound amplified by her own magic and raw emotion.
The sireling flinched slightly but didnt relent. Even that wasnt enough to save her.
She was going to die, and she wasnt ready.
The wolf seemed to stumble, then somehow surged forward with a burst of strength, a fire in the creatures one remaining eye, almost a desperation mirroring her own.
T made a mistake in her jerkinghalf-bodyattempt to avoid the attack, and the jaws closed around most of her remaining torso. The teeth spent most of their force prating her armor as they came to rest against her skin.
Together, thebatants fell to the ground, T unable to keep the teeth at bay.
She looked toward the wall, seeing the bastion of humanity so close.
T saw Terry looking back at her with clear rage and fear on his avian face.
She saw Rane, halfway over the wall, held back by a Refined on each arm. She almostughed at how staged it looked.
It was like she was seeing the end of a story.
The end of her story, those on the wall were witnessing that end.
She looked back, seeing what she could have had.
T closed her eyes, waiting for the end.
But the sireling hadnt bit down yet.
She <em>wasnt </em>dead.
Was he giving her a chance to surrender?
It seemed that he had actually been true to his word. He was going to let her surrender.
I She tried to force out the words. <em>I surrender.</em>
They wouldnte.
What a stupid reason to die. She had pushed so hard she couldnt even voice her own surrender.
Then, she noticed something, her mind clearing just a bit of the fog that had settled over her.
The wolf wasnt moving at all, and all of the iron within it was <em>hers.</em>
He was dead.
She began to shudder, blood burbling up between her lips as she beganughing, not out of mirth, but out of pure exhausted relief.
She was alive, and she had <em>won.</em>
The restriction on her inscriptions lifted and <em>power</em> burst through her.
She had won, even if she still felt as if shed lost.