*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
As soon as the slaves were up, they began digging up mana crystals. Henryk wondered how much more they would have to dig to satisfy the hunters. Zielczyk couldn't help but take a closer look around.
[What a vast space…] he thought, carefully observing the cave where the mana crystals were the source of light.
While Henryk watched, Someryn caught a whiff of something. He detected a strange odor coming from deep within the cave, and his eyes narrowed, suddenly sensing something.
"*Sigh* You chose a terrible moment, mate," he said, still pounding the crystals.
"Kael!" Brina called. While Kael and Gill were discussing something, they followed her gaze and moved closer.
"It seems some creature has decided to live here," Kael said, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.
A large, furry humanoid creature emerged from the distant darkness.
"Werewolf," Henryk whispered in an inaudible, hushed voice. His hands began to tremble slightly.
Kael calmly walked toward the beast.
"You..." The werewolf looked surprised, growling at the adventurer in an inhuman voice.
Its fur was brown and its eyes were golden. Its white fangs were bared in all their glory. Saliva dripped from its mouth.
"Who are you?" the werewolf asked sharply, glaring at Kael, as he later did at the other adventurers, and finally at the slaves.
"We're just travelers," the hunter leader replied stoically.
"Grrrr... Why are you mining mana crystals?"
"We need them to donate to the hunters' guild. Everyone needs money these days, werewolf."
"Grrr... You shouldn't do this," the werewolf growled. "The motive doesn't matter. They won't like it... You have to leave."
With a new demand, the werewolf took a confident step forward, but quickly stopped when he realized Kael had swiftly drawn his sword and aimed it at him.
"Grrr. You're not listening to me, boy." The werewolf took another step forward nonetheless. "If you don't care about life, companions, or pleasure, there are easier options than death. I don't care about your lives, but because of you, I could lose the peace I've built here."
The werewolf bared its claws. It began to growl loudly.
Kael's companions drew their weapons and were about to attack, but their leader stopped them with a gesture.
The werewolf lunged at him, but Kael dodged to the side. He responded with a swift slash of his sword, leaving a bloody gash across the werewolf's flesh. The creature roared in pain and lashed out with its claws. Kael blocked the attack with his claw.
The leader of the hunters unleashed a series of slashes, which the furry creature could only attempt to block. Most of the swordsman's attacks found their mark. The werewolf fell to the ground. However, he quickly got back up and began fighting even more fiercely.
Now the tables were turned. The werewolf attacked the hunter, who could only nimbly avoid the claws, as the werewolf's blows were too powerful for him to block with his sword.
"Ugh!" Kael groaned in pain as the werewolf suddenly kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying several meters.
The creature began charging at him on all fours. The hunter quickly rose and assumed a defensive stance. The werewolf leaped toward him, but the hunter easily dodged the blow and jumped several meters away from the creature.
"It's over," Kael said with a faint smile. "You're where you need to be."
The werewolf looked surprised, then suddenly felt a warmth behind him. He didn't have time to turn and react. He was stabbed by several large, clay spears. He glared wildly at the person from whom he sensed the most mana.
Brina stood behind him, smiling mischievously, just like Kael. She winked at him.
The werewolf fell to the ground. He clenched his fangs, trying to get up, but Kael's boot stopped him, pinning his head to the ground.
The hunter leader, without hesitation, plunged his sword into the beast's head, killing it.
"I didn't need help," Kael told the purple-haired sorceress, snatching the sword from the werewolf's hands.
"Yes, yes, of course," Brina said with a sneer. "You noticed I was planning to interfere, didn't you?"
"Of course. As a commander, I need to know my comrades so I know what they'll do before they do it. You already know."
"Of course, Commander," Brina said, approaching Kael, which made him blush slightly.
Seeing this scene, Henryk rolled his eyes and looked at Someryn, who had been pounding a mana crystal with his pickaxe throughout the fight. Someryn noticed Henryk staring at him, glanced at Kael and Brina, and then simply shrugged.
"What are you staring at?!" Gill shouted irritably. "The show's over, let's move on."
As Gill began to urge them on, the slaves grabbed their equipment and backpacks and moved on. They passed by the dead werewolf. Everyone except the unmoved Someryn stared at his lifeless body.
The last person to pass him was Felicia. Unlike the others, she stopped by the corpse. She clasped her hands together as if praying.
"Rest in peace, my friend," she said, tears beginning to flow from her closed eyes. "May Lord Sylvester help you find your way to the merciful gods."
"Hey, didn't you hear what I said, you Cat bitch?!" Gill, furious, approached her, unable to bear the sight of someone mourning the death of a stupid monster who had tried to kill his friend. "Did you think I'd let you do something so brazen in my presence?!"
Gill aggressively grabbed Felicia by the ear, then with his other hand, grabbed her by the throat and lifted her a few inches off the ground.
"You may not have noticed, you magenta bitch, but you belong to us now! You can't even sneeze without our permission, do you understand?!"
"Gill, stop it!" Kael said suddenly, slowly approaching his companion, who was strangling Felicia. Seeing Gill's terrified look, he knew he wasn't going to let her go. He had to intervene. "I've said enough!"
Gill looked at Kael. Reluctantly, he let go of Felicia's throat.
"Tsk. You're lucky," Gill said as Felicia passed him and joined the rest of the slaves.
Gill looked back at the dead werewolf and spat on it.
Henryk, who had been the last of the slaves to witness the scene, averted his gaze and moved forward with the others, the adventurers following him.
[[Reference Art for Werewolf with golden eyes in comment]]