The system announced, you have entered the abyss of the abyssal direwolf, Grey looked at his interface. 'An abyssal direwolf?' he froze the thought as he saw Noah and Milo moving in, despite the murderous aura chilling through bones. As the final cadet passed through the passage, the doors violently snapped shut, a surge of force hurling them forward. In an instant, Noah raised his blade, golden light erupting as bars of golden metals formed midair- caging them once more, like an overprotective brother. Their body struck the radiant prison with a dull thud.
"This again?!" Darrin yelled as though he was the crowned prince among them, other cadets frowned at the gold. Grey couldn't stay calm anymore, what he was now sensing made him wince, not only him. Tasha's ears was trembling at the sound out side. They heard loud bangs, grunts and bloodcurdling howls, the two hunters were already clashing with the direwolf, moments later a louder bang shattered their sense of security, as the impact was made by their safe haven. The sound plunged them into fear, but that was nothing compared to the fracture spreading across the golden cage. The sight nearly drove the cadets into panic.
"What kind of monster can crack solid gold?" Collins lashed out, his voice trembling. Fear surged through the group as they stared at the widening fissured. 'Could it be a Tenth-Class monster, like the Black Knight? Or perhaps, the Cerberus wolf? Grey wondered. "What do we do?" another cadet asked, "What are those guys doing? Ha!" Darrin complained. But their wailing did nothing to stop the crack, rather it fueled it. 'What else can we do but prepare to run.'
Grey took a stance that meant he was ready to vault out of harm's way at any moment, he could only think of himself: if you could attend the hunter's academy, you are strong enough to scramble to safety, that was his simple assessment, he really didn't care for them that much.
The first thing they did was laughed at him at the earliest chance. 'Here it comes!' Grey prepared himself. Everything was giving way, shattering into fragments as a storm of dust and rubble swallowed them and exploded into debris.
The Abyssal Direwolf had broken through the golden bars. The impact hurled several cadets backward before the gold began to dissolve—vanishing as though it were being recalled. At that exact moment, when the decisive claw shattered the cage, Grey had already marked the timing. He launched upward. Knees tucked, elbows tight to protect his vitals, he hurled himself clear of the blast and escaped without injury. The same could not be said for the others though.
Tasha twisted through the falling shards of gold like she was dancing, each step precise and graceful. Collins and Oliver took cover, backbent slightly behind Darrin, who stood firm—as though an invisible iron wall shielded him.
Most of the cadets were not so fortunate. Many were severely wounded, others lightly injured, and a few escaped without a scratch. Grey, Tasha, and Darrin amongst them.
As the debris and golden fragments faded into nothingness, what remained was death in its purest form.
The terrain had been devastated, as though a demon itself had descended. The ground was scorched black, still burning with the same black flames that illuminated the battlefield in a sickly glow. And there it stood, towering above them like a living mountain, their eyes couldn't move anywhere but up. Then they met it's gaze, a snarl rolled out from the monster.
A grotesque Abyssal Direwolf.
Black abyssal flames roared across its body from head to tail, clinging to its form like living fire. Its rock-gray skin was embedded withshattered fragments of gold, many still lodged in its claws, sides, and limbs. Dark blue flames licked across its body as well—but the creature paid the blue flames no mind. It possessed elemental resistance to fire. So the flames only added to its monstrous pressure, making the sight unfathomable.
Its eyes burned a deep crimson as it stared them down.
From a distance, Grey's gaze shifted—and he saw Noah and Milo, both gravely injured yet still pressing forward. Their relentless assault forced the beast to keep its distance.
Behind them, the remaining cadets struggling to recover. Those with lighter injuries moved to assist the severely wounded, dragging them away from the battlefield, mostly the ones there were close to.
As they struggled back to their feet, they noticed two girls who had been crushed by the now-vanished debris of gold. Their bodies were covered in cuts and bruises, blood seeping through the shattered ground like crimson threads. It was a gruesome sight. Grey watched for a moment before turning his attention back to the fight. The sounds of students emptying their stomachs unsettled him. 'Twelve... we're only twelve years old.' Some were terrified, screaming in panic. Sooner or later they would need to relocate away from the destruction of the combatants, those who couldn't move well enough got what was coming to them.
They got swept away along side shads of rubble and debris, although Milo and Noah tried their best to protect the kids. It wasn't easy doing it while fighting a blood hungry wolf. When ever a big attack was struck, Milo would shift his focus for a moment, trying to shield most cadet with his light. While Noah would keep the monster occupied for that brief moment.
But a midst the chaos, there were cadets who knew the basic of evasion, running about and fleeing from danger. They scurried around haphazardly, hearing the bloodcurdling howl would often send shock through most of them. That sudden spine chilling shudder, would end up being their final action.
Milo frowned at the sight, but alas the kids need to at least protect themselves. Milo and Noah were already engulfed in combat with their blood rage friend, they had to fight for their lives first before thinking of to protect the cadets, because if they were alive they could at least make sure the remaining cadets got out safe. Trying to do both would be next to impossible, as they were already at their limits. They continued landing blows after blows with desperate speed, but you know what? The monster was also desperate, it kept up with them despite its grave injuries.
Milo gave it quiet the burn marks, regardless of its resistant to fire, because fire resistant didn't count for fire immunity, Noah on the other hand had cracked most of its limbs, and shattered its withers. Lets not forget the ghastly injury on its flank. The abyssal dire wolf wanted blood... And the end of its annoyers. It unleashed beams of black flame from its maw with precision. They tried to resist, dodging and blocking as best as they could, Noah running on the wall and Milo leaping pillars, in the opposite direction, but it wasn't enough. The duo were hurled violently into pillars, which shattered on impact before they were smashed through into the walls behind them.
The crash erupted through the environment. Grey moved constantly, as did his peers. All the cadets stuggling not to end up as nothing more than gore-stained pulp under the relentless assault... Became even more lost from hope. As it was now clear that Milo and Noah were already down... Their battered bodies hung broken against the wall, blood seeping down like crude decorations.
A / N: Thanks for reading, make sure to follow up daily. And give power stones if you like my book and a review to keep me motivated.