[City of Argus]
Pyrrha slowly woke up, frowning as she felt an icy breeze hitting her face.
"Oh, no..." she groaned, shifting in place, annoyed at herself for forgetting to close the window before going to sleep.
She wanted to get up and shut it, but the bed was way too comfortable to leave immediately. As she finished waking up, she remembered the really strange dream she had. A bomb had exploded outside Argus, and then she had run into a giant wolf that changed colors.
"Ah~" she yawned tiredly. "That really was a weird dream," she thought while rubbing her face against the bed, her fluffy, furry, warm bed... that for some reason was beating like a heartbeat.
It took her less than a second to realize it had not been a dream.
Her eyes widened in horror when she discovered that not only was she still stuck to the wolf's back, but they were also in the middle of free fall.
"AAAHHH!!"
She screamed instantly, deducing that while she had been unconscious, the wolf had somehow managed not only to climb the tower, but also evade the defenses and leap into the city.
"No way... No way!" she repeated several times, panicking while trying to pull herself off the wolf, failing just like every other time.
As a Huntress-in-training, learning different ways to land safely from great heights without getting injured was part of the curriculum. Unfortunately, there was no technique she could apply while glued to the back of a wolf.
Her grip tightened, clinging to it as hard as she could while genuinely hoping the creature's body would work as a cushion. She closed her eyes, clenched her teeth, and began counting the seconds until impact.
One... two... three...
But no matter how long she waited, the impact never came. And more importantly, the icy wind stopped blowing.
"Am I already dead?" she thought uncertainly.
Slowly, she forced one eye open, hoping not to find angels or floating clouds around her. But to her surprise, when she opened it, she discovered they were already on the ground.
The wolf was still standing and had somehow managed to land without taking any damage at all.
Pyrrha's body collapsed onto the wolf.
"Hahahaha..." she could not stop herself from letting out a nervous, slightly manic laugh, though she was obviously relieved to still be alive.
When she lifted her head, her eyes met the wolf's, which was watching her with a faint hint of amusement in its gaze.
"You're a weird wolf..."
Setting aside the fact that the creature possessed more abilities than any human ever recorded in history, the wolf also showed clear signs of intelligence.
At the very least, far greater intelligence than smarter than the average wolf.
With that in mind, she decided to try talking to it. "Would you mind getting do-"
"AAHH!!"
Clearly, that did not work, because at that exact moment the wolf suddenly bolted toward the city.
It did not take them long to run into a crowd of people who, despite the shelter alarm sounding, were still out in the streets. Maybe out of curiosity about the explosion or because of the Bullheads moving all throughout the area.
"WHAT IS THAT?!"
"Call the Huntsmen!"
"HELP!!"
"Isn't that Pyrrha Nikos?!"
"You got this!"
Pyrrha could barely make out the people's screams because of how fast they were moving. Some had managed to recognize her and had started cheering her on to take down the wolf, though Pyrrha was no longer thinking about how to fight it, but rather how to convince it to stop.
She looked up only to find the wolf wearing an expression of pure happiness, one that looked more like an excited Golden Retriever than a wild predator.
At least she was sure of one thing: the wolf was not going to hurt civilians. If it had wanted to, it could have easily killed several people along the way, or even the Huntsmen and students when it had the chance.
But no matter how docile it seemed, that did not change the fact that it was still extremely dangerous, and Pyrrha definitely did not want to find out what would happen if they truly managed to provoke it.
"If you stop, I'll give you a delicious rabbit!" she bargained, trying to sound convincing, but the wolf ignored her completely and kept moving without slowing down.
She tried to offer something else, though she could not think of a single thing a wolf might want.
"Do you want money...?" she offered uncertainly.
To her surprise, the wolf came to a sudden stop.
"Wait... you want money?" she asked in confusion, unable to understand why a wolf would want something like that. But when she looked closer, she realized it had only stopped to bite at one of its paws where it apparently had an itch.
"Of course..." Pyrrha thought, feeling pretty stupid for even considering it.
As soon as it finished scratching itself, the wolf continued its journey through the city as if nothing had happened. Even so, throughout the entire trip, Pyrrha kept struggling to pry herself off its back, even though she knew perfectly well it was useless. But she could not simply give up.
"I need to hurry before-"
BAM!
Too late.
[RetroSprint: An ability that allows the user to run faster backwards.]
The wolf reacted instantly, darting several meters backward at an absurd speed while dodging a shot that exploded against the concrete exactly where it had been standing a second earlier. It lifted its head, sniffing the air while growling with hostility.
The Huntsmen had arrived.
They quickly began appearing from every direction, surrounding it while several Bullhead ships started flying overhead. Inside them were Huntsmen armed with long-range rifles, ready to fire or deploy if necessary.
"You should surrender..." Pyrrha suggested.
In response, the wolf let out a loud snort through its nose and very clearly shook its head. Its ears stood upright while the fur along its back bristled in obvious signs of hostility.
Even though all the Huntsmen had their weapons ready, none of them fired. And they would not as long as there was a chance of hurting Pyrrha if a chaotic shootout broke out.
A man carrying a megaphone stepped forward.
"Miss Nikos!" shouted the man, whom Pyrrha immediately recognized as one of her teachers. "We need you to get away from that wolf right now!"
Pyrrha did her best to make herself heard over the noise.
"I can't!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "And you all need to stop attacking the wolf!"
The man shook his head several times in obvious frustration.
"This is not the time to prove your femininity! You don't need to prove anything! Let the professionals handle it!"
Pyrrha wanted to scream at them that she was not trying to prove anything, that she literally could not pull herself off the wolf's back and could barely move.
But more importantly, she wanted to explain that they did not need to fight it and that there was probably another way to deal with the situation without turning the entire city into a war zone.
She tried to speak, but the wolf interrupted her by lifting its head and releasing an incredibly loud howl.
"Awooooooo!"
The sound spread throughout the entire city. But even more impressive than its volume was how soothing it felt. It was a strange, almost hypnotic sound that caused every woman present to freeze for a moment as they listened to it.
[Siren Voice: The bearer of this ability possesses a melodic voice that calms, arouses, and attracts the opposite sex.]
On the other hand, the men, who were far fewer in number, quickly noticed the strange effect the howl had caused.
"Snap out of it, idiot!"
One man shook his partner, who was still staring at the wolf completely mesmerized. Another outright slapped the woman beside him to snap her back to reality.
The scene began repeating itself all across the area, with everyone far too distracted to notice the lines and intricate symbols slowly spreading beneath them.
The women affected by the howl did not take long to recover, but at the same time the markings began glowing far more intensely, to the point that nobody could ignore them anymore.
No one understood what was happening.
No one except the Huntsmen inside the Bullheads, who from above managed to see the full picture and realize these were not random lines or symbols at all.
Together, they formed a massive circle drawn across the ground.
Many panicked upon realizing it was actually a glyph, similar to the ones used by the Schnee family... but vastly larger.
[Glyphs V2.0: Creates circles of energy capable of producing multiple effects.]
[Nensha: A psychic ability that allows the user to project or "burn" images and thoughts from the mind.]
"Get out of there!" they tried to warn from the ships.
But it was already too late. The glyph shone even brighter, and several Huntsmen, realizing they no longer had many options, acted immediately.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Several gunshots rang out throughout the area, at least from the Huntsmen confident enough in their aim to know they would not hit Pyrrha.
But before the bullets could travel far enough, every single one was violently slammed into the ground after moving only a few meters.
And not just the bullets.
The same phenomenon repeated itself with every Huntsman's weapon. Swords, rifles, ammunition, and even entire pieces of metal equipment were violently dragged toward the ground, disarming everyone present within seconds.
Several drops of sweat ran down Pyrrha's forehead as she watched the scene unfold. She recognized the effect almost instantly, far too familiar with it not to.
Even several pieces of her own armor tore themselves free and shot toward the ground.
"Magnetism..." she thought in shock.
And an absurdly powerful one at that, vastly surpassing the range of her own semblance.
But her amazement was quickly overshadowed. Her eyes widened in alarm when she remembered something far more important. There were Bullhead ships flying far too close above them.
"GET THE SHIPS AWAY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
The more veteran Huntsmen immediately understood why she was shouting.
"Pull the Bullheads back!" they ordered at once.
The pilots obeyed as quickly as they could, forcing the aircraft higher while pushing the engines to their limits. But it was not enough to escape the enormous magnetic field now threatening to drag them straight into the ground.
The Huntsmen, even disarmed, had no intention of letting the Bullheads crash. If one of those ships slammed into a building, it could easily result in hundreds of deaths. Knowing the glyph was being caused by the wolf, they did not hesitate to move in and stop it.
But the moment they took a few steps, they were hit by a powerful sensation of weightlessness. Slowly, their bodies began floating into the air, and many, unable to grab onto anything, were sent drifting all across the area while desperately trying to regain control.
"The end of Argus..." was the only thing Pyrrha could think as she watched every Huntsman become completely helpless.
She could not understand how an animal with that kind of power could possibly exist. It was practically a walking calamity.
But when she looked back at the wolf, she was surprised to notice it no longer looked as energetic as before. It was now showing clear signs of exhaustion.
Its breathing had grown heavier, and its movements were slightly slower, which was fairly normal considering the scale of the ability it had just used.
[Aura: 70315/682354 → 70315/832]
Even so, despite having the perfect chance to attack the defenseless Huntsmen floating around it, the wolf did nothing. As expected, it simply turned around and began quickly leaving the area.
Though this time, its speed was nowhere near what it had displayed before.
Only after crossing several blocks did the wolf finally stop and lift its head, sniffing the air with interest.
Pyrrha wondered what it could possibly be looking for, but when she followed its gaze, she realized it was staring at a nearby restaurant, where several people were still watching them in fear while silently praying it would not come inside.
The wolf did not hesitate to move forward while licking its lips.
"Don't do it!" she ordered immediately, not wanting to find out whether it was drooling over the restaurant's food... or the people inside.
Pyrrha did her best to slow it down and, although she managed to slightly affect its weakened movements, the wolf still kept advancing directly toward the restaurant.
"AAAAAHH!"
The people inside the place immediately began screaming and running desperately in every direction.
To everyone's surprise, the wolf calmly used the front door. And the moment it crossed the threshold, people scrambled out of the establishment however they could. Many escaped through the back door while others outright fled through the windows. Some did not even bother opening them first.
CRASH!
A window exploded when a woman jumped straight through it in the middle of the panic.
To Pyrrha's relief, the wolf completely ignored the people. Instead, it pounced on the tables and began devouring the food like the starving animal it was. The moment it finished one plate, it immediately moved on to the next without wasting a second.
Although, curiously, it didn't touch the salad.
But while it was devouring every bit of food it could find, the kitchen doors suddenly swung open, revealing a woman who was probably the chef judging by her outfit. She had purple hair, large breasts that naturally drew attention, and a surprisingly seductive figure.
[Image]
Her presence immediately caught the wolf's attention, causing it to stop eating and stare at her with interest.
The woman, whose uniform read "Kirio," smiled brightly when she saw it and began approaching without the slightest hint of fear.
"And who's this adorable little friend?"
Pyrrha could not help but panic when she saw the woman getting so close.
"Ma'am, stay back! That's a wolf!" she shouted immediately.
The woman completely ignored her words and stopped right in front of the wolf while her hands naturally began stroking its face.
"Oh~ what a wonderful creature," she praised enthusiastically, making the wolf stick its tongue out happily while wagging its tail.
"It's a dangerous animal!" Pyrrha warned again, growing more frustrated by the second.
In response, the wolf simply buried its face between those large breasts, completely stunning Pyrrha.
Kirio gently petted the wolf's head as if it were nothing unusual. "It seems pretty tame to me," she laughed softly before turning her attention to Pyrrha. "Are you supposed to be its rider or something?" she asked with amused curiosity.
Pyrrha quickly shook her head. "It's the wolf's fault I'm stuck like this!"
Kirio frowned slightly while looking at the wolf, which was still comfortably hidden between her breasts. "Is this your fault?" she asked as though she genuinely expected an answer.
The wolf pulled its face out from between her chest, looked at Pyrrha, and shook its head several times before diving right back into those massive breasts and wagging its tail happily, making little pleased noises between them.
[Image]
"The wolf says it's not his fault," Kirio replied between soft laughs from the ticklish sensation the animal was causing.
Pyrrha could only think that there was something wrong with the wolf... and something wrong with that woman. Probably the entire world was wrong.
"Well, I won't get involved in your business," Kirio continued with a slight shrug. "But..." She gestured around the restaurant and all the damage they had caused. "I do expect you to pay for the damages caused by your wolf."
"That's not my wolf!" Pyrrha immediately insisted.
But she went silent when the wolf pulled its face out of Kirio's chest again, turned toward her, and with surprising skill grabbed her wallet before dumping everything inside onto a nearby table.
Pyrrha didn't know whether to feel offended because she had just lost basically all the money for the month, or shocked because the wolf apparently understood the concept of money perfectly.
"Well, I guess this should be enough for now," Kirio laughed as she picked up the money. But she quickly looked back at the wolf with a hint of sadness. "You should take better care of him... he looks pretty exhausted."
The wolf put on a sad expression and nodded several times as if he completely agreed.
"He's not my wolf..." Pyrrha repeated once again.
Kirio ignored her completely. Instead, she extended a hand, and a small branch sprouted from it, several fresh blueberries growing on top.
"Wait!" Pyrrha said in surprise, not because of the blueberries but because of something much more important. "Are you a Huntress?"
The woman calmly nodded. "Retired Huntress," she clarified. "Don't worry, my semblance lets me generate completely organic materials and food from my own body. It'll help him recover quickly."
She said that while feeding the wolf, who eagerly devoured the blueberries.
"No, don't feed him!" Pyrrha complained, not wanting the wolf to recover all his strength.
Kirio shook her head in disappointment. "Girl, if you don't take proper care of your wolf, he's going to leave you one of these days."
The wolf nodded several times, completely agreeing.
"HE'S NOT MY WOLF!... you know what, forget it. Just don't touch him anymore..." Pyrrha finally gave up, unable to find any reason to keep arguing.
"I think he just needs to have a little fun," Kirio commented while carefully observing the wolf's eyes. "He doesn't have a violent look in them."
She didn't wait for a response. Now with the money in her hands, she simply turned around and headed back toward the kitchen.
"Oh, and by the way..." she said, slightly turning to glance at the strange duo one last time. "I'd suggest you leave through the back."
Pyrrha looked up in confusion. "I don't understand..."
Kirio let out a small amused laugh. "I was talking to the wolf," she teased before disappearing into the kitchen.
It didn't take long for Pyrrha to realize what she meant when the sound of several ships became much louder outside.
The Hunters had returned.
The effects of the glyph weren't permanent, and once they broke free, it didn't take them long to track them down. Within seconds, Hunters completely surrounded the restaurant.
"Nikos!" someone's voice shouted through a loudspeaker. "Force the wolf out of the building!"
Even if Pyrrha had wanted to follow those orders, she couldn't imagine how. Now that he'd eaten, the wolf seemed to have recovered part of his energy.
She tried to think of some kind of plan, but while doing so she noticed something strange. Everything around her was starting to look bigger.
A quick glance at the floor immediately revealed the real problem.
The surroundings weren't growing.
The wolf was slowly sinking into the ground. And she was going down with him.
"Oh no, no, no!" she repeated several times, desperately struggling while her body started being swallowed by the earth.
Before her face was completely covered, she took a long breath, having absolutely no intention of finding out whether she could breathe underground.
Even though she kept her eyes open, she couldn't see anything at all. Just darkness.
But she could feel the movement. The wolf was traveling underground.
Despite the situation, Pyrrha couldn't help asking herself something. If the wolf could do this... then why had he climbed the wall earlier instead of simply going through it?
She quickly came to the conclusion that the wolf, while intelligent, wasn't exactly wise.
Pyrrha couldn't hold her breath much longer, though thankfully she didn't have to. At that moment the wolf emerged from the ground again and, the second she saw the light, she took a deep breath of air.
Quickly looking around, she realized they hadn't gone very far. In fact, they were literally on the other side of the street, right behind the Hunters still surrounding the restaurant.
"HEY! OVER HERE!" Pyrrha shouted, not wanting the Hunters to lose track of them.
Her yelling didn't go unnoticed. Several Hunters immediately turned to look at her.
But their expressions didn't turn into panic or shock at seeing the wolf behind them.
Many of those looks became confused. Some even showed disgust. Others simply shook their heads before turning back toward the restaurant.
Only one Huntress walked directly toward them with obvious irritation.
"Miss, this is not the place for your fetishes. I need you and your 'horse' to leave," she said, making air quotes with her fingers. "Or I'll have to arrest you for disturbing public order and indecent exposure."
Pyrrha was left staring with her mouth open, completely confused by what she had just heard.
At that moment, the upper half of her body suddenly stopped sticking to the wolf for some reason, finally allowing her to sit upright on top of him as she quickly pointed beneath herself.
"Can't you see the wol—?"
"AAAHHHH!"
She screamed in horror when she looked down and realized she was no longer riding the wolf... and that she was no longer wearing her combat outfit.
[Image]
[Overactive Imagination: Ability that allows the user to create physical illusions visible to everyone.]
—//—
Author's Note:
A chapter uploaded pretty late, but you know what they say: better inside than outside!... I think that's how it goes. Anyway, I hope you like it. I've been busy with my own obligations, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully, if I can, I'll write another one on Sunday.
Anyway, for anyone who doesn't know who Kirio is, she's from the anime Bleach… You haven't watched Bleach? That's fine, neither have I. I just thought it would be fun to include her, and I liked her ability.
As you've probably already noticed, I'm a degenerate, but the real question here is: just how degenerate can I make this fanfic? So far, this has been pretty vanilla for me.
I'll put it to a vote: should I add wolf/girl action, or should we keep going like this?
[Poll]
Anyway, I hope you all have a good week…
Kisses and hugs.