Hikaru looked around them, there were now two dead wolves laying on the ground. However he didn't rejoice at the kills, instead his eyes were darting furiously between the shadows in the trees, waiting for any movement. But nothing came out, there was no rustle in the bushes and the forest continued its sounds.
He relaxed slightly. it seemed there were no more wolves coming to them, maybe the two wolves had not been part of a pack after all or maybe they had been separated from their park. He was pondering this when he remembered the girl.
He turned to her as she stared at the bushes impassively. "What's your name?" he asked her.
Before she could answer however, nameless suddenly unsheathed his sword and tensed. He kept his eyes glued to a part of the bushes.
Hikar was about to ask what was wrong when he heard the low snarls of beasts coming from the direction. The bushes started to rustle as the growls became intense.
And then the bushes split apart and six wolves stepped through it, one after the other. Five of the wolves were regular sized, like the ones they just killed , however one of them was different from the rest. It was larger than the rest of them by a huge margin and it had a more prevalent aura around it.
Hikaru swallowed. This is bad. The alpha wolf was a paragon menace.
His hand tightened on his sword, nameless was going to be tied up fighting the alpha wolf which meant he would have to deal with the rest.
Nameless emotionlessly stared at the wolf, then he looked back at Hikaru, then he charged at the wolf.
He crossed the clearing in seconds, heading towards the alpha wolf with his sword raised. The alpha launched it self forward to meet him and the collision sent a loud shockwave through the trees. Some birds around hurriedly flew away.
Hikaru turned to the girl. "Looks like we'll be handling the other five."
"Mayu," she said.
He blinked. "What?"
"You asked my name." She watched as the five wolves began to spread out around the clearing's edge. "It is Mayu."
"Oh." He nodded. "Okay."
Inwardly though, he was cringing. Is she a lunatic? Oh gods why am I stuck in a forest with two absolute weirdos?
He glanced at her again. At least shes a hot weirdo. This thought made him blush and he dismissed the thought immediately and charged at the wolves.
The five wolves rushed at them.
Hikaru rushed towards the first wolf and swung his sword, putting everything he had into the swing. The blade cut deep into its back and it howled in pain as it stumbled to the ground. He didn't get to celebrates for long, a second wolf hit him from the side and the impact sent him flying sideways. He landed on one knee and winced.
The wolf rushed at him and attempted to snap its jaw around his arm but he managed to get his blade up to block the bite. He still felt the force travel up his arm though. Damn, why are they so strong?
A third wolf snapped at his shoulder and twisted out the way, leaving it to snap at the wind. He thn hacked at it, n truth the attack was wild and graceless, but it was effective enough to drive it back.
The first wolf was already back, it was aiming for his shoulder and he turned into it, taking its impact on his arm instead of his neck, then he swung at its throat.
Because it was close range, the blade sunk into the wolf's throat and Hikaru felt warm liquid drop onto his skin, he swung again and again until he heard the system
[Wolfhound slain.]
[+1 Soul Core]
He staggered upright.
Mayu and her eagle were surrounded.
Meanwhile, Mayu and her eagle were surrounded.
The eagle had gone straight for the face of the nearest wolf, its claw had dug into its face and they tore it before the wolf could react. A second wolf leaped into the air and caught the bird, dragging it from its flight to the ground. Before it could bite into it, maya charged at it, closing the distance. She drove her dagger into its side and it howled in anger, releasing the eagle. It turned to face her.
As Mayu squared off with the wolf, preparing to fight it, a third wolf hit her from behind and tumbled forward. With elegance she turned her face into an acrobatic roll and turned around. She slashed instinctively at where she expected the wolf's head to be and her blade depend a line across its jaw. She then kicked it back.
The wolf stumbled to the ground and twitched for a moment, then it sopped moving
Two of the wolves were now dead and one was injured, they now had breathing space.
Hikaru rushed there and swung at the third wolf, chasing it back. The three of them, him, the girl and the eagle, now moved in the same space, fighting the remaining three wolves.
The eagle managed to pin another of the wolves and Hikaru drove his sword into its throat, it dropped dead.
He looked up and saw Mayu removing her dagger form the injured wolf, it lay motionless on the ground.
They had killed four of the wolves, only one remained.
-----
At the far end of the clearing, something hit a tree hard enough to crack it.
Nameless stood up from the impact and stepped forward to meet the alpha wolf once again. The alpha was relentless in its attack, it absorbed all of nameless' attacks and kept coming with more and more force. That was not to say that nameless had also not dealt damage to the wolf, in fact, its left eye was bleeding currently.
It lunged at nameless once more and he took the hit to his arm and drove his sword into the wolf's shoulder to break the grip.
The two of them tore through the clearing's edge as they fought, the trees in the area cracked and dirt scattered in different directions under their impacts. The wolf attacked again, overwhelming nameless and pushing him back once more.
Nameless for his part had finally glimpsed the manner to the wolf's attacked now it was time to end it once and for all. He stopped retreating and faced it with a blank stare.
The wolf snarled and lunged. Nameless turned on his pivot with ease and drove his word forwards, straight into its chest. The wolf's eyes went wide as if it was surprised to be killed in such a fluid and easy manner. Nameless held the sword there and pushed his weight behind it, pressing down as the wolf clawed and clawed. In the end, nameless prevailed and the movement stopped.
Hikaru received three notifications arrived at once.
[Wolfhound slain.]
[+1 Soul Core]
[Paragon slain.]
[+15 Soul Cores]
[Menace slain.]
[+10 Soul Cores]
Then a fourth.
[Soul Core threshold exceeded.]
[Rank up available. Proceed?]
Hikaru's eyes widened as he read this.
"…Oh,"