The wolfpack

Taiki woke up in the darkness. He saw only the blackness. "Am I dead now? Where am I? I fell into the abyss, didn't I?", Many questions crossed his mind. However, as his eyes slowly adapted to the darkness, he quickly began to realize that Cyril, Icarus and Grindol were lying on the ground severely wounded. They lived. Still. "Cyril! Icarus! Grindol! Hold on! I'll find help!" Taiki assured them. "No! You have to start to heal them now.....or none of us  will survive! Use healing magic for your friends! Hurry up!", Jostled Grindol. "But I don't know how to do that! I can't really use a healing spell yet! I....I can't!", Taiki began to panic. "I'll tell you what you have to do. First, place your hand on Cyril and Icaru's belly.", The dwarf pointed out to the young boy, who did this on the spot. Taiki saw nothing, but he still felt the blood on his hands.

"Then focus on your friend. Focus on the wounds they possess. I know you're not at peace with yourself, but now your friends' lives are in danger. No matter what lies dormant within you, this being will understand you and allow you access to this magic. If you've done all of that, come to me! Pain Absorption! And then Healing ultimate!" "Pain Absorption! Healing ultimate!", Taiki recited the formula, whereby a green, bright light enveloped the two boys and after which the severe wounds were closed. "I did it! I was able to save them!", Said Taiki happily. But then he ran to Grindol to save him as well. However, he replied: "No! My brothers have all already passed away and my wounds are too deep. You don't master this kind of magic!"

 "But I have to try! I don't want to let you die! You don't know, but you've protected us against these elf twins a few times. I know what their personality is, but I still don't understand why they did it! I want to save you, Grindol! We should be on the battlefield together and give the demons a lesson they would never forget!", Replied Taiki. "Try it! But please don't be disappointed if it doesn't work! I'm not afraid of death as I've witnessed it so many times! I welcome him if you can't make it! Then please don't blame yourself, understood! I also have the aura sight I know why the demons fear you and why so many more enemies have tried to kill you! A lot of them underestimated you gravely! Please don't let the guilt consume your heart!", Gloin asked the young boy. "Healing ultimate! Pain Absorption!", Taiki said the spell as he placed his hands on the dwarf's chest, where his severe wound was.

A green light lit up, but the wound remained open. The magic did not work. "Healing ultimate! Pain Absorption!", shouted Taiki out of desperation, but again it didn't work. The young boy then looked into the eyes of the dwarf, who only smiled peacefully until life disappeared in him. Grindol was dead. "These lousy elves! If I ever catch them, I will tear them to pieces! They betrayed us!", scolded Icarus, who was now conscious. "Oh no! What about Rya and Tsuyoshi!? They don't know about the betrayal!" Cyril winced in horror as he worried about his sister and friends. "I hope that the elves and the demon commanders don't also pounce on the rest of the group. We also have to inform the king of the betrayal of the elves!", Taiki then interjected, who rose from the dead Grindol.

"But first we have to find a way out of this gorge. We were only able to survive this fall because of the snow that lies here." "Watch out! Something is approaching from the darkness!", he heard the warning sounds of his old masters in his head. Suddenly, the three heard growling sounds coming from all directions. But they could not see from whom or what this noise came from, because it was too dark. At a single blow, some wolves stepped out of the shadows. One of them wore a snow-white and shaggy fur. His eyes were blood-red and his snout smelled the three adventurers who were in front of him greedily. Another wolf wore a black fur. One of his eyes was scarred, which was probably caused by a fight. The other eye, on the other hand, was bathed in a dark blue. All his fur was completely unkempt. The last of the wolves to come out had a fur in oak-brown tone. His fur was covered with dirt. His dark brown, almost black eyes stared at the adventurers. Cyril, Icarus and Taiki drew their blades to be prepared for a possible fight.

 Suddenly, the white wolf began to speak: "What are you doing here? This is the area of the wolf tamer Felia Regina Lupus! You have fallen into our hiding place, which is why we have every right to eat you!" "He can talk!", frightened Icarus. "We can hear you too. My name is Nodin Album and we will distort you now!", The white wolf raised his voice. The animals got ready to attack the three. Taiki, Cyril and Icarus held their blades ready. All of a sudden, the wolf with the scar wanted to jump at Cyril when he was suddenly whistled back: "Stop! No one will be eaten here, if I don't allow it!" "Mistress!", All three wolves twitched as a figure who had wolf ears and a wolf's tail stepped out of the shadows. She had seductive large, emerald green eyes. The protruding wolf ears listened to every little sound. Her sky-blue hair dangled to her shoulders. "Mistress Lupus......We have found here these intruders who have invaded our home without authorization and we wanted to punish them for it!", Explained the wolf with the scar on his eye. "Lupus?", Wondered Taiki.

Then the young boy received a flash of inspiration: "This is one of the strongest warriors in this country! One that could have defeated Yukio in secounds!" "But I forbid it. I want to inspect these intruders for myself. I want to know if they have a fighting spirit in them, if they have enough will and strength. The Child of Darkness has already told me that you would show up here because of a betrayal. I never thought that I would like to solve a problem of her. You don't look as dangerous as she described it to me. She said that I should kill you directly without hesitation and not give you an opportunity to fight, although this is not the way of the wolves, which is why I take you, Taiki, out to a direct duel. May the stronger one win and take the lead of this wolfpack!", Announced the leader of the wolves. "And what if I don't want to?", Wondered Taiki.

"Then I'll eat you on the spot, just like your friends.", Felia replied. They had no choice but to follow the wolves. Taiki, Cyril and Icarus followed the leader. The other three wolves were right behind them. They walked through the dark cave. There was absolute silence. Only darkness accompanied them. "Be vigilant! I will lead you for this ensuing battle!", Taiki heard his Master's voice. The adventurers only felt the warm breath of the wolves that were behind them. These beasts, unlike the three adventurers, could see perfectly in the dark. You could feel the tension inside them. "What will happen to us now! Why is lupus in cahoots together with the Child of Darkness!", The most diverse thoughts crossed Cyril's mind. "I'm going to finish them all! You can not fit to hold a candle!", Thought Icarus. 

His hand was on his blade at the time to pull it for a fight timely. Soon a light appeared at the end of the tunnel, blinding the three adventurers. As they walked through the light and their eyes slowly adapted to the light conditions again, they recognized dozens of growling wolves whose drooling was dripping out of their mouths. They were in a forest. The entire soil had a blanket of snow. In some caves, which were located to the left and right around the cave entrance to the gorge, there were young animals that curiously stared at the new ones. Behind some trees you could see a cliff where you could fall even deeper into the abyss. "This is my wolfpack! Here you, Taiki, will fight against me among many witnesses! I heard that you were able to defeat Yukio and his bandits, so I want to see, if you are actually that strong.", Felia explained.

"I had great help in the fight against Yukio! That wasn't me all alone!", The young boy asserted. "You can't lie to me! One of my wolves, named Osiris Pugna, was able to testify this with his own eyes when you defeated Yuri devastatingly. I know you got some help, but most of the time, you fought against him alone." Felia replied, pointing to the wolf with brown fur that also found the adventurers at the beginning. "Besides, I still want to fight one-on-one against you to convince myself of your strength. If you are not strong enough to defeat me, your friends will also die and at the same time I have fulfilled the mission of the Child of Darkness!", Added the leader of the wolves. "We were watched all the time? But how? I couldn't feel an aura. Or did this wolf obscure his aura?", Asked Taiki inwardly. His master's voice replied: "I was rummaging through your memories and it seemed that since you were in battle, you didn't realize the aura of the wolf. You probably didn't recognize him as a danger. And it's true. Some living beings are so strong with the aura view that they can completely disguise their own, which is why they are like invisible to most people!"

"Draw your weapon! Let's fight! Here and now!", Shouted Felia out of nowhere, who suddenly pulled her claws out. They were so pointed that you might think they could cut metal. "Come Taiki! You have to fight her! We believe in you....Or at least I!", Cyril yelled to the young boy, whereupon Icarus also cheered him on: "Woe betile you lose the fight! Trust me! I will be even stronger than you! That's why you and I can't scrape off first!", Icarus spoke to Taiki. However, when Taiki hesitated a bit, the wolf pack barked wildly. Suddenly, Felia whizzed forward. "Attention!", Warned a voice, which is why he swerved to the side to avoid a hit. But with a quick blow backwards, the wolf hit the young boy. Some blood dripped down on her claws and Taiki had to grit his teeth as the claws cut deep into his flesh. Nevertheless, he was still on his feet.

"Don't be afraid! Think of what you've already learned! Fight with brain and not with strength! You can also defeat an enemy by words and cunning and not just by brute force!", His master gave him an advice. "I'll try!", Taiki thought enthusiastically. Out of thin air, the wolf raced backwards to carry out another attack. But this time Taiki pulled out his sword and repelled the attack from above. You could hear the sound of the claws scratching the hard iron of the sword. However, Felia did not give the young boy any time to come up with a counterattack, which is why she hit him with her other paw and thereby pushed the young boy further back, causing him to crash into a tree. Suddenly, Felia once again shredded her paws on the young boy, who was able to lick th attack. When the wolf wanted to carry out another attack with her second paw, Taiki queered Lupus a pitch and gave her a slap in the face, causing her to stagger back a bit.

"I honestly have to say that you are stronger than i expected. Still, I really wonder how you were able to defeat Yukio with these abilities.", Felia gave a false praise. Once again, their weapons crossed with each other. Both opponents stared deep into each other's eyes. In both you could see the spirit of a true fighter. "You have the eyes of a true warrior!", Taiki flattered the wolf, turning her slightly red. As a result, she did not concentrating properly. Taiki took advantage of the moment to push her back once again by repressing her backwards. "You are mean! I just wanted to praise you for being a real warrior, but then you use such unfair tactics!", Enraged Felia. "In a real fight, there is no fairness!", Taiki replied in a slightly broken voice, as this statement brought back bad memories in him. All of a once, Felia rushed forward.

This time the wolf was too fast for Taiki, giving him a deep scratch on his cheek and another one on his shoulder. With another kick in the stomach, Taiki flew further back. When he came up on the ground and realized that he was on the brink of the abyss, he wanted to get up again. But Felia stopped him, which is why he got another kick in the back. He fell. He was looking forward to his end. His sword flew out of his hand and also lay on the edge of the abyss with the knob pointed to the abyss. "Taiki! No!", Cyril and Icarus shrugged as they realized what was happening. The wolfpack barked jubilantly about the fight so far. However, Taiki was still able to hold on to the edge. "I have to admit that you're pretty tough! But now this fight has come to an end! Congratulation! You could really entertain me! But now you're going to die!", laughed Felia as she slowly placed one of her wolf paws on one of the young boy's hands, so Taiki had to let go with this hand. 

He hangs, holding only one hand over an abyss that apparently led into the endless depths. "Use your sword! Don't use it the way you normally would!", He heard his Master shouting in his head. "How?! I can't hold on for long!", Taiki began to panic. "Use your head for this fight! I told you earlier that not every battle can be decided by brute force.", Said his Master. Dark clouds formed in the sky. It seemed to be snowing soon. Felia now put her paw on Taiki's last hand so that he could finally plunge into the depths. All of a sudden, the young boy grabbed his sword and threw the blade at the wolf with all his might. The sword hit Felia with the handle on her head, causing her to stagger backwards. Taiki seized the opportunity and pulled himself up with all his might in order to not have the danger of falling into the abyss. He managed to do so. "You little wretch! You're throwing your weapon at me!", The wolf enraged.

When Taiki wants to look around for his sword, he realized that he could no longer take it without being slashed by Felia. "Win the fight with your head! With my head, but how.....I am clearly inferior, if I now continue to fight with my fists i will....except...!", Taiki received a flash of inspiration, whereupon his master, since he could also see his thoughts, agreed: "Exactly! Use your mind to fight certain battles! So you can continue to curb your hidden powers !" Felia got ready to sprint to Taiki and carry out a fatal attack. She pulled out her claws completely. Taiki also got ready. He was ready to carry out his plan. The wolf growled with fighting and bloodlust. Both fighters stared into each other's eyes. "Now you are being chopped up by me!", Shouted the leader of the wolves as she suddenly hissed forward. She was faster than before. She was determined to put an end to the boy.

 All of a sudden, the wolf leaped up into the air and shredded her claws on Taiki, who moved to the side to avoid getting hit. Even before the wolf could carry out another attack, the young boy kicked her in the back, which Felia did not see coming. As a result, she plunged into the dark abyss. The leader of the wolves looked up during her whole fall, as she now recognized the true warrior in him. She disappeared into the depths of darkness. Cyril and Icarus rejoiced with joy, as they would not die now. All the wolves barked enthusiastically. They now received a new alpha animal. Only Nodin and Osiris were not entirely satisfied with the outcome of the fight. When Taiki turned to the pack, the young boy raised his voice: "I defeated your leader in a fair battle, even without any magic! You now have to follow my orders, just as Felia said before our fight! My first command will be that you accompany and lead us to the castle of the humans!" Nodin and Osiris had the same idea. Although Taiki was able to defeat Felia, they doubted whether he was truly a suitable leader and warrior for them or not.

"We'll see if you can lead us! And if you don't make it, I'll kill you and take your place! I'm not going to accept you that easily, Taiki Wakanabe!", Thought Nodin aggressively.