Growler

Under moonlight, my toes gently landed on the field of ravaged flowers.

Unconscious bodies were still strewn everywhere, with some tuxedo guards stirring and trying to slap their comrades awake. Several bloodied guards had started crawling away from me, whimpering, while others said silent prayers.

They weren't who I was here for though.

My butterfly wings twitched like they could sense something—someone—drawing me closer with strong pheromones. I'd become a slave to the wings that compelled me to march forward.

There was a sprawling forest ahead full of huge trees where the mansion once stood. Remnants of the cobblestone courtyard lingered as I strolled past toppled statues and broken fountains still leaking water.

Anything suspicious here? My pointed ears picked up on each ambient noise. But somewhere beyond the shadows underneath trees, snarling growls echoed.

Then, slow footsteps.

Black dress shoes stepped out. It was a tall, long-haired man wearing a shredded tuxedo covered in blood. His belly had a gaping puncture wound that was still bleeding badly. All while his ferocious eyes remained hidden behind sunglasses.

"Grrrr . . ." He growled right at me, teeth bared.

"Ummm, hi? Do you need help?" Wait, I've heard those growls before, inside the mansion's dark hallways. So, he actually managed to survive that big explosion of trees?

No response. The man just growled even louder, grinding teeth so hard I could hear it. His nose wrinkled, his face became redder, and veins started popping until both his fists were blitzing sapphire lightning.

Huh? I blinked—and his sparkling knuckles had already cratered into my face. Overwhelming force shot me back dozens of meters through multiple statues before I rag dolled along the ground. Helpless. I'd landed with my arm bent strangely before whatever bones were inside snapped back into place.

"GRRAWLLLLL!" The tuxedo man took one long pounce all the way here before he landed a few meters ahead.

"W-what gives?" I stammered, wiping blood from my nose. Wait, blood? Not even the giant's attacks could make me bleed. How strong is this guy?

As if entering a frenzy, he tore off his suit to reveal a chiseled body decorated with bones. There were ulnas and radiuses stitched to his arms, entire femurs along his calves, visible clavicles, ribs, sternums—none of which were his. But all were glowing with slight blue hues.

"Graawlgrawlgrawl," he grinned. Brawny muscles began bulking while his wound started swirling, healing like it was never there.

H-hold on! My jaw dropped wide open. Those bones! And how that wound healed! This could be someone that's weaponizing ancient elf parts for a power source! Elf bones have been used by the Chanto to help strengthen their strongest mages. So there's a chance this could be a Tier 1 mage or higher I'm dealing with.

Another breeze blew by as he assumed a fighting stance, fists out. Waiting.

"D-damnit." Still trembling from the punch, I hobbled to my feet. "Listen. For some reason, you wanna fight me. Part of me thinks I want to fight you too. It's something we can still avoid though—"

"GRAWLGRAWL!" His teeth bared.

"Can you do anything besides growl? I might just call you Growler if not."

"GRAWL!"

Then a realization hit me. Actually, I think I've heard rumors about this before—that mages who try weaponizing elf parts have a strong chance of being corrupted. The mages lose their sense of self and even their personality, in exchange for wild power. Is that why this guy can only growl?

Growler was hopping in place now and eager to start. Licking his lips.

Meanwhile, my wings were fluttering on their own. Each one flashed between red and gold, gold and red, which triggered barbaric emotions that weren't mine. They were telling me it was time to fight.

"Ha . . ." As much as I resisted, I couldn't stop grinning. "Fine, we'll fight! But don't say I didn't warn you. I'm the real deal elf apparently, while all you have are some dusty bones."

Clouds gathered overhead before a lightning bolt suddenly struck Growler. The blue shockwave energized him with surging volts of power as his muscles slowly bulged. He roared towards the sky.

"GRAWWWWWWWWWL!"

The violent gusts started lashing my face and blowing apart statues behind me. Alright, so definitely Lightning affinity. These guys are fast, destructively strong. If he can use Tier 1 magic this whole mountain might get flattened overnight.

There was nothing else to do besides outstretch my wings and fly upwards with the rising draft. I'd use higher elevatio—

"GRAWL!" Growler roared from above me before his thunderous fist slammed into my face. Lightning blitzed as I shot straight into the ground until nothing except my legs were sticking out.

U-Urghhhh . . .

Not even a second later he was already pulling me out like a weed and flinging me back towards the sky, Mud had gotten in my eyes, but I still heard the crackling thunder crashing down on the flower field while guards screamed.

"We gotta run!" they said. "That Tier 1 mage is fighting! He snapped just like everyone said he would! Carry away the injured or we're all dead!"

"Right!"

I was too busy getting pummeled, punch after lightning punch. Growler warped through thunderbolts relentlessly, encircling me with constant barrages of thunder that pinballed me through the night sky.

"That's enough!" I yelled before my legs caught him in a headlock and squeezed. Free falling got us tangled in a mess of limbs and wings as we fell and fell, until lighting zapped us both. The electric surge let him escape to start chanting a spell.

"GRIER GWIER GWAGIC: GWUNDER G'STORM!"

Countless thunderbolts rained and destroyed the landscape below. Flying became impossible when I'd become a lightning rod that'd been struck enough to be paralyzed.

"C-can't move!" I was falling again until Growler violently yanked my wings to try ripping them off. But instead I summersaulted us both as we careened into the ground that billowed a cloud of dirt.

Small fires had spread. The flower field was a smoldering mess of what it used to be just hours earlier when I'd still worn a dress. Now I was half naked, bloodied, and climbing out of a hole exhausted.

Th-that guy is nuts! I coughed before shaking dirt off my wings. Growler had crawled out from the hole after me, rattled but still hungry for combat.

"G-GRAWWWWWWL! Grawlgrawl!"

"We've fought enough! Any more and these fires could spread to forests."

"Grrrrrr . . ."

"Don't 'grrrrrr' me! You started all this!" Though I could've just not returned here.

Growler puffed his chest out and readied both fists again. But this time, it seemed he was asking me for one final attack.

"Alright, have it your way." I closed my eyes before concentrating for a magic spell. I'd never used high-tier spells because they could burden someone's body, nor was I that powerful. Chilling milk bottles was all I'd ever needed; but the potency of Ice was always far, far beyond that.

"G-grawlllll?" Growler's face showed the first hints of panic as a white ball formed atop my fist and swirled with energy. Storming winds pulsed in all directions, east and west, north then south, while I calmly whispered words.

There was one spell I'd learned in case I ever felt like sacrificing myself for someone special—Ginnie or future children, it didn't matter who. The difference was that maybe now I had a body that could withstand immeasurable recoil.

Muscles in my right arm bulged when the swirling ball finished charging, and I screamed out a spell. "Tier 1 magic: Eternal Snowfall!"

Blinding speed whistling through my wings didn't let Growler dodge as my fist rammed straight into him. He coughed blood, then even more blood when the blizzard ball phased through him and exploded into a monsoon of snow around us. Whirling winds assaulted us and howled loudly before snowfall covered the whole mountain.

But it wasn't done—the raging winds coalesced again around my fist for the final strike. Growler had tanked the first punch but was standing too limply to soon handle another one.

"Go away now," I said. He didn't even fight as I punched the blizzard ball into him once more, with more ferocity, until it erupted on the other side of him.

"G-GRAWWWWWWLLLLLLL!" Growler screamed as his organs froze solid and the cold kept bursting through him, until a vivid funnel of snow stretched beyond mountains and across the whole region.

With a final push I punched Growler into the funneling blizzard that carried him far away, over forests, through valleys, and above towns where I couldn't even sense him anymore.

All that'd been left were gentle deluges of snowflakes tickling my nose.

Th-that's finished then, haha . . . I fell backwards into the white, all my energy drained. There wasn't anything to do except smile as the snow buried me alive. Sorry, Ginnie. I think it'll be a bit longer before I see you again. Just until morning, zzzzz . . .