Chapter4- Hunter and Prey

After such an event was finally over, I headed over to a manual supply store while Enkidu and Alcetis came with me. I remember I have to patch up a wall, so got to make temporary adjustments, so I am going to get some wood, hammers, nails, paint and I’ll ask the guy in charge of whatever else I will need. Enkidu helps me carry the wood, such a grand help brings a tear to my eye, as it notices an ice cream store and we stop for something sweet. We get out and head first to that lone park that most people avoid. Why do they avoid it? Many rumors of crimes, ghosts and wild animals. It seems the city has ignored that park and focused all its attention on the new one. There is one strange rumor, homeless people are not even staying there, I wonder why, I mean the water fountains and the bathroom are still functional, or so I heard. The reason why I am going to such a bad omen-like place is because Maira invited us there, I do not have any idea why. For some reason, Alcetis has been a bit...fidgety like she knows why, and she wants to avoid this. We come to the park, which seems very....alone, and with some of their lights blinking.

We come to the middle of this huge, really huge park, which has a poor choice of water fountain sculpture. I mean it has a woman weeping for her lover’s corpse....who the heck thought it was a good idea!? I mean I hear the main reason for this park was to attract young families, for bonding and for children to get out more in nature and whatnot. I do not get how this sculpture screams for family bonding and happy children. I sometimes do not get what this city is thinking, then again, when Daedalus was alive he was one of the main people with influence in it, so maybe his thinking got too impregnated in the city, thus making it weird forever. This city is doomed to make weird children, is it not? Anyway, we wait for Maira as the clock post that is near us ticks very loudly, it feels like it's making this park more eerie than it already is. Twenty minutes pass by, who does she think she is making me wait!? I am going to teach her a lesson tomorrow by pulling one of her braids to my satisfaction! Plus, it's getting very windy here. I feel someone approach us, from the trees a young figure appears. Me and Enkidu, have blank stares, as we are confused. Did she come late because she was cosplaying? She has bunny ears, light armor, gauntlets and armor for her legs. I do not get it, is that a character from one of her novels?

- “Alcetis, we do not have enough time, he is on your trail, have you decided on my proposal?” says Maira in a pleadful tone, like she is begging someone that is going to make the last decision in her life.

-“ I would not mind if it's you....”, said Alcetis somewhat sorrowfully.

- “Then...”, Maira speaks gleefully but is interrupted by Alcetis.

- “ But I have decided on Icaros a long time ago”, she makes a sad, and painful face.

Enkidu and I do not have any idea of what is going on.

-“ ...Ah....do you follow this conversation?”, said Enkidu, not having a clue, while I interject.

-'' Nope, at first I thought they were doing a replay from a scene of one of their favorite novels with cosplay and everything.....but now it sounds like Maira has been hitting on Alcetis, but she just got rejected”.

I thought when I said something so ridiculous both of them would turn to look at me with flushed faces and finally explain what was going on, but instead we had more awkward silence, Enkidu and I were being ignored.

-“ I am sorry...”, Maira finally breaks the silence apologizing thus making it even more awkward.

More awkward silence. If follows more agonizing silence. Even more silence with two girls about to cry looking on the floor, while Enkidu and me are bewildered about what to do. It feels more awkward because it feels like if I made them cry, if someone just would come just at the right scene, they would think we were bullying these two girls.

-“ It's not right making girls cry '' said a proud bestial-intimidating voice.

-“See!? I knew it, it seemed like I was bullying them! Wait, who was that!?”, I stated in shock, not just because of this new person coming in but as Alcetis trembles and Maira puts herself between Alcetis and this new individual covered with a robe, so very sketchy. Enkidu and I follow Maira’s example.

- Alcetis screams, “ I won’t go with you!”.

- “ Hehehehe, been rejected right even without being able to introduce myself, that stings”, said the new figure mockingly.

-Maira exclaims with anxiety, “ We know who you are, former werewolf king!”.

-“ Werewolf king!? What kind of dumb title is that! And former at that? It feels like an individual that still clings to his past”, I said questionably while extremely confused at what was happening, but then a bit afraid it seemed like I said something I should not have.

-“That is right boy, I use to bear such a title but no more, since it's time for the new generation, but even so I have to do this for my tribe, just as you are doing right, bunny warrior?”, said the robed guy imposing while making Maira winch as he stated that.

-“What are you doing wrong, you should not force her!” said Maira, still very wary of the robe guy with a delusion complex.

-“For my tribe I will do anything, unlike you so it seems even though you need it much more than my own”, said the jerk robe guy, while Maira trembled and is about to cry.

I had enough, I looked at Enkidu, and he fist-bumped me as he thought we should kick his sorry butt. We are about to move, but then he encroaches, everybody starts acting slowly like our bodies have been terrified of what is going to happen next but our brains do not follow yet. Then he bulges as he roars the robe into pieces, not only that but everybody’s knees give away, he roars even manages to send a small gust through us, my mind cannot comprehend, I feel like a deer in the road about to be run over while being blinded by the headlights. He is taller, way taller than Enkidu, his muscles seem so big and strong like boulders....he has black fur all over his body, some patches of grey fur......his claws seem so sharp that he could cut metal... he has a snout like a wolf.....he has a jaw so inviting, that you know he will end your life in one bite.....with his petrifying gaze, glaring you, warning you that if you turn your back, you will meet your demise...he howls once more, and finally my brain gets it, ‘We are going to die’, it was the conclusion my brain came to.

The beast steps forward announcing our impending doom, as quickly blocks with his arms a kick that was rushed like if it was a rocket. He backhanded punches the kick away, as the kicker lands a few steps away, and skips and dashes in circles around him sending kicks, sometimes using her arms as a foundation in the floor to keep kicking, as little strokes of lightning appear in her legs when she kicks. The wolf sends powerful lashes of his claws like whips leaving the floor with scratch marks without touching it. Small lesions may seem to show on his arms. He is also launching powerful bites that make a powerful echo. Now she is combining some punches, like straight punches, backhanded punches as she spins and dashes in circles. Sometimes some hooks, jabs, and uppercuts mixed in, but most powerful kicks they almost seem like axes or lances with lightning, like some warrior goddess.

-” Nghahaha”, he snickers joyfully, as he speaks, “This is a delightful young girl, you are making this old wolf quite happy if my prey is weak, it is too boorish! It seems you are relying on speed, and you are quite fast, but too bad for you I am faster!”

The wolf also starts skipping and dashing before Maira can, now it seems like a chase of a wolf and a rabbit. Maira is a bit overwhelmed, accidentally makes her step wrongly in the next turn of spinning for a kick, slowing it down, giving the wolf enough time to get behind her and kick her like he was rage himself. She lands and crashes into a pole.

-” Gruah”, Maira lets out a groan painfully as a bit of blood escapes from her mouth.

The wolf sets on the kill about to use his jaws, but then turn, and claws away like an ax, there is the sound of metal clashing together, as Enkidu is using two swords to cut in a scissor fashion, as he slightly moves to the opposite arm of the wolf and spins with sword in both arms so closely to the wolf, as the beast sees this, he jumps back ready to counterattack. As I would think that would be heroic and epic of Enkidu, I cannot help but question, ‘Why is Maira holding back?’, is what I wonder from seeing her previous movements.

-”Ha! So you do have a spine after all, is that not right brat!? That was splendidly well done! You are not no amateur, she has been in battles before but your swords! You seem quite the seasoned warrior. And you seem quite skilled at that.”, laugh the wolf away with a bit more interest towards new prey.

-”Warrior? That is quite the glorious title for me, I am just a fake practicing the sword skills from the person I admire. I am just someone that battled and killed a few for no reason but for the sake of revenge.”, as he looked coldly at the wolf he continued, “ Maira, are you okay? Can you continue?”.

Maira slowly gets up, spits blood on the floor quite boyish, cracks her knuckles as she steps forward and nods. The wolf laughs joyfully. And I.....I cannot move, I cannot help it. I know he is not, he is not nearly close to him yet the way his eyes look and how he roars, even if a poor imitation done by an amateur actor, I cannot help but remember such terrifying memories that send me into panic. I want to flee but my knees have given away.

-” Boy? Did you piss your pants or something? It's okay to be afraid but when your life's on the line you have to overcome that fear. Oh well it does not matter to me I just have to catch that girl, “ exclaims the wolf coldly.

-” Alcetis, just run! Run to your house, you said you could run there no matter what the danger, right? Just run, do not worry about us, he only wants you!”, screams Maira.

-”Hahahahahaha, like I would let my prey run away! Do not think I will capture you, I hear you already decided on someone, meaning the spell is useless, so I just gotta gobble you up!”, said the wolf cheerfully.

I cannot make heads and tails about what is happening, especially with this headache, this heartache, this uncontrollable shivering, these damn flashbacks. I hear steps running but stopped, coming back and so forth, probability Alcestis, as the wolf is chasing her down, since she is continuing going in circles, the wolf is not letting her go away, but at the same time, Enkidu and Maira are not letting the wolf kill his prey. He trashes around and quickly turns in the same spot while bending down a little having his right claw piercing the ground like it was spork and then lifting it up and throwing it at us like a baseball player at Maira and Enkidu’s direction as it hits the ground where they are stepping in, and a ‘boom’ is heard and sand disperses through the area, both of them cannot see as they are covering their faces from the sudden sand explosion. At the moment Maira shivers as her jaws are about to pierce her from the right side of her neck to the left side of her hip in one good bite. ‘Clank’ is heard as it revervates as the beast's teeth clash at nothing but with its fellow teeth.

-”Arggggggh!”, screams the beast as it pulls a nail from its eye. His face turns in rage but then smiles as he smells the blood from his claw, “Hmm, that was not deep at all, was it? I thought you were paralyzed by a sudden fear, but who knew you were this skillful....hmm you seem to still be a somewhat afflicted kid, I am a bit shocked that it's not me who your shaking begets from but something else? PSTD or something? What do you remember the monster in the bottom of your bed when you were a kid?”, he exclaimed as he saw a boy carrying a bunny girl, a small trail of blood, more like little droplets making a line, stating the gap in distance.

-” Breath in and breathe out...ah....ah....its alright....its not ‘him’”, I kept telling myself as I was carrying a blushing Maira bridal style. Her blushing turned to worry since she was feeling me shaking and having trouble breathing like a kid about to wet his pants from some thug about to mug him with a knife. I knew it was not ‘him’, but my body was shaking. Sure, I have never seen a werewolf, so it's pretty scary, but I have seen much more horrifying things, the sins of man. But even those sins could not top ‘him’, that was a true monster, absolute strength in shape.

-”Icar-”, she did not finish her sentence as I swirled around and threw her at Enkidu, who caught her. Nice Enkidu! The Wolf strikes his left claw diagonally like a scythe. So fast, so strong, yet his right eye opens up bigger at the surprise of how I dodge. When I throw Maira I swirl while stepping forward and arching my back while making a ‘U’ with my body, while the claw strikes in empty space, I take the chance while still arching my back, to let my hands grab his arm, getting me closer to his arm, hooking my right ankle with arm, and make a complete revolution while using my left foot to strike him in his right eye, but he dodges the kick by bending down, encroaches his neck as he is about to straight his neck upwards to take a bite of my left leg. Even if I were to bend my left leg and throw a downward kick, his teeth might be still strong enough to crush my leg, so I decide to use my l left hand to push myself in a really weird angle swirl, and rotate while traversing to his right knee and use it as a step to jump to his right shoulder. I could have jumped backwards but if I went backward while chasing his prey and threw another scythe claw at me, he might have sliced me in half. So I decided to do something unexpected and jump forwards his right shoulder, and make a flip as I use his right shoulder to push myself at a direction of 45-degree angle from the side that he is facing and since he already throws the bite, my mouth was in range to bite a good chunk of his ear, and so I did. It was just as I expected with the exception that as I was pushing myself from his shoulder, he moved his body at the angle I selected, stepped with his right foot, made a jump in my direction and was about to throw another claw my way.

-”Bwagh”, was the sound that escaped from my mouth when I landed with my shoulder blades and head, as the chunk of the ear is spit from my mouth and lands just a few meters away from me. I was so lucky he did not make it in time, but the pressure of his throw felt like a punch that throw my direction that I planned to land away and landed in an uncool way.

-”Argh-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! My freaking ear, you cunning bastard! Are you even human!? Do humans usually fight like that!? Did you not throw your claws and fangs for tools? It's not fair to use your fangs and tools at the same time!”, exclaimed the Wolf like I just broke one of the rules of the game that we were playing. But the game we are playing is of death....and I am not going to fight ‘civilized’ if that is going to get me killed. Maira and Enkidu were stupefied. Well, of course, they have not watched me fight ever. One is a sword master and another some martial arts bunny girl, yet the way I fought for them seems otherworldly.

-” Before I leave I will give some quick support!”, screamed Alcetis. “Quick spellcasting singing by just title! Sonata number 1, Haste- targetable audience; ‘Horses galloping through the plains like running through the clouds’”, Is what she said and sang while dancing shoeless, and out of nowhere my body felt so very light, I try to punch the air and I punch so fast at incredible speeds.

-”Is that the song you sang all the time? How come you never actually used them like this before!”, I complained, since she was instructing me on something ever since I met her....well, I could have paid more attention back then if she show me.

-” It's because you can feel and track my songs, and it makes it easier to find me! Now stop interrupting me!”, she complained back exasperated as she continued singing short verses. “ Song of defense....Song of healing.....song.....song!....song....”, she continued with short verses, and she sang for defense, healing, attack (how does that work and in what way?), and accuracy and then decided to leave. The wolf smiled. He was so cooperative when she sang like it was no big deal for him. Oh well, I have some robes on me set on fire, those are for healing, then huge shield-like objects that are not obstructing my vision and movement, and I have huge green flames in my arms, Maira in her legs, and Enkidu in his swords. Also, I have a clock running fast, and she says haste....is that for speed? Is that indicating that I am faster or that I have a short time for the song effect to end? That wolf jumps close to me and jumps backward, his claws are not going to reach me but he still slashes away, it hits my shield and the huge green flames and then they disappear!

“Mukajajajaja”, he laughs at our surprise, and then zigzags to my left, I somehow doge another slash but he is a bit close, but still just slashes my clothes but it hits my robe and the clock and they disappear too! “Grajahahahahahaha, my claws do not care for spells they just will slash them away!”.

-”What? Alcetis finally reveals some of her powers that seem super useful but they are taken down this fast! What in the world? You cannot just throw, ‘Magic exists trope here’, and show it off and then get whacked so easily like it does not matter at all! What is the point then!?”. I screamed with indignation! That was some great dancing and singing and then I felt super op for a moment and then it just goes away by some slashes? Give me back my excitement!

~

-”Yes! Yes! Oops, gotta keep my voice low, or else I won’t be able to watch without any interruptions. I knew he was going to bring me out of my boredom! But too bad is about to end, after all no matter how otherworldly he fights, how shocking his moves are, if he does not have some sort of ace, plus those claws and jaws of that wolf are special. Jack is finished.....after all..”, not finishing her comment said a beautiful crimson girl with a witch hat with eyes so green that put emeralds to shame as she was so hyper and was trying to pipe down from excitement yet a bit gloomy since the end of her excitement was coming.

~

-” Buhahahaha, so you were trying to blind me by taking my right eye after already taking my left eye!? But since you could not, you try to munch on my ear? You are not a warrior, but you do not fight like a beast, you fight with so much effort in putting every single move to survive. Your body moves like it was so normal, like a habit of years”, he laughs like he is seeing a new kind of opponent he has not encountered but then his voice gets serious. “That is too bad. The way you fight, I cannot tell if you are strong or too skillful or even if that was magic, but I can tell any werewolf or any opponent could not take you on. But even if it was magic you know what happens to it when I slash, right?” he says, like a critique, like critiquing someone's work that is great yet he has to tell the participant that he failed to get into the tournament. By the way, he has already taken the spells of Maira and Enkidu, since the range on us is very big he does not have to hit us but just hit quite close to take them down. He smiles as he opens his left eye.

-“.....”, I do not know what to say...my friend Enkidu is making sounds or saying things, like excuses to comprehend,

- ‘maybe it did not stab his eye? That must be it! He just pretended!’. Then he stops to cover his right ear. A bloody full ear. No bite marks, a complete full ear. I have heard of guys that heal fast, but this has gotta be a joke....nobody heals this fast! Is it because he is a werewolf? Is it because he is the werewolf king!?

-”He is an Enjerhar soldier, that is one of the main abilities of it”, said Maira in a low gloomy voice. So......it's not because he is the former werewolf king? Is it just a title like a normal king? I do not know if it sounded so cool that I thought it must have some special superpower perks.

-”Werewolves heal pretty fast but not this fast. The only ones who can are pureblood royal vampires and phoenixes. Enjerhar soldiers were named after soldiers that were brought back from the dead to fight in the final fight of Ragnarok in Norse mythology of the human world. Since, they are brought back to fight back to fight even against dragons who are in too many countries of our realm, like Ragnarok itself”, explained Maira, while clenching her fists. Her words were so heavy....that I feel ashamed by being so excited after hearing that vampires, phoenixes, and dragons exist! Well werewolves and bunny girls do, so why not them? Especially since ‘he’ existed.....so...yeah....is not that shocking......” So I do not get it...why...why does the wolf tribe need another one!?”, ferociously screamed Maira, indignant while her face was marking a face of rage.

“Well, as you know little bunny, I am an incomplete Enjerhar soldier, the song of the hero that was sung to me was done by a priestess that had not finished her song yet. Also....you know how the world that we live in is in danger, ‘it’ will revive and so many countries are raising their militaries, tension is breaking out, and there are also a lot of opportunists that are taking advantage of this to profit and gain land. In response to this, the crimson kingdom, apart from waging war with the lightning beast’s kingdom, is also taking down that ice country. It will be overwhelmed by the crimson’s might. It will not be the only one swallowed, and so the wolf tribe must gain more military might-’” the Wolf was cut off.

-“But the priestess has to choose who she sings, once the warrior is marked, it takes a while to mark another. Doing it by force makes the song ineffective or has low quality!”, protested Maira, angry at such a simple thing for her.

-“Yes, but...we are not the only ones trying to find a priestess, especially this priestess....the one who inherited the teachings from that songstress....and also she who was kidnapped by Daedalus!”, roared the Wolf.

-”You are lying, you stinky furball! Daedalus is the guardian of Alcetis!”I screeched so loudly and so irritated. Kidnapped? How is that possible!? Alcetis treated Daedalus like a father! He is the man that took me in, no sane man would do that, especially how he found me, he is the man that gave me wings, he is the man that gave me hope to fly again! The Wolf, Enkidu and Maira’s faces are in shock, since they could feel my rage, and the screech of my voice resounds in the park. Maira’s face was in a panic at first when hearing that more people were after Alcetis but then turned into shock after seeing me show an emotion this strongly.

-“Wow! You give me goosebumps for a moment! It seems that crimin-”, the Wolf was stopped in mid-sentence because of my sudden kick, but only his nose was grazed. Damn it, he is really fast! But this does not match my agility since I use a metric ruler and stomps it in the ground like a javelin, which it snaps. The force sends me close to him as I spin in mid air and send him an upward ax kick on his snout. He kneels as he coughs in blood from his snout. I am so glad that I still have the tools that I just bought from the carpenter’s shop! As he kneels I use that leg that axe kick him in the face to jump and spin so more land on the opposite side of him land with my right arm use it to balance myself as support and push myself upward in a horizontal ‘T’ pose, encroached my legs to me and kick with both legs as I knew he was about to face me, and heck to yes it connects! But he just stops a few centimeters sliding as he is about to grab my legs, but Enkidu and Maira strike at both sides, and....he blocks!? Well at least it gives me time to get my legs closer to me in a fetal position while doing all of this in mid-air so...I fall on my arm...I have not done these movements in a while....maybe should have not done them, but when he was about to finish that word, my body move on its own.

I rolled away from him. The three of us in the corner forming a triangle while he is at the center of this isosceles triangle. Enkidu, Maira, and I have received too much damage. Enkidu had to stop his powerful claws with his swords, it's not like that powerful strike is nullified just because one block, reverberates through your body. That is why Maira and I try our best not to block but to dodge, but my bizarre agile dodges are the kind of thing that has to be a daily practice, you could easily pull a muscle or dislocate a bone without practice, and strain the body a lot. Maira took some damage since she could not quite pull something like that and receive some hits. And we have mister old Wolf here, that can regenerate ears or even eyes. Minutes or seconds!? I do not know, after all, he kind of covered them and pretended the damage was still there. I keep getting reminded of what Miss Witch said to me the first time I met her.

- 'I see a death flag in you’, is what she said to me....so ominous.