The town of Spero turned into a war zone. Thanks to Taurian's initial attack, Varvara flooded the streets, attacking the townspeople and soldiers. Buildings were destroyed and set ablaze, rows of corpses lined the streets, the screams of pain, anguish, and terror from the people brought a smile of delight to the face of one man--Dire. The young wolf Beastia leisurely walked through the chaotic battlefield without a care in the world. Anytime a Varvara attempted to attack him; he'd retaliate with a swift kick to its face, destroying the monsters instantly.
Dire's ambers eyes trained on Taurian, the sole person responsible for the chaos that befell the town. His tail earnestly wagged as he approached the Bull Beastia. So many questions flooded his mind the closer he got closer.
Taurian stood in the middle of the road, watching eagerly as the monsters continued to reek havoc across the townspeople. Numerous soldiers bravely stepped forth and fought against the creatures of destruction. However, their bravado only led them to their untimely deaths. As their numbers fell, the numbers of their enemies increased. Each death only strengthened the forces of destruction.
The man was so absorbed in the carnage that he failed to notice Dire standing directly behind him. The wolf boy reached his arm out and tapped Taurian on the shoulder to gain his attention. Taurian sharply turned around and moved his hand to the handle of his ax, ready for anything. The tension in his body eased when he spotted the pair of ears on Dire's head.
Dire tilted his head to the side and gave the man a warm smile. Gigas had always told him that it never hurt to greet someone with a smile now and then. So, he figured he'd give it a shot.
An anxious smile crept on the face of Taurian. The sudden and yet so casual encounter with the stranger was far beyond his expectations; especially in a situation where dozens of people were getting slaughtered.
"Hey there," Dire said.
"What do you want?" Taurian asked.
"Name's Dire," The young wolf boy pointed to himself with his thumb, the smile on his face growing ever wider as the carnage around him escalated. "I've got some questions I wanna ask you."
Taurian's brows furrowed. The Beastia before him was far too calm and casual about the situation. Even though Taurian caused the attack; he felt uneasy in the presence of Dire. "Yeah? Well, spit 'em out already."
"How'd you manage to turn those soldiers into Varvara?" Dire crossed his arms. The unconcerned smile on his face never succeeded. "It was that orb, wasn't it?"
That time, a smile spread across the face of Taurian as he answered, "Interested in my power, are you?"
"Definitely. I've never seen a Beastia turn a human into a monster before. After all, no ordinary being could do that, right?" Dire's eyes narrowed. He quickly shifted his gaze to the palm of Taurian's hand. It was there he spotted the number eighty-five engraved on the skin. Everything became clear at that moment.
Within the blink of an eye, Dire raised his leg and kicked Taurian in the face. The large Bull man was knocked off his feet and came crashing down to the ground. He lied there for a moment--stunned. When his senses returned to him; he shot up from the ground.
"Mangy mutt! You have some nerve striking me out of the blue like that!"
"My bad. It's just a habit of mine to attack when I spot an enemy," Dire nonchalantly revealed as he shrugged his shoulders. "Especially a candidate for God's throne."
"God's throne?" Taurian's eyes quickly widened then narrowed. The dots connected in his mind. "So, you're like me, huh? An Exousia?"
"Yeah. However, I'm above you. Way above you," Dire extended his arm out and opened the palm of his hand, revealing his Exousia Brand, which featured the number two engraved on the skin.
A sense of dread spread throughout Taurian's body as he swallowed. Out of everything he expected to encounter throughout his attack on the town; a single digit wasn't one of them. As an Exousia, he was aware of the catastrophic capabilities the single digits possessed. Other than the Higher Exousia, the single digits were the most feared. They had the highest potential to claim the throne of God.
What made things even more terrifying was the fact that the Second Exousia was a Beastia. A carnivorous one at that. They were most feared out of the race. They were more aggressive and bloodthirsty--which made them far more adapted and suitable for combat.
Taurian's entire body trembled, his heartbeat skyrocketed, and bullets of sweat raced down his face. It was as if his instincts warned him of the potential danger that he'd face the longer he remained near Dire.
He stood in front of an apex predator.
Dire's ears perked up the moment Taurian took a step back. "Running away? Try it, and I'll kill you."
"Don't get cocky. Retreat was the last thing on my mind." Taurian shook his head, regaining his composure. "So, you're here to kill me, right?"
"I am now. However, I still want an answer to my question." Dire demanded.
"Tell you what, I'll answer your question if you agree to become my subordinate." Taurian offered.
Dire's ears drooped, his eyes furrowed. Even the seemingly perpetual smile on his face vanished. "Huh?" He exclaimed in a low tone.
"We're both Exousia, we're both aiming to survive this whole ordeal, right? No reason for us to kill each other," Taurian slightly shifted his gaze to the side of Dire, where many Lycans approached the young man from behind. "If we work together, we can surely reach the final eight."
A haughty scoff escaped from Dire in response. The notion of teaming up with Taurian was far too ridiculous for him even to consider.
"Why would I wanna work with you, dumbass?" Dire leaned forward and stuck his tongue out at him.
Taurian's face turned bright red as his anger swelled up inside of him. But, that anger quickly subsided once the Lycan's behind Dire attacked. They lunged at the Beastia with their claws and fangs at the ready.
Dire smirked and leaped into the air at the last second, evading the attacking creatures with ease. The monsters collided into each other and collapsed onto the ground in a single pile, giving Dire a perfect target. The wolf boy landed on the creatures; crushing them beneath his feet.
"Nice try," Dire looked at Taurian. The fierce gaze and killing intent presented in the man's eyes nearly overwhelmed him. "Gonna take more than a few pets to take me out of the picture."
Taurian regained his composure and smiled at the sight of more approaching Lycan's. They surrounded the two Beastia's--snarling ferociously.
"Wonder how long you can keep it up." Taurian taunted.
As if on cue, the Lycan's attacked. Dire jumped out of the way and evaded the claws of the creatures while Taurian stood his ground and deflected them with his ax. Once Dire found an opening, he lunged towards the monsters and struck them down with fierce kicks. Bodies of the defeated creatures flew out in multiple directions, evaporating into nothingness upon hitting the concrete.
When numerous Varvara attacked in unison, Dire leaned forward in a handstand position and spun around rapidly, delivering savage kicks to them all.
"Might as well deal with me yourself," Dire stood up and pointed at Taurian after the Bull man threw another Varvara away from him. "Your pets can't even provide me a decent warm-up."
"You're an arrogant son of a bitch I'll give you that." Taurian spun his ax in his hand and smirked.
"Leave my mother out of this," Dire responded sarcastically.
Taurian's nostrils flared as he rushed at Dire with his ax at the ready. The one that made the first strike was Dire. He spun around and swung his leg out, aiming for a gut kick. But, the hard surface of the ax blocked the kick. The force of the strike repelled Taurian back a few feet--although it wasn't enough to knock him down.
Taurian moved in and swung his ax. Dire leaned back and watched the blade pass through the open air with an amused glance and light chuckle before he retaliated with another kick. But once again, it was blocked. That time by Taurian's forearm.
Before he could retract his leg, Taurian grabbed hold of his foot—trapping it in between his arm and side. Dire jumped up and performed a backflip, using his free leg to land a swift strike to his chin. The force of the kick left Taurian staggered enough to release Dire.
Once free, Dire moved in. He didn't plan on giving the enemy any time to recover.
Dire jumped up and attacked with a fierce barrage of kicks. Taurian stood his ground and blocked each kick with his ax.
Gravity took its course and forced Dire back onto the ground. At that moment, Taurian went for another swing. It hit nothing but air since Dire dropped down to his hands and feet to evade. Afterward, he spun around with one leg out.
But, Taurian stepped back to avoid the leg sweep.
Quickly returning to his feet, Dire brought his leg up again for another kick; however, Taurian retreated far enough from the range of attack. Dire moved in for the offensive once again. He spun and went for another kick.
Taurian sidestepped the kick and drove his fist into Dire's unprotected stomach. Dire's legs buckled from underneath him, forcing him down on his knees. His eyes went wide, and his body throbbed as he gasped for air. The tangy taste of blood lingered in his mouth.
He wasn't granted any time to recover. His face immediately met the end of Taurian's knee. His head snapped back as he was launched away from him.
"Where are you going?!" Taurian taunted once again. He reached out and grabbed an airborne Dire's leg and slammed him to the ground, destroying the concrete underneath. Dire's mouth was left agape as the force of the blow traveled through his body. He coughed up some blood and stained his shirt. "Now die!"
Taurian raised his ax above his head. His eyes shined with excitement and pleasure as he performed the fatal swing. Dire rolled out of the way and watched the ax connect to the ground. It cut through the concrete as if it were paper and it tore through the road several feet ahead.
When the bull-man raised his ax again, Dire used both his feet and stuck the man in the stomach, catapulting him further down the road.
"Bastard nearly had me there for a second," Dire muttered as he wiped his mouth clean of his blood. He looked down the road and spotted the arrogant gaze from his opponent.
An inviting gaze—taunting Dire to come at him.
Dire accepted the invitation without hesitation. He rushed at Taurian again. When he closed the distance, he performed a quick roundhouse kick, which was blocked. He went in for another kick—but that was also blocked. He followed up with a flurry of fierce kicks.
Those landed.
Taurian skidded back a few feet and dropped down to one knee with his hand on his stomach. His torso immediately took on dark shades of purple and blue as foot-shaped bruises appeared. When he straightened his position, Dire jumped and landed a knee strike on his face, immediately following up with a spinning back kick to his stomach with the other leg.
The force of that kick sent Taurian into a nearby building. Dire smirked in satisfaction at the sound of shattering glass and crumbling of the structure.
A moment passed, and Taurian climbed out from the rubble. His face seething with immense rage.
"Pretty sure I heard a lot of glass breaking in there. You should be ashamed of yourself." Dire teased.
"Go ahead, keep making your jokes. You'll slip up if you keep underestimating me." Taurian assured him.
The two Beastia quickly rushed each other, moving in for their attacks. However, before they could land, Gigas appeared between them and blocked their attacks with his armguards.
"What the hell?! Who's this guy?!" Taurian scowled at the sight of Gigas. He leaned forward and applied more pressure to the blade of his ax. Gigas' arm didn't budge.
"That's enough." Gigas declared. He extended his arms out and pushed back Dire and Taurian.
"Damn it, Gigas! Who told you to come down here and interfere with my fight?" Dire yelled.
"I've watched on long enough. Besides, the military's begun to gain the upper hand." Gigas pointed down the street, where the soldiers took formation and struck down a majority of the Varvara.
Taurian scowled and slowly backed away. "It wasn't supposed to go like this! Damn it! You two...I'm going to remember your faces!"
"Where do you think you're going? Don't you remember what I said? If you try to run, I'll kill you!" Dire announced.
"Try it," Taurian challenged. He reached into his robes and pulled out several dark orbs. He tossed them on the ground and smiled as black smoke obscured him from the visions of Dire and Gigas. Out from the smoke came more Lycan's. They let out a mighty roar and surrounded the area.
"This is all your fault, Gigas! If you stayed outta my business, I would've killed that rotten Bull!" Dire openly blamed Gigas.
"Your constant thirst for battle is what got you into this mess," stated Gigas. He closed his eyes and focused. A portal opened up next to him seconds later. He reached into the portal and pulled out a large hammer. With one mighty swing, he destroyed the pavement and launched debris and the Lycan's in multiple directions.
Those that were out of range from the initial attack lunged at him. Gigas raised his hammer and knocked them away with ease. Meanwhile, Dire bared his fangs at the approaching enemies and slaughtered them with his claws. He tore through the bodies of the monsters and rushed down the street once a path cleared up. The scent of Taurian still lingered in the air. Therefore, the hunt was on.
Because of his hulking size, Taurian didn't get very far. It didn't take long for Dire to chase him down and attack. The wolf boy lunged at him and tried to strike him in the back of his head.
Taurian sensed the incoming attack ahead of time and lowered his head. However, Dire's foot connected with one of his horns, knocking a portion of it clean off his head. Taurian stopped in his tracks and gasped at the sight of his horn on the ground.
"M-My horn! You bastard! You won't get away with that!" He shouted.
Dire knelt and picked up the horn. "I don't know. You seemed so intent on running away earlier. You're telling me that you're now going to stay and fight to avenge your pathetic little horn?" Dire tossed the horn up and down in the palm of his hand with a coy smile.
"How would you like it if I tore off those ears and tail of yours?" He threatened Dire in response.
"Go ahead and try it. See where that gets you."
"You just don't know when to quit; do you?"
"When I find some suitable prey to help me kill some time, I make sure to give them my full attention. So, do you have any last words?"
"I won't be killed by some mangy mutt!" Taurian proudly declared as he reached into his robes and pulled out more orbs.
"No, you don't!" Dire rushed Taurian. When he lunged at the Beastia, a portal opened in front of him. He traveled through the portal and wound up on the other side of town. He looked around anxiously and spotted Gigas leaving another portal nearby. "Seriously?! You got in the way again?!"
"I told you that enough was enough. Fighting against that Beastia wasn't part of the plan," Gigas scolded as he closed the portals.
"Who cares?! He's an Exousia! I gotta kill him and thin the numbers down as soon as possible!" Dire declared.
"If you keep rushing into battle like that, you're going to end up dead," Gigas warned him. Time and time again he would advise his partner the flaws of his tactics. But, each time they fell on deaf ears.
Having reached his breaking point, Dire retaliated and swung his leg out, aiming for Gigas' neck. The large man foresaw the attack and blocked the leg with his armguards.
The two remained utterly silent, glaring daggers at each other. They waited for the other to make the next move. They'd shared a battle against each other once before, and they had no qualms about doing it again. They knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. Should they fight again, they couldn't afford to make careless mistakes.
Eventually, the two settled down and relaxed their bodies.
"I'm sorry, Gigas. I could've sworn that you wanted me to break your neck from your previous statement." Dire joked.
"It's okay. It's not like your weak little kicks could inflict any form of damage to me anyway." Gigas decided to land one last verbal shot against him.
"What are we doing? We don't have time for this." Dire declared, deciding to move along. "We can settle our fight another time. With that cowardly Bull gone, I see no reason to stay here."
"Very well." Gigas extended his arm out and activated his powers. A portal opened in front of him. The two of them entered, thus leaving the town to its fate once and for all.