Normally, slashing open the wrist of a person would be considered a fatal blow.
Evidently, the Lycanthrope Alpha's physical makeup was different from a human's. Its grip did not loosen at all, but instead it was tightening. I struggled to breathe as the increasing pressure crushed my already broken ribs and caused them to puncture my lungs. I was beginning to drown in my own blood. I flailed wildly, my attempts to escape ending in abject failure. The Lycanthrope Alpha responded by raising me to its jaws. I could only watch helplessly as two rows of glistening white giant teeth grew larger and filled my vision.
"Big Brother!" Adrian yelled.
"Richard!" Alicia was forced to divert her arrows, not only because I was too close to the Alpha's face for her to risk firing at the enemy, but also because the surviving Lycanthropes had closed in on the four surviving Black Roses, forming a ring of claws and fangs. They were battling desperately to keep them at bay, reducing the horde of werewolves at a drastic rate and thinning them out, but there were still so many.
"Don't worry about me!" I snapped. "Focus on staying alive!"
The Lycanthrope Alpha seemed to sneer, and then snapped its jaws shut to bite my head off.
Before the glistening fangs could sever my head from my neck, however, I completed my summoning spell.
"Taurus!" I yelled.
An enormous bull materialized in the sky and crashed into the Alpha with devastating force. Impaling the screaming gigantic Lycanthrope with his horns, Taurus smashed it down onto the ground and stomped on it with his front legs, crushing both giant wolf and earth beneath him.
The Alpha could no longer hold onto me. The moment its grip weakened, I tore out of its claws and leaped to safety. Unfortunately, the moment my legs hit the ground, red-hot agony tore through my body. Wheezing, I clutched my chest and staggered backward.
Honestly, I would have summoned Vermillion Phoenix, White Tiger or one of the other Celestial Guardians if I could, but they took more time. Taurus was not as powerful as them, but he didn't require as much time. And time was a commodity I was extremely short on. Fortunately, it seemed that Taurus might be able to overpower the Lycanthrope Alpha.
The Alpha struggled to its feet and tried to break away from the rampaging Taurus, flecks of blood and drool flying from its maimed jaw. It desperately fought off the giant bull that was goring it and made a last-ditch lunge for me.
"Smart move," I remarked calmly as I watched the pouncing Lycanthrope. "You can't beat Taurus, so you aim for me instead, knowing that he will disappear if you manage to kill me. Too bad you're forgetting something."
The Alpha had been grappling with Taurus for quite some time now, which gave me enough time to cast yet another spell. After all, if I could summon a Constellation spirit, then I probably had more Constellation spirits in store in my sea of consciousness.
Before the Alpha could reach me, a huge wall of earth burst out of the ground and struck the Alpha right in its chin. With a pained yelp, the giant Lycanthrope fell on its back, clutching its ruined jaws.
"Thanks, Capricorn," I said as an enormous Sea Goat emerged from the earth. He nodded and closed in on the fallen Lycanthrope Alpha, ready to finish the job. "Leave the Alpha to Taurus. I need you for another job."
Ignoring the burning pain in my chest, I hurried toward Alicia's position. The four of them were still alive, but bloodied and slowly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. Brandishing Gemini twin swords, I cut a path through them. Capricorn bounded behind me, trampling over the smaller Lycanthropes or knocking them away with his huge horns.
"Richard?!" Alicia was staring at me, surprised. "How…?"
"No time. Follow me! All of you!"
The four Black Roses didn't question me. Capricorn stampeded through the lines of the Lycanthropes, opening a bloody route for us to run through. My schoolmates gratefully followed the huge Constellation spirit, who was leaving blood and death in his wake.
"Richard?"
Alicia spun around when she realized I hadn't followed. I was still standing in the center of the prowling Lycanthropes, all alone.
"What are you doing?!"
"Finishing what you've started," I replied wearily. To be honest, I was at my limit. My broken ribs were grinding against my chest, and I couldn't breathe. My vision was growing hazy and my body was gradually refusing to respond to my mind's commands. "You were on an extermination mission, weren't you?"
"Are you crazy?!" Elliot bellowed. "Don't try to be a hero, you idiot!"
"Stay where you are," I ordered icily. The four Black Roses hesitated, hearing the steel in my voice. Dismissing my Gemini twin swords, I looked at the pack.
All around me, the remaining Lycanthropes began to circle me cautiously. They had seen what I could do, but they also wanted revenge for their leader, who was being slowly taken apart by Taurus. As a side note, I remembered that all Alphas of a Lycanthrope were males. Meaning this fella was literally the alpha male of the pack.
In contrast, I was what readers would label a "beta male". I have no idea what that term meant. Probably had something to do with me being spineless or passive, and lacking confidence. Honestly, the whole "beta male" term was something I suspected to be invented by alpha males with fragile egos, who needed a punching bag so that they could feel superior, and an insult they could use to label any guy who did not conform to their distorted, misogynistic and chauvinistic views of what masculinity should be, or how a guy should act.
Just because I wasn't actively trying to get laid or jumping at every girl who showed the slightest interest in me (despite the possibility that it could be a misunderstanding on my part, and she was just talking to me in a social manner, and not because she was genuinely interested in me romantically), they decided to label me a beta male. To them, all men must actively go around chasing women and have sex with them, never mind that such behavior was extremely irresponsible in reality.
Whatever the case, I was about to display how "beta males" were really superior to alpha males in reality. Just because we were quiet, non-confrontational, and did not show off or try to actively fuck every single women we meet, didn't mean we were spineless pussies. Push us over the edge, and we will slaughter you. In the manner you least expect.
Hell, the Lycanthropes seemed to have detected the danger. They hadn't pounced on me yet, despite me spreading both my hands out and showing that I was currently unarmed. The pack was not stupid enough to fall for that deceptive appearance. The Lycanthropes continued to prowl restlessly around me, keeping their distance despite their eyes being focused and vengeful. Several of them snarled at me, others leaned on their haunches, ready to launch themselves at me if I so much as fell over.
Judging from my blood-covered and trembling appearance, I guess I did look as if I was going to fall over anytime soon. And I definitely felt like it too. The Lycanthropes knew that, and they were waiting for that moment.
"All of you, come at me." I beckoned them over. I wanted to finish this off before my body gave out. "I'll take all of you on."
Every single Lycanthropes bristled at my bold challenge. It seemed that they understood what I was saying, or at least understood my body language or the killing intent that was rolling off me in waves. Either way, I got what I wanted.
Just a little push…
I seemed to stumble, almost as if the burning pain in my chest had overwhelmed me, or my legs had given out under me. The entire pack, upon seeing that single moment, immediately pounced on me.
I smiled. Scraping my foot against the ground, I suddenly righted my balance and raised my left hand, completing my summoning spell.
"Lyra."
A beautiful and slender golden harp materialized in my hand. As the Lycanthropes advanced toward me, I ran the fingers of my right hand across the strings, plucking them and causing a melodious note to float over the clearing.
The music came with a deadly price.
Thousands of invisible, thin metal wires blasted out of Lyra and covered the battlefield, ensnaring the bounding Lycanthropes and cutting them into pieces. Blood, limbs, heads and segments of monstrous bodies flew all over the clearing as the thin but sharp wires cut through the entire pack like hot burning knives through butter. Mercilessly, I manipulated the wires on the golden harp to slice and butcher the screaming and howling wolves, ensuring that not even one of them escaped.
"You've got to be kidding me," Jin Hao muttered, his eyes wide.
"Since when did Richard Huang become this powerful?!" Nicholas demanded, his voice trembling.
I ignored them and turned when I heard an enraged whine. The Alpha, barely alive from its tussle with Taurus, was struggling to its feet. Glaring at me with eyes full of hatred, the gigantic Lycanthrope limped toward me, snarling and growling ferociously. I couldn't blame it. It must want revenge for its slaughtered pack. Digging its claws into the ground, it swayed unsteadily on its hind legs as it approached.
Taurus got ready to charge at it, but at a mental command, I bade him to retreat. The enormous bull lowered his head and disappeared. Not because I got overconfident, but because I didn't want him to get swept up in collateral damage.
"Richard, are you all right?" Alicia asked, concerned, trying to approach me through the scene of carnage. I nodded and held up my right hand to stop her.
"Stay back," I told her. As the Alpha trudged toward me slowly, I infused magical energy into Lyra. Slowly, the beautiful, golden harp began to change its shape. It lengthened and curved more sharply, while all but one of its wires disappeared. The single remaining wire tightened and turned into a bowstring, which I plucked backward with the fingers of my right hand. I closed my eyes and muttered a single word. "Vega."
A golden arrow materialized in my hand, emanating an immensely strong glow that rivaled even the sun. All around me, powerful gusts of winds blew and thrashed about, throwing the leaves and body parts into the air, as if they had been swept up by a tornado. The ground beneath my feet began to shatter from the force emitted from the luminous arrow.
Alicia stopped, recognizing an ultimate attack.
Opening my eyes, I released the arrow at my target.