"Dont...knowww...alll...I...know...raaat...in...daanger...must...help..." Kon replied in a monotone.
"Coil onto my arm! Now!" Elizabeth shouted, her horns glowing a menacing green as the trees around her way began to part.
Kon, scared of Elizabeth's distress, hurriedly coiled onto her arm and held on tightly.
"We're coming."
Both of them thought simultaneously. One was out of worry, and one was out of necessity.
The usually sturdy bodies of the trees moved unnaturally as if they were made of silk, casually bending in bizarre ways due to Elizabeth's ability. The once dense path that was ahead of them turned into a straight path with no obstacle to slow them down.
As if in a mad trance, Elizabeth's leg muscles bulged with power as she gathered strength towards them before releasing them within a single explosive motion propelling her forward at extreme speeds. Kon, who was tightly coiled onto her arm, felt great pressure on his body due to the speed, but he quickly acclimated to it.
Kon's antennas never stopped moving as they kept searching for Vaeden's scent within the veil of burning organic matter.
With their speed, they are sure to reach Vaeden's location within a few minutes.
「Approximate time before reaching the destination: Eight minutes and twenty-three seconds」
...
...
...
"This rat killed my master, Jack! Only I have the right to kill him! If you dare come and intervene, I shall show you what hell feels like!"
The beast roared, declaring its intent and hostility towards the Butcher and her young.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHH
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH
SKREEEEEEEEEEECH
As if controlled by one mind, the nestlings screeched in unison with their mother screeching at the last moment. Unfazed by the display of power of the beast, the Butcher roared in retort, declaring that it too shall be its meal.
"How arrogant of you!" The beast shouted in fury as the Butcher simply shrugged off its heed of warning. The air around the beast began to distort even more as the tip of its claws began to glow red hot.
Tssssssssss...
The grass around the beast was scorched to ashes, and the ground it stepped on began to harden due to the immense heat.
"Blaze!" With that word coming out of its mouth, a fiery arc was sent flying towards the Butcher in the distance, who was making its way towards the beast.
Seeing the flaming red arc sent towards it, the Butcher casually unwinded its claws and sent a blade of wind similar to the beast's, hoping that it would extinguish the incoming projectile.
Contrary to its expectations, the blade of wind further fanned the flames within the flaming arc, increasing its destructive power and speed.
Noticing this, the Butcher calmly raised its jack-knife claws once more as the arc entered its striking distance. In the blink of an eye, the flaming arc disappeared from its sight as if it was never there in the first place.
The beast who was watching what happened blinked a few times in disbelief. The arc it sent was to test its capabilities. The fact that it was extinguished so quickly, no, it disappeared instantly, made the Butcher a very capable fighter.
"NOW THAT'S WHAT IM LOOKING FOR!" Excitement filled the beast's body as it yearned to encounter a beast that could quench its battle-thirsty tendencies.
AWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Hot air exploded out of its steaming body as it howled in excitement. The beast stomped its left hind leg and left a seared mark on the ground just beside the unconscious rat as if marking this was his territory now.
Seemingly satisfied with the mark it placed. The beast's leg muscles tensed, and flames began to form from its feet, climbing to its ankles, creating a wing-like symbol that protruded out of its ankles.
BWOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The ground around it was instantly charred black as it ran towards the Butcher with haste, impatient to wait for their encounter.
The Butcher seeing the wolf run towards it at blazing speeds, began to twitch in anticipation, seemingly infected by the battle junky tendency of the wolf. It placed the rat's priority below the wolf. As if greeting the wolf's anticipation, she also began to make a move of her own.
The thread scattered around the battlefield began to move unnaturally as if having a mind of their own.
SHWIPPP!
Akin to a homing missile, a thick thread of silk shot towards the charging wolf, trying to slow it down.
The wolf sensing the incoming projectile, quickly dashed towards its left, fully knowing that its searing aura wouldn't be able to melt it. The wolf's instincts told it that the webs controlled by the Butcher signaled danger.
GRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Agitation welled up within the wolf as it was forced to dance around the area near the Butcher. It wasn't making any progress in getting any closer due to the number of webs present in the area.
The Butcher was supposed to use its Silk Manipulation ability to catch the rat and centipede. Still, the range on it was limited to only 60 meters. Fortunately for it, the wolf dared to walk into its range, endangering its life.
This reckless attitude of the wolf made it easy for the Butcher to take its time and set its trap. Little did the wolf know that it was slowly being forced towards her strike zone, where it could quickly sever its head from its neck.
GRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAWRR!
Filled with impatience, the searing aura intensified even further, making it capable of melting the threads that have been stalling time for the Butcher. Expecting that events would have turned this way, the Butcher stepped forward and swung its jack-knife claws in a wide arc, making the wind howl with its sheer speed and force.
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNGG!
The sound of metal hitting against metal resonated throughout the silken field as the wolf readily blocked the massive attack from the Butcher. Smoke and mist filled the area as the immense air pressure from the swing created a screen that only showed their silhouette.
As the smoke began to scatter, those who were to witness the sight in front of them would have their jaws drop in awe. The Butcher's claw which was aimed at the wolf's neck, was now stuck in between the wolf's maw.
"Yer strong! But is this all you've got?!" The wolf shouted in glee as its mouth began glowing red hot, and embers started to escape its nostrils with each breath.
BBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSHHH!
A torrent of flames rushed out of the wolf's mouth, which held the Butcher's claw in its grasp. The silhouette of the Butcher, who remained still within the sea of flames, sent its nestlings into despair as their mother experienced living hell.
Tsssssssss...
As the flames died down and smoke once again covered the area, the battlefield remained quiet.
Drip...
A drop of blood broke the silence and followed it was sounds of hurried footsteps.
VWOOOOOOOSH!
Seemingly annoyed by the smoke that blocked its vision, the Butcher clawed at the air scattering the smoke and revealing the wolf that distanced itself from it. One of the Butcher's claws was red hot, and surprisingly its body remained unscathed.
Drip...
Another drop of blood dripped down the wolf's head as a huge diagonal slash was found at the side of its head, effectively blinding its left eye. One would expect that its face would be filled with pain, but it was the complete opposite. The wolf was grinning widely.
"The last time I got injured was because of Jack the Ripper and his damned lightning! Hoo, you sure are strong, don't let me down!" Undeterred and its morale at an all-time high, the wolf started to raise its temperature even more. Finally, the distorted air that kept dancing around it was finally set ablaze.
Stripes of flames covered its fur, and the wound on its head began to rapidly heal as the fire which was supposed to cauterize the wound was mending it. The Butcher was a few meters away from it, yet it could clearly feel the wolf's tremendous heat.
"Now, let's get serious!" After shouting those words, the wolf quickly dashed towards the Butcher, its mouth wide open ready to release another breath of fire.
BBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSHHH!
The Butcher was yet again blanketed in a sea of flames, and like last time it remained unscathed. The wolf closed its mouth and jumped a few feet above the Butcher, clawing at the air and sending superheated air towards the neck of the Butcher.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHH!!
As the blades of winds landed, the Butcher screeched in pain as it successfully cut through its fur-coated exoskeleton. The Butcher quickly lowered its head and swiped each of its claws sideways, parting the sea of flames.
Noticing that the wolf hasn't landed yet, it quickly shot its web at it. Due to the web coming from itself and not from its nestlings, its web didn't melt and effectively wrapped itself around the wolf. After successfully catching the wolf mid-air, it pulled down the thread with extreme force sending the wolf crashing down.
BRRRRRRRRRSHH!
Before hitting the ground, the wolf hastily concentrated its flames through its flame stripes that covered its fur, turning it blue and quickly melting the webs that encased it.
As it fell to the ground head first, it quickly opened its mouth and released a burst of flames to help it maneuver itself to land on its feet.
Thud.
The wolf landed safely and faced the Butcher, and in the corner of its vision were the nestlings trying to reach the unconscious rat as their mother stalled time for them.
'So this was your plan all a long?' He thought inwardly as the mark he left on the ground beside the unconscious rat began to glow bright blue.