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 along?' He thought inwardly as the mark he left on the ground beside the unconscious rat began to glow bright blue.
AWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The Wolf's eyes began to glow orange as its entire body began to get smothered in flames. Momentarily after the flames were reduced to embers, the Wolf that stood in front of the Butcher was no more.
Beside the unconscious rat began a maelstrom of flame with the mark as its center, and another howl heralding the Wolf's return cried out within the fire.
"Scram!" A searing heatwave pulsed out of the Wolf, forcefully pushing and burning those who came too close to the rat, effectively rendering them dead or unable to fight.
GRRRRRRRRRRR
Infuriated by the dirty tricks of the Butcher, the Wolf let out a menacing growl.
As if mocking the fury-filled Wolf, the Butcher sharpened its claws in front of the Wolf and tilted its head almost upside-down. Its mandibles opened and revealed its terrifying jaws that contained three rows of uneven, sharp teeth and a tongue that had a mouth of its own.
Kekekekekeke...
The repeated opening and closing of its jaw imitated laughter, further fueling the Wolf's rage.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRAWR!
The Wolf snarled at the Butcher. Light began to escape from within the Wolf's maw once more, but instead of letting it out to unleash a hellish torrent, it compressed it into one tiny point. Turning the usual red color into blue with the properties of the fire changing.
VWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Akin to a railgun, a forceful laser shot out of the Wolf's mouth, decimating anything that came across its path. Sensing danger, the Butcher hurriedly rolled to the right in an attempt to avoid the Wolf's attack, but it was too quick.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHH!
The Butcher shrieked in pain as a gaping hole was found in its shoulder, rendering its left claw useless. The wound did not bleed due to the instant cauterization caused by the immense heat of the laser shot by the Wolf.
Drip...
The Wolf's mouth dripped with blood as its lower jaw was reduced to nothing but bone. The frightening power it released came with a cost, but it was very well worth it to the Wolf. A few of the flaming stripes that covered the Wolf began to fade and die out as its jaw began to regenerate quickly.
As the Wolf fully healed its self-inflicted damage, it couldn't help but laugh as well. Unlike its master, who enjoyed seeing the pain in others, the Wolf enjoyed being hurt by others as long as they were worthy enough to damage it. This was its ideal thrill of the battle.
Cautious that the nestlings would try and steal its prey away from it again, it remained in its position fighting the instinct within it to charge towards the big foe in front of it. It remained vigilant, taking note of each of their movement ready to burn those who take a wrong step to cinders.
The battle turned into a standstill with both sides staring down at each other, patiently waiting for the other side to make a move. None of them knew each other's full capabilities, and both of them only thought of taking each other's head.
The field turned silent as each opposing side remained quiescent. Only the occasional gusts of winds that whispered in everyone's ears kept anyone from moving recklessly.
With the whispering of the wind came news of another creature charging towards the battlefield. The faint sound of trees cracking resounded in the distance, but the two creatures who eyed each other focused on each other instead of the incoming threat.
...
...
...
"Almost...theereee..." Kon stated as he clung onto dear life, not wanting to let go of its grasp on Elizabeth's arm.
Elizabeth clicked her tongue. She was frustrated that her speed wasn't fast enough. Due to her hulking figure, it was hard to maneuver around the forest, and expending mana to create a path for her exhausted her mentally.
Her years of being in this bizarre world put her on the brink of insanity. However, the recent fight against the Chimera made her realize that she was still human after all the years. The coincidental meeting of Vaeden and her further solidified this feeling.
It didn't show through her words that she was on the borderline of insanity because of her calm and caring demeanor, but if Vaeden disappears, then so will her last remaining shreds of sanity too.
After a few more minutes, the trees that parted no longer showed more trees in the way but a small clearing where the scent of smoke lingered vividly.
"Here...Rat...Here...We...are...here...." Kon repeatedly stated his antennas pointing in one direction where the shadows danced and smoke rose.
...
...
...
Impatient of the stalemate between it and the Butcher, the Wolf began to condense heat in its maw once more to try and kill the Butcher who remained still in the distance.
Noticing the same bright light emanating from the Wolf's mouth, the Butcher hastily began to charge forward to try and kill the Wolf before it could fire its plasma laser at it again.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Its heavy footsteps shook the ground as it made its way towards the Wolf. The Wolf stood confidently still as the Butcher came too close for comfort.
Time seemed to slow down as the claws of the Butcher swung in an arc, threatening to decapitate the Wolf, as the Wolf slowly opened its mouth to unleash hell upon the Butcher. Just as their attacks were about to land on each other, the unexpected occurred.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Dirt and stone were scattered everywhere as both of them were sent flying by the catastrophic force that exploded out of their attacks. They both knew something interfered as both of their attacks did not land but hit something hard instead.
The Wolf, which was flung back reasonably far, stood up first and witnessed what had just blocked their attack.
A sturdy earthen wall infused with mana was erected in between it and the Butcher. Signs of damage were seen on the wall where its plasma laser hit, almost drilling a hole through it.
A sudden realization hit the Wolf. Its eyes scanned the area immediately, searching for the unconscious rat, the prey it had been searching for, with no rest. It first looked at the location where it was supposed to be, but it wasn't there.
In that location remained only strands of vines that weren't supposed to be there. Its eyes quickly followed the trail of vines, and it saw the unconscious rat being moved rapidly and unnaturally by moving vines.
Its eyes went ahead in the direction where the rat was being transported, and there it saw. A horned beast with a humanoid torso covered in wet bark and moss, and on its arm was another insect-type beast coiled around it. Its face was covered by a hood of woven vines with a crown of thorns, leaving only its mouth exposed.
"THAT IS MY PREY!" shouted the livid Wolf. It charged towards the moving rat without a second thought, trying to stop the vine's progress.
PSSSHT! PSSSHT!
Two shots of a purple-colored substance landed in front of the Wolf where it was about to take its next step, but due to its reckless charge, it didn't bother to even avoid the puddle and walked through it.
「Caution! Your left paw has been afflicted by a slowing toxin. Your movement has declined by 15%」
The system's message rang within its head, and its movement suddenly became sluggish.
Vwwp Vwwp.
Blue-colored vines that occasionally released mist began to wrap around its legs. The flaming wings found on its ankles quickly burnt the vines off, keeping its progress unhindered.
"HOW DARE YOU!" it opened its mouth quickly and released a torrent of flames that threatened to burn both the insect and the horned beast.
KWOMPF!
Before the stream of flames could reach them, the horned beast quickly raised a shield made of earth, effectively blocking the attack. Further infuriated by this, it quickly pounced on the shield and swiped its claws, cutting it like it was butter.
The shield turned molten as it fell apart. It was a sign that the aura around the Wolf further intensified, "ALL NUISANCES TO MY HUNT! "
The unconscious rat successfully reached the horned beasts' grasp as it proceeded to wrap it around in a safe cocoon. The horned beast looked at the insect that was coiled around its arm and nodded.
It turned its back on the Wolf and quickly ran, folding the trees behind it to a close so that they won't be pursued.
"YOU WON'T ESCAPE!" roared the Wolf as it began to trail behind them, burning right through any obstacle.
...
...
...
Meanwhile, within the system's inner workings...
「Due to the Candidate's state consciousness will return after approximately 17 minutes and 23 seconds...」
「Bounty Trial is active」
「 Candidate will have an unfair disadvantage against the hunter」
「Processing needed precautions...」
「Any damage that the Candidate is dealt with while unconscious will regenerate instantly.」
「 Candidate is unable to die while unconscious in the process of evolution」
「Necessary precautions complete.」
「Waking the consciousness of the Candidate within the system...」
Uuuuu...I feel groggy as hell. Am I awake yet? I quickly looked around where I was and noticed the same white environment. The floating prism a few feet above me was humming steadily as I stared at it.
I'm still stuck here?! LET ME OUT!! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING OUTSIDE! IS MY BODY SAFE?! LET ME OUT!!!
「The system has detected the Candidate to be in a state of panic」
「 Candidate's consciousness will now be forcibly put to stasis to avoid detrimental effects」
No! Not again!
「System action rescinded」
「Due to the Bounty Trial the Candidate has the right to information about the events outside the Candidate's consciousness」
「Processing information...」
Phew, it didn't sedate me this time. I didn't know if I would even wake up after being forced to sleep. With my body asleep, there's nothing I could do. My body is completely vulnerable. I clenched my teeth and waited for the system.
A ticking timer was present just above the floating prism. Was that the time left before I wake up?
「16 minutes and 48 seconds...」
「Information processing finished.」
「Some information will be left out for the Candidate to find out themselves」
「Immersive Reality Information Sequence starting...」