"Rakan!" Greymont yelled as he also transformed. He knew the reason for Rakan's sudden outburst as he had seen the expression of shock on his face after using his focused sight. The power within Craig's body was beyond what any of them had seen before. Whether it was actually a medicine or not didn't matter. The key thing was that it was capable of being seen with their focused eye and it contained abundant power.
The clusters of energy they were able to see within the chests of others was key to their evolution. By absorbing it from their victims they would become stronger and stronger pushing them towards an evolution. In order to get to that point of evolution, they would have to absorb this energy from a large sum of individuals. This would inevitably be a slow process that would also draw the attention of higher powers, since one had to be killed in order to absorb said energy.
If it was said that Maeli's cluster would cause people to fight over her then the one within Craig's body would cause a war to break out. The sensation it gave off was that of a hundred regular clusters, maybe even more. That was only the sensation, not the actual measurement of energy it contained.
In Rakan's opinion, he may be able to make a direct evolution by absorbing Craig's mysterious cluster. With such a tempting and tantalising treat before him how was he supposed to remain calm? In fact, unlike the last time, he could be said to truly have entered a berserk state.
Whoosh!
The two wolves dashed at each other and entered a brawl, biting and clawing at each other. The impact of their berserk energy made dull explosive sounds as transparent ripples scattered into the surroundings. The ripples carried small gusts of wind with them that repeatedly shook the grasses and leaves of trees.
Craig and Maeli backed away from the fight, preparing themselves for anything that might go wrong.
Craig didn't have a sword since he had lost the one given to him by Andre and also lost the one he had found in the elves territory. What he had right now were two daggers he had taken from the secret stash when he changed his clothing in the Eldenwood forest. Holding the two daggers, he frowned as he looked at them, fiddling with them to find the right grip. His fighting style was swordsmanship so his wasn't well versed in the use of daggers in combat situations. At best he could apply his experience of hand to hand combat into the daggers.
At his side, Maeli's eyes were locked onto the battle between Rakan and Greymont. In her hands she had formed her two energy daggers in preparation for battle. She had two real daggers stowed on the belt at her waist, however she preferred to fight using her magical daggers which she was more comfortable with. Only if her magic failed her would she resort to using the real ones.
With her eyes focused on the battle she suddenly asked, "Don't you feel like something is wrong?"
"Hm?" Craig was uncertain as to the what she was referring to.
"They're equally matched this time. The last time, Greymont had an absolute advantage over Rakan, but this time neither one of them is able to suppress the other." She explained.
Craig hadn't been paying much attention to the battle so he hadn't picked up the minute details. He was more concerned as to whether whether or not he could use those daggers as well as a sword. A regular fight would be one thing, but against Rakan, who was a Red-fang Slaughter Wolf with advanced strength and speed, he felt doomed.
Considering Maeli's assumption, he placed his full attention onto the fight between the two wolves. They were indeed equally matched to a point where neither one of them had been able to even scratch the other. In that case, did Rakan grow stronger, or... did Greymont grow weaker?
"Hahaha" Rakan cackled in excitement as he slowly started to gain the upper hand in the fight. He was finally able to land a decisive strike across Greymont's chest, sending him flying as blood splattered onto the ground.
Bang!
Greymont crash landed some distance away, wincing in pain as he stood up. Blood dripped from underneath him, near his front legs. Ignoring the pain he growled in anger with his piercing gaze locked on Rakan.
Rakan chuckled pompously. "You've grown weaker over the last few days it seems. Heheh, what happened to you? Did you run into some trouble?" He taunted mockingly. The trouble he was referring to was of course, the strange wolf-like creature that had attacked and slaughtered Greymont's pack.
Greymont snorted coldly. "Why are you celebrating, quit playing with your tail. There's nothing prideful about being able to match me only because something else weakened me." He stated in ridicule.
"Hahaha." Rakan laughed with his head to the the sky. "It's not pride but joy and fortune, which is also part of one's strength. I'll be fortunate enough to take your life today which is quite a satisfying thought. I'm certain your source energy will be put to good use." He lamented.
Rakan was a lot more knowledgeable in regards to matters concerning Transcendents so he knew what that cluster of energy in the chest was called. It was known as Source energy, the foundation of magical power.
'Source energy?' A thought suddenly occurred to Greymont. He had never tried to have an in depth conversation with Rakan due to the enmity between them, hence he only depended on the few things he had found out for himself. It was his first time hearing the term source energy, but it immediately clicked that Rakan was referring to that cluster of energy. As an upper tier Transcendent he did have abundant source energy. If Rakan were to kill him and absorb his power, it would be a great boost toward his evolution.
Greymont stepped forward, closing the gap between himself and Rakan. "Let's see if you're truly capable of killing me then."
Rakan grinned and pounced toward Greymont, entering another heated confrontation. This time however, the two of them intermittently stopped and circled each other looking for openings to launch their attacks. Just like before, they remained evenly matched in every confrontation.
The attacks that missed and hit the ground sent dirt flying in all directions. Several small holes littered the surface of the ground as the battle progressed.
Craig couldn't help but swallow nervously as he watched the damage coming from the two attacks of the two wolves. Compared to the Red-fang Slaughter Wolves he'd encountered in the past, Rakan was much more terrifying. Greymont was also just as terrifying as he was. It suddenly occurred to Craig that the things he'd done in his life weren't worth mentioning in the face of true magic, true monsters. The creatures he had hunted were only dangerous because he was pitifully weak. If he had encountered Rakan or Greymont in his past, he wouldn't even know how he died. Not to mention that Creature that slaughtered Greymont's pack.
It could be said that he had been a frog in a well all along. He had been underestimating magic because of how peaceful the land of Terramis had been growing up. The conflicts that took place from time to time barely included magic and if one had to compare the present magic with the historical magic, there was a night and day difference between them.
Casting magic aside, just the Stories of beasts from ancient times was enough to show how safe Terramis had become. Because of that safety, the people had become complacent and comfortable with the idea that the most dangerous things out there could be easily curbed and controlled by stronger individuals. Then what would happen if the dangers suddenly skyrocketed in strength, surpassing their protectors? What would happen if true magic ruled the land once again and beasts ran rampant. Was this the upheaval that Setra was referring to?
As Craig's thoughts ran wild, the battle between Greymont and Rakan suddenly took a turn for the worse when Rakan injured one of Greymont's legs with a powerful strike of his claws. Using the momentum gained from the attack he bit into Greymont's shoulder and as blood spilled a sharp yelp escaped Greymont's throat. The sound of bone crushing was heard as Rakan bit deeper into his flesh. Using the force of his jaw he threw Greymont away with a quick turn of his neck.
This was bad, very bad. With such a deep injury, Greymont wouldn't be able to fight on equal footing anymore. Both his front legs were badly injured, the left torn from a scratch and the right crushed at the shoulder. He struggled to stand, forcefully using the left leg to prop himself up.
"Hahaha." Rakan laughed in ecstasy as he looked at Greymont's sorry figure before him.
He was panting heavily and was barely able to stand with blood dripping from his shoulder and flowing down his leg.
"How does it feel to have been defeated by someone you deem to be weaker than you?" Rakan taunted with a mocking gaze. "Do you think that I'm like you, that I don't seek to improve upon my strength. In these past few days I've killed and absorbed the source energy of at least a hundred orcs. Sure their source energy was weak but bit by bit it does the trick. Look at the results." He ranted Joyfully.
"So that's the reason why the orcs have restructured their camps and increased their numbers." Maeli muttered as Rakan's words hit her and she was thus, cognized. "It's also why they were combing through the other side of the forest. It must be that they were looking for him."
Craig also came to the same realisation at the same time. It seemed that Rakan had been giving the orcs a hard time. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing as the orcs were a thorn in everyone's side, but it strengthened Rakan which was a big problem.
"Now to finish you off." Rakan said as he began leisurely walking toward Greymont.
Greymont winced in pain as he tried to apply force onto his legs but it was futile. He could only falter about with his muscles and veins torn in such a way. He tilted his in Craig and Maeli's direction, intending to tell them to run, but before he could say anything he was interrupted.
"Hey, Rakan! Are you perhaps forgetting about us!?" Craig suddenly Yelled. Maeli and himself were both walking toward Rakan with sturdy resolutions.
If it wasn't for Greymont rescuing them from Rakan they would most likely be dead right now. They couldn't just run away or stand by and do nothing while he gets killed. What kind of repayment would that be to their benefactor?
Rakan looked at them as they approached with an amused look in his eyes. "The two of you? Playing the heroes. Weak as you are? Hahaha." He couldn't stop himself from laughing. "Come on then, let me rip you to shreds before your saviour, to show him the consequences of getting in my way." He looked at Greymont, licking his lips with his tongue. "The final members of your pack. Watch as I dismember them!" He turned and pounced forward, aiming to quickly take their lives.
Craig and Maeli looked at each other and nodded, then they both lunged forward at the same time before splitting to the left and right.
Rakan quickly ran his gaze back and forth between them, choosing to make Craig his primary target. He couldn't resist the temptation of the power within Craig's body.
But, he was overlooking a major probability, which was: was Craig as weak as he assumed him to be? He only saw the enticement of the power within him and did not consider Craig to be a threat in the slightest. The depth of how much he looked down on humans was bone deep.
As Rakan approached, Craig stopped running and prepared himself for a fight. "I hope this works, or else... I'm truly dead this time." He muttered, feeling a bit nervous.