The dimly lit hall basked in was silent after all the moon beasts and the few humans left. The lanterns on the wall dutifully kept burning, the flames flickering once every so often.
Two figures stand close together at the head of the table. One, a large wolf and the other, a man with his head resting in his hands.
"What do you think?"
Aldred growled, watching Failure wallow in his fatigue, the man's eyes threatening to close without warning.
"He won't be ready. His mindset, will, reflexes, everything is too lacking. None of the plans have worked. He's made some progress, sure, but it isn't enough."
The gray wolf stays silent for a few moments before a low growl rumbles from deep within his throat.
"His will, reflexes and everything else may be lacking, but not his mindset. The Catalyst may not have any motivation right now, but did you when you were his age?"
"Of course I did!" Failure cried. "I probably had the most motivation out of anyone my age. But my times were severely different to his, and you know it. Before this whole damn forest was a thing I had a normal life. Now look at me!"
Aldred stays silent, letting the brown-haired man show his true feelings. Just the fact that he was so wound up in the first place shows Aldred how tired Failure truly is. All the years finally caught up to the man, but it will all be over soon.
"Still, the Catalyst has potential, otherwise they wouldn't have even bothered marking him."
"I really don't know." Failure whispers. "It all just seems so hopeless."
Lifting his head so he can look at the wolf he's known for so long, Failure's eyes glisten with worry as he grips his hair. The reflection of Aldred shines in his pupils as he asks:
"Tell me and tell me honestly, Aldred. Can you beat the Demon?"
Aldred falls silent, the only sound left in the large hall is the soft melody of breathing.
"I don't know" Aldred answers honestly. "If the Demon has no more tricks it would be fifty-fifty, we perfectly counter each other after all. But if he has any more tricks like the explosives. The other thing is that the Demon planned the bombing.
They lured me out, they were able to mess with my sense of smell enough for me to not realise what was really happening. We had a small fight, they managed to cut my back before I retreated because I felt something off. Kai would be dead if I didn't return, he was too close to the explosion.
The other thing is that the Demon said they wanted a duel. I don't know what that thing is planning, but it's definitely planning something."
Sighing, Failure pushes his seat backwards and stands up, slowly stepping towards the gray wolf. Softly placing a hand on Aldred's silky coat, he slowly rubs his hand up and down, the action bringing him a semblance of peace.
"It looks like we'll have to do plan B..."
Aldred's eyes widen.
"You don't know yet, the Catalyst could still change, could still grow. You can't just give into... them."
Failure smiles sadly, the wrinkles which seemed so minuscule during the meeting now show prominently.
"I would love to agree, but it seems the only way. Kai needs a reason to grow stronger, otherwise he will always be a pawn in their games. He needs a little boost, some type of motivation. It seems we will have to be the ones to do that. I know what it's like to be a pawn after all, and it's a fate I wish on nobody but my enemies.
...I just wish I had enemies to wish it on, heh, another conundrum."
A small chuckle escapes Failure's mouth as he shakes his head softly. His hair, which was so pristine and eye-catching during the speech, now looks unruly and disorderly.
"What, are the Moon Legion not your enemies anymore?"
Aldred grunts, glowering up at the weary-looking man. The facade of the powerful leader who spoke during the meeting now has completely fallen apart. Every bit of fatigue, pain, sorrow and any other terrible emotion under the artificial sun is now visible on every part of the man's being.
His posture, expression, even the look in his eyes all show a man who has given up hope. Every part of him, except for what his pupils reflect, that is.
"Get a hold of yourself." Aldred lightly bites down on Failure's index finger, bringing the man back to reality.
"Of course they are" Failure smiles sombrely, feeling a slight pain where the wolf's sharp fangs dig into his flesh.
"But they are already pawns."
Failure's expression grows serious, his eyes gleaming with power and authority. Every wooden thing in the meeting room seems to tremble as he clenches his fist.
"And I shall be the one to set them free from that accursed fate. For myself, and for my promise."
*****
Approaching the arrogant wolf from behind, Kai can't help but watch the way Wa'rak walks. Every step the pitch-black wolf takes looks as if he's stomping down on those below him.
The plan Kai had was a simple one, ask Wa'rak to train him. If Kai was to get more efficient in using his innate skill with Umbra what better teacher was there than an actual wolf?
Plus, Aldred would probably be too busy.
Struggling to set up the telepathic link due to the level difference, Kai feels a small tug at the back of his mind and finally hears the wolf's haughty tone which he hadn't heard in a while.
"What is it, human?"
Wa'rak doesn't even bother to stop walking while speaking through the link.
"Would you be able to train me?"
Wa'rak freezes, then turns his furry head to look back at Kai. The look in the wolf's eyes is one that looks like they just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Why would I train you? I have my own matter to tend to."
Kai blinked.
"Um, because you're the strongest wolf here beside Aldred?"
Wa'rak grunts and continues trotting away.
"I know that, so just leave me be and go practice by yourself."
Slightly disheartened, Kai sighs and turns around. Slumping his shoulders, he puts his plan into tuition. After watching the arrogant wolf for the last while, Kai knows one certain flaw the wolf has, and if everyone is going to try to exploit him for their own gains, why not do some exploiting himself?
"That's a real shame, I know of a super strong method to wipe out groups of abominations efficiently and without any casualties."
Wa'raks ears twitch, betraying his curiosity. One thing Kai noticed since meeting the proud wolf was that it never seemed to interact with any other of the moon beasts, and when it did it always acted strange. All of this lead Kai to believe one fact, and it seems he was right.
Wa'rak was extremely gullible.
"Go on then, tell me, then leave me to my business."
Holding back the instinct to inwardly gloat in his head, which will take a lot of getting used to as your mind is usually a sanctuary for your innermost thoughts, Kai shakes his head slightly and thinks:
"That's not how this works. You have to offer something of equal value, otherwise I don't have to tell you."
Wa'rak growled, baring his fangs in an attempt to intimidate Kai, but the mixture of Nonchalance and the fact he knows the wolf won't try anything allows Kai to remain calm.
"Why me?" Wa'rak questions. "Just ask any other beast, you would have a better chance trying to get them to train you than me."
"It has to be you" Kai holds firm, not wavering in his belief. In all honestly, he truly believes Wa'rak would be the best trainer he could possibly have. Since Kai was basically a Lycanthrope when using his innate ability with Umbra it's pretty obvious his mentor should be a wolf.
This excludes every human and other moon beast, leaving only Umbra, Wa'rak and Aldred. Since he would be fused with Umbra and Aldred would be too strong to coach anyone properly, that leaves Wa'rak as the best and only choice.
Letting out a small grunt, Wa'rak turns his body fully to face Kai, looking up at the boy's eyes.
"Fine, I'll do it. But this super strong method better be real, otherwise even the Elder won't be able to save you from losing a limb."
"Great." Kai smiles happily as he walks beside the black wolf, proud of himself for not backing down. From now on, no one will trample over him. This is the start of a new Era for Kai, one of growth, one of progress, one of-
"Why do you need me to train you though, human?"
Stopping his internal monologue there for now, Kai turns his head slightly to look down at the proud beast and thinks:
"You're a wolf and you're extremely strong. That's basically all the qualifications you would need."
"Why choose a wolf though? Should humans not train with humans."
Kai blinked. Realising that Wa'rak knows nothing about him being able to transform, does that mean no one does? Would those like Aldred and Failure know? It seems likely but Kai can't know for sure.
"Because I can kind of transform into a wolf. It's a different kind of wolf though, but I'm hoping you can still teach me."
Wa'rak grunted.
"Transformation? Annoying ability. Raw power should be relied on more, not advantages and cunning."
"But cunning is a staple in any battle. You can't win with raw power alone all the time. What if you get caught in a trap?"
"Break your way out."
Inwardly sighing, Kai watches as Wa'rak stopped walking. Bringing himself to a stop beside the beast, Kai waits for Wa'rak to begin his teachings.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Transform."
Kai blinked.
"I could, but I can only keep up the form for a minute with my current amount of Mana."
Grunting again, Wa'rak paces around Kai, as if assessing him.
"Do it for ten seconds, then undo it."
Seeing no harm in the request, Kai activates his innate ability while focusing on the intangible tether between him and Umbra, his familiar still resting in his shadow.
Instantly, Kai's body starts to change. His arms and legs swell as he starts to grow taller. His whole body grows hair, a ghastly shade of black mixed with purple fur growing all over him. His eyes start to change, turning his pupils light yellow even they are normally blue.
Once the transformation was complete, his status notifies him of all the stat changes and the wolf's senses skill. The text about what he's transformed into still remained glitches though.
Standing at eight feet in height, the monstrosity that was Kai looked absolutely terryfing. Well, it would have been if not for the Tunic of remembrance struggling not to rip around the much larger body of Kai.
"Hm, interesting transformation. But you said it only lasts a minute, hmm..."
Wa'raks eyes continue to scan over Kai, analysing every fibre of his being. The intense gaze nearly made Kai shiver.
Once the ten seconds are up, Kai undoes his innate ability and all the hair and height he had gained dissapeared. His senses returned to normal and so did his eyes.
"Well, what did you think?" Kai asked as he looked at how much Mana he lost. With sixteen Mana down the drain, Kai looks at the wolf and waits for the response.
Wa'rak remained silent in thought, not for long though. And what the wolf said made Kai realise that he was maybe underestimating how smart the quater moon wolf really is.
... Either that or Kai was too big of an idiot to realise it.
"What about transforming part of your body?"