The wolf kept growling as flames seeped out of its mouth. Their claws were golden, but their fur was deep dark red; every breath made their chest glow a subtle redish-yellow.
Charlotte spread their Chi through their body at full blast; he launched himself toward the wolf. The wolf took a deep breath and launched a giant ball of fire at him; he pivoted on his foot to dodge the fire and moved towards the wolf.
The wolf had moved and used the fireball as cover to hide behind it and launch itself at him as he raised his arm and had the wolf bite into it. He immediately struck the wolf and hit it in the ribs, forcing it to let go and move away.
His arm was bleeding, but the bite of the wolf hadn't reached the bone. It broke the skin and bit into the meat of his arm, but not much further. He could still use this hand; it seemed that the durability of the armor was transferring nicely, and his arm was also healing quickly on its own.
He grinned at the wolf; the wolf seemed to have been hurt by his blow quite nicely. It was maintaining distance as it took another deep breath. He was envious of animals; they had an innate understanding of their element that they could control. He wanted to shoot balls of fire, too.
He didn't get to dwell long as the wolf fired another fireball as he dashed to the right. He was met with the fireball following close behind as the wolf charged at him as well; the wolf was used to using its powers, unlike the bear from before.
He slid under the wolf as it jumped up to bite his face. The ball of fire stopped, and the wolf jumped off the fireball and ran back at him with the ball following beside them. He honestly thought that it was going to collide with the fire and cause it to explode.
He lifted his arm again as the wolf got near with the fireball; he was baiting the wolf for it to bite his arm again. The wolf didn't take the bait and went low and aimed to bite into his leg; he couldn't jump, or the fireball would hit him.
He fell on top of the wolf, pushed his forearm into its mouth, and rolled away, letting the wolf stay on top as the fireball stopped just before hitting the two. The wolf clawed at his chest, its golden claws quickly digging into his chest. His ribs were too tough for it to break, but it was hurting the hell out of him.
He stabbed into the eye with his thumb; when it tried to pull away, he held onto its mane with his hand and stabbed its other eye before kicking it away into the fireball. This time, it dissipated as the wolf got close to colliding with it.
The wolf stepped away further and further till its back hit the wall as it growled in anger; it could still smell and hear him. As for Charlotte, he was bleeding quite a lot. His clothes were being held up by string as he grunted in pain.
He was healing a lot slower now due to how grievous the new wounds were. With the wolf now blind, he recalled most of his Chi to focus on healing, keeping himself conscious, and avoiding bleeding out for now.
His wounds weren't closing, but at least the bleeding was slowly stifling. The wolf was also trying to heal its eyes, as it would blow multiple small fireballs around itself.
Charlotte couldn't just wait it out; as he charged forward, the fireballs moved to his location and exploded as they got near him, almost catching him in the wave of fire. Two fireballs stayed close to the wolf as he dodged and maneuvered to avoid them. He was only tiring himself out the longer he waited to approach, and it seemed he couldn't hurt the wolf without taking damage. He waited until most of the fireballs got close to his location as he focused his Chi on his legs and dashed past them; some of them exploded, but he gained enough distance to only feel the heat they gave off.
The fireballs followed behind him as the two left with the wolf moved in front of it and exploded outwards, causing a wave of fire to head in his direction. He jumped into the flames and moved his Chi onto his hands.
The wolf hadn't expected him to sacrifice himself in such a way as he came out the other side with flames clinging to his body, and he slammed both fists into the wolf, slamming it against the wall. He didn't stop there as he held its mouth closed with one hand and repeatedly punched its face and chest. The claws of the wolf scratching and cutting his legs and chest. The fireballs from before were approaching the two, and one hit him in the back and exploded.
He grits his teeth and bears the pain as he keeps swinging; the adrenaline and pain didn't help him notice he had finished the wolf a long time ago. The fire on his body dissipated along with its life. Once his fist hit the black rock, he finally escaped his crazed state.
He was breathing heavily as he sat above the body of the wolf, groaning and trying not to pass out from the pain. He was trying to focus on healing himself. His skin was red from the flames but hadn't been burned too much. Most of the damage came from the wolf's claws; his skin was tough enough to bear the flames, and so was his hair despite being hit by flames.
He still had about a quarter of Chi remaining as he slowly stood up. The hole the beast came out of remained open.
He didn't know if there was a time limit, so he couldn't take the time to regain his strength. His wounds, while bad, weren't too serious as he tried to save his Chi.
He had to save his strength for the coming trials. If this was the first trial, he couldn't imagine what was to come.