Elwood had taught Agatha about monsters over the years. She never knew why she had to know so much about them since she wasn't the real priestess to begin with. There was a possibility that Elwood wanted her to realize the suffering and horror the people were going through because of the monsters. This would lead her to understand the importance of her sacrifice. It was probably a way of making her more empathetic towards the strangers for whom she would one day give up her existence. Though Agatha felt a bit of sadness towards those suffering in the outside world, she still wondered why she had to empathize. It's not like she had a choice right? Sooner or later, whether she wanted to or not, the ritual would take place and she would cease to exist. This was an absolute fact. Her empathy towards others had no role to play in this.
Agatha knew this and yet…
She saw it. A monster walking out from the woods.
She only caught a glimpse but it was enough to make her tremble. Those glowy green eyes…not just two of them though…How many did that creature have? 4? Or was it 6? The teeth she saw looked like knives ready to rip flesh apart. The rain made its red fur look like it was dripping blood. It had paws big enough to crush the head of a man in one go.
Agatha recalled learning about these monsters. As Daliyah had said, even though people called them "wolves" they were far from being like the animals humans were used to seeing.
"Of course, they wouldn't be regular wolves…how foolish"
Agatha tried to sit up straight as she thought about how her mind had tried to be in denial a while ago. She was no longer behind the safety of the fortress. She was outside in the rain and surrounded by man-eating creatures.
"My lady, just sit tight."
Daliyah looked at Agatha with pleading eyes. It was not smart to make any reckless moves at this moment. Just what she was trying to accomplish by looking outside the window was a mystery to Agatha. It wasn't like she could do anything useful. She wrapped her hands around her body as she took deep breaths.
"One head…"
Agatha mumbled under her head as she looked down.
"What was that, my lady?"
"The wolf…it only had one head…"
"What about it?"
"The more heads a wolf has, the more powerful it is. This one only had one head and yet…"
"...it almost made me freeze out of fear…"
Agatha shut her eyes at the thought. Elwood had taught her that wolves had a hierarchy that was determined by the number of heads. Wolves could have between one to three heads. Just like regular wolves, these monsters usually moved in packs. Those with one head could be compared to the pawn of a chess game and were usually the greater number. Then came those who had two heads. Just like the one-headed wolves, they had four to six eyes in each head. Their fur was much thicker and instead of four legs, they had six. These were also bigger. The last category was the three-headed wolf…
"OWOOOOOOOOO"
"Commander! A three-headed wolf is with them!"
"What?! No way! But… it's uncommon for an Alpha to be with the pack!!"
Agatha's eyes widened. Even though the Alpha would be expected to always guide the pack, it was different for monsters. There were fewer Alphas than the other categories, but what kept them above the rest was their ability to telepathically control the pack and their human intelligence. Since the alphas were able to control their pack from long distances, it was rare for them to be present unless…
"Everyone stay put!"
The three-headed wolf walked out from behind his minion. Standing at 10 feet tall in its two back paws, it looked down at the party as if he had found new toys to play with. He sensed the tension coming from the men and smiled. Its knife-like teeth dripped saliva and dirt. The Alpha displayed his sharp claws before the soldiers and mockingly seemed to chuckle. His three heads looked around, and upon seeing the carriage, all eighteen of his eyes widened and revealed an urge to kill.
"This isn't looking pretty."
Myer placed his body in front of the carriage as he held his sword. Not only were they surrounded by a pack of wolves, but their leader was there as well.
"Arcane…"
He looked behind him at Arcane who was on the other side of the carriage. The masked soldier said nothing.
One of the heads made eye contact with him. Arcane didn't look away and stood his ground. He glared back at the monster without blinking an eye. Noticing this, the monster turned all three of its heads towards him. Something about Arcane's gaze bothered it. No, it wasn't just bothersome but also…infuriating. Arcane was looking at it just like how it looked at its minions and humans…like a worthless cockroach.
The monster growled as it had found an enemy that wasn't quivering at its presence.
"Is he seriously daring an Alpha to a fight right now? So much for making this a peaceful trip."
Myer sighed as he noticed what his friend was doing. Arcane was never one to show fear in front of an enemy. If someone glared at him he would glare back. If someone punched him, he would punch them back. If someone tried to kill him or those he had sworn to protect then…
"Well, I guess I'll take this as my daily workout. Yes, because walking through the mountains and a dense forest under the rain isn't exciting enough."
Myer smiled as he looked in front of him at the many eyes that were starting to emerge from the trees.
The rain kept falling. The soldiers' heartbeats got louder and faster. Thunder could be heard around them. The growls of the wolves got more intense as they waited for their leader to give the signal. Time seemed to stop for a moment as both sides waited to see who would make the first move.
The Alpha and Arcane kept eye contact, neither of them giving in to the other. They knew that one of them would end up on the ground, dead.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning moved through the strike, and then…
*Whoooosh*
An arrow flew out of the depths of the forest striking the wolf that was next to the Alpha. The wolf fell dead, with an arrow right in his neck.
*Whoooosh*
*Whoooosh*
Multiple arrows started to fly out of the forest and stroke one wolf after another, hitting them right at their core. The Alpha, being caught by surprise, did not perceive the arrow that suddenly pierced through one of his eyes.
"GRRRRRR!"
The Alpha growled in pain and fury as he took the arrow out of his eye. Seeing their Alpha wounded and four of their pack dead, some of the wolves started to run toward the soldiers.
"ATTACK!!!"
Arcane yelled as he dashed out with his sword and with one swing, cut off the head of a wolf. The soldiers stood for a few seconds trying to figure out what had just happened.
"What are you waiting for?! A scented invitation from your lover?!"
Myer ran towards another wolf that was getting and just like Arcane, effortlessly cut off its head.
"Soldiers! Attack!"
The commander was the first one to bring himself back from the shock and gave the order.
"Sir!"
The soldiers in the outer circle ran out and started to fight the wolves that were getting too close to the carriage.
"OWWOOOOOOOO!"
With a howl full of fury, the Alpha signaled the rest of his minions to attack. The wolves jumped from behind the trees and with their mouths fully open, started to take down one soldier after another.