Deep within the Lupus Forest, the birds, pests, critters and all other creatures of nature are sent into a frenzy. They flee as fast and hard as they can, their only aim to escape carnage caused by two clashing mages.
On the ground, several silver-furred wolves bark as they run around, their bodies smoothly navigating through the forest while their eyes fixed on two figures fighting up in the trees.
With a grunt, Dom punches a tree, easily breaking it in half.
Mid-air, he grabs the severed tree truck and hurls it at the alpha.
With a deep growl, she slashes through the tree like hot knife through butter with her deadlier claws.
Dom clicks his tongue as he briefly lands on a branch before jumping just in time to avoid her next attack. This time, her slash tears through the entire tree's length, breaking it into two equal halves.
"You… humans! Go! Die!" She growled, dealing more damage to the forest which cries in the form of collapsing trees and heavy crashes on the ground that catches some unlucky creatures.
Dom grunts as her claw grazes her cheek in an attempt to dodger her next strike.
"You're a human too, you know!" Dom shouted as he shoves her away, but that statement seemed to have triggered a response, evident by her brightly glowing eyes.
Her feet kick off a tree, snapping it into pieces with the sheer force that sends her rocketing towards Dom still moving in the air.
Dom instinctively draws his arm back, his tightened fist aimed at her exposed chest… but her human crossed his mind, reminding him that this opponent is not just some beast.
Unfortunately, that split second hesitation leaves him open. With a growl, the alpha slashes through his chest. He groans as blood quickly paints his already shredded shirt.
Without even giving him time to recover, the alpha grabs his arm and kicks his side.
Dom's body rockets through the forest like a bullet, smashing through a couple trees until his body emerges from the bushes where a familiar stream now under him.
As he falls towards the water, he grits his teeth and spins, landing feet-first in the stream.
He remains in a crouch stance for a while, his rattled mind focused on adapting to the ringing pain radiating through his body.
The alpha lands on the ground in front of the stream with her wolves already beside her.
With one look at Dom's current state, something like a smile comes to her face and she barks at two of the wolves.
They growled as they charged at the immobilized Dom with claws and sharp teeth bared.
But once the wolves got too close, a chill runs up the alpha's spine.
In that brief moment, Dom's blue aura surges out of his body. In one swift movement, his foot connects with the first wolf's gut.
The crumpling sound of bones breaking accompanied its pained cry as it rockets several feet into the air, leaving a trail of blood from its opened mouth.
Unfazed, the second wolf bites down on Dom's shoulder but he quickly grabs it by the neck and pulls it off, ripping the right side of his jacket off in the process.
With a bright glow in his eyes, he smashes the wolf into the stream with so much force, that the resulting impact blows the water around him away, exposing the wolf's skull to the wet bedrock.
The alpha and wolves stumble from the resulting brief tremor under their feet.
The stream quickly covers up the spot while Dom draws his blood-stained hand out of the running water.
A sudden heavy thud draws the alpha's attention to her side, where the mangled wolf corpse lies some meters away from her.
Some wolves approached its body, whimpering as they sniff and lick the blood pouring out of its wounds.
The alpha turns back to Dom, her eyes wide with fury.
"You… humans. All…" She said, her body trembling with emotion. "Come… Kill…"
Dom runs a hand through his wet hair. "I'm not here to kill…" Even though those words escape his lips, his eyes widen as he sees the bloody canine corpse in front of him. "I'm sorry. I just acted out of self-defen-"
"Kill… Protect… Pack. Protect…" The alpha grumbled as she gets on all fours, her muscles bulging with visibly distended veins underneath the fur.
As Dom stares at her, he recalls the sight of her playing with the wolf cub in that same stream. The innocent, happy look on her face still extremely vivid. The image resembling that of a child playing with a friend.
Some wolves growl as they move towards Dom who instinctively takes a defensive stance but the alpha barks. That simple command causes them to back away.
Responding to his thoughts, his previously raised arms slowly lower to his sides.
So wrapped in his mind, Dom doesn't even hear the heavy thuds as the alpha sprints towards him.
He looks up in time to find her leaping towards him. But for some reason, he couldn't move. All he does is stare as her large body rockets towards him.
Barely a split second after that thought, the sound of thunder erupts from within the forest…
Instantly, the alpha groans as a purple lightning bolt strikes her side.
Dom's eyes widen as he sees the lightning bolt briefly disperses, revealing Dae who grunts as he shoves his feet deep into her side. The resulting impact instantly shoves her across the stream and into the trees beyond.
Dae lands beside Dom, his swords already drawn as he now faces the wolves. "When you weren't answering your comms, I knew something was wrong." He said.
"Thanks." Dom said with a weak smile.
Dae nods before turning to the sound of trees cracking. "So that's the alpha." He said as she emerges from the broken trees, completely unharmed.
"Yeah." Dom said as he touches his injured side. "She's strong."
Dae raises a brow. "She?" He asked just as the alpha shakes the dust off her fur, revealing her barely visible stretched out clothes. "A Primal form."
She howls, the sound adding a terrifying buzz to the air. She then surges forward with a sonic boom. But with equally sound breaking speed, the two boys escape her charge.
As Dom lands a safe distance away, he stumbles from the intense pain from his injury.
Dae glances at Dom out of concern before turning his attention to the alpha already on top of him. In a flash, his blades collide with her claw.
Dae groans, the ground beneath his feet crumbling as he struggles under the alpha's strength. With a spark in his eyes, he suddenly channels his electricity into his blades, which quickly runs through her claws and into her body.
She howls, her louder volume emphasizing her pain. However, through that pain, she manages to swing her other claw.
But Dae vanishes and reappears by Dom's side. "Is there a reason you're not fighting seriously?" He asked as he glares at Dom still on his knees. "I could barely sense your mana when I got here."
Dom frowns as he responds, "She's not the bad guy… She's just…" He glances at the wolves who watch the alpha with a look that almost resembles a child eager to see his mother. "… she's trying to protect her people."
"A natural-born leader." Dae mumbled before they both jump apart again to avoid her next attack that shatters the ground beneath her.
"Regardless…" Dae said as his feet skid across the floor. "It's still our job is to capture her." He suddenly dashes towards her with his blade drawn.
He swings his sword but she instinctively evades his slash and manages to scrape Dae's side with her claw. Dae grits his teeth though the pain as he suddenly slashes upwards, deeply cutting across her attacking arm.
She cries out again, this time her voice being more human than beast. The cry stimulates Dom's body which moves in an attempt to save her… but he stops once Dae glares at him.
"Make up your damn mind. I can't fight her by myself." Dae said before barely dodging a slash.
He tries to fire another lightning attack, but she suddenly kicks him in the gut. Some blood spews out of his mouth as he slides back a couple meters and stumbles onto a knee.
He spits out some more blood and raises his blades as she charges at him again. "Are we doing this or not?!"
At that moment, time stops…
Dom remains stuck between his duty as a knight and his morale as a man. He knows he can only do one… he's just not sure which one… until one of Dae's swords goes flying as he takes a nasty charge to the chest.
In that instant, Dom pushes that conflict aside. His next dash focused on one objective. Helping his partner…
The time now…. just past 5pm…
A familiar village boy runs through the streets with a concerned look on his face. Being a small civilization, it doesn't long for word to get out.
He stops, panting at the sight of the crowd standing around the recently built military outpost in the outskirt of the village.
He manages to push through the crowd, making it t the front… where his eyes widen as he looks past the two Capital soldiers stationed there… who stare patiently at the three approaching figures.
Dae walks slowly with a hand on his blood-stained side while a similarly injured Dom grunts as he carries a certain monster on his back.
"No." A woman mumbled, tears welling up in her eyes as she quickly recognizes it.
The boy standing beside her glares at Dom and quickly disappears back into the crowd.
A moment later, Dom lays the barely conscious beast down in a large cage some distance from the outpost.
There, one of the soldiers places a thick, black metallic cuff around one of the alpha's hands.
This device suppresses the alpha's mana, forcing her back into her human form. This shocks the still watching villagers while the soldier secures the alpha's other hand with several shackles.
As the first soldier locks the cage itself, the other turns to Dom. "Didn't think you guys would pull it off." He said as he pats Dom's shoulder, making him wince in pain. "Sorry. I'll get you patched up."
Dom doesn't answer. The only thing on his mind is the guilt as he stares at the now helpless captive within that cold cage.
"We appreciate it." Dae interjected, noticing Dom's expression. "Thank you." As he shakes the soldier, he gives Dom a look, but Dom doesn't even notice it.
With their objective complete, the soldiers lead them back to the outpost for proper wound treatment. That's when something wet
suddenly smacks into Dom's cheek.
They stop and turn to find a smashed tomato slowly sliding down Dom's face before hitting the ground.
He turns in the direction of the throw and finds that same boy glaring at him with another tomato in his hand.
"I hate you! Give her back!" He shouted as he throws the second tomato which splatters against his ripped shirt.
The boy's mother emerges from the crowd to stop him again but before she could do much, a man shouts from the crowd.
"He's right! She saved us when we had nothing to offer her!"
"Release her!" A woman shouted.
"She's our guardian! She did nothing wrong!" A weak looking old man added.
"Let her go! Let her go!"
The chants of the villagers fill the air, adding to the tension.
But while the soldiers couldn't care less, Dae frowns especially once he sees the hurt expression on Dom's face.
Dom's blue eyes scan the people looking at him. The rage, hatred and distrust so palpable that he finds it hard to breathe. That's when he makes makes eye-contact with the Village Chief among the crowd.
But this old man's face is not filled with that same rage or hatred… It was disappointment, sorrow and regret. With one sad look, the Chief walks away, leaving Dom even more heartbroken.
"Come on." Dae said as he taps Dom who mindlessly follows as the villagers continue to chant for their captured hero.