"How has life been in solitude, Prince Adam... or should I say Ivan? Learned anything worthwhile?" The wolf smirked, his crimson eyes boring into me with an unnerving intensity.
My blood ran cold. "W-wait... how do you—" I stammered, but he cut me off with a sharp laugh.
"How do I know?" he mocked, tilting his head. "Now, that's a good question." He leaned forward, baring his sharp teeth. "I've known all along. I was the one who collected Adam's soul and guided it to the land of the dead."
His words hit me like a thunderbolt, but he wasn't done. His grin widened, almost amused. "But imagine my surprise when I saw a soul drifting back, slipping into a soulless body. Its pale skin turned rosy, a breath of life escaped its lips, and there you were." He pointed a claw at me, sharp and deliberate.
Cold sweat dripped down my forehead. How could someone from this world possibly know that?
"I didn't recognize you at first," he continued, sniffing the air theatrically. "You're in your human form, after all. But..." He leaned closer, his nose twitching as he inhaled. "You still carry the scent of the beast."
Before I could respond, his twin sickles materialized in his hands with a chilling metallic hum. Without warning, he swung at my feet. My instincts flared, and I barely dodged in time.
"Hmm... good. Beastly instincts, perhaps," he muttered, almost as if assessing me.
Realizing this was no idle chat, I flicked my hand, summoning a blade of shimmering winter sand. The cold metal hummed in my grip as I faced him.
"Fancy," he mused, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
I lunged, swinging my sword with all my might. He sidestepped effortlessly, his sickles deflecting the blow. "Slow," he said, almost bored. I followed with another strike, but he parried with ease. "Sloppy," he added, kicking me squarely in the stomach. I slammed into the wall, gasping for breath. "Sad."
He didn't give me a moment to recover. He rushed forward, his sickles slicing through the air. I dodged by sheer luck, rolling to the side. Forcing myself to my feet, I gripped my sword tightly and asked, "Why are you doing this? Why are you fighting me?"
He tilted his head, his grin returning. "Hmm... for fun, I suppose. And to see if you truly deserve the life you've been given." His laugh echoed through the room, cold and mocking. "Show me what you've got, beast."
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to calm down, but the fire in my chest burned brighter. He wanted a beast? Fine.
I let go of my human form, feeling my body shift as fur sprouted across my skin, my frame enlarging.
My claws extended, and a low growl escaped my throat. In this form, I felt stronger, faster, more feral.
Death grin widened, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Ahora sí. That's more like it."
Without hesitation, I lunged at him, my claws swiping through the air but he moved faster than I could follow, ducking under my next swing and slamming the hilt of one sickle into my ribs. Pain exploded through my side, but I retaliated, striking with a flurry of claw swipes.
As the fight resumed, it was painfully clear I was outmatched. His movements were fluid, precise, and merciless. Every swing of his sickles was calculated, every dodge an effortless dance. My strikes were clumsy in comparison, and even my attempts to summon ice shards felt desperate. A few managed to graze him, one hitting his shoulder, and he paused, letting out a low chuckle.
"Bien. Muy bien," he said, almost as if pleased.
But his next move was relentless. He closed the distance in a blur, his sickles cutting through my defenses. One slashed across my chest, another hooked behind my legs, sweeping me off my feet. Pain shot through me as I gasped for air. He loomed over me, his eyes glowing with an unearthly light.
"You're not living up to to your tale... lobo," he sneered.
"You fight like a beast," he said, pressing the blade of a sickle against my neck.
"But not like one who knows what it truly means to survive."
I growled, trying to push him off, but his strength was overwhelming.
He tilted his head as if contemplating. Then he stepped back, lowering his weapons. "Hmm.. disappointing. I expected more from you."
He glanced at the blood on his sickle and then at me. "You've got potential, Prince. But potential doesn't mean survival."
Ding~Dong
And then, as if on cue, the sound of a bell rang out, echoing through the town. It was loud, sharp, and commanding, breaking the tension between us.
The wolf paused, tilting his head toward the sound. "Hmm... Fun's over. It's time to collect some souls" He then looked down at me one last time, his expression shifting to something almost... contemplative. "Live your life, Prince Adam. Live it well."
With that, he vanished into thin air, as if he had never been there.
I exhaled shakily, the tension draining from my body. Slowly, I reverted to my human form, the fur receding and my claws shrinking back into nails. My side throbbed with pain, and I pressed a hand to the wound, feeling the warmth of blood seeping through.
"Damn," I muttered, collapsing against the wall to catch my breath. "What the hell was that about?"
I sat there, breathing heavily, my body trembling.
BANG!!
But before I could fully process what had just happened, the door to the tavern suddenly shattered with a deafening crash. Splinters flew everywhere as the heavy wood gave way under a massive impact. I instinctively shielded my face from the debris, squinting through the swirling dust.
As the haze cleared, I saw chaos erupting in the village outside. The once-quiet night was now filled with the sounds of screams, the clash of weapons, and the crackling of fire. Villagers ran for their lives, their faces pale with terror. Others, braver or perhaps more foolish, armed themselves with whatever they could find—pitchforks, swords, and axes—facing off against a towering figure in the middle of the street.
"What the hell is happening?" I muttered, stepping cautiously closer to the broken doorway for a better view.
The figure was unlike anything I'd seen before. Easily over ten feet tall, its hulking frame was covered in matted fur, its eyes glowing with a sinister red light. Massive claws glinted under the moonlight, and its snarls sent shivers down my spine. A werewolf.
But not just any werewolf. This one was far larger and more grotesque than the one I'd encountered before. Its muscles rippled unnaturally, veins bulging across its body as if it were on the brink of bursting. Blackened scars crisscrossed its chest, and its slavering jaws snapped at anything that dared get too close.
The villagers' efforts to fend it off were pitiful. Their weapons barely scratched its thick hide, and with a single swipe of its claws, it sent a group of men flying into a nearby wall like ragdolls.
I clenched my fists. My instincts screamed at me to stay hidden, to let someone else deal with the monster. But as a woman's scream cut through the air, I felt something stir inside me.
"Damn it," I growled under my breath.
Without a second thought, I leapt from the broken doorway, landing on the ground below. The coalesce ice thrummed in my hand as I summoned a small swirl of winter sand around me.
The werewolf turned its glowing eyes toward me, its snarl deepening.
"Hey, ugly!" I shouted, raising my hand. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
It roared in response, the sound so loud it rattled the windows of the nearby buildings. The creature charged, its claws tearing into the ground as it barreled toward me with terrifying speed.
I barely had time to dodge, rolling to the side as it smashed into the spot where I'd been standing. The ground cracked beneath its weight. I retaliated, slamming my hand into the ground and sending a wave of icy shards hurtling toward it. The shards struck its chest, freezing patches of its fur, but the beast only growled in irritation.
"So much for the element of surprise," I muttered.
The werewolf lunged, swiping at me with its massive claws. I ducked and countered with a slice of winter sand, the icy grains forming a blade that sliced into its arm. It howled in pain, black blood oozing from the wound, but it wasn't slowing down.
Its next attack caught me off guard. A powerful backhand sent me flying, crashing into a cart of barrels. Pain flared through my back as I struggled to stand, the world spinning around me.
"Okay... maybe this wasn't my best idea," I groaned, coughing as I wiped blood from my lip.
The werewolf didn't give me time to recover. It charged again, its jaws snapping inches from my face. I growled, summoning the power I had. Winter sand erupted around us, forming sharp spikes that pierced into the creature's side. It howled in agony and stumbled back, giving me a brief moment to catch my breath.
"You're tough," I said panting, as the frost began to creep across its wounds. "But so am I."
The werewolf glared at me, its red eyes blazing with fury. It let out another earth-shaking roar and prepared to charge again.
~swish
Then, without warning, a sharp whistle pierced the night. The sound of a taut bowstring followed, and an arrow embedded itself directly into the beast's glowing eye.
The werewolf howled in agony, clawing at the arrow as it staggered.
"Not bad, huh?" a voice called out from behind me.
I turned to see Gaston standing there, a cocky grin on his face. He handed his bow to Lefou, who was trembling like a leaf, and hefted his massive blunderbuss.
"Don't hog all the fun, little man," Gaston said, cocking the weapon with a flourish.
"Be my guest," I muttered,