Loose Fang's nostrils flared as he held his nose to the ground, taking a deep breath of his prey's scent. Slowly, he took a step forward, continuing to move. Although his demeanour was calm, his tails hung low, his fangs comfortably hidden under his lip. Not a sign of aggression showed on his face, and yet the world around him was anything but calm.
Seeing a beast prowling about their village, the undead panicked, mothers grabbed their children and men considered reaching for weapons before giving up on that thought.
After all, this beast wasn't attacking anyone, it was just smelling the ground and occasionally the air.
Besides, the village head had already sent someone to alert the Hero. He would arrive in time to save them all.
Right?
The beast with two tails prowled closer towards the village hall. The time between its
A handful of undead stood at the entrance, more looked out through the windows. An especially ragged man stood between the undead by the door, raising his cane, he pointed it at Loose Fang who still showed no sign – just simply pacing back and forth.
"Leave this place, I have sent message to the Hero. He will soon be back to fend you off. You horrid beast!"
Slinking forward, Loose Fang loosely growled.
"Your hero. So the prince's killer was, this… Hero. Your monarch thinks herself smart. That she had hidden her plans well, but even small, quiet whispers can be heard by those hiding in the shadows."
"Shadows…"
Hearing this, Alfred's anxious gaze softened enough for a small chuckle to pass from his lips.
"The shadows? You think we are scared of what's hiding in the shadows? Your threats mean nothing to us beast. We haven't been afraid of the dark long since before you were born."
Seeing this unexpected act of defiance, Loose Fang took a step closer to the undead, eyeing the ones holding makeshift weapons.
"I hadn't planned on attacking you, not much point in killing something I can't eat but that attitude. Is really starting to get on my nerves!"
Pouncing forward – both of Loose Fang's tails shot towards the undead on either side of the one he had been speaking to – his mouth opening to reveal his fangs as he pounced preparing to give this weak undead its second death.
As Loose Fang jumped, the old man did something unusual. Instead of moving, he held the pendant that hung around his neck. In the seconds that passed as Loose Fang closed the distance, it wasn't a strange gesture.
Loose Fang had killed plenty of humans, adventurers and paladins of the Goddess' Order, all sharing that in their dying moments they held their symbols of faith as they cried for their Goddess to save them.
The undead could cry out for their queen to protect them as Loose Fang tore their bodies apart until the fire within their eyes extinguished. They could cry for someone to save them, but Loose Fang knew faith stopped mattering the moment a fight began.
Suddenly something dark appeared blocking the way, colliding with this sudden obstacle between the hunter and his prey. Loose Fang bounced off of the wall falling back onto the floor, jumping up, his anger flared as he tried to understand what had just happened.
The undead stood behind a dome of black, the pendant that the man held glowed with a bright cyan light and from the pendant shadow flowed out of it forming the barrier. Growling, Loose Fang hit the floor breathing heavily he howled.
"What is that!? What magic could you undead possess that could possibly block me!"
Holding his head high, the dead man couldn't help but smile as he answered the enraged beast.
"If you thought the shadows were your friends, you were gravely mistaken. This is just a little gift from my most magnanimous lady… but regardless, it looks like you are out of time."
Confused by what the man meant by this, it took a moment for Loose Fang's rage to subside, the sound of his heart beating in his ears threatened to overwhelm the twin-tailed beast's senses.
As his heart began to calm and the sound of his own heartbeat began to calm, Loose Fang picked up on a noise. The sound of footsteps, fast footsteps, fast footsteps quickly moving… Towards him. Throwing himself to the side, Loose Fang avoided the blade aimed to cut his tails off.
----
His attack missing its initial mark, Leander threw himself into the next one. Having the beast on the back foot – Leander gripped the blade in both hands – thrusting toward the centre of its body.
Before Leander's second attack could land, one of the beast's tails smacked the blade aside as the other tail darted toward Leander's head. As the beast's attack was seconds from piercing through his eye, Leander exhaled.
'This one is a lot slower than Lewren.'
Ducking under its tail, Leander rushed forward. His plan was the same as fighting Lewren, close the distance between them in order to prevent this beast from effectively using its tails at long range.
However, something Leander had not taken into account was the difference between this beast and Lewren. Their overall appearance was the same, but the appearance was the only thing the two beasts had in common.
The first biggest difference was its size, this beast was far smaller than Lewren being only slightly taller than Leander. The second difference was the most apparent, that being its two tails.
Because of its smaller size, Leander was unable to use its size against and although it was vastly slower than Lewren's tail that had pushed Leander to the edge. If it had only one tail Leander knew he would have been able to kill the beast quickly, but it made up for its speed with its two tails.
Capable of attacking from two directions at the same time. Leander's advantage he gained from his surprise attack was shortlived as the beast's two tails slowly pushed him back. Disengaging, Leander took a few steps away from the beast.
Seeing him step away, the beast also stepped back.
Keeping his sword pointed at the beast, Leander turned his head to look at the undead behind him – specifically Alfred. His eyes studied the barrier Alfred had erected, the pendant that glowed with that familiar cyan essence. The faces of the undead slowly began to relax seeing that their hero had arrived.
Turning back, Leander paid his full attention to the beast.
Frowning, Leander looked at the glass sphere in the sword he held. This beast may be smaller than Lewren, but with its tails, its were comparable to the larger beast. Leander was unsure whether he would be able to win this fight without using anima. From the feeling of his soul, Leander was unsure how many more times he could tap into his soul before whatever was being damaged became irreplaceable.
Sighing, he began speaking to the beast.
"What are you doing here-"
Leander's words caught in his mouth as he felt something changed.
Something had happened, it felt as if his very soul was being squeezed by a large fist.
Hearing something hit the ground behind him. Leander turned his head, his eyes widened seeing the undead who had been behind him had fallen to the ground unconscious. Even the undead who had been watching from inside the safety of the town hall were nowhere in sight – most likely they as well had fallen victim to this insidious attack.
Leander was forced to one knee as he held his free hand to his head. Even the effort of resisting this debilitating pressure threatened to leave Leander unconscious.
'What… Is this pressure… It can't belong to that. Who does this belong to.'
And that was when Leander saw it, another beast had entered the village. It like the two-tailed beast, was similar to Lewren. Not just similar, these two beasts were definitely related. It was just that, this beast was like Lewren, but also better in every way.
The mane surrounding the beast's neck was far more pronounced than Lewren's, scars interrupted its magnificent auburn fur coat, showing a history of its past battles. Lines ran the length of its tail ending at the tip. Even its muscles were far improved than Lewren's, their shape visible even beneath its long fur coat. So much in fact with every step it took towards Leander, they could be seen moving like steel cables. Its tail was also different from Lewren's, much larger, thicker and longer. It looked as if it could knock down a house in one swing.
One difference stood out between this beast and Lewren. Whilst Lewren was only slightly taller than Leander, this beast was as large as a one-story house. Its height easily dwarfed Leander and the twin-tailed beast that slowly approached it, joining a second twin-tailed beast that stood at its side.
Leander knew from the moment his eyes saw the beast, that it was no simple beast. No, it was a Lord of Beasts.
The Beast Lord looked to its minion who bowed its head low as its mouth moved to convey something to its lord, something that was lost to Leander at the current moment. The Beast Lord looked at the smaller beast and then slowly, turned its mighty head to stare at Leander.
"You."
His tone was low, sullen but also vicious beyond words. Leander felt his whole body shudder under the weight of the beast's words. The insidious attack that swept through his very being intensified under the Beast Lord's gaze.
"My boyson, are you the one who killed my son? I can still smell his blood on your blade."
His body trembling from the pressure, Leander was unable to form a sentence. Slowly, ever so slowly – if the Beast Lord wanted it could have crushed Leander, but he silently watched as Leander slowly moved. Putting one foot under him, Leander slowly rose from the ground. Although his body shivered and shook, the Hero of Peace's sword arm never wavered.
His blade never stopped pointing at his opponent.
The Beast Lord's lips moved into what was probably a grin. For a moment his angered tone was overtaken by surprise.
"You… Are capable of standing in my presence? Oh, now you have impressed me human and just for that. I will make your death quick."
As he finished speaking, something happened to the Beast Lord's tail. The lines that ran along it slowly began to part as the large tail unravelled into ten tails.
Moments before the Beast Lord's tail had finished unfurling, a familiar voice pierced the dull pain within Leander's mind brought on by the pressure.
"Wait!"
Something black shot down from the sky. Something the size of a pig landed between Leander and the Beast Lord, but it was not a pig, nothing like one, it was black, with feathers. As Leander watched, his eyes began to widen seeing the back of the black bird.
His lips spoke the word before he could push air from his lungs. Trying again, Leander strained his body to shout.
"Ravenmother!?"