Series: The Mountain: Book 1: The Awakening

Void Aura

Wind whistled past Liam's ears as he fell to what seemed like an unescapable demise. His mind raced as he thought of possible ways to survive. Quickly, he grabbed onto the wolf's loose fur, hoping it's body absorb the shock of the fall. Bracing for impact, they hit the ground with a loud thud. Simultaneously, a metal spike, stained with green blood appeared, missing his head by mere inches. The impaled beast howled in pain as it thrashed wildly, flinging Liam into the side of an adjoining spike. Wheezing from both the impact of the fall and his collision with the metallic thorn, Liam rolled just out of reach, narrowly avoiding a hasty swipe from the Dire Wolf. Regaining his breath, he rose to his feet, whilst assessing his current situation. Although his plan had more or les worked, the spikes, though penetrating the beast had failed to finish it off as intended.

"Shadow, " he said aloud, "If left alone, how long would it take to die?"

"Your strategy, though quite well planned, would've never mortally wounded the beast before you. Had it been any other Dire Wolf, victory would surely be yours. However, this one has mutated transcending its species' defined limits, resulting in extraordinary regenerative abilities. In summary, this particular Dire Wolf will not only survive these injuries but will also escape given time. Even now it struggles to free itself."

"Should i retreat or is there a way to defeat the beast before it escapes?" he asked eyeing the remnants of the broken blade in his hand. Throughout the entire ordeal, he'd retained the blade just in case he'd need it later on. 

"Your present situation, is perhaps the  only way your weapon can be of use. Seeing as the wolf's mobility is somewhat hindered, your blade, if used on the appropriate area, can in fact end this battle. Fleeing is a viable option, however the surrounding walls aren't scalable with your current abilities."

Liam immediately understood the meaning behind Shadow's words. During their conversation, he'd been quietly observing the mutated wolf. Although its movements were vigorous and wild, he'd realized that it was unable to turn as it wanted. This provided the perfect chance from an attack from behind. His real concerns stemmed from the deteriorated blade in his hands as this all depended on it's durability in battle. As he stood pondering the situation, sharp crack rang in his ears snapping him out of his thoughts. Liam's hesitance was punished as one of the three spikes embedded in the Dire Wolf's body shattered near its base.  The sudden development had spurred him into action as his chances of victory would decrease drastically should the mutated beast  escape. 

Replaying the strategy in his mind once more, Liam circled the beast before pouncing from behind. The moment he made contact, the beast shook wildly in an attempt to throw him off as it did once before. However, Liam who already anticipated this, used the remaining metal spikes protruding from its body to support his balance. As the mutated wolf writhed violently, strong vibrations ran through the spikes. Ignoring the discomfort, he held on whilst carefully making his way to its head. Inches away from his target, he sat squarely on the wolf's large neck, gripping the sides with his legs. Holding the broken blade high in the air, he plunged it directly into the back of its ear. Liam felt the beast tremble as the blade connected. Unlike the previous wolves, this one did not instantly fall.

'Maybe the blade didn't go deep enough,' he thought. 

Grasping the handle once more, Liam removed the blade, raised it like he did earlier this time using both hands and drove it deeper into its skull, this time forcing green blood to splatter onto his hands. The second attempt seemed to do the trick as the mutated wolf, collapsed instantly. Liam hopped to the floor after noting no signs of life from his downed adversary. 

"Dodge"

Liam reflexively jumped sideways as Shadow issued his warning and not a moment too soon as the once presumed dead wolf's mouth chomped at the air where he stood previously. The beast swung it's head around for another attack on Liam, who unfortunately used all his strength earlier, held his hands out defensively. Just as he thought his final moments were at hand, the beast's eyes rolled upward as it's head crumpled, pinning him to the ground. Liam breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for his insane luck as well as Shadow's timely advice.