He quickly ignored those thoughts and continued on the path of searching.
Hours of searching passed without result, until the sullen sun began to emit sparks of yellowing. Everyone was tired from the search.
Sword of the Sky glanced at a firm clay ledge and headed toward it with Zain; they sat to take a short rest.
On the other side, Raven and Dasten had already rested and had begun wandering again.
As for Moran and Fayren, they continued searching relentlessly, but fatigue was obvious on them as their brows kept dripping with sweat.
They kept wandering until their throats dried and water pooled around their legs; then they finally decided to take a break under the shade of a Dabl palm, leaning their backs against the trunk, each looking in a different direction.
They wanted to stretch their legs, but doing so would push them out of the shade and the hot sand would burn their feet.
Half an hour passed, and Sword of the Sky and Zain decided to set off and search again.
But as soon as they rose from their place, they heard an annoying, somewhat disturbing noise. They immediately recognized the nature of that sound — its tone was already familiar.
The sound of digging!
It was behind the building where the ledge stood.
They stepped back and began to stalk stealthily, moving very slowly so as not to make any noise that might enrage it at once.
The two peered with one eye from behind the wall, and their pupils shrank immediately.
It was a giant wolf ten feet tall, black as the darkness of night — if it were present at night they would see nothing but its blazing, demonic eyes.
A mantle of orange fire, tinged with red, surrounded it, and its legs flared hotter with every movement.
Its name was the Black Flame Demon — of the Ten-Thousand rank.
Sword of the Sky and Zain were astonished by its behavior; it continued to dig with its giant claws.
Fear gripped their bodies; their flesh tingled, and their steps began to retreat. Sword of the Sky's hands trembled so much that he could not utter a single word.
The wolf stopped digging, lowered its head toward the pit, and pulled something out which it flung into the air, opening its mouth wide to catch what it had thrown.
Sword of the Sky and Zain immediately recognized what it had picked up; they soon realized what the wolf had been excavating.
It was a mangled, torn corpse without entrails; soil had taken the place of its insides. Worms fell from it like rain as the corpse was thrown, and some even rained down on their heads; they could not shake them off at all, so strong was the terror that possessed them.
The worm had bitten the corpse as if it were a bean.
Sword of the Sky whispered softly, "What do you think? Do we move or turn back?"
Zain replied, "I really don't know. This creature is anything but ordinary."
The wolf's ears kept twitching during their conversation.
Anxiety painted their faces. Sword of the Sky said, "Could it be that it can hear us?"
But suddenly both their pupils contracted; thought became meaningless as their legs moved to flee for their lives.
The wolf had managed to spot them and advanced slowly toward them while howling, its long, razor-sharp fangs appearing like swords, which moved them at once.
Unfortunately, there were no alleys or walls to hide behind — only a paved path to walk on.
They left the boundary of those alleys searching, thinking they would find an ordinary beast like in their other encounters.
But this exceeded expectations.
It drew near them, so much so that it was about to bite Sword of the Sky.
Then Raven and Dasten intervened, hurling pebbles to distract it from them.
The wolf stopped and looked back, then leapt toward them directly.
Raven was stunned, while Dasten fell to his knees with his hands hanging to the ground, as if everything were already over.
Raven fled because he had been slightly farther away, and joined Sword of the Sky and Zain, while their eyes remained fixed on Dasten, who had lost hope and become despondent from life's hardships.
The Black Flame Demon Wolf looked at Dasten with contempt as if he were a useless mosquito.
It raised its right foot and slowly stamped down on him. He tried to flee, but the searing heat of death as the wolf's paw drew near rendered his attempt futile; he was already burning even before it crushed him and reduced him to a mash of charred flesh.
The wolf pulled its paw back; it did not want to eat a burnt meal. It lowered its head and devoured him immediately, prolonging the bite as if savoring it — the meal was perfectly ripe.
The three watched with complex expressions: shock, fear, despair, and a yearning to survive.
But Sword of the Sky ground his teeth and clenched his fists until they bled from his nails' pressure.
They turned away from the scene and ran with all they had toward the alleys to drive it toward the trap.
It was fortunate they got away from it, but that was the result of their comrade Dasten's sacrifice.
The wolf finished its meal and began running after them relentlessly; it was extremely fast. In just a few strides the distance between them became very small, so much so that it could strike one of them if it wished, but they kept dodging, scattering, which distracted it from that.
Fortunately, the lanes appeared very close, and the three separated, each entering one by one, forcing the wolf to chase only a single target.
Still, the wolf should not have been able to pass through the alley at all — it was massive and would not fit.
But does that matter? The wolf shattered all expectations and broke through, destroying walls and buildings as it passed and never stopping.
It chased Zain with all its might without pausing, but that worked in everyone's favor: its advance slowed, giving Zain enough time before it caught up to him.
He could now steer it toward the trap without fear.
Sword of the Sky's plan was indeed well-conceived, Zain thought as he kept moving.
In only a few minutes Zain exited first, followed by Sword of the Sky, and then Raven.
Ahead of them, Moran and Fayren were already coming toward them — the noise had drawn them.
The three passed by them, and Raven shouted, "It's coming — move away!"
Moran and Fayren did not hesitate; they turned their direction and circled around the trap, joining them until they stopped at a point about a hundred meters from the trap, waiting for the result.
The wolf finally left the exit, covered in soil and pebbles. It shook itself and did not slow its speed; it walked forward as planned.
Everyone waited eagerly for the moment; anticipation showed on their faces while the wolf headed straight for the trap.
At that moment the wolf fell into the pit, and a loud crashing sound was heard, which made everyone leap for joy.
Moran and Fayren could not contain their excitement and rushed to see with all their might, while the others followed behind with smiling, satisfied faces.
Except for Sword of the Sky, who was anxious and pessimistic: "Something is wrong... but I don't know what."
Thoughts swirled in his head, confusing him, until Zain approached and formed his hand into a fist, intending to clasp Sword of the Sky's in the same way.
The two exchanged a victory greeting; Zain said, "We finally succeeded — and it's all thanks to you."
Sword of the Sky replied, "No — thanks to all of us. Our efforts have finally borne fruit."
Sword of the Sky turned his gaze toward Raven, who stood in place, appearing stunned by something he had seen.
The two of them moved their heads to swallow what Raven had swallowed of shock.
Near Moran and Fayren, a giant sphere rose, emitting tongues of flame.
Moran and Fayren stood frozen, not daring to move a foot — they had realized the nature of that sphere, their gazes fixed on the stakes that had shattered into tiny pieces without any traces of blood upon them.
The sphere trembled violently and flung forth fire more strongly; the flames licked their heads and they kept jumping, trying to extinguish it with their hands until their hands burned as well.
Suddenly the spher
e transformed into a wolf, which immediately flailed its claws and tore their heads off, leaving them floating, burning, in the air.