Aris was in bad shape. He couldn't deny it. His wounds hurt like hell, and his overall condition was miserable. He had lost a lot of blood from the wolves' bites, and he barely had any energy left.
And yet, against all odds, he was still standing—and almost the entire pack was gone.
Alone before him stood the last beast of the pack, cautiously backing away, looking beaten down.
He had nothing left but his fangs and his rage to bring down the Mad Beast, and yet he did not flee. Even though his pack was gone, he remained—the lone courageous survivor facing the monster. But the monster wasn't in good shape either. So he still had his chances.
Aris realized it too. He had managed to deal with the pack because they had suddenly become disorganized, their numbers preventing them from seeing and sensing him properly. But now that he stood face to face with a single wolf, it wouldn't take its eyes off him—every one of its senses was locked onto him. And ha wasn't in any better condition than it was.
Even though Aris had wounded every wolf with each exchange, this one remained relatively intact, its injuries too light to truly hinder it. The dethroned king was certainly stronger than him under normal circumstances—but in his current state, it was barely holding its ground.
"Well… I guess I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way."
Aris was exhausted. His left arm had become almost useless, barely able to hold his knife. His injured leg could no longer support him, forcing him to lean to one side like a limping man. His vision was blurred, his breathing ragged. For the first time in a long while, his beastly instincts had not surfaced.
For the first time in a long while, Aris felt…
Human.
And yet, this wasn't really the moment to feel human. He almost missed those primal instincts that made him forget the pain.
But it wasn't so bad either—to become like he used to be.
"Come on…"
Aris took his stance, lowering his center of gravity, doing his best not to put weight on his injured leg. His arm could no longer maintain its height, so he let it drop, hanging close to his body.
The wolf growled louder as well, lowering itself into position.
The rest of the group that had followed Aris was now reduced to only a handful of fennecs—and this time, more foxes. Yet none of them took advantage of the moment to fill their stomachs. They watched Aris face the wolf, waiting to see if their future was about to change.
Then, time stopped.
At least, that's how it felt…
Before it suddenly rushed forward again at full speed.
Aris's eyes snapped wide open.
"There it is!"
The wolf had leapt—fast. In a flash, the distance between them vanished. Aris reacted in time to see it, but he was missing just a few milliseconds to properly block.
Fangs lunged at him, jaws wide open, rage burning in its eyes.
At the last moment, Aris shifted his body aside. Part of his clothes tore away across his chest as the wolf passed—but it hadn't missed entirely. A long red-black line began to bloom across his torso.
"Damn."
Aris spun around instantly, trying to stab the wolf mid-motion, but it anticipated the move and leapt again the moment it touched the ground, narrowly avoiding the blade.
Without hesitation, Aris reacted—his second knife shot forward, attached to a thin wire, aimed straight at the wolf's head.
The wolf ducked just in time, barely—losing an ear in exchange for dodging the thrown blade.
But Aris wasn't done.
As the wolf charged again, he yanked the taut wire, pulling the knife back toward him at high speed. This time, the wolf didn't see it coming—too focused on the Mad Beast's openings. The blade sliced into its side, spilling a heavy flow of blood.
"Now we're talking."
The wolf halted its assault, glancing at its wound. Not deep enough to stop it.
Aris retrieved his knife and reset his stance. His leg, however, prevented him from launching any meaningful attack.
The first phase of the fight had ended. In less than twenty seconds, Aris had gained another wound—but the beast had gained new ones too.
"Round two?"
The wolf didn't hesitate. Seeing that Aris couldn't properly attack, it launched the next assault.
This time, Aris immediately brought out his knife along with the long wire. The beast instinctively dodged.
But Aris took advantage of the wolf's momentum, stepping slightly forward—catching it off guard and disrupting its predictions. The wire began to coil dangerously around the beast.
Sensing the trap, the wolf carefully avoided tangling its legs, halting its assault. Aris still tried to ensnare it, but the wolf managed to slip out of the carefully woven trap.
The wire danced around the beast's body without ever touching it, while Aris swung his right arm wildly, searching for a solution.
The moment the wolf finally escaped, Aris forced his injured leg forward and stepped in.
The beast saw him rushing forward and prepared to leap—until it noticed that this desperate approach was meant to use his weakened fist.
The wolf got ready to dodge casually, but suddenly, instead of a punch, the dagger from Aris's left hand slammed straight into its mouth.
A savage grin spread across Aris's face.
"Just because it's damaged doesn't mean I can't use it."
Still, he had aimed for the skull. He hadn't had enough strength to reach it.
The wolf recoiled sharply, blood spilling from its jaw. Aris seized the moment and launched his wire again like a rocket, this time aiming for the beast's head.
But the wolf ignored the dagger lodged in its mouth and dodged once more.
"Shit."
The element of surprise was gone. He couldn't risk getting that close again without a plan. Everything had just become far more complicated.
The wolf spat out the bloodied dagger and glared furiously at the defenseless former king.
Aris felt the pressure emanating from the beast as a very bad omen.
But that wasn't enough to make him give up.
"Here we go again."
The wolf attacked with fury, kicking up dust behind it. Aris stepped back, already preparing to counter.
But the beast's movements quickly turned irregular. Despite its rage, it retained enough clarity to try to confuse him.
Aris's vision was already blurred. The wolf's erratic movement only made it worse.
He stepped back again, but this time, instead of playing it safe, he lashed out with his injured right leg.
Again surprised, but aware of the fact that he could still move his injured limbs, the wolf carefully avoided the leg in the air by quickly folding his paws and leaning on it.
Pain exploded through Aris's leg. He nearly cried out—but that wasn't his biggest problem.
The wolf was already too close.
His leg slammed back to the ground, sending another wave of agony through him but he had no time to care.
The wolf leapt.
In a near-superhuman reflex, Aris threw a sudden hook but it didn't alter the beast's trajectory.
They crashed to the ground together.
The Mad Beast hit the ground on his back, the wolf landing squarely on his chest.
Aris grabbed its face immediately, preventing it from tearing into him, while the wolf struggled to recover from the punch.
He couldn't push it off.
The beast was regaining its senses.
In that tight moment, he had to find a solution or he would be devoured.
Aris glanced around. One knife was too far to retrieve. The other had been spat out earlier—out of the fight.
His heart pounded wildly as he felt death closing in, breath growing scarce.
He writhed helplessly, drenched in sweat. His vision blurred even further as the wolf finally lowered its massive jaws toward his face.
And just as he thought it was over an idea flashed through his mind.
In less than a second, before the wolf could tear his face apart, Aris lunged forward and locked himself onto it—fully committing to a grappling hold. His legs wrapped around the wolf's body, his arms locking tight around it.
The wolf was startled for a moment.
Then it felt something tightening around its throat.
Aris no longer had the strength to strangle it with his arms, but he still had the wire in his right hand.
In an instant, the thin cord wrapped around the wolf's neck began to tighten, slowly cutting off its air.
The wolf did not lose its composure and instead of panicking, it simply bit Aris's shoulder thinking that would be enough. But to its great surprise, Aris held on, and the grip tightened.
Starting to panic little by little, the wolf sank its fangs deeper into the flesh of the Mad Beast. It also began to claw at its back, driving its claws violently. But Aris held on. Nothing the wolf inflicted on him seemed able to make him let go.
In truth, Aris was suffering terribly. He clenched his teeth as hard as he could to endure the pain, but it was of no use, it hurt extremely. But he held on, and the grip tightened.
Little by little, Aris's blood spread in liters on the ground, but little by little as well, the wolf had trouble breathing. His vision also became blurry and his blows became less powerful.
The pack of fennec and fox that was looking into the distance became extremely tense, and all of them straightened up, short of breath.
The tension was at its peak, as Aris screamed in pain, the wolf could no longer make a sound. There was now a good puddle of Aris's blood under the two of them. The wolf, in a desperate effort, bit higher near Aris's neck. This time, the bite had reached a dangerous spot. Aris slightly shifted his body to avoid sudden death, but the wolf still managed to reach a part of it.
It was down to seconds now.
The wolf hadn't been breathing for a full minute, while Aris was losing an enormous amount of blood. One of them was bound to collapse—there was no doubt about it—and no one could predict who would fall first.
Aris had thrown all his determination, all his rage, and all his fury into this last insane movement. As he felt his own breath begin to fade, in one last convulsion, Aris pulled on the wire with all his strength.
Then…
Slowly…
He collapsed.
Fading in and out, unable to hold on any longer, his body finally gave in, falling into his own blood, under the stunned gaze of the pack…