An eerie silence veiled the forest.
The werewolves no longer chased; they watched from the shadows like predators.
If this dragged on, they'd be picked off one by one. He had to lure them out.
Lucien turned to the lead knight. "What's the terrain like up ahead?"
The man, panting hard, replied, "Rocky path to the west. Tangled roots to the east."
"Good," Lucien nodded. "I'll cast a thick fog to block their vision and mask our movement. Stay close. Keep formation."
"Wouldn't that hinder us, too?" Kyle asked, frowning.
"Yes," Lucien said. "But it evens the field, and I have a plan."
They couldn't keep running indefinitely. Eventually, the woman would tire of the chase and force a direct fight. He had to thin the pack enough to carve an escape route before that happened.
Kyle gave him a long look, then nodded. "Let's hope it works."
Lucien's gaze swept the group. "Once the fog sets in, don't swing blindly. If you see light in the mist, strike it."
"Understood!"
Casting the spell, a dense fog burst from the ground and surged forward like a tidal wave, swallowing the forest until visibility dropped to a few feet. The knights tightened their formation, blades raised, breaths shallow.
Leaves crunched. Branches groaned. The werewolves were moving again—slower now, deliberate.
Good. Let them think the fog made them kings of the field.
A growl rumbled from the right. A dark blur flashed left—a heavy thud answered on the right. They were toying with them again.
Lucien quietly recited the next incantation, mentally counting shadows slipping through the fog.
One, two… eight.
Another landed just ahead, its outline faint in the mist. Too close.
Mana coiled within him like a drawn bowstring. His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he held the spell. Seconds dragged like hours. Still, he waited.
The snarls, crunching leaves, and groaning branches grew deafening.
Then—
Lucien unleashed it.
Lightning streaked through the mist. The beasts twisted to dodge, but the electricity branched like claws through the damp air, seizing them mid-motion.
Pained howls tore the silence as eight pulses of light bloomed in the fog. Bodies thudded to the ground, followed by the stench of scorched flesh. Lucien pulled the remaining sparks straight to their hearts.
"Strike now!" he shouted.
The knights hurled spells. Each hit its mark. In seconds, eight werewolves fell.
A streak of lightning suddenly pierced the mist, racing toward the group. Lucien hastily cast a gust of wind to clear the fog and summoned five walls of earth.
The bolt struck.
A thunderous explosion followed as the walls burst apart, the ground trembling beneath them. Dust and debris erupted into the air.
"Shield!" Lucien barked.
The knights threw up barriers just in time, transparent domes flaring as rubble slammed against them.
Lucien's chest heaved. His heart pounded in his ears. A second slower, and they'd be fried.
As the dust thinned, all eyes turned toward a woman standing on a high branch, one finger still pointed at them.
"Oh?" Her lips curled into an amused smile. "Quick reflexes, Your Highness. But I can't let you wipe out my men just yet." She snapped her fingers. "Let's end it here, shall we?"
From behind the trees, the werewolves emerged, surrounding them. Their razor claws glinted in the sunlight. Nine of them. One tilted its head, the sharp pop of joints echoing.
Unlike Lucien's group, worn down with their Mana and stamina halved, the creatures looked barely warmed up. Lucien tightened his grip on the hilt. He had expected this outcome, but not this soon.
Kyle edged closer. "Orders?"
Lucien didn't answer right away. His gaze locked on the woman above, watching them like a spectator savoring the show.
"What do you want from me?" Lucien called, buying a few precious seconds to recover.
Her smile deepened. "You're stalling—I won't fall for it."
She flicked her wrist. The beasts lunged, slamming into the barriers, claws raking with bone-shaking force. The outermost shield splintered, cracks webbing across its surface.
Lucien blasted a gust of dirt into the werewolves' faces. They dropped, groaning and pawing at their eyes, only to sink as the ground beneath them turned to mire. Five snared; four leaped clear, disappearing into the branches.
"Now!" Lucien shouted.
Flaming Arrows whistled through the air, striking true. The restrained beasts convulsed as holes burned clean through their chests before collapsing in smoking heaps.
A soft sigh drifted from above. The woman's expression darkened. "All right, no more games."
She blew the soundless whistle.
The air around them warped. Mana thinned, then vanished. The barrier crumbled into shards.
The Mana disruption spell returned.
The werewolves roared and jumped upward in a blur, leaves scattering in their wake.
"Protect the Prince!" Kyle barked.
The group tightened formation around him, swords raised and breaths held.
Silence fell, broken by distant chirps of birds. Lucien's eyes darted around, searching for movement.
"Above!"
A shout jerked their heads upward. A shadow dropped from the branches, forcing the knights to dive aside. Lucien rolled onto his back and sprang to his feet, swinging his sword at the blur rushing in.
Steel met flesh. The beast reeled back with a howl, dark blood spilling from the gash across its chest before it leaped back into the canopy.
"Your Highness!"
A knight bolted toward him—gone in a blur of claws. Lucien hurled a dagger, but it sliced through empty air. The man's scream ended with a crack of bone.
"Your Highness, duck!" Kyle barked.
Lucien dropped to one knee. A silver arc cleaved the air above, followed by a sharp yelp and the wet rip of flesh. The werewolf, split clean in two, crashed to the ground, entrails pooling in the mud.
Kyle and three knights closed in around him.
A wet gurgle whipped Lucien's head to the side. A knight lay crumpled, throat and jaw torn open, blood gushing beneath his twitching limbs.
A scream ripped through the air as another knight was yanked into the distant canopy. Hurlbats chased after them, but the shadows swallowed him whole. The cry was cut short with a sharp crack of bone. His body crashed to the ground moments later, head and limbs twisted at impossible angles.
Lucien's jaw locked, fingers whitening around the hilt. Is there truly nothing I can do?
A dull thud snapped his focus outward. Three werewolves landed hard and circled them. Bloodied claws flexed with each step; feral eyes burned into the group.
The knights raised their swords in defiance, shoulders heaving and lungs aflame.
Lucien's skull throbbed, his pulse pounding in his ears. Images of dead knights—bodies half-buried in the mud—flashed behind his eyes.
Come on… think!
There had to be a way. There had to be—
His gaze cut to the woman perched atop the trunk.
Ah…
There was a way.
She outclassed him in magic, true. But without Mana, she was just an ordinary human.
"Orders?" Kyle rasped, chest heaving.
"The woman."
Attack her, and the beasts would break formation to shield her. That would buy them a moment to breathe and think.
"But it leaves you open. The moment I strike, those beasts will be on you," Kyle warned.
"Then I'll hold them off."
The werewolves would pounce regardless. It was a gamble, but they couldn't fight forever—especially when everyone's Aura was dwindling.
Kyle's jaw tightened before he finally nodded. "Understood."
He swung his blade, unleashing a sharp arc of light toward the woman.
A knight beside Lucien suddenly drove his sword at Kyle's back, but he caught his wrist mid-strike. "What are you—!"
A heavy blow slammed into the back of Lucien's neck. Pain flared white. He hit the ground hard, vision spinning, voices muffled.
Kyle barely turned when a werewolf rammed him sideways, pitching him into a tree. Blood burst from his mouth as the trunk splintered with a deafening crack, dust choking the air.
Lucien struggled to rise, but something massive pressed down on his back, pinning him to the ground. Amid his kaleidoscopic vision, the woman descended from the tree, moving toward him at a leisurely pace.
"Oh, poor Your Highness," she cooed. "All of your knights are dead."
The remaining knights bowed as she passed.
She crouched beside him, her mock-pitiful expression flickering in his distorted vision. "I told you, didn't I? You should've listened when I asked nicely."
"Now then," she said, yanking his head up and forcing him to face the clearing. "Shall we watch our final performance?"
Far ahead, a werewolf lifted Kyle by the throat. His legs kicked weakly as he struggled, gurgling cries echoing through the forest. For a fleeting second, Kyle's eyes found him—a silent apology.
"Stop," Lucien rasped. His hand shot up, seizing her collar. A groan escaped his lips as the crushing weight on his body mounted, his voice strained. "Spare him… I'll surrender."
Her lips curved, amused. "Isn't it a little late for that?"
"Please…" His grip trembled, knuckles whitening, "…Stop it."
A wet squelch pierced the air. Lucien's head whipped toward the sound—the beast, drenched in blood, clutching a human heart in its claws before dropping Kyle's limp body to the ground.
Lucien froze, eyes widening. His breath caught, heart sinking to ice.
His free hand surged up toward her neck, but she caught and twisted it. Agony exploded through his arm, white-hot, stealing his breath. The weight on his back pressed harder, forcing a broken groan past his lips.
She leaned closer, her fingers brushing his cheek with a disturbingly tender touch. "Next time, be obedient."
Releasing her grip, Lucien's face hit the ground, dirt and blood in his mouth.
"Burn the forest."
A shadow fell over him. He looked up to see a werewolf's fist descend—and everything went dark.