Kala felt the blood pulsing in her temples in sync with the slaughter she was sowing. In the Mines of Despair, the battles had been jerky and corridor-based, causing her Talent to reset every few minutes. But here? Here she was in the very heart of an ocean of meat. She felt her strength swell with every crushed spine, her body becoming lighter. A red aura, thick and steaming like blood, began to emanate from her skin, creating a macabre glow around her.
She fell into a battle trance. She dodged an axe blow, delivering a straight punch that didn't even touch the werewolf's chest - the mere shockwave of compressed air tore a gigantic hole clean through his body. Kala smiled predatorily, licking her lip, when suddenly her instinct screamed of danger.
She flashed her hand up.
THUD!
Verial's massive, hairy fist slammed into her open palm. The shockwave radiated outward, tearing the ground around them. Kala's feet sank several centimeters into the earth, but her arm didn't even budge.
She looked up, and her red eyes flashed maliciously at the sight of the shocked werewolf.
"Och..." she murmured, her voice dripping with mockery. "This doggy is quite strong."
Verial couldn't believe it. His strongest attack, boosted by momentum and a hero's aura, had been stopped with one hand by a creature who hadn't even blinked. He leaped back immediately, without breaking his run. He circled her, lunging for another attack.
Kala dodged a powerful kick with a pirouette and delivered a blow of her own, which Verial bypassed at the last second. The succubus's fist hammered into the ground, creating a crater and a bang like a grenade explosion.
The werewolf was fast. Using his momentum, he tried to snap at her throat, but Kala leaned back, countering with a short hook. Verial blocked it with his forearms, but the force of the impact lifted him up and threw him back several meters. He landed hard, straightening up slowly and spitting blood.
"You finally showed up, Demon King!" Verial growled, baring his fangs. "Did you think you could hide behind these corpses forever? You wretched, horned bitch, I'm about to teach you respect for a true hunter!"
Kala froze for a moment, and then an expression of sincere amusement bloomed on her face.
He thinks I'm Lilith? she thought, but she had no intention of correcting him. She looked down at him, adjusting her hair.
"Is that all you've got, puppy?" she asked in a serious, almost disappointed tone. "I expected more from such an overgrown mutt."
Verial howled at the top of his lungs, his rage reaching a breaking point. Suddenly, a gigantic, ghostly avatar of a Black Wolf with empty, dark eyes began to form over his back. The specter lunged at its host, merging into his body.
This was the power he had unlocked after reaching Hero Level 2 - the awakening of the primal bloodline. His muscles began to swell, tearing skin and fur; his claws lengthened to the size of daggers, and black mist began to billow from his maw.
"See for yourself what the Power of the Wolf King means!" he rasped, his voice now sounding like the grinding of stones. "Accept death at the hands of Fenrir Awakened!"
In a single second, Verial grew half a meter, becoming a mountain of muscle and hatred. His strength and agility stats shot up so violently that even the nearby skeletons began to crack from the mere pressure of his new aura. Kala, however, did not retreat a single step. On the contrary - her smile grew even wider. The succubus's talent was still active, and her "charging" meter had just found the perfect target.
The sight of Verial in his Fenrir Awakened form acted like a shot of adrenaline on the dying werewolves. Though the skeletons were tightening the noose and the spirits were tearing through their ranks, thousands of throats howled in ecstatic triumph. They believed their lord - the incarnation of ancient power - would crush the "Demon King" and put an end to this nightmare.
The clash occurred with a bang that drowned out the screams of the dying. Verial, moving now like black lightning, struck first. Their fists collided centrally, but this time it was Kala, despite her inhuman strength, who was thrown back. Her feet plowed deep furrows in the earth as she flew five meters back, slamming her back into a protruding rock.
Kala lifted her head, and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes weren't burning with fear - they were burning with madness. She burst into a wild, pearly laugh that echoed through the canyon. "Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" she shrieked, bouncing off the rock with such force that it shattered into fine dust.
The dance of slaughter began. Verial dominated, pressing with a fury that was indescribable. Every blow he landed carried the destructive power of the ancient wolf.
They raced across the battlefield, heedless of anyone. When Verial delivered a wide swing of his club, Kala ducked, and the weapon shattered the heads of five werewolves who were standing too close. A second later, wanting to gain distance, Kala grabbed a nearby skeletal soldier and hurled him into Verial's face like a projectile. The bones shattered against the black fur, leaving not even a scratch.
They fought at a full run, trampling the wounded and crushing the dead. Kala used the terrain with predatory intelligence - she bounced off her skeletons' shields to gain momentum and drew Verial into the thickest crowd of werewolves, causing the chief to tear apart his own subordinates in his frenzy.
Verial felt the power, but a chill began to creep into his heart.
I have to end this! he thought feverishly.
The Fenrir form is burning my mana and endurance at an alarming rate.
Another minute and I'll collapse from exhaustion!
After a dozen murderous exchanges, Verial struck from above with both paws. Kala blocked, but buckled under the weight. The werewolf looked into her eyes and froze. She was still smiling. That smile hadn't left her face even as blood flooded her cheek.
What is wrong with her? Why is she still standing? the thought flashed through his mind with terror.
I've landed blows that should have killed a dragon! She is absolutely insane!
They collided again, chest to chest. This time Kala flew back only three steps. Verial felt his stomach turn inside out.
What is happening?! A moment ago she flew five meters!
In the heat of the fight, they stumbled into the sector ruled by Lysandra. Out of the corner of his eye, Verial spotted an ice monument. His brilliant mage and fellow hero was pinned to the ground by gigantic icicles. An ice spike protruded from his chest, piercing his heart clean through. Lysandra sat on his corpse with her legs crossed, watching Kala's fight with cool curiosity.
"What the hel... ?!" Verial began, momentarily distracted by his companion's death.
CRACK!
A massive blow to the jaw spun his head nearly ninety degrees. He heard Kala's throaty, joyful laugh in his ears. "Concentrate, puppy... Your opponent is right here. Don't look away, or you'll miss your own death!"
Verial arched his back, and a thick, black vapor shot from his maw.
"YOU HORNED BITCH! I'LL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS AND FEED YOU TO THESE FUCKING MUTTS!" he howled, every word saturated with the hatred choking him from within.
His muscles swelled to the limit of endurance, and blood vessels beneath his fur began to burst, staining his skin scarlet. He gathered every drop of mana he still possessed, redirecting the full power of Fenrir into his right arm. The werewolf's fist flared with dark, violet fire as he delivered a punch with such fury, it was as if he wanted to punch through the very floor of the canyon.
Kala didn't blink. Her eyes shone like two red gems in the dark. She took one short step forward, driving her heel into the rocky ground, and delivered a straight, almost nonchalant punch.
BOOOOM!
When their fists met, time stood still for a fraction of a second. Then came the explosion.
The shockwave radiated outward with such force that the surrounding werewolves and skeletons were swept off their feet like stalks of grain. Boulders the size of wagon wheels, embedded for centuries in the canyon floor, were torn from the earth and began to swirl in the air, crumbling into fine dust. The air around their hands cracked with a loud snap, creating energy discharges visible to the naked eye.
Verial pushed with all his might, his claws plowing the stone beneath his feet, but Kala's arm remained motionless, hard as diamond. The succubus stood at the very heart of this tornado of destruction, her hair lashing her face.
Then Verial saw it up close. He saw that her fist wasn't just blocking his attack - it was beginning, slowly, centimeter by centimeter, to push his gigantic arm back.
"This... this is impossible..." he rasped through clenched fangs, blood gushing from his nose.
Kala only widened her predatory smile, and her aura flared so intensely it momentarily blinded the werewolf.
"Game over, puppy," she whispered, and her voice was the only thing he heard above the roar of the wind raging around them.