Divine Beast Ascension

Creech, creech!

Trenk’s sword parried two of the lunging wolves. He also unleashed another volley of shadowy orbs to distract the other wolves.

At the same time, multiple streams of icicles were thrown at nearly point blank, making it impossible for them to collectively miss their human target.

Suddenly, the fiery essence surrounding Trenk exploded outward, breaking more than half of the icicles. Trenk groaned and yelled as he tapped into his deepest essence reserves to avoid grave injuries. But while only a few icicles still managed to cut into him threw the fire, ice-coated claws stormed through the raging fire essence with less trouble.

As the dark spheres faded and Trenk was able to better see all the wolves piling on top of him, he felt better after noticing that some of the wolves had injured each other in the process. And he also kept pumping out fire essence with reckless abandon while hacking into whatever wolf was closest to his blade.

“TRENK!!” Freele and Fulkar both shouted, with Freele already spraying beam after beam of light into the wolves’ backs. But killing one wolf wouldn’t be enough to save Trenk from the other six.

“MOVE!”

Before Fulkar could break away and help Trenk, and before Freele attempted to pull Trenk out, Yeter charged straight into the dogpile at full speed. Blood sprayed from both Yeter and the wolf clinging to his side, which crashed into its six comrades trying to finish Trenk off.

.....

Wolves were thrown back and knocked into the air as Yeter’s cutting essence armor broke the huddle apart. It also let the three remaining wolves from Yeter’s fight join the large group.

Freele didn’t need an order to hurriedly drag Trenk out of the fray. She did that the moment Yeter passed him and left her a window of opportunity.

Cough, cough!

Blood trickled out of Trenk’s lips and spilled out from over a dozen slashes across his body. But he was breathing. And smiling. “How many… did I get?”

“Three and two halves! Not bad!” Yeter laughed while tauntingly kicking up dirt and snow. “Add Freele’s kill and we’ve only got nine pelts left to collect!”

Grrrrr…

One of the four wolves around Fulkar leaped away to join the group assault. That left six wolves to contend against Yeter, Freele, and Trenk. However, Freele was forced to hover much lower to the ground while carrying Trenk in order to not burn through her essence. And Trenk was spent. He wouldn’t be able to wield more essence without gambling against his life.

“Freele, just guard Trenk!” Oli’s shout sounded out. “Let Yeter and Fulkar hold off the rest!”

“Yes, sir!” Yeter and Fulkar shouted, rushing the wolves with reinvigorated orders.

“You talk like you’re about to save them?!” cackled the lead wolf. “If you’re so strong, prove it before I feast on your flesh!”

As the pack leader dove for Oli yet again, Oli dropped his defensive stance. He stored his mace as well.

“HA! HA! SMART! You know when to give up!” the pack leader mocked.

But Oli kept his gauntlets on so he hurried to try and grab the incoming claws. That quickly failed due to the wolf’s great dexterity, but Oli was finally closer to the wolf than ever.

THUD! Frrip! … Crrrsh…

The pack leader’s claws changed trajectory mid-attack, diving onto Oli’s upper torso in place of stabbing into Oli’s gullet. At the same time, the wolf’s fangs bit down on Oli’s shoulder. But the pack leader’s jaw suddenly loosened in the middle of piercing Oli’s skin.

Smashed into the lead wolf’s side was Oli’s fist. Though the wolf had anticipated getting injured or even breaking a few ribs during the exchange, it never could’ve anticipated the mysterious energy that had breached its defenses and killed it almost instantly.

While the pack leader fell into the snow with a lifeless yet baffled expression, Oli retrieved his dual essence mace and sprinted back to his team. He also picked up the mace he threw earlier, giving him ammo for yet another throw at the wolf pack.

Crack!

That flying mace was the wake-up call that forced the wolf pack to realize and acknowledge the result of their leader’s fight. And now with only eight wolves left against four able-bodied team members, the wolves needed to make a new split-second decision.

HOWWWL!

In unison, the straggling wolves howled and immediately dispersed. Some raced for the broken wall. Others rushed for the stone walls and climbed over. And a few fell to the team in the process, dying to either Fulkar’s sword or Yeter’s hoofs. But the team didn’t give chase to any that passed the walls. In their condition, that would’ve been the worst plan of action.

“Trenk, how are your injuries?” Oli asked before bothering to collect any wolf corpses.

Trying to shrug while laying in the snow, Trenk replied, “Well… Yeter saved me before I used this…”

Trenk opened his clenched fist to reveal his orb linked to the shrine.

“But… I think I still might use it,” Trenk chuckled awkwardly.

“I can heal you!” Freele claimed, gathering a huge amount of light essence in her hands while kneeling over her brother-in-law.

“Stop, Freele,” Oli ordered while putting a hand on her shoulder. “We don’t have much essence left. We have to be smart about how to use it. If not, we’ll be left exhausted and unable to ward off any more attacks.”

Freele stopped reaching for Trenk but she shook her head. “But the wolves fled, and their pack leader is dead. They’re not coming back–”

“And what about other predators?” asked Oli. “A fight like that is bound to attract attention from other creatures, or from other teams that might be nearby. So we need to make sure we’re not exhausted or anyone creeping nearby might try their luck against us.”

Nodding, Fulkar stored his swords. “He’s right, Freele. I don’t want Trenk to leave either, but we’re allowed one person’s retreat and we need to make sure you, the team healer can still support us. If you waste the last of your essence trying to heal him, would you get him back to one hundred percent? Or even fifty percent?”

“... I don’t know,” Freele admitted. She dropped her arms to her side and glared at Trenk. “Why did you do that?”

“Because,” Oli answered in place of the weary Trenk, “he knew that your role as healer and support can’t be picked up by anyone else. But his role as an attacker or defender is replaceable. We can pick up his slack.”

“I guess that’s true… But I promised to bring you back safe and sound!” Freele seemingly argued with Trenk.

Laughing between coughs, Trenk said, “And I promised… to protect you. When I see Trantor next, I’m sure… Master Zelsh will have healed me. So your promise… still stands.”

Unable to argue, Freele just nodded in silence.

Oli lightly patted an uninjured spot on Trenk’s chest. “You did well. Sorry I took so long with the leader, but I needed to get a good body shot.”

“Hey, I’m alive and still here talking. I’d say it was a great victory– cough…” Trenk chuckled.

“Go get some rest. And tell Zelsh that we’ll be seeing him soon.” Giving Trenk a proud smile, he stood up and waved goodbye.

Fulkar added, “Nice job, Trenk! See you back at the shrine.”

“See you soon,” Yeter said while puffing out his chest, as if showing off the cuts littering his body.

“Bye…” Freele managed to put on a smile. “And thank you.”

“Ha… You’re welcome… See you.”

Crack, Zzrrmm…

The moment Trenk crushed the orb, spatial essence burst out and swallowed his entire being faster than anyone could blink. And that energy dispersed just as fast, leaving nothing and no one behind.

“Huuuuh…” Oli sighed, relaxing slightly while thinking about what the team should do next. “Hm, I can only think of two options. One, we leave now while it’s still dark and hope nothing tries to hunt us down. Or two, we set up camp and rest till dawn. I’m thinking we just sleep and recover our essence. Any objections?”

“Well, if something wants to attack us, they would attack us in camp or on the move. So why not try to rest, I guess?” Fulkar agreed and started building a new campfire.

Yeter volunteered to gather the wolf corpses, storing them in his void choker for the time being.

While Freele helped Fulkar with the fire and started roasting some lizard meat for a flash meal, Oli took a seat on the cold ground. With eyes closed, Oli let his senses scour the darkness around their campground. Though the storm beyond the walls lessened Oli’s sensory skills, Oli still wanted to check just in case.

“... Okay. The coast is clear…” Oli sighed before getting back up. “Guys, I’ve got an idea for how to be extra cautious while we sleep.”