Lian and Elios stared in shock at the Blood Wolf as it began healing the wound on its neck, its body contorting in unnatural ways as it transford.
"It's entering a berserk awakening state... I couldn't kill it with that strike," Elios muttered, his voice trembling with terror at the grotesque sight. "It was strong before, but now... we're dead."
The transformation would take a few more seconds to complete. Lian, trying to think of a plan, glanced at Elios, who seed paralyzed with fear.
"Elios!" Lian shouted, snapping his companion out of his stupor. "Heal now. I'll buy you all so ti."
Elios shook off the fear and imdiately began healing Lian.
While Elios worked on his wounds, Lian looked toward his group. They were all sprawled on the ground, frozen as they stared at the abomination before them. It was clear they had no ti left.
"Listen to ," Lian said firmly, his voice cutting through the panic. "We don't have any ti, and you've used up too much energy in your last attack. You won't be able to fight anymore." Lian hesitated, knowing he might regret what he was about to say, but continued. "Go to the portal and bring back an instructor or soone who can kill that thing. I'll hold it off for you. Now, go!"
The mont Lian finished speaking, the monster stood up. It no longer resembled an ordinary wolf; it had transford into a towering werewolf over two ters tall, its fur a dark shade of blood red. Its wounds weren't fully healed, but the one Elios had inflicted on its neck was completely gone.
Elios managed to snap the group out of their fear-induced trance and ushered them out of the clearing in search of the portal.
Now it was kill or be killed. The two stared each other down: the Blood Werewolf with a murderous gleam in its eyes, ready to tear Lian apart, and Lian returning the gaze with the resolve of a hunter.
"Oblivion... let's use what we've been training," Lian said, taking a combat stance.
"You'll die if you push too hard. We've only trained for twenty days."
"I'm going to die anyway."
As Lian finished speaking, shadows began to wrap around his body. The portal boss, sensing sothing was happening, charged at high speed, its claws aid directly at Lian's heart.
Just as the claws were about to strike, Lian made a swift movent with his sword, slashing the werewolf's palm and forcing it to retreat.
Lian flicked the blood off his sword with a sharp motion. "Looks like I'll need to end this quickly. This Void Armor eats up too much energy."
Lian's body was now clad in a dark armor ford from shadows, with a faint purple glow emanating from the eye sockets of the helt. The armor exuded an aura of fear, giving him an intimidating presence.
The clearing felt like a battlefield of pure tension, the darkness of the night rging with the threatening gleam of the Blood Werewolf's crimson fur.
The Blood Werewolf wasted no ti. It roared, shaking the forest with its sheer power, and lunged at Lian with deadly speed. Lian, his reflexes heightened by the Void Armor, narrowly dodged and countered with Oblivion. The dark blade clashed against the monster's hardened claws, emitting a tallic screech that reverberated through the air.
The force of the impact pushed Lian backward, but he used the montum to spin and slash one of the werewolf's legs. Black blood splattered onto the ground, but the creature seed unfazed by the pain. It growled and retaliated with a brutal swipe, slamming Lian into a tree.
"Damn... even with the armor, it's too fast," Lian muttered, tasting blood in his mouth as he staggered to his feet.
The werewolf didn't relent. It lunged again, but this ti, Lian was ready. He summoned shadows from the ground, which wrapped around the monster's legs and anchored it in place. Before it could break free, Lian charged forward, slashing its shoulder with Oblivion.
The werewolf recoiled but reacted instantly, breaking free of the shadows with raw strength. It grabbed a massive stone and hurled it at Lian. The Void Armor absorbed so of the impact, but the blow was strong enough to send him crashing to the ground.
"I can't keep this up for much longer..." Lian thought, feeling the heavy toll the Void Armor was taking on his energy.
The werewolf sensed his hesitation and attacked again, its claws ripping through the earth as it closed the distance. Lian gathered his remaining strength, summoning shadows to form a barrier in front of him. The werewolf's claws slamd into it, causing the barrier to tremble but hold long enough for Lian to catch his breath.
Using his last reserves of energy, Lian launched another attack. He charged forward, Oblivion pulsating in his hand. He swung the sword, releasing a wave of shadows that struck the werewolf and forced it back.
The creature, however, was relentless. It leaped into the air, its claws glowing red as it prepared to deliver the finishing blow.
Lian braced himself, but just as the werewolf was about to strike, a sharp sound cut through the air.
"Lightning Slash!"
A brilliant line of energy shot across the clearing, and the Blood Werewolf froze mid-air. Its body trembled, and before it could react, it collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Lian blinked, trying to comprehend what had happened. When he looked back, he saw Ark Zenith standing at the edge of the clearing, his sword still glowing faintly with energy.
"You almost got yourself killed, kid," Ark said as he walked toward Lian, his expression as unreadable as ever.
"I... I had it under control," Lian replied weakly, his voice betraying his exhaustion.
"Sure you did," Ark said sarcastically. He glanced at the werewolf's corpse. "That was a Rank D monster. You had no chance against it, even with that... armor."
Lian dropped to his knees, the Void Armor dissolving into nothingness as his energy was completely drained. Blood dripped from his wounds, and every muscle in his body scread in pain.
"What took you so long?" Lian asked, trying to hide how much he was struggling.
Ark shrugged. "I wanted to see how far you could go. You impressed , but you also showed how reckless you are."
Elios arrived monts later, leading the rest of the group. They all looked relieved to see the monster dead.
"Lian! Are you okay?" Elios ran to him, helping him stand.
"More or less," Lian replied, managing a weak smile despite the pain.
Ark glanced at the group with disdain. "You all have a lot to learn. If it weren't for this idiot's stubbornness, none of you would be alive right now. Get back to the portal. We'll discuss this later."
As the group began moving, Ark cast one last glance at Lian.
"You did well saving your team. You have potential, kid. But if you keep this up, you'll end up dead before you realize what you're truly capable of. Think about that."
Lian didn't respond, gripping Oblivion tightly. He knew Ark was right, but he also knew he couldn't afford to back down. If pushing himself to the limit was the price of survival, he was willing to pay it.
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