Demon Wolf

“Two hundred and thirty-two.” Three minutes of carnage had passed in the sweltering fog.

Wolf ran, slaughtering blind, wailing women without pity, or any other emotion. He had grown numb to killing before he had turned ten. The circumstances of his birth made him indifferent towards life and death, doubly so for lives of robbers, murderers, and rapists.

The only death weighing on his soul was his father’s. The way Archibald perished and how the big man had removed himself from the endless cycle of reincarnation was Wolf’s greatest regret in life.

As for the greedy psychopaths soaking him with their life’s blood, even if Wolf spared them a thought, it would be a wish for karma to ensure they reincarnated as victims of others’ crimes.

“Two hundred and thirty-three, Two hundred and thirty-four.” Sweeping both his swords, Wolf extinguished two more lives, when he suddenly heard intelligible speech mixed with shrieks and wails.

“… Give me a healing pill, then heal the next person and take a pill from them.”

Some have already regained their senses. Wolf muttered silent curses and veered towards the voice, killing and trampling five more Brilliant Gate disciples before coming face to face with a woman in her mid twenties, bent over another prone youth, feeding her a healing pill.

The blonde gaped at Wolf, frozen in shock as Eviltongue neared her head.

‘No,’ she started mouthing, but never finished her plea.

Before blood sprayed, the cinnabar medicine landed in the wounded disciple’s mouth and Book pierced her eye and brain, dealing damage beyond the least pill’s ability to heal.

“Liana,” a shape concealed by the mist screamed, her shriek drowned by the wails of the wounded.

Wolf adjusted his direction and in a single bound reached the brunette, ramming Book through her heart all the way to the hilt.

“Attack!”

“We are under attack!”

Shit.

“Two hundred and forty-two. I should’ve decapitated her. Book’s stuck now.”

I rushed to silence her and didn’t have the angle for a slash.

Wolf bit his lip. He could either waste two seconds to brake and pull the sword out of the dying woman’s chest, or wait several seconds until her life winked out. Then he could store her corpse into his holdingring and re-summon Book. Either way, he lost the initiative.

Shit.

Wolf chose the third option. He heaved, lifting the dying body to dangle from Book. Despite his bulk, the woman’s seventy kilograms of weight pulled Wolf off balance.

He stumbled a step, bending his foot the wrong way, but his tempered tendons pulled the ankle back into place. Wolf ignored the sudden jab of pain. He flicked the body off his sword and awakened his senses to prevent further missteps.

In the twisted flow of time, he charged like a death-delivering juggernaut. The two silhouettes wearing the Brilliant Gate’s deep-red stood no chance. Eviltongue cleaved through a head, while Wolf’s Qi-reinforced foot shattered the other’s torso.

“Kill them!”

“Watch your backs!”

A dozen female voices screamed warnings and battle-cries, which mixed with incoherent screams and pleas for help.

If they focus on healing, they will all be operational in under five minutes.

“Two hundred and forty-five. Given my pace, I could kill up to six hundred of them by then. That lightning bolt had killed four or five. Ten at best.”

I could use the cover of the mist to eliminate more.

“Too risky. It’s not worth it.”

They have a map of the outer area, and they have the approximate location of the soul reinforcing treasure.

“Two hundred and forty-six. There are too many of them. A chain of unfortunate minor injuries could escalate into a fatal wound.”

As Wolf exterminated the group of thirty-seven rallied disciples, Marie’s cohort had grown to sixteen.

“Spread out in groups of four and start healing our apprentice sisters.” Marie spoke in the most righteous, courageous voice she could muster.

It had taken several seconds of thinking, but she had come up with the best survival plan. There’s a chance the attackers will head for the camp’s center, believing our leadership is at the heart, or they could whittle us from the edges. Either way, I should be the safest here, and I can use the others as a living shield and a warning system. Besides, this really is the most certain tactic for preserving as many disciples as possible and it should count as merit.

Marie shuddered while plopping a pill into a whimpering woman’s mouth. What will the sect master do? Will she blame me?

Her hand moved on its own, clenching and rubbing her throat. Brilliant Gate promised quick, easy benefits which accompanied the questionable moral choices of its members. However, the sect’s discipline was steely, and the sect master was a vengeful, unreasonable demon.

The woman in Marie’s hands awakened and thanked her profusely, but Marie ignored her. She mumbled the lines about healing the others and instructed the irrelevant pawn about her role before moving on.

Marie worked, listening to her surroundings and observing the number of screams and wails dwindle by the second.

“Blood!”

“We were attacked!” Marie heard a shout from two hundred meters away; however, the fog played tricks on her senses, and she failed to tell the direction from which the yell had come from.

No sounds of battle. Marie heaved a sigh of relief. She had survived the immediate danger. As for shouldering the general’s responsibility, that comes after we leave Corpsewood.

“They killed a bunch of people!”

Oh, shut up. Marie hated her situation. She knew shouting orders was risky, but it was her duty, a risk she had to bear. “Everyone! Stay calm! Keep your weapons drawn and pair up. If the enemy appears, shout and fight defensively, wait for your comrades to join you. Otherwise, wait for the fog to clear. You might stray from safety by moving around blindly.”

After issuing her commands, Marie did the opposite of what she said. She moved in a random direction, passing dozens of her apprentice sisters.

The women gazed at her, terror still dwelling within their eyes. They wanted reassurance, someone to rely on. Marie gave them firm nods, barely visible in the slowly dissipating mist. She strode with confidence and purpose, masking the same fear and uncertainty from which her fellow disciples suffered. More importantly, she concealed the fact that she had fled from the spot she compromised by issuing loud instructions; from the location liable to enemy attack.

Visibility is improving. I can already make out shapes three meters away. Using her newfound sight, Marie found a group of fifteen apprentice sisters. The women formed a ring. They kept their backs towards the center, their weapons drawn.

That’s Mallory and Josephine. Marie recognized two of the Brilliant Gate’s most senior disciples, who had suppressed their realm for nearly a decade at sect master’s orders.

What should I say? I can’t ask them what’s the situation? I’m supposed to know that.

“I’m glad you guys are safe,” Marie said with so much honesty it surprised her. “Were you attacked? Did you see anything?”

“We’re fine, Miss Grundhoffer. Banged up a bit by the explosion, but healing pills took care of that.” Josephine’s gaze was hard like steel as she spared Marie a glance. After checking Marie’s state for a moment, she kept darting her gaze left and right, looking for the mysterious attackers.

Yeah. I’m safe with these women watching over me. Despite her bravery against bound adversaries, Marie Grundhoffer was a coward.

She was rich, spoiled, and intelligent, valuing her own life above any other. The only reason she agreed to enter Corpsewood was the plan and the safety it guaranteed her.

“We’ll wait for the smoke to clear. Then we can investigate the scene and look for any clues the attackers might have left behind.”

Mallory and Josephine nodded without saying a word and made room for Marie to join their defensive ring.

Calm, uneventful minutes passed, and Marie regained her composure. She ignored the distant future after Corpsewood’s closure and focused on what were the next steps.

This can’t go on. We have to find them and reclaim the initiative. If we wait passively for attacks, they will eventually annihilate us.

“I believe we can move now, Miss Grundhoffer.” Josephine’s voice grated against Marie’s ear. The visibility had increased to ten meters, and the fog had cooled a great deal. Most of the mist had already risen into the treetops, and the remaining tendrils twisted and danced through the air painting a hellish landscape.

It’s still too early. Marie itched to find a reason to stay safe, but failed to come up with a plausible excuse. So she nodded, looking into the distance.

“We should head towards the center and see the damage for ourselves.” She paused, wondering whether her voice betrayed her cowardice.

Luckily, the veteran disciples did not notice, or did not care, as they turned towards Marie’s left and headed towards ground zero.

sleepydad88 Random Roll -

Spoiler

The number of disciples Wolf had initially slain. The number of groups of survivors who, like Marie, started healing and their power.

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