CHPT 259: Blind Ultimatum within Sightful Forest....

The night air of the vibrant forest was lined with a powerful intensity that felt as tangible as spiderwebs. As if he could reach out in the breeze and grab hold of the strands of foreign power at any moment.

Night was beautiful. And in this forest it was no exception. The light of the waning Moon cast its lunar beams onto the tops of trees and petals of flowers until everything seemed to glow and place him in an almost dark fairy-tale setting.

Frosty, Ashe and Gil roamed the area in front of him with their snouts to the floor in search of any threats. It seems it wasn't just him who took a while to adjust to new areas.

But, he'd have to force himself to adjust later. Right now, he'd like to learn about his HellSlaying Hound, Gil, before beginning to adjust him to how the rest of the pack fights.

With his senses on alert, he sauntered over to a nearby rock that lay near a tree and sat on it. A few seconds later and he was looking at his System screen in search of much needed information after what transpired within the cave.

***

[Stats]

[Items]

[Spells]

[Tamed Beasts]

***

He skimmed over the tabs he had no interest in and opened up the "Tamed Beasts" category. In a smooth transition, the screen shimmered and became flooded with a new page of vibrant green texts.

***

Tamed Beasts:

EVO-Stage 1 PitWolf (Lv 18)

Phantom Pack/Legion (Lv???)

EVO-Stage 1 HellSlayer's Hound (Lv 21)

***

"Damn. Really puts into perspective how little work I've done as a Beast Tamer...."

"[What did you think you'd have a Drake tamed by age fifteen? You're doing fine. Remember, most Beast Tamers at your age only have a single Companion to work with.]" Arne supported.

"Most Beast Tamers also don't plan to gut a Shape-Shifter god..."

"[....I can't argue with that. If you want to grow your numbers, being out here is the perfect choice. Just give it time and remember your main purpose.]"

Claude sighed and recentered himself before sitting up straighter on the rock, "Right."

With nothing left to be said about his seemingly abysmal, Class progress, he opened up the HellSlayer Hound's stats.

***

Name: Gil

Title: The HellSlayer's Hound

Race: (Chimera) Demon-Hunter's Hound

Level: 21 (1490/2200)

HP: 460

MP: 470

Stamina: 43

Strength: 35

Will Power: 20

Intelligence: 20

Accuracy: 19

Agility/Speed: 32

Skills: (Natural Flame Manipulation), (Quill-Shot), (Quill Burst), (Sensory Focus), (Cross-Species Communication), (Hell Sense), (Hell Thirst)

Racial Abilities: Anti-Hell Scales, Purgatory Venom, Increased Sense of Smell, Increased Hearing, Increased Stamina, Double Breathing, Prey Drive, Demon Drive, Territory Marking, Quill Generation, Lunar Empowerment/Lunar Madness

***

If Claude was expecting to be surprised with what he saw, what he currently felt far exceeded that for a number of reasons. On glaring reason being that; it was affected by the Moon. It wasn't a natural born predator, so to know that it felt the pull of the Moon was surprising. But then again, maybe it wasn't. It was him part of him, so many similarities should've been expected, still...

"What the hell is Natural Flame?" He asked while Gil patiently sat in front of him, waiting for him to finish reading.

"[Nothing I've ever heard of. But I think it's safe to assume it works in tandem with your Nature Element, I suggest you read up on what exactly it is..]"

Claude was already on it. By the time Arne was done speaking, he was already a sentence deep in informational text about the two Skills that caught his eye.

***

(Natural Flame Manipulation): Your inner rage and ferocity burns like fire, an aspect taken by your Hound and blended seamlessly with the cleansing and natural aspect of your own Element. The Natural Flame works as a deterrent to certain Demonic damage, as well as a boost to your own Nature Element.

(Purgatory Venom): A Skill name that's an oxymoron in nature simply since the venom cleanses. It cleanses the unnatural, the evil, Demons. The many teeth and fangs of your HellSlaying Hound are coated in Purgatory Venom, which may have no effect on humans; but is incredibly corrosive to Demon-Kind.

***

"[Support....and Damage. Beautiful.]" Arne spoke in a distant tone.

"This is good. Very good." Claude through eyes shining brighter with motivation.

Gil seemed to pick up on this and rose to his feet in unison with Claude.

"Come with me." He said to the Hound.

Frosty and Ashe sat by calmly while the two stepped out into a clearer portion of forest. The former Phantom Wolf Alpha knew exactly where this was going, she'd seen Claude do the same thing with Frosty back in SkyHaven.

".....Alright, Gil." Claude said before settling into a combat stance and bouncing rhythmically on his toes., "You understand me, don't you?"

Gil nodded.

"Ok. We're gonna do a little exercise. This is how we fight. This is how we overpower. When I click, you move. Always opposite me. If im front, your back.....If im back, your--"

Gil cut him off with a series of barks, snarls and hisses that he understood. Gil knew what to do, he was telling him to get on with it.

"Fair enough, let's start slow...." Claude said.

The two began moving in place. One giant wolf-man in a open-handed boxers stance opposite one eyeless scaled Hound that paced with a grace that matched the feline build of its body.

He clicked. There was no need to start incredibly slow, they were one in the same. And each of their natural speeds were fast.

They blew past each-other through the wind and spun to come face to face once again, still in combat stances.

"Good. Just like that."

***

In time, the exercise grew-- blossomed, like a flower in spring. What was once a relatively choppy and mundane series of physical orders and responses blended into something more. Something fluid and graceful with style and a deadly edge. It was like a wild dance. Claude would dash across the field, spinning against the grain of his movements while Gil undercut his advance, slicing through the grass and leaves below in a flash only to go again until the Wild Magic of the forest carried them into a new world of speed and power.

After a while, the sounds of Claude's clicking were overpowered by the sweeping gusts of wind and snarls of Frosty and Ashe who'd decided to copy the exercise on their own.

Now, all that took place in the forest were clusters of movement that moved all over in the pattern of an unpredictable feral tornado.

WOOSH!

"Again!"

The speed picked up in response to his commands like a composer demanding a better performance from his musicians.

The Wolves were his musicians. As they dashed and cut through the forest, the winds howled and smashed against the trees, creating a natural song that the fit the vibe of their training like a once missing puzzle piece.

"Faster!"

WOOSH!

They continued to go and go and go until it looked as if they never ceased movement and anything that was unfortunate enough to fall in their dance would be reduced to shreds smaller than the eye can see.

Faster. More speed. More intensity.

"Stop!"

FWoo!

Silence fell on the forest for the first time in hours. They stood in their tracks, breathing like Wolves at the end of a hunt while small green blades of grass fell around them in a verdant shower.

Claude noticed and looked to up in confusion. Nothing. Naturally, his eyes fell to the ground they stood on.

Barren. The ground all around them was shaved of it's grass almost completely in the shape of a poorly done circle.

DING!

[Your Stamina has grown by 2 Points!]

"[He fits well...]" Arne said in referrence to Gil.

The Hound stood across from him, looking about as tired as Claude looked human.

"I agree. But we've still got work to do." Claude replied before circling back to the cave to check on the Wolves and Ursula. Afterward, he led him and his "search and attack team" to the scents of a nearby body of water for a drink.

It didn't take them long to find the source. It was a lake, less than half a mile from the cave/den outside the collective covering of forest.

Small spikes of land jutted out deeper into the lake before sinking beneath the cold waters bordered by cold earth and tall trees.

All round the shimmering Lunar blue lake, creatures drank. Some he knew, others he was less sure of, causing his hackles to raise--- but the grounds were even. Everyone was present for a drink, and the previous bout of exercise drained his Prey Drive.

The water was icy on his tongue, cooling him entirely with each heavy gulp until he raised his wet jaws and sat on the ground nearby for a few moments to take in the lakeside beauty.

"[Hm.....I haven't been lakeside like this in...decades.]"

"Maris doesn't often express interest in anything other than Goblin slaying and increasing her skills. But I think she'd like this....she'd probably bring Ursula and turn it into a lakeside sparring session." Claude said as the happy thought flew across his mind.

"[You miss them, don't you?]"

"I'd be heartless if I didn't. I wish I could've said goodbye.....or saw another one of Isaac's drawings. Or watch Ursula explain another mundane aspect of the world to Maris. Or even hear Warren bicker with the group about our decision making within Tangents. We have to return of course. But for now…. They're more or less alone, at least we got rid of that HellBreeding bastard...."

Arne made a pained noise within his mind, "[....Hehe.....Actually, I'd like to talk ab--]"

"Shh!" Claude cut him off and sat up straight with his senses on high alert.

It suddenly reeked of alcohol and herbs.

Something coughed and grunted behind him, too close for comfort. He exploded to his feet in unison with the others and spun around to meet his attacker.

With his night vision he could see the beast perfectly. He could also see that the beast wasn't actually a beast.

Instead, it was a hunched over six and a half foot tall dark-skinned middle-aged man wearing a blindfold and holding a bottle and a dull greatsword. Somehow, this was worse than a beast.

"Son of a bitch!" Claude growled before reaching for the man in a flash.

FWSHH!

As his arm raised, the Malevolence Tether expanded his reach, triple wrapping around the man's torso in seconds and taking him off his feet in response to Claude yanking him within killing distance.

The man traveled in a flash, his back collided with Claude's chest and was followed by a pair of claws pressing against his neck.

Claude lifted the man off the ground and kicked away his sword before snarling menacingly in his ear while the circling Wolves followed suit. If the mysterious blind-man had power and felt like using it, he'd have to do so with a missing jugular....and a couple fingers if Frosty had a say in the matter.

"Wait...wait...wait, Monsieur!" The man's familiar french-accented deep voice rumbled from his throat. First his words were slurred like a drunk, but slowly they became coherent.

Claude continued to growl and curse himself with the rising chances that he'd have to kill the man. He was too much of an unknown variable. Claude couldn't risk those with Ursula still needing assistance.

With his growing anger, the chain tightened and flickered with green flames while his claws pressed harder against the man's skin.

"Wait! Monsieur, please...please understand that I know." The man stammered.

Claude froze with confusion.

".....I--....I know. Monsieur la bête. You are a creature of reason, no? Mais, you are also a creature with p--"

Claude spun the man around and held him pinned to a tree by the throat. Tears fell from his eyes in a burst of frustration and anger at the thought of what he was planning to do.

Veins burst along the mans forehead and temples as Claude squeezed his grip. The man looked ready to pass out, but his determination to speak seemed to overcome his need for oxygen.

".....Yo--.....You need h-help, no?"

Claude barked and snapped at him.

"....w-why else would....you be carrying around a--....and protecting an injured young woman, Monsieur? Hm?"

Claude's snarls subsided, replaced by the cold and growling tone of his voice, ".....What did you say?"

"...I say, your human needs help, yes?"

Claude didn't respond.

" la femme smelled of the beginnings of infection....I can help your human, Monsieur. If, you help me, yes?"

Claude growled, "What do you think this is? You think I can't smell? You think I can't smell something as simple as infection when I can smell your fear as clear as day?"

The man shook his head, "No...no. It is early stages. Faint, but growing. She has big injury, yes? She smelled of strong blood."

Claude kept his eyes on the man, "Arne, what are the chances he's lying?"

"[Well...not high really. He smells of alcohol and herbs. He's not rich, he doesn't have anyone to go home to based on his traveling practices and he has nothing to gain from helping you other than his offer. You have no belongings other than your own flesh and bone...he doesn't know you have the Lunar Artifact. So he could be a Hunter-- or connected to one on the hunt for rare game.....or he could be something else. Something neither of us could foresee. It all depends on his offer. I have faith that the gift of Romulus will carry Ursula through her change, but you are your own Lupine, Claude. Your decisions are your own.]"

The man grunted with discomfort, hurrying Claude's thoughts.

"Alright. You offer healing supplies in exchange for my help, right?"

The man nodded vehemently.

"Then we're doing this on my terms. You will hold up your end of the bargain first. Come back here next nightfall with what you think she needs, I'll be waiting. If you come with more people, I promise I'll find out before you want me to and then you will hear me kill them. Do we have a deal?"

The man made a pained expression, "Monsieur, the salves need to be applied more than once...."

"Then bring the first dose, dammit!" Claude snapped.

He nodded in response to Claude's words, "....We can do that."

Claude hesitated for a moment, not wanting to let go of the man. After a few seconds, the chain disappeared in a flash and the man fell to his feet.

As soon as he gathered enough breaths to look up in search of the beast and his Wolves. They were gone.

***

During Claude's run back to the cave, he talked with Arne and ran through the exchange. There were a number of telling factors.

His scents. There were no explosions of excitement, or rage or even fear. Nothing that spoke of further planning in a truly dangerous way. That, or he was trained in lying to intelligent creatures with advanced senses of smell. He wondered if that was an actual thing.

His body language. Despite being restrained and held at the neck. He didn't work to push himself further into the tree or away from him. He simply stood, only ever moving to breathe better or out of simple convenience. That was a problem. He wasn't scared enough.

And lastly, his words. Claude was no Detective, but the man went straight for his weak point to guarantee his offer being accepted. Either he really needed help, or he really needed Claude to accept. Both were possible when Claude took in the reality of how much of a coincidence it was that the man found him. So much so that it could be considered less of a coincidence and more of a planned action.

Either way, he'd find out by next nightfall.

Hopefully nothing crazy popped off, but if it did. Ursula would be a safe distance away. Something he made sure of as he picked her up and ran back out into the night.

He had to keep moving if the man could find him despite being miles away. Even if he spoke of working on his terms. Extra safety measures were necessary.

Especially when considering the fact that the man used a Claymore as a cane-- a great-sword so dulled and worn that it looked more like a metal pole than a sharpened blade.

Even so, it smelled faintly of blood....

All in all, he'd either find something that helped Ursula or made him feel like less of a Hero....