CHPT 35: The Bite

"I hate you all.....I hate you all...." Claude continued to chant mindlessly as he stood in the cold rain seemingly in a trance.

It was now well past nighttime, the only thing left to light the area were the skies bright stars and the partial glow of the moon that wasn't covered by thick gray rain clouds.

He was snapped back into reality by the faint sound of footsteps followed by the voice that spoke earlier....a voice that didn't belong to anyone he knew.

"I heard your.. "speech"...little one, I must say, it gave me chills. But, do you actually think you can get out of here?" A tall and strikingly handsome man said. He had silky black hair pulled into a high ponytail that trailed the length of his heavily muscled back and he wore nothing but loose and tattered black pants. Jack and the beast flanked him, even though they were both transformed into something greater and scarier than man— this one dwarfed them both, not just in size but something else...something more.

"That's the alpha." Claude thought as the trio of beasts stood 50ft across from him. "Fuck." He said under his breath as he set Ursula down to lean against a tree and rolled his neck and shoulders in preparation. The top corner of his vision said his health was now at [180/250] HP due to Jacks punch and Tai's scepter hitting his head.

Claude turned to face the trio and looked up at the night sky immediately locating the Nighthawk flying silently above him ready to attack on his command.

His eyes began to glow a bright and powerful shade of green as he brought his blade into a fighting stance and responded to the assumed alpha, "I'm sure as hell going to try."

Jack brought his snout up and aimed it at Claude, trying to catch a scent, a common scent his kind lived for.

"D-Dolion....I don't smell it!" Jack said in shock from behind his leader.

"Yes, I know. I can't smell his fear either, but it's there. It's just being masked by his hate." Dolion said as he looked at the scrawny boy holding his little sword up to them.

Dolion'a kind had incredible senses, smell being at the forefront of them. It was so developed that they could almost see with their noses, being able to focus on an individual and smell the chemicals they gave off that correlated with certain emotions or feelings. Fear was the most enticing smell and could give them power if their prey was scared enough, but this boy was different. His hatred seemed to flow off of him like a thick dark red mist...it didn't stop either, it flowed infinitely like an everlasting river of hate.

"Hahahahaha! You.....you are interesting, little one!" Dolion said with a wide predatory smile. He got an idea as he watched him with keen interest.

"How about a duel, little one? These two won't get involved, I swear it. I'd like to see what your made of, and if you impress me enough maybe I'll let you exit the Deviant....and do as you promised to those...what was it? "Spineless rejects" haha!" Dolion said as his smile grew wider and more insidious.

Claude was immediately filled with hope and a new kind of determination. "I can save her, if I do well enough...and that means I can get out and become strong enough to save my father. I have to try." Claude thought before answering.

"I accept."

Dolion sent Jack and the beast up to the top of a hill a couple hundred feet from the clearing. Claude checked on Ursula one more time— seeing that she was still breathing he assumed she was alright and headed back to face Dolion.

They walked around the clearing, staying 20ft or so apart as they sized each-other up. The wind began to blow causing the grass beneath them to sway silently and the trees surrounding them to hum in unison.

"Fair warning, if you let up at any point because I said I won't kill you...I'll rip your head off."

"I don't go light anyway." Claude said as he dashed towards Dolion taking the offensive.

Once Claude was in striking distance, he delivered a fast upward slice trying to rip open Dolion's exposed neck. Dolion dodged the attack with ease, but he noticed the boy was still fast for someone with so little experience.

Dolion sent a punch in return to Claudes head. Boom!, the punch made a sound of impact as it connected with Claudes armored forearms, he was sent sliding backwards through the wet grass.

DING!

HP[175/250]

Claude watched his health drop and was immediately filled with embarrassed anger, "Are you toying with me!?"

"Fight, little one!"

"RAAAGH!" Claude yelled in anger as he charged at Dolion and sent a barrage of slices in all directions.

SWOOSH! A slice aimed at his neck...

SHING! A slice aimed at his chest...

SHOOP! A final stab aimed again at his stomach...

Dolion jumped to the side to dodge Claudes stab, he then moved faster than the eye could follow and placed his palm on Claudes shoulder— pushing him with little to no effort.

"UGH!" Claude was shoved so hard he was sent sliding and rolling through the wet grass for a few feet, he lay there on the floor feeling his exhaustion begin to set in.

"It's looks like your not interesting after all, your just an emotional little runt." Dolion said as he checked his nails with boredom.

"This bastard...he changed my father into a slaving beast, and now he has the audacity to play around with me???!! I'll make sure this is a game he wished he never started." Claude thought as he got up from the ground.

"YESSSSS, there it is!" Dolion thought happily as Claude's hate seemed to increase in potency and volume. He watched as the red mist flowed and swirled off of him and into the floor where it looked like a growing pond of blood.

SWOO!

This time Dolion charged Claude, he moved a little faster than usual and as he guessed, Claude had no problem dodging.

As Claude stepped out of the way he delivered a low slice to Dolions leg for the first time. SHLIP! His blade found purchase and a thin line of red from Dolions shin to the side of his calf began to leak. Dolion sent an elbow to the side— aimed at Claudes head.

Huh!

Dolion was surprised as Claude ducked beneath his elbow strike and then dashed with his sword and cut his stomach. He then ran away to a safe resting distance.

"My oh my....if you had sufficient strength, I'd be a little worried." Dolion said as he wiped the blood away from his stomach revealing the cut was already scabbed over. To his surprise, Claude didn't look discouraged at seeing Dolions impressive healing capabilities.

His eyes held the look of serious concentration but the slow and powerful burn of something else was visible within them.

Claude focused his negative emotions as this new traumatic experience drove his Nature elemental abilities to new heights driven by rage and hatred.

He watched Dolion stare at him from a few feet away with predatory anticipation. He continued to focus and watched as the tall grass thickened and coiled around Dolions densely muscled legs. He held his free left hand open to help himself imagine the now vine-like grass coiling around his legs lightly enough that he wouldn't notice what Claude was doing.

His mana dropped as he slowly burned it up to manipulate the grass.

[190/200] MP...

[180/200] MP....

Once the thick green vines lightly outlined the bottom half of Dolions legs, he waited patiently for him to lose patience and attack.

After 10 or so seconds, Claude watched Dolion crouch in preparation to attack. As soon as he attempted to dash, Claude snapped his open left hand closed into a fist and the wicked tentacle-like vines around Dolions legs copied the action as they constricted like a dozen small snakes that rose from the ground and held him in place.

With incredible speed, Claude ran to Dolion and activated his skill "(Beast Assistance)". As he ran the bird dove down from its spot high in the sky until it was flying right behind Claude, his frame hid the medium sized black bird perfectly.

Dolion looked at the vines binding him in place in surprise. He looked up after a few seconds and saw Claude running to him, his eyes burned an incredibly bright green that stood out in the night. He held his shortsword in a reverse grip by his face and stayed low to the ground as he closed the distance between them. The focus in his eyes sent a shiver of excitement through Dolion who could only smile as he watched to see what Claude had planned.

"Hehehe....what will you do, little one?"

Claude was now only a few steps from striking distance.

Right when Dolion thought the sword would connect with his belly— Claude dropped and slid past him. He turned back forwards responsively at the faint sound of wings flapping.

Claude stabbed his sword into the ground to stop his slide and watched his plan unfold from behind Dolion.

"SKRAWWWWWW!!!!!" The Nighthawk screeched in Dolions face, stunning him immediately. Claude took the opportunity and dashed at his back.

SWOO-!

"....H-How?" Claude said as he looked at Dolions bare hand gripping the blade that was aimed at his low back. He tried to pull it out to cut across his hand, but the blade wouldn't budge. Dolion pulled the blade— with Claude still holding onto it, from behind him and threw Claude through the grass in front of him.

"That was a unique choice of attack, it seems you know our kind have sensitive hearing." Dolion said while wiping the blood that dripped from his ears down to his neck.

"Let's continue!" He said and raised his feet— ripping through the vine bindings that held him in place.

***

Jack watched the fight continue in awe. "His ability to adapt is incredible...He's rapidly improving as he continues to fight." He realized. His speed and accuracy behind attempted killing blows was almost like day and night compared to when the fight with Dolion began.

He observed with interest as they continued to fight, with Claude sending wild flurries of attacks or finding new ways to use his odd Nature ability and then going on the defensive as Dolion returned the favor.

This continued for 20 more intense minutes. Claude began to tire. Jack could tell because the boy would spend less time attacking and more time on defense. After about 30 seconds, Dolion hit Claude hard with a right hook that sent him spinning into the grass.

"GRRRRR!!!"

Jack turned and saw the beast next to him growling as the hairs on its back began to raise. Before he could do anything, it bolted from their previous position atop the hill and headed straight for Dolion.

"Shit."

***

Claude lay in the grass tired and in serious physical pain, his muscles burned and his feet ached. Worst of all, he was reaching his limit. His system notified him that he now had [80/250] HP and [60/200] MP. "I have to keep going...or he'll kill us both and I'll sentence my father to an eternal life as a mindless monster." Claude whispered to himself.

"RAAAAARGH!"

Claude looked in the direction of the roar and saw the beast running incredibly fast on all fours. It headed down a hill in the distance towards them.

Dolion kept his back to the beast and said, "I don't know what you think your doing, but you better get back up that hill you filthy b-"

Dolion was cut off by the beast tackling him. They rolled through the grass with the beast snarling and bitting all over him in an attempt to rip him to shreds.

Claude watched it all happen barely able to understand what he was seeing. All he knew was that his father was trying to protect him. Before Claude could decide to do anything. Dolion kicked the beast off him— sending it through the air and into the grass. When he stood up, he moved so fast Claude thought he teleported.

"WAIT!" Claude yelled as Dolion suddenly held the beast up by the throat. Dolion turned his face in Claudes direction and completely horrified him.

His features were all wrong, his handsome angular face was constantly changing and shifting as he held back the urge to shift. Randomly an eye would bulge from his head glowing bright yellow or his teeth would grow and force their way out of his mouth like a piranha.

"You have chosen to disOBEY MeeeEE! THaT meaNS YOU haVEEE CHOsen deaTHHHHH." Dolion said as his voice began to change into something monstrous.

Claude met his fathers eyes, a tear fell down and soaked into his fur before Dolion viciously snapped his neck with one hand.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Claude roared as he watched the beasts— his father's limp body hit the cool wet ground silently. He kept his tear filled eyes on him as the dark fur fell away and the wolf-like head shifted to that of a man, to his father, the look of sadness still in his fear stricken eyes.

Dolion fought to retain his human form as he shook his head— growling and grunting with effort. He slowly began to notice that the trees were swaying and making noise, but the wind wasn't blowing. He looked up seeing the trees all around him swaying and almost screeching as the branches rubbed against each-other in place.

He turned to face Claude and could no longer smell any fear on him at all, the dark red mist that came off of him pooled and spread so far that it surrounded Dolion like thick fog.

"It's one man, little one. What is your problem. Do you know him?" He wondered while looking at Claude.

He started to hear cracking and bending all around him, slowly getting closer and louder. "What the?" He said as he saw the trees all around the clearing morph and stretch into thick sharp points that crowded above him. There were so many in the sky that it blocked out the moon.

"Hhhahahahahha!!! Show me the extent of your power!" Dolion said, he began to taste real fear and excitment while looking at the boy. He suddenly tried to dash at Claude but found that he was stuck.

He gulped silently as he felt the tendril-like vines wrap and constrict around him, but they didn't stop at his legs. They climbed and reinforced themselves around him until he was in a sort of makeshift forest tomb.

Dolion watched Claudes raised left hand shake from holding the immense power over the Nature in the Deviant. His eyes were wide open— glowing furiously as tears ran down his face, and he bared his teeth like a wild animal.

[MP is reaching critically low levels, chance of self injury is very high if you decide to continue manipulating such a large amount of Nature.]

Claude ignored the message, his head began to feel like exploding and blood leaked from his ears and eyes. But, he continued to use mana to turn more trees into sharp and spindly tendrils that would pierce and shred Dolion until their was nothing left.

He didn't notice his mana reached single digits before he could exact revenge.

Dolion watched in wonder as more sharp tree limbs filled the sky, lengthening and combining into bigger and more dangerous tendrils. He waited in barely contained excitement for Claude to try and reduce him to nothingness with the attack.

"DIEEEEEEE!!!!!-"

Claude slammed his raised hand onto the ground as the Nature element he commanded did the same. The sharp spindly tree limbs rained down from the sky like lightning as they creaked and whined against each-other.

Dolion watched it all fall down toward him at intense speeds, he closed his eyes and waited eagerly.

After a few seconds of silence he opened his eyes and saw that he was face to face with thousands of intertwined sharpened branches. "WHAT? What happened?!" Dolion asked.

He suddenly felt the vines that bound him in place slowly loosen and fall away until he was completely free. "You sure know how to build suspense." Dolion said as he looked at Claudes unconscious body, the boy seemed to pass out on one knee with his head down and fist in the dirt.

"Sir are you alright?" Jack asked.

"No! I'm livid. I sent you to that University to look for promising recruits to join the pack and the only two you offer are those blondies???? When he was there the whole time??? If this boy died in here I would've ripped you into bite sized pieces and fed you to the rats." Dolion replied.

"Please forgive me sir, this boy had more tricks up his sleeve than I thought."

"You are forgiven, anyway we now have three new recruits! She will be pleased." Dolion said while he stalked over to Claude with an ever growing smile.

Once he reached him, he let himself shift partially. Slowly thick black strands of hair sprouted from his forearms and back, claws sprouted from his fingers and feet. His voice became incredibly deep and husky as his canines lengthened and sharpened. He grabbed Claudes hand that lay fist down in the dirt and brought it to his mouth saying,

"YoU'LL maKE A grrREAT LuPInE OF ReEEMUS, CLLLAUDE!"

CRSHHH!!!