Chapter 23. How?

The fourth possibility was a mad man's errand. Step out from the shadows and fight the hyena as a man to the death. There was the possibility he could win and get away with his life and a beast core. Now that he thought about the fourth possibility, there came the fifth possibility. What about a combination af the second and fourth possibility?

He would pull out his atmost strength and land a sneak attack at the hyena which would weaken it. He would then get out of the shadows and fight the wounded beast to its death. It had been decided. He was going with the fifth possibility. He opened his bag and took the two axes holding them tightly. He then laced them with lightning as his battle intent rose. Of all the possibilities he had thought of, they all led to fighting the hyena on the end.

Alaric scanned the hyena trying to find the best part to hurt it that would weaken it. He scanned every limb and decided to use the strategy of the lizard. Cutting off the leg would slightly immobilize it and that would give him an advantage over it. Alaric chose the left front foot which was close to him

He held the axes tightly and laced them with lightning. He then thought of something else as he returned one of the axes to bis bag.

Rather than using one hand, he would use both and maybe it would help increase his attack power. He held the axe with both hands close the center. Right hand being in front of the left. He raised the axe and using all his might, he landed the axe at the leg. There was a moment of silence as the axe made contact with the leg. What heartbroke him the most was that the axe had only managed to cut halfway. He tried to remove the axe but it was stuck.

The hyena felt a stinging pain in its leg as an axe halfway inside it came into view. Blackish red blood seeped from its skin colouring the axe red. Its eyes reddened even further as it raised its right leg and struck to where the axe had come from. Its paw landed on something sending it flying towards the walls. A crack appeared and stone pebbles fell on the ground. It rushed to where the object hit the wall but it found nothing. It attacked aimlessly again hoping to land a hit on the creature but it was futile.

It bit the axe and removed it. It then angrily swung it and it struck at the wall.

Alaric crushed on the wall and as fast as he could, he moved to the other side of the cave. He watched the hyena remove the axe and then swung it as though it knew that that was where he was hiding.Alaric felt his heartbeat increase when he saw the axe coming straight at his face. Its speed was too much such that even he as a lightning elementalist could barely keep up with its movement. He tilted his head left as the axe struck the wall. It grazed his ear and stuck on the wall. There was not a single distance from him and the axe. He could feel the smell of the hyena's blood filling his nostrils. He thanked it silently for bringing his axe back. He tried to remove the axe using his right hand but he failed. He ended up using both and brought the axe into his concealment array.

The hyena watched the axe disappear. The creature did not seem to place it in its eyes which further fueled its anger. It got closer to where the axe had landed and stood there with squinted eyes. This was the moment Alaric required to make a change in the battle. He held the axe tightly with both hands and swung it at the half-cut leg. He struck but it was not enough. He needed one more strike to chop off the leg. He pulled the axe and this time it did not fail him as he jumped few meters away.

He watched the hyena. It roared in the cave with both anger and pain. Its leg was hanging loosely on a piece of meat. At this moment it stumbled and fell. It could not beleive that it was being beaten by a creature it could not see. It stood up and regained it balance. Alaric removed the concealment array for it now had been rendered useless. The hyena was now on high alert and it would be ready for any attack that came from any direction. Even if it could not fight properly, it could probably manage to protect its vital organs.

Alaric's face appeared to be a bloodied mess and dust on his hair. His corners of the mouth were also red with blood. He coughed and spat a mouthful of blood. He did not like where this was taking him though. If one could see his inside, they would not miss the newly broken rib. He removed the other axe and held them together lacing them with Lightning. He watched as the hyena turned to look at him. One could definitely see its anger rise hundredfolds. The same human messing with it again and again. It roared and charged at him.

From the speed the hyena displayed, he could only dodge. How could it move that fast when it had an almost missing leg? It was then that he realized that it was a wind affiliated beast. Wind was the third fastest element after lightning. Lightning was second after space element. Though, space element could be considered as a cheat. Alaric dodged and rolled few meters away ignoring the pain that came with the broken ribs as he rolled. It was then that Sarah's voice came to his head.

'You know you have enough strength to defeat the beast with a single strike without using any element,' Sarah started.

'What did you say?' Alaric asked pausing for a second to confirm what he heard.

' Your body has enough strength in your muscles enough to defeat a third stage Cryptic Plane elementalist but you are being unable to channel it. You should be able to kill this hyena using you bare hands,' Sarah continued.

'Could I?' Alaric asked as he jumped away and rolling meters away from where hyena's paw landed.

' Of course. Or where do you think all that training you do everyday goes to? What about about all that beast meat you eat. That gets refined instantly into strength by you muscles. Its a shame you cant even channel the slightest of it,' Sarah continued.

'Is this the time to jest me or should you be telling me what to do?' Alaric asked attempting to cut the paw headed at him but the axe just bounced of as he was blown away by a wind attack from the hyena causing him to land on the wall causing pebble to fall.

'An expert would punish you for using the axes so crudely or take them away from you. The first thing you lack is a stance. How can you channel energy without a stance? The second is how you hold you weapon. Even as a newbie, it should not be as barbaric as you do. You hold them close to the base when you should hold them at the edges,' Sarah continued giving guidance to Alaric.

'Will they not become heavy if I hold them at the edge of the handle and become difficult to use?' Alaric asked as he stood up only to be blown away and slammed to the other side of the cave.

'That is a fool's thinking process. If you hold them at the edge, you will increase their momentum as you strike. Holding them at the base is nothing but archaic. You also swing your axe horizontally and vertically which does not help build up any momentum. You should let the axe move in a curve-like manner. After you survive, you will have to try to do some practice to improve your physical strength manifestation. Those tips I have given you should at least help you cause fatal damage on the hyena. You also do not have any lightning technique but that doesn't mean that you cant use it... Lightning is only second to space element and it could be even faster if your mastery increase. In other words lightning is the fastest element. Speed is also a determinant factor in a battle. You can't fight an opponent you can't catch, can you? After you survive you should study movement techniques also. I think that that is enough for now. I can tell that an attack is coming from your left,' Sarah stated and gave a warning.

Alaric felt the large paws land on his ribs and a cracking resounded in the cave. That was another broken rib. He rolled a few times as he felt more blood in his mouth. He spat it out as he stood up. He wiped it with the back of his right hand from his lips. He looked at the hyena as his eyes narrowed into a slit. He was going to make it pay. Ha held the axes at the edge and relaxed his muscles. Now that he knew that he had enough strength to defeat it even barehanded, he was going try his best using his crude methods. He let lightning course through his body as he flashed towards the hyena.

The hyena did not understand but Alaric appeared at its wounded leg. By the time it realized what was happening, the axe was already cutting through. The hyena watched wide eyed as it saw its leg fall off. It had created a wind bandage that had been supporting it. What was even more shocking was the fact that Alaric had cut a new place and managed to cut off the leg. It stumbled but maintained its balance but it could only see a streak of light in the cave as it felt a pain in its right front leg. It was shocked to see the ground getting closer but when it's head crushed into the ground did it realize that both its front legs had been chopped off! Another painful roar filled the cave as it struggled to move to see the boy but he was all but a streak.

Alaric had not expected to end this this quick. With the hyena lacking both front legs, his victory was already decided. But he had to toy with the hyena and make it feel despair. He moved and slashed the left hind leg causing it to fall on its side. He flashed again making sure to appear where the hyena would see him and then cut of the last leg. The pain it was going through was visible as it could not even roar anymore. Its eyes showed regret and that one look that asked only one question,"How?"