THE RAID

Revan's gaze that traced the rows of old trees under the moonlight didn't seem to bring anything, beside than fallen leaves from the speed of nocturnal animals. Curious, he tried to fly even further so that the flames of the goblins faded from his sight.

The night was getting darker and Revan only stuck on the branches of shade tree which looked spooky in the darkness. Its leafless ears can hear the chirping of crickets and the sound of owl.

For a moment, Revan was completely wary of the rustling of the bushes masking another sound. Her tiny eyes stared intently at the source of the voice. For a second or two of being watched, it turned out to be just a large wild boar neighing. Disappointed and horrified. Because, if it was Fenrir, he would definitely be finished.

Almost half an hour Revan perched on a tree branch, waiting for something big to visit. Fenrir seems too embarrassed to be side by side with the solemn nuance of the night. The longer it took, for some reason the little bird's legs seemed to be forced down from the tree branch. Unknowingly, its wings flapped down onto the dark brown ground that held dozens of reddish dead leaves.

Revan jumped up and down, moving a few steps from his first position. The situation was still as quiet as before. There was no suspicious sound, except for the heat that often ran down the nape of his neck. The air that blows regularly, and gets faster until it feels piercing.

Thinking something was wrong, Revan suddenly turned around. Indeed, at that moment the silence was broken for a moment. Gloomy blanketed the forest, bringing dryness to anyone who defied death that night.

A gray wolf sniffed lustfully, smelling the delicious scent of a bird too stupid to descend to the ground. His wild eyes were red as blood, glued to Revan's small body, almost shriveled up.

Although ribs poked out behind his thin skinned chest—indicating that he wasn't as scary as his prestige—but the creature had a pair of sword fangs that were already wet with saliva. In fact, it is still deadly to a bird.

Fenrir snatched his prey as fast as lightning. His wide mouth closed greedily, but Revan's reflexes were superior. He dashed towards the legion of goblin that had been waiting for news. While chirping frantically, the flapping of its wings didn't slow down in the slightest.

The sound of the night wind which happened to be in the opposite direction made Revan's pace slump. Unlucky, because Fenrir was already on the ground below, squirming trying to reach him.

In one fell swoop, Fenrir's body soared. Meanwhile, Revan finally wobbled when his left leg slipped between the predator's jaw. Within a considerable distance of the goblin army, he was declared to have failed to fulfill his duty.

Revan refused to give up, it turns out. Without a second thought ended the shape-shifting spell, so that he returned to being human. Fenrir's snout, which was less alert, spontaneously let go of his feet.

The wolf growled fiercely. On the other hand, Revan was trying to block Fenrir's movement in order lest that creature be late in reaching Bayrak and the goblins.

"Transfiguration: Tiger!" He cast a spell.

The muscles of Revan's shoulders become stronger. His irises sharpened followed by a body that changed its skin to orange-black fur. Its fangs pointed between its ripping teeth, and in the last second, its shape changed to that of a ferocious tiger.

Fenrir howled in rage, then charged towards his enemy. The struggle between two predators takes place in the dark of night. Revan's fangs pierced the nape of Fenrir who was busy clawing at his stomach.

Quick jolts can change the lead at any time. The moment Revan's bite started to weaken, Fenrir's sword fangs slid down the side of his throat in an instant. Luckily, Revan had a strong jolt, so the two were three steps apart.

They walked in a circle, watching each other. The leaves shriveled from the wind, while a rush of threat resonated. Revan growled every time fresh blood dripped from his scratched stomach, while Fenrir seemed to be looking here and there as if looking for an opening to ambush.

A split second passed, finally Revan started the second fight. This time he tried to lunge at the opponent. However, just as he was about to land his sharp claws, Fenrir suddenly melted.

His form changed to a black liquid that slid nimbly to Revan's back side. Quick as lightning, the liquid turned back into the form of a wolf, and Revan, who was too slow to react, had to surrender when his body was hit by the opponent's curved claws.

Even though he had rebelled, Fenrir's grip did not move an inch. Worse yet, his sword fangs gleamed in the pale moonlight. That's the weapon you need to watch out for the most.

Revan let out a small roar as Fenrir's claws inched toward his skin, producing a wound that spit out fresh blood. As best he could, he tried to grab the muzzle of Fenrir which had escaped cover, but the conditions were not favorable.

The vrave devourer felt he had stood on the cusp of victory, dominating. He quickly readied his fangs to punch a hole in Revan's body. While roaring, Fenrir's head dived fiercely with the gleam of his fangs, and….

"ATTACK!!!" Bayrak's scream echoed, followed by dozens of goblins who charged with courage.

Barely! Fortunately—thanks to the arrival of the goblin army—Fenrir's fangs failed to touch Revan's body. The creature was completely shocked, so that it changed its form into black liquid, then shot into the group of goblins. Revan who managed to survive could only walk with a limp due to the wound he got.

"SHOOT! ATTACK!" Bayrak gave orders to the soldiers in the middle row to attack the target.

Fireballs fell to the ground, leaving a small, smoky crater. However, armed with agility, Fenrir managed to dodge without a burden. He really felt superior, especially when a goblin died in his grasp.

The cornibus, including Bayrak were busy guiding their mounts to run over Fenrir who was moving too fast. The sound of "thump!" echoed as the feet of the cornibus hit the brown soil of the Nyx forest, while Fenrir was still gliding nimbly through the gaps of the goblin's less alert legs.

"Leander!" Bayrak called out when his younger brother's position was ideal enough to shoot Fenrir. "Kill him!"

But unfortunately, as if suddenly deaf, Leander just looked here and there, forgetting that Fenrir had just walked past him. It was only when the black liquid was too far away to aim that Leander came to his senses and cursed at his carelessness.

"Keep your eyes open, Leander!" scolded Bayrak who guided his mount to approach his brother.

"He's too fast. We won't be able to beat him," Leander lamented. His face scrunched up in anger.

"There's still plenty of time to turn things around," Bayrak replied as he watched his soldiers that Fenrir was overwhelmed with. "After all, we're only serving as a diversion." He quickly led cornibus toward them.

The wooden spears fell like raindrops on the earth. Flashes of fire broke out on every side of the heart of the forest that night. The goblins had exerted their illustrious abilities.

Not a single animal is reluctant to remain silent, because the top predator is being hunted. A group of squirrels jumped from tree to tree while watching Fenrir's movements, just as an owl flew through the thick leaves to witness this rare moment.

Still far from winning, the goblin army was still trying to make themselves superior. To date, three tails have fallen as heroes. Cheers of excitement and screams of fear blended into the atmosphere of the war that was obvious.

Hiding behind a large tree, Rio and Kron looked anxiously watching the fight. It was clear that Bayrak was struggling to match Fenrir's agility, and Revan was also holding back the pain all over his body. However, they must not let all these sacrifices go to waste. The dark wolf from the heart of the Nyx forest had to die before daybreak.

Kron signaled Rio to get ready as Fenrir weaved between the legs of the goblins that were close to their position. The creature was too focused to notice that there was holy armor trying to kill it.

For a minute or two Fenrir was allowed to freely play with the goblin army, before finally a blink from Kron's left eye became the most awaited sign. With his legs shaking incoherently, Rio jumped to the left, the part that escaped Fenrir's watch. Meanwhile, Kron followed behind him hoping in one hit the monster would be extinct.

"Fe-Fenrir!" Rio said trying to get his attention.

As Fenrir turned around, a bright white light spread out. The holy light slowly engulfed the darkness of the forest, causing dozens of nocturnal insects to fly away. Fenrir's moans—even for a few seconds—had made the goblins proud. And, when the ten precious seconds had passed, they were completely taken aback by the predator's pout that nearly stabbed Rio.

It was fortunate that Frig who had followed the development of the conflict rushed his new master into the sky, leaving Fenrir in the form of a smoky wolf.

"Good job, Frig," said Rio, squeaking cheerfully on his mount.

Down below, the goblin warriors began to prepare to confront Fenrir whose feathers began to fall out in the light. Their tiny hands ignited the fire, swiftly starting the second wave of raids. So did the cornibuses, they moved to the rear of Fenrir so that the creature was cornered in a circle of threats.

Still gathering the strength to retaliate, Fenrir could only stand still with slightly bent legs, and gray smoke billowing from his body. Bayrak's black eyes glared at the enemy. He had wanted this moment for so long. So, no mercy remains in his heart when the goblin called out: "ATTACK!!!".

Dozens of fireballs flew into the dark sky, then in the blink of an eye they rained down on Fenrir. There were only a few inches left before the wolf suffered, but Fenrir shot straight at the goblin soldiers. His speed was able to exceed the speed of the fireballs.

"Re-size: Enlarged!"

At first it was only the size of a melon. However, as soon as the transparent waves from Kron's arms hit one of them, the fireball expanded to twice its original size, almost like a meteor. Seeing him, Frig rushed to take Rio away from the battlefield so as not to be affected.

Other fireballs began to fall to the ground, and the biggest fireball of course hit Fenrir's body until the creature failed to annihilate the goblin soldiers. It wobbled, burning violently. However, as soon as the fire dissipated, the creature was still able to stand unharmed.

Fenrir again launched his unfinished action. A nearby goblin tried to pounce on him. He thought the attack would work, but being arrogant was his biggest mistake. At full speed, the army of cornibus under Bayrak's command fiercely butted the wolf to the ground.

Not satisfied, the herd of cornibus still ganged up on him, as if Fenrir would die if tortured continuously. A cornibus beckoned Fenrir up, followed by a few more who herded him here and there.

The monster roared to frighten the rhinos. It did work, and the cornibus proved to take a short step back at the behest of their riders. However, once again bad luck struck Fenrir, precisely when Bayrak sped off with cornibus. His dagger gleaming at hand.

"DIE!" Bayrak jumped off the cornibus, just as Fenrir tried to touch him.

They met, bumping into each other until they hit the ground. Bayrak landed perfectly, while Fenrir was floundering with a dagger on his forehead.

As if seeing mountains of gold, the goblins cheered in appreciation of Alpha. Frig joined in the fun as he flew over to Fenrir with Rio who was embracing the armor on alert.

"We have to make it, Frig!" he said hopefully.

Frig swooped down quickly, five feet away from the recuperating predator. When his position was close enough, the reckless youth immediately jumped in front of Fenrir, letting Kholoros shine for ten seconds.

Fenrir howled in pain, an exasperated growl tucked into his voice. When the light of Kholoros was still bright, Rio could only reach out his hand while lowering his head. On the other hand, glare means nothing to Bayrak anymore. While the goblins were busy protecting their eyes, the Alpha just stared at him expectantly. His teeth gritted tensely.

Ten seconds passed, and Rio still hadn't peeked at Fenrir's state. At least, until a loud cry reached his ears: "HE DIED! Fenrir is dead!" Bayrak burst out in disbelief.

That's the sentence that makes all eyes open at the end of the night. The goblins couldn't help but stare at Fenrir's corpse lying limp in a puff of black smoke, like a huge fire. The difference is, this is not a disaster.

In an air of doubt, Bayrak stepped in front of Fenrir who was already breathless. The creature was slowly corroded by the light of Kholoros that just hit it.

"He really wasn't breathing. His body is cold," he mumbled.

"W-we did it," said Rio. His eyes widened. "WE DID IT!" he shouted then.

(To be continued)