Disaster

Victoria was a bloodied mess. The leader wolf she had been fighting was practically unscathed, glaring at the rest of the party members who wanted a challenge.

"Victoria!" Luna yelled, instantly coming to her aid. She ran as fast as she could, trying to prevent the wolf from devouring her dear friend, clinging to the faint hope of her continued life. Yet, the monstrosity had to interest in having a meal right now.

Instead, it refocused to Luna, slashing it's giant paws towards her. Luna seemed to be on the inches away from dying, however, suddenly, something stopped the wolf.

Pang! An arrow struck the wolf straight in the nose, preventing it from harming Luna. The beast whimpered, but it's daze only lasted for a few seconds. It was right back to glaring at them in that time.

However, that few seconds was more than enough for Luna to fetch Victoria away from the beast. Victoria had a large gash on her stomach and chest, causing blood to flow out as if it was an infinite source. She left streaks of crimson blood around her, staining the grass.

Lua was terrified about this. He felt that this would be an issue, but with the leader of the pack so easily defeating their strongest without a scratch, he felt they were in a hopeless situation.

Luna on the other hand, looked at Victoria's blood staining her hands, and became furious at the prospect of losing her dear friend to this monster. She looked at Anthony, yelling without any regards to his feelings. "Get on it!"

Anthony rushed to their side, beginning his treatment on Victoria. He was their only chance if Victoria was to survive this.

There weren't any traps around the ferocious beast. Lua couldn't see any hopes of luring it into one either, rendering him useless. He couldn't hope to get close to the beast, especially after the one that was considerably weaker than the leader almost slew him.

Lua glanced at the battlefield, and realized Mick and Luna had already slain their foes. The leader was the only one left - yet the beast didn't seem even remotely panicked. In fact, it looked like it had never been hit by an arrow.

"Arc! Do it!" Lua yelled at the mechanical man, instructing him to go forward with the final phase of their plan. If this failed, he seemed to be out of options.

A strange sphere rolled around the ground, sent towards the wolf by Arc. It was none other than the clock grenade he had developed previously.

The wolf, seeing this, reacted in a way that shocked them all. Lua heard a deep chuckle coming from the beast.

It.. It can laugh!? Lua was flabbergasted, absolutely dumbfounded. Laughing was a trait special to creatures with high intelligence.

The wolf opened it's gargantuan jaw, saliva dripping over the ground. It then grabbed the grenade that was set to explode, and swallowed it effortlessly in a single bite.

Idiot! Lua smiled, instinctively claiming victory over the wolf's seemingly mental incompetence.

Boom! The grenade exploded, but the wolf was unfazed, much to Lua's surprise. His smile was frozen on his face, not daring to change expressions. The wolf on the other hand, was not just undamaged, but also its flames began to burn brighter, raising the temperature around them.

Luna glared at both Lua and Arc, and yelled at them. "You idiots!"

Lua was dumbstruck. Not only had he failed to damage it, but he had also given it more power. This was a disaster. A seemingly insurmountable beast had intensified it's strength simply by consuming an explosive, giving it even more power than it previously had.

Lua couldn't help but feel he had caused their demise. They would die here, without anything to remember them by.

He fell on his behind, looking with great fear at the ferocious beast. He wanted to help Luna defend Victoria's recuperation process, but he was simply too stricken with terror to even think of such a think. His bravery had been replaced entirely by the desperate need to survive from this monstrosity.

Lua instantly began to think of ways to save them from the inevitable.

Vision? No.. He's a Traveller. He would be useless in this scenario.. And by the time he gets help, it might already be over. Lua felt helpless.

Lua suddenly remembered the Scythe symbol, seemingly out of nowhere. He felt like he finally understood what the symbol meant, giving him insight on what to do now that he was cornered like by inevitable death.

The Scythe.. It represents death! It clicked in his mind, finally drawing a connection. A glove, death, the Lord of Secrets, and classified documentation.. However, he couldn't make the final stretch.

This understanding helped calm Lua down, and it made the situation seem less impossible in his mind. The fear that held him in a lock lessened, letting Lua see the situation for what it truly was.

Fear.. That thing is playing with out minds! Lua finally understood why they were failing. The leader had a special trait, it pushed people to their extremes. Luna's nonchalance was pushed to fury. Lua's anxiety of doing a first mission was replaced with the fear of incompetence, and incoming death. Arc was seemingly unaffected, but he was having his own internal battles. They had also helped put Lua in a difficult position.

Lua felt fairly confident in his guess, but he couldn't be sure. It could also be the human mind that was actively fighting against them. But the fury from Luna was the main reason he was suspicious - if she had gotten that angry from that, she wouldn't have survived as a mercenary until now. Having a clear head was essential for survival.

Lua also believed that the wolf could choose who it affected. Those not actively fighting, like Anthony or Winston, were behaving completely as usual. They didn't exhibit any of the symptoms.

Gathering up the courage, Lua rushed to join Luna in the defense of their comrade.