Chapter 10: The Continuous Struggle

When Alexander awoke, he was surprised that he had survived. He was sure he would have died, and it made no sense that Keith would have left him alive. But when he looked around, he realized what had happened. He was no longer in the city and was now surrounded by werewolves.

"It seems you are finally awake," Came Arkin's voice.

"What happened?"

"You failed, almost died too..." Arkin started before another wolf cut him off.

"If it weren't for us, ye would ave been rottin by now."

"You defeated Keith? But how?" Alexander asked, dumbfounded.

"He may have been formidable, but no human can match me no matter how skilled they are. You only failed because you let your emotions rule you," Arkin explained. "Think back to when you fought me. Your mind was clear, and your movements were natural. You were not driven by any emotions. But as soon as he threatened to kill some people you knew, you hesitated."

"How do you know this?"

"Because I saw everything."

"You were watching? You saw them get killed and did nothing? Why!?" Alexander questioned, fury seeping through his voice.

"Don't dare raise your voice at me!" Arkin roared. "If you had used the power that was given to you, you could have easily stopped them! Their death is a result of your failure, not mine!"

His words struck hard, but they were true. Deep down, Alexander knew he had the power to stop them, but for some reason, he didn't. But before he had time to regret what had happened, Arkin spoke again.

"Now is not the time to sulk. Tomorrow, we challenge the Huntsmen."

"Aren't we still at least ten days away from Kiro?" Alexander asked, puzzled.

"You were unconscious for the better part of two weeks; we dragged you all the way to Kiro with us. You will spearhead the assault."

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As Arkin had said, the assault on Kiro began the following day. All the wolves took part, and they managed to get passed the city wall with relative ease. But that was when all hell broke loose. Sidero had anticipated the attack, and they were met with a mighty force. After entering the city, the gate was closed behind them, forcing them into a corner. Their forces were heavily outnumbered, but they managed to slowly gain ground.

The Huntsmen they faced were superior to any Alexander had met before. The way they moved made it clear that they were all veterans. They would have easily killed him if it had not been for his new strength.

There seemed to be no end to the Huntsman's forces. Arkin pulled him from the front line after Alexander had lost count of how many men he had slain.

"You must go ahead of us. We cannot traverse the city quickly; we are far too big. But you will be able to move freely. Go, put an end to this, and kill Sidero."

"I can't just leave you. I have to help." Alexander protested.

No. Even with the master's power, you can be overwhelmed. Besides, if you manage to kill Sidero, this will all be over."

His words of affirmation did little to quell Alexander's doubt. He wanted to stay and fight with them, but he knew Arkin was right. The only way to stop the fighting was to end their leader. They knew they might all die today, yet they still fight. I can't let them down.

Without another word, Alexander ran through the crowd, evading the weapons of his enemies. Some Huntsmen broke off from the fighting to follow him, but they were far too slow and soon gave up. Alexander took to the rooftops, hoping to see where their forces were coming from.

He managed to track the constant stream of reinforcements back to the castle. In the castle's courtyard, there were a pair of Huntsmen. One seemed to be no more than an average man. The other was a large man, almost giant, with a massive two-handed ax on his back.

"You must be Alexander. I've heard a lot about you lately," the large man said with a big smile.

"Where is Sidero?"

"Oh, don't you worry about the boss. He sent us to deal with you. I think you'll find that we are not quite as useless as Keith," he said, drawing his ax.

Alexander did not wait around and rushed towards the average-looking Huntsman. His attack landed successfully, and his target fell limp. But the victory had come at a cost. Before he killed him, the Huntsman had managed to drive his rapier through his shoulder. Before Alexander could assess his wound, he leaped back, narrowly avoiding the giant's ax.

"It seems you are stronger than you appear," the man said, looking at his fallen comrade. "Serves him right for not being prepared."

Alexander quickly pulled the sword from his shoulder and threw it to the ground. Rushing in allowed him to kill one of his enemies, but it also cost him the use of his left arm.

"You know your friends are all going to die, right? There is no way out for them. You could have helped them; if all of you fought together, you might have been able to advance," He swung his ax through the air. "A pity it is all in vain. Even if you somehow managed to survive long enough to reach Sidero, he would squash every one of you like the insignificant bugs you are."

"Enough stalling!" Alexander shouted.

The big man chuckled before he lunged at him, swinging the massive ax with one hand. His speed took Alexander by surprise. He barely managed to dodge the ax.

Compared to him, Alexander was still weak. The power Fenrir had given him was great, but it was as Arkin had said; his own emotions were getting in his way. His hatred, anger, and sadness were holding him back. There was only one thing to do, but he could not bring himself to do it. I have to let go of my emotions, all of them. But to let go of my emotions is to let go of her. I don't want to let go of Eveline. But it is the only way to win this war!

Alexander closed his eyes and prayed that she would forgive him. He calmed his mind and pushed aside all that he felt. He tore his mind away from his feelings and let them fall into the abyss. He was at peace for the first time since he had lost his wife. When he opened his eyes, the large man was before him, and the ax was coming down on his head. But everything was moving slowly, as if the world around him had been submerged in honey.

He easily sidestepped the attack and countered with a backhand to the face. The force from the blow caused the man to release the ax and stumble backward. In one swift movement, Alexander grabbed the throat of the ax before it hit the ground and swung it in a vertical arch, cutting the large man in half.

"You seem to be much stronger than I had anticipated," Alexander heard the familiar voice.

It was Sidero.