HauntHounds 16

Chapter 16: Haunt Hounds

Oric awoke abruptly in a strange, unfamiliar environment. He found himself in the midst of a mysterious and eerie place within the Forest of Forgotten Myths. The surroundings were significantly different, with darker, more illuminated trees. Confused and alarmed, Oric furrowed his brow, checked his surroundings, and then turned to Nevata. His voice was filled with distress. "Wake up!"

Nevata, still half-asleep, mumbled a response, "Hmm... it's too early. If you have free time, go kill something. Let me sleep."

Oric's frustration grew, and he resorted to extreme measures. He roughly shook her. "I'm not your friend. Wake up, or I'll kill you."

Startled by his aggression, Nevata jolted awake. She observed Oric's stern expression and realized something was wrong. She questioned their surroundings, "Where are we, and why are we here? I thought we were sleeping in the cave, or has the forest changed terrains again?"

Oric agreed, "I think it has. This is unprecedented. I should have been more prepared. I was careless." In frustration, he punched a nearby tree.

Nevata rubbed her eyes, trying to shake off her sleepiness. "Well, it's normal. This always happens, and..."

Oric quickly interrupted her, his expression serious. "Shhh! Listen..." He pointed to an area nearby.

In the bushes, they lay low, waiting to see what dangers Oric had sensed. Nevata, still confused, tried to speak, but Oric silenced her with a "shh!" and pointed to the area where they had woken up.

After a few seconds, ghostly creatures of various forms, each equipped with sharp claws, emerged from the ground and began to roam about. Nevata identified them as "haunt hounds" in a soft tone.

Oric inquired, "What are those creatures?" as he looked at Nevata.

Nevata explained, "Well, as the name suggests, they are bound to a specific area to haunt. They fall asleep underground to conserve their mana. When they sense living creatures or energy above, they rise from below to haunt and drain the energy source of such creatures. However, they are a perilous threat to nixies like us."

Oric then asked, "So, you are their weakness?"

Nevata confirmed, "Yes, but they can still pose a danger to us. We devour soul and mana cores, whereas they feed mainly on mana cores to sustain their lives, or they quickly enter hibernation. When a person loses all their mana, they either become a haunt hound or something else, which is why soul cores are always quickly disposed of."

Oric pondered their strategy, "So, how do I kill them?"

Nevata cautioned, "It's very dangerous because approaching them means you're essentially their food. The only way is to quickly destroy their mana and soul cores together at once or distract them, giving me enough time to absorb them."

Oric, still harboring doubts, questioned her loyalty, "Why should I trust you with my life again?"—reminding her of their past incident.

Nevata assured him, "How can I betray you when you already have the right to decide my death with our master-servant bond? If you don't trust me, we will both die, because you can't easily harm them, even with the amount of soul and mana cores you have in your pouch. Just get their attention."

Oric gave her a stern look, intense and tinged with a hint of bloodlust. "There are roughly about 26 of them, so when Im about to cast my spell dont look or else you'll also be caught by it," she informed him.

Oric didn't respond to her question about his ability to handle them and instead walked away, leaving her behind. As Nevata watched him leave, she couldn't help but feel that their trust was severely strained.

Moments later, the haunting creatures unexpectedly heard a strange sound and followed it to the source—mana cores gathered in one spot. They began to squabble over the cores and absorb them. Unbeknownst to them, Oric was observing from a tree, having devised a clever trap. He had extracted the mana and soul core of a hell hound, giving him a brief moment to employ fire magic, engulfing his body. Oric prepared his bow and arrow, enshrouded in flames, and shot it at the trap he had set, causing an explosion that stunned some of the haunt hounds.

The forest was filled with the echoes of the explosion as the haunt hounds reacted. Their ghostly figures scattered, wailing and hissing in disarray, while some writhed in pain from the explosion's impact. Oric was disappointed by the realization that the explosion wasn't enough to kill them.

Seizing the opportunity, Oric nimbly descended from the tree, landing amid the disoriented haunt hounds. With his bow and arrow, he aimed for a haunt hound that was still recovering. The fiery arrow struck its spectral core with precision, setting off a chain reaction of explosions within its ethereal form. The haunt hound screeched in agony as it disintegrated into a smoky mist.

The other Haunt Hounds, alerted to the threat, began to regroup and converge on Oric's location. The forest, which had been eerily quiet just moments ago, was now filled with their piercing cries and menacing presence. Oric realized that the Haunt Hounds had become aware of his presence, and the critical moment had arrived.

He drew the remaining arrows, coated with fiery magic, and fired them in rapid succession, striking down three more Haunt Hounds. These spectral creatures cried out in anguish as their cores were shattered by the fiery projectiles. But Oric's attacks had left him exposed, and several Haunt Hounds had already begun to close in on him, their claws extended menacingly. As he tried to get more arrows to shoot his fire magic had been extinguished causing Oric to feel nausea abit dizzy "shit, Im out..." said Oric while taking a stick and a stone on the ground ready to fight back.

Meanwhile, hidden within the undergrowth, Nevata anxiously observed the scene. She was impressed by Oric's quick thinking and accurate shots but knew that his situation was perilous. Oric needed to keep the Haunt Hounds distracted long enough for her to absorb their cores and protect him.

Nevata couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility for the situation, given her past actions. She began to chant quietly, summoning a shimmering aura around herself. This aura would serve as a protective barrier while she drained the Haunt Hounds' energy.

As Oric continued to fend off the Haunt Hounds, Nevata launched herself out of the undergrowth and into the midst of the spectral creatures, casting an illusion, her aura radiating with a soft glow. The Haunt Hounds, drawn to her light, turned their attention away from Oric and moved towards her.

Oric, his strength and energy waning, quickly assessed the situation. Nevata was taking a huge risk by drawing the attention of the Haunt Hounds to herself, but it was a necessary distraction. He knew that Nevata could absorb the Haunt Hounds' cores, and with her help, they could make it out of this predicament alive. Oric then realized something. The stronger Haunt Hounds began trying to break out of her illusion, so Oric quickly shot them with a flaming arrow, putting them back into the illusion.

With a final arrow, Oric dispatched another Haunt Hound that had broken out of her illusion trap, giving Nevata enough time to fully absorb all of them that she had captured. "So, are you done with your meal?" asked Oric.

"Yes, why do you have to be so mean? It's bad manners to watch a girl eat her meal," scolded Nevata.

"I'm not your kind, and why are you still in human form?" asked Oric.

"Well, I should be asking the perverted person who has restricted me from shapeshifting," she said with her right eyebrow raised.

Oric briefly looked at the tattoo on his right hand, which made it light up and dim. "Okay, I've given you back your freedom." Quickly, Nevata reverted to her fairy size with wings and flew onto Oric's extremely long white messy hair. "Better?" asked Nevata.

"Indeed," Oric concurred. Suddenly, the forest echoed with the bone-chilling cries of the Haunt Hounds, prompting Oric to swivel his gaze toward the source of the unnerving sounds. To his alarm, he spotted one of them emerging in front, swiftly followed by others emerging from the ground.

Oric urgently reached for his remaining arrows, only to discover that his supply of fire magic and arrows had been depleted. Panic welled up as he rummaged through his pouch, realizing that he had nothing left to defend himself. His heart pounding, he broke into a desperate run to escape their relentless pursuit.

Recognizing the vulnerability of staying on the forest floor, Oric deftly scaled nearby trees, leaping nimbly from one to the next. At the same time, Nevata employed her illusion-casting abilities to confound their pursuers, allowing the two to work in perfect coordination as they raced to stay one step ahead of the relentless Haunt Hounds.

As the duo led the Haunt Hounds deeper into the forest, the landscape continued to change around them. The Forest of Forgotten Myths lived up to its name, constantly altering its terrain, making it difficult for both predator and prey to navigate. Oric and Nevata were in a race against time as the relentless Haunt Hounds pursued them through the ever-shifting labyrinth of the forest.

After jumping from tree to tree, running from their pursuers, Oric checked his back and realized no one was following. "I think we've lost them," said Oric while panting. "Well, maybe," said Nevata in doubt.

"Why?" asked Oric with a perplexed expression.

"Well, it's not that easy to escape the pursuit of Haunt Hounds. That's only possible if you have left their territory, but there are many around the forest. You heard it too, their cries," said Nevata.

"Well, only time can tell," said Oric while resting on the top of the tree. Suddenly, a Haunt Hound arose from behind the tree, grabbing Oric with its claws and embedding its teeth into Oric's shoulder near his neck.

"Aarghhhhh!".

End of chap 16