Defending The Storage (2)

Eyes like a cat, claws like a panther and fur covering the skin. There was no doubt in Reggie's mind that these people were Therians, or at the very least the man moving towards Aurik was. 

He couldn't rule out the possibility that this group was a mixture of Therians and Mages but he had never heard of those two groups getting along in the slightest, never mind working together. The only reason he even considered the possibility that the group had Mages in it now was because of Aurik, since he heard of the attack from Mages.

The Therian that Aurik tried to kill with a slash of his sword, the one that kicked him in the chest, was slowly walking forward as his body finally finished it's changes. His entire body had enlarged, like his muscles were balloons that had yet to be completely filled.

The tips of his fingers had disappeared and were replaced by sharp claws that looked sharp enough to cut through steel. An orange coloured fur was now covering the exposed parts of his body like the face and hands, meanwhile his pupils had changed shape to mimic those of a cat.

Aurik didn't know much about the world he was now a part of but even he knew for a fact that this man wasn't a Mage and was instead a Therian. The problem was that he had absolutely no information about Therians.

Every time he brought them up the conversation would veer off topic before he could get any real information. He knew they were shapeshifters who mimicked animals and that there were different kinds but that was the extent of his knowledge.

"Darrel called dibs on that one and I'll give the other over to you, Selina." A man in his early 50's said as he gestured towards Reggie. "The rest of you should get started, I don't want to be here for more than twenty minutes."

The only woman of the group stepped forward with a smile as she too began to change. Her body took on the exact same traits as the man named Darrel, orange fur, claws and cat like eyes, the only difference was that her muscles didn't expand nearly as much and her final size was only slightly bigger than before.

The rest of the group, excluding the older man and the two who had died, charged into the warehouse and began to destroy everything in sight. They smashed the glass doors, toppled entire refrigerators and just outright ripped the blood bags apart, it was clear that their only goal was destruction.

Aurik watched all of this happen as he slowly got to his feet, the pain in his chest subsiding as his enhanced body began to heal. He had planned to use this event to gain some achievements but now it looked like his efforts would amount to nothing.

More pressing than that, however, was the Therian named Darrel who was slowly approaching and clearly intended to take his life. Aurik glanced over at Reggie and saw that he was about to engage in a fight of his own with the woman named Selina.

'I'm on my own.' A fierce and resolute light burned in his eyes as Aurik gripped his sword and pointed it at Darrel.

As though accepting the challenge, Darrel suddenly charged forward with enough speed to make the fastest man on earth jealous. He crossed the 10 meter (30ft) gap in just under a second and slashed with his right hand at the young Vampire's head.

Aurik barely had time to react but managed to pull his head back just in time to avoid the strike. He stumbled backwards a few steps but quickly regained his balance and charged forward while swinging his sword in a downward diagonal slash.

The moment Aurik swung his sword his vision was overwhelmed by the colour red and his eyes closed out of instinct. The power behind his sword, and subsequently the speed, faltered for a moment due to his surprise. 

With his vision obscured it was impossible for Aurik to tell exactly what happened but seeing as how he didn't hit anything with his sword he assumed the attack was dodged. A moment later a heavy appendage slammed into the left side of his body, sending him tumbling once again.

The pain was immense and he was certain that he felt something crack in his ribcage but his only focus in this moment was making sure he held onto his sword. He knew that his chances of winning right now were already slim but if he didn't have a weapon then that small chance would vanish altogether.

He was so focused on not dropping his weapon that allowed his arm to be twisted in an unnatural angle rather let go and even suffered some cuts from his own weapon as his body rolled.

His body finally came to a stop when his back impacted against something metallic, sending another jolt of pain through his body. He quickly pushed himself off the ground and onto his feet again, forcing his body to move through the pain. He raised his hand and wiped away the blood that had flown into his eyes and followed the liquid to its source, a horizontal cut across his forehead. 

'I guess I didn't dodge the first attack completely...' Aurik thought as he realized how lucky he had actually been. If the Therians hand was slightly lower then he would have lost his eyes, or if he had reacted slightly slower then a large chunk of his head would be missing.

'Why didn't he just kill me after I missed my attack though?' Aurik couldn't help but ask this question in his mind. He was basically defenceless but instead of slashing at his throat or stomach Darrel chose to kick/punch him instead.

Aurik looked at his opponent and realized the reason for his actions. Darrel was kneeling on the ground with his right hand clasping onto the wrist of his now severed left hand. Aurik believed his strike had missed but his increased strength allowed the sword to slice through his opponent far easier than he ever thought possible, to the point where he didn't even feel the resistance.

A small smile appeared on Aurik's face and a light chuckle escaped his lips.

"Looks like I stand a better chance than I thought."