Chapter 8-4: The Scent of Blood

They carefully made their way to where Ren sensed the wildmagic. It didn't take them all that long to reach the area. "We need to be careful," Ren said quietly as the sources of wildmagic drew ever so closer. "Princess, can you protect us the same way again?"

She nodded with an excited smile. Clenching her first, she took point and led them through the last patch of forest. Finally, they stepped onto lush green grass illuminated by the stars and moon.

This place was a small opening in the forest. He could see a narrow creek, probably flowing to the lake not too far away from where they were right now. Yu had told him about the lake – it was one of the places he loved.

"There!" The young man whispered as he grasped the hilt of his tachi.

A group of creatures were feeding on a corpse. They were smaller than a fully grown human but were tall enough to reach Ren's shoulders. They had black fur, making them incredibly difficult to spot in the darkness of the night. They used their front claws almost like hands as they picked up pieces of the corpse to eat. Ren knew of these creatures – they were the subject of one of the reports he had to make.

Their bodies reminded him of disfigured humans – they always seemed somewhat hunched forward. They had long tails and a pair of wings, though very few of them could actually fly. Their primary purpose was to allow them to glide onto their prey from treetops and such.

"Clava!" Persephone whispered. "They are dangerous, your highness."

"We can take them." Princess Iris said quietly. "Ren, you take point. I'll cover for the rest of us."

The young man hesitated. "I think we should fall back," He said after a moment of silence. "If they are part of a bigger pack or if there are any adults around us, we'll be in danger."

"It's fine!" Ophelia said as an icicle appeared at the tip of her sword. She pointed it towards the creatures and released the spell. Before Ren could say anything to stop her, the icicle struck the nearest creature, killing it instantly.

The rest of them immediately scattered, screeching and hissing.

"By the moon, calm down Ophelia!" Persephone shouted as Princess Iris created a barrier around the group. "Princess, we really should fall back." She begged as she reached for the flare each of them were given.

"We will not be defeated by a bunch of measly clava." Princess Iris shouted. "Ren, cut through them."

The young man gritted his teeth and unsheathed his sword. These creatures, by themselves, didn't really pose a threat to him. But that didn't mean he was going to be careless. Instead of dashing forward as he usually did, he stepped forward and waited just at the edge of the princess' barrier.

The creatures dashed towards them from all angles. Some climbed the trees and glided towards them while others approached from the ground. As the first set of claws hit the barrier, cracks immediately appeared. Princess Iris let out a low moan as her mana glowed even brighter.

"Princess!" Persephone shouted. "I'll send the flare!" She said, desperately reaching for her flare. Ren nodded – these creatures shouldn't have been strong enough to crack her highness' barrier in a single strike.

As the first creature bounced off the barrier and motioned to strike again, he stepped through the icy cold mana and attacked the creature. His blade cut through its fur effortlessly, spilling blood everywhere. The creature shrieked with its dying breath before its lifeless body collapsed.

"They're easy to kill." Ophelia said. "So, let go of that flare, sis." She grabbed her sister's arm and stopped her. Another icicle brushed past one of the creatures and disappeared in the darkness of the forest.

"Aim!" Ren said through his clenched teeth. He cut another creature's head off, then moved back inside the barrier. "Let her send the flare." He shouted – this was too risky. They didn't need to go to such lengths to obtain the cores. They could easily hunt down weaker, less threatening creatures.

"No!" Princess Iris insisted. "Focus on killing them!" She shouted.

Ren clenched his teeth. He did want to send the flare but knowing the princess – and seeing the movements of her mana – he knew she'd stop the flare with her magic.

More creatures struck the barrier. Ophelia focused and started killing them with her icicles, one by one. Slowly but surely, the attacks stopped as the creatures fell.

"Almost done." She said with a grin. "Just two of them left."

Ren was about to nod and sigh a breath of relief, but something right at the edge of the treeline behind them caught his eye. He quickly turned to look. As he noticed the crimson flood of wildmagic, his heartbeat quickened. "Behind us!" He shouted as more clava leapt out of the woods. "Princess!"

Without missing a beat, he sent his flare. In only a few moments, one of the battlemages would arrive and help them. The red flare rose to the sky before hitting a flying clava. As both the clava and the now useless flare fell not too far from them, Ren drew a sharp breath.

"We need to run." He said, grabbing the Princess' arm. "Now!"

"How?" She whispered before Ren dragged her off. They ran – with Ophelia leading them. Ren slowly fell behind – not because he was slower, but because he wanted to keep the faster monsters off the others' backs.

As they ran through the trees, he could feel more clava approaching. His surroundings were almost completely covered in red. Wildmagic was everywhere. He could barely breathe as the creatures drew ever so closer.

"The lake!" Ophelia shouted. Ren's heart skipped a beat as he glanced ahead. The large body of water blocked their path forward. Their only option was to turn back or go west.

More screeching sounded as they stopped at the shore. "Don't let the water touch you." Ren warned them. It was filled with a golden shine – wildmagic. Their mana pools would become diluted almost immediately.

"What now?" Ophelia asked with a catch in her voice. Her hands were shivering and her control over her mana was getting weaker with every passing second.

"Flare!" Princess Iris shouted, finally pulling herself back together. "Now, Persephone!"

The young noble quickly sent her flare. To their dismay, the red light was once again stopped by another flying clava.

"Why are they stopping the flares?" She asked with a high pitched scream. "How can they know what it means?"

Ren shook his head. These creatures weren't as smart – they couldn't deduce that flares meant reinforcements. Was something controlling them? But the culling had happened just a couple of days ago. Anything capable of such control was annihilated by Yu and the other battlemages.

"We need to distract them." He said after a taking a few quick breaths. He had to stay calm. Fear would only blind him and push him to make more mistakes.

"They follow the scent of blood." Persephone said, glancing at Ren's cheek. The small scratch had stopped bleeding hours ago.

"Can we drop a bloody cloth into the water?" Ophelia asked. Princess Iris shook her head. "No," She was focusing on keeping her barrier up. "They're smart enough to not follow that." She glanced at the sky. It was already past midnight – they only had a few hours left.

"We need to send a flare." Ren said after a moment's hesitation. With their backs turned to the lake and their way back completely blocked by these creatures, they needed help. This wasn't something they alone could deal with.

"How?" Persephone asked. As she spoke, some creatures leapt forward and attacked the barrier. Princess Iris moaned as her mana waned. A portion of the spherical barrier shattered. Ren quickly turned there with sword in hand.

Persephone's scream sounded before the princess reinforced the barrier. Out of breath she shouted. "Persephone?" She couldn't turn to look – she was focused on keeping them safe.

"Sis!" Ophelia suddenly screamed. "Sis, no!" Only then did Ren look at the young noble.

She lay on the ground, gasping for air. He could hear gurgling coming from her throat. Her neck was mauled – she was dying. His heart skipped a beat as her sister quickly covered the wound with her hands. Despite that, blood flowed through her fingers. "Persephone! No, no, stay with me!" Ophelia shouted, tears flowing from her eyes.

"Princess, hold the barrier." He shouted. He quickly took off his cloak and cut it into a few pieces. His hands shivered as he quickly wrapped it around the dying girls wound. "Keep the pressure on!"

"Ren, what's going on?" Princess Iris shouted. Ren took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. "Persephone is badly wounded." He explained, his hands were soaked in Persephone's blood. He hesitated. "I…" He clenched his teeth. "Princess, as soon as they are distracted, send the flare."

"What?" Princess Iris shouted. "Don't do anything stupid-"

"Don't waste any time!" Ren shouted before dashing through the barrier.

As soon as he passed through the cold mana, red wildmagic assaulted his senses. He could barely breathe as he dashed through it. His tachi in hand, he swung it at the nearest creature. They screeched as he passed through them, running west.

"Ren!" Princess Iris' shout echoed as he passed through the woods. He could hear the sound of the creatures chasing him. Some ran on the tree branches as others followed him on the ground.

"Come," He whispered quietly. "Plenty of blood on my hands." Behind him, a flare rose to the sky. His lips formed a bitter smile as he continued to run away from them.

His best bet was to arrive at the western gate – it was only an hour away if he didn't slow down. He could do this. He could make it there. As his legs carried him deeper and deeper into the forest, the creatures drew closer and closer.

It didn't take too long for his muscles to start burning – his breath became shallower and his waist and back hurt. The creatures had almost caught up to him. He could see them around him. He wasn't even halfway there. Desperation began to well up inside of him.

As he passed through an opening in the woods, something hit him in the back. He fell face first on the ground with a muffled thud. He quickly turned on his back and stabbed the first creature jumping on his. As it screeched and dies, he tried to pull his tachi out of the corpse.

Before he could do so, another one – an adult with fully functioning wings – landed right behind him. Before he could even react, he felt its sharp fangs pierce his neck. Pain jolted throughout his body in waves as more and more creatures dug their fangs into his skin.

His vision blurred. Sometime during this, he had lost his grip on the hilt of his tachi. He tried to push them off, but his weakened body gave out. His consciousness began to fade as his complexion became more and more pale.

Sometime later – perhaps hours, perhaps only seconds – the creatures scattered. The pain didn't disappear though, the wounds on his body burned with pain. Wildmagic continued to seep into his body, messing with his mind.

Something warm touched his fingertips. He moved his head a little and opened his eyes. Sunlight, bright sunlight that spelled certain death for any human, gently touched his body as the rising sun dyed the skies crimson and purple.

A single thought echoed in his mind as the beat of large, leathery wings sounded from the distance. He held on to that thought until his consciousness faded once again.

'I'm sorry, Yu.'