Chapter 9 - One-Sided Massacre!

Connor's heart pounded fiercely in his chest as he stared down the HADES members who surrounded them. He could hear the sound of his own breathing and the adrenaline pumping.

"What a sh*t situation to be in," Connor thought to himself as he exchanged glances with his two comrades who had formed an encirclement around the heavily injured survivor.

There was no time to waste. These bumbling minions must be taken down so the survivor can receive medical attention.

With a flick of his wrist, Connor shot a ball of flames out towards the nearest HADES attacker who was halfway planning a sneak attack at him. The three wolves growled with a ferocity that made even the bravest of the attackers hesitate. Flames began to dance around Connor, as he channeled the fire from the Cloak of Elements defensively.

"Come on then," Connor taunted. "Any of you fireproof?"

The HADES members stood frozen, their iron masks hiding their expressions. It seemed like their opponents were mere inexperienced children. But as Connor advanced towards them together with the wolves, they fanned out to surround him, with ranged attackers aiming their weapons at Connor, and the melee attackers trying to find a gap in Connor's fiery guard.

One of the HADES members lunged at Connor, swinging a large metal baton at his head. Connor ducked under the attack and sent one of his wolves to counterattack. The wolf leaped forward, its jaws clamping down on the HADES member's arm.

"Arghhh!!! Get this mutt off me!" The member let out a scream of pain as the wolf ripped into his flesh ferociously.

Another ranged attacker attempted to fire a continuous bolt of arrows from his crossbow at Connor, but the arrows were easily incinerated by the flames.

Takamura and Yukie stood beside the injured survivor, defending her from several attackers who were trying to break through their defenses. They knew that the survivor was a weak point they could target.

Yukie held a katana of matchless splendor in her hand which was white and as pure as snow, and she moved with the grace of a dancer as she parried and dodged the attacks of her opponents. Takamura moved with the precision of a martial artist, his fists and feet flying as he took down anyone who dared to come near them.

"Why are these kids so hard to put down?" one of the HADES members asked his comrades.

Yukie scowled at being called kids and unleashed a barrage of icicles that shot through the air towards her attackers and said in a matter of fact tone : "We're Heaven's Watch you scoundrels!"

The fact that they had picked a fight with the infamous Heaven's Watch weighed heavily on their backs but the fight continued on, the sound of metal clashing against metal filling the air.

Connor's wolves were fierce and unrelenting, but the HADES members were protected by the iron mask relics they were wearing, which magically enhances their defense and durability. Connor knew that he needed to think of something else, and fast to turn the tides.

"Tsk! You, and you! Put his flames out now!" the leader of the attackers impatiently commanded his underlings, annoyed they couldn't get close to attack Connor. They were furious, and they charged at Connor and with vigor, convinced that channeling their water elemental relics to put out the flames dancing around Connor would allow the rest of their members to physically wound him.

Connor, noticing this, ordered his wolves to back off and switched his primary element from the Cloak of Elements to electricity. He snapped his fingers and sent a surge of electricity towards the two HADES members who realized too late, only to end up electrocuted by their own relics.

"Hah! Did I ever say my relic was a fire-type relic?" Connor smirked playfully, glad that he finally put two of them down.

Frustrated by the development of the battle, the leader ground his teeth and muttered to himself, "Grrr, must I do everything myself...?! Bunch of useless fools!"

The battle had reached a fever pitch. Yukie and Takamura had also successfully taken down one HADES member each. They were outnumbered, but the odds were shifting in their favor. However, the cost of their efforts was great. They had expanded more effort and stamina as they knew that time was of the essence, that the injured survivor needed urgent medical attention if they were to survive. Plus, they were worried about their allies and Professor Shiva back at the cottage. And yet, they couldn't leave the battle unfinished. The urgency of the situation weighed heavily on them. Connor was also torn, caught between the urgency of the situation and the need to assess the risks.

Connor's mind raced as he strategized his next move. He knew that taking down the leader of the HADES attack squad was the key to winning the battle. He had to act fast, but he couldn't risk losing his companions or the survivor they were trying to protect. He had already summoned his three wolves, but he needed something stronger to take down the leader.

"I guess I'll have to bring out the Iron Wolf..." Connor firmly decided in his mind, and pulled out Big Bad Wolf once more. He quickly flipped through the pages of his Big Bad Wolf, and found the page he was searching for - a page that was a pitch black in color.

With a swift rip, he tore it out and shut the book. In his other hand was a glowing bookmark that Erik had given him earlier that day. He put together the two pieces of paper, folded them into a smaller half, and tore them apart right down the middle.

The shredded pieces scattered into the air in a blaze of bright light, and a majestic black wolf with the most lustrous black coat of fur appeared before him. The hairs stood up on end, and a low growl rumbled deep in its throat. The Iron Wolf was larger than any of the wolves he had summoned before, and its black fur glistened in the moonlight like obsidian. Its eyes blazed with lightning bolts, and its howl echoed across the snowy fields. Connor felt a deep inexplicable connection with the wolves he summoned, and he never understood why until today.

Connor raised his hand, and with a fierce growl, the Iron Wolf responded. Its massive frame was intimidating, and its fur glistened like iron under the moonlight.

"You can't take us all on, kid..." the HADES squad leader sneered, his hand gripping a wickedly sharp dagger that was glowing a deep dark red.

"I don't need to take you all. I just need to take YOU down!" Connor growled at the HADES squad leader, clenching his fists.

"I won't make it easy for ya!" The leader said with arrogance before leader lunging forward, his dagger glinting in the moonlight as he seemingly split into two, and then four, and then eight. He wielded the assassination-type relic "Arachnid's Bite" - which as the name implies, allowed its user to separate into eight cloned selves, and also possessed potent venom which would slowly killed any victim it would cut.

However, the Iron Wolf imbued by the power of Erik's elemental bookmarks was no easy target. Its muscles coiled like tightly-wound springs, quivering with anticipation. Bolts of electricity started to cloak its body. Its front legs bent, crouching low to the ground, while its hindquarters remained raised, poised to launch forward.

With a sudden burst of energy, the wolf sprang forward, its body arcing through the air with incredible power. The air crackled with electricity as bolts of lightning surged outwards to the eight clones of the HADES squad leader. Connor on the other hand, focused his attacks on the other HADES members that his three wolves were holding off. He was confident the Iron Wolf alone could handle the leader.

A deafening boom later, the bolts struck three of the clones down with ease, unleashing a searing blast of power that left everything in their path scorched and smoldering. It was as if the lightning had a will of its own, seeking out and punishing the evil that dared to bare its fangs against the owner of Big Bad Wolf.

"This is impossible!!" The HADES squad leader clicked his tongue in disbelief, only feeling the threat of being mauled to death by a giant wolf at this very moment. The Iron Wolf dashed forward once more, already identifying the leader's main body out of the five remaining clones.

"Fall back!" the HADES leader barked, his voice strained as he tried to evade the incoming onslaught of the Iron Wolf. The wolf's claws flashed as it swiped, each swift and brutal, aimed at incapacitating its prey. The leader dodged continuously, confident in his agility. After gaining some distance from the ferocious attack of the Iron Wolf, he took out a crystal ball that encased a swirling black mist from inside his cloak. He broke the crystal ball by throwing it onto the ground without hesitation and disappeared into a black mist in a blink of an eye.

"D*mn it!!!" Connor cursed as he noticed the leader make his exit, but quickly turned his attention to the other HADES squad members who have yet to make their escape.

The other HADES squad members after hearing the leader's call to abandon the fight, made no further effort to prolong or drag out the battle. They instantly activated whatever escape-type relics they had and attempted their escape. Some of the relics were activating faster than the others, and this gave Connor the opportunity to mark them mentally as targets.

The Iron Wolf, sensing the retreat of his master's foes - sent out tendrils of lightning outwards, trying to prevent their escape. Each bolt seemed to move with purpose, as if guided by some unseen force towards their intended victim. It managed to strike two of the slower to escape HADES members, but the rest had managed to disappear into the darkness.

Connor, acknowledging that the battle had reached its climax, decided that there was no point in pursuing the escaped members. He made his way towards the Iron Wolf, a peaceful feeling welling up in his heart, telling him that this majestic wolf would always be his ally.

"Good boy," he whispered to the Iron Wolf, patting its massive head. "You did well."

The Iron Wolf let out a contented growl, its eyes shining with intelligence and loyalty. It then let out a final howl, its eyes blazing with victory, sending lightning bolts flying into the sky as a last hurrah before it transformed back into a page and was reabsorbed into Big Bad Wolf. Connor breathed a sigh of relief, his heart still pounding with the thrill of battle. He turned to the other wolves who were wagging their tail at him, patting them on their backs before they too were reabsorbed into the book as pages.

Takamura and Yukie rushed over to Connor, their faces filled with concern. "Are you okay?" Takamura asked like an overprotective older brother, scanning Connor's body for injuries.

"Hey...! I'm probably fine..." Connor waved sheepishly at Yukie and Takamura, a smile plastered across his tired face. "Let's take care of our injured friend and head back shall we? I mean, Lady Enki probably wouldn't need our help to wipe the floor with HADES grunts, but it'll be better to hurry back."

"Agreed. Milady would have no trouble if the level of the attackers they sent were only as strong as the leader who escaped earlier," Takamura nodded in silent agreement.

"...unless they send in more attackers with Myth-ranked relics of their own," Yukie added gravely on the side as she tends to the sole survivor of the enforcers patrol squad.

"At any rate, onceee..." Connor said as he scanned the belongings of the survivor to get her name "..Maya, here is stable enough...we should regroup with the others."

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[Back at the cottage, Karakoram Mountain Range]

The front yard of the cozy cottage had turned into a scene of chaos and destruction. The once snowy ground was now charred and blackened from the flames that had engulfed it. The trees that surrounded the perimeter were now either missing their branches or entirely uprooted from the ground. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and sulfur, and the ground was littered with the remains of the attackers who had dared to set foot on this battleground.

The bodies of the attackers lay scattered across the yard, their shattered mask relics each one a testament to the fierce battle that had taken place. Burned and broken limbs, shattered weapons, and torn clothing all lay strewn across the ground, a grisly reminder of the destruction that had occurred. It looked like a one-sided massacre.

As the dust began to settle, a lone figure with scarlet red hair emerged from the cottage, surveying the wreckage with a sense of satisfaction. A palpable confidence in her tone, she asked aloud, "That all you punks got? What a waste of my precious time." Lady Enki chuckled, she strode away from the entrance, leaving the battlefield behind with a swagger in her step.