CHPT 244: Berserker Beside the Beasts...

A day of disbelief-- no. Disbelief wasn't the right word. A day of discovery, under the light of the rising sun many things were revealed and many hidden truths were discovered. Ursula witnessed them all through her shocked eyes and shaking hands.

Right in front of her even. Her first friend, Claude. Stood as still as stone, muscles tensed like shaped iron-- only he wasn't himself. Or maybe he was closer to his true self than she'd ever seen....

Stuck somewhere between scar-riddled teenage boy and dark furred beast of nightmarish proportions. The Wolven creatures that stood beside them both had changed as well-- not as strongly, but still visibly different. Especially Frosty. It was as if his change brought something primal out of them, leaving three monstrous beings on the field capable of unleashing enough violence and blood to drown the whole forest in red.

She had so many questions, every extra stretch of slowed seconds caused her to conjure up more and more. Ranging from incredibly simple to incredibly detailed. But, she had a job to do. She couldn't let the swarm of questions descend on her mind like flies to a corpse, because she had a job.

The sidelines was no longer a place she occupied-- this is what she asked for. A dance with death that her friend didn't have to participate in alone. A dance that included her fighting alongside three Wolven beasts against an otherworldly threat that she had no business facing as a 15 year old girl. Either way, this is what she asked for. She'd bleed and rip and break, but she'd return the favor with as much rage as she could muster. Because thats what Berserkers do. Take some to give some.....and keep doing it until somebody lay on the floor in a bloody and lifeless mess.

The whole scenario, it lined her bones with an intense focus and determination, mocking the beads of sweat that coated her exposed skin. Despite the fear she felt when she watched the crouching HellBreeder from across the field, she was ready.

While she stood in the unnaturally quiet field with Claude and his Wolves, the time that once held an intense focus-- allowing the milliseconds to bleed into painstakingly long seconds, rushed back to normal speeds. Yet, everything remained still as stone. Even more so.

She could feel her heartbeat in her chest. Hear it in her ears. Taste the dryness in her mouth. The small moments before battle were always the worst. The last time you'd see yourself unharmed before the touch of violence fell on your skin like rainfall-- only less calming. Much less calming.

With a mind clearing inhale, she took in the scents of fur and sweat and activated her skill, (Henbane Boost). Sure, the touch of violence would fall on her skin-- but she wouldn't feel it any time soon.

[Berserkers Rage:....10%!]

The last thing she heard before the world blended into the natural sounds of combat was Claude's rumbling beastial voice.

"GO!"

FWOOSH!

***

Claude's feet pounded across the field after his tormentor-- the urge to simply wolf out and rip and tear mindlessly was almost inescapable. But reason was required to win this fight, and to make sure Ursula stayed relatively safe.

With a snarl, he raised a glowing clawed hand in front of him and snapped it into a fist.

ShwhSHSH!

Roots and grass grew with a ferocious edge, reaching out and clasping around the HellBreeder's tail like dozens of green-brown hands.

The Wild Magic of the area soaked into him and his work, causing the roots around the Demons tail to thicken into wooden limbs while the grass morphed into snaking spiked vines.

The HellBreeder hissed and raised its right arm.

FWSH!

An incredibly deep red flame ignited to life in its palm like a flaming rose of death. He could've sworn he saw screaming faces within the flickering flames. A thought forced to the back of his mind as the Demon threw the flame angrily.

"RAHH!"

FWWWSHSHSHS!!!!

The ball of fire spun through the air, whistling past Claude and Ursula to smash into the foilage behind them. The feeling of Nature being tainted hit him as the flames ate away at the natural life behind him.

The miss didn't stop the Demon. She continued firing off potent blasts of Hellfire, now aimed at Claude and his Wolves feet.

The oncoming onslaught split to avoid the attacks, leaping and bounding to avoid the steady blasts of Hellfire.

"I'll Mmmmake you burrrnn Clllaude!!!" The HellBreeder hissed before the sound of heavy footsteps caused her to turn and find another approaching her front.

Her flaming hand followed her eyes, but Ursula was too close.

"Argh!"

Fwoo!

With an angered grunt, she dashed passed the front of the HellBreeder-- placing herself at the left side of the creature before jumping abruptly and stabbing her ice coated sword into the bleeding hole where it's missing arm once resided.

SHUNK!

With a grissly sound of flesh tearing and sizzling, her Cold-Bitten sword ripped into the inside of the Demon, causing it to scream and thrash in pain while flecks of frost spread along its wound.

"AAAAAAAA!.....FOOLISH CHILD!!" The Demon roared before leaning further into the sword to smash her freezing shoulder into Ursula.

The speed was too much. With a sickening crunch, the HellBreeder shoulder charged Ursula.

CRNCH!

"UWAH!" As Ursula felt her feet being lifted from the ground, she went with the momentum and smashed her foot into the Demon's ribcage, pushing her further away just as its's tail ripped from the growing natural binds of wood and grass and flew for her face.

"Shit!' She muttered before raising her Aura shrouded arms to take the brunt of the attack.

FWPOOM!

The hit shook her insides and threatened to shatter her forearms as she flew across the grass. Before she could hit the ground, her back collided with a solid object that felt like a stone wall-- only walls didn't snarl.

Claude put her down on her feet muttering a single word before dashing at the Demon, "Again..."

While they descended on the creature who prepared to do the same, the massive Phantom Legion crashed into it from behind.

BOOM!

"ACK!'

More Wild Magic seeped into Claude's skin and bone, giving him a burst of speed that he used to lunge at the stumbling Demon.

"Come here!" He growled before leaping into the air and smashing his knee into it's face. At the same time Frosty threw his body into it's damaged left knee. The combined sounds of impact shook the forest when combined with the HellBreeder's shrills of pain.

"NNNRRRAAHHHHHHH!!!!"

The sound bombarded their senses, stunning them in the worst place possible.

Following the screech, the HellBreeder spun, smacking away Claude with it's arm and and Frosty with it's further damaged leg.

FWOWOOO!!

Before Ursula could take the chance to attack, The HellBreeder was on her like glue.

STMP!

It's foot came crashing down where she previously stood, shaking the ground as she sidestepped out of the way and stabbed at the Demons stomach.

Swip!

She missed, in an instant she felt something sharp run across the hand that held her sword-- reflexively they opened, causing the sword to fall. Before it could hit the ground she caught and moved to swing again only to be swatted away like a fly.

As she tumbled through the grass, the sounds of snarls and fast movements filled her ears. Claude and the Wolves were back like they never left.

The three beings tangled with the Demon while she got up and moved to put Claude's sword in her dominant hand. Only to find three thick lines of red running across the back of it. The reason she dropped her sword before is because the HellBreeder almost ripped her hand off.

"HAhahahah!!!....I'm goinnnng to rippp you to shreds...hhhhuman child! Your fffear is beginning to taste just howw I like it!....A tinge of pain...a sprinkle of hopelessness....yessssss." The HellBreeder yelled to her while it fought off Claude and his Wolves.

"Hopeless my ass…." Ursula shot back before forcing her dominant hand to close around the sword and spitting on it.

CRCKRCKRCKR!....

As soon as the fluid fell on her skin and froze it expanded into an icy cast, hardening her first and forcing it to hold the sword. Following the adjustment, she began blowing cold winds onto her arms and forearms, further freezing the icy guards and bolstering her defenses even further in preparation to fight again.

"Stay focused...don't let Berserker's Rage activate too early....don't be a liability..." She mumbled before rejoining the madness.

***

The battle continued at a highspeed tempo of quick evades and vicious slashes that cut through the wind with the speed and effectiveness of the finest of swords.

Blood from all parties covered the ground like spilled paint, and the war was only getting more intense under the early morning sun.

With every second spent exerting more stamina, spending more Mana and taking more damage, Ursula's Berserker's Rage climbed steadily. The temperature of the forest dropped, her ice intensified, and her strength climbed-- allowing her sword to cut deeper into the creatures natural hellish armor.

As the fight continued, she slowly fell into sync with her teammates flow of combat. Deciding to use her heavy hitting attacks and icy blasts in short bursts after Claude and the Wolves overwhelmed the Demon.

Overwhelmed was an understatement. She had to force herself not to look at Claude when the battle started, but now, she often lost sight of him with ease. He was getting faster. They all were. It was horrifying yet beautiful to witness. Like watching a panther traversing the jungles of the wild. Amazing to witness, terrifying to be on the receiving end of.

There were times where he'd dash and bound across the frosted grass as a black blur, flying past the Demon leaving rips and tears in its armor that the giant smokey Wolf and Frosty would make worse in his wake. They were slowly tearing the creature apart.

Despite this, Ursula felt the goosebumps on her icy skin thicken with every passing second.

"It hasn't shown all of its cards yet...."