Breakthrough

Weasley cried out in pain as the teeth sank into his head, or rather it should have had.

Right before the teeth should have made contact with Weasley's head, a small blue magic circle appeared before them and stopped the their advance. Another small circle appeared and powerful winds exploded forth, sending the wolf flying several yards into the distance.

However, this didn't bring weasley much good other than buy him some time as the wolf landed nimbly on its feet and charged forward once again with renewed vigour.

The two magic circles that had protected Weasley shattered before his eyes. They were a one time thing and they won't be saving Weasley again.

In an instant, the wolf had already closed the distance between the two of them.

Still reeling from the shock, Weasley only managed to break out of the daze at the very last moment when the wolf's snarls and fangs had reached dangerously close to him.

' Move…Move! MOVE!!' Weasley's senses screamed

Weasley's senses were not honed as he was no warrior, he was just a kid.

That's why Weasley had been so dazed by the attack and had been unable to think clearly. But by some stroke of luck, he had managed to recover a small amount of composure to barely jump out of the way of certain death at the eleventh hour.

However, it was not enough.

The wolf's razor sharp claws shot out as fast as a speeding bullet and slashed cleanly through Weasley's left thigh, leaving three deep, bloody gashes.

Blood splattered on the ground Weasley cried out in pain and he crashed onto the floor.

Weasley clambered to stand up and quickly realised that it was impossible when his left leg collapsed under his weight and he ate another mouthful of dirt.

Weasley looked down and a cold chill ran down his spine.

Weasley's thigh was a mangled mess. The muscles and tendons of the thigh had undoubtedly been torn all the way through. The skin on the area as bloody and the edges of the wound were ragged and serrated and blood flowed freely from the wound.

Usually, Weasley would be in excruciating pain that would make him pass out but thanks to the adrenaline that was pumping through his veins, the pain was numbed to a significant extent and he could afford to retain his consciousness.

" ROAR! "

Weasley was immediately snapped back into reality as the wolf, once again, pounced at him, it's entire body exuding an aura of killing intent.

Weasley's mind raced to concoct a plan to save his life.

Using his hands and remaining good leg, Weasley pushed off the ground and barrel rolled towards the direction of the wolf. He didn't get very far but at least the action caused the wolf to miscalculate the jump and end up jumping over him.

' What can I do?' Weasley thought

' Can I run? No.'

' That means that I can either fight or hide.'

' I need to get to the lake! That's the best hiding spot right now! There's no other place to hide within the clearing!'

Weasley rushed to put his ad hoc plan into action as he clambered to his feet and limped towards the body of water as fast as he could.

However, things were never that easy.

Weasley hadn't even gotten 5 feet away when the wolf had already reached him. Lunging forward, it's claws shot out once again and this time, it raked across Weasley's back.

A scream of pain escaped Weasley's mouth as he felt his legs turn to jelly and as his body fall to the ground with a thud.

' Am I…going to die?'

For the first time in his new life, thoughts of death entered Weasley's mind scape. A chill ran down Weasley's spine as a feeling of doom and inevitability invaded his body.

' Even when I was given a second chance?'

' In a world where I…..'

As soon as despair almost swallowed Weasley whole, a plan finished forming in Weasley's head. It shone like a star in the darkness, providing Weasley with the only possible way out of his current dilemma.

Surprisingly dumbfounded in the moments before his death, Weasley briefly wondered if he was a genius or an idiot.

With a small smile, Weasley reached out and grasped on tightly to the last hope that had presented itself with very fibre of his being!

Weasley rolled himself over, looking face to face with the wolf that loomed over him. Its jaws were orientated in a weird way, almost as if it were smiling and mocking him while boasting of its victory.

" We all die someday I guess…"Weasley murmured to himself as the wolf's jaws opened wide and bore down at great speeds to devour Weasley head whole.

" BUT NOT TODAY BITCH!!"

Weasley roared as he rolled his jerked his head inwards and curved it towards his torso as if he was doing a crunch.

The wolf's jaws missed him ever so slightly, the few teeth that jutted out of alignment in its rows of dagger like canines grated against Weasley scalp, drawing blood but not reaching deep enough to do actual damage and causing the wolf's jaws snap shut on empty air.

Grabbing a large fistful of dirt and rock from the ground, Weasley concentrated all remaining his strength and energy in his right arm and rammed the ball of dirt straight into the eye of the wolf! Weasley made sure press the ball in as hard as he could and rub the dirt all over the creature's eyeball.

The wolf roared in pain, initially trying to shake the dirt off by shaking its head before staggering off to one side in the direction of the lake.

Not even humans who are biologically sophisticated enough to attain sentience could keep calm and focused when one of their eyes gets blinded

Not only that, the dirt and rock particles were very small and very hard to get out, leaving the wolf in immense discomfort as they assaulted its eye. It was not a lethal blow, but Weasley had never intended for it to be.

No longer pinned down, Weasley got up on his feet. Naturally, he couldn't stand properly but he found that he could still support himself if he put 80% of his body weight on his remaining good leg and thus reconfigured his legs to allow for the new arrangement.

So far, everything had gone to plan. The wolf had not killed him, the wolf was blinded and panicking.

Now for the final and hardest part of this insane plan.

' I have only one shot at this.' Weasley thought grimly

Either he pulled it off or he died. Weasley raised his right arm. The condition he was in was hardly what he had expected when he imagined how he was going to breakthrough.

His mother and teacher weren't here to support him. He had expected to get many tries at doing this and most importantly, he had expected to be perfectly safe, protected by the impenetrable aegis that his loved ones would provide him.

Maybe it could have happened. Who knew?

' If only I hadn't shit myself and ran away.' Weasley cursed himself under his breath.

Eyeing the wolf, Weasley knew that the meagre time he had brought with his desperate move had run out.

The terrifying creature faced him with a furious expression on its face. It's fur bristled like spears as it trembled with untold amounts of rage. One of its eyes were swollen and it was closed shut while its other resuming eye burned with hatred as it glared daggers at Weasley.

Letting out a thunderous howl, the wolf's powerful hind legs pushed off the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and shooting giant creature forward towards Weasley like an arrow.

Weasley's chest tightened unconsciously in fear but he willed himself to ignore it as much as he could. In a daring move, Weasley closed his eyes.

' I can't run anymore so even if I evade, my death is just a matter of time.'

' I must defeat this thing here!'

Breathing in deeply to calm his nerves, Weasley shut out the galloping sound of the wolf's powerful legs as it charged towards him.

He couldn't afford to rush the process. He had to pull this of perfectly if he wanted to live!

Mana coursed through his pathways with ease, in powerful yet controlled surge, controlled almost unconsciously as Weasley honed his focus to a razor sharp point to feel for the feeling that he found out several hours ago, was called Wisp.

As Weasley's mana reached the mana terminals in his palm, the mana circle that had been carved into Weasley's brain through hours of practice and memorisation materialised. All of this took little more than a second.

A ticklish and flickering feeling wafted into Weasley's consciousness. It was an unworldly feeling, as if its existence was both possible and impossible at the same time. As if it's was omnipresent but also non- existent.

Weasley reached out for the feeling, but it always eluded his grasp, slipping out at the very last moment like it also had in training. But Weasley didn't give up, he couldn't! Not when his life depended on it!

Weasley reached again, and again, and again and again and after seemingly endless tries, the Wisp became more and more solidified. The feeling became increasingly concrete and a sense of empowerment Welled in in Weasley's chest and spread through his body. It was not a still feeling, but one that churned like an unbridled tempest, threatening to break out at any moment.

In one last surged, Weasley exerted his fullest might and reached out to the Wisp that hovered in his mindscape…and he grabbed on to it!

This time, the Wisp didn't give off teh usual slippery feeling of it having escaped but rather disappeared completely and in its place, a transient feeling of warmth surged through Weasley's body.

Weasley opened his eyes. His grey eyes held a sense firmness, and in its depths, blazed the fires of determination.

Weasley looked up just in time to behold the silhouette of the giant wolf as it towered above him, its claws were raised and ready to strike. Its giant body blotted out the moonlight, casting an eerie shadow as it looked down on Weasley with contempt and hatred.

With one last vengeful howl, the wolf slashed downwards with the full night of its body, ready to bisect Weasley's body right into two.

But the blow would never land.

Weasley was in a calm and unperturbed state that would be maintained for a short duration of time. This was a natural phenomenon and not as a result of him gaining extra confidence or anything for the sort.

In fact, if Weasley had control over his body, he would have likely passed out from the wolf's terrifying form.

The state that Weasley was in was known as a Mana high. While a high induced on other substances would often make one irrational and delirious, a Mana high would deliver the opposite effects, making one cold and rational. The reasons behind this phenomenon are still unclear but regardless, it was a state that was extremely good for combat.

As the claw descended to rend his body to pieces, Weasley unleashed the spell that he had stored up.

The chant he spoke was but a whisper, but the torrent that followed was beyond all proportions.

" Blast."

As if a dam had broke, tempestuous winds exploded forth at massive speeds and pressures to slam against the body of the wolf, punching it away and sending it flying into the air. The wind had no definite form and was just a powerful gust, but having originated from a point as minute as the palm of Weasley's small hand, the winds close to him would have been expelled at exceptionally large pressures and power. And being as close as the wolf had been to Weasley, the experience would no doubt have had to have been akin to being hit by a cannonball shot from point blank range.

" CRACK!!"

A snapping sound reverberated across the clearing as the wolf slammed back down onto the ground and something in its body snapped, unable to withstand the immense impact. The body of the wolf became still and it lay unmoving on the cold forest floor.

" Oh shit it's dead!!!"

Weasley's shrill voice rang out. It appeared that he had regained control over his body just after he had cast the spell. The immense stimulus induced by the spell cast had broken him out of the high.

Weasley was currently looking wide eyed at his handiwork and was shocked utterly speechless.

But more over, his lips were stretched out in a massive grin.

' He'd done it! Finally! He'd finally casted magic!!'

' All that hard work had finally paid off!'

' Eat shit dog!!'

Weasley was giddy with joy as he celebrated his victory like a toxic video gamer, hurling profanities at the wolf who tried to kill him. Hell, if smartphones existed in this world he would have definitely taken a selfie and posted it on Instagram!

Thinking about the wolf he'd defeated, Weasley looked back at where he'd seen the wolf's body and walked towards it for a closer look.

However, he was cautious and didn't want to take any extra chances. The wolf might still be alive, who knew? In which case, he'd better high tail out of here quick!

Weasley slowly approached the fallen body of the wolf and observed it from several feet away at a distance where he could make out the details while being far enough to react in the unlikely scenario that the wolf was still alive.

Upon this closer inspection, Weasley quickly noticed several features that he hadn't noticed about the wolf before.

The wolf's body was not fully matted with black fur but in fact had streaks of dark purple running down its side like lightning bolts. They had been hidden in the darkness of the night and Weasley hadn't had a chance to have a look up close. Small streaks of purple were also evident on the creature's head and legs and it had two canines that were significantly larger than the rest and that protruded slightly out of its mouth.

' Looks like this thing isn't just some random old wolf. It might just be a monster!'

' But regardless, it may have certain similarities with normal wolves as well. If it has a pack that is looking for it right now then I will definitely be dead if they find me. I need to get out of here quic..'

Weasley's train of thoughts shattered as immense pain assaulted his mindscape and forced him to his knees. Through squinted eyes, Weasley caught sight of his thigh would that was now a ghastly shade of purple and was peppered with small particles of dirt and rock. The entire region flared up in an angry red colour and Weasley knew with a sense of dread that it was infected.

The adrenaline had also worn off and thus, the pain could no longer be repressed.

Gritting his teeth, Weasley got up on his one good leg with the other one raised up slightly above the ground. Turning to the pool in the middle of the clearing, Weasley hopped one-legged towards the pool to attempt to do his best to wash the wound.

' At least it will be better than nothing.' Weasley thought through the pain. The gash that the wolf's claws left on his back was beginning to hurt more and more as well.

Furthermore, he was still lost and his Mother and teacher was nowhere in sight. If he didn't manage to find them soon, it wouldn't matter that he beat the wolf, he would still die anyway. If not from infection, then to predators. If not to predators, then certainly to hunger. He would die either way.

Weasley pushed the thought of doom aside forcefully. If he thought about all that now, he would very likely break down.

' One thing at a time, one thing at a time.'

Weasley blinked away the tears that had welled up and threatened to spill over in his earlier moment of desperation and focused on getting to the pool.

As he hopped, Weasley suddenly felt something twitch out of teh corner of his peripheral vision and followed the direction of movement.

His gaze fell on the still body of the fallen wolf and confusion clouded over his face.

However, the confusion soon disappeared and was replaced by a look of terror.

The wolf was still moving! It wasn't dead!!