“I never thought this day would come. The day where we fight not against the dark god, but by his side. The day where the entire forest becomes one pack and defends itself from the human menace.” Alarik looked ahead, his eyes shining with radiance piercing through the dark rain that had become nothing more than a foggy drizzle.

A deep crazed roar echoed beside him.

Alarik glanced to his side at the gigantic shadow bear, agreeing, “You are right, Misha. The time for talk has ended.” 

Alarick howled. A long desolate howl from a creature unnatural to this world, a creature whose entire existence had been fighting to survive and finding a place where it belonged. Though he hated the forest and felt it was no place for the pack. In his heart, he knew this place was his home, and he had to defend it. 

Burying these thoughts, a vortex appeared before his howl. Drawing in an abundance of dark energy Alarik grew larger and larger in size. His eyes turned purple, with black veins circling around them. 

The wolf pack behind him howled in unison. The eyes of Reika and Marrok turned red with purple veins swimming about. The rest of the wolves had pure crimson eyes honing in on their foes.

The shadow bears roared out in anger shaking the forests with their presence.

Clarence and the human army felt the infant hope they had just received already being strangled by a new enemy. 

Appearing in front of them were large wolves and even larger bears whose eyes gleamed in the dark dusk. Another group of monsters had arrived. This group was millions of times stronger than the last. 

Seeing their arrival, the ranged units halted their attack on Thomas and began firing at will against the approaching monsters. 

The arrows proved to be useless as they bounced off the wolves’ furs, and the constant roar of the bears disintegrated them mid-air. 

In the air, a haggard Thomas reappeared from the dust. His condition was critical as he could barely remain floating. 

Noticing the new enemies, the mages unleashed everything. Various magic attacks landed amongst the wolves and bears, exploding at random, injuring many. But their charge was not slowed. The creatures slammed into the magical shield shaking it to the core, causing the faces of everyone to pale. 

Grey gasped in horror, “They are trying to destroy the shield so that the rain may kill us.” 

Annabelle crying and hysterical, sobbed, “Oh Zyana. We are all going to die. I shouldn’t have come here. I knew I should have rejected the call. I want to go home.”

Clarence noticed this as well, yelling to his dazed men, “Soldiers attack! Hold them from the shield no matter the cost.”

Knowing retreat was impossible, the remaining soldiers rushed forward, stabbing at the bears and wolves outside the shield. 

A constant barrage of arrows flew forward, but the mages could no longer fire with allied soldiers being so close to the enemy.

Dante approached the yelling Clarence, “I fear we won’t be able to win this battle.”

Clarence stopped yelling at his men. Grabbing Dante and pulling him to the side, Clarence hissed, “And what do you propose we do? Retreat would prove difficult.”

Dante nodded and whispered, “So we leave a rearguard as the rest retreat. Give the order for the magical cannon to fire. We will use that to facilitate our retreat.”

Clarence mulled over the idea he hated having to sacrifice his men. But it was apparent that the army wouldn't last too much longer at this rate. If they could just destroy the cave. Regardless of defeat, their enemy would be unable to counter. “Very well. Gather the most senior and elite of the men to remain here. I will be staying here as well.”

Dante wanted to argue, but seeing Clarence's stoic face, he could only muster a weak nod.

Clarence gave the alchemists their first command, “Fire at these coordinates that should be where his cave is located. And if we are lucky that demihuman is hiding there. After destroying it, focus the rest of your bombardment on that lich.”

The alchemists moved in motion. The sound of magic gathering could be heard.

Seeing this, Thomas sent a spiritual message to Alarick, “You blasted mutt. If you don't break through soon, everything will be for naught.”

Alarik replied without anger, “We are moving as fast as we can, but this thing is stronger than we imagined. Even Misha is unable to penetrate it.”

“You idiot. Don’t use physical attacks. Use magic,” Thomas sighed. Having to rely on the mutts was proving to be beneath him.

Only “oh” was transmitted back as Alarick funneled dark energy into his mouth before shooting the concentrated aura into the shield.

Seeing what Alarick was doing, Misha, the shadow bear, sliced the shield with claws covered in dark energy.

The shield began to shake, and the mages within warned, “The shields won’t hold if he keeps making attacks like that.”

Clarence, hearing this, prepared to battle the two outside the shield. A thin layer of aura covered him protecting him from the dark rain. I learned this from Requis, truly the use of aura is limitless.

Before he made it out, a scared voice sounded behind him, “Sir Clarence. I. I. I want to help you battle them back.”

Clarence turned to see a frightened Erik. He was still decked out in his expensive black armor. He lacked aura, but the armor seemed to be layered in numerous runes. Clarence agreed without hesitation, “Very well, you handle the bear.”

Erik gulped, hearing he had to fight the larger of the two monsters. “Are you sure I’m enough?”

Clarence looked at him, sternly, “No, but I’m sure you are nowhere near enough for the wolf.” Without any further talk, Clarence rushed out of the shield. 

Seeing Clarence, Marrok leaped towards him.

Clarence slammed his palm into the head of Marrok and rolled forward, retrieving his emerald spear that was blocked by Thomas. Before even standing back up, Clarence's arm moved, and the spear shot behind his back.

Alarik’s sneak attack had failed. Alarik circled around the crouched Clarence before letting out a dark howl, then jumping towards him again.

Clarence snorted, meeting the claws of Alarick mid-air. The two seemed to be evenly matched as neither moved from their spots. 

Alarick dropped back to the ground, this time circling Clarence carefully.

Clarence smiled in satisfaction, “That’s right, mutt. I’ve grown more powerful since our last meeting. It warms my heart to know that there still exists beings below me in power.” 

Marrok dragged himself back up, prepared to throw himself back onto Clarence, but Alarik stopped him.

Not taking his eyes off Clarence, Alarik communicated with Marrok, “Leave the human to me. Go and attack the shield. If we take too long, our pack will begin to lose members.”

Marrok snarled at Clarence, “But he is the killer of your brother. The one who stole my tooth. Allow me to help. Together we will beat him.”

Alarick’s eyes raged with anger as he glared at Marrok, “I said leave.”

Marrok whimpered, departing to attack the shield.

Clarence, on the other hand, didn't attack when Alarick stopped looking at him. Instead, he laughed, “To think even a mutt can be delusional. Do you really think you can beat me all by yourself? Even your abominable owner is near defeat.”

Alarick stomped his paw onto the ground for the first time talking directly to Clarence, “I think I can try.”

Clarence was surprised at first, but then he nodded, “Of course, a magical beast. No wonder you are so strong. Your pelt will be worth a pretty penny, or maybe I’ll keep it as a family heirloom.”

Alarik growled at him with contempt, “Even your flesh would be unworthy as a meal for my people. We won’t even use your bones as a toy.” Alarik began to siphon more dark energy. Growing larger in size, his eyes turned a deep black, “I can’t hold this form long. But against you, it should be long enough.” 

Clarence lowered his stance, “Then come. I will allow you to be the first of many to feel my revenge. Do not worry, your demihuman friend and the lich will be saved for last.”

Hearing this idiotic threat Alarick laughed, “You kill my master? Impossible. How could you imagine fighting the master when you can’t even defeat the student.” Not waiting for Clarence’s retort, a seismic howl echoed from Alarik’s mouth, stunning Clarence and shaking the magic shield.

Alarik leapt in front of Clarence, bringing down his paw. A deep wound appeared in Clarence’s armor. The dark energy wrapped around Alarik's paw sizzled after coming into contact with Clarence’s blood.

Loud sizzling sounds popped around Clarence's cuts as they slowly closed back up. Gritting his teeth, Clarence forcibly willed himself out of the stun. Sweat blinded his eyes. Clarence with heavy fatigue repeatedly jabbed his spear at Alarik.

Alarik hopped and rolled around the spear, swiping at Clarence with building ferocity.

Clarence felt overwhelmed as each swipe threatened to knock him onto the ground. Only barely was he able to withstand Alarick’s attack.

Alarik, seeing this, pushed his advantage. When Clarence went for a thrust, Alarik shot a ball of dark energy point-blank into his chest. 

The hit knocked Clarence onto the ground. His instincts blared warnings, yet all Clarence could do was cover his neck.

Alarik jumped on top of the downed Clarence, smashing his paws into Clarence’s chest to avoid biting into the acidic blood.

Clarence wheezed as the air was repeatedly knocked out of him. Gathering his strength, Clarence blindly swung his spear in an arc, forcing Alarik away. The injured Clarence rolled away from Alarik, disappearing behind his men who were running towards the duel.

Seeing this, Alarik decided to ignore Clarence. Returning to the magic shield, Alarik undid his new transformation and charged up another dark aura blast.

Another battle was taking place. Erik struggled against the shadow bear as each swing of its paw was enough to crush the average knight. No mock battle could have prepared him for the real thing. His body felt heavy, refusing to move as he wanted. The cherished family sword that he had used since childhood felt strange after each swing. His opponent never slowed, nor showed any mercy. Sweat had accumulated on his forehead, almost blinding him. The only thing keeping Erik alive was the special armor, but even the armor could only block so much damage.

Amid their battles, the magic cannon finished charging. A thunderous bang unleashed pure destructive energy that lit up the sky. Each time a sonic boom went off, star-like energy blasted from within the cannon hurtling towards the cave. 

The first shot hit near the cave, devastating the forest. Incinerating the few remaining trees. The second shot landed directly onto the cave, but a mysterious black shield absorbed most of the damage. The third shot landed a bit past the cave creating a deep crater that was slowly filled with dark rain. The fourth shot was another direct hit. The black energy began to crack. After the fifth shot, the black shield could be heard shattering into a million pieces. A rumble could be heard, signifying the collapse of the cave. After those five shots, the cannon returned to quietness as the alchemists went about reloading it. 

Black tears flowed down Thomas’s eyes as he watched his beloved home be reduced to ashes. All his memories, experiments, and treasures were lost. He could only cry quietly in the air, a deep-rooted hatred formed in his heart.

The wolf pack paused for a moment as they watched the pure destruction the humans were capable of. Alarick feeling the cave’s destruction, unleashed his charged aura. With a single howl, all his excess aura blasted into the shield like a battering ram ripping a section open for the bears and wolves to flood in.

Thomas’s hands shook in unadulterated rage. His raspy growl echoed throughout the air, “Kill them. Kill them all. Don’t let a single human leave here alive.”

Hearing Thomas’s command, the united bear and wolf tribes descended upon the weak humans with no mercy.