Now filled to the brim with Arcana’s mana, Samuel had no problem reaching Shigeru and Grimr once more. He reached the bottom of the long shaft, and used his flying spell to reach the top once more. He noticed that using Arcana’s mana, potent as it was, made the process much more efficient. Despite the increased speed, he didn’t burn mana nearly as quickly as he did going up the mountain. He found himself at the cave opening in mere seconds, his feet touching the stone softly as he landed.
Shigeru and Grimr were waiting for him, as they had promised. Shigeru looked him up and down at once, noticing the obvious changes he’d gone through. Samuel could tell by the confusion in the swordsman’s gaze that he knew this wasn’t the same body he had entered with.
“My real body is still below us,” Samuel offered by way of explanation. “It took a lot of damage from the fall, and Arcana is repairing it.”
“By the mother,” Grimr said. “You’re as level-headed as ever. Do you even realize how much stronger you are, even in this temporary body? You aren’t even a little thrown by this?”
Samuel tilted his head in confusion, not sure what the Ancient meant by his question. He felt more or less the same, but Grimr’s widened eyes pointed out the fact that something was drastically different. It was then that he realized that, without meaning to, he’d been holding in the mana that Arcana had gifted him. Relaxing that hold now, the mana stretched out to its full size. It rushed like a raging river, rather than a soothing flow as he’d accomplished with his own mana.
Shortly before his duel with his fellow apprentices some months ago, Samuel had been shocked by the growth in his mana, comparing it to the original amount using the cup out of a puddle. Seeing it now, he thought that the original amount had been more like a single cup’s worth compared to the large lake that swirled out of his body. The field of energy extended as far as he could see, reaching several hundred feet down the mountainside. The burden of it must have been extreme to Shigeru and Grimr, however, judging by their uncomfortable shifting of stance and winces.
“Sorry,” Samuel said quickly, drawing it back in. “I see what you mean now. I didn’t think he’d give me so much.”
Grimr gave off a shiver, an unexpected reaction from such a powerful being. Still looking wary, the Ancient’s hand drifted unconsciously down to the dagger in his belt and gripped it tightly. Then he noticed the action and released it, shaking his hand slightly.
“There’s more than just the mana,” Grimr said, staring at him with narrowed eyes now. “You carry… something ancient inside of you. Something nearly as old as myself.”
Samuel could only shrug at that. “He said it was a weapon ‘fit for his Champion’. I’m not sure what he meant by it. The thoughts are still a little disorganized in my mind.”
Shigeru’s eyebrows were raised. He was clearly impressed. He didn’t know what Grimr meant by his comment. It was the first time he’d seen his companion unnerved, but he sensed that they weren’t likely to get a clear answer standing here on the windy peak of the mountain.
“In any event,” The swordsman interrupted the other two, gesturing towards the trees. “While you were down there, we managed to locate Neratas. He is at the base of the mountain, waiting for us to come down.”
Samuel turned in the direction Shigeru was pointing and focused. He couldn’t see that far with his human eyes, but he could detect the faintest signs of a sickly, hostile essence lurking just out of sight. If he could sense it from this far away, he knew it would be a monstrous aura up close. They had come to kill that monster, he thought, swallowing nervously.
Grimr seemed to come to his senses at last. He too turned to face the forest far below them. “He isn’t likely paying much attention to the two of you. By now, he knows I am here, and he can easily guess at my intentions. I had hoped to catch him unawares, but that is no longer an option. We have a hard fight ahead of us.”
Shigeru’s face was set in hard, determined lines. He wore Longfang in his belt now, having disposed of the two shorter blades. The long weapon looked awkward to Samuel, but he realized that the hilt slanted down as it was, the swordsman was more than capable of drawing it easily.
“Well, let’s not keep your old friend waiting,” Samuel said tersely. “We knew what we came here to do, so there’s no sense in hesitating now.”
Grimr glanced at him with a single eyebrow raised. “Don’t think you have wisdom to match Arcana’s now. Still, well said. Let’s try to get down the mountain quickly, but avoid injuring yourself before we even start fighting.”
“No need,” Samuel interrupted. “I can get all three of us down there quickly enough.”
He raised both hands and allowed his aura to envelop Shigeru and Grimr, coating the two of them in whirling winds of their own. They both lifted off the ground and hovered inches above the stone, and glanced down in amazement.
“Are you sure this will not drain you too much?” Shigeru asked with some concern, remembering how exhausted Samuel had been upon reaching the peak.
Samuel shook his head. “For some reason, this mana is many times more potent than my own. It is very efficient.”
Shigeru seemed to consider his reply for a few seconds, then nodded silently. “Very well. Let us be on our way, then.”
Grimr leaped forward right as he finished his sentence, diving down the face of the mountainous terrain. Samuel shifted the winds to follow the trajectory of his leap, allowing him to land atop a boulder safely and leap again, covering great distances with each bound. Shigeru jumped after, following the Ancient’s example and scaling down the mountains in long jumps. Samuel simply directed the winds around him to push him down the mountainside with the speed of an arrow, catching up to the others in no time.
Despite the speed of their approach, it still took them a few minutes to reach the foot of the mountain. Grimr and Shigeru had to choose their landing points carefully to avoid ricocheting. They slipped a few times in their haste, but Samuel’s spell prevented a hard landing, and they were able to find their balance quickly and continue on. He flew between them, keeping a close eye on their movements to catch potential slips. Just before reaching the short strip of plains between the mountain and forest, he glanced forward and finally caught sight of the beast.
It was nearly thirty feet tall, its shoulders brushing the tips of the trees as it lay in wait for them. Between the long tail and the extended muzzle holding many sharpened teeth, Samuel supposed that, in its prime, it had been a great wolf. Perhaps it had even been white, as Longfang was, but corruption had long since rendered its flesh and fur black. Great chunks were missing from its hide, revealing blackened bone in places. Any normal creature would die of such horrendous wounds, but some evil, powerful force kept it alive and animated.
Samuel caught a glimpse of Grimr’s face as they drew within sight. The Ancient wore an expression of great disgust, mixed with a powerful sorrow that Samuel could not comprehend. Then it turned to hatred as he drew his dagger, and leaped again, showing no hesitation as he drove towards his old friend.
Just before they made contact, Samuel canceled the spells he’d placed upon Shigeru and Grimr, allowing them free movement as their feet touched the black forest floor. As for himself, he remained airborne, conjuring large bundles of fire to his hands, determined to support from afar. Grimr let out a ferocious yell that sounded more like a roar of challenge, a sound echoed instantly by the massive black wolf before them. Then the Ancient jumped.
He’d probably intended to strike for Neratas’ eyes, but the beast moved at the last second, and Grimr’s dagger only succeeded in scoring a long shallow wound down the beast’s muzzle. It looked painful, but nowhere near as painful as Grimr needed. The wolf lunged for Grimr, its massive jaws, big enough to swallow five men whole, closing around where Grimr landed. Fast as it was, Shigeru was faster. The massive white wolf that was his weapon lunged out of nowhere and rammed into the monster’s shoulder.
Longfang was a great deal smaller than Neratas, only about eight feet tall, but the power of its launch was enough to stagger the larger wolf so that he missed. The large jaws clamped down on thin air, and Grimr darted out of range. Longfang lunged again, its jaws aiming for Neratas’ throat. He bit down with ferocious force, and there was a loud crunching sound, accompanied by Neratas’ roar of pain and fury.
Leaping back, the huge black wolf shook himself aggressively, swinging Longfang around with brutal force. The white wolf was slammed on the ground and was forced to release its death grip. Free, Neratas dove at his smaller kin and pinned him with his jaws, and began to bite down. Samuel, desperate to free the white wolf, launched the fireballs he had prepared. They rained down upon the black wolf, igniting the remnants of the fur on his head. The beast reeled back as it felt the touch of fire, releasing Longfang and howling in rage.
Samuel could tell that they were horribly outmatched. Their attacks so far had done nothing but save each other, and they had yet to land a telling blow on the beast. By comparison, Longfang was limping badly as he returned to Shigeru, retreating into the form of his weapon and disappearing from view. Shigeru and Grimr by themselves couldn’t keep enough pressure in the fight. Making a split-second decision, Samuel allowed himself to land on the ground between his companions.
Pulling up the knowledge that Arcana had gifted him, he lifted both of his hands into the air before him, as if reaching for something just out of sight. Despite never having cast this spell before, he knew the exact phrase that he needed to utter as if he’d said the words countless times.
“Halika,” Samuel spoke the ancient language, feeling his very words flow with power. “
Matandang Talim!”
The same ancient thing that Grimr had noticed in Samuel now came to life at his command. A silent flash of power, and the blade simply appeared in the air before him. He gripped it with his two hands, one on the handle, and one on the dark blue scabbard, then drew the weapon from its sheath. It made no sound as he freed it, but the blade within came to life as he leveled it.
Nearly four feet in length and thin as a sheet of ice, the blade was a bright white-blue in color. Dozens of runes were inscribed along the face of the blade, runes that flared to life at once with the power of his own mana. The blade itself seemed to project a powerful aura onto the battlefield. Despite its length, it felt as light as a feather in Samuel’s hand, and he knew he could swing it for hours without tiring. Smiling in anticipation for the first time since meeting Arcana under the mountain, Samuel knew, at once, that this was a power all to his own, if he could master it.
He took up a standard stance, trying to mimic Shigeru’s own agile style as he had seen it. It was much more difficult than the Nihon-jan had made it seem, but he felt like he managed it well enough. The tip of the blade was presented to Neratas in an unmistakably offensive position, and even the corruption that dominated the beast’s soul could not stop him from sensing the ancient history of the weapon now presented by this mere mortal man.
Letting out a bone-chilling roar of challenge, Neratas lunged for Samuel, his jaws opening wide. Samuel pushed against solid air to the side with his free hand, forcing himself out of the way just in time. As the massive beast flashed past him, just inches away, he swung back with the shining blade. It bit deep, Neratas’s own momentum forcing the long blade down its flank and opening a long gash. Undaunted, the wolf turned sharply and its paw flashed out, long black talons aiming to cleave Samuel into ribbons.
“Brukil!” Samuel shouted. This was another word that had come with the knowledge of the sword.
The very air in front of Samuel solidified, taking the force of the monster’s attack and stopping Neratas in his tracks. A deep bell-like gong sounded letting Samuel know he was safe from that attack. Grinning, he dashed forward and lunged at the beast’s exposed neck, opening another deep wound before darting away to safety. Grimr darted back in before Neratas could chase after him, cutting at the back of one of its front legs. Neratas staggered, but it was far from a telling blow.
Both sides seemed to take a second to address their statuses, neither attacking for a moment. Samuel balanced on the balls of his feet, as he’d seen Shigeru do, tensed for the moment when combat would resume. His eyes flicked to Shigeru and Grimr, seeing that they too were holding back. Each of them knew that hasty action could lead to serious injury.
The wounds they had inflicted on Neratas obviously hurt the beast, but it showed no signs of exhaustion. Samuel and the others were also uninjured, but the black wolf had taken Longfang out of combat with a single hit. The power of their opponent could not be ignored. They had barely hurt Neratas with their flurry of attacks, yet one solid blow from the wolf would maim or kill them.
Neratas was the first to break the pause in combat. He flashed forwards towards Shigeru, the speed of his rush belying his bulk. The swordsman jumped back, sidestepped, and rolled to avoid the whirl of teeth and claws as the wolf charged in. Samuel could see all too clearly that Shigeru was being driven back against a steep section of the mountain’s feet, and would be pinned if the situation continued.
Grimr rushed to flank Neratas, swinging with the dagger that seemed like a small thorn compared to his foe. He drove it into Neratas’ hide to the hilt, and there was a flash of green energy that shoved the great beast a few feet. The Ancient darted back before Neratas could retaliate, and Samuel advanced on the other side, slashing twice at the wolf’s other side.
“Masunog ka!” Samuel uttered as he jumped back once more.
Bright blue flames erupted from the cross he’d carved into Neratas’s flank. They flared up and spread quickly, and in an instant, the wolf’s entire body had been set ablaze. Samuel wasn’t sure if it was the power of the flames or the dead dry fur that had made that last attack so effective, but he couldn’t argue with the results.
“Excellent, Samuel-san!” Shigeru shouted, having recovered from Neratas’ onslaught.
The swordsman charged forward as Neratas retreated, shaking it’s body furiously to try and rid itself of the flames. Shigeru brought his weapon down upon Neratas’ head. It didn’t cut deep, but the power, combined with the unexpected attack, slammed the great beast’s head down with brutal force and stunned it. Then the white figure of Longfang appeared again, lunging for Neratas’ exposed neck.
The white wolf showed no sign of its previous injury as it’s jaws clamped down again. Though the enemy was considerably larger, Longfang had a considerable amount of power at his disposal. He wrenched and twisted, using the force of his own tackle as well as the awkward stance of his enemy to take Neratas down. The black wolf hit the ground on his side with a shuddering crash, and his legs scrabbled aimlessly as he tried to gain the upper hand in the grapple.
For a moment, it seemed that they had Neratas where they wanted him. Pinned in place by the white wolf, savaged by the attacks of the other three, and still burning in places, Neratas looked all but defeated. Indeed, Samuel and Shigeru leaped forward with cries of exaltation, their weapons swinging for the final blows.
“No!” Grimr shouted. “He is not finished!”
Samuel tried to pull back at the shout, but he was too slow. Dark energy surged out like a tidal wave, knocking Shigeru, Samuel, and Longfang back. The black aura whirled menacingly around the shape of Neratas as he struggled to his feet, shaking off the last bits of blue fire. Then he was lost from sight entirely, as the flood of energy shrunk. Samuel was reminded of Grimr absorbing the energy of the forest and changing it to a cleaner state. Neratas didn’t bother changing it. He pulled it into himself directly. Wave after wave of the dead energy poured into their foe, enough to cover the sky in perpetual night.
When the energy had finally settled, and Samuel was able to lift his head, grimacing from the pain that had come from smacking his head against a tree, he saw what had become of Neratas. Gone was the massive black wolf with dead yellow eyes and patched, rotting fur. In its place stood a boy. Small in stature like Grimr, though with dark runic marks across his skin and tattered black clothing covering his body.
