The Ironhide Tiger halted ten meters out.
Vance's spear point wavered. "The snare. It's standing right on top of it."
The predator looked down at the slush concealing the steel jaws. It looked at Vance.
It stepped over the trap.
It sat on its haunches in the black mud. The tail curled around its paws. Golden eyes swept over the four men. The pupils were dilated, steady, unblinking.
"It knows," Grimm whispered.
"Fire!" Vance yanked the trip-cord.
The slush beneath the feline erupted.
Four fire-hardened oak stakes shot upward. The creature twisted mid-air. Three stakes missed, whistling past the flank.
The fourth caught the inner thigh. The hardened wood sheared through dense sinew.
The beast landed heavily. Air huffed from its lungs. Dark, steaming blood splattered the grey snow. It looked at the wood jutting from its leg. It looked at the men.
The upper lip peeled back. Ivory fangs flashed against the grey light. A low vibration started in its chest, shaking the Black Rain from the pine branches above.
Grimm loosed two arrows. They struck the shoulder and flank. The shafts shattered.
Kael focused on the hide. The skin was thick, scarred leather. Embedded in the shoulder were corroded arrowheads. On the flank, the outline of a broken spear tip pressed against the fur.
"Check the hide..." Vance whispered. "It's full of metal."
The Tiger launched itself.
It ran past Grimm. It ran past Vance. It locked onto Kael.
Kael grabbed the flask at his belt. He smashed the glass against the flat of his Bastard Sword and struck the flint.
Orange flame washed over the steel.
Kael braced the burning edge. He dipped the tip.
Claws met the flat of the blade. Sparks and fire showered Kael's face. The impact shoved him backward five meters, boots carving deep furrows in the frozen earth.
The Tiger landed and spun. The tail whipped out, smashing into a pine. Bark exploded.
Kael was against the tree line. The beast turned.
"Cover him!" Grimm screamed.
Horg threw himself into the lane. He planted his shield in the mud.
The tiger slammed into the iron. The rim buckled. Horg hit the ground flat.
Grimm put an arrow into the beast's nose. The monster flinched, fangs snapping shut inches from Horg's face.
The tail lashed back. It caught Grimm in the ribs. The crack of bone was wet and loud. The archer spun through the air, spitting blood.
Vance lunged. He gripped his spear with both hands, driving the steel point into the Tiger's open mouth.
Metal met fang. Vance jammed the spear vertical. The beast bit down. The weighted cross-guard wedged against its lips, propping the jaw open.
The Tiger whipped its head.
Vance flew into a tree. The spear remained in the beast's maw.
Kael stood straight.
He opened his hand. The burning sword clattered to the mud.
The beast reared, exposing the white fur of its chest.
Kael stepped inside the reach. He drove the heel of his palm upward.
[ SKILL TRIGGERED: IRON BREAKER (ADEPT) ]
[ EFFECT: KINETIC OVERLOAD ]
The palm connected with the nose bridge.
The impact ran back down Kael's arm. His tricep tore. Capillaries in his forearm burst, turning the skin purple.
The Tiger's head snapped back. The nasal bone flattened.
The mountain staggered.
"Horg! Now!"
Horg swung the battle-axe.
The blade buried itself in the spine. Bone crunched. The Tiger collapsed into the mud, rear legs trailing uselessly.
It clawed at the earth. It tried to rise. It fell back.
"No…" Grimm wheezed. Pink froth bubbled at the corner of his mouth. "Why won't the bastard die…?"
The Tiger dragged its shattered spine forward. One foreleg hung by a tendon. Crimson ichor pumped from the flank, steaming in the frigid air.
The remaining golden eye fixed on Grimm. The pupil dilated.
A low, grinding rumble rolled up from the beast's chest. The fluid dripping from its maw sizzled on the snow.
Kael's System flared.
[ WARNING: HIGH ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED ]
[ TYPE: SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATION ]
The Tiger threw its head back. The jaws unhinged.
A cloud of inky vapor erupted from the throat. It smelled of rot and wet iron. The gas spiraled upward against the wind, condensing into a shape.
Hovering above the dying beast was a translucent figure.
A tall form clad in battered plate. Chains of shadow coiled around its limbs, anchoring it to the Tiger. In its hands was a broken greatsword, the edge jagged and flickering.
The Knight-Wraith turned its hollow helm. Empty sockets fixed on Horg.
The giant froze. His shield remained braced in the mud, but his knees buckled.
SCREEE!
The Specter shrieked. It raised the phantom weapon and drifted forward.
"Horg! Move!" Vance screamed.
Horg did not move. His eyes rolled back.
Kael stepped forward.
Ghosts. Wraiths. Thralls. Creatures born of death and regret.
Negative.
Cold.
Hungry.
And living essence—
Real blood, pumped by a beating heart, rich with vitality—
Was positive.
Active.
Burning.
"Vitality…" Kael murmured, his voice flat despite the agony ripping through his torn arm. "…is Fire."
[ AETHER POINTS: 2 -> 0 ]
[ VITALITY: 1.8 -> 2.0 ]
A jolt kicked Kael's heart. The grey edges of his vision sharpened. The throbbing in his torn triceps dulls to a distant hum. His veins dilated, pressing against the skin.
Kael sprinted.
He reached the fallen Bastard Sword just as the Apparition descended. The steel lay in the mud. The alchemical fire sputtered against the slush.
He grabbed the hilt with his right hand. He slammed his ruined left palm onto the sharpened edge.
He dragged his hand down the metal.
The edge bit bone. Blood surged, coating the heated iron.
The sword hissed. The liquid ignited. A red glow raced along the fuller, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Burn."
Kael leaped.
The Shade's blade came down. Kael swung upward.
Metal met the phantom. The blade did not pass through. It struck resistance.
The air detonated.
The Wraith's armor warped. The form boiled. The entity collapsed, shredding into obsidian smoke that scattered on the wind.
Kael landed. He flicked the gore from his blade.
"Physics still apply," he muttered.
Behind him, the Tiger collapsed. The massive body sagged, the tension draining into the slush.
It snapped its jaws one last time, reaching for Kael's boots. Then the head dropped.
Kael stood over the muzzle. He met the fading golden eye.
"You lived as a King," Kael said.
He raised the sword.
"You die as one."
Thunk.
The eye dimmed.
[ TARGET ELIMINATED: IRONHIDE TIGER (CORRUPTED) ]
[ AETHER POINTS: +15]
[ TARGET ELIMINATED: SPIRIT THRALL ]
[ AETHER POINTS: +3 ]
Silence reclaimed the forest.
Grimm and Vance stared at Kael. Grimm clutched his shattered ribs. Horg remained on his knees, gasping for air.
"Master…" Grimm croaked. "I didn't know we walked with a Witch-Hunter."
"You killed a spirit with a sword," Vance whispered. "Only the Church… only Mages…"
"I am no Witch-Hunter," Kael said.
He wiped the blade on the Tiger's fur.
"Take the carcass to the Merchant Guild," Kael ordered. "Claim the reward. Bring my share—four Gold Dragons—to the Midnight Bell Tavern tomorrow night."
He looked at Grimm.
"If you run," Kael said, "I will hunt you."
Grimm nodded.
Kael walked into the darkness. His arm throbbed. His blade dripped dark residue.
He had the money. He had the Aether.
Next target: The Skin in Leo's house.