The air was moist and cold as the group traversed between mountains and walked the slanted rocks. The conditions were uncondusive and the strong winds cut against their face like sharpened blades. Even the glowing sun did nothing to stop the cold from getting to their bones—Kody's bones in particular.
Survival would've been hard for him if it hadn't been for the mark on his chest that sent bouts of heat all around his body.
The team's destination was clear: a mountain—taller and brighter than the rest—that stood in the middle of the range. It was as conspicuous as one would expect.
The road was slanted downwards and Kody dreaded that he would have to walk the entire thing.
He didn't complain though, just trailed behind the group with Dagon at his side—as usual. A few insects kept him company. He tried sending them away with more than a few swats, but they wouldn't have that.
Kody stopped moving and tried to get rid of them as their noises and presence were affecting his mental state.
"Kody!" A voice reached him as he tried to kill the closest insect.
Kody jerked as his attention was brought back to the team.
Dagon didn't look too happy as he spoke. "Get yourself together, this isn't a game. If you keep losing focus like that, you'll end up dead."
What's got him so riled up?
Dagon was not in the brightest of moods and Kody could only attribute that to the mission. He knew it was going to be deadly and he should be more serious too, but the confidence in Aphena's eyes made him believe she had a plan.
"I understand," he replied. Dagon was right; he wasn't paying enough attention, not as much as he usually did.
This new world seemed to be wearing him down, dulling his instincts.
"You shouldn't even be here in the first place," Dagon whispered, with just enough volume for Kody to catch wind of.
There was nothing he could do other than keep walking; Dagon wasn't wrong: a mutated monster-infested area was no place for a mundane human like himself.
His mind was still in thought when Dagon's bulky frame stopped and he bumped into him.
"What the hell?" Kody rubbed his bruised forehead. Not just Dagon, but everyone else had halted their movement. It didn't take a moment for him to realize what caused the pause.
Aphena, spearheading the group, had her hand raised, motioning for them to stop moving.
No one said a word as they waited for her orders.
It was Alto, standing beside her, who broke the silence. "Thirteen ground wolves, incoming from all directions."
Everyone's guard immediately went up as they unsheathed their weapons.
"Relax, everyone, it's just ground wolves," Aphena said. She then turned to Rein, who was now in her pale and inhuman form, and asked. "You can take them, right?"
With her head held low, Rein nodded and stepped forward.
"I can see them, should I shoot?" Thorin asked with his hand gripping his bow.
"No need for that." Aphena shook her head. "They are just testing the waters with these few, Rein can take them all. Currently, they don't see us as a threat, if we stand out too much, they might stop seeing things that way."
Thorin hung his bow with a grumble. He had been eager to test out his new strength, but that was no longer possible.
"Besides," Aphena continued, getting his attention. "You're a trump card I'm not ready to reveal just yet."
A small smile formed on Thorin's face. At least he wasn't being taken for granted.
The ground was uneven and the trees were widely spaced, but still dense enough to make it impossible to see any wolf coming from a mile away.
But Kody was soon able to hear them: the subtle sound of disturbed bushes and the monster's low growls.
The sound soon became very evident as everyone could feel the approaching danger. Rein then pulled out her arms from the inner parts of her robes as they began bleeding.
A familiar and striking scene played out before Kody's eyes, but this time a little differently.
Her blood floated for a moment before combining together and forming a red, semi-solid disk that ignored physics and floated in front of her.
Her eyes were closed as she slowly pointed her finger out.
Just then, the thirteen wolves came into view; they looked the same as Kody could remember—red scales and underdeveloped flesh wings—but seemed less frightening.
The blood disc moved with unreal speed and the five wolves that had appeared before her didn't even get a moment to showcase their colored and saw-like teeth before they were all decapitated.
Their heads flew into the air, a spectacular sight. But Rein didn't have the time to appreciate it.
She had only killed the wolves that had come from the front; the majority of the others tried to break the group's formation from other parts. Perhaps, they had learnt from the last time not to attack the spearhead.
Unluckily for them, this wasn't the same group they had ambushed before.
The disc grew faster with each kill, and as she controlled it the other wolves kept dying before they could even try to attack the group.
The others could only watch as Rein caused a blood bath, but no one complained.
What they were aiming for was way more than mere ground wolves.
The fight ended in a while as the remaining wolves who had tried to retreat weren't able to escape their fate.
"Good job keeping a 'low profile'." Thorin rolled his eyes.
Rein didn't bother answering him as they kept moving forward.
There was indeed nothing low-profile about her actions; they were definitely going to face bigger problems because of that, but it was inevitable.
Kody could only gulp as he remembered the one-sided slaughter Rein had caused. He subconsciously rubbed his neck.
Nobody bothered to pick up the spoils as the day was moving fast. The blood disc floated beside Rein as they continued on their way to the nest, a distance away.
If nothing happened, Kody predicted they would get there before the sun went into the horizon.
It wasn't a complex path and they would only have to go around a single mountain before getting to their destination.
But unsurprisingly, something happened.
They finally got to the valley, which could be seen as a checkpoint. It wasn't wide but its floor was densely populated with stones and granite, glistening in the afternoon sun. It was the only path they could take to get to the second mountain, the midpoint of their journey.
Everything seemed normal, just that in the middle of the valley was a majestic wolf, completely covered with blood red fur. Its wings were tucked in, but they still shone brightly in the sun.
The group stopped all their movement as the observed the creature from a distance. It didn't act like it noticed them but it definitely did.
Perhaps it was the shining wings, but Kody's eyes started to ache as he started at it.
"That's a level three crimson sky wolf." Dishon squinted his eyes.
"Crimson sky wolf?" Aphena raised a brow at him.
"I just came up with the name, pretty dope, right?"
Aphena's eyelids twitched but she didn't say anything. Dishon clearly wasn't one to be taken seriously.
"It's blocking the path," Thorin said, taking out an arrow.
The monster clearly had no plans of moving as it sat there majestically, waiting for them.
"Don't bother." Aphena motioned for him not to shoot.
"Besides, I want it alive," Aphena muttered, unsheathing her sword for the first time in this expedition.
[Author's note: Ten power stones and I'll post an extra chapter today.]