Pharon crashed into the ground, the impact shattering the stone beneath him. Dust and debris surged upward. He coughed once, dark and viscous blood sliding from the corner of his mouth.
A hole had been burned through his chest by golden light. The flesh around it was charred, and black blood dripped from the wound. Yet even then, he stood still, his surprised eyes fixed on the hole. The burned flesh began to break away from his body.
Then, the flesh regenerated on its own.
"No pain… No death… undead." His lips twisted into an eerie smile. He glared at the werewolf, which was condensing divine energy in its claws.
"Shadow blade."
An obsidian blade formed in his hand.
"ROOOAARR!!!"
The werewolf roared. Its muscles bulged, its claws lengthened and sharpened, and a red haze drifted from its body.
Pharon beat his wings and charged. The werewolf's crimson eyes locked onto him.
His blade moved to cut the werewolf's chest, but before it could land, a claw pierced his own chest. Still, he did not stop or scream. His blade sliced into the werewolf's shoulder, and golden ichor dripped from the wound.
The werewolf screamed and, in a rage, tore Pharon into two vertical pieces as if tearing paper, then threw them aside like trash.
One part burned to ash. The other regenerated into a whole body. Shadow blades formed in both of his hands. This time, however, he did not charge mindlessly. Instead, he stood still.
"Illusion."
The werewolf suddenly felt multiple presences around him. Its head jerked left, then right. Its nostrils flared violently, drawing in scent after scent, but every direction reeked of the same presence. Its claws dug into the soil, carving furrows as it lowered its posture, muscles coiling like steel cords beneath its fur.
Then the illusions moved.
They did not rush blindly.
Some advanced low, shadows dragging across the ground. Others descended from above, wings cutting through the moonlight. A few remained still, weapons raised, eyes locked onto the beast like executioners waiting for a signal.
The werewolf snapped.
It lunged at the nearest figure, tearing it apart with raw strength. The body burst into fragments of shadow. Before it could recover, another blade sliced across its back. Golden ichor sprayed outward.
The beast howled, thrashing wildly.
It spun, claws tearing through three illusions at once, then slammed its fists into the ground. Divine energy erupted outward in a brutal shockwave. Trees snapped at their trunks. Stones were torn from the earth. Shadows scattered like smoke under a gale.
For an instant, the clearing was empty.
Then Pharon stepped forward.
The werewolf's instincts screamed. It charged without hesitation, divine energy flooding its limbs. The ground cracked beneath its feet as it closed the distance in a heartbeat.
Pharon did not retreat.
He twisted his body aside at the last moment. Claws grazed his ribs, tearing flesh and bone alike. Black blood sprayed into the air. Before the pain could even register, Pharon drove his knee upward into the beast's jaw.
The impact shattered teeth.
The werewolf was lifted off the ground and thrown backward. It slammed into a tree so hard the trunk folded around its body.
Pharon landed lightly, wings folding behind him.
The wound in his ribs squirmed. Charred flesh peeled away. Bone realigned. Muscle reknit itself with wet, unnatural sounds.
The werewolf tore itself free from the broken tree and charged again, faster this time, abandoning any restraint. It leapt, claws raised, aiming to rip him apart midair.
Pharon raised his hand.
"Root bind."
The earth trembled. Thick roots surged up and bound around the werewolf's leg.
Due to the sudden restraint, the werewolf fell down. Its claws smashed the earth. Then more roots emerged from the tilted soil, thickening the restraint.
"Earth lance."
Soil coalesced together and formed into sharp, conical spikes that hurled forward to pierce the restrained werewolf.
The werewolf opened its maw wide. Golden divine energy collected within it and shot out as a condensed energy beam. The beam destroyed all of the lances in one sweep. Then it slowly moved its head toward the roots binding it.
Within a second, the roots were burnt to ashes, freeing it from restraint. It stood up and continued its charge.
Pharon raised his hand again. Four translucent orbs hovered around his hand, growing bigger over time.
The werewolf stored its potential energy in its limbs and dove toward him. Its maw was wide open, saliva flying from it, itching to tear apart his flesh.
Snap!
He snapped his finger. The orbs exploded into highly intense metallic sound waves. Even the air bent and created a vacuum around the waves.
"ROOOAARR!!!"
The werewolf screamed, both hands covering its ears. Golden ichor seeped from the gaps between its fingers.
An obsidian blade formed in Pharon's hand. He approached the beast, his hands tightening on the handle. He thrust the blade forward, aiming for its heart.
The werewolf's instincts screamed, and it released another beam at very close range.
But this could not stop him. The blade pierced its heart. Its pupils shrank, and the beam died down. The werewolf collapsed on the ground, its eyes fixed on Pharon, whose head was half-evaporated from the side.
Its chest rose and fell as it took its final breaths.
Pharon took a look around.
Trees were uprooted; the ground was devastated. Villagers hid in the bushes, their bodies frozen over the clash between superpowers. Their eyes were hollow and filled with fear—but not toward the beast. Toward him.
Pharon nodded, then slashed his blade and cut off the werewolf's head. He raised his hand, crimson flame swirling in his palm.
A crimson flamebolt shot forth and burned its remains. He beat his wings and flew high up into the clouds.