The wolves came in a pack of fifteen, shadows darting between the crooked pine trunks. They weren't the massive, world-breaking monsters we'd fought before — no, these were manageable. Each one radiated a strength that made the air heavy, their chains rattling in unison. Layer Two beasts. Just like us.
And still, my palms sweated against the sword hilt.
Veyra stepped forward, chains already spiraling from her hands, eyes set on the massive figure emerging behind the pack — the Layer Three wolf. It towered over the others, chains burrowed into its hide so deep they pulsed like veins. Her shoulders squared, her voice calm:
"I'll handle it. The rest are yours. Guard Sara."
And just like that, she was gone, a blur of silver and iron, meeting the monster head-on.
The rest came for us.
Lex's fists lit with sparks, his bone skin without gauntlet smashing the first wolf to approach into the dirt. Bones cracked, blood sprayed. He didn't even flinch.
'Show-off. Of course he makes it look easy.'
Phoebe dashed past me, her sword catching the light before sinking clean into another wolf's side. She twisted it free, kicked the beast down, then shifted to intercept a second.
Lily's arrows blurred through the trees, one pinning a wolf's leg, another slamming into its eye. Vivi stuck close to Nolan's mother, short blade flashing as she warded off two at once, her healing threads glowing faintly around every cut she took.
And me? I swung. Blocked. Dodged. My chains lashed out to bind one, only for it to snap the links with sheer force. I cursed under my breath.
One down, fourteen to go. Perfect odds. Totally fine.
"Hold formation!" Nolan's voice barked, his shield intercepting a lunging wolf. His greatsword cleaved another across the snout, spraying blood across the roots. He planted himself between the beasts and his mother, refusing to give an inch.
I stumbled next to him, breath ragged.
Another wolf lunged at me. My blade caught it mid-air, sparks flying as chain against fang clashed. My arm trembled, but I shoved it off, panting, vision blurry with sweat.
Every wolf that fell seemed to be replaced by two more circling the edges. And all the while, the sounds of Veyra's duel with the Layer Three echoed deeper into the trees — chain clashing against chain, steel ringing, the ground quaking under their blows.
I glanced at the others.
We're not being thrashed this time. But damn it, numbers… numbers are killers.
My stomach twisted as another wave pushed us back. The wolves snarled, circling tighter. I tightened my grip.
Lily's arrows zipped through the gaps, each shot hitting its mark. She ducked under a low swipe, rolling and coming up behind a wolf, slashing with her katana. Something shifted in her aura — subtle, but I felt it. She's stronger. Faster.
Phoebe's movements were precise, almost mechanical, each swing of her longsword followed by a kunai tossed to a new angle. Her frost threads glimmered faintly, icicles forming and shattering in midair. She slowed a wolf mid-lunge, giving Vivi time to step in.
And Vivi — she was radiant, her short swords flashing as she healed Nolan's mother when a claw nicked her. Her threads of decay and gate flickered in tandem, eroding wolf legs and repositioning the wounded where they couldn't strike again. I caught it too — a shift in her presence, sharper, more confident.
I jabbed my chain at a wolf, wrapping it around a tree to pivot and push back. I blocked another attack with my daggers, twisted, kicked a third. We're doing it. We're actually doing it.
Nolan stayed close to his mother, shield raised, greatsword swinging wide arcs. He moved deliberately, not trying to kill recklessly but controlling space. Vivi's luminous touch faintly glowed as she healed minor scrapes, stabilizing the smaller wounds inflicted by wolves.
Lily yelled over the growls, "Cover your left! Two coming from the west!" I pivoted, chains lashing, tripping one while Lex caught the other with a gauntleted uppercut. The wolves snarled, faltering under coordinated strikes.
We began pushing them back. Step by step, flank by flank. Each fallen wolf created room for the next counterattack.
The Layer Three's roar echoed from the depths of the forest — Veyra. The earth shuddered under her duel. I felt the fight's rhythm change; the wolves sensed their master's pain and faltered.
Then, like a shadow moving faster than thought, Veyra appeared at the edge of the horde, chains wrapped and pulsating around her arms. In one sweeping motion, the Layer Three wolf fell back, staggering from her precision strikes.
"Move forward!" she barked, no time for pleasantries. We surged, cutting through the remaining wolves with coordinated precision.
Finally, the last wolf collapsed, staggering on broken legs. Breathing heavily, wounds deep, but alive. We had survived.
Veyra stood in front of us, chains retracting, sword lowered. She looked each of us over with that calm, teacher-like gaze. "Everyone okay?"
Lily and Vivi stepped forward. "We've… we've advanced," Vivi admitted, a faint smile tugging at her lips. Layer Two presence radiated from them both.