"Lady Ilyse, what happened?" Alice rushed to the girl, and practically caught her from falling over. "Where’s Lady Onia?!"
"You— where were you?" she snapped. "You weren’t where we left you! This wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t leave!"
"Calm down, Ilyse," Adrian said, his words not matching his panicked voice. "What happened? Explain."
"Lady Onia— she’s in trouble. We need to get Mr Lucas! Get Sir Nero to save her!" The noble girl tried to push past the group, but she could barely even stand by herself. She almost collapsed, letting out a whimper. Finally, she gave up, and looked all three of her group mates in the eyes. "A Werewolf attacked us. She bought time to save me. Please, she might still be alive."
Adrian’s eyes widened. A Werewolf? But how—
It was not the time for questions. Adrian had been raised by a man who was experienced with avoiding Monsters when out hunting in the wilderness. The boy learned to react fast when such things happened.
"Faizan," he said, bringing the Half Elf boy out of his stupor. "Go get the adults. Now."
Adrian did not have to say it twice. Faizan immediately took off in a run, not even wasting a single second to ask questions. Adrian then turned to Alice.
"You stay here with Ilyse. She can’t walk. Protect her in case any stray Kobold or wild animal decides to attack her."
"What are you going to do?" the girl asked, staring at him with fear in her eyes.
"I’ll find Onia. Try and buy her some time until the adults arrive," he said, voice final. He faced Ilyse. "You guys wait here for when Faizan returns with Mr Lucas and Sir Nero. Direct them to where Onia is." He hesitated, and looked over to his right. "You said you were attacked back where we were collecting those Pixie Buds, right?"
"Y-yes," Ilyse answered, pointing at the direction he was facing. "But you can’t go, you’ll die—"
Adrian ignored her. He took off, running through the trees, straight for Onia— his bully. A bratty noble girl he hated.
Why was he doing this? Should he not have hoped she somehow died from this? It would be a boon to his time in Xander’s Academy if she were gone for good.
Except, there was a reason why he ran to help Onia. It was a simple reason— which did not require any explanation. It was this: Adrian was not a psychopath.
That was all.
So Adrian ran straight into danger. His mind was racing as his legs carried him as fast as it could through the uneven terrain, and around the obstacles in his path.
The Dyre Wolf, he thought. It’s the Dyre Wolf!
It had never been a Dyre Wolf. It was a Werewolf the entire time. That was what Werewolves did— Adrian read it in a bestiary; Werewolves disguised themselves as a prey to a predator— such as Dyre Wolves to Crymson Wolves— to draw out said predators. Then, they would catch their prey unaware, by transforming into their real forms: a large, seven foot tall wolf-like creature with claws longer than knives and fangs as numerous as a shark’s teeth.
There was no way Onia could slay such a beast. She was going to die, and Adrian could not let that happen. He had failed at saving someone once. From a Chimera. And she had been forced to save him instead.
Adrian knew he could not kill a Werewolf. That was why he had sent Faizan to get Nero or Lucas. They could save Onia. And Faizan, being part Elf, could run the fastest out of all four of the children that were there at the moment. But they could be too late, which was why Adrian was doing this.
He found himself back where he last saw Onia. It looked like there had been a battle here. Broken branches and destroyed bushes and—-
Blood.
Adrian’s heart stopped. But there was no body. Onia could still be alive. He saw the blood leaving what seemed to be a trail, and he quickly followed it.
The boy followed it until he saw a shape in the distance. He heard the clash of claws against steel, and watched as Onia flew backwards into a tree. Her shield was knocked aside from the hit, and her sword was nowhere to be seen. The Werewolf loomed over the noble girl as her face visibly paled, even from a distance. It raised its claw—
And a bolt of energy struck its side.
"Over here, you stupid Monster!"
The Werewolf spun around, assessing the new threat.
Adrian was not holding a stun gun. This was not a duel, his weapon was real and carried with it a force stronger than even a crossbow. Xander’s Academy was a rich institution; Adrian knew this pistol he had was better than his dad’s pistol. Yet, the Werewolf looked even less hurt than the Chimera was from his shots.
Adrian drew his sword, firing more bolts of energy at the Monster. The Werewolf struck its hand through the air, blocking the attacks with its claws. Adrian tried racing around it— circling it— as he continued shooting as many bullets as he could.
The Werewolf was hit by a few more bullets before it decided Adrian was another easy target. It charged the boy, running on two legs as it swung its arms at him. Adrian just barely ducked under the first swing. He quickly countered with his own stab at the Monster’s legs, but he barely cut through its flesh. He practically only gave the beast a haircut!
Adrian had to bring his sword up to block the second attack. The force of the blow sent Adrian stumbling backwards. It
