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Baaz realized that he was considered as a prey.
This thought alone made his blood boil as he remembered his past trauma. Fueled by anger, he ignored the fatigue that was gaining him and accelerated. Direction his lair.
He found his lair the way he left him three hours ago. By now a considerable amount of mana was starting to accumulate there giving it a presence. The Stone was now as new, rejuvenated by the mana from the core, the entrance was clean and a look inside would still impair your vision as it was pitch dark.
Baaz arrived, and turned to face the pursuing pack, his heart pounding with a mix of anger and determination. He stood in the mouth of his cave, his glowing eyes narrowing as the pack of wolves positioned themselves in a half cercle.
The time for retreat had passed.
As he stood there, a rush of mana in provenance of his core slammed into him. The rest of the pack arrived, growling some drooling. They came in order, the weakest in the front, the big ones in the middle, the direwolves way in the back and the Alpha closed the hunt.
A smile appeared in Baaz's face,taking his position and resumed what he started earlier. He spammed them with fire once again. Fire started flying from his hands and slammed into the wolves. Now that his back was secured, he had an easier time being accurate as his attacks even though not spot on could at least hit some of his targets.
The fireball exploded and the wolves' fur quickly caught fire. Howls of pain echoed and the formation quickly fell apart as the normal wolves started panicking. Seing that, the big ones entered the fray, allowing the weaker ones to quickly regained their bearing. Unfortunately they also became victims of the magical spamming of the demon.
All things that started needed to come to an end. But a gleam of satisfaction quickly flashed through Baaz's eyes.His magic has played his role in killing them and also keeping them at distance. Now he was running out of mana he needed to take a physical approach. His axe made its reappearance for the second time of the day. He equipped it, feeling the changes taking place. A cruel smile on its lips which parted as he roared :
" Come you fuckers!!"
As the first wolf lunged, Baaz's axe quickly cut through its hide like paper, reducing the creature to a pile of charred meat. The remaining wolves hesitated for a moment, but the scent of death had already taken hold. Baaz 's fury was a firestorm now.
In the blink of an eye, he was upon them. His axe swept through the pack, sending wolves flying in every direction. His attacks, cutting deep into their flesh, and with each strike, his rage fueled his strength. The wolves fought back with a primal ferocity, but Baaz was no mere mortal—he was a demon, and this was his domain. So he fought alternating between, [strike] which rendered his attack twice as powerful, [ Leap Attack] that allowed him to evade the joint efforts of his foes.
Baaz fought with reckless abandon, his sweat mixing with the blood slashed on him. As time passed ,he sustained many injuries, his wide swings made short work of any wolf that came near humans those that tried to jump him were knocked back, disoriented till around him a pile of corpses accumulated. Out of breath, Baaz didn't stopped, he was too lost in his battle lust that he charged forward causing other wolves to get out of his way. By now, the normal wolves were practically dead as only forty wolves were still there, including the Alpha.
Seeing his kin back down, the Alpha let out an angry howl and for the first time it step forward. This simple gesture quickly motivated the others as the direwolves started maneuver. The two parties quickly rushed to meet each other, rapidly reducing the space that separated them.
Ten meters before the collision,Baaz stopped in his tracks as all his remaining mana was poured into his weapon as he conjured a higher form of magic. [ Flame Magic Mastery] [ Flame spears]. In the sky behind him, eleven spears made of flame appeared, and fell upon the still charging wolves.
BOOOOMM, an explosion rocked the place as the ground trembled. Scents of burned meat overran the place as dying whimpering were heard. The feint has worked, now he only needed to finish the work. While the flames were still burning, he went around finishing the job, killing the ones that sustained heavy damages.
From the fire,The last Direwolf,a massive beast with black fur, howled in defiance, its jaws snapping with deadly precision as it attacked the demon. But Balthazar met it head-on, his axe lashing out to knock the creature off balance. He seized the moment, delivering a fatal blow with a swift strike of his claws, tearing through its throat.
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The battle was practically over. The pack lay in ruins at his feet, their twisted bodies smoldering in the aftermath of his wrath and still burning from his last attack. Balthazar stood alone in the clearing, his chest heaving with exertion, his face turned towards the Alpha.
The demon smirked, his battle lust still on. The wolf moved with a fluid, arrogant grace, the aura of nobility and power emanating from his every movement.Massive and muscular, crouched low to the ground, its stance predatory, teeth bared and growling in response.
The fight began in a blur of movement. Baaz, with a flash of speed, flicked his axe, trying an overhead swing. With a fierce snarl, the wolf jumped out of range, and lunged toward the demon, jaws wide. The baronet sidestepped, moving with an unnatural agility, but the wolf was relentless, its paws striking the ground with a thundering force as it pursued him, snapping its teeth dangerously close to his throat.
Balthazar hissed in pain as the wolf's claws raked across his chest, leaving deep scratches. He retaliated with a chop effectively cutting the wolf's shoulder.
The wolf howled, its fur singeing at the edges, but its resolve only seemed to strengthen. With a growl, the Alpha charged again, faster now, its massive jaws closing in on the demon's arm. Baaz yelped, the wolf's fangs sinking deep into his flesh, but with a brutal twist of his body, he hurled the beast off him with a powerful roar.
Bleeding, Baaz anger only amplified. Gathering the little bit of mana that he could find he hurled a fireball toward the monster.
The beast dodged, narrowly avoiding the inferno, its agility far greater than its size would suggest. It darted forward once more, its claws leaving gouges in the earth as it closed in. This time, the wolf leaped, aiming for the demon's throat.
A flux of mana came to him once again. It was coming from his lair, he once again lashed out, his hand glowing with a red pulse of energy, conjuring a new ball of fire this time more potent in mana, just in time to block the wolf's attack. The wolf collided with the ball, momentarily stunned, but its fury was undimmed. It shook off the magic and leapt again, landing squarely on the demon's chest, knocking him to the ground.
With a final, primal roar, the Direwolf sank its fangs into the demon's neck. The demon howled in pain, his blood spilled on the ground and tried pushing the beast away but he couldn't do anything against the raw, untamed power of the beast. The surrounding seemed to quiet cause the violence of their clash, the sky above darkening with smoke hiding the fight from a potential observer.
Blood—demonic and wolfish—mixed on the forest floor as both combatants fought with all their might, the battle between nobility and nature's fury waging on in the heart of the storm.
As the battle wore on, Baaz's strength began to wane. His chest was battered, open and bleeding and even mixing with the furs of the beast. The Wolf took a good chunk out of his neck. Unsatisfied, it attacked again
Under the Direwolf's savage attacks, his every breath came in ragged gasps, the taste of blood thick in his mouth. The Direwolf, relentless and unyielding, had torn through his defenses, its massive claws raking through the demon's skin, its teeth sinking into his flesh with brutal force.
Baaz could feel his strength slipping. His weapon was useless in this situation as his opponent was too close.The wolf's primal ferocity was overwhelming, and with each passing moment, the demon realized he was on the brink of defeat.
In the heat of the moment, as the Direwolf lunged once again, its fangs aimed for his throat, something deep inside Baaz stirred. It was ancient, forbidden, and reckless—a force that till now he was reluctant to use,buried deep within him. His mind screamed against it, but his body was already responding.
Berserk.
It has been used.