‎What had been the camp site was now in a state of total disarray.

‎Smashed rocks littered the ground and the ground itself was brutally cracked from the terrible impacts of the colossal monster.

‎Lucian darted back uncannily ducking and dodging the creature's attack every so often.

‎Gritting his teeth, his eyes narrowed slightly.

‎Hs body was starting to feel the strain of using the technique.

‎" I can't keep this up for much longer."

‎He could literally feel the creature breathing down his neck at this point.

‎Feinting a turn, he abruptly ducked in the opposite direction.

‎A ferocious roar tore through the air.

‎Lucian grinned.

‎" Must suck to be you."

‎Despite chasing him for a while, he wasn't making it any easier for the creature to get him.

‎That would obviously mean certain death if it did he definitely wasn't going to make any easier.

‎Twisting impossibly in the air, the creature lunged, it's claws clamping onto a trunk of nearby tree.

‎Crouching down, it launched itself in the air using the tree like a spring.

‎Lucian gasped in surprise at the ingenious move.

‎"Well, crap!"

‎The creature hurtled towards him, it's mouth widening in to reveal the rows of pristine fangs within.

‎Its remaining dark eye gleamed with demented glee.

‎A split second later the same eye exploded in a gory display of dark blood a flesh.

‎The creature's body hit the ground violently, it's maw missing him almost entirely.

‎" Now that's a nice shot."

‎Lucian skidded to a stop throwing an amused glance in Talia's direction.

‎A moments later, she slowly rose from her hiding spot waving at him.

‎Throwing her a thumbs up, he turned back to the crippled monster.

‎It thrashed wildly on the ground for a while, howling with obvious fury.

‎Its paws smashed through the nearby rocks, cracking the ground violently.

‎Its acidic stinger whipped blindly through the air spraying acrid fluid in different directions.

‎Lucian jumped back, just narrowly avoiding a spray of the substance.

‎He ducked behind a large boulder placing it between him and the creature.

‎A dark frown appeared on his face.

‎" Feisty much are we now."

‎Talia arrived where he was.

‎She quickly joined him behind the boulder.

‎" Great work. Your aim is...not what I expected. "

‎Talia cast him an amused glance.

‎" Thanks? "

‎Lucian shrugged turning back to the creature.

‎" Looks like it's exhausted it's acid. We'll need to take it out now."

‎Frowning, Talia stared at him with a wary look.

‎" What do you suggest?"

‎A long silence grew lingering for a while.

‎Eventually Lucian turned and smiled at her.

‎" You're going to be the bait this time. "

‎

‎Moments later, Talia was quite regretful of why she'd come out hiding.

‎" If only Raven and Xenia were here..."

‎Closing her eyes, she let out a quiet sigh then inhaled deeply steeling herself.

‎The squinticore had a sharp sense of smell but with the pungent acid and ash lingering in the air, the numerous scents overwhelmed it.

‎The creature staggered around blindly sniffing the air.

‎Until Talia crept out of the shadows.

‎Its ears perked up at the subtle sound, its head whipping around in her direction.

‎In the next second, it's sense locked into her.

‎The squinticore charged blindly, letting out a a roar.

‎A split second later, it was upon her, it's maw opening in hunger.

‎Already she could see, its eyes starting to heal, a light vapour rising from the gaping holes.

‎" If I die here Lucian, I'll rise from the grave and kill you too," Talia silently cursed.

‎Wild surges of adrenaline surged through her body turning her breath erratic.

‎Her pupils dilated, taking in the creature's every movement.

‎Her heart thundered audibly in her chest.

‎Her muscles twitched involuntarily, every instinct screaming at her to move.

‎But she couldn't.

‎Se could but then the entire plan would fall apart.

‎Lucian's entire plan hinged on it.

‎Moments earlier, he'd told her about his plan to kill the monster.

‎" But that's suicide!" Talia snarled, her eyes widening in disbelief at the crazy plan.

‎Speaking like he was discussing the weather and not a plan that could potentially end her life, Lucian turned to her fixing her with his own russet brown eyes.

‎"Listen to me, Talia. You can choose to trust me and we all get to live. Or you can refuse and then some if us will die."

‎His voice was eerily calm.

‎His eyes were cold, almost devoid of warmth.

‎But what truly got to her was the confidence with which he spoke.

‎It was almost like he'd done this before.

‎" Just who is this guy?"

‎The Lucian she'd encountered was different from the Lucian she knew fon the academy.

‎Gone was the timid reclusive hoy she'd known.

‎The youth in front of her instead was casually discussed killing a creature several times his size without batting an eye.

‎" I'm telling you. All I need is from you is to stand there. Just stand there and do nothing.

‎" Fine. let's do it."

‎Which was why she was standing with Hawk and Echo drawn, unmoving, like a dummy.

‎She strained to keep her eyes open.

‎A heartbeat later, a shocked gasped escaped her throat.

‎The squinticore's fangs firmly clamped down on her throat, ripping through it with ease.

‎A split second later, Lucian's figure blurred through the air, his dark blades driving through it's skull.

‎The creature spasmed, then heavily fell to the ground.

‎It was dead.

‎Sighing, Lucian squatted down in front of her.

‎Talia gasped coughing out a mouthful of blood.

‎A wet gargle escaped her lips as she bled out.

‎She stared up into his brown eyes seeing her pitiful reflection in them.

‎"Oh Talia, you always were too trusting. In the end that's why you died. "

‎A moment later, one his dark blades flashed through the air, stabbing into her heart.

‎The everything went dark.

‎In reality everything was happening in her head.

‎The squinticore charged towards Talia closing the distance in an instant.

‎The squinticore's fangs approached her throat with blistering speed.

‎A split second later, Lucian intercepted it from the side.

‎He brutally thrust his blades into the creature's head letting out a savage roar.

‎The squinticore shuddered awkwardly its momentum carrying it and Lucian past her in a tangle of limbs, fur and blood. With a frenzied yell, Lucian drove the blades deeper into the creature's head.

‎The creature spasmed, it's body twitching violently before finally growing still.

‎Staggering up to his feet, Lucian took a few steps then fell to his knees.

‎He took a few shaky breaths gritting his teeth in pain.

‎His body spasmed from using the family technique, his muscle stiffening up.

‎He bit the inside of his cheek, his face scrunching up in pain.

‎Talia stood frozen in place.

‎Ever so slowly, she turned her head staring down at him.

‎After a while, she moved coming to a stop before him.

‎Lucian looked at her, his body trembling slightly from the strain of pushing his body to it's limits.

‎" A little help?" he bit out, gritting his teeth.

‎Her brown eyes silently bore into his own The two locked eyes for a few seconds. Lucian fought through the haze of pain trying to get to his feet.

‎His entire body felt like one block of metal

‎"What the heck?!"

‎ The simple effort almost made him black out.

‎Glancing up at Talia, he felt a smile form on his lips.

‎"You're not going to help, are you?" he asked quietly, the question hanging between them.

‎She slowly raised her gun.

‎Lucian's eyes widened slightly then narrowed, a smile forming on his face.

‎In the next moment, a bullet soundlessly cut through the air embedding itself into soft flesh.

‎Talia fired several more times before stopping.

‎In the next moment, Lucian collapsed to the ground breathing heavily.

‎He coughed out a mouthful of blood, smiling darkly.

‎ It made for an eerie sight.

‎Talia squatted next to him holstering her pistols.

‎"Thanks."

‎She glanced at his trembling form.

‎" The fight must have really taken a lot out of you."

‎She paused hesitantly then spoke.

‎" It was... incredible."

‎Lucian groaned, turning his head away.

‎" Can you at least help me up? The way I'm now, I'm a sitting duck."

‎A short distance away, a wolf-like creature crumpled, falling to the ground.

‎Talia dragged him to his feet, supporting him against her shoulder.

‎"We should move before any more of those things attack. "

‎A moment later, the creature's body silently dissolved turning into a dark mist.

‎Pausing slightly, Talia turned back, scrutinizing the ground were the creature had fallen.

‎Noticing the slight tension in her movements, Lucian nudged her.

‎"What's the matter?"

‎"The creature, just now, it's gone.. ."

‎Lucian craned his neck turning around.

‎His eyes widened slightly.

‎"Move, move move! "

‎But it was already too late.

‎Lucian's Ash technique allowed him to see better in the dark.

‎Even after inactivating it, the remnant of power allowed him to see what Talia couldn't see.

‎The pack of wraith like spectral wolves that were slowly closing in on them, encircling the pair and closing off any path for escape.

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