Sins of the Reborn Vanguard

Shadows and Claws

"Get back, Thomas!" Leon screamed, his voice cracking against the damp, heavy fog.

"Leon! Above you! Look out!" Thomas shrieked, pointing upward with a shaking finger.

"I see him!" Leon yelled. He planted his back foot deep into the mud and thrust his iron spear upward with both hands. "Come on, you overgrown mutt!"

The massive alpha Shadow Wolf slammed down. Its giant, yellow fangs clashed directly against the iron tip of Leon's spear.

CRACK.

"Gah! Damn it!" Leon groaned, his knees buckling under the sheer, crushing weight of the beast. The impact sent a violent vibration rattling up his arms, turning his elbows to jelly.

"Leon! It's going to crush you!" Thomas screamed, frantically waving his sword but too terrified to step closer. "Push it off! Push it off!"

"I'm trying!" Leon grunted, his teeth grinding together as he stared into the wolf’s saliva-dripping jaws. "Get out of the way, Thomas!"

"[Warning: Structural integrity of standard iron spear has dropped to thirty percent. Shaft splintering detected,]" the system's cold, mechanical voice chimed in his mind.

"Shut up, System! I know!" Leon hissed through his teeth. "Give me more power!"

With a desperate, roaring heave, Leon deflected the beast's jaws to the side. The alpha wolf swiped its massive paw, catching Leon's shoulder and throwing him backward into the damp dirt.

"Leon!" Thomas yelled, scrambling over to him. "Are you okay? Can you stand?"

"I'm fine! Just don't let it get behind you!" Leon panted, rolling to his feet.

"Where did it go?!" Thomas panicked, his eyes darting wildly. "It was just here! Where did it go?!"

"It's in the shadows," Leon whispered, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the swirling gray miasma. "Watch the dark patches between the trees!"

"[Threat approaching from your blind spot. Left flank. Distance: Five meters,]" the system alerted.

"Thomas, left!" Leon shouted.

"What?! Left?!" Thomas spun around blindly.

Before Thomas could even raise his sword, the alpha wolf materialized out of a shadow, its claws slashing through the air. Leon lunged forward, shoving Thomas out of the trajectory, but the beast's razor-sharp claws caught Leon across his thighs.

"Agh!" Leon screamed, stumbling as hot, fresh blood soaked through his trousers.

"Leon! You're bleeding! Oh god, there's so much blood!" Thomas wailed, his voice cracking with sheer hysteria. "We're going to die here! We need to run back to the camp!"

"If we run, we die!" Leon snapped, pressing his hand against the deep gashes on his thigh. "It's faster than us in this fog! We have to kill it!"

"How?!" Thomas cried, his hands shaking so hard he almost dropped his sword. "We can't even see it! It's like a ghost!"

Leon gritted his teeth, speaking internally. "System, I can't keep up with this body's current speed. Activate the Goblin Reflexes. Now!"

"[Command received. Activating 'Goblin Reflexes' physical override,]" the system replied. "[Warning: Concealing the visual aura from your ally will limit your agility output by fifteen percent. Do you wish to proceed with concealment?]"

"Yes! Just do it!" Leon commanded. "I can't let Thomas see the dark energy!"

"[Concealment active. Physical parameters enhanced. Stay alert, host.]"

Suddenly, the pain in Leon's thighs numbed, replaced by a surge of raw, twitching adrenaline. The world around him seemed to slow down, the falling droplets of mist hanging suspended in the air.

"It's coming back, Thomas!" Leon yelled. "Stay behind me!"

"I-I'm here! I've got your back!" Thomas whimpered, clutching the back of Leon's iron chestplate.

The alpha wolf emerged from the trunk of a massive pine, leaping toward them with its jaws wide open.

"Too slow," Leon muttered. He sidestepped with unnatural fluidity, the wolf's fangs missing his ear by a hair's breadth.

"How did you move that fast?!" Thomas gasped, his jaw dropping.

"Don't talk, just watch!" Leon shouted. He thrust his splintered spear at the wolf's side, but the iron tip barely scratched the dark, magically reinforced hide.

"Grrrr..." the alpha growled, its red eyes locking onto Leon with a mixture of anger and confusion. It melted back into the shadows of the forest floor.

"Damn it, it's playing with us," Leon muttered, his breath hitching as his muscles began to ache from the physical override. "I need to restrict its movements. I can't keep dodging forever."

"Leon, what do we do?!" Thomas pleaded. "It's going to attack again!"

Leon looked around frantically, his eyes landing on two ancient, massive pine trees growing barely a foot apart. "Thomas! See those two trees over there?"

"Yes! What about them?!" Thomas asked.

"Run toward them! Now!" Leon ordered, grabbing Thomas by the collar and shoving him toward the narrow gap.

"But we'll be trapped!" Thomas protested, stumbling over a root. "There's no way out if it corners us there!"

"Just do it! Trust me!" Leon yelled, drawing the wolf's attention by banging his spear against his metal shoulder guard. "Hey! You overgrown puppy! Over here!"

The alpha wolf let out a deafening roar, its massive shadow-coated body launching out of the fog straight toward Leon.

"Come on..." Leon whispered, standing his ground.

"Leon! Run! It's going to eat you!" Thomas screamed from between the two narrow trees.

"Not today," Leon smirked.

At the very last second, just as the wolf's claws were about to tear his chest open, Leon dropped to the ground, sliding through the mud directly between the two ancient pines.

The massive alpha wolf, carried by its immense momentum and sheer size, crashed headfirst into the narrow gap.

CRASH.

The heavy wooden trunks creaked violently, trapping the beast's broad shoulders and pinning its front legs.

"GRAAAWR!" the wolf thrashed, its powerful jaws snapping wildly, but its body was firmly wedged between the ancient bark.

"It's stuck! Thomas, now!" Leon roared, pushing himself up from the mud.

"I-I can't! My legs won't move!" Thomas stammered, paralyzed by the sight of the thrashing monster inches from his face.

"Fine! I'll do it myself!" Leon yelled. He gripped the splintered wooden shaft of his spear, stepping directly in front of the trapped beast. "This is for the camp, you bastard!"

Leon drove the jagged, broken tip of the spear directly into the soft underbelly of the wolf's throat.

SQUELCH.

The wooden shaft shattered completely, but the iron tip sank deep into the beast's windpipe.

"GURRRR..." the alpha wolf gurgled, its red eyes slowly losing their glow as dark, corrupted blood poured over Leon's hands.

"[Target eliminated,]" the system's mechanical voice announced. "[Initiating Sin Eater absorption protocol. Capturing high-grade soul energy...]"

"Do it quickly, System," Leon whispered, leaning against the dead beast's snout to catch his breath.

"[Absorption complete. Active skill acquired: 'Shadow Step' upgraded to Tier 2. Physical limitations expanded. All wounds healed.]"

A warm, soothing energy flowed through Leon's legs, instantly closing the deep gashes on his thighs.

"Oh my god..." Thomas whispered, slowly sliding down the trunk of the tree. "You... you actually killed it. With a broken spear."

"I told you, Thomas," Leon panted, wiping the black blood from his face. "We survive. That's our only job."

"But how did you know it would get stuck?" Thomas asked, staring at Leon with a mixture of awe and sheer terror. "And how did you move like that? It was like you knew exactly where it was going to leap."

"It's just combat instinct, Thomas. You develop it when your life is on the line," Leon lied smoothly, offering him a hand. "Get up. We need to keep moving."

"I don't think I can walk, Leon," Thomas groaned, shaking his head. "My knees feel like water."

"You have to," Leon said firmly. "The forest isn't safe yet."

Before Thomas could reply, a deep, resonant rumble vibrated through the damp earth, shaking the very pine needles off the branches above.

ROOOOOOOAAAR!

The sound was deafening, a mixture of a high-pitched screech and a guttural, demonic growl that made the hair on Leon's neck stand on end.

"What... what was that?" Thomas gasped, clutching his ears. "That didn't sound like a wolf."

"[Alert! Extreme threat detected within fifty meters,]" the system's voice blared, flashing red in Leon's vision. "[Target: Mutated Crimson Bear. Tier 3 magical beast. Warning: Demonic corruption levels are at ninety percent.]"

"Tier 3?!" Leon gasped out loud. "In the outer perimeter? That's impossible!"

"Leon... look there," Thomas whimpered, pointing a trembling hand into the thick gray fog. "Through the trees... what is that?"

A massive, towering silhouette slowly stepped into the clearing. Its fur was a matted, bloody crimson, and its body was twice the size of the alpha wolf. But what made Leon's blood run cold were the two separate, grotesque heads growing from its broad, mutated shoulders, both pairs of eyes burning with a blinding, demonic purple light.

"A double-headed Crimson Bear..." Leon whispered, his grip tightening on his broken spear. "This is bad. This is very bad."

"Leon... please tell me we can run now," Thomas cried, tears streaming down his mud-stained cheeks.

"I don't think it's going to let us run, Thomas," Leon said, stepping in front of his friend as both of the bear's heads let out a synchronized, terrifying roar.