Chapter 12 - Formidable Foe #2

The ominousness exuded from those pair of pupils reminded Adam of his resolve. At once, his courage that fled beyond the seven seas came back with extreme bravery and he sneered at the climbing beast.

With a sharp turn, Adam launched himself into the air and away from the tree. What he nicknamed 'the bizarre energy' coursed into his limbs and gave him a boost. He was yet to acquire a decent control over the power, thus his exertion was a little too much.

Even though, the werewolf was faster. Before he could touch down, the beast had already descended and was currently running towards Adam. Our protagonist witnessed this feat and deduced that he had miscalculated as to its mental prowess.

Roar!

A bone-chilling cry disabled Adam's train of thoughts and he was taken aback for a split second. When his eyes peeked over his shoulder, he almost ceased to exist as he saw four merciless claws aiming his back.

"AHH...!"

The swipe was swift yet full of hostility. Four diagonal slashes appeared on Adam's back and he was thrown forward.

The pain neutralised his thought process and Adam couldn't help but let out an excruciating cry as blood gushed out of the deep wounds. The sting alone robbed his ability to raise a guard and he could only support himself on a nearby tree.

Watching the prey suffering before breathing last, a vicious smile emerged on the beast's lips. As if a cat toying with its prey, the werewolf began to play tag with the human. To make the activity addictive, the blood's scent triggered the truly savage side of the bipedal monster.

"Heal, for hell's sake."

Streams of tears had flown from his eyes which were bloodshot in anger as his entire body trembled. While healing his wounds, Adam had an utmost desire to rip this cruel beast to shreds.

"You want to play? Fine."

The werewolf was intoxicated by the event and it didn't realise that there was something wrong with its prey. Only when Adam straightened his torso while muttering with brimming hostility, did the beast notice the change.

Thwack.

A dull noise was made as Adam's image dashed ahead, straight to the beast. His limbs empowered with an awful lot of energy pushed his agility to a whole new level. Closing the distance within a second, the werewolf was frozen by the change of event when a clenched fist's gentle touch emerged towards its lower jaw, like an uppercut.

'Grr?'

Before Adam's strike raised the beast into the air with a numbing sensation in its mouth, their line of sights locked for a split second. At that moment, there was a conflicting expression on the werewolf's face, am I the predator or the prey?

Before the beast's contemplation could reach its pinnacle, the 7-feet tall beast no longer had the support of the ground. While saliva flew out of its mouth along with a couple of teeth, the jaws had interlocked in such a way that their collision itself provided an awful lot of pain.

But the beast wasn't the one who was suffering.

'Hell, it hurts.'

Even under the cloak of the energy, Adam could tell that at least a few of his finger bones have cracked. The ache enveloping his solid fist warned him not to push his limits and Adam could only exert a limited amount of pressure. Yet, the force raised the beast into the air.

Sensing that another forelimb assault might not be successful, the coursing energy coiled around his hindlimbs as he executed a quick twirl on his left leg resulting in his right leg producing a swift arc in the air before colliding with the mid-thorax of the beast.

Rawr!

Tumbling across the short grass patch under the combined force of energy and his leg, the beast quickly steadied itself on all four while rubbing its chest. From its reaction, Adam deduced that his most powerful attack could only result in a bruise on its body.

Yet, he wasn't disheartened. The wariness visible on the beast's face confirmed that his assault still packed a punch. While navigating the healing energy through his limbs, Adam evaluated that his reserve is finite and he needs to end the brawl quickly.

Unlike the typical wild beasts, the werewolf was cautious. It keenly observed Adam's movements. Its vigilance was out of place for its unrestrained savage mentality. Though it was reluctant to strike, its eyes displayed a deep desire to cross blows and choose the victor.

For about a couple of minutes, both the parties held their ground. Their eyesight didn't falter and neither of them couldn't afford to be distracted. While the werewolf thoroughly examined its opponent, Adam had already healed his ailments and restored his strength to the peak.

'Alright, that's enough preparation.'

Adam took his sweet time to recuperate when he was done, he had otherworldly bravery coursing through his veins.

"Hey!"

Adam's sudden shout was unexpected yet the beast didn't exhibit any expressions. It maintained a blank face while hostility and brutality flooding its eyes. When Adam's voice fell its ears, the beast's ears twitched.

"The last one standing wins."

Though the beast didn't comprehend the human dialect, Adam's peculiar expression, a wild grin, made the beast sneer at him. At once, the werewolf launched at Adam and the beast managed to close the distance at an astonishing speed.

'Wha..'

Before Adam could react, the werewolf had already covered almost three fourth of the distance. Finding that he doesn't have enough time to strike, Adam quickly side-stepped and avoided the beast's right hand's claws aiming at his neck.

But it was a feint.

As adam stepped to his right, the other hand came swiping at his ribcage. The change of events was too abrupt and Adam could only drop his body to evade the strike.

Slash!

Adam's pain receptors on his face quickly reported a deluge of ache originating from his face. The beast might have missed its mark, but it nevertheless dealt massive damage to his face.

Two of the four claws managed to tear off his nose, right eye and a lot of his skin from his face. A strip of flesh had been scraped and Adam almost went insane from the overloaded sensation of throbbing.

"BASTARD!!"

I'll rip your flesh and force it down your throat!

Rage took over Adam's psyche under this peculiar circumstance and a shiver went down the spine of the beast. It suddenly had a premonition that the events are about to turn sour and was stunned by the unexpected bellow.

The sound of grinding teeth was the only voice the werewolf could hear. Before it could retreat, the prey had executed an insanely swift and agile move!

Under the desire to bathe in the beast's blood, Adam stepped forward and found a footstep on the beast's thigh. Launching upward, he swiftly positioned himself over the beast's back.

By the time the werewolf reacted, A chokehold had already materialised around the predator's neck!

Roar.

Within a few seconds since the stranglehold, the beast realised the reduction in intake of air as well as the unyielding stubbornness of the opponent. The werewolf's claws began to dig into the flesh on Adam's hand yet the agonising sensation didn't deter him. Instead, each laceration fuelled his anger and fanned the flames that bloomed from the stem of brutality.

The werewolf wasn't an easy opponent either. It rammed its back to multiple trees, some of them kissed the ground at the first impact itself. It swirled and twirled around to break the hold loose but the result was sour. Swinging its arms in almost every way possible, the beast successfully mauled Adam's back and every spot within its reach. His face wasn't an exception.

'Endure...endure...endure...'

Chanting in his heart, Adam madly drove the energy into his wounds but the constant slashing eventually depleted the reserve. A few minutes after the energy was sapped dry, the werewolf displayed sluggishness. Slowly, yet protesting, the beast fell on its knees but its heart was still beating.

'Argh...!'

With an inward bellow, Adam's mangled hands intensated the grip around the beast's neck and snap! With an overlapped crackle of multiple bones, the beast fell with a broken neck. Rolling over from the corpse's back, there was a grin on Adam's face while glancing at his fractured forelimb.