CHPT 327: A New Slayer is Born....

When their shots landed, the smell of blood and Demon hung on the air like a freshly sprayed unholy fragrance. A sign of the violence to come that pulled on Ursula as a Lupine and HellSlayer.

She took off the second the sounds of the demonic rat's screams fell on her ears, Claude was already way ahead, leaping and bounding through the forest with the rest of the pack as a green eyed blur.

Despite her urge to fight and slay the very beings that had almost killed her, her insides felt tight. Her palms were slicked with sweat, making her hold on the battleaxe less than ideal.

Maybe it was for that very reason. They'd almost killed her. The Demons. They'd stalked her and her only friends....plunged a hole in her chest....and made Claude snap at her awakening.

She was horrified. Horrified like never before at the idea of how close death was to them all when dealing with Demons.

Before she could think anymore on the object of her fears, something ahead ripped her out of her thoughts.

FWOOSH!

Something large cut upwards through the winds, pressing off the ground so hard she could see the dent in the earth even from where she ran. The only reason she knew whatever it was flew upwards was due to the leaves falling as it-- he, burst through the canopy.

She continued running, watching as Claude hovered above the trees and sailed past the much taller evergreens. His tattered pants fluttered in the wind, revealing his steaming legs as they bubbled with muscle and fur, transforming with no effort to grant him the power to leap an insane distance. He looked like he was flying.

Time felt like it slowed as he reared his head back and roared. The sound shook the earth and washed over her with a shockingly physical touch. A touch that sunk into her skin and mind magically.

Immediately after, running became more fluid...more breathtaking-- astonishing. She could feel her black sweater squeezing against her even tighter with the growth of her muscles and bones, followed by the dark-- nearly black, auburn tufts of fur growing from her forearms and cutting through her sweater like knives. The change hurt-- even on such a small scale....

[Berserker's Rage 10%]

She huffed and shook her head as her senses sharpened and the steam rising from her shoulders partially clouded her vision.

Claude landed soon after, causing them all to skid to a stop and take in the vibrant glow of their Aura's that came to life like a new flame.

"What....is this?" She thought while looking at the icy blue Aura that surrounded her and her axe, tiny strips of green energy laced it every few seconds.

Ahead of her, Frosty looked the same-- along with Gil and the Phantom Legion who loomed beside her wrapped in flaming shadows that sparked with green strips of energy like lightning.

Nobody spoke. She could feel each thought as clear as day. Feel each presence as if she was touching them physically. It was an overwhelming transference of information that she took in as easily as one took a breath.

As a result, they all were on the move once again. Only this time, the fear wasn't so strong....

***

They hit the bottom of the hill in a flash, glowing with the impressive support power of (Commander's Howl).

Claude entered the battle field first, reaching out for the Demonic Ratman running out of the river that Ursula skewered with her ice spike. In response to his movements, his Malevolence Tether burst to life in a tuft of flame, travelling faster than ever before and snapping around the Demonic creatures neck.

CHK!

SHHHHH

"AAAAAAHH!!" The horrid ratmonster screeched in pain as the chain exploded with green flames that ate away at the rat in it's attempt to force it to submit or die. Before it could choose which to follow, Claude yanked the chain back causing the Ratman to be pulled back into the water.

"Ursu--"

Before he could bring words to his thoughts, she was already sliding to a halt further up the river to the left of him where she slammed her palm into the rushing waters, freezing a portion of the area until the submerged Ratman was partially swallowed up in the fierce spread of ice.

Gil leapt over her in a flash and landed on the iced surface of the river before drifting to the right and lunging at the Ratman partially beneath the ice, ripping off it's only visible arm and biting into it's screaming head until dark blooded portions of Demon braid dripped onto the ice.

[+100 EXP]

Claude was moving across the river long before the creature had died, engaging in the battle with the Phantom Legion and Ursula closing in behind him.

His goal was practical. Shrink their numbers as quickly as possible for the simple fact that Ursula being swarmed by a multitude of at least Silver Ranked Demonic Hyrbids was a terrible thought.

As a result, he found himself closing in on the next closest Ratman, it had the same idea. Good.

The creature screamed and ground it's fully exposed black teeth as it reached for him with it's dirty claws. Claws that met nothing but air following his drop and slide to sweep the Monster off it's feet and onto it's face.

Fwoop!

As soon as it landed, he stabbed the ground behind him mid-slide, using his short spear to pin the creature to the ground with a wet squelching sound.

Before he could recover and finish the job, another took it's place, lunging for him like a starved predator at the sight of motionless prey.

He wasn't fast enough to move and not take damage. It was too close-- but he had to do something before the Ratman pinned to the floor behind him recovered.

As a result, he panicked and did the only thing he could think of.

"SCREEE!!!'

FWSH!

CHNK!

The Ratman landed on him with all five hundred or so pounds of it's hard muscle and loose skinned weight, closing it's jaws over his forearm that was currently fully armored with his Malevolence Tether.

SHHHH!!

The Demon shook with the otherworldly burn taking place in it's mouth, searing it's gums and cracking each tooth laced with the touch of hell.

In a rush the Ratman tried to remove it's grip and pull away.

SHNK!

Before it could, he slammed his remaining spear into it's shoulder and forced his armored forearm deeper into it's mouth, grinding against it's molars and burning the entirety of it's black icky tongue.

"Where are you going?" He snarled before it pulled them both to their feet in an attempt to free itself at all costs.

"Behind you!" Ursula's thought hit his mind with a level of urgency that matched the tone in her voice.

In reaction, he ripped his forearm from the Demon's mouth along with his spear, causing the teeth of the creature that were locked into the grooves and holes of his chain to be ripped out as it stumbled backward.

Following the momentum he created, he let himself continue to spin backward with the chain until he felt the back of his chained fist smash into the jaw of the now risen Ratman behind him.

CRACK!

SWip!

Teeth flew and claws sliced open his side.

[90% HP Remaining! (643/715)]

Claude ignored the pain and continued fighting, wrapping his respawned Malevolence Tether around the neck of the Ratman stumbling behind him. With one forceful pull, he had the Ratman sliding through the grass past him and stumbling into the Ratman ahead of him.

The two rolled and snarled against eachother in a clutter of greasy fur, horns and beady red eyes before the grass and roots beneath them expanded and fastened them to the floor.

Claude snarled as he pounced on the Demonic Ratman sandwich, using his shortspear and claws to tear them both to foul smelling shreds. A maneuver he was growing more and more familiar with...

[+200 EXP]

A few seconds later, he leapt off the pile of Demonic remains and turned to witness the rest of the battle.

The Phantom Legion stood closest to him, a ball of muscle and shadows intertwined with electrical green currents. The massive collection of beings faced off against the Alpha rat deeper into the field away from the river, Frosty and Gil danced across the grass in combat with a multitude of Ratmen and even more parts of them littering the field.

Ursula was the furthest away, facing off against a bleeding Ratman. She didn't look hurt-- in fact, she looked like she was getting stronger-- more feral, with the progression of her change.

Her safety was already quite low-- and it would only get worse if the three Ratmen closing in on her reached their destination.

Without a second thought, his Prey Drive took over. He flew past The Phantom Legion and the Alpha rat in a blur, followed by Gil and Frosty being circled by the not-raven above.

He reached the three pursuers in seconds, using his Malevolence Tether to pull one's feet out from under it. As soon as it hit the ground in a face plant, he used his transformed legs to smash it's head further into the ground until he could hear it's skull crack.

He went after the next closest creature, jumping from the crushed head of the previous to land on the next, sliding his short-spears into each side of it's head.

SHNK!

[+200 EXP]

The sound of heavy movements behind him fell on his ears, but he couldn't stop...couldn't turn to see who was chasing him down. But, based on the panic in the others thoughts, it was the Alpha, meaning it left the Phantom Legion in pursuit of him.

When he reached the rat pursuing Ursula, he could feel the warmth being sucked out of the air as the monster behind him prepared to consume him in HellFire. Not good.

SHNNK!

He killed the Rat quickly, jamming his spear through the back of it's head until the blade emerged from it's forehead. Still he wasn't fast enough.

"Shit!" He thought before wrapping himself in his Aura in preparation for the blast.

FWOOSH!

Something flew past him in a blue eyed blur towards the Alpha behind him.

He turned around just in time to see the Alpha Demon-Rat with it's jaws expanded, baring it's hellishly red glowing insides to Ursula as she closed in, punching directly into it's mouth. Only it wasn't a normal punch. An odd bright energy cloaked her arm with a vaguely solid form, glowing in varying shades of blues and whites before being outlined by a shadowy black border. Making it look almost like spectral armor. It spread up to her shoulder where it lost its tight form and flared out chaotically like flames.

BOOM!

The two connected. She didn't have the strength to knock it off it's feet, but it she did have the strength to stay on her feet and drive her oddly powered fist further into it's mouth. The flames disappeared as she jammed her fist deeper into it's mouth until all that escaped were tiny spirals of steam.

He had no idea what the new power she was brandishing was until he could hear the insides of the Demonic Rat's mouth sizzling along with it's hands that clawed at her armored arm with the burn of her new aura.

"[It seem's the Berserker has chosen her HellSlaying Power..]"