C35: Shadow Hounds

Elijah and Owl drew up their hoods and started to climb the building. Within seconds, they grabbed onto the edge of the dome and climbed to the peak.

Both of them stood at the dome, beside each other.

"Hmm... Everything is going according to the plan..." Owl muttered, looking at the distance.

He could only see countless buildings in the town. And in the distance, there were the enormous docks with all the ships in place.

"Now?"

"Yeah, now!" Elijah answered, summoning her bow into her hands.

She pulled back her bow, speaking the word, "White Eagles: Wind Cutter!"

Swoosh! The arrow was released and it shot through the air into the sky. It went at such a speed that it almost reached the horizon, before disappearing completely.

Elijah's heart raised as she stepped back, confronted by her fear for Demon Hounds. Especially, 4th Grade ones.

Owl stepped backward too, and their backs touched each other.

"Are they coming?" Owl asked.

"No... Not yet. Be careful, Owl. And soon, not only the demon hounds, but their masters will arrive too."

"I know, Elijah. But your life comes first... Since they're after you, not me."

The two silently stood at the dome of the tower, patiently waiting for the hounds to arrive soon.

The air filled with the fragrances of burning coal, foreign wines, flowers and berries, foreign women, and a hint of darkness and suffering.

'Unlock Animal Instincts!' Owl thought, unlocking his skill before the hounds approached.

[Animal Instincts Unlocked]

Animal instincts, one of the three skills Owl has. One can possess only 6 skills, and from the power of those skills, their ability and their genuine power are measured.

However, Owl could only possess 3 skills, because the 3 he possessed were too powerful and perfect for combined attacks.

Owl breathed the air around him, and from the scent, he could sense the hounds approaching from the distance.

"They are coming, Elijah!" Owl said, putting his guard up. Elijah was already on guard, for she could not sense any presence, only see with the eyes given to her by the world.

"Unlock Wolf Daggers!" Owl said, grasping onto the two daggers that appeared in both his grips.

[Wolf Daggers Unlocked!]

Their white capes flew in the direction of the wind, painting a picture of two assassins on the dome of the tall tower.

Some pedestrians stopped to see these two and gasped. Slowly, the attention of the crowd was falling upon them, and it was only a matter of time before the knights get involved.

"Elijah! Now, hounds from the West approaching!"

The moment Owl said this, by instinct and pure training, Elijah's hands moved on their own.

After Lucy, she was the best archer in the group, though from power, Elijah was the best.

"Scattershot!" She uttered, releasing the bow.

Swoosh! 5 thin arrows, much more like lines darted towards the West, even though her eyes did not meet the hounds.

And finally, she heard it.

"GRAAAR!!" Two demon shadow hounds leaped from roof to roof charging towards them.

Slash! One of the arrows managed to strike the wolf on the left, and it was thrown overboard from the roof, down into the streets.

However, the other shadow hound easily dodged the arrow by leaping side by side, not slowing its speed.

And Elijah knew one thing... Just one arrow would never bring down a shadow hound, for it needed to be killed more than once to be defeated.

She had only faced one when she was back in level 100, and even then, she only faced a 1st Grade Shadow Hound.

It took her all night to hunt it, running through the forest to escape her death.

But now, she had leveled up, nonetheless... So was the shadow hound.

***

Owl tried to turn back to help out Elijah, but before he could place his right foot back, he sensed another two of them approaching from the East.

That makes it four!

"No shit!" Owl cried out, flipping his knives before leaping off the building towards the hounds.

He had no ranged attack, only melee attacks and close combat, though no one could beat him in close combat.

He dashed over the roofs at a great speed, possibly, faster than the hounds themselves.

'Can't let you kill my darling little girl!'

Owl dashed right into the hound. However, the hound did not hold back. It leaped towards Owl with its claws held out.

Owl pushed his leg up as he leaped into the hound and he landed a kick right on the hound's chest, throwing it down the roof.

However, the next one didn't stop after seeing this. It leaped from his side.

Left! Owl gashed the hound jumping towards him from the left. The knife in his hand slashed its eyes and with a shriek, it backed away.

Owl's attack pattern was low, like an animal. So, fighting dogs was not much hard work for him.

"Ha! One more!" Owl muttered as he dashed towards the hound charging at him.

The hound opened its wide jaws to taste Owl, but before it could, Owl sank his daggers into its blood-red eyes.

"Rwaa – rawwar!!" The hound tried to back off, blood pouring out of its eyes. It struggled and struggled, yet... Owl didn't take off his daggers from its eyes.

"Fucking die! Die!!!" Owl yelled.

Suddenly, an immense amount of mana emitted from him, setting him ablaze with mana.

The daggers blazed with blue fire, and he couldn't imagine the pain the hound was going through. The daggers sunk deeper in, and the hound's movements slowed down.

Within seconds, the notifications popped up in his retina.

[Upper-Grade Shadow Hound Killed]

[550 XP Gained!]

[15 Souls Gathered]

<<Daily Quest Completed: Use a weapon to kill an entity>>

[Awards: 50 XP]

Owl leaped back after he saw the notification. The hound dropped dead and seconds later, it turned to dust.

'What? I have never seen this much soul power in me! So... Do I have a trait against beasts?' He asked himself, looking at the immense mana he was emitting.

Come to think of it, the years he stayed away from the Woodland Foxes, he had only encountered monsters in his quests. Maybe this was his prize.

Elijah couldn't help but notice the immense mana Owl just emitted. Though, her attention was on the two hounds chasing her.

She was on the point of the spire, shooting down the hounds that kept climbing up the dome, no matter what she tried to do.

"Ahh! Goddammit! Die!!" Elijah shot exploding arrows to the shadow hounds' faces and it blew up their heads, reforming them in an instant.

"Shit! Die! Goddammit! Die!"