69 Noble Ventures, Part Twelve

As shocked as she was, Sara's hands still pulled her sword up in front of her, as if she could parry this enemy's blows with it.

The werewolf's hostile eyes fell on her.

Suddenly, Sara felt like she was right back at her village, watching it burn.

"Harrrgh..." A guttural sound escaped the wolf's snout. "Tyrants. I hope you are prepared to be torn limb from limb."

That was all he said before he ran forward.

He was fast. Faster than a creature with that kind of body had any right to be.

Sara only just barely managed to avoid getting her head torn off.

She ducked under a claw swipe, backing off and putting some space between herself and this creature. Her hands trembled around the hilt of her sword. Her mind was frozen. She couldn't think right now.

The training she'd received, the years of sparring, fighting, and practicing. A lot of it just wasn't there, for a few seconds.

Until someone came and stood by her side.

"Sara!" Rin appeared next to her. The silky white hair flowing down her back almost looked like the wings of an angel briefly. The image was ruined, however, by the blood all over her. The woman ran over. Her arms were covered in odd, ethereal flames.

She punched the werewolf in the center of its body. Her attack did little damage but pushed the creature back long enough for Rin to tell Sara:

"Focus!"

That one word managed to ground Sara if only just a little.

[RIght... Snap out of it.] She took a deep breath. [All of those memories... All of that anger, channel it. Use it. The Essence I used earlier took a toll on my body, but I can push it further.]

Sye, Elisa, and Xhez stood beside her then, as well, putting their attention on the enemy before them.

"I think we'll have to drop the act here, ladies," Sye told Elisa and Rin. "These things may be actual threats."

"Finally," Elisa said, picking a sword up off the ground, "I might actually have some fun now!"

Rin's "sister" didn't say anything. Instead, she took in the positions of the people around her, before beginning to draw elaborate spellsigns, aiming them at random enemies, like she wasn't even seeing those closest.

"Sara," Rin said softly, without taking her eyes off the werewolves up ahead. Their enemies grouped together, recognizing them as some of the biggest targets amidst the people they were there to slaughter. "You ready?"

"Yes," Sara responded after some hesitation. "I apologize."

"No need," Rin told her before the werewolves ran forward.

The real fight began with one of the werewolves lunging at Rin. The hand-to-hand fighter ducked under the werewolf's attack and retaliated with a quick flurry of punches that the opponent couldn't avoid.

The enemy was pushed back. A couple more took its place.

Sara moved forward now. Having re-centered herself, she dashed toward a nearby werewolf. It reacted by raising up a leg and nearly kicking Sara's head off, but she countered by slashing down at it, cutting the leg off while it had still been in the air.

She then swept the other leg off with her sword and pinned the werewolf to the dirt with a stab, all in a couple of quick motions.

The giant werewolf saw that and instantly went for her, ignoring her allies.

Sara backed up, trying to avoid his heavy swings. The damned thing was just too fast. If she was in fresh form, then maybe she could sneak a counterattack in between her dodging, but this, not getting split in half via monstrous claws, was the best she could hope to do right now.

A barrier of ice appeared between her and the monster, courtesy of Sye. The mage drew the opponent's attention to her.

The werewolf charged at Sye, but a second barrier stopped it. The monster crashed into this ice wall head-first, and Sye stepped back.

Seeing a mage at work was impressive, admittedly. The elegant, intricate motions they performed in order to cast combinations of spells looked like they required hundreds, if not thousands of hours of practice to carry out at a high level.

Indeed, Sye's moves all looked just that. Practiced. But, that alone wouldn't be enough to stop this enemy.

It bashed its head against the wall again, this time on purpose. Breaking through, Sye's eyes widened as the monster reached her far too quickly.

Unlike Sara, Sye did not react in time to dodge away.

The werewolf's claws found her torso.

The mage was launched to the side from the blow. A streak of red shone in the night, tracing the path her body took as it fell into the high grass to the right.

Xhez saw this and ran after her, looking to heal the woman. Sara saw Rin's eyes follow her, the worry on her face becoming clear.

Elisa stepped up, looking to offer her own strength in dealing with the enemy.

She traded blows with it, using that sword she'd picked up off the ground. The werewolf's claws were deflected and pushed away by the blade, but Elisa couldn't do much else.

Frustrated, Elisa went for an overhead swing aimed at the giant werewolf's head.

The werewolf then balled its right hand up into a fist and dealt a strangely masterful punch to Elisa's chest, knocking the former rookie adventurer away.

Elisa gritted her teeth but hesitated to advance again.

Sara knew why.

Sara had always been an analytical fighter. Here, she put her mind to work.

Witnessing these exchanges, their group's problems became clear to her.

1. Xhez was too distracted. Unlike the others who focused their attention on this opponent, Xhez had been spending her time in this fight launching spells at whatever enemy was around her, instead of aiming them at this superior foe. It was a miracle she still had any Essence left.

2. Elisa had the strength to contend with this enemy, but not the speed. The fact that she and Rin were both fighting in dresses, albeit torn ones but still, didn't help much either.

3. Sye was clearly a powerful mage but lacked the physical capabilities to avoid damage, as this moment had just shown.

4. Rin had the opposite problem that Xhez had. She was seeing everything that was happening but had no clue where she needed to be, who to help, or how to contribute to the battle. One moment she was trying to help Sara, the next she was running across the field to keep Xhez and Sye safe.

And:

5. Sara had just wasted her Essence in that frenzy earlier. Under normal circumstances, she had both the speed and the strength to fight back against this enemy, she knew that, but her body was already worn-out.

[Talent alone won't win us this fight,] Sara realized. [We need strategy. We need to communicate.]

As she made that realization, she nodded to herself, standing up straight.

The giant werewolf was about to run up to Elisa. Xhez was healing Sye, and Rin had run over to keep enemies off them but was having trouble doing so alone.

Sara needed to step up.

"EVERYONE!" She yelled. "Listen to me!"

With that cry, she drew the eyes of everyone, and everything, around her as she moved to the center of the field, surrounded by enemies and allies alike.

Pushing away the thoughts of her home, burnt down in such a similar event, and the concern she had for both her own life and the lives of her friends, she tried to focus entirely on this present moment.

Perhaps it would fall on her shoulders to guide them all through this.