The Battle Against the Wolf

"I'm going to cut off a leg. Use that opportunity to punch its skull straight to hell where it belongs."

Lua was surprised for a moment, unable to grasp what she was trying to say. She said with full confidence that she would create an opportunity wide enough for Lua to not only climb it, but also kill it in a single punch. It was unthinkable.

"That's insane." Lua voiced his opinions, trying to get Luna to think of another plan. However, much to Lua's dismay, she only glanced at him. It was as if she was daring to Lua to defy her.

Lua exhaled sharply, having no choice but to comply. He made sure his glove was fit for battle, and waited for Luna's mark.

Luna unsheathed her blade once more, showing its pristine edges to the beast. It was as if she was daring it to attack her.

The wolf grinned. "At last, a fight. That weakling hardly provided me with entertainment."

Luna felt her blood boil with fury, angered at the wolf having referred to her Captain as a "weakling". She wouldn't stand for it. Regardless of her emotions, however, she knew that the wolf was trying to taunt her.

Breathing slowly, she closed her eyes. She heard the rhythm of the forest around her. She sharply recognized every position of the trees, recognizing the absence of the birds who had long since fled after the battle started.

She opened her eyes in a instant, dashing towards the giant beast. The wolf laughed, and began to slash wildly at her.

Luna dodged one swipe after another. She could tell the wolf wasn't truly trying its best, opting to play with her instead. She did not mind this, however. The more inferior the wolf thought she was, the more powerful she would get. This was one of the strengths of an Echo - masking their true abilities.

Suddenly, the wolf lost track of Luna. Everyone did. Nobody could see her, and all that was left of her was a slight breeze that rushed to occupy her former position. It was almost as if she had gone invisible.

The wolf understood its mistake in an instant. It began to wildly thrash around, making sure nothing got close to it. However, it was a blind strategy. If Luna was careful enough, she wouldn't be hurt in the slightest.

Slash! Crimson blood dyed the air, the fluids of the wolf rushing out from its front right leg. The monster screamed in pain, smashing the position it had gotten attacked from. However, he found nothing.

The leg of the wolf was still attached, so Lua still refrained from acting. He knew he had to wait patiently and let Luna distract the wolf enough.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Back to back, the wolf was repeatedly struck with a blade that seemed to keep cutting. Until finally, the leg was cut off sharply. The wolf stumbled, howling in the intense pain. Luna had made sure to give it the maximum amount of agony to repay what it had done to Victoria.

Now's my chance! Lua rushed, running straight out of the wolf's field of view to make sure he wasn't noticed. He rushed to the back leg of the wolf which was still thrashing around, trying to rid itself from Luna.

Using the built-in spikes to scale the wolf's fur easier, he began to climb slowly. It was very difficult considering the amount of movement that was happening.

Slash! The slashing continued, not letting the wolf have peace for even a second. The overwhelming sensation coming from the cuts was helping mask Lua, letting him climb without being noticed. Eventually, he made it to the top of the wolf. He used the glove to help him stay stable. He slowly itched closer to his goal, the head.

Ping! An arrow was planted onto the wolf's neck, showing a pure stream of blood coming from its mane. The wolf howled in intense pain once more, almost shaking off Lua. With the help of the glove, he stayed on top of the thick mane of the wolf.

The heat from the "flame spikes" of the wolf was intense, but the flame rune in the glove helped calm it down. He struggled to stay on top.

Crawling, he finally made to the front of the wolf. However, this seemingly made the wolf notice him, and the wolf began to thrash around even harder. He heard a loud roar from below.

"Get off of me, pathetic human!"

However, Lua didn't dare relent. Their survival relied on his success, or so he made himself believe. He grabbed the head of the wolf, and raised his glove. He held on tight, making sure he didn't fall off just as he was about to kill the wretched beast.

He felt intense power arrive on his right arm. It made Lua feel gigantic, as if he could lift a mountain with a finger. He yelled with all of his might:

"Die!"

His fist came crashing down, right into the skull of the beast. The beast instantly crashed down, his punch leaving a dent in the head. The wolf instantly became unconscious, falling to the ground. The beast had been slain.

Lua rolled off, covered in bruises from the impact. He could feel the intensity of the punch in his arm, feeling as if he had dislocated his shoulder. He'd need a reservation with Anthony later.

He dusted himself off, relaxing. He felt his body's true weight crash against him, now that his adrenaline had worn off. Everything ached, and he was utterly exhausted.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Luna do the same. She sheathed her sword covered with blood after wiping it with a piece of cloth. She glanced at Lua, giving a nod of approval. "Not bad."

Lua was more impressed with her performance. He felt that perhaps she could even take on the beast herself, given the opportunity, time, and resources. "You were incredible."

Luna finally showed a smile, chuckling at his amazement. "Thanks."

Suddenly, she remembered something very important. Victoria!

She rushed to the side of Anthony, crouching down to see how she was doing. Her face and arms had been cleaned from the blood, revealing her skin once more. Anthony saw Luna's panicked face and said calmly.

"She'll live. Maybe will need a few days of relaxation before she can get on a mission again though.."

Luna nodded, calming herself down once more. Lua on the other hand, simply couldn't be calm. Something was stuck on his mind, preventing him from truly relaxing. He voiced his thoughts to the team.

"How was this a medium