Chapter 42 - *Spoilers, title at the end*

Before Aiden could continue rushing, suddenly a black-robed, hooded figure appeared before him and blocked his path. Gently pushing him backwards, a soft, female voice sounded from under the hood that blocked everyone from seeing her face.

"Stay back kid, this is not your fight. Stay with your family, and let me handle this oversized, ugly wolf!" said the slender female figure covered in black clothing. Her face was hidden behind a black faceless mask, while the black hood was covering the rest of his head from the onlookers. Still Aiden knew that this was the very same 'little birdie' that was following them all this time.

"Eh? Another one to the chopping block? Listen here, bi-" the Worgen started its rant, however, it was cut short by a sudden surge of wind hitting its face hard, and sending it flying all the way to the trees, landing with a loud bang, crushing a few trees in the process.

Standing back up from the crash site, it looked at the figure, who still had her backhand up in the air. It couldn't see the figure's face, but in her voice, contempt was clearly visible.

"Silence you mut! Who said you can talk? Didn't your master teach you how a good doggie should behave?"

The words and the tone angered the Worgen to no end. Seething with rage, its eyes turned bloodshot, and with a low growl, it sneered.

"How dare you?! I am the King of the Black Wolves in the forest, not some dog you can order around! This earned you the first place, congratulations! You can be the first, who I will rip to pieces! AAAARGH!"

Without waiting for any remark from the unknown figure, it got on all-fours and charged at her.

The mysterious figure just stood there motionless, her eyes fixed on the charging 'wolf-king'. As the creature got into a few meters distance, it launched itself in the air, with its hands ready to rip its target to shreds on impact.

Just before it could reach the figure and rip her to pieces as it desperately wished for, the air suddenly vibrated and she vanished to thin air, only to appear right behind the Worgen. She launched a heavy kick on its back, sending him down to the ground with a loud crashing sound and setting up a fair amount of dust. Keeping her feet on the lying wolf-kings back, she arrogantly taunted it.

"Now-now, if I don't allow it, you are not to jump around. Be a good doggie and learn to behave or I will have to discipline you. Do. *stomp* You. *stomp* Really. *stomp* Want. *stomp* That? *stomp*" As she said the last words, she kept stomping on the creature's back, eliciting painful cry-like howls from it.

"Why you… I WILL TEAR YOU TO PIECES FOR THIS!" as its rage reached the absolute maximum, its previously bloodshot eyes turned complete dark red, and the black smoke that he kept using previously oozed out from his body once again, this time surrounding it as a sort of formless, protective coat of armor.

Its strength also clearly increased, as while it had troubles getting up previously under the figure's constant pressure, now it managed to jump off the ground, throwing the figure almost off-balance.

Turning 180 in the air, it immediately launched a punch to the figure, who -because of the sudden turn of events-, couldn't successfully block it, and was sent flying several meters in the air, before she managed to regain her control.

Hovering in the air, she levitated back towards the raging Worgen. With a smirk clearly visible in her voice, she mocked it even further.

"Oh my, did the puppy got mad? Aww! You know, that was a semi-decent punch there, too bad I will have to discipline you for it as you seem to already forget my previous words…"

Waving her hand as if backhanding the air, the Worgen was sent flying once again when a gust of air hit him in the face that felt similar to heavy punch, sending him flying backwards, crashing and rolling on the ground a few meters. It coughed and spat out a bit of blood as he stood up.

Its last bits of sanity seemed to have vanished as its rage seemed to reach new limits, new heights it never knew its capable of reaching. Completely overwhelmed with rage, it was unable to speak or think anymore, and simply rushed towards the still hovering figure. Its hands in a posture that would make it easy to rip the flesh of its most hated enemy, it was ready to end this humiliating battle once and for all.

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As the fight continued, Aiden went back to Granny, both of them were silently watching the spectacle in front of them. Aiden was the first to break the silence between the two.

"So did you ask her to help us, or did she do this on her own accord?"

Hearing the question, she expected she sighed as she nodded.

"*Yes, I asked her that she should provide her assistance when the time calls for it. She was very reluctant, as apparently that would blow her cover and she could no longer silently spy on us…"

With a confused look, Aiden looked at Granny.

"But we knew about her since day one… Did you tell her that she was never hidden from us?"

"Yes I did, but I wasn't sure that he actually understood that at the time. Anyways I'm not sure what the future will hold now, but we can leave that discussion for later. For now, let's focus on ourselves. Pick up Lily, and I'll get ready with the spell to take us back."

Aiden shook his head.

"No, we can't leave without her. She risked her life for us, and probably saved Lily, you and me as well. The least we can do is wait for her. I'm not leaving her behind Granny."

Seeing the determined look in his eyes, Granny could only helplessly nod. They gathered around Lily, and continued to silently watch as the fight amongst the 2 unknown 'titans' continued…

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Meanwhile, the battle between the King of the Black Wolves and the female figure continued. The figure kept agilely evading the claws of the Worgen, and she occasionally landed a punch or two at its sides. As the creature receded back to its savage bestial self with its seething rage, his logic and reasoning also faded, making the fight become more and more one-sided as time went on.

As the beast continued to futilely claw, punch and occasionally kick the air, its eyes slowly lost their dark red luster, and clarity once again returned to it. Feeling its strength and vitality rapidly draining, it understood that this battle is over, and the best course of action would be to fall back momentarily. Gritting its teeth, it jumped back, creating some distance between them.

In response, Number 3 just stood still in the air, where they had their clash previously.

"I admit, you are stronger than I expected… You may have won this battle, but I will have my revenge! I got all of your scents memorized. Our pack will find you wherever you are hiding in the forest, and once we do… we will rip you all to shreds and feed you to our pups! I will have my revenge!���

With its threat for revenge said, the creature turned around and was about to jump back into the treeline and escape when it felt an incredible pain coming from its back going all the way through its heart. As it looked down, with disbelief it saw a bloodied slender hand coming out of its chest, with its still-beating heart in it. It didn't need to look back, to understand what happened. The last words it heard were the silent murmurs the figure whispered into its ears.

"No, you will not have your revenge. I told you before, I will have to discipline you for your disobedience… PUP"

Making sure that the former wolf-king last sight was its own heart crushed, she pulled out his hand from the creature's back.

Looking at her bloody hand, Number 3 shook her head. Disgust visible in her voice, she muttered to herself.

"Tsk… I hate it when it gets so messy…" She waved her still bloodied hand, and silently cast a spell. At the next moment, his hands briefly shone in white light and as the light faded, all the blood and gore were gone completely.

"Much better…" she muttered to herself, as she turned around, and slowly made her way towards the trio.

Looking at Granny, she nodded her head, and looked at the boy, before she started.

"It was very brave of you kid to sacrifice yourself so your family could escape." Aiden was about to reply, but she continued before he could. "Brave, but incredibly stupid! What did you expect what would happen? He kills you, and then what? Hmm?"

"I…" Aiden was at a loss for words. He wasn't expecting to get yelled at for trying to save the ones he held close to his heart. He also couldn't explain that what he was about to do, would have definitely won the battle, and would just have knocked him out of the "game" for at least a full day.

"Yeah, you didn't think it through, did ya? The Worgen, as that what that big humanoid wolf was, would have then continued and massacred these two. You would have accomplished nothing! How can you be so idiotic? Think for a bit next time kid?! Don't expect anyone to come and save you the next time you do something stupid like this."

With her rant out of her system, Number 3, sighed and then continued as she faced Granny this time.

"Anyways, with this out of the way, I will bid you farewell. Since you now know about me, I have to return and report my failure to the Grandmaster. I do not know if someone will replace me or not, but know this: he is interested in this boy, he felt his power previously, and now wants to know if he could be useful for his plans, or not. That's why I was sent here, to determine, what should be the best course of action."

Granny looked at the figure, before speaking with her ever-present gentle smile plastered on her face.

"And? What is the verdict?"

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Chapter Title: Number 3 vs The King of the Black Wolves