"You damned mutt! I'm not scared of you!"
Kali roared while holding both daggers in her hands.
With her being at Level 3, and with her experience facing even worse killing intent before, she was the first to snap back to her senses and move. She rushed forward in a mad dash, trying to attract the Dire Wolf's attention!
Just as she planned, the wolf turned to look at her and let out a low growl. Then, it opened its bloody maw and snapped at her.
Kali saw its movements clearly, and it moved like flowing water. She spun around, dodging the bite while taking advantage of her agility and flexible body!
As the Dire Wolf's head passed by her side, she didn't forget to rain down a few strikes across its face and neck, even trying to go for the eyes, before jumping away.
"How's that?!"
She landed a few solid blows, so she expected to have caused a flesh wound at least. However, the scene before her made her feel despair. The Dire Wolf was uninjured! Even the strike to its eye didn't work!
"Hah! Not going to fall that easily, eh?" Kali let out a fierce smile, as if a wild beast, as her teeth chattered in fear.
With just that exchange, she realized how big the gap was between her and the Dire Wolf's strength! Just as she was wary of its movements, the next action it took caused her shock.
"Aster!" Kali shouted as she turned to where the wolf had jumped.
"Star!"
Even Cassy raised her voice, trying to move to push him out of the way. However, neither of them managed to make it in time.
"...!"
The Dire Wolf swung its claw as it was about to land, planning to maim its target. Aster concentrated his senses, watching the incoming claw, and tilted his body out of the way at the last moment.
The wind pressure as the claw swept past his face sent chills down his spine!
Before he could rejoice for successfully dodging the attack, Aster felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. Partly by reflex, he raised his sword, preparing to block an attack. The next instant, another claw attack came, hitting him right where the blade was placed.
*BAM!* *CRACK!* *GASH!*
*SLASH!* *WHOOSH!*
Looking behind them, Kali was locked in an intense exchange against the Dire Wolf. Although her attacks weren't enough to damage it, they were able to irritate it, at least! After continuously aiming for its eyes, the field boss was no longer able to ignore her and was trying to take her down first before handling the other two.
"GO!" Kali shouted, as if able to recognize the situation despite the intense exchange she was in the middle of. "DON'T MIND ME AND GO!"
"...!"
Cassy felt like her heart was getting squeezed. She knows that Kali's wound wasn't healed, meaning her movements would get slower as time passes. Either from pain, blood loss, or her stomach acids damaging her other internal organs, her body would fail sooner or later. Anyway, if she stays, then there's no saving her.
The entire time, Aster was observing the situation with a calm mind. Or rather, he was busy listening to the two female voices echoing near his right ear.
" ❄ Then, you'll stop the bleeding while I stop the big dog? "
" ???? Sounds like a plan. Then, let's start! "
As the two voices echoed, just as Cassy was about to lift him up, she quickly noticed the heat around Aster and reflexively moved away. "W-What?"
A moment later, Aster's body started to burn. Raging, hot flames covered the parts with wounds, cauterizing them in a blink! With the bleeding addressed, the risk of losing his life was lessened, at least.
For his burns, it's not like the current medical technology couldn't fix it, so that's no problem either.
*CRACK!* *CRACKLE!*
In the next instant, the ground around Aster started to freeze. Cassy, confused, still recalled how the Dire Wolf froze to death upon contact with it, so she stepped aside, dodging the creeping ice.
"Kali!"
Cassy shouted in warning.
The cat beastwoman, with sharp eyes, found the creeping ice immediately and realized that Aster was doing something. She quickly moved, dragging the Dire Wolf closer to the ice before jumping aside!
*GROWL!*
The Dire Wolf also saw the ice and started to move to dodge it, but at that instant, the speed of freezing started to accelerate. The frost grew into a torrential force, washing over the Dire Wolf and freezing its body solid.
Kali's first encounter, and Cassy and Aster's second encounter with the Dire Wolf, ended abruptly.