Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 122: The Wendigo, Hunters of the Dark Forest
The Wendigo. They were nightmarish creatures that lived comfortably in dark places with their specialized eyes on the darkness. Once a prey entered their sights, they would continue to hound them until they died.
Through some twisted entertainment of the heavens, the Wendigo had the characteristics to horrify and strike fear into their prey. They loved the taste of fear in their creature, which led to their most terrifying aspect, their intelligence.
They imitated the sounds of other creatures, attacking from many different angles and luring prey into their deadly traps.
Oscar and Emily were the victims of their most recent scheme. The creatures knew to distract them so they could cut the cloth and then separate them. Then they copied Oscar and Emily's calls to lure them farther away.
These sly and horrific creatures circled Oscar, who constantly shifted to face each angle. Large amounts of drool poured from their unnaturally wide mouths onto the ground.
'If I was hearing the Wendigo's imitation, where is Emily? She can't have gotten so far, did she?'
Oscar worried for his friend but snapped out of it. Worrying would not get him anywhere. He lowered his body, intent on fighting.
These two creatures were Greater Apprentice Exalts, but not as strong as the ones on Edin. The ones on Edin constantly fought against each other for dominance and became incredibly tough and strong. These Wendigos relied more on trickery and darkness.Upstodatee from n(0)/ve/lbIn/.(co/m
However, that didn't mean the Wendigo was not a threat. Oscar didn't feel much weight behind their blows, but their agility and sharp claws were a cause of concern, together with their flexible bodies.
The Wendigos brandished their claws and slashed at Oscar.
Their joints disconnected, turning their arms into an unpredictable lashing whip. The claws moved sideways, bending, changing directions. But this was still within the predictive powers of Oscar's Prinstyct.
"I can see it all." Oscar summoned his deer anima. A large collection of Ein poured into the deer anima. It blocked one of the shifting claws while Oscar dealt with the other.
The Wendigos leaped in the air, opening their mouth widely. Their teeth covered the entire interior of their mouths, even down to the throat. Oscar felt a shudder at the thought of being bitten by those accursed mouths.
"Keep one busy for me." Oscar ordered his deer anima to charge at one and distract it while he went after the other. A tinge of excitement entered Oscar's eyes as he strode confidently against the Wendigo.
'Reis Awaken'
Reis flowed in from Oscar's feet, traveling through Oscar's body with the aid of 'Reis Awaken'. But unlike his previous uses, the Reis stopped and settled into his hands. More specifically, his fingers and up to his knuckles.
In the view of 'Reis Awaken', the muscles of his fingers were incredibly clear, more than the rest of his body. Each strand stuck out without losing its individuality in the bulk of muscle, and they were strangely twisted and coiled.
As the Reis settled into them, the muscle fibers coiled and bound more tightly until they looked like straight strands. Yet Oscar's hand was still flexible and moved freely.
'Adamasreis'
After many grueling sessions, Oscar finally had parts of his hands completely transformed. Their muscles and flesh were now capable of reigning in and containing the power of Reis.
It was a strange uplifting feeling. Oscar thought the power would make his hands feel heavy, but they were surprisingly lighter. It was almost as if his fingers could float in the air if separated from his body.
This was surely Emily's work.
"Frederick!" Oscar shouted.
"K-klein...." A weak voice sounded from the other side of the mushroom.
Oscar rushed over with joy, but his face soured instantly as his heart stopped. Emily was propped, leaning on the mushroom for support with a pale face. There were several gashes on her body from the wild attacks of the Wendigo.
"Emily!"
"Oscar....Took you long enough." Emily gasped as she drank some of her heal elixir, but the wounds were slow to heal. "These things inflict wounds that are hard to heal even with an elixir."
Oscar helped Emily get comfortable on the ground and passed some of his heal elixirs to her. "Take as many as you need. We can wait here for a bit."
"Those damned arms of theirs were hard to keep track of. How did you beat them without a scratch?" Emily asked while coughing. The heal elixirs were finally taking some effect. The wounds slowly hissed while closing.
"The Prinstyct helped, and I broke their claws and teeth."
Emily giggled a bit. "I wish I had the Prinstyct. They refused to stay still for a moment for me to hit them cleanly. In the end, I had to go for a dual exchange."
After a session of rest, color returned to Emily's face.
"Are you better?" Oscar said.
"Better. I'm not suited to these sorts of battles." Emily twirled her hair with a frown. She could not consider this to be a victory. These creatures were too wily for her straightforward means.
She glanced at Oscar, feeling slightly jealous of the early Prinstyct he possessed. It was the most useful power she had ever heard of, and she greatly desired it. How great would it be if she were an Elite Exalt now?
THUD
Oscar and Emily shot up and brandished their weapons. Something else was coming.
The creature, doubling Oscar's height, took large, heavy steps that made the ground tremble. It entered the light to reveal similar large claws and teeth of the Wendigo, but it was not skinny at all. It had large ripping muscles and a broad face with fur covering its head.
Its huge, not-so-bony hands firmly grasped the necks of the two Wendigos that Oscar let go. They were flailing around desperately in whimpers, similar to begging.
With a simple closing of its hands, the Wendigos' necks squished and tore from the body. The now headless bodies fell to the floor to be fed to the moss and mushrooms.
"OOOOOOO." The hulking pale monster stomped toward Oscar and Emily with a big wide smile full of needle teeth.