"…Right," I said calmly. "We are so cooked."
The terror wolf didn't run so much as launch itself like a living cannonball. Claws the size of short-swords gouged into the blasted earth, propelling its massive bulk forward.Clods of blood-soaked mud exploded into the air behind it with every bound.
It crossed the gap so fast my eyes struggled to track the dark blur of muscle.When it hit the vanguard, there was no magical flash or anime-style teleportation. Just the sickening, visceral crunch of overwhelming mass colliding with brittle steel and human bone.
It drove straight into the shield wall, its raw momentum trampling three consecutive lines of soldiers deep into the mud before they even had time to level their spears.
'Yeah,' I swallowed hard, my fingers twitching toward my robes. 'I am definitely going to need to figure out that shield spell.'
Bodies scattered. Weapons flew. A mage somewhere screamed as the wolf's tail whipped through him like a battering ram. The ground shook with every step.
"…RUN!" Luna shouted.
I didn't need to be told twice. The second I saw that thing, my legs had already filed for divorce from my body and left without me.
We bolted down the trench. Mud sprayed under my boots as I pushed my legs as hard as they could go. Behind us, the Terror Wolf slammed into the trench wall like a falling building. It's red eyes laser focused on my position, like an evil demon content on claiming my soul. I looked up to the sky in a state of contemplation. What was the God of this world called again. Ah... yes Prima Lux.
"Prima Lux what have I done to deserve this."
The wolf started barraging through the trench line. It felt like a boss fight in a videogame where the boss was chasing you, well that but much more realistic. The entire side of the trench collapsed inward as the beast smashed through it, sending soldiers and mages alike tumbling like dolls.
"Don't stop firing spells at the thing, lest you all want to die", a young mage shouted.
A barrage of spells to slow and counter its movement where cast simultaneously merging into a visceral multicolour light. The shine was blinding, the attack travelling down the trench and being merged with other spells as it travelled towards the wolf.
'Nice.'
Naturally, things didn't work out so easily though . The Terror Wolf didn't just stand there and take it. Instead of bracing for the hit, the beast dug its massive claws into the earth and violently heaved its bulk to the side. The blinding barrage of multi-colored magic sailed several meters past it, slamming into the back trenches. The resulting explosion sent a shockwave of heat and flying mud washing over us, rattling my teeth.
This monster wasn't as dumb as I thought. In fact it was quite smart. It wasn't just some reckless, instinct-driven mob. Though driven by instinct, its movements were too calculated, heavy but terrifyingly efficient, making it impossible to pin down to a single spot. The raw animalistic knowledge of a predator.
"…Oh, that is cheating!" I yelled.
The beast lunged forward ignoring my complaints. It swiped its massive forearm to create a localised, physical shockwave. A crescent of compressed, black-tinted air ripped through the trench, traveling at breakneck speed straight toward my current position.
'Isn't there like fifty other mages in front of you? Why me!'
I ducked instinctively. The sheer force of the wind blade sheared the top of the sandbags to my left, the invisible edge passing so close to my head that I felt several strands of my hair getting clipped off.
Why did this thing want my blood specifically? Did I have some hidden 'Taunt' passive I didn't know about?
Luna narrowly made it past the attack as well, sliding into the mud beside me. She turned, looking directly into my eyes, her chest heaving.
"I don't know how you managed to piss that thing off, but if we don't do something soon, we'll all be goners!"
As if to punctuate her point, the Terror Wolf's jaws snapped shut, a hot, rancid breath blasting across the trenches. The smell was indescribable—like rotten meat left out in the blazing sun for three weeks, mixed with the metallic tang of copper.
"DISGUSTING!" I screamed, gagging on the stench.
The beast didn't care about my complaints, instead deciding to lunge again, its heavy paws churning the mud. We scattered. I threw myself behind a reinforced wooden pillar just as the wolf's shoulder clipped it. The wave impact felt like a freight train. The thick wooden beam splintered instantly, sending a shower of jagged shrapnel raining down.
"Ouch."
I managed to escape with just a bloody arm. Down the trench, a few other mages weren't so lucky. A casual, sweeping strike of the monster's wave caught three of them mid-cast, crushing their bodies. The sickening sound of snapping bones was audible even over the roar of the battlefield. But the wolf didn't stop, It didn't even look at them. Instead, it shook the debris from its dark fur, its massive, sludge-covered head snapping right back to my hiding spot. Those glowing red eyes locked onto me with a terrifying, single-minded focus.
"It's ignoring the frontline!" someone yelled.
"It wants the girl!"
A burly man covered in soot and earth stepped back, his fists glowing with jagged, heavy rocks. It was Bakra, an earth mage, who I had seen a few times across my deaths. He pointed a dirt-caked finger directly at me, panic and desperation bleeding into his voice.
'Ohhhhhh, no you don't.'
Before I could control the situation he started speaking.
"It's only looking at her! It just wants the lightning mage! Shove her out! If it grabs her, it stops moving—it's our only opening!"
'Great.'
He wasn't lying , the creature was clearly out for me but everyone didn't need to know that. Why was this guy so perceptive at the worst of times? Not to mention did he have no shame, suggesting to throw a comrade out as bait. Like you may not know me but we've spent a few runs together man. I knew it was a bit hypocritical on my part, after all I had no qualms sacrificing these guys, but that was different. They weren't real at all, meanwhile I had to go through rounds and rounds if I died. Alas, it was too late to contain the situation, now that Pandora's box of worms had been opened, I would have to deal with the consequences.
'Thanks alot Bakra.'
Murmurs of agreement actually began to ripple through the surviving mages and warriors. They were seriously considering it. I snapped my head toward Luna, desperately hoping my trench-buddy would back me up. We had built some rapport right?
Luna bit her lip and looked away.
'Ehh not you too. The betrayal Luna. The betrayal.'
It was clear that the decision hadn't come easy to her though. Her jaw was clenched tight, her expression twisted into a grim, unhappy grimace. She didn't say a single word to defend me, but she certainly wasn't happy about the scenario.
And the absolute worst part was, my gamer brain understood exactly why. By raw logic, sacrificing the squishy player who accidentally pulled the boss's aggro to save the rest of the party was the mathematically correct play. You feed the bait to the boss so the DPS can line up their shots. The only issue, I didn't want to die to a giant smelly dog! The idea that the tutorial would reset my run again just because these guys want a meat shield did not run well with me. If we were going to do things, it would be on my terms.
And that started with a little speech. I mean didn't all great warriors and philosophers alike have a battle speech. This could end in a reset for all I knew. Hopefully not, but you never could be certain.
'Alright speech time.'
I straightened up, stepped forward, and raised one hand with the quiet authority of someone who had absolutely no authority whatsoever, as I looked at the mages and warriors around me.
"Right, listen here you idiots!"
The chanting faltered slightly.
"I know you want to sacrifice a hopelessly adorable and beautiful maiden into the jaws of death." I pointed directly at Bakra. "Especially you, Bakra. Genuinely, from the bottom of my heart — you can go to hell."
Bakra's eye twitched.
"But since I am a humble servant of the one and only Prima Lux, I shall comply." I clasped my hands together and bowed my head with tremendous false reverence. "Just listen to me, heathens, and all shall be well."