Her gauntleted hand slammed against my chest, while the other pinned my left wrist high above my head against the cold cavern wall.
She crushed her lips over mine, completely abandoning anything resembling a kiss for a chaotic, sloppy assault driven entirely by raw animal instinct.
Her hand on my chest grabbed the collar of my shirt and yanked downward with terrifying force, tearing it apart like wet tissue paper, exposing my bare chest to the damp cavern air.
She broke the kiss to drag her lips down my jawline, her hot, ragged breath washing over my skin just before she sank her teeth into the side of my neck.
A sharp, stinging pain flared instantly as her jaws tightened while the low, guttural growl vibrating in her throat turned frantic, and the biting force grew heavier with every passing second until it genuinely hurt.
[I really should've done some research...]
My newly minted Tier 1 strength meant absolutely nothing against her iron grip. I could feel her grip bruising my wrist, realizing with absolute horror that she was completely losing her mind as her bites turned painful.
If I didn't stop this, she was going to literally tear my throat out.
Since physical resistance was completely useless, I had no choice but to risk it on Lustful Touch. I squeezed my eyes shut, clenching my right hand firmly over the soft swell of her chest as I channeled every drop of lustful intention and arousal I could muster directly into the contact point.
The effect hit her overloaded canine senses like a sledgehammer. A violent shudder ripped through her massive frame, making her feral growl hitch into a breathless, high-pitched gasp. The crushing pressure on my left wrist suddenly went slack as the overwhelming wave of sudden, orgasmic pleasure melted the strength right out of her muscles.
[Now's my chance!]
I ripped my arm free, planting both hands squarely against her shoulders to shove her backward with everything I had.
Vala stumbled back, falling hard onto her ass against the stone floor. She looked up at me, her crimson eyes completely dilated and practically glowing in the dim light.
The intense rush of pleasure hadn't calmed her down at all; it just made her look even more feral.
"Easy, Vala…" I said, holding my hands up as though I were dealing with a rabid dog.
She just bared her fangs in a wet snarl, digging her clawed gauntlets into the stone before launching herself forward.
And the moment she did -
-CRASH-!
A massive, localized hurricane of freezing wind slammed directly into her side. The concussive force lifted the Tier 4 werewolf entirely off the ground, sending her flying across the cavern, crashing her violently into walls in a shower of loose rock.
I let out a ragged breath, turning towards the source of that blast of wind.
Elise stood perfectly still at the edge of the shadows, freshly bathed with her platinum hair still damp. Her hand rested casually on the pommel of her sword, and her face remained a mask of absolute, chilling indifference.
I rubbed my left wrist, feeling the skin already turning a deep, angry purple where Vala had gripped me. I reached up to touch the stinging bite marks on my neck, genuinely relieved I was still breathing.
-BOOM-!
A fiery explosion suddenly rocked the cavern. Vala erupted from the rubble in a roaring pillar of orange flames, landing heavily on her feet.
She panted hard, staring at the swordswoman with pure, unadulterated feral intensity.
"Back off!" Vala growled.
"Make me…" Elise stated, her expression entirely unchanged, before she shifted her cold blue eyes toward me. "Get behind me."
I didn't need to be told twice. I quickly scrambled past the swordswoman, falling into the rear guard position as I nocked a broadhead arrow to my bow.
[I messed up,] I thought, gritting my teeth.
Seeing the arrow nocked, Vala pounced like a burning comet, crossing the distance in a fraction of a second with her claws fully extended.
Elise dashed forward to meet her. Right before their bodies collided, the petite swordswoman dropped into a smooth slide, bringing her longsword up in a vicious arc, slashing Vala across the chest from collarbone to stomach.
Vala tumbled hard, hitting the stone floor flat on her stomach in a heavy spray of blood.
Before I could even register how ruthlessly she had struck, Elise dashed again and drove her blade completely through the back of Vala's leg, pinning the limb deep into the solid rock floor.
Without stopping her momentum, Elise grabbed a fistful of Vala's fiery red hair and violently hurled the werewolf forward.
Since the sword remained perfectly anchored in the stone, the overwhelming physical force of the throw brutally tore through muscle and bone.
Vala let out a deafening, feral scream of absolute agony as her leg ripped completely off her body.
As Vala flew through the air, Elise casually ripped her sword free from the severed limb left on the floor and threw the weapon like a javelin.
-SHUNK-!
The blade crossed the cavern in a silver flash, burying itself straight through Vala's chest, pinning her firmly against the dungeon wall just before she could even slide down to the floor.
Vala tried to scream again, but a thick gurgle of blood bubbled up in her throat, muffling the sound entirely as she slowly lost consciousness, her body slumping limply against the pinned sword.
I lowered my bow, pure shock washing over me as I ran up, mind racing.
I never thought it would go this far; I never meant to cause her any actual harm.
Before I could even speak, Elise walked calmly across the cavern to stand in front of her dying friend.
Keeping her face completely expressionless, she gripped the hilt and smoothly pulled the sword out of Vala's chest, letting the werewolf dropped to the floor in a bloody heap.
Elise casually flicked the blood off the blade, sheathing the weapon before reaching into her pouch to pull out a small glass vial.
She emptied the liquid directly over Vala's fatal wounds.
Then slowly, she turned to look at me with her cold, calculating blue eyes.
"Now…" Elise said. "What exactly happened?"