Nightblade (Darkest night)

Silence filled the underground burrow.

"How is that even possible?"

Cassius was the first to speak after hearing what Lucian said. His voice was filled with disbelief.

" I'm not entirely sure myself. There are a few gaps in my own memory. One moment, I was frozen in place listening to the fight. Then, the next I was standing in the middle of nowhere."

Lucian explained in detail how he'd found the two of them and how they'd eventually ended up in the burrow.

" So what about the blood on your hands? Did you kill the beast that was chasing you?"

Inwardly, Cassius couldn't fathom the idea of Lucian killing anything, let alone the beast he claimed to have killed.

" I find it hard to believe that a scrawny guy like Lucian could kill the monster he says was chasing him while carrying me at the same time."

Lucian slowly shook his head.

" Another creature, more monstrous than the first, killed it. I simply took advantage of the situation to get us something to eat."

He showed them the meat he'd stashed away.

" You want us to eat that?" Samantha asked, with a look of disbelief.

Lucian shrugged nonchalantly.

" Technically, it's your choice. We can either eat it or starve."

He turned his gaze to Cassius.

" You attended the culinary classes with Morgan. Do you think you can do something about the meat? Make it more edible, perhaps?"

Cassius nodded.

" I'll see what I can do."

Lucian yawned.

" Frankly, I'm exhausted. I spent the entire night watching over you guys. I'll have to trust you to do the same for me."

He yawned again, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

I'm going to get some shuteye. Oh, and Samantha, please don't do anything stupid. Like scream out like that again. We'll talk about how to go forward when I wake up."

Lucian shuffled towards the wall.

" Hey, Lucian is the beast still out there? Its carcass, I mean?"

Lucian glanced curiously at Cassius, then nodded.

" Yeah, why?"

Cassius grinned.

" Well, I was thinking we could get some of its fur, what's left of it anyway. I noticed we're sleeping on the ground, and at some point, we will probably need a change of clothes. You didn't happen to carry spare clothes, did you? Didn't think so.'"

Lucian nodded.

" Alright, let's try that out."

They silently crept towards the burrow's entrance with Lucian in the lead.

" I'll stand watch, you do the knife work. With your culinary skills, it should be a breeze." Lucian whispered.

Lucian crept out of the hole, silently scanning around for any creatures.

He signalled for Cassius to come out.

Samantha remained within the burrow, cautiously peeking out.

Cassius' eyes widened when he saw the carcass of the three-eyed wolf.

" This thing is enormous."

The wolf had been roughly five metres long and two metres tall while standing.

Even in death, it was still large.

The sun was starting to peek over the horizon.

" Why are you just standing there?" Lucian whispered furiously.

"Get a move on."

Cassius quickly began skinning off a section of the carcass.

He worked fast and skilfully, removing a sizeable piece of the fur.

Just then, the first scavenger arrived and stood at a distance eyeing the caracass. After a while, several landed with others circling about in the sky, serving as sentinels.

The creatures stood at the same height as the kids. Their beaks were about as long as a human arm. Dark feathers covered their bodies.

Just then, a ferocious roar sounded from the distant mountain range

" Let's get out of here," Lucian whispered, with palpable urgency in his voice.

"What's the matter? I can get a bit more. You aren't scared of that creature, are you?" Cassius said playfully.

"Listen to me," Lucian snarled. "This is not the time for games. Look at this thing. It was this big. Now, try to imagine the size of the creature that killed it. For all we know, that was it just now, and it's headed back here."

"Ok, alright, I get it," Cassius said coolly. "Let's go."

They quickly retreated into the burrow with the skin.

The herd of scavengers quickly swarmed the carcass, ripping into it with chilling viciousness.

"It's a sizable haul. Too bad we lost all that meat. I'd be eating steak for days." Cassius said wistfully.

Lucian smiled tiredly, then lay down and promptly fell asleep.

Morgan woke up feeling disoriented.

He shuffled around on the ground, furrowing his brows in confusion, then remembered where he was.

He quietly sat up, throwing a furtive glance at Emily.

The dark-haired girl was still sleeping quietly. She was so still that only the quiet sound of her breathing indicated that she was still alive.

He checked on his blades, finding that they were still in mint condition.

"We're going to have to plan on how we're going to get out of here and get some food."

Morgan sighed, already planning out their next move. He moved to the entrance of the cave, then froze.

Something felt off. He silently listened, then retreated into the cave.

He stealthily crept over to Emily and roused her.

He raised a finger to his lip, a silent gesture for her to remain silent.

Her green eyes furrowed in confusion, but she complied nonetheless.

Outside, the first light was slowly peeking into the cave.

He turned his gaze to the entrance and waited. Then he heard it, the telltale padding of feet on rocks.

He held his breath, waiting calmly.

A long shadow was suddenly cast on the ground in front of the cave.

" Listen to me, I want you to get ready to make a run for it."

Emily's eyes widened in disbelief, a hint of fear appearing in her eyes.

"I'll stall the creature, then I'll catch up with you, yes?"

Emily nodded vigorously.

" Alright."

Just then, a giant leopard appeared, with drool dripping down to the ground.

The creature had two heads, each of which snarled ferociously.

Morgan's eyes widened in surprise.

" Shit! Is this the creature that roared last night? We're screwed."

The creature planted itself in front of the cave's entrance, growling threateningly.

Morgan furtively glanced at Emily

Her eyes were wide open with fear. Her body was slightly trembling.

" Not good, hopefully she still remembers to make a break for it."

Morgan unsheathed Blood Reaper.

" Emily, listen to me," Morgan spoke calmly.

" Listen, you're going to run. You're going to run with everything you've got and get out of here. "

In the next moment, the leopard burst forward, aiming for Emily

Morgan yelled his challenge, then dashed forward in a burst of speed, activating his awakened ability. He hadn't used it since his fight with Lucas.

He intercepted the leopard, planting himself in front of it.

The creature shifted its attention to him, and Emily used the opportunity to bolt out of the cave.

He suicidally dove for the creature's feet, seeing its twin maws open and snarl in slow motion.

He spun on his knees, slashing at the back of its fore legs, wounding it, then rolled on the ground.

The creature let out a pained roar, then, snarling in fury, it swiped at his back.

Its claws tore through his suit with ease, slicing through the skin.

He let out a muffled yell and rolled out from underneath it.

He swiftly darted out of the cave, bolting in the direction he'd seen Emily take.

Morgan ran desperately, his eyes shining with a fierce golden light.

Enhanced by his ability, he swiftly wove through the rocky terrain, quickly catching up with Emily.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.

Blood thundered in his ears, his golden irises were dilated, taking in and analyzing everything with cold precision.

In one fluid motion, he grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder.

His muscles strained under the extra weight, but he kept running.

Emily let out a yelp, struggling for a bit before realizing it was him.

She turned back and saw the two-headed beast bounding after them.

Its twin maws were curled with feral grins that gave it an inhumanly intelligent look.

Despite the shallow injuries on its fore legs, the two-headed leopard frantically chased after them, slowly but surely shortening the distance between them.

Morgan's eyes widened slightly when he realized they'd reached a dead end.

In an instant, he made a decision and threw Emily to the side while coldly unsheathing his blades to face off against the creature.

The creature leapt forward, intelligence gleaming in its eyes, but then Morgan paused just before his feet left the ground.

A dark malevolent figure exploded behind him, silently moving forward.

Morgan's eyes widened in disbelief. He'd seen this creature before.

" Shadow wraith!"

All his instincts screamed at him to run.

The two-headed leopard snarled defiantly and leapt forward.

The shadow wraith delivered a vicious backhand that hurled the beast through the air.

The beast let out a pained yelp and then crashed into a giant boulder a second later, shattering it.

It slowly got up, shaking its two heads in a daze.

Morgan turned and rushed towards Emily.

" We have to go, this is our chance to make a break for it!"

Behind them, the giant beast and the wrath clashed once more.

A massive groan echoed in the direction from which they were running.

Morgan turned just in time to see several boulders and rocks roll down the mountain from the tremors of the violent battle.

"Run faster!" he yelled, "It's a rockfall!"