Soul of a Human

Mor was about to charge in after the others when he noticed Elly's fearful look. He took a second, leaving the reckless idiots to handle themselves, and turned to Elly.

"We need to help them out." He said softly.

"I know, but I can't. We agreed to run if it's something worse than a normal howler," she answered.

"Yes, but now I need you to watch out that no other monstrosity joins this fight. If it does, we need to get away. Right now, we need to kill that thing, and after that, you can scold Jorgen as much as you like." Mor said, getting a slight nod from Elly.

The girl nodded, then went about her task, vanishing into the trees, and kept watch.

°Now to us.° Mor said.

°Full power?° The human asked.

°We're going all out right from the start.° Mor agreed.

The magical combi fell into line as Mor charged his rod as much as he could. The blunt weapon went from a deep hum to a high-pitched screech until it glowed bright white. However, when he and another entered the outer reaches of the fight, there was a short interruption. Mor's weapon was now bright red, the special leather gloves protecting his hands from being burned, and on his face, there was a manic grin.

On the other side of the fight, a second high magic signature appeared, of which Mor could only feel the emitting magic. At the same time, the rest, including the monstrosity, stared at a second Mor appearing from the undergrowth. That momentary break was then interrupted as five beams of raw magic power pounded the alpha howler from the side, one scorching a horn and leaving visible cracks.

However, no one of the kin hunters had enough time to question this new development, as the howler let out another loud howl, which the second Mor did something to, dampening the effects from incapacitating to only ear shattering. He then copied the movements of the original Mor to an eerily exact degree. Their identical magic power confused the alpha howler when the Mors went on the offensive. It lashed out, slicing one of them right in half, while the other struck with a fully enhanced force against the howler's hind leg, shattering the bone with the overcharged weapon, which had now more in common with a sword made of heat and energy, than a metal rod.

The human celebrated the successful sucker punch, moving Mor's body right out of retaliatory attack reach, while Mor was far less enthusiastic. This attack would have ripped them apart if not for that strange other magical force blurring his own. However, right now was not the time to brood on it and instead concentrate on invoking his spells. The other Ice-kin also rejoined the fight, the guardians feeling a bit useless at the pure pressure coming from the Soul-kin. Still, both adapted quickly, providing save spaces and prodding the howler with distracting attacks, timed to perfection with the attacks of the strikers.

Jorgen watched the split apart Mor with dread, but when the other Mor struck successfully, while the one hit just kind of reformed. Still, Mor's first strike got him out of that stressed mindset, making him shudder for just a second at his own stupidity and dread the ramifications IF he survived. However, right now, surviving was the most important thing. He recharged his own longsword, going as far as he could, then adapted to Mor's incredible strength and speed. The Ice-kin attacker used the Soul-kin technique Mor taught him to raise his own speed and the strength of his attacks in bursts of magic power, even going over his own limits as far as he dared without hurting himself.

With the onslaught of the two magical-powered hunters, the howler came under pressure, driving it into a frenzy. It was the alpha, the prime hunter, and those little creatures jumping around it dared to hurt it? It ducked under another attack from those five magical beams coming from another hidden enemy just to have its chin hit with an ax swing from Thor, who used this moment to his advantage.

Instead, the paw swipe that would have killed Thor was blocked by a grunting Mor using his heated weapon like a quarterstaff instead of a sword. It still threw the two boys into a heap of limbs and made them tumble to the ground, at which point the quick thinking of both guardians and Jorgen saved them again. The giant paw crushed down on the overlapped shields, which held the pressure long enough for Jorgen to inflict a large cut on the attacking limb, making the howler retract it in a reflexive action, at which point the other Mor started a barrage of attacks. The howler dodged the first two of those attacks, jumping to the side, yelping in pain as it put pressure on the broken backleg. However, when the three follow-up attacks failed to inflict damage, it took another swipe at this strange attacker, slicing him apart.

Now, instead of reforming, the high-powered magical presence wavered and then vanished, replaced by another barrage, this time hitting the monstrosity and breaking off the formerly cracked horn. This additional intervention got the young hunters enough time to regroup, and the three attackers resumed their attacks, charging together. Instead of rushing unthinkingly ahead, they moved as a group, both Jorgen and Thor blocking Mor's path with the blades of their weapons, which the Soul-kin quickly charged to a low glow.

The howler repositioned, wincing at the broken leg and staggering for a split second. A split second was all that the trio of hunters needed, though. Thor's ax strike bit into the right front leg, the empowered weapon cutting through skin and flesh, just as Jorgen's blade work inflicted a trio of more shallow cuts. But even with those two attacking in concert, Mor's rod was blocked, the howler clamping its maw around the weapon, growling through the pain inflicted by the heat. It ripped the rod out of Mor's hands and threw it away. However, it didn't expect the follow-up attack of the Soul kin, as a twin lightning strike hit its snout, followed by a kick, which Mor used to gain distance and get closer to his lost weapon.

The howler would have nothing of that, though. It reared up, fighting through the pain, and slashed at both Ice-kin hunters who needed to retreat or get slashed. With the immediate threats reeling, it went on a limping charge after the one it had declared the biggest threat. Titania and Stren got in its way and were bowled over like hunter-shaped bowling pins. Still, to their luck, it wasn't a dedicated attack, so they got away with some moderate bruising from the fall.

Mor reached out for his weapon when the human instead took a high jump upwards, jumping out of the immediate reach of the monstrosity. He got ready to redirect his magic power to cushion his fall or do something, as he felt a subtle magic forming around his body. Something he quickly identified as illusion magic, the direct influence helping in this. That revelation also made him recognize the other magic presence as a secondary illusion, if a very potent one. The howler looked up and was surprised, as his primary target was simply gone, the strong magic energy to its feet blurring its senses. Still, it should have been able to see or smell that dangerous thing, which it couldn't.

Jorgen used that second of confusion to launch another tag team attack with Thor, the guardians back on their feet. The two attackers struck both at the unhurt hindleg. Jorgen's sword bit deep, down to the bone, as he used an enhanced strike to strengthen his attack. The sword got stuck, but Thor's pinpoint ax strike, hitting Jorgens weapon on its back, drove the sword through the bones and severed the limb completely. The howler dropped on its behind, crying out in pain, just as Mor dropped to the ground.

The monstrosity almost killed the three attackers as it thrashed in blind pain and furry, but Mor retrieved his rod quicker and thrust it upward, forming a speartip of magical ice. He pierced the head from below, going through the maw right into the brain, using a strength enhancement to penetrate the last few centimeters. The conjured ice melted in a flash of heat, making a steam explosion as soon as the magic was removed from it, steaming the brain of the monstrosity.

Mor didn't pull his weapon back out, instead getting clear of the monstrosity's slumping body so as not to get buried below that mass. Still, the first thing he did after it was clear that they killed it was to fall over on the ground, breathing heavily and groaning in pain. None of them got through it unharmed. Everyone was covered with cuts and bruises. Stren, only now realizing his dislocated shoulder, the tumble from being run over, seemingly more serious than recognized earlier.

The hunters gathered around, the atmosphere more somber, the dead monstrosity reminding them of their recklessness more than giving them a feeling of strength. In the aftermath, there was no sense of pride at this incredible achievement, only a morbid shame. More so when they recognized the two dead, this reckless pride has produced. It took a moment until Mor sat up, looking tired and looking to the forest, where Elly revealed herself, looking very angry at the assembled Ice-kin. What surprised everyone more was the two other creatures following her. She had the smaller one in her arms, its red fur and three tails instantly recognizable to Mor and his team, while the second was about the size of a medium dog, with black fur and five tails. When the smaller one saw Mor, its tails swung wildly. The bigger one instead looked at the sitting Soul-kin and made something resembling a nod before retreating into the forest.