Free Web NovelChapter 8: The Fiery Hounds
"It seems the hatred toward the Lisan Al-Gaia runs far deeper than I thought."
A few hours later, night descended upon the world, and the group gathered around several small fire pits. An uncomfortable tension lingered in the air, heavy enough for everyone to feel.
Since Vaelous had revealed Silas’s Gaia Calling, no one except Darius had spoken to him. Silas could feel the difference in the way the others looked at him now. Their gazes carried caution, suspicion, and something disturbingly close to fear.
Darius sat beside him near a small fire he had built himself. The others occasionally stole glances at Silas, but none approached or offered him a place among them.
"You can’t really blame them," Darius said with a sigh. "A lot of people believe humanity’s suffering in this world is somehow connected to Gaia. To them, anyone who hears Gaia’s whispers is either a demon or a dark wizard, someone who shares part of the blame. Not to mention the envy and rivalry that always come with such a gift."
"Gift?" Silas snorted.
"Oh, absolutely."
"So far, it feels more like a curse. Still, I don’t care what others think. It’s mine, and I’ll use it to climb to higher grades."
As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward Vaelous. The C-enhancer was neither a friend nor a mentor. He wasn’t even a leader. In Silas’ eyes, he was an enemy. And Silas had a feeling that what Vaelous had done today was only the beginning of something much worse.
"We need to be careful with our Mana Crystals," Selene suddenly said. "I think I burned through half a crystal during that fight alone."
Her comment sparked a lengthy discussion. For someone raised in an orphanage, much of this information was completely new. Silas realised he knew almost nothing about the backgrounds of his teammates.
From the conversation, he learned that Mana Crystals existed in several grades, each identified by a different colour. White crystals were the lowest grade, followed by green, blue, silver, gold, black, red, and finally purple. Purple was considered the highest known grade, though many Enhancers believed stronger crystals existed somewhere within the vast reaches of Eldrune.
While the discussion continued, the two hunters retrieved healing ointments from their backpacks. The moment the ointment touched their wounds, the injuries began visibly closing.
Throughout the entire evening, Vaelous remained unusually silent. He kept his distance and sat apart from the group, his gaze constantly drifting across the seven youngsters, lingering on Silas more often than anyone else.
After all, enemies knew each other way better than friends.
"We need a schedule for the night watch," Cassian said, steering the conversation away from Mana Crystal management. "We should assume monsters might attack during the night."
ROAR!
As if he had invited disaster with his words, a thunderous roar echoed through the darkness. Everyone immediately turned toward the source, looking vigilant, ready to fight.
"What should we do?"
Despite the distance they had placed between themselves and Silas over the past few hours, they still trusted him as their leader. One by one, all six turned toward him, asking for his guidance.
’Screw you all.’
Silas almost laughed. A moment ago, they had treated him like he didn’t exist. And now they were waiting for his decision.
’Pathetic.’
"We do exactly what we did before," Silas said as he rose to his feet, knowing that it was a losing battle to take revenge on the wrong enemies. "Let them waste their strength against the shield."
Without further discussion, the group retreated several dozen meters from the rune structure and took their positions. The wait this time was short.
ROAR!
The monsters arrived swiftly and attacked fast. Unlike the sluggish Stone Frogs, these creatures were Fiery Hounds.
Each stood nearly one and a half meters tall and stretched over three meters in length. Their bodies were covered in thick, charred skin resembling cracked obsidian. Bright orange lines glowed beneath the blackened surface like molten lava trapped beneath blackened rocks. Their elongated maws overflowed with rows of needle-like teeth. And there were many of them, at least a hundred.
"In position!"
Silas’s command rang out as everyone moved into the formation he had arranged before. Standing behind the two mages, he adjusted his stance and watched the battlefield unfold.
"These hounds are fast, but they’re nowhere near as durable as the frogs," Darius said.
His metallic tusk slammed into a charging hound several times. Moments later, the beast collapsed with a pained howl. This alone proved that this battle was entirely different from the first one. For several minutes, everything seemed under control. Then Vaelous suddenly shouted.
"Don’t lower your guard." freewebnσvel.cøm
The sudden warning drew everyone’s attention, Silas included.
"Hounds are pack creatures. And fiery monsters are infamous for their vengeful nature."
He remained far behind the battlefield, watching as though he were enjoying a performance. Hearing his words forced Silas to narrow his eyes to slits. He felt a bad omen in these words.
The others didn’t understand what he meant, not yet. Not even Silas, who was warier of the C-Enhancer than the monsters. A few minutes later, they did.
Without warning, the Fiery Hounds stopped attacking the shield. Every single one of them turned simultaneously toward the humans. The change occurred the moment the fifty-first hound died. It felt like a trigger that was set beforehand.
Then all hell broke loose. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"Watch out! They’re going berserk!"
Vaelous shouted before the hounds even moved. And this time, he didn’t stick to words; he acted. Just after he shouted, the front line collapsed instantly under the sudden assault.
Darius and Brant were forced backwards as the enraged hounds charged them. Had Cassian not sacrificed the hound under his control as a temporary shield, the two hunters would have been torn apart on the spot.
In the middle of the chaos, a blur streaked across the battlefield; Vaelous. For the first time since the battle began, the C-Enhancer entered the fight. For the first time, he used his ability. And lightning erupted from his glowing finger.
A curved chain of electricity lashed across the battlefield and struck the pursuing hounds just as they closed in on Darius and Brant. His timely intervention saved them. But the battle was far from over. If any, it was the mere beginning for something far worse.
"Retreat!" Vaelous suddenly shouted. "Spread out and clear the area. That’s the easiest way to break their berserk state."
Even Silas followed the order, and the group retreated at full speed. During the chaos, no one looked back until Cassian suddenly asked a question.
"Where’s Lyra?"
Everyone froze. They turned around, looking for the Buffer girl. Lyra wasn’t with them. Instead, she was far behind; she stood motionless amidst the chaos, like a statue, like someone whose mind had simply stopped working.
"Lyra! RUN!"
Darius and Selene shouted simultaneously. Cassian desperately directed his newly controlled hound toward her, hoping to make it in time. But he didn’t. Brant sprinted forward, while sending lots of bony spikes towards the hounds, lunging at the petrified girl.
Then everyone else followed, but it was too late. Before they could cover even a few meters, a wave of black-and-orange bodies crashed into Lyra.
AGHH!
Her scream pierced the night. It was a short-lived scream, yet it was devastating. The group stopped dead in their tracks, all looking at Lyra, who got buried under the hounds. Nobody could process what they had just witnessed.
Lyra, the weakest among them, the harmless buffer who could barely defend herself, had died right before their eyes. It happened so fast, without any proper reason, just like that.
For several long seconds, no one moved. And those seconds were enough. The hounds tore her apart completely, leaving behind nothing but a widening pool of fresh blood staining the ground, amidst lots of gore.
As suddenly as they had turned berserk, they calmed down. One after another, the hounds turned away and resumed attacking the shield surrounding the rune structure, as if they hadn’t just killed a human.
Silence descended upon the group, watching the leftovers and the blood pool like it was a nightmare. Then Vaelous spoke.
"Seems the Lisan Al-Gaia aren’t that capable after all."
His words snapped everyone out of their shock. And yet, Vaelous was far from over.
"Your Silas failed to protect that little girl," he continued as he stepped forward. "So I’ll take over from here."
His gaze swept across the stunned youngsters.
"From now on, I’ll be the one leading you. Follow my orders, down to the letter, and there won’t be any more deaths."
He turned and began walking. He didn’t spare Silas a single glance, even if his words were daggers stabbing at his back.
"Let’s move."
Silas stared at Vaelous’ back. And rage churned in his chest like molten metal.
’Damn you.’
’Nothing in this world would satisfy me more than seeing you finally receive exactly what you deserve.’
’You worthless bastard.’
