Chapter 79

The next day, first thing in the morning, the girls picked up Rakk, Vaeltira, and Irian and left the Hive. Soi insisted on steering the Krughan and was sitting outside of the wagon, but even with that, it was cramped inside. The small carriage had a hard time fitting seven people, Mignon, and all their items and food.

"So, what's our plan, boss?" the Shomari girl asked.

"Boss?" Nicole chuckled but didn't correct her. "We have a rough idea where the beast should be - around the border between the Voru'kai and Narakai tribes. Get there, find and kill it, and bring it back to the collector." She leaned back against the wall. "For now, though, just wait. By my map, the road should take us a week."

Irian was sitting next to Vaeltira and couldn't stop himself from stealing glances at his crush. This couldn't go unnoticed by the cowgirl.

"Something wrong?" She turned to face him.

"N-no!" Irian faced away, startled. "Sorry. I was just… um, just looking at your huge… sword. Y-yes, sword!"

The girl slowly reached out and took her weapon closer. Nicole leaned in closer as well. She had already seen it back at the guild, but back then, she dismissed it, and now she had a better view.

It's too big to be called a sword... Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, it's like a heap of raw iron. Shouldn't say that out loud, though.

"I bought it after selling all I had after I ran from home. It and the shield, too."

Irian reached out to touch the blade but stopped midway.

"Does it have a name?"

"Name? Pff. It's just a tool." Vaeltira shrugged.

"Oh."

Sensing an awkward silence creeping in, Nicole decided to change the topic.

"Soi and I already fought a similar monster to the one we are aiming for now. It's probably a good idea to share as much as I know."

Nicole told everyone what she could remember from the fight.

"That's about it, I think."

Rakk sighed dramatically.

"Great. One of the most well-known Torakai warriors had to sweat in a fight with this thing. Do we really stand a chance?"

Nicole rolled her eyes.

"I think so. Tiralie was doing most of the job alone, with a bit of my help to draw its attention and find an opening for a hit for her. The rest was mainly fighting Bonewolves. And look, there are seven of us. In my opinion, enough to take it down."

"I'm just going to pray to Neisk that you are right on this."

"Who's Neisk?"

"Our goddess. I mean, of the Zunthari tribe," Irian answered simply.

"Right, I remember that Torakai worship Merial and Narakai have Teq." Nicole nodded.

"Oh, interesting." Annie joined the talk. "Are they somewhere on the island? Have you seen one?"

Rakk shook his head.

"No. We only have stories passed down to us by our ancestors. Actually, my father was a priest, so growing up, I learned a bit more than most. If you are interested, I could tell you more. The road is going to be long."

And so, their trip continued. In the evenings, they made small camps to let Krughan and themselves rest. Each night, two of them were left on guard duty in case of unexpected events. On the second night, Nicole purposely asked Vaeltira and Irian to stay up.

Come on, don't fuck this up.

She gave him a thumbs-up before getting ready to sleep.

* * * 

At first, the two of them stayed silent for a longer while. Irian was looking into the dying embers of the fire, trying to think of a way to start a conversation and maybe slip in some flirting to test the waters, but suddenly, it was Vaeltira who said the first words.

"You seem nervous. Afraid of the upcoming fight?"

"No. I am fine. Just… never was in a situation like that."

"Hm? I thought I saw you in the guild. Aren't you used to hunting monsters?"

"N-no, it's not what I meant."

Agh, I can't really say I had trouble even talking to a girl before! What's wrong with me? It was always so easy, but with her, it's somehow so much different.

"What's the issue, then?"

The bunny guy swallowed hard.

"I-it's nothing important. I am fine."

His words landed dry.

Yeah, except that my nerves are killing me.

She shrugged at the dismissal.

"Alright. Keep your secrets."

Her voice sounded strange. Was I too harsh? Ugh, idiot! I should think of something, quick.

"So, uh, what are your plans? I mean, after we are done here."

The woman shrugged again.

"Probably as always, going back to work by myself."

"Aren't you getting lonely? I don't have a real group, but I always join others. A lonely archer isn't going to accomplish a lot."

Vaeltira glanced at him.

"Maybe. But unlike you, I am all I need. And more people means sharing income."

I wish I was such a muscle machine like she is.

"Fair, fair." He nodded slowly. "Are you saving your coins for something?"

Her eyes narrowed and her shoulders curled inward at the question, her sitting posture growing defensive.

"You get to keep your secrets, I get to keep mine."

FUCK!

Irian raised his hands in defeat.

"Alright, fair again!" He chuckled lightly.

The chat appeared to be over, and neither said much more.

A couple of hours later, when the night was almost over, Vaeltira sharply stood up.

"Irian, careful now."

Her voice was steady but tense.

The bunny man's eyes opened in an instant, realizing that he had fallen asleep at some point earlier. He immediately looked around, finding the cow woman frowning and looking somewhere into the darkness of the forest.

"I think I heard something."

Her hand slowly crept towards the hilt of her sword.

Irian silently nodded, getting his bow ready. After a couple of still seconds, his fluffy ears twitched.

"Yes. Something wild. I will go get the rest."

With careful, quiet steps, Irian moved around the camp, waking up everyone. Learning the situation, Annie was the first one to act.

"I will go check how it looks from up there."

Together with her two loaded crossbows, the girl rose up, moving through the air without a sound.

Wow. I saw an outcast Yaru'kai a while ago, but this is something different.

Annie stayed at the level of the trees, hiding behind them for cover and looking down for whatever could have disturbed their sleep. It wasn't long until she saw it - a big group of Bonewolves was occupying a forest hill. Most were lying around, but some were already up, walking around restlessly.

Annie already wanted to go back, but stopped once her eyes found the Bonewolf standing at the top of the hill. It was two times bigger than the rest, with its bone armor black instead of white. It was also different, with sharp-looking spikes and a black bone structure covering even its maw. When the creature yawned, Annie saw an additional outer layer of teeth connected to the head part of the armor.

"Interesting. Very interesting," Annie muttered, looking for her notepad.

It was a rare occasion to witness and record the behavior of a wild species of monster. But as she searched through her pocket, the rustling of the leaves made her the center of attention for some of the beasts.

For a couple of seconds, Annie and the Bonewolves stared at each other before her crossbolts shot, piercing the head of one of the creatures. Annie was already escaping, gliding through the air. A couple of branches and twigs caught her, creating small wounds on her face and arms and making her wince, but not slowing her down.

"Bonewolves are coming!" Annie yelled as she returned to the camp.

Tsk, that's bad.

Irian pointed his bow into the bushes, ready to strike as soon as the target appeared.

"Also, there was some big one. It was all black, too!" Annie explained what she saw, reloading her crossbows.

Iloe hid in the wagon, as there wouldn't be much help from her against a big group. Soi got on top of it, having previously tied Krughan off. The catgirl was quickly followed by Mignon, holding a bunch of darts and throwing knives.

Hm, nice spot.

Irian climbed up as well.

"You won't mind me here, right?"

Soi grinned.

"Not at all. The best view is guaranteed!"

Meanwhile, Vaeltira got her shield and sword up and ready, moving to the front of the group. Behind her was Nicole with her spear, already in bone form. Rakk leaned against his warhammer, which was stuck into the ground, warming up his shoulders.

The first Bonewolves appeared from between the trees. Without slowing down, they ran straight at Vaeltira, only to be sliced in half or bounce off the shield. The ones following, learning from the sight of their predecessors, circled the cowgirl and tried their claws and fangs against Nicole or Rakk, but without success. Other beasts were unlucky enough to not even reach their targets, falling onto the grass under the constant rain of arrows, darts, and bolts coming from above.

"Hah-hah…" Nicole was starting to sweat after dealing with another one. "Just how many of them are here?"

Suddenly, the air was pierced by a deafeningly loud howl.

"AWOOO!"

For a second, all the monsters froze and turned their heads to look at the black Bonewolf coming out. With its appearance, something shifted. The Bonewolves that had attacked chaotically were now not only circling the group of travelers.

"W-what the?!"

Vaeltira pointed her sword at the newcomer.

"This must be their pack leader. Come here!"

She lunged forward, aiming for the creature's head, but it caught the edge in its teeth. For a couple of seconds, both of them strained their muscles. At the same time, the rest of the Bonewolves resumed their attacks.

"Look out!" Irian shouted, an arrow already sent at the wolf that tried to sneak up on Vaeltira's back.

"Agh!"

"Awoogghd…"

Before its death, giant claws painted four red wounds on the cowgirl's back. Pain made her lose focus for just a bit, and the black beast pushed the sword out of its mouth. It jumped at the woman, its front paws meeting the big shield.

While Nicole and Rakk were occupied dealing with the swarm and the group on top of the wagon was helping Vaeltira, other Bonewolves surrounded the carriage. It was just barely tall enough to protect the trio, but constant collisions shook the wagon from side to side.

Fuck, it's hard to aim when it's almost an earthquake!

Then, in a blur of blond fur, Krughan ran up, its giant tusks and muscular body tearing through the wolves, throwing them to the sides or trampling the most unlucky ones, unbothered like a train at full speed.

Yet before anyone could cheer, one of the Bonewolves got a brilliant idea: it used Krughan's torso as a ladder, jumping on top of it and immediately bouncing off at the top of the wagon, growling.

"Grrrh-grrrh."

Oh shi-!

Irian was the closest one, and thus became the target of the monster. Before he could shoot another arrow, a pile of bones and muscle fell on top of him, pinning him down and biting into his arm.

"AAGHHhah!!"

Soi reacted first, taking out her cat claws. In a swift motion, she reached down and pierced the monster's unguarded underside of the torso, making deep, bleeding wounds. With help from Mignon, she pushed the corpse down from the wagon's roof.

Irian was panting, clutching his shoulder, crimson-red with fresh blood.

Aaghhh, fuck, it hurts!

As Krughan charged one more time, aiming at the Bonewolf next to the wagon, it bumped right into its side. With a loud crash, the only cover on the battlefield fell down.

"AAAH!" the trio shouted collectively, falling.