After they had been given their orders, the three Specters moved in, slow and deliberate, circling me like shadows stretching under a dying sun.
The fox stayed back, watching from a distance—an observer, not a participant.
Better.
Fighting all four at once would have been far more troublesome.
My gaze flicked toward Chronikus.
Poor reptile.
His tail was gone, severed from his body. His movements had begun to slow, his once-powerful strikes turning sluggish.
That much was expected.
The four red-eyed Specter Wolves—the ones completing the full seven, alongside the green-eyed, blue-eyed, and the pack leader—had joined the fight.
Unlike the lesser Specters, these wolves were calm, confident, swift, and deadly.
Less ferocious—but more final.
I witnessed Chronikus lashed out, panic evident in the way his limb whipped at one of the four.
It was a fatal mistake.
The Specter didn't evade. It retaliated.
With a single, brutal paw strike, it snapped off Chronikus' entire limb, sending the severed piece flying.
I confirmed once again, his defeat was certain.
My focus wavered for no more than two seconds, to observe my mount's predicament—
But that was all it took to become an error.
When my eyes snapped back to my own fight, I barely registered what had happened—
Because the pack leader was already upon me.
I had sensed no movement, no shift in the wind, no ripple in the magic around him whatsoever.
One second, distance.
The next—
Before I'd start coming up with a barrier, his massive paw slammed into my skull, burying it in the ground.
A thunderous impact.
The terrain shattered, fractures spreading fifteen meters wide as the ground sunk.
Pain lanced through my skull, a sharp, shrill agony that reverberated through my entire being.
This wasn't an ordinary hit.
He had hardened the earth beneath me a hundredfold before my head even made contact.
But I didn't wait for the pain to settle.
With a whispered thought, I materialized a blade of darkness, raw dark magic swirling through its edge.
I slashed for his limb, aiming to sever it—
But the blade—which could cut boulders as if there were butter—shattered.
Like glass against stone.
I stilled.
There was no barrier.
There was no protective magic.
Just his fur.
It was naturally steel-like, tougher than enchanted armor, impervious to my blade.
But even so, he backed away.
Not much, but enough.
Caution? Perhaps.
But before I could dwell further on his vigilance—
CRUNCH!
—A chilling series of snap came from my side.
Cold.
Very cold.
Freezing.
A force so biting that my breath turned to mist in an instant.
I hadn't seen her.
I hadn't sensed her too.
And yet—
The blue-eyed wolf was suddenly there, her fangs buried deep into my flesh, crushing my bones, while altering me into an ice sculpture.
Troublesome.
Very problematic.
Because I could feel the cold—not just numbing my skin, but freezing my insides at an alarming speed.
With my remaining hand, I gathered hellfire magic, ready to burn the cur where it stood—
SPLURT.
A wet, meaty sound echoed beneath me, and my spell ceased.
Something fell.
Something fleshy.
Something.... that belonged to me
I looked down to find my own arm laying on the ground in a dark pool of blood.
Behind me stood the composed green-eyed Specter, his silver tail stiffened into a flat, curved blade.
He had severed my limb in one clean strike, I didn't notice it at all.
I hadn't even felt pain—
Until I did.
How?
How were these masses of magical energy slipping under my perception?!
No time for contemplation.
I needed a solution—fast.
Summoning my burning will, I ignited my very aura, turning it into a raging inferno of hellfire, my eyes ablaze in crimson.
Then, I released it.
A wave of searing heat blasted outward, forcing the Specters to retreat.
The blue-eyed wolf unlatched from my flesh, leaving my side a frozen ruin.
As I struggled to unfreeze my innards, I sensed another attack—
Two fist-sized orbs.
Dark red spheres of pure magic.
I immediately formed a barrier.
They hit. Solid.
One pierced my abdomen.
The other destroyed my heart.
A simple magic bullet.
So basic—yet so powerful.
Enough to shatter my barrier and wound me.
There was only one being among the three specters who could do that.
I snapped my gaze from my healing heart.
The pack leader.
His piercing gaze met mine—
Unbothered.
Amused even.
Despite the brutal assault, my regenerative cells kicked in, working furiously to mend the damage.
But I knew better than to rely on healing alone—
That magic bullet had carried something sinister.
A status effect, perhaps? I didn't have time to examine it, but I knew one thing—
I couldn't afford to get hit again.
I tripled the strength of my barrier, layering three more directly over my skin like a coating film of protection.
A precaution, but hardly can I call it a solution.
I was given no time to breathe.
No time to think.
Ice spears materialized midair and launched at me with blinding speed, each one aiming for my every drop of my blood.
They struck my barrier, failing to pierce through—but they left cracks.
Implying, if even one touched me, I'd be in serious trouble.
So I started dodging, weaving between the deadly shards—
And then—
From my blind spot.
A silver flash.
The green-eyed Specter lashed at my neck, his tail-blade slicing for my throat.
I twisted away just in time—
Only to be met with a barrage of magic bullets, concrete-shattering spheres fired ruthlessly from all angles.
It weakened my barriers so much, an ice dart seamlessly glided into my skull, piercing my brain.
Our fight—or rather, my survival trial—was a hyper-fast blur of movement and violence.
And despite my speed, despite my power—
I was still getting battered.
Every time the ground darkened, my footing turned unstable—my own shadow warping beneath me, forming spikes that stabbed at my legs.
Every time I thought I had found momentary footing, a well-placed ice spear would stab into my skull from strange entrance like my nostril, ear or eye, knocking my balance apart once more.
It was relentless, not giving me any moment to strategize.
And then—
It happened.
I saw a particularly deadly ice dart forming mid-air.
Too much magic was infused into it.
I had to avoid it.
I pushed myself to move—
But froze mid-step.
My body halted.
Not by mine own choice.
Why couldn't I move?
An ability?
A curse?
I barely had time to register my immobility—talk less of offering any form of resistance—before something sharp buried itself into my eye.
Not too deep, but it presented a cold, piercing pain regardless.
Not enough to cripple me, but—my barrier weakened instantly.
And that was all the green-eyed Specter needed.