Chapter 38 – Am I Going to Die?
From the treetops, Aiden observed the situation and made a quick decision.
His sword sliced through the air with millimetric precision, landing right beside Camila’s head, embedding itself into the ground.
He watched as she stood up, shaky but determined, her eyes fixed on the wolves surrounding her.
At least he had managed to equip her with a tool for defense.
“We need to get down and rescue them!” Aiden shouted, turning towards Darius and Thorne, who nodded without hesitation.
They didn’t have enough firepower or long-range magic to take down the wolves from their position, so the only option was to descend as quickly as possible and engage in close combat.
The three of them began moving through the branches with agility, descending as fast as they could.
Selena, who had been further back, started whispering support spells as she followed them, preparing for any emergency.
She knew her healing and support magic would be crucial once they reached Camila and Marta.
Meanwhile, Camila tightened her grip on the sword’s hilt.
Her mind was racing, but her body acted on instinct.
The wolves circled her, and she knew at any moment, one of them would leap at her.
She couldn’t hesitate.
She screamed with all her might, hoping her voice would keep the beasts at bay.
The wolves paused for a moment, perhaps surprised by her sudden outburst, but quickly lunged at her again.
Every time one of the wolves got too close, Camila swung her sword.
Though her technique was clumsy, and her strength wasn’t the best, she managed to push them back.
However, she knew she couldn’t hold them off for long.
One of those monsters would eventually leap on her. She could feel it in the air.
“Marta!” she screamed desperately, without taking her eyes off the wolves. “Cast a spell or something! I need help!”
But when she looked at her companion, she saw Marta on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. The pain from the fall had left her paralyzed.
Between sobs, Marta could barely utter:
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I can’t…”
Camila pressed her lips together, frustrated, but she didn’t have time to get angry.
She had to focus on surviving.
In the distance, she saw Aiden’s group descending rapidly, and for a moment, she felt a wave of relief that caused her to let down her guard. But that small lapse was enough.
A wolf sprang from the darkness, launching itself straight at her chest.
Camila reacted purely on instinct, blocking with the sword just in time.
The impact was brutal, and the wolf’s weight nearly knocked her to the ground.
With a heart-wrenching scream, she drove the sword into the side of the beast, feeling it pierce through flesh and bone.
The wolf howled in pain and collapsed at her feet.
She barely had time to recover before she felt a sharp bite at her ankle.
Another wolf had taken advantage of the confusion and attacked her from the side.
Camila screamed in pain, but she couldn’t afford to fall now.
Gripping the sword tightly, she quickly muttered a physical reinforcement spell, feeling the magic flood her body for a brief moment.
With a desperate swing, she slashed at the wolf clamped onto her ankle, forcing it to release her.
But it didn’t end there.
More wolves approached, circling her with relentless ferocity.
Camila, now with one hand on the sword hilt and the other punching any beast that got too close, fought to stay on her feet.
With each passing second, her body accumulated more wounds, and her stamina began to wane.
The wolves’ fangs sank into her flesh, tearing skin and muscle, while her blood started staining the ground beneath her.
‘Am I going to die…?’ was a thought that crossed her mind.
The chaos around her intensified, and the fear of dying there, devoured by those creatures, took over her mind.
The growls and howls mixed with her own ragged breathing.
She knew she couldn’t hold out much longer.
Suddenly, a loud whimper echoed through the trees.
The wolves around her seemed to hesitate for a moment, looking in the direction of the sound.
‘It’s Aiden’s group… they’re close…’
Camila felt a surge of hope.
If she could hold on just a few more seconds, they could save her.
But her body no longer responded as it had before.
A wolf larger than the others pounced on her, knocking her down with its weight.
Camila hit the ground with a thud, and the creature pinned her down.
She found herself face to face with the wolf, its hot, foul breath hitting her face.
She gritted her teeth as fear consumed her, but she wasn’t going to give up.
Camila screamed in desperation, her voice hoarse and filled with terror:
“No!”
She tried to push the creature off with her free arm, but she could barely move it.
Her strength was leaving her, and the pressure of the wolf on her chest was suffocating her.
She saw the beast’s cold, merciless eyes, slowly drawing closer to her face, its fangs ready to bite.
Her end was near.
In that moment, something happened.
The wolf froze for a brief second, as if it had sensed something, and before it could react, a clean, silent slash tore through its body.
Half of the creature fell heavily to the side, and blood splattered onto Camila’s face, drenching her immediately.
It had all happened in a fraction of a second, so quickly that her mind took a moment to comprehend what had occurred.
Camila, breathing heavily, was too stunned to move.
The sensation of the wolf’s weight was gone, but now a sudden cold enveloped her.
Relief came along with the horror of the warm blood dripping down her face.
However, she was alive.
‘I made it…,’ Camila thought, relieved.
Trembling, she quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand, and when her vision cleared, she saw what had happened.
In front of her, where the wolf had been, stood an unexpected figure.
A small girl, naked, with pale skin and hair as white as snow, held a black sword in her hand, its blade dripping with fresh blood.
The girl’s aura was strange, something about her presence made Camila shudder deep inside.
The girl didn’t appear to be much older than her, but there was something unnatural about her.
Her golden eyes, empty and piercing, exuded an inhuman coldness.
Camila felt a chill run down her spine, a sensation she couldn’t control.
‘Who is she?’ Camila thought, still panting and not fully grasping what was happening.
The girl showed no emotion, no sign of concern or effort, she was simply there, holding the sword as if it were an extension of her own body, staring at her with those vacant eyes.