The Grand Weave

Too short. After the first wave, we assumed the six-hour buffer would be consistent throughout the waves. Obviously, we were wrong. And the mentioning of a champion, does that mean a boss monster? There wasn't much time to sink deeper into my thoughts since Orsk came rushing over.

Using a running leap, he jumped up the wall and pulled himself up. After standing, he looked at the gathering adventurers and shrugged the backpack off his shoulders.

"I know you've all seen the notifications, so I won't bother reading it to you. Just know that this wave is most likely special. Usually, situations like this indicate a high likelihood of an elite monster spawning. Whether we will have to fight another full wave or just a special monster, we don't know. All we can do is prepare," Orsk shouted so everyone could hear him. Opening the straps on the leather bag, he started pulling out potions and small packages. After separating everything into neat piles, he closed the bag. "We don't have much time to rest or recover. Take a pile; there will be mana potions and some recovery potions. In the small paper packages, you'll find some Dolska paste. Consume it and it'll help recover stamina. I'll be heading back. Remember, keep you're composure. We'll survive this."

Putting the backpack back on, he had a few quick words with Petraeus before walking over to me. He handed me a strange vial that contained what looked like purple slime. "I need you to heal everyone you can before the wave starts. This will help empower your skills for the next three minutes. I'm sorry, but it tastes like crap."

He gave me a weak smile and a single pat on the back before jumping off the wall and heading back to the town hall.

Everything happened quickly. The whirlwind of participating in a battle and then preparing to instantly enter another one weighed us done. Petraeus handed out the items and directed people my way.

Fuck me. Let's get this over with.

I pulled the glass topper off the crystal vial. Giving it a sniff, I smelled nothing. Small mercies. As Edith came over and shoved the supplies into my hand, I tipped the bottle into my mouth,

The moment the liquid touched my tongue, I nearly retched. It tasted like rotten egg mixed with cinnamon; except, the cinnamon only highlighted the overwhelming rancidness of the concoction. The liquid didn't slide down my throat but oozed its way downwards. I pounded my chest and managed to gulp it down. When I looked up the others stared with either concern or curiosity.

Edith took the now empty vial from my hand and examined it. Using her fingernail, she scraped at a remnant piece of purple glitter stuck to the bottom of the glass. After a couple of sniffs, she gave a hesitant lick before spitting on the ground instantly.

"Dear gods, that's disgusting. Those things are horrible. Only the desperate drink those." Edith said while washing her mouth out with a mana potion.

A few looks of recognition appeared on most of the more magically inclined members of the team. I sighed and tried to put the thing out of my mind. All I had to do was focus. Mentally communicating my desire to Áine, I had her begin healing the worst of the group.

People consumed the potions, and I waited as Áine finished healing everyone. The constant tiptoe between mana fatigue and mana shock left me breathless, and hunched over.

The potion did its job. Áine's healing touch shined brighter than ever, and wounds sealed themselves faster than usual. By the time she finished, the team looked good as new, provided that you ignore the bloodstains.

We look like scare actors in a haunted house. Sam's not even blue anymore.

Taking one last look at my system clock revealed there was barely a minute left to the countdown. With everyone already nearing their positions to face the oncoming wave, there wasn't much else to do but wait. Even with magical stamina goop refreshing my body, I still felt exhausted mentally, if not physically. I could only hope the system would cut us some slack.

Zero...

The world pulsed again, bathing the grounds in the familiar crimson glow. I waited with bated breath to see the horde of blood beasts to come. Instead, there was an eerie silence, like the world was on pause. A minute passed, but nothing happened. No horde of monsters emerged from the forest, no swarm of bats or birds to darken the sky. Whatever the scenario decided to throw at us, it pulled at my nerves.

Our unasked questions were finally answered when the sound of falling trees hitting the dirt rang out across the silent landscape. Seconds passed until Matias issued a warning.

"Here it comes! Looks like some kind of giant cat," he shouted.

I narrowed my eyes but still had trouble seeing anything past the light fog. It didn't take long for that problem to be rectified as the paw of a massive beast tore through the tree trunks lining the forest's edge. As the giant blood beast stepped out of the tree's shadows and into the moonlight, its tail flicked, tearing a gash into the nearby trunk.

The creature resembled a lion the size of a small elephant, with red fur and darker-colored scales adorning its legs. It had two long, spiraling horns protruding from its head, each longer than my arm and as sharp as any sword I'd seen. Adding to its alien appearance, the blood beast boasted a lizard-like tail crowned with a crystalline spike.

It silently stalked across the battlefield. Unlike the previous monsters, it was more solid. Rather than looking like it was made of congealed blood, each step displayed corded muscles underneath crimson fur and scales. Its tail swished in the air as it approached the wall. There was a faint hope it'd get caught in the mud pit, but it leaped across and landed only meters apart from Caldur's team.

Pulled out of the trance that captured all of us, Twin One was the first to regain his senses and attack. He hissed and sent forth a crisscross slash of silver energy, only for the monster to swat the skill aside. In retaliation, it emitted a powerful roar that created a wind that could be felt by those standing on the wall.

"Spencer, buffs now! Everyone fire!" Patreus shouted.

The battle had begun, and bodies exploded into action. The melee members of our team backed off as a barrage pelted the monster's hide. Arrows of golden light and grey wind rapidly fired into the monster's face, along with a bolt of lightning and balls of fire. It would have been too much to hope that the creature would let us use it as a stationary pincushion. With tail and claw, the projectiles were deflected away. Only Edithe's lightning landed unimpeded. A bolt snaked through the air and crashed against its ear, bubbling a small section next to its horns.

A roar of pain and fury erupted from the beast. Bunching its muscles, it prepared to leap on top of the wall. Caldur forced it back, he blinked in front of it, greatsword swinging in an overhead slash. It used the momentum of its cancelled leap to twist and land beside Dyllan's group.

"Dyllan, taunt it," Levin shouted.

Dyllan stepped forward a shouted using his taunt skill and bracing himself behind his shield. In retaliation, the monster charged head-first at the tank. Its long horns served as spears and smashed into his shield. The force of the charge was enough to push Dyllan back several feet, nearly causing him to lose his footing.

The monster was charging again. It launched Dyllan into the wall, making him drop his shield from the impact. The monster's growl vibrated the air and its legs coiled for another leap.

Before the monster could initiate a third attack on the man, ropes of mud wrapped themselves around the beast, pulling it into the ground beneath its paws. Levin rushed towards it and stabbed into its flank with acid-coated daggers.

Thanks to Petraeus' skill, the monster was unable to retaliate with its claws. Instead, it used its tail like a scorpion and stabbed down at Levin, causing him to rip his daggers out and retreat.

Things moved too quickly; the battle was fast-paced, leaving little time to breathe. And still, I felt like the monster was barely taking us seriously. There was no way a couple of skills would take down a beast powerful enough to require its own wave. Outside of the creature roaring at us and providing nimble with resilience to boot, it had yet to display anything dangerous enough to warrant the title of champion.

Using its strength, the blood beast ripped itself free from the mud and dashed away. Once it was far enough, it lowered its body and crouched down. Its crimson eyes stared at us balefully.

"Need healing, Dyllan?" I asked the man below me.

"No, I'm okay," he responded as he walked over to his shield and picked it up. "I would have been impaled if you hadn't stopped him, Petraeus. Thanks for that."

Petraeus didn't respond. His attention focused on the blood lion staring at us. The monster stayed crouching, not moving from its spot. It just watched us from afar, its tail swishing back and forth.

"Think the damn thing is playing with us?" Xertalus asked.

"Certainly. We're mice in front of it for it all cares" Dyllan responded.

As if to confirm Dyllan's words, the monster stood up from its crouch. In a move nobody expected, the lion stabbed itself with its own tail, drawing out an extended cut on its back. Red mist started pouring out from the wound. All the while, its eyes never stopped staring in our direction.

The mist spread several feet around the monster, slowly deepening in color as it created a ring of fog. Once the blood mist grew large enough to become solid, it seperated into streams congealing and forming floating orbs. Six distinct spheres rotated slowly in the air, surrounding the blood beast on all sides. With a thwack of its tail smashing the ground, the orbs lost their shape.

Rising from the puddles, the congealed blood formed into six lionesses half the size of the champion. The lion had summoned forth its pride to battle the adventurers standing in its way.

Like a gun at the start of the race, its tail cracked the ground and the new blood beasts rushed forward to attack. The main beast centered its sights on Dyllan's team and bolted at the man with a lioness at his side. My attention was pulled away from the oncoming clash as another lioness climbed the wall and knocked Petraeus aside.

"Arrghh!" Petraeus growled as the beast pounced on top of the man.

"Zharia, aim for the eyes," I commanded.

I lunged forward, aiming my spear at its face, causing the beast to stop its efforts to maul the elf and focus on me instead. Unexpectedly, it bit down on my spear, trapping the blade in its teeth. With a strength that rivaled its size, it yanked me forward, forcing me to let go.

I could only throw my arms forward to block the monster's bite to avoid having my face eaten off. Luckily, a barrier appeared behind my back, arresting my fall.

"Attack it now!" Spencer commanded

Having been denied its meal, the beast scratched at the barrier with one paw while the other had its claws sinking into Petraeus' shoulder. Patreus leveraged his uninjured arm and slammed it into the air with a burst of water. It rolled, twisting so it landed on all fours. Its faux-fur rose in a hackle and it roared.

It leaned forward and I stepped back.

Ignoring the prey it couldn't reach, it turned around and swiped at Spencer's torso. Thankfully, Zharia decided to blast a stream of flames at its face, causing the beast to flinch and send its attack wide. Spencer grabbed a small metal rod attached to the belt on his waist and aimed it at the blinded beast.

The ruby at its tip whined and buzzed. The air crackled along the gemstone and flames pooled into a sphere that rocketed forward.

Flames exploded, the fireball sending the beast tumbling across the wall The orange-red flames joined Zharia's golden ones, lashing at its fur. As it rolled near, a wall of acrid copper slammed into my nostrils.

The beast's body might have looked solid enough to be real, but the smell reminded me that it was made of nothing but blood.

"Cyrus, catch," Petraeus said as he threw my spear.

I caught it awkwardly by the tail end of the shaft, nearly dropping it over the wall. Once I corrected my grip and turned to face the lioness, it was already beginning to stand up, having extinguished the flames by shedding mass Crispified blood dripped down in an avalanche of wet slime, leaving he creature looking emaciated.. As much as my instincts told me to attack the beast, I hesitated.

It battered the ground and tore itself free from the slime. I approached, waiting, but couldn't see an opening to attack it safely. My indecision was taken away from me when it leaped in the air, both of its front legs extended forward. Its wickedly sharp claws were inches from tearing into my arms when another barrier briefly flashed into existence. The shield lasted for half a second til it shattered like a pane of glass. However, it was enough to stall the beast.

It tried to get up but fell face-first. It turned its head back, and I noticed that there were two ropes of mud snaked around the beast's back legs. Seeing no better opportunity to attack, I dashed forward. The tip of my spear entered at a angle into its neck, plunging deep. Only the spear's wings stopped the weapon from penetrating through.

A sharp, gurgling scream pierced my ears as the lioness struggled against its bindings.

"Boosting your strength," Spencer explained.

After a few muttered words, a golden glow settled over my body and seeped into my muscles. It felt like I shot an energy drink straight into my veins.

I felt good, powerful, like I could crush rocks with my bare hands.

I idly wondered if people got addicted to this. Unbiddenly, an image of nobles paying people dollar bills to get a dose of buffing skills blasted into their bodies appeared in my head.

"Focus."

I didn't know who said it, but I snapped back to the present and saw the beast pawing at the spear. Not wanting it to damage my only weapon, I ran up and heaved. My weight pushed down, forcing the blade deeper.

The beast was strong, incredibly so, but the awkward angle of the spear and the leverage of my position had me winning any contest of strength. Slowly but surely, I managed to push through the wings and sank the shaft halfway through its body.

With a final thrust, the spear hit something hard, and I felt something crack against the blade. All strength the beast brought to bear against me fled, the lioness dropping like a puppet without strings. With a final half-hearted roar, the lioness's form lost its stability and became a pool of bubbling blood. The tip of my boot started hissing as it made contact with the caustic liquid, forcing me to step back quickly.

I gave a mental fist pump to the air and twirled my spear. Beaming a smile to Petraeus and a thumbs up to Spencer, I rode my battle high as far as I could. Seeing that Petraeus was still bleeding from when the lioness sunk its claws into him, I sent a mental prompt to Áine, asking her to heal him.

"Don't celebrate now; we need to support the others. When you are done healing me, chug a potion and send your familiar to Dyllan," Petraeus said.

Crap, I forgot about the others. Following Petraeus' gaze, I turned around and looked at how the rest of the team was handling themselves.

For the most part, the answer was decently enough. Caldur's team took their two lions down without suffering any injuries. The same could not be said for the rest. Meleena's side of the wall smoked with remnants of flames burning the wall. She bled profusely from a cut above her right eye. However, the pool of dried blood at her feet was evident to anyone looking her way. With relatively minor injuries, she had taken down her monster.

Matias and Edithe were still in the process of taking their beast down, but it looked like they had everything well enough in hand. More a pincushion than a terrifying creature, the lioness roared pitifully as Edithe kept it stunned by unleashing jolts of electricity into the beast's back.

Seeing that they were more or less unharmed, I focused on the final team. The team that was tasked with fighting the champion blood beast and another lioness was forced to split their forces. Levin and Sam were heavily damaged and just barely able to keep out of the lioness's reach. Meanwhile, Xertalus danced around the champion as Dyllan held it at bay with a severely dented shield. More than a few holes were torn into the square piece of metal, the source of the damage obvious.

The big bad lion himself suffered a few more injuries than the last time I saw him. Xertalus took advantage of his skills to leave several cuts covered in layers of frost. None of them were particularly deep, but it at least showed the monster was damageable. The champion beast itself was forced to ignore Dyllan as Xertalus kept chasing after it.

I sent Áine to heal Dyllan and Zharia to support Sam. Being relegated to nothing more than a mana battery, my usefulness to the fight below me was limited. Looking around me, I finally spotted Caldur's team slowly closing in on the monster. Like a wedge, they spread themselves out to surround the beast.

The lion became a blur in a burst of speed as it charged past Xertalus and dashed in Sam's direction. A sound like a gong rang in my ears as Dyllan intercepted the beast's charge. The resulting momentum launched the man across the field and into the side of Levin's body. An audible snapping sound alluded to the kind of damage that having a man in full plate crashing into you would cause.

On the other end of the charge, the champion was quickly set upon in a flurry of activity. Ropes of mud swarmed over its body as Caldur, the twins, and Xertalus attacked as one. A barrage of glowing energy impacted the beast as skills and metal tore into its flesh. Two separate x-slashes of silver energy cut into its flank while a line of trailing ice sliced through its legs. Caldur chose to go big and blinked above the beast's head and slashed his greatsword in a downward arc.

At the last second, the champion angled its head enough that his left horn blocked the incoming blade. In a roar of defiance, Caldur swung and bisected the horn. The cut continued its momentum to slice off most of its ear before hitting the muddy ground. Caldur twisted his body for another swing but was pushed back in a flash of red. The injured beast conjured a blast that smashed into the combatants, knocking them away.

A hazy cloud snaked across its form. Mattias unleashed a spinning arrow, but the mist remained.

Wha-

With another roar, the cloud was forced away with a shockwave of air. This time, the roar felt different, sounded different.

Rage.

Whatever the beast did, it felt angry, like a deep-seated fury bubbling behind my ears. The feeling of a snarling predator breathing down hot air in front of my face, a monster looming above me, ready to rend my soul in an avalanche of claws and fangs.

Standing in a ring of upturned ground, the champion crouched. Its hair was jolted upward with its back arched, like a frightened cat. Through its maw blew steam with small snaps of red energy crackling in the air. If the monster had toyed with us earlier, all sense of playfulness was gone. In its place was an enraged beast metaphorically foaming at the mouth.

"So you're finally taking us seriously," Caldur mocked gleefully. "Couldn't handle me, so you pulled out your true claws. I'll show you who's the real lion here!"

Never before have I wanted the dumb cat to shut up.

As if to respond to the beastman's taunt, the champion snapped its massive jaws shut. The action was disturbing enough to erase even Caldur's grin. To follow up its actions, the barb-tipped tail shot upward, the tail looking more like a spear than my own weapon.

It raised its snout to the sky and I looked up. The spit caught in my throat.

The moon wasn't looking at nothing. It stared at the champion and shifted. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

Oh fuck!

A bolt of lightning struck the beast in a flash of blinding light that made me cover my eyes. Once the spots cleared from my vision, I was left with a cold shiver running down my spine. The monster mane crackled with electricity the red energy running wild across its body; its hair spiked like needles.

The Champion of Blood and Wrath had appeared.