John's POV

“Eve! Eve! Eve! Make them go away! Please, I need clear vision! Hurry!”

 [ Wow, it’s the first time I’ve seen you so agitated, John.]

I became flustered as the screens popped up after killing the prairie wolf. Ezra had taught me that the slightest disruption in a fight might prove disastrous and even fatal. Thankfully, to my appreciation, even though Eve seemed quite relaxed about the screens, she removed them very quickly.

As the screens faded away, I was able to make out the mouseman. His back was carved with red and his high-pitched screams were agonising to listen to. I took a deep breath and was just about to take a step forward, to finish the fight, as he abruptly stopped shrieking and turned to me, his face contorted.

"Bastard! You killed doggy!" 

I saw how mouseman Piri's face turned in anger, its whiskers furiously twitching as it slowly crawled up from the ground. Blood spewed out from its back like an open dam and I was surprised to see how much blood a beastman possessed.

The mouseman gritted its teeth and chanted. "Ancient Pack Leader, I pray for thy embracement, thy leadership and thy speed. Rapid Legs!"

In the next moment, its legs began to enlarge into the size of two oak trunks.

"I'll kill you!" It screamed and pounced at me, even faster than before. "I'll fucking kill you!"

"Come!" I said and raised my sword.

Mouseman Piri laughed crazily as it heard my clear taunt.

It charged with a stance that was fundamentally different from before, whereas its claws had been set up at its chin. Now its arms were stretched out like the wings of a hawk, and its claws were gripping the air as if the air was able to be pulled.

"Die!" screamed Mouseman Piri.

I took a step forward to meet the mouseman and used a diagonal slash, the skill I was most confident in.

"... is what you thought I'd say! Dumbass!" laughed the mouseman and changed direction, retreating as fast as possible instead, relying on its muscular and explosive legs to widen the distance by several meters.

"You think I'm dumb? Hah! Who the hell cares about a dog? Risk my life for it? Hah!"

"I don't know how you understand and speak our language, but don't for one second think I won't take advantage of it!!" Mouseman Piri continued. "Smelly, retard, stupid, dumbass skeleton! Just wait until the reinforcements get here!"

I was shocked from the course of events. I certainly did not expect this from a creature whom I regarded as but a primitive being. Perhaps I had underestimated them. Or at least this shameless fellow.

"You coward! Come back! Piri! How dare you abandon your comrades!" I heard the tigerman roar from not too far away. Its leg was completely ripped away from its chest, and I shuddered at the thought of having Ezra as an opponent.

"Shut up! You think I'd risk my life for you, idiot?" returned mouseman Piri. "I know you've all thought lesser of me because I'm a mouseman! Why should I risk my life to save yours! Would you even do the same for me?!"

"You bastard! We should never have taken you along!" growled the tigerman. The tigerman turned to the owlman. "I will block these guys. You escape. Don't let that bastard Piri go unpunished!"

"No, let me do it instead. I'm at death's door either way, as old as I am." said the owlman. "Go, take revenge for me in the future!"

"Old slug..."

"Go!"

In the end, the tigerman nodded. It took a deep breath and chanted. "Great King of the Plains, I pray for thy protection; thy mercy and thy aid. Feral Vitality!!"

I saw with a noticeable speed that its leg regrew from a stump to a complete restoration. I was baffled. It was incredible.

The Owlman laughed, its head quickly turning a hundred eighty degrees, barely able to notice Vampire Ezra's sneak attack at the cost of one of its wings, now a bloody mangled piece of flesh. There was no doubt the owlman would never be able to fly again, not to mention how it wouldn't be able to get away from Ezra and Alderon.

 "Now leave before it's too late!" urged the owlman

Upon hearing its comrade's beckoning, the tigerman turned around and left. I saw hesitation inside its eyes, yet a boundless determination at the same time. The owlman must have meant a lot.

"Owlblood," said Ezra, his eyes now completely crimson, just like his sharp nails; gleaming in the bright, red colour that had painted them. "Not my favourite, but should work for today."

“John, don’t let it escape.”

I nodded in understanding and shot after the tigerman, leaving Vampire Ezra to deal with the owlman.

Ezra's POV

"So they left you behind... to deal with me?" I laughed so hard my intestines almost twisted. "That's quite funny, I mean, now that John is gone, I won't have to hold back in order to not scare him."

The owlman stood firmly and looked me into my eyes. I understood his meaning. That I could only pass over his dead body if I wanted to catch up to the tiger. 

"Blood Seals; Release!" I said in a quiet voice. In the next moment, my back began to protrude. Wings as crimson as blood itself with black veins crawling like worms shot out. They were larger than the owlman's wings by far. Or well, what was left of the Owlman's wings. Then, my nails grew longer, turning into claws – all of them point black and curved like the scythe of death.

I licked my lips and grinned. "Now that you've made me come to this point, don't expect to get off lightly."

Slug's POV

An abomination. Something that shouldn't exist in this world. Yes, that's what appeared right in front of me. I stepped back but then forced myself forward again. Why, why was I not afraid? Most should be, facing an opponent they clearly can't defeat? And yet, I felt no fear– no, it's better to say, my love was stronger than my fear. I looked over my shoulder and smiled. I hoped she could escape. Then my sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. Then I would gladly die. Die for her and my people.

I remembered back to when I was young. How I had fought every opponent with endless vigour. How every wound was but a scrape in my eyes. But had I ever been in a grave condition such as this? I shook my head and sighed. Why even think about it? My wife was gone, my children had grown up, surpassing even their father, and Raia – maybe she was able to live on... If there was anything left to do for me, then that was to die a warrior's death; against a worthy opponent.

"Vampire," I said to the abomination and readied my last wing for battle. "I have lived the life of a warrior and that will never change. I am, and will always be, a warrior. Come, give this old beastman a chance to prove his worth one last time."

John's Pov

I was surprised how slow the tigerman was. It must be because the leg had just regrown. Did the owlman really think I couldn't catch up to the tigerman? After a long chase, the tigerman finally dropped down, stumbling in the sand.

I hunched down and put the sword to the tigerman's throat. Though I had never killed a sentient being before, it was something that made me strangely excited. Just like stealing others’ things.

"Any last words?” I asked.

"You know how to speak our language? it said, baffled. "How?

I ignored its question. "I will do this quickly then." I looked forward to the levels I would gain from killing the tigerman. Its level was far above the prairie wolf I killed earlier. And also, the strange feeling that I had before and during the battle, it urged me to kill the beastman, to slaughter it without remorse at all. 

"Hah! Just do it," the tigerman said. "I no longer have the strength to move or I would already have killed myself honourably! Now I have to die by your hand, the hand of a pesky skeleton. I'm a shame to my great ancestor."

I shrugged and raised his sword, preparing to swing down.

"Wait!" a voice said.

I turned his head and noticed Ezra walking toward me.

"You killed it?" I asked, letting my sword fall to my side.

"More or less. It can’t move for the time being, at least.”

As Ezra said those word, I noticed how the tigerman's eyes became moist. It probably understood his meaning.

Raia's POV

The skeleton stared at me without any ill-intent. I wondered why. Then I heard a voice. It was the vampire. It entered my vision and licked its lips, looking at me like a predator looked at a prey. Its fangs were covered in blood. Fresh blood.

Old Slug... Why did this happen to you? I looked at the two undead now towering above me, a tear slipping down past my cheek. Why was fate this... cruel to us! To you! You did nothing but your duty and yet these scum killed you in cold blood. All you wanted, all that we beastmen wanted, was to escape this hellhole! I looked south, a longing filling my eyes. And now that we were so close, why should we die? Why couldn't we savour the sight of being free– free from this wasteland– free from this prison we didn't deserve?!"

John's POV

I pointed and the badly mangled Tigerman and said. "What about this one??"

“You can finish it in a moment. I got to check something first."

Ezra grabbed the tigerman by its throat and pressed his cheek to the ground, revealing a ripe, furry neck that was less muscled than I would have expected. The vampire growled. His two sharp fangs extended from his mouth and shot down toward the tigerman's throat, piercing through the skin and flesh as easily as a wasp's needle did to a human.

The tigerman released a groan, and its limbs, that were tight and stiff, fell to the ground and became limp. Ezra's eyes slowly turned into a darker colour of crimson. When the vampire was finished, he rose from the ground and wiped the leftover bloodstain from his lips with his coat.

"Well, well, just as I expected," said Ezra. "a female."

"Really?" I returned. "Ah– did you kill it?"

"No," he said. "Why? You want to kill it yourself?"

I nodded. The vampire grinned and said. "Haha, that's what a real undead is like. Go on, I will watch your first true kill."

I advanced sword in hand. The tigerman– or tigerwoman, I guess– lay limp on the ground without a reaction. I held up my bone sword and then swooped it down. It was a clean cut. Her head severed from her body and screens appeared like when I killed the prairie wolf. 

2400xp gained from killing Tigerman Raia. Level Up! You have advanced 4 levels! Your new level is 8! You have gained 12 stat points for distribution.

"What now?" I asked Ezra.

Ezra grinned. "Well, we escape. Oh– and I must say– you've done far above my expectations. When I get back, I will speak to Necromancer Ferguson for a transfer. Having you stay in a blacksmith sure is a waste of your talents. I feel you could become a great warrior. Maybe better than me If only you were more than a skeleton..."

We headed back to the owlman who barely clung onto his life. Ezra kicked him in the gut and broke both of his legs, an action that would force the reinforcements to carry him themselves, which once again would slow down their already slowed down speed. I heard how he asked about the tigerwoman and her condition, but I just ignored him.

After doing all this, we once again hit the road, now in a more hurried fashion than during the previous time. And as we heard the beastmen's prairie wolves' howl, declaring the hunt that was going to take place in the desert this night, we picked up the speed additionally.