The Last Lycan

Set in an old, enchanted world, a young mage stumbles upon a reclusive Lycan, who has lost her powers of transformation. The Lycan distrusts humans because of its past and thus, the mage finds herself thrown into the topmost tower as a prisoner for trespassing.

Chapter 13

Italics – Thoughts

Reito stares at the man before him. Once a shadow of what he used to be, Ubel Marguerite was now a broken man. Literally. Shizuru had battered him to the ground with that ferocious naginata of hers, slamming the blunt end of the weapon into his left cheek and crushing his jaw in the process with the final blow. Reito wondered if she had done so on purpose. After all, it was Ubel who didn't seem to know when to keep his mouth shut. With his jaw hanging and blood dripping off his chin, Ubel's uncontrollable insults were finally put to an end. He was swaying from left to right as he stumbled onto his feet, but Reito felt no need to be there for his employer. Poetic justice, Reito nodded to himself as he watched Ubel suffer. If he hadn't mouthed off to the brunette the way he did, perhaps she might have done things a little differently?

His thoughts were interrupted when she turned back around to him and Takeda, speaking calmly, as though the fight never happened, "I'll leave him up to you then." With that, she spun on her heel and left without further word. The man watched her leave as gracefully as she had fought, his gaze lingering even as she disappeared into the night.

"Ughhh.. That guy.." A groan snaps Reito out of his reverie and his eyes refocuses back down at his injured companion. "I'll get him, if it's the last thing I'd do..!" Takeda continued muttering under his breath.

"Hold still, Takeda," Reito chides his childhood friend as he begins to create a makeshift tourniquet. "I don't think you could, though. She already did it for you."

"Wha..? What'd you mean?" Takeda winces as the cloth is tightened around his shoulder. "Ubel is dead?"

Reito shakes his head, "Not exactly, but it seems that she has left it in our hands."

"Fuck, if we didn't need the money, I wouldn't have joined this shit. Not only that, the person who we were supposed to kill ended up saving us," Takeda fumbles to sit up and look for the man in question.

"Mmm," Reito hums lightly as he busies himself with finishing the knot. He had already made up his mind after watching the beautiful woman do battle. Takeda's verbal confirmation only served to strengthen his decision. A commander who attacked his men without cause was inexcusable in Reito's books. Not to mention that Takeda was his best friend all these years. Ubel had almost killed him, and for such a vain reason too. Propping Takeda up and making sure he could balance himself, Reito picks up his weapon from the ground and closes the gap between the prone man and himself.

"Kan..ki.." Ubel manages to wheeze haplessly through his handicapped jaw.

Emotionlessly, Reito presses his foot against Ubel's shoulder, forcing the man to lie down on the ground. He then raises the thin sword over his head before bringing it down, cleaning plunging it through Ubel's open mouth. He smiled when he heard the satisfying squelch as his sword plunged through the muddy ground.

There was barely a few seconds of gargling, as the older man coughed and spluttered blood. The few seconds of torturous death was all Reito wanted to see, as form of payback to both Shizuru and Takeda. Satisfied, he pulls his weapon out of the dead man's mouth without a glance and fishes a small handkerchief from his pocket. He wipes off Ubel's blood in a one clean motion and drops the stained cloth atop the corpse. With a small smile that showed off his perfect pearly whites, he turned back around to Takeda. "I believe I might have found my new lord. I'll offer her my services, if she will have me. What about you, Takeda?"

The raven-haired man ran his uninjured hand through the messy, thick locks of hair as he eyed the castle that was a distance away. "Well.. I can certainly use a nice new home, now that I think about it. Besides, I owe her my life."

Reito gives his friend a pleased smile.

XXX

Shizuru's countenance had a fraction of a smile; so faint that one would have missed it; as she looked upon the massacre from the tip of Kiyohime's head. A massacre that she had wholly bestowed on those who had decided to gamble their lives by assaulting Natsuki's home. Her home. Tilting her head toward a deserter who was nearing the edge of their compound, Shizuru directed her naginata and her enormous serpent acceded to her will. The soldier drops to the ground, breathing his last.

This newfound power. This fantastic power. It was the answer to making sure her most important person was protected and safe from harm. She could feel the magic brimming at her fingertips, just waiting to burst free and end all those who had harmed them. Natsuki.. I will protect you.. Natsuki. Natsuki.. Natsuki!

Dull rubies suddenly regain their spirit as she heard a cacophony of frantic screaming coming from down below. Attention diverted, she immediately zooms onto the falling figure and alarm crosses her face. "Natsuki!" she finds herself screaming aloud and Kiyohime shifting rapidly. Shizuru knew Kiyohime wouldn't be able to reach the falling Natsuki in time, so she propelled herself off its head with a wave of her hand, thrusting herself off with a burst of arcane power. She abandons her weapon mid-fall, hoping to achieve maximum speed in order to reach her beloved before she crashes into the ground. Her streamlined form aids her in that and she soon manages to grasp tightly onto Natsuki in midair.

As soon as contact was made, it seemed as though time had stopped. The few seconds of their fall seemed like an eternity. Natsuki's eyes immediately shoot open from Shizuru's touch. "Shizuru," she breathes, her viridian orbs hazed with emotions. Shizuru had kept her word. Natsuki pulled the girl closer to her, hugging her tightly – she wouldn't let go again.

"Natsuki," Shizuru buries her head into the crook of Natsuki's shoulders. Ever so familiar shoulders where she had rested upon countless times. Ever so familiar scent that brought her a sense of security. All those thoughts of wrecking those who had hurt her beloved faded away, mere noise in the background as Natsuki's call for her took center stage. "I'm so sorry, Natsuki."

Natsuki doesn't reply. All she does was to tighten her arms that were wrapped around the woman she loved. She could see them falling closer and closer to the ground, closing the distance to collision. She had taken the gamble and she had to pay the price. Closing her eyes, she whispers to her beloved, "I love you, Shizuru. Don't ever forget that." Without waiting for a reply, she flips their positions around and wrapped her body around Shizuru in a death grip.

"No!" Shizuru's muffled screams could be heard but Natsuki ignored them as well as the violent trashing that came along with it. Natsuki hoped that she could at least shield some of the impact of the fall for Shizuru. For her and possibly their pups. At least, she could allow them at a shot in life. Locking her arms to make sure that Shizuru was unable to escape, Natsuki curls into a protective ball around her beloved as they plunged, gritting her teeth in anticipation of the impact to come.

Both Shizuru and Natsuki had not noticed that the minute they had fallen, six pairs of eyes were on them immediately. The mages didn't need any words between them as they dove into action from their respective locations.

With years of training together, Mai and Nao had automatically paired up and casted a beautifully synchronized spell of molten armor that engulfed the brunette and the wolf. Beside them, their more adept mothers had chosen to cast a more advanced spell that would slow the pair's falling speed. The four of them watched in trepidation as they realized that those spells might not be enough. Natsuki and Shizuru were just falling too fast – even with an armor of molten coupled with Julia's and Amber's slowfall spell – it might not be enough to stop a fatal impact.

Buried in the deep tresses of Natsuki's fur, Shizuru knew that they didn't have the luxury of time. Taking full advantage of her physical strength, Natsuki had her trapped – as she stubbornly decided to sacrifice herself. Shizuru wouldn't have that. She couldn't allow the love of her life to go, just like that. Too absorbed was Shizuru in thinking of how to turn this around that she couldn't even feel her body trembling lightly. The concept of time and space was lost as she feels herself surging with the very same power that had caused this to happen in the first place. Unknowingly, she conjures a clear, shimmering sphere approximately ten feet wide that encircled the both of them.

Aldred gapes as he witnesses the sphere form from where he was standing at. Stopping dead in his tracks, he swallows and turns to his wife, who had pursed her lips tightly as the pair came crashing down. So hard, that even from the distance, they could feel the resultant reverberations and a fast approaching cloud of dirt that sent them shielding their faces.

The energy from both the fall from height, as well as the multiple spells around the pair created a collision that erupted in a massive boom. Its impact sent the mages closest to it lurching backwards.

Choking on the dusty air, Amber groans and hurriedly picks herself off her feet, the first one to scramble to the pair. "Natsuki? Shizuru, can you hear me?!" she cries, vision still obscured by the settling dust.

There was no answer and Amber pushes ahead, wrapping her sweater around her face in an attempt to shield herself from the dirty air as she searched around desperately for them. She stumbles where the ground juts out and just a few feet ahead, amidst the smoldering earth, she spots both of them lying prone. The now dissipated spells had created a sizeable dent in the land after the impact. She scrambles across to them, ignoring the scrape on her shin in her hurry.

Natsuki was lying flat on the ground, arms limply around Shizuru. Shizuru had her cheek lying on Natsuki's chest. There was no blood, no broken jutting bones, no sign of any fall trauma one would usually sustain after such a great fall and Kiyohime was easily forty feet tall.

Amber's eyes ran attentively across both prone forms, scanning for signs of life. She would take anything – even a minute rise and fall of chests – to signify sign of life. Before she could, though, an agitated voice echoed through the night, "Oi! You better not steal my chances at becoming an aunt, damn it!"

Startled at the revelation, Amber turns to the source of the information. Nao was already to her left, her lime green eyes widened – fear and anguish evident in them – as she took in the scene before her. The youngest of the family had scrambled to her childhood friend, her cousin, her partner in crime, shaking her desperately in a bid to awaken the unconscious wolf. As her attempts failed, she turned her attention to Shizuru, tears brimming at the sides of her eyes, "Wake up, damn it! How could you both be so irresponsible?"

Wordlessly, Amber yanks Nao away with a firm tug of her wrist and wrestled her into a hug. Between her mother's embrace, Nao bawled as the remaining member of the castle appeared around the rim of the crater. They had all heard Nao's outburst, disbelief and sadness enveloping the air around them.

It was eerily silent.

Was this yet another tragic end for the last lycanthrope family? A beautiful relationship that was forged through acceptance and compromise, coming to a harrowing end due to the reckless greed that stemmed from the selfish repudiation of another?

"Natsuki!" Shizuru bursts out uncharacteristically from her comatose state, sitting up straight with her legs over Natsuki's hips and startling everyone at the scene.

XXX

Shizuru's POV

I awakened to Natsuki's prone form. It took merely a split second, before memories of the entire ordeal came rushing back to me. There was an incredible pang of pain in my head but that was incomparable to the one I felt in my heart.

What have I done?

Her blood, like the many others before her, was on my hands. It was because I had no control over my raging anger that I had let this tragedy unfold. My gaze falls back onto my beloved, who was lying motionless, her once vivid greens orbs that I so loved were hidden behind her closed lids. My hands were running through the thick fur that still held a semblance of her warmth.

I screamed her name – my only outlet for release – and bent over, pressing my forehead against her, ignoring the people around me. I felt a firm hand on my shoulders and my father's voice beside me, "We've examined her, Shizuru. Natsuki's passed out from all the injuries she's sustained. Alive but barely."

I meet his gaze once the second the words tumbled out of his mouth. She was alive..?

Yet, the fact of her broken body just served to remind me of that I had failed yet again in protecting her. The last minute spell was not in time to save her from injury. It wouldn't even have happened in the first place had it not been...

This was my fault.

My fault.

My fault.

My fault.

"Shizuru," my gaze refocuses back on my father, "I know you've just explored your ascension power, but.."

I knew what he was implying. A healing spell so strong it could mend bones and cure illnesses – just not bring back the dead. I was so fortunate that she was still alive. There was a chance for her to slowly heal up by herself. Whereas using my powers again… It seemed that it only brought destruction and nothing more. I clench my fists tightly, feeling it bristle with power.

No, that would be selfish of me. I should get control of this chance that was given to redeem myself to Natsuki. I refused to succumb to my own demons. I had to get ahold of myself and do whatever I could to alleviate her pain. Somehow, I had to find that innate power I had unknowingly awakened and use it to my advantage this time around. I reign in my surging emotions and try to keep a clear head. Now was not the time for unnecessary emotions.

I had to concentrate.

…

I recalled what my father had said to me and the countless nights spent researching. I looked up to the massive serpent and it hissed lightly in acknowledgement. I look around at the sea of corpses strewn before me, the land stained with blood.

With some knowledge, possibly uncontrollable power and sacrifice, would it be enough to save her?

XXX

A/N: Hi guys. As you can tell, I'm having a bit of a writer's block. Any opinions on how you find the story to be heading towards?