Chapter 07: Werewolf baby!!
Disclaimer: Neither Dark Souls or High School DxD belongs to me.
Author's Note: This chapter include some elements from World Of Darkness of White Wolf.
It has been almost three months since my arrival to this strange yet similar world. And I've found a strange yet comforting sense of purpose here thanks to my companion and current training partner.
" Magic Missile!" Shouted Merlin who was currently floating above me as a multitude of magical projectiles were conjured by her and sent my way, but I was prepared for that because just as the spell was about to hit me I rolled away from it.
I couldn't evade all of the magical projectiles unfortunately because two of them hit me on the left side and back which hurt a lot, but I recovered quickly and began to channel my pyromancy on my right hand. "Fire ball!!" I threw the ball of chaotic fire at Merlin.
She just nonverbally conjured a magical shield that nullified most of the damage it could cause; which was fine by me because that was my intention because as she was blinded by the smoke from the explosion I quickly casted on myself one of the newest spells I learned from Merlin.
"Haste." Time went to a crawl around me and I took the opportunity to jump at the witch with my sword high and with a downward swing I shattered her shield sending her back to the ground but not before she hit me with her own fireball at point blank rank. "I really need to learn nonverbal casting." I thought, annoyed as my vision went blank.
"So this bout went to Merlin" I thought as I lost consciousness.
I woke up sometime later with my head resting on Merlin's lap, which didn't surprised me in the slightest, after all, she has been doing this everytime I lost consciousness during our training. Heh, training, if you ever told me four months ago that I would be in another world trying to learn how to command the power of the first flame I would have called you mad and ignored them.
Yet here I am in another world trying to figure out how to access the powers of the First Flame. Life even after death can be surprising with its twists and turns.
"Oh, you're awake." Merlin said to me when she noticed I was awake and looked at me with a small smile on her face. "How are you feeling, sleeping beauty?" She asked me with a teasing glint in her eyes, I just roll my eyes and flicked her in the forehead.
"Ouch!!!" She cried as she sobbed her forehead. "Why do you keep doing that!?" She asked me annoyed at my (by this point expected) response, truly wisdom is the most lacking quality of wizards indeed.
"Because you keep playing stupid games, so you keep winning stupid prizes." I told her and by the look she was giving me I think that I struck a nerve; good, maybe I can help out this one to don't become insane from researching itthings she shouldn't have.
I know that's virtually impossible, but dreaming cost nothing. So after doing that I got up and dusted myself before taking my uchigatana and putting it back in its scabbard. "So you finally even the score." I told Merlin with a half smile on my face, because finally she got good enough in my book.
Don't get me wrong Merlin was an exceptional magician. A one in a lifetime type of genius but her weakness was the same one that many magicians suffered in all my travels. Their incapability of making their magic practical for combat.
Don't get me wrong a magician is a deadly foe if you allow him or her prepare themselves. But if you hit them before they either began their incantations or during them they were extremely susceptible.
I should know. After all that was how I killed untold numbers of magicians in Lordran. Which is why I have been helping Merlin get rid or at least minimize said weaknesses which was something she took with an uncharacteristic seriousness from her usual carefree attitude.
"I see you have learned how to use the haste spell more effectively Mikael." Told me Merlin with an analytical tone. " I suppose that very soon you will be capable of using blur, but I still don't understand why you don't want to learn more spells from the higher tiers." Questioned me the witch.
"I just don't see the need delve deeper into the arcane arts." I answered her sincerely, after all with pyromancy and the few spells I managed to scrap from the notes of Big Hat Logan was more than enough to cover my offensive capabilities in regards to magic.
"By the way Merlin, how are you doing with the grimoire I lend you?" At my question she beamed in happiness. Like a kid that was given a very nice present; which was a very good analogy now that I think about it.
"Very well Mikael!" Told me the witch beaming in happiness. "The author certainly was a true genius because that book is truly revolutionary!" I couldn't help but smile ruefully at those words. Because while indeed the work of my former teacher was revolutionary, the price he paid for that knowledge was too much in my opinion.
"Nevertheless, don't get carried away with it. Otherwise I will be forced to take it back." I told her, she almost hissed at me like a cat in protest but one pointed look from me made her deflate.
Good, because I was serious about it. For the few things I understand from that grimoire it could truly be a new Pandora's box on itself.
"Don't worry, I'm taking precautions to don't get infected by any cognitive poison from it." Told me Merlin with a serious expression before reverting back to a giddy smile. "Although I have to admit that Soul Spear is a very nice spell." In that moment she conjured a soul spear and threw it at a nearby tree vaporizing it in the act.
"Good, because I don't want to put you out of your misery because
I don't want put you out of your misery like I did with his author." I told her with a serious face, because I know first hand what the thirst for knowledge and power could do to a person and how those stories tended to end.
And I am tired of having to put my friends out of their miseries.
"So, how are things in your end Mikael?" Asked me Merlin interested in my progress in discovering how to access to the power of the First Flame and I couldn't help but grimace in anger and frustration because not even once I could access to it.
"Is a work in progress." It was my curt answer to her inquiry, and in an act of wisdom and common sense from Merlin's part she didn't press the issue. Progress.
"Right now what I want is to get back home and take another quest to try something." I told Merlin as I crossed the portal that took me out of the miniscule demiplane she made for us to train, with her following me.
(Line Break)
After returning from training I went straight to job hunting. Isn't like I needed to do the work, after all I still have the payment from killing that Black Knight intact, no, what I was looking for is something to fight to test my newly acquired skills and spells.
So with that in mind I went to the city guard HQ to see if there was any new contract that struck my fancy when I found one that certainly did so: because there was a quest to hunt down a beast that was hunting the population of a nearby village and apparently every single hunter that went after it only ended either disappearing or as bloody smear on the floor after the beast finished with them.
I could think about at least two or three things back home that could do something like that and none of them were either cute or cuddly and more importantly they tended to stay far from human settlements.
Hell, some of them just began to go to the cities once they were overwhelmed with nothing but hollows back in Lordran.
"Which means that either someone brought the beast to the settlement or it is intelligent enough to hunt humans and stay hidden." I thought after accepting the job and leaving the building and I don't know which option was worse.
The only thing that I knew was that my gut was telling me that things were about to get ugly really fast which is why I didn't bring Merlin with me on this particular job. I don't want to involve her in this if it all goes to hell.
I can rise back from the grave, she can't. So with that in mind I went to where the quest take place.
(Line Break)
After arriving at the village and explaining my reasons to be there they quickly guided me to the entrance of the forest before quickly scurrying away from there leaving me alone. I couldn't really fault them. After all the forest reeked with an aura of death and blood very thick.
I couldn't help but smile ruefully at that because it almost felt like being back in Lordran. So with a confident stride and blade in hand I went inside the dark forest fully aware that I was being watched by whatever was dwelling inside.
I walked through the forest with my sword and shield in hand when a shuffle on the leaves caught my attention and I quickly raised my shield in the direction of the sound which allowed me to block the upcoming attack but made me take some steps back from the sheer force of the attack.
"So you're a dog?" I said once I got a good look at the beast. It looked like someone decided to mix together a great wolf with a human. With powerfuls limbs that were pure muscle, thick black fur and claws in its hands and feet that looked quite capable of ripping me to shreds easily.
But what really caught my attention were the eyes. So full of rage and cunning intellect that almost caught me off guard. This wasn't a mere beast whatever it was it is sentient to a dangerous degree.
"Grrrrr!!!" The wolfman growled at me, most likely taking my words as an insult as it bared its teeth And claws at me in an aggressive display, I scoffed at that, oh please cry me a river you oversensitive mongrel.
"I KILL YOU!!!" Ups look like I said that part out loud because the wolfman lunged at me which I barely dodge, unfortunately I wasn't quick enough because one of its claws hit me on my left arm which left a nasty gash on it.
"Damnit, that was a close call I almost lost my arm." I thought as I examined the damage I got on my arm; which wasn't good because it almost cut it clean off; I took one of my mushrooms to stop the bleeding as I rolled to the side as the beast attacked me once again.
So there was only one option. I put my shield on my back and took a two handed stance with my Uchigatana as I activated one of my most recently learned spells. "Haste."
The world slowed to a crawl as the beast once more went on the offensive, fortunately for me now on a more manageable speed which allowed me to drink another Estus flask before going on the offensive too.
The beast was already almost over me claw ready to rip me apart when I unleashed my very own surprise. "Fireball!" The pyromantic flame burst out from my left hand exploding in the face the wolfman engulfing it in flames.
I quickly jumped away from the beast because it began to violently swing its claws around blindly in an attempt to hit me, so I once again went on the offensive, and with blade in hand I attacked the beast from its left side. So with a swift swing from the Uchigatana I planned to either bisect the beast or at least cut off its limb.
Unfortunately for me, things sometimes don't go according to plan. " Got you." The wolfman growled with what I could only describe of a wolfish smile that showed its razor sharp teeth.
"Oh, fuck." I only managed to say before being violently throw at a nearby tree shattering it and the other two behind it into splinters of wood but the monster wasn't done with me because in a swift, fluid motion that showed nothing short of professional skill level it threw my own sword at me with pin point accuracy stabbing me with it in the chest.
"Shit." Was what I thought as I died once more on a battle for being stupid. Yet as darkness once more came to take me, something happened.
I felt a strange yet familiar warm spread across my body as it was healed of all the damage it got from the battle and I was imbued in a very faint aura that waved around around me like flames. "What in the abyss!?" I muttered to myself as I groggily rose up to my feet, I then look down and saw the Uchigatana still firmly stuck on my chest.
I have a suspicion of what is happening but that will be for later, right now I have bigger fishes to fry.
So with my both hands ripped out my blade out of my chest feeling every jolt of pain as inch by inch I pulled; once I was done I examined the blade as I felt my wound closing, and I couldn't help but feel angry because the blade that I used in most of my journey through Lordran was damaged by the filthy animal that dared to use it as a throwing dart.
(Play Tokyo ESP OST - World On Fire)
"You piece of shit!" I muttered as I put my eyes open the beast that was stuck on its place while its eyes showed a new emotion that I was sure it didn't felt thst much; fear. Good, because what will come now won't be neither good or pretty for that beast.
So I summoned my second weapon. My ever reliable claymore and pointed the tip of the blade at the wolfman. "You piece of shit!" I growled at it as the blade was being imbued by the same flame that was covering me. "Know your place!!!"
I then went on the offensive on a burst of speed that convinced me that I may have broken some bones and muscles in my legs, yet I kept going and once I was in front of the beast I swung down my claymore cutting its right arm clean off.
That seems to have done the trick because the Wolf man roared in pain and anger and brought down its remaining claw at me with the clear intention of killing me once and for all, yet I was quicker and with a swift motion I cut its remaining arm and when it brought its head down to bite off mine.
Unfortunately for it, I was expecting that so I quickly swung down my sword with the intention of cutting down the beast in two when something unexpected happened.
A burst of flame came from my blade that consumed completely the strange beast and Continued for what I could stimate another kilometer leaving behind a scorched path were not even ashes or cinders remained.
Except where once the Wolf man stood. This confirmed it for me because there were now only a pile of ash. I somehow got access to the powers of the First Flame.
And just as it cam, the flame began to recede back to whenever they're locked inside me, and with it gone all the pain and exhaustion I got from my last bout with the beast came with a vengeance and I couldn't help but stagger back as I dropped my sword on the floor before falling unconscious.
With the last thing I saw before dozing off was a crow taking the form of a woman who was walking towards me.
(Line break)
There has been very few things in my long existence that caught my interest beyond a passing fancy. The last time it happened was when that impertinent brat I trained that ended up becoming the Queen of the land of shadows somehow ended up becoming the teacher of the son of Lugh and his friends.
That was until recently; because the land in the last centuries had become a neverending blood soaked battlefield in which the many factions and interests (both mortal and supernatural) collided in so many fun ways.
And when things were about to get a little bit stale with all the same players doing the same thing over and over again he came. The man that was unconscious at my feet. The man with the primordial fire in his soul.
I don't know if it was luck or fate that the first being he met when he arrived was the spawn of the bratty child of that Eastern God that has expanded his area of influence across Europe, but the course of fate was inexorably changed.
"You really are like your power my dear." I told the unconscious man before me. You truly are a fascinating creature: an undead being that yet still lives. "And while I would love to talk with you, we better get going back to your little witch friend." I said to him as I placed his sword back in the scabbard he had hung on his back before carrying him in my arms and taking him with me.
After all, I needed to talk with that girl because things were bound to become more fun in the upcoming days for we were about to enter a new age.
How fun, it certainly paid to be The Morrigan some days.
Author's Note: Well, here is the chapter I hope you like it guys and gals and for those wondering The Morrigan looks like she does in Smite.
And yes I took elements from both DND and World Of Darkness because I don't like the magic system in DXD a e I decided to use the one from DND (more specifically the ones you find in the Old crpgs like baldur's gate 1 and 2 and the Icewind Dale Games) and well I will include other monsters and factions from World Of Darkness here because they're cool and I think they could work well here.
Bye.