As the rhino thundered forward through the thick fog, a brick wall emerged from the haze.
The beast was too far gone in its momentum, it crashed straight into it with a deafening crack, stone and dust exploding outward in every direction.
Squelch!
A sickening sound echoed as blood and fur clung to its horn.
The rhino blinked in confusion, lifting its hands to wipe the mess from its face — only to be met by a brutal fist slamming into its eye socket.
"You degenerate numbskull!"
It was the surviving wolf — blood poured from the gaping wound near the center of his abdomen, where the rhino's horn had pierced clean through.
"Pea brained twat! Why are you fuckin running around!?"
He coughed and snarled as he was able to shift his body just enough to spare his vital organs.
The wolf growled, and the rhino, wide-eyed and still reeling, complied — letting the wolf slide off its horn.
Staggering, the wolf turned — only to freeze.
The rats were there, tied to a metal pole behind the rhino's back, twitching, eyes wide and blank — one of them even singing.
"What the actual shit am I looking at?"
A closer inspection revealed the truth — the ballista was gone, their pupils dilated unnaturally, breath erratic.
The air reeked of burnt ozone and bitter chemicals — hallucinogens.
High doses — enough to fry their minds.
Then the wolf sniffed.
"Oi, these rats ain't keen on fondlin' the soap. Whose bloody scent is this?"
The scent — too clean, too sterile for this battlefield.
His instincts howled. Without thinking, he spun, long dagger rising.
Clang!
Bullet clashed with steel then a glint flashed behind him.
The wolf hurled a throwing knife from his sleeve with fluid precision.
Ting!
Without hesitation, the canine jumped above as he heard it bouncing off.
Wounded and bleeding, he lunged midjump, abandoning caution.
"Get over here you little shit!"
An onyx blur slashed downward.
Cain twisted, barely registering the figure descending from above, blade-first, like a hawk locking onto prey.
He didn't retreat — he stepped into the attack. His body twisted mid-turn, his sword unsheathed, snapping up toward the attacker's incoming strike.
The moment felt stretched — sound drowned by adrenaline.
'A counter.'
Cain ducked low, the right blade narrowly missed his skull, slicing the air with a screech of steel — while the left blade came for his throat.
They were both players, reading one another in sparks and flickers.
Cain struck with full force.
He twisted his body just as the wolf charged forward again, grey fur trailing like a shade through the darkened earth.
The crunch beneath their boots was drowned by the sharp whistle of metal.
The wolf's blade slicing low toward Cain's gut — the smart beast wasn't keen on nicking his blade at all.
Cain pivoted, shoulder first — spinning with the momentum, the bag of supplies slung across his back swinging wide to absorb part of the strike.
Sparks burst as steel scraped off hardened edge, a glancing blow the sent him tumbling.
Cain didn't give ground. Instead, he let gravity carry him down, one hand sliding through the earth for balance, the other already swinging to parry the incoming strike.
After the collision, the wolf scaled the wall with his feet, then followed up with a spinning slash, aiming to shred anything between him and the boy.
Cain rolled on the ground, his eyes glinting with calculation — he couldn't take down the wolf without going all out.
The scent of scorched dust filled his nostrils as he spun up to his feet.
His heartbeat didn't spike — this was calm in chaos, honed awareness sharpened by a dozen near-deaths.
As the wolf landed with a grunt, Cain whipped around, sword going on a horizontal slash.
His momentum strong — blade going down the beast's head.
It blocked the swords...
"Oi, what's this then? That strike's soft as piss."
The wolf turned too late — Cain let go of his sword, the harness attached reeling it back to it's sheath.
'Fortification.'
Solidified fist slammed toward the wolf's exposed abdominal injuries, but the enemy twisted, taking the impact against his ribs instead.
A crunch echoed, stone-like flesh met fabric, bone met force.
"Argh! You sly bastard!"
The wolf gritted his teeth as blood seeped from his mouth, snarling through the pain, daggers sweeping again in a wide arc.
"Harvesting resources in the wilderness is a cutthroat business, don't take it too personally."
Cain barely managed to twist his forearm into place as the wolf retaliated, blades spinning toward him with blistering speed.
The air cracked with pressure.
Cain's parry wasn't clean — his left hand wielding a sword trembled as primal qi surged through the wolf's strike.
The impact sent him flying through the air, his body gliding across the fog and dust as he fought to land with stable footing.
The wolf's arms blurred — throwing knives rained like a silver storm, each one screaming through the air with lethal precision.
The blades scraped past his arms, tearing the suit by its sleeves.
Cain didn't wait, his rifle was already stripped to its pistol form, sliding smooth from the holster.
Magical bullets lit the muzzle flashes — each projectile clanged against a dagger mid-flight, deflecting steel with steel, light with light.
The wolf caught his returning blades mid-spin, never stopping, never missing a beat.
Cain's breath thinned.
'How long can he keep this up? My ammo would run dry soon.'
The wolf eyes flicked into Cain's — he knew, primal qi wasn't infinite.
Cain holstered the pistol, blade already halfway drawn. His boots slammed into the ground as he surged forward.
The wolf met him.
No more ranged feints.
The wolf passed beneath him, but not before Cain caught a glimpse of its face — lips curled in focus, eyes gleaming with raw combat rhythm.
"Take this you hairless twat!"
Primal qi still danced through the air, sparking against his side like static.
His protective suit hissed as pressure vented from within.
Cain landed hard, knees bending to dodge another incoming strike.
His sides throbbed from the tanking the blow, the ribs humming with bruised warning — but his stance never wavered.
He met the wolf's eyes for a fleeting heartbeat — his were scheming and calculating.
The wolf's were wild, filled with taunting, and raw confidence.
Both of them fought with reason — however a winner has yet to be decided.