Chapter 1480: Howling Eclipse
The clash unfolding before them was nothing short of legendary. An intense fight was raging between two individuals, one that might have been etched into history if not for the secrecy of this place, and the isolation of the battlefield itself.
Don’s trident thrust forward with all his might, the weapon screaming through the air with speed and force. Kai, standing tall in his transformed Alpha body, caught the strike in both of his clawed hands. Ice spread rapidly from his touch, creeping along the trident, freezing it solid.
But Don was relentless. Before the ice could fully lock in place, he swung his free hand, summoning a crushing wave of water that slapped into Kai’s face with bone-jarring power.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling across the arena. Spray flew outward, rattling the ground, and droplets of saliva flung from Kai’s open maw, scattering into the air like shards of glass.
Kai’s grip tightened, his claws biting into the frozen trident. Don wrenched it free and moved to strike with his bare hand, only for Kai to lean back suddenly, avoiding the blow and slashing out with razor-sharp claws.
The counter might have landed, but Don wasn’t careless. The water beneath his feet surged upward, responding to his will, propelling him backward just far enough to escape the strike.
His eyes flicked down. The battlefield was changing again. The ground beneath him was hardening, the water spreading under his feet beginning to freeze.
“Your control of the elements is weaker than mine!” Don shouted defiantly, his voice booming over the rain. “You should have stuck to relying on your strength!”
Kai’s muscles coiled as he prepared to charge. But before he could close the gap, the frozen ground erupted. The surface had iced over, but Don had been hiding what remained beneath, pockets of liquid still under his control. The water burst upward in a violent geyser, crashing into Kai’s body with explosive force.
Perhaps against a weaker opponent, someone less attuned to elemental combat, the freezing would have sufficed. But Don Tinge was not such an opponent.
The two collided again and again, their battle escalating into a storm of claws and water. Spectators watching from the restaurant balcony could hardly believe what they were seeing.
Chen was down. Adam was immobilized. They had thought Kai would end things swiftly after that. Yet Don, Don, who so rarely fought in person, who spent most of his life behind a desk, was standing firm, his power driving the Alpha back.
During these precious minutes, Don was warming up. He trained, yes, but training could never replicate the desperation of a real fight. His muscles were remembering, his instincts sharpening, his control becoming more fluid. He was improving with every exchange, loosening with each blow.
The problem was, the same was true for Kai.
When Don lunged again, trident spinning, water spraying outward in a storm of droplets, Kai’s body shifted. His hulking Alpha frame compressed, muscles twisting unnaturally until he shrank into the form of a wolf once more. His paws pounded the ground, sprinting low.
Then, with terrifying suddenness, his body expanded again. Mid-run, he swelled back into his massive Alpha form, leaping upward with jaws wide. His fangs glistened, aimed straight for Don.
“DON’T LET HIM BITE YOU!” Xin’s desperate voice echoed from the balcony.
Her words carried the weight of realization. She had pieced together what had happened to Adam. She understood what Kai’s bite meant.
Don’s heart lurched. Instinctively, he thrust his hands down, sending a violent funnel of water bursting upward. The torrent struck Kai mid-leap, staggering him for precious seconds. But it wouldn’t hold him for long.
Another problem gnawed at Don: the rain. The clouds above were thinning. His earlier use of power to aid Austin had drained him. He could feel it, the storm wouldn’t last forever. Without it, his advantage would wane.
And then, he felt it.
The air shifted. The clouds above grew darker, unnaturally so. A surge of energy pulsed through the battlefield, one so heavy it made even Kai hesitate. The Alpha wolf’s head turned instinctively toward the source.
Don followed his gaze.
Gary stood there, the Lycantide Warhammer raised high above his head. The weapon seemed alive, humming with raw force. The air around Gary darkened as if shadows themselves bent to his presence. From every direction, streams of faint energy began pulling inward, funneling toward the hammer.
Xin, Kevin, Park, Olivia, Midwak, all of them felt it instantly. A strange weakness washed over their limbs, their energy slowly siphoned away. Their breaths grew heavier, their bodies slightly unsteady. But it wasn’t just them. Don could feel it too. The power was drawing from further away… much further.
Because Gary wasn’t only drawing from those nearby.
Far away, scattered across Slough, and even further still, members of the Howlers pack stirred. Hundreds of them, men and women whom Kai had ordered Gary to turn long ago. A precaution. A hidden army. They had been stationed far from this battlefield, waiting as a secret defense should the Dark Guild strike again, or should the vampires launch an attack.
Now, all of their energy, all of that power, was flowing into Gary.
His teeth clenched, his knuckles white around the warhammer’s hilt.
I didn’t know if this skill would work when I couldn’t transform… and I wanted to save it, to use it against Unzoku, or against Lupus if it came to that. But right now… right now, it’s the only thing I can do.
The warhammer drank in the power, its glow intensifying, a storm of green-tinted light swirling around Gary’s frame.
A giant spectral wolf materialized behind him, towering, ethereal, formed from the energy of the pack itself. Its head lifted, jaws parting in a silent, earth-shaking howl.
And then, with terrifying swiftness, the wolf’s form collapsed into Gary’s body.
Energy flooded him, coating his skin in a shimmering green aura. It radiated outward in waves, each pulse stronger than the last, as though Gary had become something more than a Werewolf, something that carried the strength of every member of his pack within him.
The battlefield trembled.
Gary had unleashed the ultimate ability of the Lycantide Warhammer:
[A powerful once-per-month ability that harnesses the full power of the pack, temporarily adding all of their strength to the wielder.]
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