What Meave showed at the moment was certainly a different kind of transformation than his. Seeing the monstrous figure before him, Emery promptly scoured through his memories before he landed on a name, the Fenrir Wolf.
It had similar features to the one he saw in his illusion. The pitch black fur, the spikes on its limbs. Emery also noticed small horns on its forehead and the much larger claws than its normal counterparts.
The wolf, or rather, the transformed Meave let out a roar loud enough to destroy a normal individual's eardrums. Strong gust of wind washed over him as Emery could clearly feel the strong power radiating from the other party.
There was even a voice that sounded directly to his mind, Meave's voice.
"You will learn the stark difference between us!"
He could clearly hear the witch's voice in his mind, something that shouldn't be possible. This could mean either she had reached the level similar to the High Priestess or that her [Wolf Transformation] had somehow related and had some connection to his [One Mind] skill. After all, no matter how much Emery wanted to deny the other party's existence, they were still related in blood.
Moreover, Emery's [Mudwall] and [Entangled], no matter how powerful those two spells had become due to the enhancement they received, were still considered as lower tier spells. They were clearly not enough to hold Meave's [Wolf Transformation], which was simply monstrous.
As soon as she broke out of her constraint, the transformed Meave immediately went charging to Emery's direction. Despite her enormous frame, it seemed to have no effect on her as she shot toward him at great velocity.
Emery knew the current Meave was something he couldn't underestimate. Such size, such speed;
Therefore, Emery quickly used his [Fey Transformation - stage one].
With partial transformation, Emery turns his feet to give him a boost in speed to dodge.
However, much to Emery's shock, the huge wolf rapidly coming at him was more agile than he thought. It swiftly shifted its trajectory, following the direction his body was moving, and swung its massive claw at him.
Splat!!
Meave's claws, which were like blades of a sword, were able to cut through Emery with ease, causing a long streak of line across his body as blood spilled out of the wound like a rush. Fortunately, the wound wasn't that grave as Emery was protected with his [Stone Skin] spell.
Even though the spell managed to mitigate the damage the claws inflicted and not caused deep wounds, the momentum brought by the attack was able to throw Emery a few meters away.
While Emery was half kneeling on the ground bleeding, the wolf quickly took the opportunity to charge at him once again. Dust rose to the air as Meave rushed with the pure intent to kill.
ROARRRR!!! Accompanying the charge was a loud roar befitting a wild beast, as there was nothing else in Meave's eyes but Emery.
But this time, the witch only hit empty air as Emery had flickered over to another side using [Blink].
Realizing that her prey was gone, the wolf turned its head around looking for Emery. The moment it found him, Meave once again glared at him menacingly. Meanwhile, another voice came to Emery's mind.
"My young Emery, you cannot hide from me!" She said, "You must know that the Night Wolf, the son of Fenrir; was our original bloodline…" Emery could feel the other party's gaze on him intensified as another voice resounded in his mind, "An impure Feywolf, like you, won't beat me no matter what you try."
Emery's face remained plain as he heard Meave's ramblings. He, of course, didn't have the slightest bit of trust in the other party's words. This was because he had learned at the Bloodline Institute and saw for himself that even a higher rank bloodline could be defeated by the lower one.
The Fey Wolf was known as a rank 6 bloodline, and Emery had managed to boost his rank to rank 4, the Fey Shaman.
Hence, even though the witch said her bloodline, which was Night Wolf, was a much purer, higher rank of bloodline, he didn't believe that the other party had evolved her bloodline to stage 5. Even if he overestimated her, he was sure that her bloodline would only reach rank 4 at the most.
He had clearly seen the strength and speed the other party could display. Now, it was time for him to showcase his real strength.
Emery focused his concentration on his body's meridian points and quickly channeled his spirit force circulating in his body toward a certain one as taught by his master. A moment later, he roared as he utilized the battle art technique.
[Immortal Gate - Stage 5]
[Battle power increased by 32 points]
[Battle power 93 - 125 (110)]
The technique brought a large increase in his overall physical power. His muscles, bones, and skin density greatly improved. His strength, speed, and reaction time exponentially increased as well.
Emery then took out one of the swords he received from King Fjolrin. One hand with the prized sword, another with the exquisite dagger; he was ready for round two.
When the transformed Meave once again dashed at him, Emery was not afraid as he knew he could handle the other party.
Clank!! Crisp sound of metal clashing against something hard echoed in the air as Emery managed to parry Meave's sharp claws. He then used the dagger in his other hand for the counterattack, successfully scoring a wound on her body. However, it wasn't deep enough.
Nevertheless, this feat proved that Emery was able to match Meave's extraordinary strength and speed, and showed that he had no plan to be a sitting duck for the latter to be beaten.
HOWWLLLL!! Loud piercing sound came out of Meave's mouth as she became fiercer and lunged at Emery. Red glint was seen striking across her eyes, signifying that she was at the peak of her emotions.
Seeing the wild attack aimed at him, Emery quickly took the appropriate measure. Now that he was skillful enough to use two weapons simultaneously, he quickly shifted his body to the side and dodge the lunge before proceeding to make another cut on Meave's body. He also took the opportunity when it appeared to land another hit on her.
When the situation became too risky, Emery decided to stall his assault so as to not risk a battle of strength. Therefore, he once again retreated to the distance using his [Blink] spell. While Meave was trying to find where he had gone to, he resorted to another approach on attacking the former, by using a trick he had done before.
A small spatial tear opened near Emery and he immediately thrusted his sword into it. At the same time, a similar spatial tear materialized near Meave's right hind leg where a tip of the familiar sword appeared and stabbed on its target. All of this happened without Meave realizing it.
Splat!!
Blood splattered as the result was delivered. This time, the wound was deep enough to partially immobilize the hind leg, causing Meave to limp. Looking at the success of the trick, Emery nodded his head in satisfaction. This should be effective in reducing the mobility of the other party.
HOWWLLLL!!
Meave wildly and loudly growled again. At first, Emery thought it was because of the several wounds he inflicted. But apparently, that wasn't the case. There, where the wounds were; he could see faint smoke rising, which was immediately followed by the closing of the wounds.
Emery was surprised at the sight. That must be one of the innate abilities the Night Wolf bloodline had.
The wolf, or rather, Meave glared at Emery again and spoke, "How.. How is this possible?!!" disbelief was evident in his voice. "You're a mere Fey! This is not possible!!"
Emery didn't have the chance to reply to her rhetorical question because she once again charged at him.
But once again, now that he knew what she could do, Emery adapted to her advance. Slowly but surely, he was able to follow her movements which in turn allowed him to inflict some more wounds on her.
This happened repeatedly until her body was covered with cuts. Meave had to use her regeneration ability three more times before she finally realized that he was more superior than her.
The moment that the realization hit her, Emery's mind was filled with her hysterical voice. "No!! I won't lose to a boy like you!! It will not end like this! Never!
The next thing happened was Meave was chanting a few words before it was followed with another howl, but not out of anger this time. Her body suddenly fell to the ground, trembling and shaking as if something happened to her.
The sight confused Emery, but it didn't take long for the questions to be answered. All of a sudden, he felt a burst of energy coming from her. The pitch-black wolf figure began to change. His fur quickly turned shorter and longer many times over, and he could even hear a loud cracking sound.
Meave's body was transforming; the previously massive figure started to stand on two feet as it slowly transformed into a humanoid wolf - much the same as Emery's second transformation.
She howled again, and Emery could clearly see the body changed. The muscles became conspicuous, the fur on the four limbs and back turned even longer, and the spikes on the body became even more prominent.
Through the transformation, Meave was still screaming in pain until Emery saw the area of her chest. Just below the neck, something was growing. A black crystal surrounded by many nerves.
Before he could wonder what the black crystal was, Emery suddenly felt the witch's power increase greatly. Turning his attention back at her, he saw her glaring at him.
This time, no sound echoed in his mind. Only the sensation of pure anger ready to devour his existence.
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