In the main hall of the casino, the civilians had moved over to the sides, hiding behind the tables. Most of them had simply come to Notsburg to enjoy some gambling, but who could have guessed that they would end up in between two gangs. Even those sent over from gangs feared for their lives as they hid behind slot machines, or ran off into the hallways if they got the chance.
Alas, it seemed nigh impossible to really escape the fight. Even if they managed to find some peace and quiet for a short moment, the next moment a burly man could come flying through the air. Those less fortunate would end up colliding with the slow machines, coughing up blood everywhere.
It was hard for the onlookers to get a full grasp of what was going on, as the casino was filled with Scatterbugs members who were trying their best to dog pile on top of the gang members, yet somehow they were the only ones getting injured from what they could tell, despite the numerical advantage.
"How is this possible?!" One of the casino staff members shouted out in disbelief. "There's only a handful of them, but we haven't taken down a single one. Are these guys monsters?!"
Austin was still standing by the door, part of his uniform had been ripped and there were even a few Anti-Altered arrows were stuck in his body. It was expected for a gang like the Scatterbugs to have these weapons in case of an Altered attack, but what they didn't expect was for it to have next to no effect on the large teenager. As they shocked his body, he wasn't startled for even a second and swung his arm, hitting two men at once, sending them flying crashing into a few of the slot machines.
"Great job." Marie cheered Austin on from the side, as she thrust her spear, sticking it deep into a man's stomach this time. During the fight, she had been cut on the arm, and once again Innu had barely managed to save her in the nick of time as he swung his axe, hitting the back of the person's head. The cut wasn't big, but it made her realise that these people were out for blood, it truly was kill or be killed.
Pulling out the spear, she then whacked it on the side of his head, knocking him out in one go, but her arms were starting to feel numb. Most of the time, she had practised fighting with either her crossbow, or small daggers, the muscles in her body weren't trained to use a spear the way she had been doing. A few times she had already been close to dropping it.
"You're not ready for melee combat. Just stay close to me!" Innu shouted, his breathing heavy. The black teenager had felt confident after learning that he could draw extra energy from the weapons. Unfortunately, after the first time, the amount of energy it recovered has lessened with each subsequent time, until it lost effect. He had expected the weapon to have limitations but now was an awful time to learn that lesson.
One of the gang members threw a knife toward Innu, who lifted his axe blocking it at the right time, but another dagger with a sharp blade was coming right towards his side at that moment. At the same time, several knives were also thrown at Marie. In a quick split decision, she needed to make a choice, to thrust her spear and stab Innu's attacker or try to defend.
"Don't forget about us!" A burst of power exploded from one side of the room and a fist right to the face had hit Innu's attacker. Meanwhile, several long strands of what looked like hair, had grabbed all the projectiles that had been hurled towards Marie. After a moment, they all got sent back to the attackers.
"Are you okay?" Izzy asked, looking back at Marie.
"I'm fine, thanks. None of them hit me, but what about you!" Marie asked.
It was only then that Izzy noticed that she had been injured. There was a small cut in her shoulder. She was bleeding. When looking at her hair that acted like part of her body, and when her Altered form was very much alive, she could see that it was still in place.
'I knew something was strange… it seems like I really can't control my Altered form properly. Could this really be some after effect from the wound on my shoulder? Was it because of that bite… I guess I just need to be more careful from now on.' Izzy thought.
"Everyone, duck!" Ian shouted, as he curled his body into a ball.
Everyone looked at him wondering just what he was planning to do, but Izzy knew her childhood friend long enough to guess what he was up to. She quickly did as she was told and grabbed Marie with her.
A second later and several sharp thick bristles came out from his body, hitting all the gang members that were close by, while the others, including Olivia, had used a whip to drag one of the gang members in front of her, taking the brunt of the attack.
"Ah…I don't know if that was such a good idea… I'm starting to feel a little faint." Ian said, as Numba was behind to grab him.Looking at the surrounding situation, there were now around half the number there were before, but in his mind that wasn't a good sign.
'All of these guys are weak, incredibly weak. A Tier-2 gang being taken out just by a few Altered, that makes no sense. Which can only mean all the strong ones are inside.'
"Hey, cat lady!" Numba called out.
The Howler members were stunned into silence for a moment as they were wondering who Numba was trying to call.
"You can't be talking to me, could you, boy!" Olivia questioned as she appeared by Numba's side with a man right under her shoulder, his face scratched up and her eyes glowing blue.
"I'm worried about Gary." Numba admitted. "The guy who beat Kai isn't here, and I'm sure there are stronger people inside. I know Gary is strong, but to face them all by himself… I'm afraid he'll tire himself out. He'll need you by his side!"
Olivia kicked one of the gang members right in the stomach and far away as she heard this.
"Look, we can take care of the ones that are left in here. We're weaker than you, and with your help he has a chance. Just leave us behind and do what you can to take that guy down!" Numba suggested.
Olivia looked at the situation, before she looked at the Howlers. She wondered when she had started to try so hard for the sake of the gang who had completely ruined her life. Honestly, she agreed with Numba's suggestion but she was conflicted about helping Gary.
After all, from what she understood, she would be free if he was gone.
"If we leave, you could die," Olivia argued.
"There's a small chance of that, but if you don't follow behind Gary, the chance of him dying is far greater. And without him… aren't we all as good as dead anyway?" Numba smiled.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Olivia was angry how one could smile in a situation like this, but for some reason, it appealed to her.
"Fine!" The Beta Werewolf replied. "Howlers…we are leaving this area. It's time to support our leader!"
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