The ice elemental let out a deadly roar before stomping on Fenris again and again. Fenris evaded by running on all fours just like he had done when fighting his first elemental.
And just like before, ice shards shot from the creature's feet and legs as it stomped on the snow-covered ground.
But this wasn't completely like before. Fenris stopped, his claws from his limbs kicking up snow to the side. He stared at the armored elemental, preparing for his attack.
Buck's veil still served him for now, but Fenris felt it thinning by the second. He wasn't as powerful as before when fighting the first elemental giant due to his hide no longer being out.
But most of his senses were restored thanks to the veil, for whatever good that did him.
"How do I get to that core?" Fenris murmured, his eyes focused past the armored chest to its glowing blue source.
Fenris stood on his legs, far away from the ice elemental, even further than before.
This elemental—it hadn't just gotten armor protecting itself. Fenris noticed its behavior had changed from its predecessor. It was more aggressive, and its territorial marking had widened.
"It's almost like it… learned from last time," Fenris said, unsure, tilting his head. The creature's behavior did make him wonder something.
What if this was the same elemental he had fought the first time? He had removed its core, but what if it regenerated… or reformed?
"If that's the case, then this never ends. Even if I did destroy its core, that's no guarantee that it won't reform again and again."
He was frustrated and exhausted, and yet—he couldn't help but form a soft smirk.
He cracked his knuckles, a useless gesture, but one he had seen Beowulf do more than once in their training.
"I came here to become more powerful. If that means killing stronger versions of you over and over again, I'll gladly do that."
He reached into his pockets, then into the dimensional pouch. Both claws were full of glowing and pulsating rubies.
Fenris felt a slight chill as his breath became misty. The veil would soon break.
He would step into the elemental's range, but before he did, he shut his eyes, concentrating on his senses. Mostly his vision and hearing. His hearing was still being blocked out by the blizzard, but still he tried.
He opened his eyes. His golden irises shined brighter than ever.
"Let's begin," Fenris said confidently.
He ran to the elemental.
The armored elemental stomped on the snow, erupting ice shards toward Fenris. Fenris' eyes locked onto the creature's movements and its attack.
From below, he saw vibrations spreading outward from their origin and multiplying to their endpoint.
"There!" Fenris said, eyes widened.
He leaped away, dodging the creature's blind sword attack. He then circled, throwing more ruby explosions at its knees.
A large shard of ice erupted from his previous spot. That wasn't the end of it.
Before, Fenris was running away half-blind and half-deaf. But now, that couldn't be further from the truth.
He didn't have a word for this state. Not all wolves could do it either.
Buck may have had his rune and his pain-sharing ability, but this was something Fenris had over Buck after years of training his senses.
Ice shards rose from below haphazardly. Fenris evaded them all without the slightest difficulty.
The elemental was near. He leaped towards it with both legs. Not as far as he would have on all fours, but it would have to do.
Mere inches from clashing, the elemental formed a weapon—a sword, ready to cut Fenris in two.
"AHHH!" Fenris screamed as he threw rubies at the elemental.
A few struck its eyes. It roared in agony. Fenris landed in the snow, running and throwing the rubies all over.
The elemental collapsed on its knees. Fenris let out a flurry of throws to the creature's ice armor plate. It broke but regenerated too quickly, same with the creature's knees.
It began to rise.
"Hells no," Fenris exclaimed, with a misty breath. The veil would dissipate any moment now. He looked to his hand—only a handful of rubies left.
None were left in the pouch. With time of the essence, Fenris dashed and leaped toward the creature before it fully rose. His hand shoved through the creature's mouth.
He pressed further, shattering the gems on the creature's rock throat.
Fenris tried to leap away, but the creature bit down on Fenris' arm.
He grunted, not just from the pain but for what was about to come.
BOOM!
The creature exploded into several pieces, scattered across the snowy battlefield.
Fenris opened his eyes, feeling a mix of burn and frostbite—not a pleasant combination.
"Augh, that fucking hurts," he cried. But still, he pushed through the pain. His hide was out. The veil Buck had put on him was gone.
Speaking of Buck—
Fenris' vision had returned to being blurry, and his hearing dampened thanks to the blizzard, even more so than ever.
His synchronization of senses earlier, while effective, did have drawbacks after it was used. It would take hours for his senses to return to their original state.
But he could hear the sound of snapping in the distance. Buck was fighting.
"Time to regroup, I suppose," Fenris said, sighing, annoyed.
It wasn't just for Buck's protection against the blizzard. If Fenris knew Buck—and he did—Buck had probably packed more of the rubies with him.
Fenris growled slightly as he approached the sounds of battle. He had his victories in this world, but relying on him proved to be more vexing by the second.
Fenris stopped. The core of the elemental he had just defeated was in front of him.
"Maybe… maybe I should stop it from coming back."
He still remembered what he had claimed earlier about getting stronger despite whatever versions of the elementals he would have to face.
But maybe he could decide when to fight, not just stumble into it randomly.
The core began to sink.
"Oh no you don't."
Fenris grabbed it, trying to pull it away. At first, it seemed like he was succeeding. The orb would resurface, only for a stronger force to pull it back down.
"This isn't working. I have to let go."
He tried, but his eyes shot up when he couldn't. The orb had frozen and merged his fingers into it.
"No!"
He would not allow himself to be sucked into whatever this was. With his free hand, he brought out his claws, intending to cut off his own arm.
But he hesitated. He couldn't heal from this. But still, he had to. He had to do whatever it took to survive.
He swung down on his arm—or tried to anyway. Something wrapped around his wrist, preventing him.
He turned back and spotted Buck, holding onto him with his elongated runed whip.
"Don't do anything stupid!" Buck exclaimed.
The core still sank, taking Fenris with it. Buck tried to pull Fenris away, but the core kept winning, sinking deeper and deeper. Half of Fenris' body was already submerged in the snow.
And Buck's agonizing pull made Fenris feel like he was going to be torn in two.
Seeing his friend was in pain, Buck let go—but not before giving Fenris a bit of advice.
"Take a deep breath, and I'll find you. I promise."
"What do you—"
"I said take a deep breath!" Buck exclaimed, agitated.
All that remained above the snow was Fenris' neck. Reluctantly, the dark-skinned wolf trusted Buck's words.
He took a deep breath, his vision lingering on the harsh blizzard—and then… nothing.