Page 69 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
Kitsuki was driven back, forced to defend as the strange magic sapped his strength. Warriors from both sides gave them a wide berth, avoiding the corrupting energy.
Rethus scored a glancing blow across Kitsuki’s armor. Where the bone blade touched, the metal corroded, crumbling away to reveal the padding beneath. A direct strike on flesh would have been fatal.
We cannot allow this abomination to exist, his dragon snarled within him.This violates the natural order. We must stop it.
Kitsuki agreed. Direct confrontation was proving dangerous. As the wolf lunged again, Kitsuki sidestepped instead of parrying, letting the bone blade embed itself in the frozen ground from its own momentum. In that instant of vulnerability, Kitsuki severed Rethus’s hand at the wrist.
The wolf roared in agony and rage. “I will kill you for this insult,” Rethus snarled, clutching his stump as toxic green blood oozed between his fingers.
“I think not,” Kitsuki replied, moving to finish the fight.
The weaponless wolf attempted to transform back into his beast form, but Kitsuki was faster. His sword plunged into Rethus’s chest, ice magic surging through the blade and into the wound, counteracting the green energy.
“Your master plays with forces he does not understand,” Kitsuki said, twisting his blade. “You will pay for his arrogance with your life.”
With a final, terrible cry, Rethus collapsed. His body froze solid before bursting into countless shards of ice. All that remained ofhis severed hand was a pile of bones and ash, the runes on the dark blade falling dormant.
Such a dangerous weapon couldn’t remain on the battlefield. It radiated malevolence, causing the grass beneath it to wither and die. The rumors of necromancy were now a chilling certainty. That magic had been forbidden for a reason. It corrupted not only its victims but also its wielders.
With a wave of his hand, silver smoke swirled around the bone blade. It thickened, obscuring the weapon, and then dissipated to reveal nothing but barren earth. The sword rested in Kitsuki’s secure storage in the castle, awaiting examination later.
He would discuss the issue with Jaega in their debrief after the fighting ended. If Nasume had harnessed necromancy and equipped his elite warriors with such weapons, the war would have taken a far darker turn. But as Kitsuki scanned the opposing forces, he only saw normal steel weapons. That didn’t mean it wouldn’t become a problem later, though.
But there was no time to dwell on the possibility. Instead, he focused on his determination to not allow Nasume to continue down such a dangerous path.
The battle continued to rage. Kitsuki’s strength returned now that the draining weapon was gone. His dragon settled, still disturbed but focused more on the immediate threat.
Another wolf attacked from his flank, its eyes glowing a deep oceanic blue. The air shimmered with moisture as it gathered water from the atmosphere, which surged toward Kitsuki in the shape of a wolf, its jaws open to engulf him.
Kitsuki leapt skyward, his dragon-enhanced strength carrying him above the attack. But the water changed direction, followinghim with unnatural precision. It split into tendrils that lashed at him, each strike powerful enough to shatter bone.
He twisted in mid-air, slicing through one water spiral, only for it to reform. The wolf shifted into its person form, his laugh a gurgling sound.
“Water always finds its path,” the warrior called. “Even your speed cannot outrun the tide.”
Kitsuki landed in a defensive crouch as the water vines converged on him. One surge wrapped around his leg. Another ensnared his sword arm, threatening to tear it from its socket.
The wolf shifter approached with confidence. More water gathered around him, drawn from the soil. “My master promised the victor your crown if they brought him your head. I think I shall wear it myself.”
Kitsuki feigned a struggle against the bonds, luring the wolf closer to exploit his cockiness.
“Ice melts, Dragon King. Water always wins in the end.”
More water rose around them, forming a dome that cut them off from the battlefield, distorting sound and bending light in strange ways. The pressure increased against Kitsuki’s chest, making each breath a struggle.
We are ice and winter, his dragon reminded him.Water bends to our will, not the reverse.
Kitsuki closed his eyes, appearing to surrender.
The wolf shifter moved closer. “Wise of you to accept your fate.”
“Water may flow, but ice will always trap it,” Kitsuki said.
He released his magic as an expanding wave of absolute cold. The temperature inside the dome plummeted. The wolf’s eyes widened as the moisture in the air crystallized, making the water holding Kitsuki stiffen and crack.
“No,” the wolf shifter gasped, trying to maintain control.
“You mistake water’s nature,” Kitsuki said, now free as the frozen water shattered around him. “It does not resist change. It embraces it.”
