Soul of a Dragon

21

Jungkook and Taehyung were not the only ones alerted by the sudden noise emanating from downstairs, a mixture of screams, and lower, more animalistic howls. Yoongi rushed from the second room, shirtless, even as Taehyung opened the door to his own, black blade in hand. Exchanging a glance, the two moved at once without words, Yoongi not surprisingly holding his twin blades already. With a backwards glance to Jungkook that said volumes of Stay there, they proceeded to move down the stairs, ignoring the fact that both wore only their pants.

Even as they did so, Jimin and Hoseok came out of their room, the necessity of clothes having taken a moment more of their time.

"What is that?" Jimin asked as another long, guttural growl drifted up the stairs, the screams having died, and replaced with yells of surprise and pain.

"I don't know, but Taehyung and Yoongi went down already." Jungkook said pointedly, as if he wished them to hurry down as well.

With a sharp nod, Hoseok drew his long dagger as his alternate weapon to the bow and arrow, and made down the stairs with elven grace, albeit hurried.

Glancing at each other, both Jungkook and Jimin came to an unspoken agreement, and paced down the stairs after the elf.

Taehyung was certainly going to be upset with him, Jungkook thought for only a moment, then all other thoughts were washed away at the scene that revealed itself to them as they reached the bottom of the stairs and got an open view of the main room.

Blood was everywhere, a noticeably thick and red viscous liquid that made everything slick with gore. Two of the three men whom they'd seen earlier were unmoving on the ground, whether dead or unconscious, it was hard to tell, though one of them was now missing his internal organs, the steaming mass of entrails clawed out by what was attacking.

Jimin didn't know the creatures that attacked, but Jungkook did. His bits of memory afforded him this knowledge, now the only good point he'd found to it so far.

Pachycrocuta. Standing seven feet tell, the creatures looked like a mix of hyena and man, covered in a coarse gray-brown fur, with knees that turned backwards, and clawed paws for feet. They grasped cudgels and crude knives in furry misshapen hands, and barred inch long fangs in a short, powerful muzzle centered between vicious yellow eyes. Even though awkward in shape and appearance, they were surprisingly agile, and fleet, with the combined mentality of man and beast. They also wore makeshift clothes and a small bit of armor that afforded some small protection, though most of what they would need came from their tough hides.

Five of these hulking Pachycrocuta were inside the inn, and trying hard to kill anything and everything within reach. Fortunately for those still alive, Taehyung and Yoongi had turned the tide of what Jungkook assumed to be an unexpected attack, slicing into their opponents with the ease of experience.

The man and woman from earlier were cornered by two of the Pachycrocuta, both, surprisingly enough, brandishing curved sabers with a good deal of skill. Stepping forward, the woman sliced through the arm coming in for an attack, the Pachycrocuta howling in pain and anger. Its other viciously clawed arm came up in response, knocking the woman aside with a powerful slicing blow she could not counter in time.

The man now faced the two, face of calm determination as he moved forward, ripping his saber across the first Pachycrocuta's chest, exposing bone and no small amount of blood as he pulled back, then sent the saber home into the mortally wounded beasts belly, viscera flying as he pulled the weapon free with a jerk.

It collapsed at his feet, jerking convulsions wracking its body, but he was already moving to the next one, sparing a worried glance at the unmoving woman, who was bleeding very badly from the wound she'd received from that last hit.