The Wolf Mage

True Strength

I felt my magic power rise as I struggled to stand.

“Dis pence” I mumbled. My claws lengthened again. I winced in pain again from my wound. ‘Get up!’ I urged myself. If I die here... there’s so much to miss. I’ve never met my mother, I’ve never met my father. Now I know what this magic is called, wolf magic. I’ll never know where this magic comes from, or why its so rare. ‘You can’t die here!” I realized. I stood up, shakily, but I was up. I dodged his fist, and dashed forward. I slammed my fist into his face. He gasped, and the impact sent him flying backward. He crashed through the window of an old market building. My eyes widened in shock of myself. I could hear Edmund groaning from the other side of the window. He was back on his feet, but there were several cuts on his shoulders, and arms from the glass. He brushed off some dust, and as he walked out he nearly fell forward. He winced in pain, and cracked an eye open.

“That’s some magic power you’ve got” he noted. I didn’t reply, but I glared back. I wasn’t even sure myself where this power was from. I clenched my fists tightly, but I didn’t care I was going to fight. I crouched down low, preparing to charge forward again. I could feel the magic power within me. It was strong, much stronger than normal, and it was wild. My muscles were tense, ready to spring forward. Every fiber of my being was tense with anticipation. Anticipating what though? Tearing him apart, winning this battle. I closed my eyes, and put my head in between my hands. Where were these wild thoughts coming from? Was I turning into some kind of monster?!

“Ha, you are as unfocused as you look!” Edmund sneered, snapping me out of my thoughts. Without even thinking my muscles reacted instantly. He was close to hitting me with his claws again, but I dodged with an impressive amount of speed that surprised even me. His eyes widened in shock at my sudden speed. I moved to the side out of the way of his claws, and delivered a punch to his chest. The impact caused him to stumble backwards. His eyes narrowed, ‘what is he planning?’ I wondered. ‘focus’ I thought, trying to keep my mind on track. Edmund smirked, and suddenly charged forwards again. I braced myself, moving from offense to defence now. Edmund increased his speed suddenly. I moved back as he zoomed by, and lashed out with his claws. I blocked with my gauntlets, but his claws scratched the smooth metal quite easily. I turned around to face him again to see him zoom by again. His claws hit me, scratching my face. I stumbled backwards in surprise. Edmund repeated this, repeatedly zooming by and scratching me. Everytime I tried to face him he’d zoom by again. My arms were covered in scratches, and my own blood. ‘I need to do something’ I thought. I turned around, only to receive a sudden punch to the face. I fell backwards, but I caught myself. I couldn’t let myself fall, but I was beginning to become dizzy. ‘As soon as I fall, I probably won’t get up again’ I realized. Behind me I could hear Edmund’s heavy footsteps charging again. He was becoming slower, but he was still fast. I fought the urge to turn around to try to punch or claw at him. My muscles tensed, and I jumped high. Edmund zoomed by totally missing me. I had to strike now! I darted forward, and punched him. The impact sent him flying backwards. He hit the ground with a heavy thud, and was rolling towards someone. I looked up to see a tall man walking down the alley. Mason and Seth, the two that had been fighting Brad and Erza, were beginning to back off. Mason had some burn marks, and scratches. These were most likely from Erza’s lightning dagger attacks. Seth’s shoulder was bleeding badly. The man behind them was quite muscular. He stood tall, and unafraid, his posture held a look of authority. Someone behind me coughed. I whirled around, a bit startled. Erza backed away holding his hands up defensively.

“Jeez, someones nervous” he mocked. I sighed,

“Sorry” I apologized. I turned to Brad who was an absolute wreck. His shoulder had stopped bleeding, but it was stained in blood still. I looked at his face, remembering the sound when he’d been punched. That terrible popping sound I’d heard. His jaw was slightly crooked now from the impact. Erza’s arms were covered in burn marks, and soot. He had a long scratch on his cheek. I couldn’t help but stare at my squad members. Had a single fight really done this much to us?