Biohuman

The abandoned town was quiet after Keng and Manny's narrow escape. Keng scanned the area around them. His senses sharpened as the silver halo appeared in his eyes. Manny let the last bit of spit and puke out before wiping his mouth.

"Don't do that ever again." Manny told him. He straightened himself out and looked at the rough area they had come from. "They came from over there. They shouldn't be able to find us."

"I made so much noise, though." Keng sighed. The halos in his eyes faded as he looked at Manny. He was a bit worried Manny would be way worse off, but he did just fine. "I'm worried all that noise alerted the others."

"The others?"

​ "Yeah." Keng nodded. "Manny, could you even sense them before they appeared?" Manny shook his head no to his question. Keng sighed. "That's what I was afraid of… I can't even sense them with my seismic sensing, either. It's like… They simply don't exist until they do."

"Seismic sensing? Is that the first time you're bringing this new ability up?" Manny curiously looked at Keng as the realization came upon his face.

"Oh right!" Keng pointed at him, nodding. "I haven't told anyone this… Hm, I thought he would've…"

"He? Who's he?" Manny narrowed his eyes at Keng as Keng quickly continued without hanging onto his slip up.

"I thought I already told you guys, but I guess I mustn't have… I learned how to use it during the…" Keng stopped. Something was coming towards them. It rumbled enough for Keng to even register it. "Something's coming from the left of us." Keng and Manny turned their heads to look to their left, watching as a huge white wolf exploded out of the trees.

"A w-white Direwolf?!?" Manny stuttered. He instantly backed into Keng, pushing him the opposite direction. "Go! We can't fight that thing!"

"H-huh?" Keng turned, running into the town. The large white Direwolf flew after them as more blips registered behind them. Keng curiously looked behind only to see more white Direwolves following after. They were barking and growling as something small followed after them.

"Is that rumbling you guys?" Olivia's voice came upon the comms.

"No!" Manny shouted. Manny and Keng turned right, hiding behind the picket fences as they continued running. "It's white Direwolves! We're screwed!"

"White?" Olivia's voice sounded more concerned. "We'll rendezvous with you here! Check your maps! For the time being, don't do anything too rash!" Keng pulled up the map.

"It's miles away. Can we outrun all these Direwolves in the meantime?" Keng looked over at Manny. Manny glanced back, watching as the fences shattered as the Direwolf pack ran after them.

"I don't think so! We won't make it!" Manny shouted. "What do we do? White Direwolves have an Ice-affinity! I didn't think they'd travel this far! I thought they'd stick to the upper regions where it's much colder!"

"So, they're not supposed to be here?" Keng asked, glancing back at the wolves. They were quickly gaining on them.

"No! This is way too far South of their usual paths! We're not going to make it at this rate!" Manny sprinted harder, leaving Keng behind as Keng continued to look at the Direwolves.

"Anything else I should know about fighting them?" Keng asked turning and sliding against the snow.

"Y-you wanna fight it? You're crazy!" Manny shouted.

"Affinity for Ice magic and illusions. They're crazy beefy with vitality and got some great speed on them. Watch out for their claws, though, those can be infused with ice and freeze you if you're not careful." Evan info dumped Keng. "They're B-cusp ranks. High C's. Can you even take them, Lee?"

"I've been training nonstop with my life on the line." Keng smirked. His right hand stuck out to the side as his palm faced the wolves. It glimmered with Silver and cosmic energy as Keng's aura wrapped around him. "Some stupid wolves won't make a difference."

"L-Lee Seng, don't be so rash! We might just get jumped by the Ice Elves!" Manny shouted, turning to look at him. "Y-You'll definitely die at this rate with five of them in front of you!"

"Die?" Keng's smile grew wider. Hydrosphere flashed in his left hand as he twirled it. He moved forward, each step building more energy as the space around him began to thicken with cosmic energy. The stars sparkled around him as he raised his right hand up at the Direwolf leading the pack. The direwolves were about six feet tall and their cold blue ices focused on their meal to come.

"That means you don't trust me." Keng looked at Manny behind his shoulder. The wolves quickly closed the distance.

30 feet.

15 feet.

5 feet. A large circle of cosmic energy appeared, connecting behind the last direwolf as Keng turned to look at it. He turned his right hand to face the palm towards him as he threw his hand behind his back. The wolves lifted up into the air as Keng slammed quickly pushed his hand in the opposite direction — swinging to his side. The wolves slammed onto the ground, shattering the ground around them.

The cracks stopped right before Keng's feet as he began to write in the air. Magical runes appeared, thick borders above and below them as they created a circle around the wolves. Keng huffed as he came to a stop at the last rune. The Direwolves rushed at him, slamming into the barrier as Keng watched.

"Oh my god." Manny muttered. "H-he managed to trap them."

"What's happening?" Liz asked. Keng took a couple steps backwards, glancing at his watch. Four dots were coming towards them, slowly. It would be awhile for the group to meet up with them and Keng wasn't too sure how long the runic barrier would hold.

"Let's go to the rendezvous point." Keng turned and spoke to Manny. He began to jog, revealing a bit of his exhaustion to Manny. Keng moved to Manny, patting him on the shoulder as he passed. "Coming?"

"Y-yeah." Manny nodded, following after. The two picked up into a run, leaving the wolves behind. "How did you even do that? Were you always capable of capturing them like that?" Manny could hear "Lee Seng's" tired breaths as they continued forward. He took a mental note that they needed to rest somewhere for awhile.

"It was pure luck." Keng lied. He couldn't tell Manny and the others the truth. The actual truth was Keng had learned some defensive runes to protect him and his allies. He had engraved them into his mind, so when the time came, he only needed to make sure the enemy fell into his trap. "Those Direwolves rely on animal instinct, still. Putting them in the trap was just timing."

"And how long do you think it'll hold? I don't remember you being an Observer." Manny asked looking back. There were cracks in the barrier. Manny guessed there would be about thirty seconds more before it shattered, freeing the angry Direwolves.

"Not long. I'm not good at defensive spells." Keng replied. "Let's pick it up."

—

A loud howl echoed through the air as Manny looked behind them. He couldn't see the Direwolves anymore, but it didn't mean they were free from their pursuers. Manny clicked his tongue and ran faster to catch up to Keng.

"I think we have about a minute at best before they're on our ass, again." Manny told him. He gave him a concern look. "I don't think we should fight. We should hide."

"Against those things that could probably smell us from a mile away?" Keng raised an eyebrow. Manny clicked his tongue. He was thinking of what to do and Keng let out a sigh.

"We'll split up." Keng looked at Manny. Manny instantly shook his head no. He began to say something when Keng cut him off. "I'll make sure they follow me. You need to meet up with the others and come this way when you do. I can—"

"No!" Manny shook his head.

"I can hold them off long enough. I might be able to kill a couple of them too."

"No, I'm not going to leave you on a suicide mission!" Manny shouted. Keng turned and looked behind them. The Direwolves had already made it to the edge of his vision. They didn't have much time anymore.

"You go or I'll make you go." Keng threatened. Manny's face twitched in annoyance as Keng started to turn towards the houses. Manny grabbed his arm, pulling them to a stop. Keng immediately pulled his arm up as Manny's strength fought against his. "Go now, Manny. You wanna die with me?"

"At least you won't be alone!" Manny shouted. Keng sighed.

'Then I can't do what I want to do…' Keng replied in his head. He nodded and pulled his arm away as he and Keng ran towards the house.

"Come on." Keng motioned, taking one last look at the Direwolves before they both popped through the houses.

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