Werewolf Leveling: Building the Strongest Pack in the Apocalypse

Chapter 270: A Rancid Presence

"We’re going to have to fight."

Immediately as I spoke, Selthia and I both went on guard. The unknown creatures circled around us, and strangely I could see a slight outline of their eyes.

Their dimly glowing eyes seemed also... reptilian.

Just then it dawned on me.

"They’re lizard men," I said to Selthia. "They are nocturnal, so they won’t be restricted by the darkness."

Just then, one of the creatures who was slowly sneaking up on us from behind launched at us. I turned around at the last second and with a single swing of my claws, I decapitated the lizard man mid-air. It’s head was sent flying somewhere into the darkness and its body fell lifeless to the ground in front of me.

Selthia was temporarily stunned, but she didn’t have time to lament as immediately the other lizard men launched themselves at us. She reacted instantly and fired out precise water slashes with her magic.

Since she was firing into the darkness, not all her attacks managed to hit their target, but even then she was able to injure them enough for me to finish them off quickly.

I guarded our backs as the lizard men launched a relentless attack. They attacked from all sides. Using my thermal vision to guide my claws, I landed lethal blows the moment they were in range.

The lizard men utilized their high agility and erratic movements to run around us. Due to this and the sheer number of them, Selthia and I managed to get scratched a few times, but these were only flesh wounds since the lizard men couldn’t get in close enough to cause serious damage. The moment they were even in range of creating such damage, they were instantly decapitated.

Considering our disadvantage, Selthia and I worked well together. In just a few minutes of relentless attacks, we managed to eliminate all of the lizard men. By the time we were finished dealing with them, Selthia was out of breath, causing her to slump over with her hands on her knees.

"You need to work on your stamina," I said.

I had realized this before. During our training, Selthia was usually the first to go out of breath.

"It’s not that simple, darling. Using magic uses more stamina than physical combat," she explained.

"Oh, I see. I didn’t know that," I responded.

"No, you’re right. I need to increase my stamina. It’s just that it will be harder considering my stamina is already high. It’s just that magic easily drains your energy."

So having high stamina is crucial to performing magic? I quickly made a note of it to myself.

It made sense. Ever since Selthia awakened her sea goddess bloodline, her magical ability had increased significantly. The fact that she was able to disperse small water vapors into the air and sense the vibrations if anyone moved through it was honestly impressive.

After resting for a short while, Selthia and I continued through the dark space. Whenever we encountered any strange creature, we would work together to kill them.

"Hey, do you think Damian found a way to travel through the darkness easier than we are doing, I mean?" Selthia asked as we walked hand in hand through the desolate streets.

"He most likely has," I responded.

"Hmm? Why do you think so?"

"I saw him turn into a bat before. Bats are similar to the lizard men. They can thrive in the darkness," I explained.

"He’s really a problem. We need to get rid of him."

I reached out and patted her head as I saw a flash of anger cross her face.

"Slow your roll. Don’t get any dumb ideas. I’ll handle it."

"Yes I know, but aren’t you worried about him? What if you can’t defeat him after you evolve?" she asked.

"Then I’ll figure something else out," I assured her.

Even though he was powerful, in the grand scheme of things Damian was a small obstacle. Especially when compared to the likes of the sea witch or Conquest. Plus there were many other powerful forces out there that I had yet to face yet.

Damian wouldn’t be where I stopped.

Suddenly a smile appeared on Selthia’s face as she nodded her head.

"I trust you," she said.

I smiled at her, but immediately my smile froze as I sensed something.

Bloodlust.

A crushing bloodlust washed over us. It wasn’t right. His bloodlust felt rancid, as if it wasn’t right. It was just like him. An abomination that shouldn’t exist. My mind felt as if it was spiraling. My skin itched. Everything about this felt wrong.

"He’s close!" Selthia shouted, dragging me out of my spiraling thoughts.

Her words brought me back to my senses, and immediately I began looking around while using my thermal vision to see if I could locate him.

"What is that?" I asked subconsciously, taking a step back.

What I saw was far from what I expected.

"What is it?" Selthia asked, feeling my grip tighten on her hand.

"We have to go. We’re surrounded."

"By what?"

To be honest, I wasn’t sure how to answer her question. Even I wasn’t sure what I was looking at.

"Heat signatures. They are all around us. If I had to guess, it seems like fog. Only it has heat signatures. It has heat signatures that could only belong to a living, breathing creature," I explained.

I didn’t have to think long to figure out who it was.

"It’s Damian."

The fog had us completely surrounded in all directions. It was closing in on us in the middle. My instincts told me that if we got caught up in the fog, then Damian would know of our presence.

If that happens, then it means death without a fighting chance.

We had to escape.

Just then my eyes landed on a skyscraper that had yet to be hit by the fog. Grabbing Selthia by the hand, I dashed toward the tall building.

Maybe if we climbed high enough, we could evade it.

I hope the others are safe and don’t get caught up in this.

Entering inside the building, Selthia and I immediately ran towards the stairs. The elevator needed some kind of key card to operate, so we had no choice but to head for the stairs.

Selthia and I climbed the stairs as if our lives depended on it as the fog rose through the building.