Chapter 960: Chapter 960: Kiba’s trial (10)

9th floor, near the transition between the 2nd and 1st room.

Nanuk after running like a mad man for who knows how long with nothing but escape in his mind faltered just shy of the finish line.

Roughly 200 metres when he could see the outline of hope his body was suddenly struck by what felt like three sharp, hard hitting daggers. One hit his left shoulder, another narrowly missing his right kidney while the last pierced his right thigh causing him to stumble, falling forward to his knees.

The pain was non-existent given his state of mind, but the force was still very much present and very much impactful on his stride. His knees touched the ground along with one of his hands but only for a brief moment. His heart determined to survive, to make the sacrifice of his aunt and Khiran worth something propelled him forward.

Dropping merely a half step he rose to his feet and carried on running, his gaze never leaving his goal nor even glancing to the side alas with his leg pierce and kidney impacted his pace had noticeably slowed, practically a crawl in the eyes of the monster hunting him.

After only a few hard won strides Nanuk heard two more sharp whistles in the air and the next moment he felt an impact on his left and right knees.

He fell face first onto the ground, his brain repeatedly sending signal to his legs to stand back up but unfortunately even if the pain was mitigated by adrenaline the damage was too extensive, his legs were simply incapable of performing his orders, crippled by whatever pierced him.

Yet still Nanuk refused to give up, with fire in his eyes he dragged his body forward using his arms and pelvis to crawl to safety. His efforts evoking both a sense of respect and pity...sometimes it was more graceful to know when to quit.

The one hunting him as though fed up with such determination brought an end to his struggles by planting a large heavy paw on his back and pushing him down with all his weight, pinning him in place.

"Grrrr." A beastly growl passed Kiba’s lips, a mix of saliva and Khiran’s blood dripping onto Nanuk’s back as his eyes revealed a bloody red glint and a dense killing intent naturally oozed from his pores. Gone was the intelligent, lazy and gentle house cat that interacted with Loki and Nanna. In its place was a monster driven mad by hunger and anger....a common visage amongst most bestial monsters.

Back in Niflheim during his involuntary tutelage Kiba didn’t just shore up his foundations but he learned how a monster like him should take advantage of its many strengths...fighting like his master, a sapient or something bipedal was counterintuitive. He had powerful fangs, razor sharp claws, a durable hide, a speed surpassing most other monsters in his strength and size bracket but most of all he had wings. And as the old adage goes giving wings to a tiger was akin to heralding it as King of both the land and sky.

The so called daggers Nanuk felt were actually special outer feathers from Kiba’s wings. With a strong beat, a small explosion and a temporary covering of chakra these feathers could be launched at a target like throwing knifes, very useful for wounding fleeing prey that was just out of reach.

He used this instinctively and without much thought, his only goal being to slow down his escaping prey. Goal accomplished certainly but despite launching an additional two feathers -of which he didn’t have many left thanks to Eha- his prey kept struggling, dragging its wounded body towards the exit.

Now with his foot firmly placed on his back Kiba felt a hunger in the depths of his stomach and a wave of bloodlust screaming at him to take a bite....so he did.

His voracious maw opened wide and in the next moment like a bird pecking his jaw bared down on Nanuk’s succulent looking neck.

Dong!

However the result wasn’t the sound of fang piercing through flesh but clamping down on metal.

Not resigned to his fate and knowing that with Kiba’s foot still on his back he couldn’t move Nanuk as if waiting for him to bite swung his left arm over, covering his neck and spine with his shield. The force half dislocated his shoulder, but it managed to prevent his immediate death. Inspired by this success his other arm still holding onto his sword changed his grip and stabbed without mercy into Kiba’s paw, miraculously finding purchase on an already wounded area, piercing deeply and painfully.

"Rawrr!" Pain radiated through Kiba’s body and instinctively he pulled back his paw, releasing Nanuk from his grasp but at the same time he also tore at the shield, ripping it off along with Nanuk’s arm. A desperate attempt to free oneself that resulted in more harm than good.

With Kiba’s weight removed Nanuk flipped his body over, aggressively pulled out the feathers in his knees and stared hatefully at Kiba. The pain from having his arm torn off wasn’t something he could just brush off and with it he had gained some clarity. Escape was impossible, perhaps it always was.

Several health potions fell into his hands from a storage ring and ignoring the wastage and futility of using more than needed Nanuk chugged one and splashed others all over his body before then retrieving a spare shield, slightly lower in quality than the one currently being bent and crushed between Kiba’s teeth.

If in a dangerous position against a monster and you had the choice between a shield or a weapon you should take the shield -of course this didn’t take mastery into account but rather the flexibility of the equipment. A shield could protect your life better than a sword, spear, hammer or mace and if needed could even be used as a blunt weapon, so Nanuk wasted no time at all in choosing his spare shield over his spare sword. With just one arm he only had a single choice after all.

His body would need a few seconds or tens of seconds to start proper healing but unfortunately he didn’t have that kind of time, Kiba had spat out his crumpled shield and was already preparing to pounce in his direction, with his sword still embedded in his leg.

"ARRGGHHHH BRING IT ON BEAST!!!!" With his death a certainty Nanuk bore no fear in front of Kiba. The blood dripping from his teeth, marring his fur and even the remnants of an arm falling to the ground were all part of either himself or his party. This beast had killed each and every one of them and he was next, but he stood stalwart in the face of his fate, looking straight into the tiger’s eyes with immense hatred and anger. If he was to go this day then he’d make damn sure he took a token with him to the afterlife, maybe then his aunt and Khiran wouldn’t be so disappointed.

The two opponents charged at one another and what ensued was nothing short of an insane blood bath. Nanuk even if he was in a perfect state was no match for Kiba but with his willingness to not dodge blows just for a chance to land his own Kiba came out looking far more battered than expected.

By the time the light finally vanished from Nanuk’s eyes Kiba’s nose had been broken by his shield, whiskers yanked out, a jagged cut across his left eyelid, the sword that punctured his paw, pushed through until only the hilt was showing but the most surprising was the gash on his tongue. Nanuk before Kiba had the chance to crush his skull used his teeth to tear into the pink flesh, truly determined to cause as much damage as possible before the end. This last prey although not very strong was akin to being covered in sharp spines.

"Rooooaaaarrrr!!!!" Sensing that Nanuk’s heart had stopped beating Kiba roared with victory, that bloody glint in his eyes growing more pronounced as he started feasting on Nanuk’s flesh, his hard earned reward.

"..." Sitting in the private space Frost watched the entire battle with rapture, his brow rising in recognition towards the fallen adventurers. There was no feelings of hatred towards them, but his Dungeon had to feast. Invading someone’s home, killing its natural inhabitants, you had no one to blame but yourself if you ended up dead because of it.

Eha and her team were simply unlucky, their strength was just right for this trial, their hunting high enough to warrant aggressive action and slightly more expendable than the other two parties currently on the floor.

Frost would not remember them as they were not the first he had ordered to be slaughtered nor would they be the last but at least in their final moments he could observe and praise their efforts. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

A moment’s silence before shifting to the task at hand.

"Something’s not right." Seeing the look on Kiba’s face and the way he was willingly devouring Nanuk’s corpse he felt something was wrong and a moment later he teleported to within Kiba’s vicinity.