A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Hearing Astrid's question, Erik nodded, relieved that everything had ended up alright, "Yeah, thanks to you," he said, his voice tinged with gratitude and respect.

Edda, recovering from the shock, threw her arms around Astrid. "You were amazing, Astrid!"

The vampire girl laughed boisterously, but her words were humble, "It wasn't that amazing. Erik could have done the same if he had been free to transform."

Having dealt with the troublemakers, they continued on their way. As they walked, Erik couldn't help but feel a shift in his perception of Astrid. She was more than just the annoying sort of friend he couldn't seem to get rid of; she was someone who cared for them and would protect them.

And in that moment, a seed of understanding and appreciation was planted in Erik's heart. Unfortunately, it would remain only a seed, as four years later, he was tossed into the world of Söl, and every memory that involved Edda was tainted by her betrayal, causing memories of Astrid to slowly fade into the background.

Only now, back in the present, did he not only remember her again but also finally understand the feelings Astrid had for him back then.

As he looked at the ghoulified version of the girl he once knew, he couldn't help but sigh as a bit of anger at himself welded up inside. He mumbled, "I'm sorry for not thinking of you all this time, Astrid. Hell, if I hadn't encountered you today, I might never have thought of you again until it was too late.

But you were never to blame for Edda's betrayal, and it was wrong of me to forget about you for so long. I'm glad coincidence has given me a chance to make things right. I don't know how you ended up in this situation, but I'll get you out of it." His eyes shone with conviction at those words.

He shortly spoke with Elora to discuss the best plan of action. They considered running ahead and planting some sigils on the road for a proper ambush, but there were simply too many uncertainties in that plan.

After all, they would have to move quite far ahead to have the time to set those sigils up, and they had no idea if there would be any splits in the road before then.

So, instead, it would be a no-nonsense frontal assault. It's not like it was all that risky. Even Erik alone could fight a regular second-rank ghoul and vampire together, let alone when he had Emily to back him up.

As for the fifty rank-one ghouls, they would barely be an obstacle. He would have to be careful with them, as they could technically pierce his armour, but they would pose little to no real threat.

Before getting started, though, he felt like he was missing something. When he realised what it was, he chuckled inwardly. "Aren't you going to call me a bleeding heart?" He asked Elora.

Surprisingly, instead of an amused giggle, he received a stream of serious yet warm feelings from his partner. "Of course not. Emma and Emily were strangers, and you really are a foolish, bleeding heart for helping them. But this Astrid is different. Let's do whatever we can to help her, and I hope it helps bring you a little peace regarding your past."

Erik grinned warmly. "Oh, if only the Obsidian Enclave could see you now…"

He received the mental equivalent of rolled eyes in return. "Shut up and just get going already." Erik laughed a little before doing precisely that.

He turned towards Emma and Emily, who were looking at him curiously, wondering why this particular ghoul patrol was so special. However, they knew it wasn't the time to ask, so they just waited to see what Erik wanted from them.

First, he spoke to the younger sister, "You know what to do, right Emma?"

She looked sad that she still couldn't help but understood why and didn't make a fuss. "Yes, Sir. Don't worry about me. Last time, we were in the middle of a town, but here, in a forest, my thorn dome will be all the more powerful. Plus, we're high up, so they might not even realise I'm here."

He smiled at her and nodded, "Good girl. Don't worry; we'll get you to second-rank as soon as possible." Seeing Emma smile brightly and nod with anticipation, he turned to Emily. "Can you take care of the vampire woman?

I know a frontal battle isn't exactly your forte, but you only need to keep her busy while I deal with the ghouls. I'm sure Elora's gift will come in handy for that."

A frontal battle against a second-rank Runebound was not easy for Emily, as her strength lay more in control, harassment, and range, and getting close to the woman in an attempt to enslave her was mostly just a quick way to die.

Emily looked slightly reluctant about using Elora's gift, but that was mainly because of who it came from. So she nodded with a bloodthirsty smile as she released her corrupted desires.

Yet, there was no corrupted red flickering in her eyes this time. It appeared their session from last night really had helped her gain some more control. "Sure, Boss. But what's the goal here? Just so I don't screw anything up by accident."

Erik's face became grave upon hearing her question. "I want to get that second-rank ghoul. Alive. Understood?"

Seeing his expression, Emily had to gulp a little before she nodded. Clearly, this was important to him, and she wasn't yet ready to find out exactly how forgiving Erik was towards her. She pulled the reigns on her bloodthirsty instincts before asking a second question.

"Got it, Boss. But, uh, how do we get down there? It's a ten-meter drop at least, and I'm no Runebound."

Losing his grave expression, Erik grinned. "You leave that to me."

The darker sister looked a little apprehensive at his grin but simply nodded her ascent as she had decided to put her trust in him.

Seeing the sisters were both ready and considering he was already in werewolf form, Erik wasted no time. He glanced at the ghoul patrol below, which was moving slowly along the broad forest road and hadn't made much distance since they arrived.

He conjured his hammer from the armour's storage, held it in his right hand, tensed his leg muscles, and jumped high into the air with a loud, reverberating howl. But not before snatching Emily by the waist and taking her with him.

Emily, unsurprisingly, screamed, "You asshole!" in surprise and fear as the hard ground below suddenly came up to greet her, her bloodthirsty expression all but lost.

Erik felt the world around him slow down as adrenaline pumped through his body, and an excited grin appeared on his face. It was time to fight, and Erik looked forward to it.

As he fell and the ghoul patrol below them slowly jumped into action, lightning began to gather on the head of his hammer, a clear sign of his second lightning spell, concussive blast.

When he was only two meters above the panicking patrol, he suddenly used his enormous strength to toss Emily up and to the left in the direction of the vampire.

His upward and lateral throw essentially counteracted much of the downward velocity from gravity, and Emily landed relatively safely, if a little ungracefully, right on her ass and on top of the vampire's ghoul-carried platform. "Ah! Careful, damn it!" She yelled.

Meanwhile, Erik took his hammer in both hands, aimed the head at the ground and plunged the last meter downwards. He landed right in the middle of the ghoul pack as his hammer hit the ground, causing the concussive blast to release its force in every direction.

A loud explosion, accompanied by the fizzling and crackling of lightning, echoed through the otherwise quiet forest. More than half of the patrol's ghouls blasted out in every direction, as many of them received heavy wounds or even died before being able to get a swipe in. Even some nearby pine trees were felled.

Between jumping down and landing, at most, two seconds passed, and considering the patrol leader's unprepared and seated state, she was still in the process of getting up from her chair when Emily landed on her platform, and Erik released his concussive blast.

"What the f- Ah! Fuck!" She began to yell but was interrupted by her platform sinking to the ground, as some of the ghouls carrying it were blasted away by Erik, while the remaining failed to keep it in the air, considering a human just crashed down on it.

Emily was already on her ass, so she went mostly unaffected, but the vampire woman immediately lost her footing and sank back down into her chair. Seeing an opening, Emily wasted no time conjuring two pitch-black arrows from her seated position and hurling them towards the vampire.

Still confused but realising the danger, the vampire reacted quickly and yelped as she crossed her arms in front of her face. Dark brown runes appeared on her skin, and a tough shell of small rocks began to form all over her body, blocking the arrows.

Emily immediately cursed under her breath. "It just had to be a defensive type," she mumbled hatefully.