Chapter 52: Chase Through Mensis
Reinhard tightened his hold on Anasha and launched himself from the clinic roof. His boots hit the tiles of the adjacent building as Werefangs poured into the streets below like a flood of crimson eyes and shadowy forms.
"Hold on tight." Reinhard says softly.
Anasha barely gasped, but he could feel her arms clamp more tightly around his neck, and her legs lock around his torso, instinctively bracing for whatever came next.
As Reinhard landed, a pack of Werefangs that numbered up to six slammed into the old town wall with claws, punching through brickworks. Others had begun scaling the bakery across the street, their claws scraping between bricks as they pulled themselves up and ascended with horrifying ease.
Reinhard didn’t pause as he sprinted across rooftops as the beast horde spread through Mensis Town.
Behind them, they could hear more claws scraped against stone and wood as the beasts climbed with terrifying agility.
"Shadow projectiles incoming from the left!" Mimir called from his shoulder.
Reinhard twisted mid-stride as dark arrows materialized from the shadows, coating several Werefangs. The projectiles whistled through the air where his head had been moments before, striking the roof tiles and shattering them into fragments.
He launched himself across the gap to the bakery’s roof, his knees drawn up to present less target and his left hand flat against the small of Anasha’s back, shielding her from the worst of the splinter-shrapnel.
Below, more Werefangs swarmed the alleys, with some rushing onto stacked crates and others simply leaping through the air with claws extended.
Reinhard’s boot left the edge as shadow spears punched through the darkness beneath the pursuing Werefang, their obsidian tips reaching upwards. Reinhard swiftly used Drasil Step, leading to time slowing down. The black spears that were rushing up began moving extremely slowly.
Reinhard twisted mid-air, one arm clamping Anasha against his ribs, and rolled across the next roof’s edge. He glanced back to see that another spear from the previous roof had already impaled itself through a chimney. He saw bricks breaking and rocks shattering, slowly scattering around.
Another spear spear rushed past his ear, then impaled the chimney beside them, leading to breaks cracking.
Reinhard then almost stumbled as he felt Anasha’s sudden shift against him, pulling his center sideways. Then time returned to normal with a crashing sound! He quickly continued moving forward and leapt towards another building.
"Bear-Terror approaching from ahead!" Mimir warned.
A massive creature burst through a building’s wall on the street below. Its body was easily twice the size of a normal bear, with spikes protruding from its back that gleamed like obsidian spears.
The beast’s mouth opened impossibly wide.
A spiraling sound wave erupted from its throat, the visible distortion in the air racing upward toward the rooftops.
Reinhard dove through an open window, pulling Anasha into a roll as the sonic blast shredded the tiles where they’d been standing.
They landed inside someone’s attic, and dust was swirling around them. Anasha whimpered softly but didn’t cry out as she tightened her hold on Reinhard.
"It’s okay." Reinhard breathed, already moving toward the opposite window. "We’re not stopping."
Reinhard crashed through the window in a shower of glass, landing on the next roof and continuing to move.
Below, the Bear-Terror raised its massive paws, which became coated in an orange aura that shaped itself into enormous claws of pure magic.
The beast swiped at a building’s corner, and the energy claws carved through stone like it was paper. The entire structure groaned as its support gave way, and the upper floors began to tilt.
Reinhard changed direction and rushed toward the restricted district as more Autumn Deer joined the chase. Their multiple antlers gleamed in the moonlight as leaves covering their bodies began to glow with ethereal light.
"Razor leaves, multiple directions!" Mimir called out.
The leaves detached and shot forward like thrown knives, each one spinning with deadly precision. They pierced through wooden walls and shattered stone, creating a deadly cross-fire pattern.
Reinhard summoned Zenuken and swung in a wide arc, the blade intercepting dozens of leaves and reducing them to harmless fragments.
More leaves came from his blind spot, forcing him to duck behind a chimney as they embedded themselves in the brick with sharp cracks.
The leaves pierced through the chimney walls, but Reinhard was already moving ahead. The roots suddenly erupted from the street below, climbing the building’s facade with frightening speed.
The thick vines sought to wrap around Reinhard’s legs as he ran across a narrow rooftop.
"Jump now!" Mimir commanded.
Reinhard leaped as roots burst through the tiles beneath his feet, creating a cage of vegetation that snapped shut on empty air. He hurled Zenuken back at the pursuing mass, the blade spinning through the countless roots and severing some of them.
Reinhard landed on a lower building and immediately dove through a window, entering what appeared to be someone’s bedroom. Anasha pressed her face against his shoulder as he rushed through the space and used his hearing to track the beasts outside.
For three seconds, they had time to rest before they were ambushed once more. Reinhard could hear the claws raking against the wall and the sounds of footsteps on the rooftop, the beasts were trying to enter.
Reinhard burst through the opposite door into a hallway and down a staircase, emerging onto the street level. Shadow arrows struck the doorframe behind him as he moved into a corner of an alley.
More Werefangs dropped from rooftops ahead and cut off his path. Their shadowy bindings writhed as spears materialized from the darkness pooling at their feet.
Reinhard skidded to a halt and then immediately reversed direction. He ran towards the wall before leaping at it and then using the alley walls to launch himself upward in a series of wall-jumps that carried them back to the rooftops.
Just as the shadow spears impaled empty cobblestones and led to some of them scattering away.
"Sound wave from below!" Mimir warned.
Another Bear-Terror’s spiraling blast surged upward. Reinhard threw himself flat against the roof’s incline, the attack passing overhead close enough to ruffle his hair. Tiles shattered and flew in all directions while Reinhard held Anasha tightly before pushing himself up.
Then, as he continued rushing, he saw an Autumn Deer leaping on the rooftop ahead. Its antlers lower as roots burst from the tiles in a spreading web and rush towards Reinhard. But he didn’t slow down and instead threw Zenuken like a spear.
The blade rushed out, blasting through the air and pushing through the root barrier, creating an opening he dove through while recalling the weapon to his hand.
But then more razor leaves filled the air behind him, and all of them cut through the air towards him.
He twisted through their pattern, some grazing his sleeves and pants to leave shallow cuts, but none of them hit Anasha or slowed him down.
The restricted district’s burnt buildings appeared ahead, it was only just a little further.
It’s then a Bear-Terror appeared in front of him with an orange aura over its claw. The beast roared out before sweeping out with its claw that tore through the building’s lower floors and led the rows of buildings to collapse and fall down on Reinhard. His eyes slightly widened while Anasha pressed her face deeper into his shoulder.
Reinhard activated Drasil Step, time slowing down before he began navigating through falling stone and splintering wood. He kicked off buildings, leapt through big structures, and ran across the top half of falling buildings.
Before he emerged on the other side, as time returned to normal, the rows of buildings collapsed completely behind them.
Anasha hadn’t made a sound beyond that initial whimper, but he could feel her trembling against him. She kept her face pressed to his shoulder, which Reinhard realized was her way of trusting and relying on him completely.
"Almost there." Reinhard promised as he leapt across another gap.
More Werefangs pursued across the rooftops while Autumn Deer and Bear-Terrors flooded the streets below. Over fifty beasts were chasing him, and all focused on bringing them down as they chased him.
But Reinhard’s path never wavered as he continued protecting Anasha without harming the beasts chasing them, knowing she couldn’t bear to see them hurt.
Finally, the burnt district appeared ahead, and Reinhard pushed himself even harder as he rushed into it.