"Hahaha. Okay, that’s not fair"
Rhos let out weakly as his forced smile finally broke into a nervous laugh. It died in his throat the moment the Wrath took another step forward.
In only a couple of strides, the towering silver wolf topped mere centimeters from him. The hot wind it generated collapsed inward and he felt it press against his chest.
The creature lowered its massive head and all of its many beady red eyes locked onto him all at once.
At this moment, Rhos was completely scared shitless. Even with all of his experiences, he had never come across something so terrifying.
It was even worse now since he was standing so close to it. It was unbearable.
The heat rolling off its body felt like standing too close to an open furnace, its warm breath washing over him had the nasty stench of blood and wet fur.
His fingers trembled so badly that the lure beacon slipped from his grip.
’I’m going to die...’
In his two years as a Ranger, Rhos had never actually seen a Wrath in person before. He had only seen them in diagrams and sketches. And also heard about them in passing and from the Academy.
Wraths were mindless, man-eating monsters hellbent on wreaking havoc and causing destruction in their wake.
At least that was what he was taught to believe, but the thing staring down at gim did not feel mindless at all.
Perhaps there was some semblance of intelligence behind those blood red eyes. And perhaps a need to become a companion of this young man standing in front of it.
That was what he wanted to believe. However, he was proven wrong in the next instant.
"Shit!"
The creature’s jaws snapped open and instinct took over.
Rhos threw himself to the side just as a maw lined with serrated fangs crashed down where his body had been. The impact destroyed the ground, causing splinters of roots, dirt and dead leaves to explode into the air.
He rolled on the forest floor, scrambled to his feet and made a quick break for it. At the same time, figures flared to life like wildfire.
"No doubt about it, that’s an actual Wrath!"
"Holy hell, look at the size of that thing! Must be at least 9 meters tall!"
"All units, engage!"
Ranger Division 14 burst from concealment in a coordinated ambush. Spears, blades and beastly roars converged on the Wrath from all directions.
Mountain Gorilla Taru led the charge in front.
He smashed his fists together, his toned muscles bulging as a pale blue sheen flooded over his arms.
"Eyes up, you oversized mutt!"
The ground crated beneath his takeoff into the air. He drew one massive fist back and drove it straight toward the Wrath’s open maw.
The punch landed with a concussive shockwave that rippled through the clearing. The Wrath’s head snapped back as its jaw slammed shut on empty air.
Taru rebounded and landed on a skid several meters away with a wide proud grin.
"Ha! Keep the pressure on! Don’t give it time to recover!"
The Keeper’s Patron Spirit was a mountain gorilla, meaning his physical power was beyond that of normal human limits. Naturally, a direct blow from him was bound to have caused some form of severe damage.
That must have been where his confidence came from.
The other Rangers did not let such an opportunity escape them. They slammed their spears into the creature’s flanks. A massive cleaver carved into its shoulder, tearing out a spray of crimson mist.
From its right, Leopard Cat Nimra was already on the move. Sleek cat ears protruded from her and shadowed stripes crawled over her skin as her green pupils slit vertically.
Using her superior speed and agility, she vanished and reappeared atop the Wrath’s spine.
"Big and ugly, nice to meetcha!"
She raked both of her sharpened claws downward, shredding through its siler fur and flesh.
Under the overwhelming assault of these small humans, the Wrath staggered, almost losing its footing.
"Haha! That’s it! Keep the pressure rangers! Don’t let up!"
Taru announced as he rushed back to deliver another hit. Chains shot out from another Ranger and wrapped around one of the creature’s many horns.
"Anchor secured!"
Explosions of light and force hammered the Wrath from every angle. Through it all, Rhos was running like the wind.
He did not look back or wait to see more. His main focus right now was not only survival but getting out of the way so others could do their jobs.
His job as live bait was complete, even though he lured in a dangerous monster. But still, it was now up to them to kill it.
Honestly, Rhos did not think they were going to come out to attack. He was surprised in fact. He thought they would have turned tail and ran or just left him to die a horrifying death.
Ranger Division above 10 had virtually no chance against a Wrath, it was the reason why they mainly operated in locations often cleared of them.
However, because of the Keeper’s foolish decision, they were in this situation now.
Another thing that surprised Rhos was how well they were doing against it. Behind him, the sounds of battle raged on, still continuing in the humans’ favour.
A part of him even believed they were actually going to do the impossible and kill a Wrath right here and now, even though they did not specialise in it.
That belief was squashed when the creature opened its maw and let out an ear shattering howl.
The sound of it crawled through the air and sank into their bodies. Even from a distance, Rhos felt it as though he was the closest.
Suddenly, pain exploded behind his eyes as he fell on his knees.
"Uahh!"
He screamed in agony while clutching his face, warm crimson liquid pouring down his cheeks. His ears rang violently as blood spilled from them as well. His nose bled and his mouth was filled with metallic taste.
When he spat it out, a cluster of blood sank into the soil.
"What...what the hell is?"
By the sound of it, he was not the only one experiencing this. Somewhere behind him, other Rangers were going through the same pain.
"Argh! My eyes, my eyes!"
"I’m bleeding! Why am I bleeding?!"
"Everything hurts!"
"Stop it! Make it stop!"
Men and women collapsed where they stood with blood streaming in exactly the same areas as Rhos. Everyone had been affected by this invisible attack, including Keeper Taru.
Just like that, the ambush shattered in seconds, and the Wrath raised its head again.
’I knew it.... we’re all going to die’
Curled on the forest floor and choking on his own blood did Rhos finally understand it.