Bab 24: Playing With him
There was something abnormal about the wolves. Or, was it? After all, Byron had never seen a wolf before, except in videos of course.
He couldn't tell if the real wolves were as big as the ones coming from the forest right now, or if it was the CGI in these videos that made them look smaller.
But what about the eyes? And the horns? CGI might have made the wolves on TV look smaller, but how could it have failed to show boar-like horns and their red, glowing eyes?
'There's something demonic about these wolves!' he deduced.
He would have asked Alcippe, but the wolves didn't allow him. The biggest of them all, white and louder, charged at him.
His eyes immediately wandered toward the swords strapped to Alcippe.
"Sword!" he shouted.
It was as if Alcippe had been expecting this cry because she directly threw the sword at him and he caught it midair, diving to his right to dodge the wolf.
The bastard had inhuman... Well, it wasn't technically a human, but its reflexes were so fast that Byron didn't get a chance to assume a fighting stance because it had immediately turned toward him, charging again.
Its head was lowered toward the ground, seemingly trying to charge like a boar, and this only confirmed his suspicions.
It wasn't a wolf.
He dived away again, this time making sure he got into a fighting stance right away.
Surprisingly, he wasn't afraid. His mind was making countless calculations at the same time, and he could see several places to strike and he knew how.
'Guess I've got Pachilles' skills.'
He stood, waiting and with his gaze unwavering as he prepared to go low and hack its guts from below like he used to see in movies, or like from Pachilles' memories from when he was hunting.
Before the wolf reached him, he saw Alcippe coming out of nowhere and slicing it in two halves from the left side.
Its fore part fell in front of him, twitching, its hinder part doing the same.
Alcippe's long and thin sword was still flashing. It glowed blue.
He wandered his eyes around, only to see corpses of the other wolves, the ones which were still alive disappearing back into the forest after their master got slain.
"Holy moly! How?"
Alcippe giggled when she saw the awe on his face.
"Told you. I'm a warrior. You can't fight me, let alone defeat me."
She approached the head of the wolf and slashed her glowing sword through the base of the horn, severing it.
"I kind of hoped you were better though," she continued. "For a moment, I thought you were gonna win. Now I'm disappointed. I regret trying to test you. You didn't even kill one? What a shame!"
She was being harsh with her words, but Byron decided to turn it into a joke.
"Hey, don't get so cocky," he said. "The big guy attacked me first. While I bravely fought him, I was buying you time to slay the smaller ones. Then while he was still distracted by me, you caught him off-guard and killed him. I would proudly say that if it wasn't for me, you would probably be dead by now."
She laughed, indicating that his joke had worked.
Then again, he was kinda true. He distracted the big guy.
"Seems you're not the kind that admits defeat, are you?"
"No! No! When I'm defeated, I yield. When I'm not, I don't. Yes! You killed the first wolf..."
"And the second one and last one," she interrupted him.
"Of course! Of course! You killed them all. Yes you did! After all, you had a demonic sword while I had a normal one. It wasn't fair play. You cheated!"
She continued laughing as she collected all the horns.
"You're funny!"
"But I'm right!"
"Oh, yes you are! I've never killed that many, let alone in as short a time as we just did. The bigger one always escaped. It seems we make a pretty good team!"
"Yes!" Byron screamed, literally jumping in triumph. "I told you! I told you!"
"Hey, don't get so cocky yourself," she said, brushing past him. "I did the killing!"
"It will be me next time!"
They walked back to their horses and Byron saw her putting the horns in her sack.
He had asked her why she extracted them while they walked to the horses and she had told him that she liked to make spoons out of them.
So, apparently, all the spoons in New Themyscira had once been horns from the wolves she killed.
"Why don't they attack the city then?" he asked as they climbed their horses and rode away.
Alcippe looked at him with raised brows.
"The wolves! Why don't they come for revenge?"
"You don't know anything about wolves, do you?"
"I wouldn't be asking if I knew."
"Well, they attack only when they outnumber their enemy. The city is large. They wouldn't dare."
Byron had never heard that before. He supposed it was true. Why else would Alcippe lie?
The journey continued in silence, not an awkward one though. It felt natural, as if both had a lot on their mind right now.
You can guess who shattered it.
Byron, of course.
"Where are we going?" he asked, having noticed that they weren't making a journey back home.
Yes. He was new to this realm and couldn't tell where from where, but he could swear that this wasn't the way they had come.
Was she using another route? All the roads lead to Rome, after all.
Nope. It wasn't an alternative route.
"It's a surprise!" she said, riding faster. "Did you think I've brought you here for the wolves only?"
"Actually, I didn't think anything!"
"Well, you better do. I'm gonna show you something you've never seen in your life!"
What could that be? He wondered before he burst out laughing when he remembered the part where it was something he had never seen. There was no way to wonder about it.
They made it to the river and followed it upward until they reached a waterfall twice as tall as the one outside New Themyscira.
"Here we are!" said Alcippe, jumping off the horse. "What do you think?"
He jumped off too.
"A waterfall? I thought you said something I've never seen before."
She let out a chuckle, taking a step toward him. "Not the waterfall, silly!"
She slightly tugged at her dress, leaving her left shoulder bare as she added, "I'm here to show you something way better!"
Right then, she attacked his lips.
'What? Is she really kissing me?' he wondered, but the way her tongue sought way into his mouth and trying to find his tongue made him believe it.
She was kissing him.
Before he could kiss back, she pulled away.
"How was that?" she asked, a smile on her face, her eyes holding his. She was still close enough for him to feel her breath on his skin.
"Well, since no one has ever broken their chastity oath for me, seeing your body would surely be the first time ever."
Right then, she burst into laughter, running away. "I told you you think with cock. Who told you I've come here to fuck you?"
He followed after her as she climbed stairs cut on the rocks on the right side of the waterfall. He was too stunned to say anything.
'I can't believe she's been playing with me this whole time!'
At last, they reached the top.
Sweating and panting, Byron couldn't believe what was in front of him.
"Wow!" he exclaimed.
Hadiah
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