章節 33: The husband's fury

Natalie was at a loss for words as she looked at the scene in front of her. As she was about to try and shield Iris as best as she could, something jumped out and took the behemoths attack head on and stopped it. Whatever it was grabbed the behemoths horns, and looked back at her and she recognized it immediately from its distinctive orange eyes.

"LEO?!" Nodding its head, the thing turned back to the behemoth and let out a low growl before raising its leg and delivering a swift kick to it head. After stunning it briefly, it turned around and gently picked up Iris in its arms before jumping into the trees. Natalie was stunned for a second before she heard the behemoth move and swiftly joined them. Reaching the branch Leo brought Iris to, the other hunters started surrounding them. Leo placed her down, and there was a growl,

"Help.... Her...." No one knew what to make of the situation before he jumped down to face the raging monster below. Natalie could only watch in amazement, as Leo stood straight and faced the monster. The behemoth let out a roar of challenge, which was instantly met by the now obviously pissed Leo.

"RRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!"

The air itself seemed to vibrate with the intensity of the challenge. Instead of watching the fight, Natalie turned to the paling Iris. She immediately gave orders to the surrounding hunters for their supplies of silverherb, and bandages as she tried to treat the ghastly wounds. She quickly realized however, that without better treatment Iris would not live. Natalie desperately wished that Austin were here. And as if knowing her thoughts, she suddenly heard a shout from her husband who was now arriving.

"NATALIE!!!"" As she looked up she let out a sigh of relief as she saw her husband approaching from the trees, with Austin hanging onto his back for deal life. After arriving, one of the other hunters started to explain the situation, as Natalie dragged Austin to examine Iris. As he did his work, she turned back got the fight and was horrified by what she saw.

Entire areas of snow had been dyed red as the two monster battled it out. The behemoth had several long cuts down its body made from Leo's claws, when their arrows had done next to nothing to it. It's originally grey fur had darkened with blood which would then dye the surrounding snow with each movement. The majority of the red had obviously come from the behemoth, but it seemed like it barely registered its wounds.

Meanwhile Leo's dark red fur had turned even darker with the blood that had spilled from him, as the behemoths claws racked his body. However he would only acknowledge his wounds for a moment, before turning his attention back to the fight. After several seconds passed though, his wounds would start closing at a noticeable rate, leaving behind a bare spot on his fur. The main concern though was the amount of bare spots he had, as a testament to the amount of wounds he received.

What had amazed the watchers though, was that Leo was using not only chi, but mana as well in his fully transformed state. They watched as he coated a clawed hand in fire, and used chi to add power as he drove his claws as far into the behemoths flesh as possible. Which simultaneously pierced the flesh, and burned the outside skin, causing the behemoth to roar once again, but this time in pain.

Natalie realized that Leo must have gotten stronger in both abilities as he was not able to use such techniques normally. As she became absorbed in the fight, a voice behind her called for her attention.

"Natalie! Come here for a minute!" Rushing to Austin's side as he examined iris's wounds, she saw that his face had turned pale due to his exhaustion from using mana. As she looked at Iris, Natalie felt like a knife had lodged itself in her guts. She had started to turn a nasty purple with bruising, and though the wounds she had received were bandaged, they were soaked through with blood already.

"As you could see, it's really bad. I don't know how else to say it, but I don't think I can save her. From my examinations, not only has several of her bones been shattered, but the lacerations had cut too deep, and there's bleeding internally. I've treated everything I can, but there's just too much damage. She won't die immediately, but at most she'll live to noon tomorrow; and that's only if the gods allow her to live that long." Natalie felt as if the knife had been twisted and yanked out as cruelly as possible.

Why? Why her? Why right when she was to be married in a few months? Why didn't she take the blow instead? These questions and more raced through Natalie's mind in an instant, as another roar brought her attention back. She looked down to the monsters fighting below, and fell to her knees. She then let out an agonizing cry, a cry that sounded throughout the entire forest.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

And she felt the tears running down her face, as she looked to Leo who had started to become exhausted.

"KILL IT LEO! KILL THE THING THAT KILLED HER!" Natalie screamed out in a voice that no one present had ever heard come from her. As her words reached him, Leo looked up from his fight and stared right at her. Everyone present saw the shock, and brief grief in his eyes; before something that shocked all of them happened. His eyes became completely calm, as he turned to the behemoth once again. The behemoth had developed an intense hatred for this thing in its path, and was also briefly surprised when it started to get smaller.

Everyone present was in shock as the fur on his body started to disappear, and in mere seconds Leo was standing there naked as the day he was born. The behemoth noticed that it's hated enemy had become smaller and didn't want to miss the chance, as it charged and opened its mouth wide. The surroundings stared in horror as Leo apparently gave up on all life, and disappeared down the behemoths throat.

No one was more affected than Natalie though. She had shouted due to her emotions, and believed that she had destroyed any hope of life in Leo, driving him to suicide. She lamented her own foolishness, as the other hunters also mourned Leo's passing. The only calm one was Jack, who had seen that in the brief moment before being swallowed, there was fierce glare in Leo's eyes. A look that said he had not given up. A look full of rage, and loathing.

The behemoth appeared satisfied with its meal, but remembered the annoying things were still around, and one of them took one of its eyes. It turned towards them and took a step. That was all it took. After that one step the behemoth let out a painful wail, worse than anything they had heard so far. They watched as the behemoth stood on its hind legs, and started tearing its own body with its claws. Wounds worse than anything inflicted so far were caused, thanks to its own weapons. As it seemed to desperately want to remove something from its body.

Blood started foaming from its mouth, as after a minute of wailing and inflicting its own wounds, it finally collapsed. No one dared approach as they still didn't know what happened, until jacks voice snapped them out of their daze.

"He beat it. He beat a behemoth single handedly." After those words were said everyone looked at Jack, then back to the behemoth as they contemplated his words. Suddenly its body started moving. The audience watched in horror, thinking it was still come how alive. When suddenly a figure tore through the midsection of the beast. It was a seven foot tall monster, covered in its enemy's blood and guts. It placed a foot on the behemoths side, as it let out a howl. A howl of victory, over the monster. Then it suddenly collapsed, turning back into Leo. The people in the surroundings watched in confusion before someone shouted out,

"LOOK!! THE MOON!!" They looked as the full moon had revealed itself completely. They waited for the transformation to take place once again, but instead Leo's body started glowing. As if it was bathed in moonlight.