Chapter 19: Rift

The main result of breaking death perception would always be the same: the fearlessness of death. And due to that fearlessness, those who attained it would show unexpected results in life and death.

However, death perception was an elusive ability; it differed from person to person regarding its derivative effects. The most known derivatives were basically built on suicide attacks or accepting grievous injuries. They mostly resulted in sacrificing most of their attacking power for a single one powerful and overwhelming attack.

What Franswift attained was a very twisted concept of those abilities. Like all others, he was no longer fearful of death, but different from them, he was fearful of what transpired if he died, losing his goal. While he wasn’t afraid of death, he refused to die. Thus, what was derived from a twisted mindset was a twisted ability.

Since he didn’t fear death, his body was free from fear, the subtle hesitations or pauses that occur at the moment before death did not even pass by him. Since he refused death, his attacks and movements carried incredible ferocity yet controlled by a clear mind.

As Franswift released his breath and opened his eyes, a red glint appeared in his, yet his subtle breathing showed his control. The constant push of the alpha weighed on his body and drove his mind into the corner.

Feeling it was time to act, Franswift retracted the sword and positioned it vertically to face the alpha’s throat. With the sword holding it back gone, the alpha descended with a bite towards Franswift, but midway it franticly redirected itself and landed away. The moment before its teeth was an inch away from clutching Franswift’s neck; it felt the sword’s tip pierce its neck.

Successfully fending away the beast, Franswift leaped sideways and put a distance between them.

Eyeing the alpha in front of him, Franswift took another deep breath while bending his knees. He concentrated his weight on his toes, and as the red glint flashed in his eyes, he recoiled forward with the sword cutting from the side.

Unable to avoid the attack, the alpha was struck by the sword. However, due to the tough scales on the alpha, the cut was shallow. Still, Franswift did not care. Moving his sword again, he waved it for another attack aiming again at the torso.

Enraged by the attacks, the alpha howled for the other wolves to help, but it found nobody heading its call. Realizing he was running out of time before Erica would not be able to fend off all of the wolves, Franswift took a deeper breath this time and then leaped towards the alpha and aimed for the alpha’s head.

Not wanting to incur another cut, the alpha had prepared itself and pounced towards Franswift before his sword could reach it. Seeing it counterattacking, Franswift slid under the wolf and moved his sword along its belly, incurring a large gash but not deep enough to cripple it.

Not wasting time for the alpha to react, he faced back the alpha and he continued to send a flurry of sword cuts on its body.

The subsequent instances of attacks caused the alpha’s rage to peak. Whenever it tried to attack Franswift, he positioned to attack in an attempt to finish himself along with it, causing it to redirect itself so the mutual suicide wouldn’t happen. Even worse, whenever it had the opportunity to attack without repercussions, he was able to avoid it by a hairbreadth as if he was dauntlessly dancing on the tip of a sword.

Although the cuts it continued to suffer weren’t deep enough to be called a severe injury, they started to pile upon it and weigh it down. No longer able to contain its rage, the alpha howled as anger ate at its heart.

Following that howl, the wolves around sprang ahead and forced their way by Erica as they rammed into each other to move forward. Franswift recognized this was their last chance to kill the alpha; thus, he shouted to Erica, “Now.”

Getting her cue to move, Erica left her position and dashed forward towards the alpha. The moment she reached it, she parried away the alphas warning attack with her shield and proceeded to aim an attack towards its head with her sword.

The wolf tried to wave off the attack, but its claw fell short because the numerous cuts began to bleed it out. With her initial attack landed, Erica let loose as her sword flashed in blue lights, connecting more grievous attacks on the alpha.

Franswift moved and put his back against Erica’s. He fended off the upcoming wolves and said, “Finish it quickly. We need to move and help the others.”

Erica didn’t respond, her breath only got quieter as a volcano before the eruption. Following her receding breath, her hand dropped the shield, and she raised the sword up in the air with both of her hands. Her sword blurred as a flash of blue light appeared. With her sword now faced to the ground, the alpha’s head began to slide off its body and its body collapsed to the ground.

While Franswift sighed in relief when the alpha died, the wolves around them entered into a frenzy and rushed forward. However, Franswift wasn’t distracted. He pulled out his spear and shield. He said, “We will stay close and push through to the other side to help. They should be able to hold on with Arthur now until we arrive.”