Dreadwolf, Lord of Runes

Kane and Luna turned serious straight away.

Although these ten people were one of the smaller groups they'd faced so far, they were also some of the most powerful. Each of them had all their cores at least at rank three, and the most powerful of them even had a fifth rank blood core. He was a large human male, and likely their leader.

"I guess we shouldn't be surprised they made sure the front door was well guarded, especially if it could never close," Kane mumbled to Luna while narrowing his eyes and taking a fighting stance.

Luna nodded solemnly and did the same thing. Meanwhile, Kane turned the light from his CyberStrap off. Unfortunately, it didn't matter much. While it was clearly night wherever they were, the two moons and uncountable stars ensured this entrance hall remained well lit.

They wouldn't be using the darkness this time.

"You must be the two escapees who've been causing all this ruckus," their probable leader grumbled in annoyance. "If you've come here to escape, I suggest you put down your weapons and give up. Even if you manage to defeat us, there's no way you'll find your way back to civilization without a guide."

'Guess I made the right choice in trying to get this place under control, rather than escape,' Kane realized inwardly. Then, he grinned viciously, "Thank you for the concern, but we're not here to escape. We're here to make sure no one else does…"

Kane's vicious comment appeared to stun the man. For a moment, he blinked, "You… what?"

"You'll see," Kane growled as his clothes suddenly disappeared while shifting his body to beast form. He knew he needed a little more firepower for this one, so he decided to use up some of the time he could stay in beast form.

Fortunately, the CyberStrap had a stretchy band that easily accommodated his form change, so it remained on his arm.

In less than a second, Kane's previous human form had been replaced by an upright, snarling wolf-like monster. Dangerous claws gleamed in the orange moonlight, and his sword pointed forward menacingly.

Just as these bandits were recovering from Kane's earlier comment, they became even more shocked now. "What the fuck are you?!" the leader cried out fearfully, having lost all his composure while taking a step backwards.

Unfortunately, it took him only a short moment to recover, as his face became resolute. Meanwhile, his men readied their weapons as well, despite the growing dread in their eyes.

Kane grew even more serious, as he realized these people were more disciplined than the others he and Luna had encountered so far. But then, he decided to make it a little harder for them.

He infused his vocal cords with the Echo of Terror, and howled into the air. A cacophony of sound followed, as various beasts and birds went crazy in the forest outside, while also making these bandits shake in their boots. Then, he charged the nearest enemy with wild abandon, his eyes shining brightly with dreadful red.

The bandits were already dreadfully afraid, but now panicked even more when they noticed his speed, which was nearly reaching Core Formation stage levels. After all, his physical properties were empowered in this form, and he was already at the fifth rank.

As the bandits were still spread out, he was easily able to reach the first enemy and cut his spear through the middle using his far superior blade. Then, he mowed through the enemy with his empty hand, claws extended by crimson light, ripping a gaping hole in the man's chest.

With one man already down, and the others still trying to stop their legs from shaking, the fight was of to a good start.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

The leader shook his head and roared to bolster himself and his allies, "Dammit! Stop shivering out of your diapers, you ingrates! Attack! Attack now!"

Deciding to lead by example, the man pulled the two axes from his sides, and charged towards the rampaging wolf-monster as a battle-cry left his throat.

After a moment of silence, the entrance hall suddenly reverberated with more cries as the man's subordinates all followed their leader's example.

Of course, Kane wasn't simply sitting around while they rallied themself. At this point, he was already at the throat of a second bandit, and before the others could reach him, this one, too, had fallen to his blade and claws.

But now, the others were on him.

With their leader at the head, eight men and women engaged Kane in close combat. Several techniques sparked, and several elements were raging around his form.

Instantly, Kane went on the defensive. While he could probably defeat these people using his numerous advantages, going on the offensive would put him at risk, and there was no need for that when they had a far better strategy. There was a reason Kane had tried his best to make a show of himself.

Well, technically there were two. First of all, it was a good way to spread fear, which strengthened him, but most of all, it was to provide a cover for Luna.

With everyone's fear of Kane rising, they didn't dare take their eyes off the nightmarish wolf monster, thus focusing all their attention on him. Meanwhile, the fact he entered the room with comparatively forgettable and far weaker companion, had already slipped their minds.

But soon, they were reminded, because suddenly, one of the women attacking Kane had a tail wrap around her neck, before she was torn away from the melee, and tossed away.

"What the hell?!" the leader exclaimed and looked behind him. "Nora!"

But that moment of distraction was deadly. Kane mainly fought the leader, while the others were more like flies buzzing around him, but now the leader was distracted.

Thus, Kane used this moment to lash out at the flies, and instantly another man lost his head. At the same time, he taunted the leader with a mocking grin, "Don't get distracted now!"

Growling, the leader turned around, and faced Kane again. His eyes were bloodshot. "You'll pay for that!" he roared, as his double axes became a storm of metal.

But Kane just chuckled, as he easily parried the man's attacks. Meanwhile, one of the other flies tried to disengage and help their tail-napped comrade, but they were only barely able to avoid the crimson Elemental Blast that was instantly sent their way.

"Don't get distracted!" the leader roared furiously. "Just watch your back and kill this guy! We'll take care of the bitch afterwards!"

But it didn't turn out that way. One by one, the bandits were picked off. The men were skewered by Kane, and the women were tail-napped by Luna. Slowly, a pile of four unconscious women was formed next to a smug catling.

Finally, even the leader's head flew into the air, his face twisted in fruitless rage.

With the fight done, Kane groaned in satisfaction as he stretched his back and turned his body back to human form.

When he was done, he turned on the light from his CyberStrap, and turned to his partner with a victorious grin, before some slightly surprising words slipped out, "Good job, my love."

Luna was just grooming her tail and looking around, when her eyes widened. This was the first time he had called her that, and she couldn't help but let a somewhat silly grin slip onto her face. Even Kane felt a little weird saying it, but it felt strangely right as well.

"B— Back at you," she muttered with a hint of embarrassment.