Who was the prey and who was the hunter was still to be decided, but for now, it definitely looked like the oversized pigeon was heavily favored.
The wolf was slowly but surely losing this encounter, with injuries already starting to take a heavy toll on its body.
Things couldn't go on like this, something had to be done.
Perhaps realizing the situation it was in, the wolf was starting to get desperate. Recognizing this, Gaston began getting himself ready to strike at a moment's notice.
A wild animal truly backed into a corner was something few could imagine without seeing first with their own two eyes.
Under normal circumstances the wolf would be the prey, but when the fear of death was replaced by madness, the roles of predator and prey could get reversed very quickly.
Judging by this wolf's eyes, it wasn't far off from losing its mind.
The pigeon didn't seem to recognize this however, or if it did, it simply didn't care.
Either way, Gaston got into position and hid himself behind a tree that was about a hundred or so meters away from the battle.
Right as he got into position however, the pigeon suddenly swooped down towards the wolf.
'So fast!'
Gaston thought to himself after seeing it attack for the first time.
Now it all made sense as to how the pigeon was able to go relatively uninjured so far during its battle with the wolf.
From over a dozen meters in the air to slashing at the wolf with its claws, it all happened in the span of a few seconds.
Any thoughts Gaston might have had previously about the pigeon potentially being slowed down due to its massive body size were thrown out the window.
The wolf managed to get its head out of the way, something he assumed it had done beforehand as well judging by the fact that its head was attached to its body.
However it wasn't able to react in time to completely dodge the attack, as the pigeon's claws dug deep into the wolf's body, leaving a deep gash on their way out.
"Wooo~"
The wolf whimpered from the pain of obtaining another deep injury on its body.
By the time it turned its head to look for the attacker, the pigeon had already returned to the air, out of the wolf's reach.
"Awooooo~!"
The wolf raised its head towards the pigeon and let out a desperate howl.
Its eyes were beginning to turn red, signaling that it had nearly lost its mind from the pain of its wounds as well as the anger of not being able to retaliate against its slippery attacker.
This time around, the pigeon wasn't as indifferent to the wolf's howls as before.
It stayed in the air for a bit longer than before, as it contemplated whether to go for the finishing blow or wait for the wolf to bleed out on its own.
Then again, the wolf was quite big and it would take a while for it to succumb to its injuries, time during which a lot of things could happen.
Perhaps with that in mind, the pigeon decided to swoop down and finish off its prey that it invested so much effort into.
After all, if more time passed and more predators suddenly appeared, the pigeon wouldn't be able to eat its prey and would have to go on the hunt again.
Naturally, the pigeon wasn't willing to abandon its prey when it had already done the hard part.
Even more so because it injured its wings slightly during this hunt, it didn't want it to all be in vain.
Ignoring the fact that the wolf had lost its mind from the pain, the pigeon swooped in again, this time looking to deliver the finishing blow.
Meanwhile, as soon as Gaston noticed that the pigeon was going to attack again, he sneaked closer to the wolf, now hiding behind a thick tree that more than covered his body just some 30 meters away.
Despite his plans of ambushing the winner of this encounter, nothing was set in stone just yet.
If a suitable opportunity to ambush the winner of this battle didn't present itself, Gaston would have to climb onto a tree and hope to not be detected.
After all, these creatures were far too big for him to take head on.
Without the element of surprise, it wouldn't be risking his life, but just pure suicide.
That option was far too passive for Gaston's liking however, so he was naturally hoping he could be the last one standing and not have to hide and hope he got lucky.
While he was thinking to himself, the battle between the two beasts had reached its apex.
The pigeon reached the wolf in no time once again and it clawed at the wolf exactly like last time, aiming for its head.
Contrary to the pigeon's expectations however, this time the wolf didn't get its head completely out of the way like before.
Instead, it ferociously pounced towards the pigeon, aiming to pin it to the ground.
In doing so, it only slightly tilted its head in an attempt to not get decapitated.
It appeared that luck was on the wolf's side, as one of the claws completely missed it's head, while the other scraped its left eye out, leaving a terrifying gash in the process.
"AWOOOO~!"
The wolf released a horrific scream, containing a mix of both pain and maddening anger.
It was successful in its attack however, managing to entangle the pigeon's body as they both collided and smashed into a tree.
The pigeon had no such luck.
It's head was the first to connect with the tree, making it briefly lose consciousness and lose strength in it's body for a second.
The wolf on the other hand, was not in the same predicament.
During this time of weakness for the pigeon, the wolf ignored the horrendous pain it was feeling and bit into its neck with ferocity, looking to rip its entire head from its body.