Jack was hurled far away. Curling into a ball and landing in the heart of the melee on the front line, trying to rejoin yumiel, he was intercepted by soldiers.
Jack had to reassess his priorities; he couldn't reach her without dealing with them first. And so the massacre of the monster of the battlefield began again. The enemies thought they had forgotten him, or that he had vanished. But to their great misfortune, he had returned.
Ripping off their limbs while changing his own, using their spinal columns as weapons, or even eating the brain of their own comrade—and all of it right before their eyes.
It didn't take long for Jack to be pushed away from the battlefield; no soldier wanted to face him.
Slightly away from the battlefield, a giant wolf was sent flying into the air. Landing on Jack, crushing him under its full weight. The wolf got back up, wounded; it stood over seven meters tall.
Crushed against the ground, Jack struggled to get back up. Then, suddenly, the wolf above him dodged, revealing a myriad of rocks hurtling toward Jack. Breaking the limits of one of his legs, he escaped the swarm of rocks crashing violently into the ground.
Several corpses lay near him; he quickly changed his leg. During that time, he was able to observe the fight ahead of him. An immense wolf against two seraphins—one of them floating in the sky and looking exactly like the one he had seen earlier.
The other used a strange power, disappearing every time the wolf attacked. Once his leg was changed, he couldn't stop himself from charging back into the battle. Unable to attack the one floating in the sky, he lunged at the other, but strangely, when he tried to slam him to the ground, he passed straight through him.
The man reappeared behind Jack, who swept him away with a kick. He vanished again, and then Jack was shoved to the ground. While Jack was down, the man floating in the sky sent a barrage of rocks at him.
This time, he was saved by the wolf, who grabbed his T-shirt in its jaws before running off, pursued by the floating man. The wolf threw Jack into the air, making him land on its back.
« You must be yumiel's teammate. Go your own way, leave me. »
Jack was very surprised by Alpha's address; he spoke extremely well, and above all, he didn't have that animal voice.
« You want me to abandon you? You're dreaming—at least let me kill one of them! »
« Hahaha, you really are her teammate, but this is my fight, not yours. »
About to reply, Alpha was intercepted, stumbling heavily to the ground, Jack ending up on the floor. The man who floated lifted several pieces of metal or debris and hurled them at Jack and Alpha.
Both dodged the attack—or at least, they thought they did. The pieces that hit the ground vanished, and they were violently struck by several chunks of metal or stone. Jack wasn't badly hurt, but it was different for Alpha.
Alpha pulled himself together, stood back up on his paws, then picked Jack up again and ran around the battlefield.
« Fine, I'll accept your help—but only this once. Both of them are very hard to deal with, but the worst is the man who creates illusions. Impossible to tell the real from the fake. »
« So they're illusions… »
Their enemy wasn't about to give them the luxury of chatting. The flying man behind them extended his arm, slowing Alpha in his run. With his other hand, he lifted an enormous rock and threw it at them.
Seeing the massive rock closing in, Jack moved toward Alpha's hindquarters and stretched out his arms. The rock was about to crush Jack when he pushed it with all his strength. Alpha was at a standstill, unable to move, as if held by an invisible force.
The rock grew heavier and heavier, as though a force were pushing it forward.
« LET IT GO! »
Jack listened to Alpha, releasing the rock and stepping back. The rock slammed into Alpha's hindquarters, making him howl in pain.
« ATTACK HIM! »
Jack understood, launching himself onto the rock and then jumping into the air, ending up in front of the man floating in the sky. Jack tried to grab him, but the man pulled his arms back, generating a kind of force field that prevented Jack from touching him, and Jack was thrown backward.
Falling through the air, Alpha—no longer immobilized—leapt upward, and Jack caught hold of his fur. With jaws wide open, Alpha tried to crush the floating man, but he vanished the instant Alpha snapped his jaws shut.
« Fucking illusion. »
Landing back on the ground, he kept running around the battlefield.
« We absolutely have to neutralize the one who makes the illusions. »
« I have an idea—trust me. »
The same pattern repeated itself. Floating debris came toward them.
« Don't worry about me—charge when you see a chain strike something. »
« What? »
Jack had to jump off Alpha's back, the debris lodging into his flesh and making him bleed. Suddenly, Alpha growled; his fur began to vibrate, then changed color, becoming crimson.
Still motionless, markings appeared on his now-crimson fur, reaching up to his face. The man's attacks continued, but they now did almost nothing, as if Alpha's fur had become more resistant. The man extended his hands toward Alpha, preventing him from moving.
Alpha roared, and chains burst out of his feet. The heavy chains swept through and sliced the air before striking something visibly invisible. Jack understood, breaking the limits of one of his legs and charging toward the exact spot where the chain had struck.
Ahead, he was about to break the limits of his left arm—the last arm of the scrawny man he had kept. Suddenly, before he struck the man, illusions appeared slightly to his left.
Hesitating over where to strike, guided by Alpha.
« HIT STRAIGHT AHEAD! »
Releasing his punch forward, he felt it slam into something. The illusion to the left vanished, and the man appeared in front of him. Jack had struck him in the spine, sending him flying with such force that he ended up crashing into the forest—very likely dead on impact.
Seeing the scene, the man floating in the sky increased his power, trying to crush Alpha under telekinetic pressure. Jack struggled to move with one leg in pieces and one arm missing.
Roaring, the chains moved toward the man, who swept them aside with a wave of his hand, allowing Alpha to free himself from his grip. Alpha grabbed Jack in his jaws and fled once more, then tossed him a bit farther toward an area strewn with bodies.
« Thanks. Now it's my fight—don't get involved anymore. »
Alpha ran off, leaving Jack alone amid several corpses. Changing his limbs, he felt like a real idiot and decided to go after the man with illusions in the forest.