Running through the enemy lines, Tāo carved a path for himself, canteen in hand, heading toward the forest behind the enemy lines. Dodging the many soldiers trying to block his way.
Breaking through, he eventually saw the forest, where several soldiers pounced on him, preventing him from passing. Still holding the canteen in one hand, he began to growl like a madman, slashing at the soldiers or, for some of them, eating their hearts while they were still alive.
Surrounded, he started running, then jumped onto one soldier's shoulders before bursting out on the other side of the circle. Then suddenly he was grabbed by a human with pairs of wings who began to take flight into the sky.
Tāo had just enough time to open the canteen and throw it to the ground, releasing its contents and creating a pool of blood that spread across the ground.
The person who had grabbed him was in fact a woman with wings on her back and taloned feet, like a raptor's. Her talons were embedded in Tāo's skin, but fortunately she had grabbed him poorly, not causing him much pain.
Taking off into the sky, they quickly ended up above the forest. Tāo grabbed her talons and clawed at them, making her scream in pain. She let go, but Tāo clung to her, trying to climb up, making her fly crookedly before plunging toward the ground.
In midair, Tāo tried to claw or bite her. The woman used her wings to slice into Tāo, forcing him to let go and fall into the void.
Falling, he landed on branches in the forest, trying to grab onto whatever he could to slow his descent. He eventually clung to the tree, sinking his claws into it, slowly reducing his fall but not avoiding the impact with the ground, even if diminished.
The constitution of a werewolf is very different from what one might imagine: it is extremely flexible, possesses reinforced muscles and solid bones. Jumping from a ten-story building is possible without suffering significant damage. It also has a highly developed sense of smell and hearing superior to that of a human.
But where its true strength lies is in its extraordinary instinct. Very similar to that of a vampire like Yumiel, but far more bestial, savage.
When he hit the ground, his beastly instinct screamed at him, warning him to be careful, as he could still feel the presence of that woman all around him, lurking in the shadows.
Moving cautiously, Tāo sniffed the ground, trying to detect her. Then a shiver ran down his spine; he spun around abruptly and clawed behind him, slashing the woman who was once again trying to grab him.
« Hrrraaa… »
He only grazed her, but it was enough to make her bleed. Taking to the air and camouflaging herself among the trees. Thanks to the smell of blood, Tāo tracked her through the forest, slowly but surely.
The scent began to linger in one spot. Tāo approached it slowly, before realizing she was not there.
Turning around quickly, the woman was there, charging at him like a hawk, driving her talons into his torso and trying to lift him into the air.
Tāo braced himself against the ground, his half-human, half-wolf legs digging into the earth. He swelled his muscles, increasing his strength, before grabbing both of the woman's wings and pulling them apart.
Screaming in pain, she released him with her talons, then pulled out two pistols, firing into his torso and sweeping upward toward his head.
A werewolf's skin is thick and flexible, similar to that of a honey badger, allowing it to withstand numerous attacks.
The bullets lodged in his flesh but went no farther; some barely sank in before popping back out. As she raised her aim toward his head, she forced Tāo to release her or risk taking too much damage, stepping back several paces.
They were now a few meters apart, staring into each other's eyes. The first to move would trigger the other's reaction. The woman slightly moved her wings to check their condition—that was enough for Tāo. He lunged at her like a predator.
With no time to take off, she used her wings as weapons instead, slicing through the air. Tāo had to be careful not to retreat too much, or he would give her time to fly.
In such a delicate situation, it can be difficult to determine a winner, but a true predator waits for its prey to make a mistake. And the mistake did not come from Tāo, but from the woman.
Tāo stepped back slightly, making her believe there was an opening, but in reality his feet were anchored to the ground, ready to leap into the air. The woman saw it as a chance to take flight again.
The moment she began to launch herself into the air, beating her wings, Tāo propelled himself upward, jumping more than five meters high, driving his claws into her flesh and tearing off one of her arms with his gaping jaws.
« A-aaah… »
Badly wounded but still alive, she tried to flee, flying through the forest. Given her injuries, she could not fly high, forcing her to stay no more than twenty meters above the ground.
Tāo was not about to stand there watching her escape. He climbed a tree with surprising speed, then leapt from tree to tree and branch to branch, chasing her through the forest.
She tried to lose him, but her injuries caught up with her, truly preventing her from doing anything but fly. Tāo knew it, following her quickly but not relentlessly—just enough to pressure her and drain her strength.
After several long minutes of pursuit, she finally began to slow down. Tāo accelerated at those moments, leaping faster and faster. Reaching above her or the equivalent, he jumped at her, but the woman sped up, missing the timing and dropping toward the ground before climbing again and trying once more.
The hunt continued. This time, he cut her off. She changed direction; he cut her off again, positioning himself on a branch above her. She changed direction again, abruptly. Until the moment when changing direction killed her.
Changing direction in panic, she ran into a massive branch blocking her path. Trying to turn back, she ran into Tāo leaping at her, grabbing her and tearing off her wings in midair, crashing heavily to the ground.
On the ground, he devoured her heart, then placed his foot on her and howled.
« Aooooouuuuu… »
Leaving the forest to return to the battlefield, to find the members of his new pack, he ran into Jack at the edge of it.