Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 401: CDI. The Guardian Of The Passage

"Arf!" Thalos barked, finally returning to his master, who when he saw him, lowered himself for a moment towards him and made sure he was fine.

The wolf had nimbly managed to avoid the impact, but the surprise attack had frightened him a lot, so much so that he forced him to retreat with his tail between his legs.

"Dag, what is it?! What are we going to do?! That hand is huge, it definitely belongs to a monstrous being!" Gridd exclaimed, who as soon as she managed to re-ignite her torch helped her brother illuminate the area, noting that the huge hand was still there, but it was slowly returning in absolute darkness.

"Get out into the open I said! Step forward and face me, if you have the guts!" Dag yelled, making it clear to Gridd and all his listeners that he had no intention of backing down and that he would clear the passage at all costs.

"Hey, Dag... listen... we are relying on the words of a dying man, we must remain alert! Who can tell us that the tunnel exit is that way? We have to..." 

Egill's words, while he was trying to reason with his colleague, were interrupted by the baritone voice, which returned to speak in response to Dag's affront.

"Facing... you? Hahahah!" the monstrous being chuckled in the darkness, mocking Dag's proposal.

"Me against you. No interference from my men" Dag continued, convinced of his words and confident of his abilities.

"Mmmh... I think I'm going to kill all of you, one by one..." 

"I don't think so... are you even afraid to show me your true face, how could you defeat dozens of soldiers trained by Okstorm's most powerful Masters?" 

"Okstorm... you've traveled a long way... just to die in this cave and become food for my feral warriors?" 

"Feral warriors? So you must be one of those bastard wolves! Ehe, I doubt they will be able to eat our flesh, being all dead! If you're interested, I've killed them all and ransacked your village, ate your supplies, and drunk your exquisite mead. Now, if you don't want me to end the existence of your Clan forever, step aside and let me through" Dag continued, with a more enraged look than usual and an air of superiority.

"Mmmmh..." 

Another incredibly baritone verse was followed again by the same huge hand, which sprang back from the dark tunnel and lay on the ground.

Dag's soldiers retreated in fear.

A second hand immediately stood ahead of the first, making the monstrous being advance, which moving towards the light of the torches, slowly revealed its nature.

While all the lit torches were pointed in that direction and illuminated the area, Dag dropped his one and wielded both of his weapons, realizing the size of the enemy he was about to face.

Struggling to get out of the cave because of its size, a giant wolf rose to its feet, in all its majesty.

His fur was thick and black, with a grayish spot around one eye and snout.

Gridd and the other Masters, at the sight of that frightening being, retreated with their warriors, fearing that this would be the end of all and leaving the situation once again in Dag's hands.

When he was fully upright, the giant wolf reached a height of more than two and a half meters, he was perhaps even taller than Roar, the goat demon, despite having his shoulders slightly curved forward due to the weight of his arms, which were slightly longer than his legs and almost touched the ground.

The lower limbs, which were less long and muscular, were also claws, but much smaller than those of the hands, which looked incredibly threatening.

Despite the low brightness, Dag was able to notice some details of that abominable being, such as partially encrusted blood under his nails and a broken canine, both symptoms of the fact that he had definitely fought against very strong warriors, able to injure him despite his size.

The giant wolf's eyes continued to move towards the soldiers, scrutinizing their faces and studying their details, while his nose as if it was an organ independent of the rest of the body, sniffed relentlessly the various smells of which the air was impregnated.

"Finally you've decided to come forward... where are the wolves that managed to escape my attack? I have an unfinished business with them" Dag said, breaking the silence.

The wolf rested both hands on the ground and lowered himself towards Dag, bringing his face closer to the young Master, who remained motionless in the same position.

Unlike all the others, frightened at the sight of that monster, incredibly similar to the real Fenrir, the wolf who according to the legend was able to cut off Tyr's hand and kill Odin during the Ragnarok, freeing himself from the chains that held him imprisoned among the mountains, Dag was calm and seemed impassive to the provocations of the enemy, who did not frighten him.

*sniff* 

The black wolf's nose continued to sniff, but this time in Dag's direction: his breath was so powerful, that when he inhaled from his large nostrils, Dag's long blond hair fluttered forward, as if they were sucked in.

"I asked you a question" Dag replied, looking at the wolf in one of his big yellow eyes.

That eye, after crossing with Dag's gaze, was lowered, looking behind him and framing Thalos, who was hiding behind his master's legs frightened by that wolf much larger than him.

"Mmmmh..." the giant wolf said again, looking at Thalos and communicating with him in some way as if he wanted to understand why a magnificent specimen of wild wolf like him had chosen of his own free will to follow a human being.

"My warriors are not here... they warned me of the losses suffered, awakening me from my long sleep and leaving me to defend the passage. Like I said, you're all going to die in this cave... begin to express your last wishes, warriors of Okstorm..." He continued, positioning himself on all fours in front of Dag and beginning to rise the fur on his neck and show his teeth, ready to attack him.