^This griffon!^ Aella growled inside, rolling to the side to dodge the claw strike. ^It isn’t even a griffin to trip.^ She pointed her bow at him, ^I need to blind it.^
BAM! BAM! BAM! Aella fired three arrows aiming straight at the griffon’s face, only to have him dodge it by quickly shifting his head. Screech! The beast growled, leaping from side to side, getting ready to attack.
^I can’t get enough distance. This monster keeps chasing me.^ Aella stood in her place, “Then it’s all or nothing,” THUD! She charged toward him.
The griffon got taken aback, shifting his head in confusion for a moment before swinging his claw at her.
CRUNCH! Aella rolled underneath the griffon’s massive body as his claw plowed the ground, pointing her bow at his dangling testicles. BAM! BAM! BAM!
SCREECH! The griffon growled in pain, leaping away and almost rolling on his back.
BAM! BAM! BAM! Three arrows flashed toward his face, and he dodged them at the last moment.
KYI?! The beast looked around, unable to find Aella.
CRACK! The griffon immediately spotted her sneaking between the tree. Even though he didn’t have night vision, his eyes were still sharp like eagles. He didn’t waste a moment and rushed at her, enraged more than before.
“Shit!” Aella rolled away as the griffon bit a whole tree in half, “That got him angrier,” With quick steps, she slid into the tall grass and crawled away from the trees as the griffon regained his balance.
^Good, he’s on the other side. I need to find a place to hide.^ She looked around for a hole.
SCREECH! Aella heard the griffon behind her back. She turned to aim her bow, only to see his wide-open beak rushing at her head.
THUD! Stomping the ground, Hank grabbed the griffon by the tail, pulling him away from her with a battle cry.
“Long ears, leave this one to me!” He shouted, lifting his axe and chopping a part of the griffon’s tail.
The griffon cried, turning back to stare at Hank. “Were the two girls your mates? No, I guess one was your daughter, her flesh was softer than I expected.” Hank lifted his axe, showing it to the griffon, “Can you smell it? Their blood stuck between the axe head and the shaft.”
The griffon’s eyes turned red from the blood pouring into them. SCREECH! He roared, charging at Hank with an open beak.
Hank dodged to the side, swinging his axe at the griffon’s neck.
CLANG! The griffon swung his wing up and protected his neck, pushing Hank away simultaneously.
“Who are you?” Aella shouted, pointing her bow at the griffon and releasing three arrows. BAM! BAM! BAM!
“Name is Hank. I came here since I knew the male would return by night. What the hell are you doing here alone.” Hank stood between her and the griffon, taking his shirt and revealing his large scar-filled, hairy back. “Can’t have him hunt in our land,”
“I came here to save a friend of mine. Black hair and red eyes, did you see him?” Aella asked, firing another three arrows above Hank’s shoulder. The griffon started rushing at them.
“Talking about Arad? I sent him to the village when I was heading here.” He said, running toward the griffon and ducking underneath the claw attack.
Hank then hugged the beast’s front right arm and threw him to the ground. CRACK! As the griffon stared, confused, Hank stepped on his chest and swung his axe down.
SCREETCH! The griffon didn’t wait, clawing at Hank with his hind legs and sending him rolling with massive scratches on his shoulder.
Hank looked at his shoulder and smiled, “Your claws are dull, aren’t they? I’ve seen sharper ones.”
The griffon stared at him and changed his target, leaping at Aella as fast as he could. SCREECH!
“LONG EARS!” Hank shouted.
Aella didn’t expect that. She wasn’t looking for any signs of movement. Her reaction time had started failing her. It was too late to dodge.
CRACK! One of the trees behind her cracked with a black haze rushing through. VAM! VAM! Fazing through space with [Void walk], Arad charged, swinging a void claw at the griffon’s head.
CLAP! Using the same concept of firefist but with the void, Arad smacked the griffon’s head to the ground and left with a nasty scar and a cracked beak.
The griffon rolled and leaped to the sky in one move, attempting to run away.
BAM! Arad leaped into the sky, barely reaching five meters by flapping his wings. [Void walk] He teleported up, biting the griffon’s throat mid-air.
As the two fell, The griffon clawed at Arad with his front legs, piercing his side with the long claws.
As Arad felt the claws pulling down on his pelvis, he smiled inside, ^I have something far better for you.^ He unleashed a void breath directly into the griffon’s windpipe, turning the beast’s insides out.
Aella rushed forward to catch Arad, but she smacked into Hank’s side, who did the same thing, catching Arad instead of her.
“HAY!” Aella growled, staring at Hank.
“Girl, do you know a healer?” Hank said, looking at the unconscious Arad in his arms. “The griffon pulled his pelvis down, and he’s bleeding inside,” The internal bleeding must be severe for him to fall unconscious this fast.
Aella reached into her pocket, “I have a healing potion for now,” She gave it to Hank, who poured the entire thing down Arad’s throat.
“This would buy us some time. Let’s get the kid to the village.” Hank put Arad on his shoulder and got ready to climb down the mountain, “I will carry him,”
Aella nodded, Hank seemed more powerful than her, and he could move faster while carrying Arad. The important thing is getting him to safety.
“My party has a paladin. They should be waiting at the large field down there.” Aella pointed.
“Let’s go,”
As the two rushed, Aella stared at Hank.
“Well, about…”
“I don’t care if he is a dragon. I’ve seen stranger things.” Hank replied, “I saved this kid from the griffon’s nest this morning.”
“Can I ask you to keep it a secret?” She looked at him with a wry smile.
“Yeah, I won’t tell anyone. But on one condition,” Hank stared at Aella, “Leave this village by tomorrow,”
“We still have work here,” Aella stared back at him, “We will leave when that is over.”
“Killing the werewolf? He told me this afternoon.” Hank replied, “Get out of the village. I will deal with the beast.”
“We won’t leave until we confirm him cured, at least.” Aella glared at him, “And we have a quest from the church to investigate the disappearances.”
Hank stared at her, “The griffon picked them up.”
“That’s hard to believe,” Aella replied immediately.
“You think it’s the werewolf?” Hank glared at her, his hands tightening at Arad.
“We won’t leave until we make sure that monster is dead,” Aella replied, “The village is in danger as long as he lives.”
Hank glared at her, “I see. Can I give you advice from someone who lived longer?”
“I’m over two hundred years old,” Aella glared at him.
“Fine, I lived less than you, but we humans mature faster.” Hank glared at her, “Always blame yourself for the mistakes first, and then look at other people.”
“You suggest we investigate the church instead of the murders?”
“It’s strange they didn’t call the authorities and put a quest.”
After a while, the two exited the forest and rushed toward the field where Lydia awaited them.
“The griffon?”
“Dead. Heal Arad. He’s badly injured.” Aella said as Hank put Arad on the ground. Lydia put her hand on Arad’s chest and started casting her magic.
“Who’s he?” Lydia glared back at Hank.
“A lumberjack named Hank. I helped them fight the griffon.” Hank replied with a smile, “Nice to meet you.” His grin crept Lydia as if he was hiding something from her.
“The werewolf attacked earlier. Jack is sneaking around to investigate.” Lydia said, looking at Aella.
“I was investigating,” Jack replied as he walked toward them. “What happened?” Aella stared at him.
“The bastard killed one of the priests and kidnapped one of the sisters alive.” Jack growled, “I don’t want to think about what will happen to her.”
“That can’t be the whole story,” Hank said, staring at Jack.
“And who are you, Mr bear-man?” Jack stared at him. ．
“Thanks for the compliment,” Hank smiled, puffing his shoulders, “My name is Hank. I helped them fight the griffon.”
Jack smiled and then scratched his head, “A woman from the village dropped her newborn from the window upon seeing the beast. She said the werewolf caught the kid and put it on the ground before leaving.”
“I think she is lying. A monster will never save a child,” Lydia growled.
“You’re right.” Aella and Jack agreed with her, But Hank shook his head, “Werewolves are intelligent. Did you try understanding why he is doing that?”