A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Sigurd was not the kind to lead from the front, despite being the most powerful person in the Dominion. Instead, he stood in the back, intending to give Frostfang and Erik a flood of ghouls and vampires to wade through before they got to him.

That was why a whole row of vampires was in front of him when Lars delivered his punch.

Let it be clear that ghouls, unlike shapeshifters and regular vampires, were essentially at the strongest point they could be at all times. Shapeshifters needed to change shape, and vampires needed to drink blood, but ghouls were always at their most powerful.

Add to that Liv's status as a third-ranker, and it should be clear that her punch packed quite the wallop.

The unprepared Sigurd was hit squarely on the cheek. Roaring in surprise and pain he was lifted off his feet, bowled through a whole row of vampires, and came to a skidding stop just before the Enclave, snow and dirt flying in the air. The surrounding vampires were immediately stunned at the sight of their leader being bludgeoned.

With the agility of a third-rank Runebound, Sigurd was instantly back on his feet, and roaring at the ghoulified Liv behind him, spitting out a bloody tooth as he did. "What the fuck has gotten into you, Lars?! Did you go insane?!"

Yet, he was too preocupied to notice the danger behind him. Erik's body was transformed and covered in armor, while his maw was split into a wide, wolfish grin.

"I'm afraid Lars has nothing to do with it anymore, Sigurd," Erik chuckled, before accentuating his point by lashing out with his legs, kicking a grunting Sigurd back the way he came. "Your time as a small-time dictator is simply done."

Besides Erik was Frostfang, who looked at this whole situation with a strange expression, unsure what to think. 'Is it all really just… solved? Just like that?' he thought, skeptically.

Yet, as he watched those four thousand ghouls stand respectfully at a distance, while the thousand vampires cowered in fear at the sight of their leader getting pummeled, it truly did seem to be over.

Next to him, Anne and Viljar wore similarly skeptical expressions, while only Nora seemed to have full faith in Erik. "Yeah! Teach him a lesson, Master!" she cried out enthusiastically.

The three thousand gathered shapeshifters had various reactions. Many were surprised at the turn of events, but when it quickly became clear that Erik was at he center of it all, public opinion of him quickly began to improve.

Those who had believed in him from the start felt vindicated, while those who had been vocal about their displeasure of his seeming inaction the last few days could take back their words.

Meanwhile, Erik had gone after the flailing Sigurd as he roared in pain again. The terrified vampires made a path for both him and Erik this time, trying their very best to stay below the third-rankers' radar, hoping this day wouldn't end with their deaths. That said, some of the actually looked ecstatic, hoping Sigurd would not survive the day.

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After skidding to a stop for the second time, Sigurd finally took a combat stance while taking two daggers from sheaths on his waist. "Dammit! Who the fuck even are you?!" he exclaimed, furiously.

With Sigurd now combat-ready, Erik realized this was going to be a tougher fight from here on out. Whatever else, Sigurd was still a third-ranker after all. They got two good shots in, but he wouldn't go down that easily.

He could enlist the aid of Frostfang and Lars/Liv, of course, but he wanted to deliver Sigurd's beaten body to Astrid himself.

So he took his hammer from his dimension, and approached Sigurd menacingly, "My name is Erik Gunnulf, son of Runa, and Astrid's fiancée."

"Astrid?" Sigurd exclaimed, seemingly more surprised by that, rather than Erik being Runa's son. Erik could see the gears turning in Sigurd's head as he seemed to be realizing something.

Suddenly, understanding flashed in the vampire's eyes and he started grinning. "Ah, I see now. I was wondering why my ghouls suddenly turned on me, but this explains it. The bitch's daughter still lives. You send people to my control center, based on Astrid's directions. That's why the ghouls have turned on me…"

"That's right," Erik nodded, calmly, taking his time as he walked up to Sigurd. "I don't see how that knowledge helps you, though?"

"Simple, if the ghouls behavior was based on a local effect, than this likely wouldn't work!" he exclaimed, while a sigil suddenly appeared to start glowing under his shirt.

Immediately, Erik's instincts went of. Something was approaching him from the side at high speeds. He reacted instantly. His body flickered and he appeared a step back, just far enough to see a whithered fist fly past in front of his eyes.

Immediately, Erik reacted by performing a spinning kick into his attacker's stomach, causing them to screech and take a few steps back, seemingly barely affected.

Erik looked at his attacker and saw that it was Liv, but he didn't seem surprised. "I figured you wouldn't trust Lars entirely…" he mumbled, although it was actually Elora who offered that suggestion.

That was why he took his time approaching Sigurd. He wanted to see what rabbits the vampire would pull out of his head sooner rather than later.

Clearly, Sigurd had build a failsafe directly into his body, ensuring he could take full control of Liv whenever he liked. 'I wonder if Emily is putting Lars through the wringer right now,' he chuckled inwardly.

But rather than get lost in thought, he focused on the problem ahead, which was that the third-ranked combatants had once again evened out.

Next to him appeared Frostfang, who made his move the moment he saw Liv attack Erik, and now stood in a combat ready stance next to Erik, body transformed, and claws covered in ice, growling at the man responsible for the deaths of so many Enclave shapeshifters, "I was hoping I'd get a chance at you…"

"Hmpf, you couldn't even defeat a mere second ranker! And you're still wounded from the pounding he gave you a few days ago! Do you really think you can take me?!" Sigurd boasted, although who he was trying to convince remained unclear. Sigurd and Frostfang had fought plenty of times in the past, but there was never a clear winner between them.

After taking her shot at Erik, the ghoulified Liv now took up position next to Sigurd, across from Erik and Frostfang.

Frostfang couldn't deny he was still feeling the effects of that fight, but he wouldn't just admit that, of course. "Why even try?" Frostfang scoffed. "There's no way you're getting out of this now!"

"Ha! Says who!" Sigurd barked a laugh, before screaming at them in rage. "All my dear puppet and I need to do is defeat you two jokers! Unless you're planning on throwing numbers at me?"

Neither Erik nor Frostfang reacted to that. Neither of them were willing to start sacrificing lives to tire Sigurd out.

Sigurd grinned smuggle at their silence. "That's what I thought! So after defeating you two, I can easily slice through these first and second-rankers, before making my way back to my bunker and reestablishing some order!"

Spittle flew through the air as Sigurd declared his intentions, his face twisted in fury, clearly not happy with these circumstances, even if he saw a way out of it.

"Besides!" he continued, a confident grin now appearing. "Liv may not be able to use her abilities now, but her body was always stronger than either of ours! Do you really think you or this boy can hold her back?!"

Suddenly, Sigurd made a surprising suggestion while sporting a conspiratory smile, "So how about you just let me go and leave these lands in peace, huh?"

"Forget it!" Frostfang immediately snarled. "Today, either you die, or I die! I will never abandon the Enclave!"

"Hmpf," Sigurd snorted, before turning his attention to Erik, was standing rather calmly, hammer swung over his shoulder. "What about you, boy? Surely you don't wish to die in this place? I don't know if you really are Runa's son, but perhaps your time would be better spend searching for her?"

Frostfang grew a little nervous now. He knew that Erik had no intention to risk his life today. "Erik…" he growled softly, more a plea than a threat.

But Erik just chuckled calmly, "Please, Sigurd. Don't try and bluff your way out of this."

Pointing at Liv, he continued, smirking confidently, "There's a reason you had Lars control Liv even though you had the means to do it yourself. Controlling two bodies at the same time must be a strain on your mind, right? You can't control both bodies optimally. Liv's body may be stronger and faster than ours, but uncoordinated as you are with it, you still won't be able to hit anything."

At once, Sigurd's face fell, while Frostfang's expression was uplifted.

"Guess there's only one way to find out, kid…" Sigurd growled furiously.