THE GENERAL'S DISGRACED HEIR

23  Chapter 23: BLOOD ALPHA

David crested the hill, the wind whipping his hair into a frenzy. The journey had taken him an eternity, the sun painting the sky in hues of bruised orange and regret as it dipped below the horizon. A terse system message echoed in his mind, a neon sign in a forgotten alleyway - "You have entered Blood Alpha's Domain." Great. He knew the drill. Slay the big bad boss, clear the floor. But where, oh where, did one find a boss monster in the middle of this desolate wasteland?

Another sigh escaped his lips, heavy as a stone. This was never supposed to be complicated. Just a simple tower run, right? A primal urge thrummed through him, and with a deep breath, he willed the Frostfangs into existence.

Tiny motes of light materialized around his palms, swirling and coalescing into the familiar weapons. The summoning display was a tactical blunder, losing the advantage of a sneak attack and the precious seconds spent conjuring when his life hung in the balance - was far too terrifying to contemplate. So, weapons at the ready, David scanned the desolate landscape, a lone warrior in a war he barely understood.

"System," David barked, frustration lacing his voice. "Where's the blasted Blood Alpha?" Silence. No helpful pop-up with a glowing red arrow pointing him in the right direction. Just the usual unhelpful silence. "Bollocks!" he swore, spitting the word into the acrid air.

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Hours spent slogging through the dead, parched swamp had left him feeling like a piece of jerky forgotten in the sun.

But just as despair threatened to consume him, a sliver of hope emerged. He crested a rise, the swamp finally yielding way to a rocky plateau. And there, before him, the world unfolded like a morbid tapestry. A sight that froze him solid, a chill that had nothing to do with the swamp's damp embrace.

The heart of the hill pulsed with an oppressive weight. Dark clouds, bloated with a storm, conspired to snuff out the last embers of the dying sun. Three colossal swords, each a weathered testament to a forgotten age, pierced the turbulent heavens. Their stone blades, etched with the hungry whispers of time and battle, clawed skyward in a silent, primal scream.

An ancient stairway, worn smooth by the tread of countless eons, beckoned towards the base of these towering relics. At its summit, a bonfire raged, a hungry beast devouring wood and casting a flickering inferno onto the cold, dark stones. Its hungry tendrils reached upwards, as if yearning to touch the impossibly distant hilts of the swords. The scene was both eerie and strangely mystical.

The air hung heavy with the acrid tang of burning wood and the faint echoes of forgotten chants. The sun, a dying ember on the horizon, bled crimson across the landscape, bathing the swords in an unholy light and casting long, writhing shadows at the edges of the firelight.

Sprawled across the stone floor, a stark contrast to the dark swords, were the white forms of Fenrir, their presence a silent puzzle. But David had no time for riddles. His gaze locked onto the centre of the stage.

Seated upon a throne woven from bone, a figure radiated an ethereal glow under the fiery gaze of the bonfire. Her skin, the pale luminescence of moonlight, seemed to shimmer from within. Wild, silver hair, charged with chaotic energy, fanned out in a halo around her head. Her eyes, though closed, conveyed an intensity of purpose, a fierce and unwavering resolve accentuated by the striking black markings that framed them. Her body, lean and muscled, spoke of both power and endured hardship. Scars, like a map of past battles, etched themselves onto her pale flesh.

David instinctively retreated behind the decaying husk of a tree. A tremor ran through him, a primal recognition. "That," he thought, heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs, "has to be the Blood Alpha."

David's heart wasn't thrumming with thrill, but with a primal terror that bordered on ecstasy. The figure before him, the Blood Alpha, radiated an overwhelming power that both threatened and exhilarated him. He knew bloodlust wouldn't win this fight. A reckless charge would be his demise. He had the upper hand of surprise, and that was his only edge against this seemingly unstoppable foe.

Crouching low, his daggers glinting in the darkness, a translucent blue screen materialized before him: "[Wolf's Grace]". In a blink, David vanished, leaving behind a wisp of black smoke that dissipated in the night. Using his heightened agility granted by the skill, he surged forward, a phantom warrior flitting through the shadows. He landed atop the stone platform with predatory grace, the blue glow briefly illuminating the scene before receding. A cold glint entered his eyes as the platform erupted in a flurry of razor-sharp projections like a frozen blue flower blooming in the fire's glow. The Fenrir guarding the throne met their demise in a silent ballet of decapitation and disembowelment.

Without wasting a breath, David lunged at the Blood Alpha on her bone throne. He moved with speeds that defied human limitations, his Frostfang daggers flashing deadly arcs. Yet, the Blood Alpha remained impassive, eyes still closed. Just as his blades were about to connect, a gasp escaped his throat. With two pale fingers, the Blood Alpha effortlessly deflected both daggers, the impact sending a tremor up David's arms. He stumbled back, shocked, his heart hammering a frantic tattoo against his ribs. This wasn't going to be as easy as he'd hoped. This fight had just begun.

A low rumble echoed from the Blood Alpha's throne, a sound that sent shivers down David's spine despite the inferno crackling nearby. Her eyes snapped open, piercing blue orbs that burned with an ancient fire. "So," her voice rumbled, gravel scraping against stone, "a challenger has finally graced me with their presence."

With a wordless roar that seemed to tear the very fabric of the air, the Blood Alpha surged to her feet. A white aura erupted from her, a whirlwind of pure power that whipped David's hair into a frenzy and sent a tremor through the ground. The flames in the bonfire danced wildly, threatened to be extinguished by the sudden storm brewing within the Blood Alpha.

"Good," she boomed, her voice a predatory growl that sent chills down David's spine. "Good! I was beginning to think these old bones were destined for dust and boredom." A flash of sharp, predatory teeth glinted in the firelight as she stretched, a predator readying for a long-awaited hunt.