Chapter 36-Coro’s End

The Trackers quickly descend from the trees surrounding the meadow, their agile bodies making quick work in slicing open their unsuspecting target’s throat before they move on to the next. The Hunters have paired up with a Royal Soldier, taking turns attacking and defending the other as piles of dead Rogues fall to the ground.

All around me are furs of various colours. At one point, I catch sight of Amberle's fire-coloured wolf and Dominic's ice-coloured wolf ripping apart a black Soulless before they disappear once again. I know my white fur is an easier target, as I dodge and fight off multiple Soulless at a time.

I find myself in an endless cycle of dodge, claw, bite, kill, and retreat while leaving a trail of dead Soulless in my wake. My muzzle is now stained black by the foul blood of the decaying wolves, but sadly I have grown used to the stench since an hour of battling has already passed.

Witches begin popping in and taking the wolves from my side away to be treated. Thanks to Cassandra, her coven came last-minute, just in time to keep anyone fighting for me from dying to grievous wounds.

[Crystalline, go after Coro.] Amberle calls out through the link for all to hear, her wolf tackling down a Rogue that was just about to take a swipe at me.

[They are just trying to wear you down. Use your agility to dodge them all and go kill that bastard.] Ariven adds as the others agree with these two. I nod, knowing that everyone is right and that someone has to kill Coro for this battle to end.

[Go get him, Crystalline.] Geminie urges me on as she stands to the right electrocuting a few Soulless that have cornered her. I wince, watching as the dead Soulless fall to the ground crispier then when they cornered the Future Goddess. With a deep breath, I let out a long howl, the sounds of fighting pausing for a moment giving me a chance to see that my side is winning. Good.

Letting the power of my blood out, I focus my energy in finding Coro, allowing my Royal Blood to activate and seek out others with the same power inside. I can feel Geminie, her blood, although diluted, still holding the power of the Royals inside her. Then I feel his. Royal Blood with the foul taste of death and decay slams against my power, forcing a growl out of me.

For some reason, I feel like he is the cause of the Soulless and how they are created. Dodging the wolves in my way, I rush towards the source of this diseased power in search of my brother. Breaking through a blockade of Rogues, I come face to face with Coro and snarl at the black wolf with sky-blue eyes. My brother stands before me, his wolf triple my size, and I realize just how much of a disadvantage I may be at.

We stare at each other, sizing up one another while circling the small clearing of moonflowers untouched by the signs of war. Coro snarls a warning at me, his sharp canines dripping with saliva. I growl back, ready to dodge at a moments notice.

As if pulled by some unknown force, Coro and I lunge towards each other. His sharp canines are directed to my throat and I suppress a chuckle. How predictable of him to go right for the kill. With quick footwork, I twist my body around to his left side and drag my claws along his flank. He howls with pain, turning to snap at my hind leg but I leap out of the way and retreat to a safe distance. I am surprised to see black blood dripping from his wound, droplets falling onto the snow-white flowers causing them to instantly wither and die.

His blood must be the answer to the Soulless crisis.

Coro lets out a loud snarl, his sky-blue eyes slowly turning a bright red like the Soulless as anger radiates off of him. He is not happy with being injured by me. Too bad, though, because I plan to kill this bastard.

Without warning, I push off the ground and into the air, my claws outstretched and aiming for his neck. He retreats just in time for me to miss my mark but what he doesn't know is how quick I can be.

With a smirk, I land long enough to lunge forward, my jaw clamping onto his cheek and tearing away flesh. Blood oozes out of his wound as his blood-red eyes glow. He meets me head on, though, and soon claws tear apart my right ear in seconds. Then I feel his teeth sink into my shoulder, ripping away the flesh as I jump away just in time to avoid a broken shoulder.

My blood trickles from the wounds inflicted on me, the bright red blending into my white fur. I need to finish him off, and soon. The two of us soon become a blur of black and white, our teeth ripping into our skin, claws tearing apart any place we can sink into each other, and snarls of anger and dominance forcing the wolves battling around us to stop their fight to watch and see who will come up the winner. Coro manages to catch me off guard, his teeth grabbing the scruff of my neck and throw me five feet across our battleground. My body lands on the hard ground, the air forced from my lungs as the scent of moonflowers fill my nose.

Climbing to my feet, the sounds of bones shifting and rearranging catch my attention and I turn to see Coro standing in front of me.

"Shift, Little Sister. This fight isn't over." He yells out racing towards me. I growl, dodging to the right to avoid his punch and shift. He turns on his feet fast using the momentum of his turn to land a kick but I quickly drop to the ground, my legs swiping his out from under him. His face holds a look of shock as he crashes to the ground with a loud thud and I smirk. He may be taller than me, but being small means I am faster.

Before I let Coro regain his bearings, I climb on top of him, landing punch after punch to his body. The satisfying crunch of bones against my next punch makes me happy. Suddenly, claws dig into my hip making me wince from the pain and missing a punch.

My mistake is fatal as I am thrown off of Coro and hit the ground on my back hard, the air once again being force from my lungs. Coro is quick to climb on top of me, His hands wrapping around my throat before I can take a breath of air.

"This it the end for you, Little Sister." His voice is filled with triumph as his grip tightens and black dots fill my vision. I know both of us are on our last stand. With determination, one hand grasps Coro’s neck while the other reaches towards his chest as I dig my claws into him. I hear his pained gasps as he tries his best to strangle me.

With my body deprived of the precious oxygen that I need, I dig and search for his heart, surprised to know it is still beating.

My clawed hand clasps the organ tightly, feeling the heart beating against my skin. He growls, wincing while tightening his hold on me. My vision starts to fade, my strength leaving with it. With the last ounce of power inside me I have left, I pull my hand back and as darkness takes over my vision I pray to the Moon Goddess that I have finally killed Coro.