Blood Red (Mission)

Jayden Heartly

Emerging into the plains, Jayden followed closely behind Marzipan through the luscious greenery of the 8th floor. He'd never been this far down, even with a group he was generally not nearly as experienced as others. This kind of trip was dangerous in of itself, not only because it represented an urgent danger to himself, but also his own his prideful thoughts took his courage ceiling to all new high. He gulped as he tailed his far more experienced partner. As recent as it was, Marzipan had ascended up a level, leaving Jayden far and away in the dust. By a turn of events, Jayden felt no immediate enmity for falling so far behind her. In fact, his desire to rise farther and reach higher calamities was surging.

It was when Marzipan finally broke the silence that Jayden realized the situation he was in. His determined face broke composure, easing into a more focused and clear-headed one. She asked about his ideas for the mission, on top of that pursuing on if anyone was messing with him anymore. Must have been in reference to the last time they met.

Right, it was all coming back to him now. Jayden and Marzipan had a little history of working together in combat. Though their last opponents were untrained barbarians who just took down people clearly weaker than them. Marzipan could have likely dispatched of all three of those idiots if she really wanted to, she was that powerful now. Jayden became proud and envious of the woman, grinning lightly as he sent back a hushed response, in case they were near anything that might be hostile.

"If I'm being honest, hadn't given it a whole lot of thought..."

Jayden sort of flushed over, realizing he hadn't thought much of the mission through, his excitement barring his thoughts from becoming anything coherently close to a "plan", and more delusions of becoming an epic hero for slaying a titanious monster. In the end, he might be the one getting slain if he doesn't get his head on straight.

"Can't say I think trying to attack it head-on is very smart. Even when we have it cornered, it'll probably lash back at us and take us down at the same time. Though, if the description of it is correct, we might have a better chance of taking it down from opposite angles. After all, the wolf's fangs and claws are in the front, so if someone attacked it from the back... Well, that's my speculation anyways.

Jayden kind of shrugged his little mental diagram off. The idea was that the one with the better ability to defend themselves should take the front line, keeping the aggression of the wolf on them. Bait, essentially, though even Jayden knew a tough opponent like this would certainly be a fatal striker. Even some of the toughest defense might not be enough in time for the one striking the death blow. But it was worth a shot, better than having them both taken down by a fell swipe of the claw.

"I'm fine, by the way. Thanks for asking, it's been a bit Marzi. Glad to see you're still at it. Congratulations on the Level-Up, I mean. You must be a lot stronger now, huh?

He muted a bit of praise over to Marzipan, watching as she began to draw her blades and cross forward. He did the same, unsheathing his sword and keeping a close follow on her, with just enough distance that they wouldn't be devastated by any large scale area-of-effect attacks. Those tended to mess up Adventuring groups that kept too close together, and even the headstrong Chienthrope knew a bit better than that. His cautious rational spoke up rarely, this was one of those times fortunately.

"It's already been a long day. It's just going to get longer, I think you mean."

He vocalized small bits of small chat back to her as she sent questions his way. Things like his finally joining a Familia, his criticism of his Goddess, his first adventure into the Dungeon and other small ventures he took afterwards. He had been learning the ins-and-outs of the trade and was admittedly enjoying it more and more everytime he woke up, left the house at the crack of eventide and set foot into the halls, not leaving until the moon was far and above the brightest thing in the sky once more.

Marzipan further snapped Jayden out of his little fit of daydreaming as they hit the spot designated and entered the area. From what he had heard, blood was something to look out for on all accounts. His own, Marzipan's, or any other creature. He took a couple of deep breaths, emerging towards the spot from Marzipan's rear-guard. He took off to the side, moving carefully and using his eyes to scan the area. He kept his blade in a flexible position, his tucked into his armor and his ears encapsulated by the token horns of his late mother.

"You should take point, I'll keep a decent distance off in case we attract the attention of the Red Wolf and need to circle around and regroup. The less its aware of, the better for us. If you've got something else in mind, now's the time to talk."

Jayden gave his piece of decision-making to Marzipan, but ultimately decided she was going to lead the pair for this situation. She was a higher level, but also she had far more confidence than Jayden did. Her ethic was cleaner and she seemed better for patience. If his impatience got the better of him, he might miss the best opportunity to strike, so he decided it was better she make the calls while he kept back. Best case scenario, Jayden took the defensive roll while Marzipan got to take Red Wolf on from an advantageous position.

​

@Marzipan Loaf

 

Jayden Heartly

Orders were sent, it was time to get moving. As they started passing through the breadth of the area, it seemed as if the entire plains had scattered into the distance. The light of the plains dimming. It must be nearing evening on the outside of the Dungeon. Jayden relaxed his shoulders, fixed the positioning of his lower back as he moved in with the Hume Bunny on the front line. They came to the consensus that spilling blood was going to be a huge no-no, so they had to track it down through senses alone.

The plan was set, Marzipan being the absolute stronger of the pair would take the forward hold of the beast should they encounter it, giving Jayden the opportunity to search for a weak spot off to the side or from the rear, forcing the Red Wolf to take on two threats from a disadvantageous situation. Of course, this was a best case scenario and even Jayden knew that, which said a lot about the situation they were approaching.

As they trekked through the growing grasslands of the 8th Floor, the sound of something was approaching. Whether it was Jayden playing ambient tricks on himself, he could have sworn he heard the sound of animals. Not a hoard of anything in particular, but a sudden, rampant migration of animals. As if something was coming from the east of the treeline. A husky growl emerging ever so distantly. He eyed over in the distance, tapping his blade to the earthy soil to get Marzipan's attention. From roughly seventy or so meters away, Jayden spotted what was, indeed large and red.

His eyes widened as animals ran roughly in their direction, all escaping for their lives it seemed. It was as if this creature quite literally stepped out of a pool of blood, its fur and teeth even cloaked in burgundy and crimson. The wolf stood well over two meters tall, as it crept claw by claw through the treeline in the subtle distance. Jayden took a step back, edging carefully as Marzipan had the front guard covered. His breath became shaky, missing the determination it had when he signed up for this. Cowardice birthed in his heart, for perhaps the first (or second) time since entering the Dungeon.

He mouthed to Marzipan, releasing little more than a fading whisper, "Do not engage. We need more open space." He glanced over to the Red Wolf, who was approaching still at a sluggish pace. Either it hadn't targeted the two Adventurer's yet, or it was consciously toying with the fear of the boy.

"We need to--"

As Jayden was explaining in further detail his idea to the Hume Bunny, his foot came into contact with something. Wood. Flimsy wood. The sound a couple of twigs wedged between stones cracked under the weight of Jayden's heel. His breath stopped, his gaze reverting to the Red Wolf, who was no longer moving. It was, however, staring directly at Jayden and Marzipan however.

Before Jayden could let out a solemn "shit" for his misstep, the beast was rushing directly towards them, the air being sliced as its form made like a rushing bullet to them. Before he knew it, Jayden preemptively raising his blade to defend an attack, knowing full well if his feet didn't move in the next two-and-a-half seconds, he'd be swallowed whole.

This was Jayden's test. This was their test. A monstrosity with immense speed and monstrous size to match.

He once more raised his blade, his heels turning horizontal as he took a leap of faith to the left in order to force the wolf to either mismatch its momentum and miss its target entirely, or divert its attention towards Marzipan who had a bit more share of experience dealing with these things. Whether she attempted to dodge or went to face the beast head-on was something he couldn't calculate nor plan. Whatever she did, they needed to equalize its aggression and play circles around it. Jayden didn't have the pleasure of being able to openly defend itself from creatures of the Eight Floor, let alone epic monsters like this.

It was then the overwhelming sense of pride was met with the understanding of survival.

​

@Marzipan Loaf

 

Jayden Heartly

It took only a flash of yellow and red quarreling for Jayden to realize the predicament that just unfurled. Once his body stopped rolling, he sat up, his breath now returning. The blast rush of the Red Wolf surpassed his initial expectations, which were high as it was. His own body was barely unable to withstand the rush of its fur blazing past his skin like a wildfire racing down the dry oak of the forest. No such flames presided, as Marzipan had blurred off with the beast and disappeared against the western treeline.

Jayden stood up, his breathing just now catching up with him. His heartbeat was rapid, adrenaline soaring incredibly high right now, so much in fact that he could barely feel the wind blow against his skin. His eyes were wide with shock, the fear that Marzipan might be done for already alarmed him greatly. Before his brain could react to the response rationally, his body was set on a definite course following the large prints in the ground where the Red Wolf's claws had pushed into the soil.

"Marzipan! Marzi!"

Jayden called for her, but the sound of rushing winds and the roar of the Red Wolf in the subtle distance muted Jayden's call. His ankle was red with a slash mark, presumably from a graze against the Red Wolf's front paw, along with a few bruises and scratches along his left arm. He was racing against the clock. If Marzipan was hurt, if she had even a damned scratch on her from that beast, Jayden would have to let the guilt poor over him for his disgraceful actions. His feet didn't stop moving until he saw the flash of red nearly a hundred meters down the treeline. It was big enough to get an eye's view of it through the thick of the brush.

"Marzi!"

His voice became hoarse as he caught site of the yellow Hume Bunny caught under the clutch of the Red Wolf. His eyes burned bright, furious red enveloping his senses. He ran, discarding his discreetness in favor of an ambush rush at the thing, His sword was raised to his side as he took off at a sprint at the beast. The adrenaline gave him enough to push just past his limit as he leaped from the Dungeon floor, towards it.

The timing was impeccable, as Jayden launched himself from the ground and directly on top of the Red Wolf's back. As he planted his blade into the spinal cord of the wolf, it began to viciously thrash, just after Marzipan managed to send several slashes right into the face of the monster. It was now blinded and partially immobilized, until arched its body horizontally in a rapid fashion.

Without a moment of notice, Jayden was launched, along with his blade, across the clearing and into a tree roughly thirty meters off at insane speeds. As his body collided with the trunk of the tree, blood sputtered out of his mouth, his eyes as wide as the moon and all of the wind in his lungs dissipating into nothingness. He wanted to call out for help, but his throat shut and began to clog with blood. He gripped his blade tightly, which was now his only connection to reality as his lights began to fade out.

"M-Ma... Ma..."

He tried to utter a call for her, but nothing came out but empty gasps, accompanied by the taste of iron. He felt disabled. His will was returning slowly, but only so slowly. The Red Wolf turned to face the flea which he flung from its back, seeking to finish off the weaker of the two prey. Jayden saw death flash before his eyes, as if his vision was now clouded by only black and white, as red poured from his lips.

"He...lp."

The blood from Jayden's lips caught the scent of the Red Wolf. Its eyes dazzled horrifyingly. The approach of the monster was rapid, which caused Jayden's heartbeat to become rapid, numbing almost. As his heartbeat caught pace, more blood spilled and the fear of death approached farther.

@Marzipan Loaf

 

Jayden Heartly

The thundering paws no longer raced forward towards Jayden, as Marzipan had been able to successfully maneuver the Red Wolf's movements toward her in an attempt to buy Jayden time. This time however was not going to mean much from the looks of things. His body armor was scratched and torn at the chest, the bits of the onyx-plate steel was chipped and scratched on either ends. His eyes could barely open long enough to view the world outside of his own eyelids, and when he did, it was encompassed by black and white with a film of red over it.

He lifted his arm. Good, it was a start. His right arm lifted from the ground, whilst his left remained tightly clutching the cracked hilt of his sword. His body was beginning to regain access to its nerve endings, but Jayden was drained of strength. All of his remaining energy would be measly at best, gathered for a short run. He wouldn't be able to stand toe-to-toe with that monstrosity, even with Marzipan backing him up. The fact she was struggling even the slightest bit meant this challenge was on a whole new degree. How was he supposed to muster the prowess to take the thing down when he could barely feel the blood running through his veins?

His breath was ragged. Finally managing to wrench open his eyelids, he watched Marzipan dance around the Red Wolf to keep it off her and Jayden himself. A slash lent to the monster's tendon slowed it down considerably, but the time left was immeasurably short. Fractures of moments ticked by and the monochrome filter Jayden was seeing through started to morph into a black and white wave. Where did his heroic stance go?

Where did the hopes and dreams riding on his shoulders go? The weight of the world he decided he would gladly bare for the honor and dependency of a civilization who didn't yet give a rat's ass about his existence, but would soon to call him what he glorified and desired all of his life. A hero.

He wasn't a hero yet, and so he stopped thinking about it, and thought about someone else's life. His hero through the thick of this expedition, Marzipan has done nothing but save his life time and time again, and the time to return the favor was steadily approaching. Jayden relaxed the muscles in his shoulders. His mouth opened, taking in fresh air. His lungs began to function, albeit in excessive detriment.

Using the weight of his body, he slid up the tree, the joints in his knees feeling as if they were coated in rust and glued shut as he bent them outward. He stood, using the hilt of his sword once more to balance his body. Jayden could barely stand, let alone walk or even run. Yet, the autonomic desire to help Marzipan, mounted higher on his stubborn nature, made his will a force of tempered steel. The condition he suffered from at this moment in time was percentages higher than anything he had felt throughout his whole life, but if there was a time to act, it was now.

He observed and watched, as his feet started to guide him back into the field. His footsteps left a trail of blood behind him for the first few steps, then trailed off into the grass. His eyes trained on the ineffectiveness of combat. Why did it seem like the Red Wolf was almost immune to strikes? Attacking the thing only harmed it temporarily, especially on the fur. The hide of the beast was likely very tough and incredibly difficult to tear apart. That must have been how Marzipan rode the side of it with her blades jabbed into the tough skin.

However, the slash she made at its tendon seemed to be incredibly effective at slowly the monster down. That means the areas of soft flesh, generally unguarded by its hair, were the best spots to take action. Those spots however, were dangerously limited. The eyes were a prime target, but difficult for Jayden to close in on, and Marzipan had to keep its attention at an angle to avoid getting swatted. Jayden was thinking on his toes here, as he remembered another spot this hound might weak enough to punch through. It was a one-shot idea, and if it failed it could mean the end of a lot of things, but time was running out. Their stamina would surely fail against this monstrosity.

"Marzi...!"

Jayden called out to her, his voice cracked and decrepit. He looked at her with eyes of bolstered determination but fading life. The next decision was foolish, no it was far beyond that. In fact, it was a very lethal coin flip. Coin flip, by the way, was an overestimate. The percentage of success was actually far less than that, but Jayden had more than enough capable bones in his body. It just required a generous moment or two of set-up from Marzipan, however. She was the key to making this strike successful. Jayden began to pick up the pace.

"Marzipan, keep its attention just a bit longer. I've got... an idea..."

He coughed up a few more droplets of blood into his tattered gauntlet as his feet started to move faster, his lungs retaliating at the intake of oxygen. He shouldn't be able to move this fast for very long, let alone move to begin with. The timer was definitely ticking for the young Chienthrope. He was simply counting on his partner to set the ball in motion.

@Marzipan Loaf

 

Jayden Heartly

The way the wind blew over the field now was something out of a legendary tale. Jayden could feel his open slashes and cuts bare the brunt of the grazing wind, the ferocious heat all-consuming his skin. The sticky crimson soaked and dried on his armor, the droplets of blood in his gauntlet bearing the stench of death. It was brief and not very noteworthy, but the odor passed. Jayden raised his eyes up to the girl he called out to. However, she had vanished before his very eyes. It was like the blur of gold and yellow fur had disappeared into the everlasting treeline.

In the time before he raised his eyes, she had managed to cause the wolf to enter a state of bloody murder, its entire being now emasculated and out for the blood of the nearest thing. However it would not give chase to the Hume Bunny that vied for the chase of the creature. Cold blood ran still.

Jayden nearly called out to her, his voice close to slipping from the halls of his throat. But before he could, his eyes focused on the red that still ached within the corners of his perception. His eyes turned to it, the Red Wolf. What Jayden expected to follow Marzipan down into the forest, instead only retained its attention elsewhere. Due to the tenacity of Marzipan, a swift fighter with fancy footwork, the already lumbering beast might suffice a challenge against her. Adding to that she is now fleeing and it has its tendon cut, it forces the attention of the monster to retrain on something weaker. Slower. Easier to hit, and already down for the count in nine-out-of-ten aspects.

Jayden gently sucked in air through his teeth, snarling. His eyes shot a gaze straight to the Red Wolf, who returned one twice as vicious. Jayden bent his knees, staring the beast down, which approach slowly. Cautiously. The reckless nature of the monster seemed to vanish as a state of apparent thoughtfulness emerged. It was devising a tact, waiting for the best moment to strike the off-guard Chienthrope. A fumble in his step, a false twitch of a muscle. That was all it might take to set the wolf's claws departing straight to him.

Luckily for Jayden, Marzipan spent all her earnings in time, Jayden had just enough to afford this last assault. He shut his eyes, his breath becoming once more still. The raggedness disappearing, Jayden entered a state of near meditation. He blocked out the scent of death, the swaying grass at his ankles, the itch of his cuts and bruises. The wolf took this as the opportunity to strike, as the target blinded itself seemingly on purpose.

From here, Jayden entered a series of circuits in his mind. It was like a clock that began to tick four or five seconds per actual tock, a bomb going off faster than the fuse would light. He did not open his eyes, not when the Earth shook in front of him, and not when the wind began to blow violently against his torn flesh. Jayden gripped the handle of his blade, bending his knees and back to a near crouched position. He relaxed his shoulders, feeling his fingers stiffen around the handle of the sword.

Everything stopped. The feeling of time eradicated itself around Jayden's body, the pressure of the world nearly evaporating and gravity becoming a nonsensical term. It was then, that the moment became momentum. The Red Wolf barreled at the speed of a wildfire at the source of blood. The small strip of meat holding a toothpick, was what it discerned the miniature Chienthrope as.

What is a hero?

This is the question that entered Jayden's mind now, as his eyes flickered open with a bright vermilion light encompassing the young boy. Not a step, nor a strife of a moment too soon or too late, did Jayden release the breath he had stored.

Eventide Tempest, active.

From the cores of Jayden's feet, energy began to swirl and erupt at a volcanic rate. A near destructive level of energy began to cross-multiply under Jayden as his body enveloped itself in what looked like strikingly distinct red lightning. Sparks of crimson around his skin and eyes, as his body was launched from the moment of timelessness he had found himself possessed in. Jayden let out a warcry, a bellow, a call to arms.

This attack required no charge, but rather commitment. Eventide Tempest is designed to be an all-out attack, with no chance of recovery after usage. It was a one-time deal, no going back. From here on, the moment he decided to use it, he had given up his time. He used what Marizpan gave him, balled it up and lit aflame in the staggering tick of a clock. As he erupted from the ground, all of his energy became a swirling ball of heat and near lightning, developed from the immediate friction that the air created as it encased Jayden's form rapidly.

He was a gale, a living torpedo with a blade aimed directly for the charging Red Wolf's underside. He sliced through the air like hot steel slicing calmly through warm butter. His blade met the taut flesh of the Red Wolf's chest, disecting the chest of the wolf and allowing a cascade of blood to rain upon Jayden as he soared from the tip of the neck of the Red Wolf, Smiling Jack meeting at the collarbone, all the way across its underside. This maneuver was risky for several reasons, the first and foremost being failure to succeed was a death wish.

Jayden however only knew how to take risks. Calculating wasn't much of his strong suit, so he had to put it on the coin flip. Calling heads was too easy, so he took tails. That's where he ended up as Smiling Jack ripped through bones, flesh, muscle and tendon as they raced through the wood lines past the pasture. The beast was flayed open from its bottom-side. Jayden came out the other side, a red mess. His hair, skin, armor and clothes smelled of iron and death. His mind however, fading quick.

The absolute clause of heroic strike, an immediate and abrupt drain of remaining energy. Even if he was in well condition, this was likely the outcome. He was entering a state of Mind Zero. He grinned, blood dripping off his face. He almost giggled. The Red Wolf collapsed to the ground, a weak howl being released from it. He, a Level 1, managed to secure the kill on an epic monster like that. He would have jumped for joy if his body would an inch. All he could do was allow the stiff grip he once held on his sword to become limp, his eyes stuck open as he stared at the gentle horizon where the trees met the sky. Marzipan was there, finishing what they had to do here.

Pride swelled in the young boy's heart, as his body stayed motionless, caught in the fabrics of reality as his eyes glazed over. Troops from the expedition would eventually happen upon him, but for now the immediate stench of death would likely fend off any other lesser predators. The top dog of the woods was present, and he was coated head to toe in the sticky crimson of the Red Wolf.

@Marzipan Loaf