Shifter - Infinite Transformation-Chapter 54: Survival

Clove was scared shitless. He was supposed to be the calm and composed one, to guide his peers in an emergency like this, but–

Fuck that shit!

How was he supposed to protect his peers when he couldn’t even protect himself? Against a dragon, no less. Maybe he could stall a Juvenile for a few seconds, pushing it back long enough for his peers to reach safety. He’d probably suffer severe injuries, but the Elders would be there to help him and to force the young dragon into retreat.

Killing a young dragon would be stupid considering how wrathful Mother Dragons were, but that was none of Clove’s concerns. Flames consumed the Eserian Grove, and it wasn’t long before several emergency paths collapsed.

And before Clove could guide anyone away from the grove and the danger, the very incarnation of danger descended upon them. He felt its presence before he could see it. The Nature Dragon was clearly visible, yet it moved fast enough to stir his heart. His instincts screamed at him, telling him to submit himself to the mighty being, but that was useless. The dragon wasn’t even looking. Submitting himself to the dragon just because it was stronger wouldn’t help anyone.

It would end with his death. That was it.

The Nature Dragon’s tail whipped through the air, squashing one of his Forest Folk peers to smithereens. The boy stood literally no chance. His body exploded in a mess of gore as soon as the dragon’s tail impacted.

Flames burst forth and wreathed the Forest Fairies, devouring them within seconds. Their remains turned into ash even before their bodies hit the ground.

Clove’s hair stood on end. He wanted to do something, help in any way, but when he reached the Elders to seek their support, it was already too late.

He saw Fern. His heart distorted and twisted as the dragon struck her too. The creature’s tail impacted, and Clove imagined Fern bursting into a gory mess like the Forest Folk boy. A scream nearly escaped his lips, only to fade when Fern was yanked through the air. She smashed into a tree, the sound of breaking bones tearing at his heart. Her arms pointed in directions they shouldn’t, but other than the odd angles, she was... fine?

But was she, really? Flames surged toward her in waves. That was when Clove moved. Even if he could not fight the Nature Dragon, he could help the others. Or, if that was not possible, he could help at least Fern. Among all of the Eserian Grove, Fern was the most important to him. He owed her everything.

So he had to protect her. If nobody else, Fern had to survive. Even if that meant he had to die himself. The ancestry within him agreed with that sentiment. It growled aloud, resulting in a rumble that reverberated throughout his entire body. Then he shot toward Fern while the Elders, those among them who were still alive, retaliated.

Fae magic was cast. He felt the Eserian stir and move in accordance with their power. The forest supported the fae and provided them with the strength needed to release lightning bolts and massive clumps of earth at the Nature Dragon.

More magic was conjured across the grove’s heart, but Clove’s attention shifted entirely to Fern. All he could tell back on the battlefield was one thing: the dragon wasn’t affected by the fae Elders’ magic. That confirmed it. This was the worst case.

The Nature Dragon had to be a Greater Being to cast aside the Elders’ magic. It was at the Fourth Tier or even greater. Clove swallowed as he barged through the dragon’s flames to reach Fern. He slung her across his shoulder, ignoring the biting pain racing up his leg and shoulder.

A dragon was expected to be powerful, but... what was it doing here? The Eserian was no place for Greater Beings! Only the forest’s host was a Greater Being, and even that was no more than a theory.

The flames licked at him, forcing his mind back to the present. The growl within him grew more intense, and, for the first time since he could remember, he accepted his bloodline’s deal with a clear mind. What else was he supposed to do? Die? 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"No!" he growled aloud, bones cracking and muscles snapping and knitting themselves together once more as his body expanded. He pushed Fern onto his back, his hands pressed against the ground as they turned into large paws equipped with lethally sharp claws.

Clove turned into the being he truly was. His true form. That of a creature that should not even have a physical body, yet it did. For he was an Inugami, a creature that belonged to the fae, yet not really. They were fiercely loyal to those who deserved their loyalty and would get rid of all who harmed their beloved.

Alas, the Inugami blood within him agreed that fighting a dragon was not the greatest of ideas. Thus, it shifted its attention to protection instead.

His power reached out to Fern and engulfed her in a tight membrane as more flames billowed toward them. Clove let out another deep growl and turned his body ethereal before phasing through the flames and all that remained of the Eserian Grove. They escaped, his energy depleting at a visible rate.

Why are you so heavy, Fern?! He cursed, feeling like shifting back to his normal form, or at least returning to the physical realm. But the dragon was still there, and it would probably sense or smell them if he changed back.

Unable to take the risk, Clove dashed through the Eserian, hoping the Nature Dragon’s wrath had been quenched with the destruction of the grove. But even if that was the case, that wouldn’t have explained the dragon’s decision to attack them in the first place.

Why? He wondered, hoping they were not the only ones who survived.

The fae of the Eserian Grove may not have been the best family, but they were the first who accepted him for who or what he was. They hadn’t abandoned him like others.

They did not deserve to die like that.

Yet they did.

The grove had fallen, and the Elders were killed.

Clove hadn’t seen everything, but the things he did witness had been bad enough.

Where in the Netherworld are we supposed to go now?! He shouted in his heart, glancing back at Fern, covered in burns. Clove had been burned as well, badly at that, but he was still alive. They both were.

That had to account for something.