Watching Russel move around and completely decimate everyone in front of him was both terrifying and amazing at the same time. The ghouls were simply no match whatsoever to the overwhelming power he displayed, not even the big one that could speak. That one realized its mistake early on and tried to immediately run away. Those lantern-like, amber eyes of Russel’s immediately swung toward it and he jumped into the air, clawed hand raised. When he came crashing back down to the ground, he swept that monstrosity of a hand down with so much force, the wind from it picked up and threw dirt, leaves, and whatever else had been on the ground outward in a wide circle. The ghoul’s eyes, which were facing enough toward Lola that she could just catch a glimpse of them, widened in surprise. Its grotesque mouth opened and its slimy, black blood poured out in thick, globby streams.

Lola watched in horrified fascination as sections of the ghoul separated from each other and fell to the ground. She felt absolutely no sympathy for the creature but at the same time, that was a truly disturbing way to meet your end.

Russel didn’t stop with the ghoul’s leader. As soon as the creature was killed, he whirled around and found new things to attack. The ferocity she saw in him was primal. There was nothing left in his eyes except the need to kill. To hunt down anything moving and take it apart, piece by bloody piece.

The ghouls were almost instantly eradicated. Russel went through them as if they were barely even there. Pieces and bits of ghoul started flying all over the place. A random bit of arm with a shatter talon-claw had even made its way over to her and she had to stifle a sudden, sharp scream. She even clamped one of her hands over her mouth.

I’m on top of that list. One Lace Higgins has compiled a list of “brats”. Does she think I’m two years old?

And then the oni were the only creatures left he had to deal with.

They were fast and their weapons were extraordinarily sharp. In just a minute or two, they had opened up several deep gashes across Russel’s body and limbs. One of them had even managed to slice off one of his clawed fingers. She watched as the digit was cut off him. Almost immediately though, the wound closed over and started to bubble and warp. Another finger began taking shape to replace the one that had been lost. Even in her horrified state, she was amazed at how much faster his regeneration was in his current form.

Russel let out another howl as his head moved back and forth to track the oni circling him. They were darting in, slashing him, and then darting back out before he could orient and attack. It was an effective strategy so far. They kept him guessing but also kept out of range of his vicious claws. Each oni had seen how devastating and effective the werewolf’s natural weaponry could be. They knew if he got their hands on them, they were done for so they elected to stay back and take a more careful route. Eventually, they each reasoned, the werewolf would exhaust itself and then they would be able to finally kill it.