The Burning Rose

Chapter 10: Trial by fire

Cinder rolled to the side as the Werewolf's attack slammed down right where she had been standing. It recovered too quickly for a counter attack and swung at her again. Realizing it was faster then it looked, Cinder leaped back, trying to keep distance.

But it wasn't having any of that. It lunges at her, arms stretched out. Cinder barely had time to get out of the way. She watched it fly past her and crash through a sofa, splitting it in two. The next second, the Werewolf grabbed the sofa half and threw them at the girl, Cinder was able to dodge, but only just.

Nervously, Cinder bit her lip. She needed to attack if she wanted to win, but without any range attacks, she would have to get in close. And even then, her blades were broken, so they wouldn't do much damage to the beast, her only hope was to use her size and speed to weaken the creature and then finish it off with her semblance. Anything else would end with her death.

This was going to be a trial by fire.

Cinder charged forward, gripping her blades tightly in her hands. As the Werewolf saw her approaching, it charged at her on all fours, mouth snarling at it's incoming prey.

As they ran at each other, the Werewolf leapt towards Cinder, attempting to bite off her head, the girl however was expecting that and slid underneath it, slashing it's legs with her broken sword.

The Grimm landed and turned to face the girl, black blood leaked from the cut on it's leg, but it didn't seem bothered. Cinder slid on the sand, forcing her to drive her blade into the ground to slow her. She spun around, grinning at the Grimm.

"Not so tough, are you?" She taunted. "Guess legends are always exaggerated." The Werewolf snarled at her, then charged again. Cinder grabbed a nearby nightstand and threw it at the Grimm.

With a single swing of it's paw, it smashed the nightstand, barely slowing down. But when it had been thrown, the Werewolf vision had been blocked, and it had lost sight of Cinder. As the fragments scattered, it saw the girl right in front of it, swords already swinging towards it.

Using it's momentum, the Grimm threw itself to the side, dodging the blow aimed for it's head, causing the blades to scrap its shoulder.

Slowly, the battle turned in Cinder's favor as she danced around the Grimm, slashing at its arms and legs, leaving deep gashes. She knew if she kept this up, it would have to wear itself out sooner or later, giving her the perfect opportunity to land a killing blow.

But suddenly, the Werewolf roared and began swinging wildly, without any care for defending itself. Cinder saw her chance and darted in, slashing it's thigh, but to her surprise, the beast didn't try to block or dodge, instead swinging at her with it's massive claw as if it no longer cared for its own safety! Cinder leapt away, but the Grimm didn't stop. It chased after her, wracking it's claw across her shoulder, knocking the girl off balance.

Before she could recover, the Werewolf landed a massive uppercut to her chest, the force knocked the wind of her. She was sent flying and crashed into the ceiling, before falling back to the ground.

She hit the ground with a hard thud, leaving her gasping and heaving, trying to regain her breath, but before she could, the Werewolf was above her, swinging its massive claw to rip her in half.

Cinder rolled away just in time as the claw ripped through the area she had just been laying. The blow sent sand flying into the air, temporarily blocking the Werewolf's vision. Using the opportunity, Cinder rolled onto her shoulders, then used her arms to push herself off the ground, flipping herself back on her feet.

As the sand cleared, the Grimm lunged at her, but Cinder was faster. She kicked sand into the Werewolf's face, where it got into its eyes blinding it. As it got closer, it began swinging wildly, trying to land a hit on the girl, but Cinder gracefully dodged around it's flailing arms and mounted the beast, stabbing her blades into its back.