Villain's Second Heart: Trapped in A Fantasy Novel (BL)-Chapter 104: Heena Attack!

"Uh, Rav!?" Oberyn stammered, jolting awake to the sound of agitating howling that sounded terrifyingly close. "You said nothing can get through this barrier, right?"

He looked over at his mentor. Rav was still wrapped up in his cloudy cocoon, fast asleep and oblivious. Damn it.

Oberyn stood up. It was early morning - ’Shouldn’t these things have gone to sleep by now?’ he thought.

They were surrounded. He didn’t see any of the Heenas yet, but glowing yellow eyes pierced the fog. They were everywhere.

Ezra leapt to his feet, a spear flying into his hand. "Oh, hell," he gasped when he saw what was happening. "RAV!"

"Wake him up now," Oberyn commanded, drawing his sword. "Twenty-four of them," he remarked quietly as his eyes scanned the pairs of glowing eyes. He couldn’t make them all out, but with his unstable and sensitive mana, he could sense them. "Quite a large pack."

Oberyn swung his sword with a flourish. None of the beasts had attacked yet, but it was only a matter of time. The barrier didn’t seem to be holding them at bay. They were angling for an ambush.

"So, what’s the move?" Ezra asked in a panic as he tried to climb the tree toward Rav. "Any good spells for this?"

Oberyn thought for a moment. "They’re fast and small. Attacks that target them individually will likely be dodged. I don’t normally do this, but... I think I might need to let my magic run a little wild here.

"Reckless explosions as far as the eye could see? Well, Oby, that’ll certainly wake Rav up."

Oberyn slammed his free hand to the ground. Burning glyphs appeared around him in the hard soil, quickly encircling him with glowing, circular sigils. As he pumped more mana into the earth, each glyph dragged a chunky rock from the dirt and wrapped it in pulsating, explosive energy.

"Here goes nothing!" he shouted. With a single command, he launched the rocks in every direction, hurling them toward the glowing Heena eyes. Frightened yowls rang out as his bombs peppered the crowd, blasting several Heenas to bits and shooting sharp earthy shrapnel through them. But it wasn’t enough to kill them all, and now they were really pissed.

Dog-like monsters, Heenas, began charging through the fog in droves, descending on the camp.

Oberyn pointed at the first to break through and managed to catch it with a burst of magic, surrounding it in barbed, fiery light before blasting it to smithereens.

’God damn, his magic is cool,’ Ezra thought as he carefully balanced on the branches and stepped closer and closer to Rav’s sealed hammock.

Oberyn turned and fired again, this time forming his fingers like a gun. A sharp burst of energy shot through another Heena. As soon as the magic bullet pierced it, the fiend shattered into nonexistence.

But it was time for new tactics. The Heenas were in close now, barking and snarling, ready to pounce.

Those were the kind of bites that didn’t excite Oberyn.

He slashed his sword at one that was mid-jump, cleaving it through the air. As its pieces landed in front of him, another Heena backed away, hesitating. Oberyn finally got a good look at one of the creatures.

They were covered in mangy gray fur, a spiky mane running down their spine. Their teeth chattered with pearly white fangs that barely fit in their mouths.

One locked eyes with him, its malevolent yellow gaze narrow and difficult to read. Its oversized paws and black claws skated on the ground as it decided whether to attack or flee.

Oberyn turned to see that Ezra had reached Rav, and the Sage was finally awake, popping his head out of the cocoon.

"Did I mention I’m kinda scared of dogs?" Rav yelped.

’Yeah, you sound real convincing,’ Oberyn thought.

Another cautious Heena crept too close. Oberyn fired another bullet and knocked the creature’s head clean off its ratty shoulders.

"Nice hit!" Ezra shouted, leaping from the tree and gravitating toward him. They stood back to back, surrounded by hungry Heenas. Over a dozen still remained, too close for large-scale spells. Any big blast could hurt Ezra or himself.

But he had another technique - a theoretical one that he’d never tried in combat. He figured this was the moment, if ever there was one.

"Ezra, brace yourself," Oberyn warned.

Ezra steadied himself behind him, legs tense and ready to defend. He could feel his mana being drawn out as Oberyn summoned magic from the surrounding area into him to prepare a big attack.

Oberyn inhaled—so much it looked like he might burst. Then he exhaled in a mighty roar, sweeping his head from left to right in a wide arc. Flames rained down on the Heena in brutal bursts, incinerating several in an instant.

Ezra moved in tandem, grappling one behind them and impaling through it before turning and striking another.

They were almost done with the smaller ones when a massive Heena stepped out from the fog.

This one was five times the size of the others. Rav, Oberyn, and Ezra could all ride it - if it wasn’t trying to eat them alive. It wheezed and heaved, its mouth hanging open, and then began to wiggle and shake. Sadistic laughter escaped its rotting mouth.

"Finish these up, Ezra. I got the big one," Oberyn said.

Ezra nodded and squared off with the remaining three Heena. His spear whipped around in a deadly dance. Oberyn began sizing up the leader of the pack.

Oberyn swung his sword at the giant Heena. To his surprise, the creature caught the blade in its teeth, completely unfazed by its sharpness. Oberyn pulled away quickly, blasting it with a spell.

The Heena’s head jerked back, but it didn’t seem any worse for wear. Oberyn cursed and hit it with more explosions. Still not enough damage - a creature of this much size and power was resistant to his magical attacks. Oberyn could feel his stamina draining from every spell. He wouldn’t be able to keep this up. Even then, his curse mark began to surge with pain.

"Having trouble? I suppose I can step in."