༺ The First Letter (68) ༻
Both girls bolted forward. Their opponent was a colossal wolf that towered at a height of approximately 3 meters. With fur that was as black as the darkest night, it fixed its sharp, blue eyes on the prey running towards itself.
Krrrung.
A menacing growl resonated out from its throat.
The first one to make a move was Seria. Her sword aura drew multiple trajectories in an instant: bottom left to top right, top to bottom, and bottom right to top left.
Multiple streaks of blue aura created a mirage-like blur as ripped through the air, making it difficult to discern which one was the real strike. The swordsmanship unfolding before them could be said to be the root of the Yurdina family.
It was the rumored “Illusory Sword of the Golden Lion”.
Its name was derived from the multiple trajectories that were drawn like a lion’s claw and was a technique that wasn’t to be used unless absolutely necessary so as to prevent the truth of its hidden strike from leaking.
The fact that Seria used her family’s secret technique was a sign that the situation was dire.
It was a technique that required careful consideration even in a life-or-death situation. It wasn’t something to be used as an opener for the first strike. Yet, the fact was that she was currently unleashing the Illusory Sword.
It might have been that she decided there wouldn’t be another chance. Their opponent was a monstrous beast that could move in erratic ways that defied the very laws of physics. Even their last hope, Senior Elsie’s lightning magic was nearly rendered ineffective.
“Defeat” surfaced in Seria’s mind and she tightly clenched her teeth to fortify her resolve. It was then that the beast opened its mouth.
Its action was unexpected. I didn’t know why it would open its mouth with a sword speeding towards it, but it was nevertheless an opportune moment to strike the beast’s vulnerable flesh.
Seria didn’t miss the window and instinctively changed her sword’s trajectory. But in the next moment, a howl burst forth from the beast.
Awooo~
Its horn began shining a brilliant blue.
Lightning crackled and swept the area indiscriminately as pale flashes burst the ground with roaring explosions.
Startled, Seria immediately retrieved her sword and leapt backward, but the storm of electricity reached far and wide.
Pzzzzzzt
Electricity coursed through her sword and into her body. The electricity contracted Seria’s muscles as it traveled through her body and forced Seria to her knees as her legs gave out.
Seria’s panicked eyes turned to the beast. It hadn’t used electricity before, but it was now apparent that it was able to do so.
It was uncertain whether it was due to Senior Elsie’s magic, but considering it had innate lightning resistance, it was likely that it was able to command electricity from the beginning.
Either way, it was bad news for us.
We had to be more cautious in approaching the beast since we now had to avoid the storm of electricity. In addition, although Seria’s illusory sword technique made for a lethal trump card, it was useless while maintaining a distance from the target.
Thankfully, once the storm passed, the wolf’s blue eyes returned to its original black color.
It seemed to be an attack that couldn’t be used whenever it wanted. It most likely had to gather a great amount of mana correspondent to its might. However, its eyes were likely to turn blue again after gathering enough mana.
Before I could finish my analysis, the beast immediately stomped off the ground. It was another body slam, and it was headed toward Seria who was still kneeling on the ground. Panic flashed through her eyes as she determined that she wouldn’t be able to avoid the slam.
Bam!
“Kyaaa!”
A scream resounded. Yet, the one sent flying through the air wasn’t Seria but Celine. She had stopped the wolf’s slam with her quick draw but was unable to neutralize all of its power. Celine smashed through a tree and rolled across the ground.
Celine had taken the blow without Senior Elsie’s shield, and although she wouldn’t die, she was sure to be incapacitated for some time. Meanwhile, the wolf howled in pain from Celine’s quick draw. During that time, I rushed to Seria and grabbed her from behind before throwing her back.
The electricity coursing through her was so potent that Seria was twitching without being able to move freely. She was still grimacing in pain, and I judged that it was safer to keep her out of the fight for now.
Before long, the wolf regained its focus. It appeared visibly upset that it had allowed another injury from its prey. The beast’s eyes, which had been glaring at Celine and Seria, turned towards me as I drew my sword.
I purposely smiled provocatively in case the wolf wanted to target the two incapacitated girls. As I twisted my lips, I spoke to the predator standing in front of me-
“…….Come at me, you bastard.”
I couldn’t tell if it understood my words, but the nuance seemed to have been conveyed properly as the wolf began snarling viciously at my words.
It was a more terrifying than anything else – imitating human expressions even though it wasn’t even human. It hated humans more than anything and yet, it still mimicked humans.
My hair stood up on end from a terrible sense of foreboding. Sure enough, the demonic wolf stretched out its forearm and lashed it out like a whip.
The trajectory of its claw headed towards my waist. As expected of a beast, it instinctively knew to strike at a position that made it difficult to either jump or crouch.
Faced with the quickly approaching claw, my choice was to throw myself toward it.
The scent of dirt wafted up as I dove down toward the ground. Shortly after, I heard a whoosh as the wolf’s claw tore through the space right above me. Without another second of hesitation, I quickly started into a crouched dash.
My sequential actions were predetermined. I jumped while layering my sword in a silver aura.
As I swung my sword, the wolf stretched out its body. Its neck twisted at a grotesque angle, and its jaw opened wide. My sword narrowly missed the wolf, precariously passing by at an angle.
However, what the wolf had overlooked was that I was holding my sword with only one hand. My other hand was steady at my waist.
The wolf’s eyes snapped open, and in that instant, our gazes met. I flashed a confident smile.
Since the wolf had tormented two of my beloved juniors, it was about time for it to be the one to suffer.
Thud!
The hatchet struck the wolf’s nose. It was the second time. The wolf contracted its body with its head as the focal point and flew up into the air.
Krrruuuuuuung!
The demonic beast raised its jaw and let out a blood-curdling scream in anguish. Its anguished scream gave me chills, but at the same time, a crackling sound invaded my ears.
Electricity was once again flowing through its horn. Without hesitation, I grabbed my hatchet and threw myself to the ground.
Blue lightning flashed by my head as the beast’s eyes began radiating a similarly brilliant blue. Lightning repeatedly struck indiscriminately around the beast, causing deafening explosions all around.
Even though I had thrown my body away, the lightning still managed to graze my toes. I couldn’t help but tremble as the electricity coursed through my leg and made all the surrounding muscles contract.
“Kugh, ugh…!”
Suppressing the urge to swear, I grit my teeth and forced myself up while pounding my legs. Even if my legs couldn’t move freely, I couldn’t just lie there and wait for death. As it had before, the wolf prepared to charge while I was nearly incapacitated by the lightning.
Bang!
It was a sound I was already too familiar with.
I made a desperate lunge to the side as a black cannonball whizzed past my previous spot. When I chased after the blurred figure with my eyes, several trees had already burst apart before the wolf came to a halt. As it turned around, it began glaring at me with more ferocity.
I didn’t have time to rest. Despite my cramping legs, I staggered to my feet.
It seemed to have become even enraged after receiving two blows from me. The wolf stuck out its tongue and licked the thick blood flowing from its nose.
The scent of blood seemed to excite the beast, its growls more menacing than before.
I steadied my ragged breath when suddenly, someone approached my side.
Gray hair – I didn’t need to see her face to know who it was. I asked Seria.
“…..What about Celine?”
“Not yet. She’s trying to force herself to get up, but…..”
That excruciating pain, I knew it very well. Considering it was her first time experiencing such pain, it wouldn’t be surprising even if she were to vomit on the spot.
I nodded my head, indicating I understood, with my gaze still fixed on the wolf.
“Senior Ian, Senior Elsie says she’s almost ready.”
It was the most relieving news I could have hoped for. I didn’t want to give the wolf any more time to regain its strength.
“Seria, do you think you can hold that wolf in place? Just once is enough.”
The wolf was sizing up the distance. Its attack patterns were always the same. In close proximity, it would elongate its body and launch unpredictable attacks. When afar, it would try for a impactful blow and charge toward its target for a body slam.
If it remained faithful to its pattern, it was going to try to body slam into us again. However, the power packed behind its body slam was beyond imagination, and it was certain that whoever took on its charge directly without a shield would be gravely injured.
It was a difficult request. I wanted to explain my plan in a little more detail, but Seria’s answer came quicker than I could organize my thoughts.
“I’ll do it.”
I turned toward her as Seria replied without any hesitation.
As always, a strong sense of trust was evident within her deep, blue eyes.
“Senior Ian never lies to me, right? Didn’t you say you would make me win?”
‘Did I really say that I would make her win even against Senior Delphine?’
It was possible that I had. After all, the very notion of aiming for victory in the hunting festival was tantamount to saying that we would surpass Senior Delphine.
‘But, don’t people usually consider them empty words?’
Even Senior Elsie, who was doing her best, was doubtful when I first asked her to join me. It was testament to how outstanding Senior Delphine’s skills were.
Yet, in Seria’s eyes, there was not even a trace of doubt. Her eyes were filled with only trust.
Seeing such faith lifted my lips into a slight grin.
“…That’s right. I’ll make you win.”
The moment I turned my gaze back to the wolf-
Thud.
Something suddenly pushed my chest. It was Seria’s hand. It was unexpected, but I didn’t resist as I understood why she had pushed me.
In the next moment, Seria wielded her sword and darkness filled my sight.
It was a pitch-black gust.
I wasn’t able to even hear the wind being torn apart by the colossal figure. The wolf’s charge had been so absurdly fast that I had only noticed it when it had already clashed against Seria.
Seria managed to block the charge with only her sword that was covered in an aura that was darker than ever before. It was clear from the deep blue shade of her aura that she had to utilize nearly all of her mana.
.
Her blue aura collided against what might as well have been a black cannonball. A shock wave that seemed to reverberate through the entire world burst out in all directions.
Seria was the one to get pushed back. Her feet scrambled on the ground as she stumbled across the ground without any shield to negate the impact. As soon as she planted her sword into the ground, she dropped to her knees and vomited dark blood.
Despite the injuries, she had performed her role. I sheathed my sword into my scabbard and bent down, utilizing the natural elasticity of my body to launch myself toward the beast with full momentum.
It was the same tactic as before. The beast opened its jaws while trying to endure the pain as if expressing that it wouldn’t fall for the same tactic twice.
Its black eyes, absent of any light, were fixed on me as if anticipating my next move. It seemed to assume that I would try to dodge its attack, but I didn’t stop my momentum. On the contrary, I extended an arm toward the beast.
Thuk.
The wolf bit into my arms as its fangs pierced my flesh and muscles with a squelch. Blood spurted out like a crushed fruit while the beast had confusion written all over its face. It hadn’t expected me to sacrifice my arm like that.
My remaining hand groped around my waist.
It hurt like crazy. The searing pain shot through my nerves and sent sharp tingles down my spine. My eyes grew red as I clenched down my teeth to endure the agony.
Despite the pain, I raised my hatchet. It was then that the beast realized that something was amiss. However, it was unable to immediately pull out its fangs that had penetrated deeply into my tough muscle fibers.
It was a short instant, but that window the most crucial opportunity for me.
Thud.
Once again, the hatchet buried itself into the wolf’s nose.
It was the third time. Perhaps fueled by my anguish, the hatchet drove in deeper than before.
KRRUUUNNNNG!
Unable to bear the pain, the wolf raised its head and howled. My battered arm fell free from its jaw, and I took the opportunity to jump up.
I spun in mid-air and landed on top of the giant head of the beast. Then, I locked its neck as hard as I could inbetween my legs. Although I couldn’t choke it to death due to its trunk-sized neck, my only goal was to stabilize my body to strike it effectively.
I drew my sword from its scabbard. It was like a pure white lightning bolt.
I raised my sword up high before plunging it right into the gap between the horn and the skin.
I had used all my strength, and the sensation of the sword penetrating deeply into its flesh confirmed that my efforts had not been in vain.
After a brief moment, the wolf wildly shook its head in excruciating agony. I didn’t resist its movement and let myself falll to the ground.
My sword had dug deep into its forehead and had punctured all the way to its brain. Even then, the demonic wolf, with its tough vitality, remained alive and moving.
In fact, it seemed to be more enraged as it began exhaling roughly while glaring at me. A blue gleam began dying its pupils, and its horn also started flickering in the same hue as if it would shoot out a lightning bolt at any moment.
But, I smiled.
Because I saw a bolt of lightning falling from the sky.
For the second time, the world was bleached white.
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