Chapter 136
Chapter 136
Wolf’s Howl (5)
Canis, who had been watching the fight from afar, admired the skill of Black Robe.
He didn’t know much about close combat, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t fight at all. Black Robe persistently targeted the defenses of the two with minimal movement.
“Ugh.”
Soloven, whose waist had been lightly cut by the Shadow Blade, frowned.
Even with Soloven’s famously solid defense and Rama’s assist, the number of successful attacks from Black Robe continued to increase.
“I wonder if Davide~ can win~”
As Canis said that, he couldn’t imagine any possibility of Davide winning.
Black Robe’s Shadow Blade moved like a snake. It slid along the surface of Soloven’s shield and eventually lunged toward his nape.
In that moment, Rama’s curved blade slipped in perfectly and knocked the Shadow Blade away, but Black Robe’s kick struck his side.
“Fall back.”
Rolling together with the blown-away Rama, Soloven immediately got back on his feet with a recovery technique.
Then he planted his shield into the ground and muttered lowly. Rama, who was about to protest, felt an unusual heat rising from Soloven’s body.
“We have to at least inflict a serious wound here.”
“……Right. I’ll look for an opening.”
At Soloven’s resolute declaration, Rama stepped back. Confirming that Rama had distanced himself, Soloven burned his mana with all his might.
“Is that the flame of Rahorakti? Truly an excessive power.”
Heat haze rose from Soloven’s body, and his shield became completely engulfed in flames.
Seeing that, Black Robe adjusted his stance.
After briefly catching his breath, Soloven charged forward powerfully. Not only his shield but also the sword he held was wrapped in fierce flames.
Soloven moved, drawing a red trajectory.
Black Robe deftly avoided the bursts of flame that erupted every time he clashed with Soloven’s sword and shield.
“Hmm?”
Canis tilted his head at the sight. It was as if Black Robe knew all of Soloven’s abilities.
He had heard that a skilled warrior could infer the opponent’s next move just by muscle movement. But this was on a different level.
It was a derived ability that one could only understand after experiencing it at least once. The fact that explosions of flame occurred on the contact surface was not something one could easily imagine.
“Ah~”
Canis realized the strange sense of déjà vu. Black Robe knew the information of everyone here.
Especially when it came to the combat data of Soloven and Rama, he knew it well enough to be called an expert. Based on this, Canis inferred that Black Robe might be from the Magic Department.
“Even your proud shield is nothing to me—Gaaah!”
Black Robe, who had stylishly recovered his Shadow Blade, was speaking in an irritating voice when he was suddenly blown away.
What sent him flying was Water Spear—a spear formed from violently surging currents of water.
“Oh? He took that and is still fine.”
Canis’s gaze shifted. From afar, approaching with Winter, was a familiar sea-colored figure.
“Traitor?”
Bereninche walked proudly in front of Winter. Then she tilted her head upon seeing Canis standing still on the opposite side of Soloven and Rama.
“Over here~ i—!”
Canis hurriedly tried to speak, but upon seeing a Water Spear flying toward him without warning, he hastily activated magic.
Even though he reacted upon seeing the throwing stance, the incoming speed was too fast to block everything.
The Water Spear collided with a wall of crystal and spun violently. The fierce rotation, as if it would grind everything down, eventually gnawed through and pierced the crystal wall.
“This one and that one alike. Have I gotten weaker?”
“……I wonder.”
However, the Water Spear ultimately failed to pierce Canis. It was deflected by the crystal wall and merely grazed his shoulder.
She thought at least one arm would be torn off, but it seemed he had layered crystals even on his skin, as he didn’t suffer that level of injury.
At Bereninche’s words, Winter let out a hollow laugh. It was a technique that had sent flying an opponent who had pushed Soloven and Rama to struggle, in a single blow. There was no way someone using that as a normal attack was weak.
“Right. I thought from the start you were a snake-like woman.”
Bereninche immediately formed another Water Spear. She hadn’t liked Canis from the moment she first saw him.
Now that she had justification, she intended to truly kill him this time. Winter quietly closed her eyes at Bereninche’s reaction.
“Hmm?”
Bereninche, who was about to throw the Water Spear, hesitated. The presence of her target, Canis, had completely disappeared. Even his appearance and the smell of blood were gone.
“Did I lose him?”
Despite being a mage, he possessed a stealth technique surpassing that of a first-rate assassin.
Clearly showing her displeasure, Bereninche threw the Water Spear elsewhere.
Stronger than usual, the spear shot forward like a laser. Falling where Black Robe had been blown away, it caused a massive circular rotating water explosion.
“Bereninche Duhein. As expected. Impressive skill.”
Even from that merciless destruction, Black Robe walked out calmly. Seeing the robe torn in places and stained with blood, Bereninche grinned.
“Wow. Scary.”
Despite the obvious mockery, Black Robe showed no reaction. Watching him, Bereninche raised one eyebrow.
From his presence to ignoring provocation, he was clearly someone who had fought many battles.
“I should kill him.”
With that resolve, Bereninche took her stance. Even Winter, who had not seen much of her fighting, found that stance familiar.
It was the very posture she had used when she threw the five Water Spears that had blown a Fiendbeast to pieces.
“I’ll join in!”
Soloven and Rama did not remain still either.
Matching the Water Spears that shot in curved trajectories from different directions, they each threw their weapons.
The shield thrown by Soloven surged with blazing flames, while the curved blade thrown by Rama spun strangely as if it were a chakram.
“Come!”
Black Robe swung the Shadow Blade in a wide arc. It was the largest motion he had shown so far.
Wind swirled around his blade, forming a massive vortex. Black Robe fired the vortex as it was.
The first to arrive, Soloven’s shield, exploded on impact, spewing intense flames in all directions. But the vortex of Black Robe swallowed it whole.
“Hup!”
Next came the Water Spear, flying in a graceful curve. Black Robe hurriedly spread his palm.
A wall of wind formed, barely holding the Water Spear in place.
“Ghk!”
From within the vision obscured by the massive explosion of flames, a blade suddenly shot out.
It was Rama’s sword, spinning and appearing like a chakram.
For some reason, the blade, which didn’t seem to carry much force, sharply cut through the flames and ultimately slashed open Black Robe’s chest.
“You wolf bitch!”
It wasn’t only Rama who attacked Black Robe’s chest. A crystal spear created by Canis shot up from the ground and pierced through his chest.
“Hm~ I want to hear more~ but~ it feels like I’ll really die if I do~”
Though he hadn’t fully heard the story yet, Canis moved.
If Bereninche had stepped in, the situation would spiral out of control. If Bereninche misunderstood something, it would take quite a while to resolve it.
Black Robe screamed as he was swallowed by the incoming Water Spear.
“Still~ not~ over~”
It didn’t end there. Canis fired clusters of sharply honed crystals. Bereninche also summoned two more Water Spears and threw them.
“Winter~ that surprised me~”
Using that astonishing movement technique, Canis appeared beside Winter. Startled, Winter struck Canis with her small fist.
“Do you know how surprised I was too?! You just left with only Anger behind!”
Winter struck Canis as if venting her anger. As he had done with Davide, Canis avoided every attack with flexible movements.
What Canis had left in front of the infirmary was Anger. Winter had discovered the Anger parasitizing the Holy Relic, and heard everything Canis intended to do from it.
“So, did you find anything out?”
“Well~ it’s vague~ I didn’t expect you to bring Bereninche~”
“What is it, wolf bitch.”
At her name being mentioned, Bereninche asked sharply. In response, Canis hid behind Winter.
Originally, he intended to stick around longer and gather more information, but with Bereninche here, he had no choice.
“I did find something~ but~ shall we leave that for later~”
Canis pointed somewhere with his finger. Everyone’s gaze followed.
There, they saw Black Robe pierced and suspended on Canis’s crystals. With his limbs gone, hanging pitifully, it was almost a sorry sight.
“That’s strange.”
Soloven and Rama, who had truly believed in Canis’s betrayal, took longer to regain their composure.
Soloven, however, quickly sensed something odd about Black Robe. As she approached, she spoke with a hollow tone.
“What?”
“There’s no blood.”
At Winter’s question, Soloven answered flatly. Even in that scene of overwhelming destruction, there was no blood from Black Robe.
“It’s a puppet. Like the one used by that guy we saw during the first attack.”
Coco, the mid-boss of Episode 1. Soloven referred to him.
As they approached, the group nodded at Soloven’s words. Not only the joints but even the skin—though hidden by the robe, it was all made of wood.
“Is there a possibility it’s the same person?”
Bereninche, who was relatively polite to superiors, asked Soloven, who seemed to know something.
“I’m not sure. I definitely cut that puppeteer’s neck back then.”
The group fell into silence.
***
“Senior! Senior!”
Having arrived at the academic building, I turned my gaze toward the inconsiderate one shouting loudly.
In a situation like this, how could someone ruin the atmosphere like that? Then I realized it was Winter calling me and immediately softened.
If it’s urgent, shouting loudly is understandable.
“What. What is it?”
“Please come out for a moment!”
Though puzzled by the urgency in Winter’s voice, I walked out slowly. At the entrance of the academic building, Winter was struggling while holding onto something.
“It’s a Holy Relic. I sent Canis too—where is he?”
After leaving the unconscious Imperial Princess to the Vice-Commander and the Imperial Knight Order, I returned straight to the academic building.
It hadn’t taken long, so I thought Winter and Canis would be together, but for some reason, Winter was alone.
-Hello.
“……Anger?”
Then suddenly, Anger popped out from the Holy Relic. A parasite is something that lives off a living organism—yet this one came out of a broken greatsword, an inanimate object.
“What is this?”
-Anger. Fool.
“Oh. Since Canis isn’t here, I’ll erase you from this world.”
-Apology.
As I glared at Anger for its irritating tone, it immediately backed down.
“Senior! This is actually urgent!”
“Then explain it.”
The flustered Winter rambled on. In summary, it was simple.
When she went to the infirmary for the antidote, Canis encountered a member of Magus. He decided to act together to gather information.
It was absolutely not a betrayal. Since it was urgent, he left Anger behind, so I should hear the explanation from it.
“You go straight to Canis.”
“Huh? Aren’t you coming with me, Senior?”
I quietly listened and nodded. Then I tried to send Winter to Canis.
She asked if I wasn’t coming along.
“There’s still someone behind the scenes on the Guardian’s side. I’ll clean them all out at once. If you meet anyone you know on the way, bring them along. Someone like Canis can deal meaningful damage. I’ll follow that one instead.”
“Ah! Yes. Understood.”
With that, Winter quickly left. I quietly watched her and fell into thought.
I was worried about Winter, but Canis would handle things well. It would be good if she brought along many familiar faces on the way.
I slowly headed toward the forest. I planned to wait for the retreating Magus in the forest between the Academy and the Guardian’s residence.