The crimson sunlight bathed the gigantic wolf.
Fenrir, the Wolfbone. Standing nearly five meters tall, it was about the height of a house roof. I looked up at the face covered in pale blue-white fur. For a moment, it seemed as though the great wolf was smiling.
“Then let us begin, young hero!”
Its jaws were massive enough to swallow a horse whole. The longer of its fangs was as long as a longsword, while its tongue writhed within its maw. Its gaze burned like fire. The intent to tear me apart and devour me blazed darkly within those eyes.
“Rion!”
Solana’s voice rang out.
“…Yeah! I’ll keep its attention on me!”
After sending Solana into the air, I renewed the effect of Golden Flame.
It was time to put all the teamwork we had practiced to the test!
“GRAAAAH!”
Fenrir kicked off the ground.
I barely managed to evade in time. A violent gust roared past my left side. Then a chill raced down my spine. Sensing danger, I leapt forward on instinct.
BOOM!
A thunderous impact exploded behind me, showering me with dirt and mud.
Fenrir had already changed direction. Its forepaw crashed down upon the very spot where I had been standing only an instant earlier.
“To dodge even that…”
I kicked off the ground and retreated, widening the distance between us. A streak of golden light came hurtling through the air.
“Over here!”
Solana unleashed a blast of magic.
But Fenrir weaved in a zigzag pattern, effortlessly avoiding the attack. A wide-open battlefield was every bit as advantageous for a wolf as one might expect.
Then a voice called out from atop the city wall.
“Rion-dono! Do you need support?!”
“I’m fine! Help the others instead!”
I pointed toward the southeast.
One of the dwarves on the wall gave a sharp nod before disappearing from sight. There was no way the defenders atop the walls could accurately support a battle as fast-moving as the one between Fenrir and me with arrows or magic.
I’d rather they focus on the other fronts.
“Ha ha ha! To think I would be underestimated!”
Fenrir threw back its head and let out a mighty howl.
Every hair on my body stood on end. Wolf-type monsters began pouring through the front lines and gathering around us.
“Grrraaah!”
“Awooo!”
A tidal wave of wolves surged toward me.
One came from the front. I slashed it apart. Another lunged from the left. I dodged. Then one leapt at me from behind.
In that case—
“Wake up!”
A violent gale erupted around me as Sylph, the Wind Spirit, answered my call. The wolves were blasted away in every direction. Several crashed into the city wall.
Others were swept into the moat and carried away by the current.
“Solana, now!”
“Indeed!”
The goddess unleashed a sphere of light from the sky above.
“Behold the radiance of the sun!”
Golden explosions rippled across the battlefield in a chain of dazzling blasts. As Fenrir darted away from the detonations, its gaze shifted for a brief moment beyond our battlefield.
A warning screamed through my instincts.
Stop him!
“—!”
I stepped forward and accelerated.
As I crossed paths with Fenrir, I slashed at one of its hind legs. The great wolf’s eyes widened, immediately tracking my movement.
“Oh… impressive. Fast, and quick to judge the situation.”
The direction it had been looking was Mia-san’s sector of the battlefield.
Thunderous crashes had been echoing from there for some time. It had probably intended to charge in and kill Mia-san and the others. If a monster like this caught someone off guard, even the most skilled warrior would likely be swallowed whole before they could react.
Fenrir glanced down at the wound on its hind leg, sounding almost amused.
“…So I have been wounded.”
The pale blue-white fur covering its body began to glow faintly.
Cold. An icy wave surged toward me, freezing both the soil and the air in its path.
My breath turned white. My teeth chattered. The dark red blood flowing from the wound I had inflicted is already freezing solid.
From above, Solana called out:
“Fenrir’s ability is 『Freezing』.”
The massive beast advanced. With every step it took, the frost-covered grass beneath its paws shattered.
“The Great Wolf of Ice that freezes all things. That is Fenrir, the Wolfbone.”
As though shielding its master, spears of ice began forming in the air around it. One after another, countless frozen lances appeared, their razor-sharp tips aimed directly at me.
“…It’s freezing.”
“Rion, this cold does more than lower the temperature—it drains vitality itself! If we do not stop it quickly, it could alter the weather and affect the entire battle!”
If Fenrir was left unchecked, the defenders on the city walls would gradually lose their strength.
The battle could collapse all at once. So that’s why this monster charged in first! Its goal had been to destroy the front from the rear.
“Now then, what will you do?!”
Fenrir unleashed the ice spears.
Dodging them alone was difficult enough. And yet I still had to close the distance and defeat it.
My footing slipped. I barely managed to avoid a direct hit by throwing myself into a forward roll.
“Guk—!”
The freezing air clung to my body. It felt as though heavy weights had been shackled to my arms and legs. I couldn’t draw out my usual speed. Ice spears slammed into the ground around me one after another.
My lungs felt as though they were freezing solid.
“Guh!”
An ice spear struck only centimeters away.
The resulting blast sent me flying. I tumbled across the ground before crashing into a low stone wall bordering the road. That finally stopped my momentum.
The instant I ceased moving, the cold invaded my body even more aggressively. My ears felt like they might snap off from the freezing pain. My vision blurred. White flecks drifted through the air.
“…S-snow?”
Even though it was already spring.
Fenrir’s silhouette was growing hazy, as though hidden behind a blizzard.
“Forgive me, Rion.”
Solana descended in front of me. A magical barrier spread outward, intercepting the incoming ice spears. Only then did pain shoot through my arm and chest.
My bones—
They weren’t broken. My arms and legs still moved normally.
“The moisture in the air is being frozen and solidified by its magic. Try not to breathe it in. Humans absorb a monster’s magical power when they inhale it.”
I hurriedly wiped my mouth.
Not that I thought something so simple would truly protect me. The cold kept seeping deeper and deeper into my body.
As Fenrir’s howl echoed across the battlefield, the goddess placed her right hand on my shoulder.
“I am always with you. The blessing that healed Luisia should serve you well here.”
| Skill『Sun’s Divine Protection』has been activated. 【White Flame】⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅Recovery. The blessing of the sun also exorcises curses. |
White flames enveloped my body. Light returned to my vision. More than anything, the goddess’s smile gave me strength. Enough strength that I found myself smiling too, even in a situation like this.
“…Thank you, Solana.”
Icicles continued hurtling toward us, threatening to shatter the barrier at any moment. Their movements were linear.
Solana and I exchanged a glance.
“Let’s go.”
“Indeed. Time to strike back!”
Parting ways with the goddess, I burst into a run.
“Those aren’t going to hit me!”
I raised my voice, deliberately taunting Fenrir.
Pillar-like spears of ice slammed into the hillsides one after another, sending dirt flying.
Using the massive icicles as cover, I dashed across the frost-covered ground. Solana’s White Flame could dispel curses—abnormal conditions caused by magical power. As long as I had the Blessing of the Sun, I didn’t need to fear the snow that eroded the body through magic.
High above, Solana halted the incoming icicles with her own magic. Then she wrapped them in golden light and hurled them straight back at Fenrir.
“This is payback!”
Fenrir’s eyes widened.
“Tch!”
The great wolf instantly generated countless ice bullets. Its target shifted from me to Solana. The goddess vanished behind the storm of attacks. Taking advantage of that opening, I sprinted alongside the giant wolf.
“Over here!”
I slipped past its fangs and deflected a swipe of its claws with my short sword. When it tried to crush me with its massive body, I dove into a slide and passed beneath it.
Fenrir leapt backward. The next instant, a torrential rain of ice spears descended. Even so, I kept advancing. Little by little, I am driving the great wolf toward the moat.
A growl rumbled from Fenrir’s throat.
“…Your strength exceeds my expectations…!”
My enhanced hearing caught the unease in its voice.
“A god’s power should not grow so rapidly…”
A crimson glow flared within the wolf’s eyes. Then a blizzard of ice particles exploded toward me. It was like charging headfirst into a raging snowstorm. Every shard was razor-sharp. The exposed skin on my cheeks and ears was sliced open again and again.
“Wake up!”
From the gauntlet Lu had made for me, I summoned Salamander, the Fire Spirit. Flames surged forth, forcing back the freezing air. The ice melted. For a brief moment, that meant a vast amount of water had been created all around us.
“Wake up—!”
Once more, I called upon it. This time, I awakened Undine, the Water Spirit.
“Help me create mist!”
The water born from the blizzard spread outward, thickening into a dense fog. Fenrir’s form began to blur and fade within it.
The great wolf groaned.
“…An illusion?”
Within the mist, I used magic to project multiple copies of myself—illusions reflecting off the vapor itself.
| Skill 『God of Mischief’s Divine Protection』has been activated. 【God of Mischief’s Deception】……Creates illusions using magical power. |
It was only a momentary opening. Fenrir would quickly realize which one was real.
—Under its jaw.
“Found you!”
I caught the descending forepaw with my short sword just in time.
“…What?!”
| Skill 『God of Thunder’s Divine Protection』has been activated. 【Will of the War God】⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅When facing an enemy stronger than oneself, it increases the power one’s blow. |
Even while separated, I could feel the gods through their blessings. I had defeated Surtr. I had defeated Freyr. There are gods supporting me from beyond.
Fenrir pressed down harder with its forepaw, trying to crush me. I could feel myself being overwhelmed. Its claw, like a curved blade, pierced my cheek and arm. I could feel blood instantly freezing as it flowed.
But—
I wasn’t alone.
So all I had to do now… was endure.
“You dare harm my follower!”
The opening was taken—this time by the goddess herself. Solana had deflected the ice bullets completely. At Fenrir’s flank, she formed a sphere of light. Though her hair and skin were already wounded, her eyes burned brighter than the light she had created.
“…You… are you truly the daughter of a defeated warrior…!?”
Fenrir reeled in shock.—Then from the side, a golden war hammer of light pierced straight through it.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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