"A-A demon wolf suddenly ca here, and then... we were about to get attacked, but this woman saved us..." the dwarf stamred, her voice shaking like it was about to fall apart. "W-We don’t know what to do. We are not warriors. We don’t stand a chance against a demon wolf." She hugged herself as she spoke, trembling so hard her knees were knocking together.
Her small hands were still wrapped around Anne’s detached chanical arm like it was so kind of divine relic. It rested against her chest, cold and tallic, but she held onto it like it was warm—like it could still protect her. The way her fingers clung to it made it seem like she was holding onto the last piece of hope she had left.
Honestly, seeing her like that made sothing heavy settle in my chest. I couldn’t even bla her. Being cornered by a demon wolf would terrify anyone—much less soone who wasn’t ant to fight. And for them, Anne must’ve appeared like so miracle descending straight from the heavens, only to be torn apart in front of their eyes.
"I’m sorry, Master," Anne said, her tone steady even though half of her body was wrecked. "I don’t know anything about fighting, as I am not designed for combat."
Even now—literally in the jaws of death—she apologized. The demon wolf had been chewing on her like she was scrap tal it wanted to grind down into dust. If she were human, she would’ve been torn apart instantly. Even though she couldn’t feel pain like a living person could, the sight of her chanical fra dented and crushed still made my stomach twist.
She wasn’t human, yeah. She was a robot. But that didn’t change anything for . Anne was mine. I had bought her, yes, but she had beco more than so machine or tool. She was a woman who stood close to . Soone who followed . Soone who, right now, looked like she had been willing to throw herself between death and a bunch of dwarves who couldn’t defend themselves.
chanical or not, she was mine. Mine alone.
And there was no chance in hell I was letting anything take her from .
That thought—raw, instinctive, and possessive—boiled over inside like molten tal. Before I even realized it, my bloodlust exploded outward like a physical force. It surged from in waves, thick and suffocating, rolling outward until the entire forest around us seed to tremble under it.
I felt the ground beneath my feet crack just slightly from the pressure of what I was releasing.
The dwarf beside let out a strangled gasp as the intense aura washed over her. She fell backward onto her butt, her face flushed, breath hitching—not from fear, but from the strange overwhelming feeling that ca from being near raw bloodlust.
Amon, who stood close to , instinctively stepped back. Even she had trouble steadying herself.
The demon wolf felt it too, its fur bristling, its eyes narrowing. For a mont, it hesitated—but only for a mont. Despite sensing the danger, it still clamped its teeth harder around Anne’s mangled body, chewing with stubborn aggression.
That pissed off even more.
Without thinking twice, without hesitation, I bolted forward. The world around blurred as I charged, air whipping violently past my ears.
As if so instinct scread inside the wolf’s skull that I wasn’t an opponent it wanted to take head-on, it suddenly jerked its head and tossed Anne aside like she was nothing more than spare parts. Her tallic body clanged against the dirt with a dull, heavy thud.
The wolf lunged toward next, jaws open wide, saliva dripping from its massive fangs. It snapped its teeth toward my head, but I moved just in ti, twisting sharply to the side. Its bite closed on empty air with a sickening crunch that made even the earth seem to flinch.
I planted my foot into the ground, turned sharply, and slamd my fist directly into the wolf’s face.
The blow landed with a solid, cracking impact. The wolf’s head snapped back violently, its massive fra staggering. But it didn’t drop. Not even close.
Demon wolves weren’t weak creatures. They weren’t even average monsters. They were absolute nightmares—beasts wrapped in so kind of unpenetrable aura that made magic useless against them. The more mana you poured into your attacks, the more their barrier strengthened. It absorbed mana like a sponge and reinforced itself instantly.
If you used magic, you basically just polished its armor for it.
Honestly, it was bullshit. Like so dumb cheat code that soone forgot to patch.
And even without the barrier, demon wolves were absurdly strong, their physical strength alone enough to tear a grown man in half. Putting a demon wolf down was never easy.
The wolf growled low and deep, the sound vibrating through the air. Its eyes glimred with fury—and sothing else. Frustration, maybe.
"Well yeah, bud. I’m as angry as you," I muttered under my breath.
Because this thing ca too close—way too close—to killing one of the won in my life.
There was absolutely no forgiving that.
My bloodlust flared again, hotter and heavier. I narrowed my eyes, glaring so sharply it felt like my vision cut through the space between us. Even the demon wolf, proud and battle-crazed as it was, flinched for a mont when our gazes locked.
I summoned Ayuru into my hand.
The blade manifested with a familiar shimr, solid and reassuring in my grip. Ayuru specialized in dealing physical damage, but to reach her full power, she needed mana. Usually, that wasn’t a problem. But against a demon wolf, feeding Ayuru mana was risky. Too much mana, and the wolf’s barrier would just keep strengthening.
But I knew there had to be a limit. Everything had a limit.
If I poured every drop of mana I had—the full, raw flood of it—into Ayuru, maybe the sheer volu would overwhelm the barrier completely. It was a gamble, sure. A stupid one, maybe. But after what this wolf did to Anne?
I was more than willing to push myself to my limits.
I held Ayuru tighter and began channeling mana into her. She reacted imdiately, like she had been starving and I was offering her her long-awaited feast. She drank my mana eagerly, greedily, savoring it. I felt the pull deep inside , mana flowing from the center of my chest—my solar plexus—up through my shoulders, down my arm, and pouring into the blade.
The sensation was intense. Almost like Ayuru was sucking the mana straight out of my veins.
The blade began to glow. First softly, then violently. The air around it shimred, rippling like heat waves off scorching tal. Ayuru pulsed and throbbed with power, buzzing in my grip, almost like she was alive and trembling from excitent.
Soon she was filled to the brim. So much mana condensed inside her that she felt like she was going to explode in my hand.
That was enough.
I dashed.
Ti seed to slow at that exact mont. I could see the demon wolf’s expression shift from rage... into panic. Its eyes widened, instincts screaming danger so loudly that even a beast like this couldn’t ignore it.
And then—
Light.
A blinding, consuming burst of pure, overwhelming light swallowed the entire area. No sound. No impact. No explosion. Just raw radiance that drowned everything else out.
When it finally faded, the wolf was gone.
Not dead. Not broken.
Gone.
Erased from existence.
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