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Ugh!

Erin covered her nose as a wave of stench assailed her nostrils. Now, she was able to smell not just the Wolf’s scent but also the sulfuric odor of the lightning encroaching the Wolf’s whole body. Even its steps and movements were producing sounds. It was almost as if some inhibition spell was lifted off of the Wolf.

The “Dire Wolf” which had apparently merged itself with lightning roared threateningly at Erin. Simultaneously, it fired a bolt of thunder at her as its body crackled wrathfully in violet lightnings.

Fast!

Although it didn’t catch Erin by surprise, her current speed was not enough to dodge the sudden attack. Guided by the screams of her instincts, she cast Mystic Blade and the spell took the form of an ethereal sword in her hand. Wielding a truly mystical blade. she swiftly cut apart the lightning that almost turned her into char.

Once again, she didn’t know such an application was possible. She wasn’t told by anyone or anything. She just somehow knew it could be used in that fashion. It was certainly more convenient to use it this way but she could somehow feel that it was draining her more than when she applied it over a sword.

The Wolf took a step forward. The lightning cried and whirled. Before Erin knew it, the Wolf was already right in front of her..

F̲u̲c̲k̲ me!

The Wolf swiped its paws but Erin flipped over the attack on a hunch. While spinning in the air, the Wolf bared its fangs and bit down at the Fox-kin but Erin too flipped herself over its head by pushing herself away using its nose.

Eeek!

Erin shrieked inwardly as she felt the faint shock from touching the Wolf’s electrifying body. When she landed, she quickly inspected her hand for any damages. Her palm was slightly char but other than that, there were no major wounds. She heaved with relief.

The Wolf spun, intending to hit Erin with its tail but she was no longer where she was. The Fox-kin was dashing for the sword she so carelessly left behind.

After lingering in its dumbfounded state for a few seconds, the Wolf immediately bolted past Erin and arrived in between her and her sword. The Wolf unleashed another wave of lightning attacks at Erin. She cut all the thunderbolts away and closed their distance with Fleet Foot. She gave another uppercut but the Wolf had already moved away with its lightning speed. However, Erin’s goal wasn’t to hit it. She just wanted to retrieve her sword.

Being the embodiment of lightning, the Wolf instantly came back with its jaws widened but Erin used her sword, which was stabbed into the ground, as the fulcrum and pivoted herself into a kick right in the Wolf’s jaws. She then drew the sword out from the ground and brought it around a wide arc with Arcane Edge and Mystic Blade.

Blood painted the grass as a small cut was drawn cross the bottom of the Wolf’s jaw. Erin was in joyous relief for being able to draw its blood but her bubble was burst when she saw the Wolf’s face. Disregarding the insane Mana cost, Erin cast Arcane Armor on her whole body. Seething with rage, the Wolf bellowed and unleashed a pulse of lightning radially from its body. Rather than a collision, it felt more like a simple touch. Yet, that simple touch of lightning was enough to launch Erin off her feet and threw her rolling across the ground. The violet thunder disintegrated her Arcane Armor in a matter of seconds.

A message appeared in her head but she didn’t bother to read it. It was obviously a status-change notice to inform her of her injured left shoulder. If it wasn’t for Arcane Armor, she was sure she would not have gotten off with just an injured shoulder..

Not good. With my current abilities and strength, I’m no match for this Wolf. Should I run?

At that thought, she immediately reprimanded herself for thinking as such. It wasn’t because she refused to be cowardly but she knew that if she ran away again this time, she would just keep running away whenever she faced a stronger adversary in the future. She may have resolved to put her identity as Argon Raze to rest, she would never cast aside her pride as the Sword Saint. Her growth in becoming the Sword Saint was because he always challenged foes that were said to be stronger than him.

I can cast aside my manhood… but never my pride as the Sword Saint.

Erin forced her body to stand as the Wolf looked at her in wonder. It didn’t attack her while she was down. It was just staring at her. Its eyes spelled inquisitiveness, which Erin found extremely odd. It was exhibiting not just intelligence but curiosity. If it was a humanoid monster, Erin would have understood but from a Wolf-like monster, it was intriguing. But for some reasons, its “intelligence” seemed too unnatural and Erin just couldn’t point out why.

Intelligent, curios, or unnatural, why the f̲u̲c̲k̲ do those things matter? This monster is hostile and it intends to kill me, end of story.

As soon as Erin healed herself with Spirit Mend, she and the Wolf clashed once again. Her Magic Vigor is running low but still above thirty percent of the threshold, she could somehow feel. She tried using as less Magic as possible by relying more on her agility, technique, and strength. It wasn’t easy but her journey in reattaining the title of Sword Saint was not meant to be easy.

As Erin fought the monster that she assumed to be a Dire Wolf, it slowly became clear that the Wolf wasn’t fighting like a monster. The way its eyes moved, the way it made decisions, the way it showed curiosity towards Erin, they reacted in accordance to her expression and the subtle change in her movements, none of them reminded her of a monster. In fact, it felt like how a person would fight if they were put into a non-humanoid body.

While thinking that, she parried a bite-lunge, dodged a swipe, and rolled out of the way of a body slam. When that failed, it kept rolling its body over the ground, trying to flatten Erin like a rolling pin flattening a dough. Of course, it did not roll forever as Erin outran its foolish tactic with much ease. The Wolf got back up on its feet and shook itself of the dirt and its own silliness.

What the f̲u̲c̲k̲ was that just now?

Erin raised her sword in preparation for the Wolf’s next assault but it stopped. Even the wildly crackling lightning was slowly dissipating. Something about its eyes changed.

At the next moment, the Wolf cried out like it’s in agony. It flailed around without any concerns for its surroundings and tossed itself all over the ground. Most notable of all, it was scratching at its forehead, at the small protruded horn.

Hmm? Something’s wrong with its horn? Wait…

Upon a keener inspection, Erin realized it was not a horn. It looked like a horn but it was actually some kind of tool, shaped like a horn, and was implanted into the Wolf’s forehead.

No way. Could it be?

Erin came to a realization.

She immediately ran towards the Wolf which seemed to be in agony over the rod lodged in its forehead. When it saw Erin approaching, it fired off shriveled bolts of lightning at her. The lightning bolts were not as smooth and concentrated as the ones before. Erin easily evaded these attacks without a sweat.

Even The accuracy is poorer.

The Wolf erratically lashed out its paws at Erin but she deflected the attacks that were now lacking substance and precision. And since its body wasn’t shrouded in the violet lightnings, Erin grabbed one of the paws that came her way, gripping it tightly with her whole arm. With a heave and a spin, she brought the Wolf into the air, flipping it over her shoulders, and tossed it right back into the ground. She jumped a little from the caving force of the Wolf’s mass.

Erin hopped on to the Wolf’s head without a moment lost after sheathing her sword. The Wolf instantly began flailing its head around in hopes of throwing Erin off. She braced for the lightning to come but after some moments had passed, the Wolf was still only flailing its head around. It tried to pry Erin off with its paw but she battered the paws away with backhands or kicks.

“Stop— struggling!” She shouted and hammered its head with both of her hands curled into one fist. The Wolf resisted her first hammerfist but it eventually gave in to her third hammerfist. Its body slumped to the ground with its limbs sprawled and creating a small crater underneath its weight.

[Might: 18 increased to 19] [Experience gained +15% – Level Progression: 50%]

She drew her sword and began prying the “horn” out of the Wolf’s forehead. Her sword wouldn’t be able to cut through its hide normally but it was another question if she did so from the inside. The Wolf squealed and whimpered at the agony of having its flesh and skin being slowly torn apart. However, it didn’t move much for it was still its world was still spinning from Erin’s hammerfist.

Come on. Come on.

The rod was lodged deep into the Wolf’s forehead and it was longer than Erin expected. Even though it was slow, she was making progress in wrenching the rod out of the Wolf’s body.

Come on. Just a little bit more.

As if to mock her hopeful expectations, the violet lightnings began sputtering again. Erin could feel the shudder from the Wolf’s body.

Oh s̲h̲i̲t̲. Quick! Quick!

She hurried herself as she stuck the sword deeply into the Wolf’s flesh. She was being careful before and tried not to hurt it too much but this was no time to be lenient and carrying towards a monster when her own life was seriously at risk.

The Wolf howled and the lightning flared up in tandem. Erin stifled her shrills as the lightning streamed to her body. It didn’t take long before her skin began to boil against the violent shocks. If she stayed on the Wolf any longer, she would undoubtedly be turned into cinders. She infused her sword with Arcane Edge to the utmost and leaped off the Wolf’s head. She didn’t want to kill the Wolf just yet. She was hoping it might lead her back to the one who embedded the rod into its forehead but now, it was either her or the Wolf.

The violet lightning regained its dominance over the Wolf’s whole body and its eyes shifted back to the ones with curiosity and intelligence, but not for long.

Erin remembered how the iron sword snapped into half from the excessive Magic infused into its blade and the idea came to her. What would happen if she did the same to steel which was much denser than iron? It would certainly yield a more serious result.

The Wolf began to charge with its whole body clad in lightning but in mid-charge, the steel sword lodged deep in its forehead burst into splinters with the overcharge of Magic. Of course, the same went for the Wolf’s forehead. With the top-half of its head gone, the Wolf fell lifelessly to the ground.

[Experience gained +5%] [Experience gained +40% – Level Progression: 95%]

Ah… so close… Just another thirty percent. What’s with the five percent? It couldn’t be for destroying the rod, could it?

[Ruler of Domain defeated – bonus experience gained +30%]

Oh? Ruler of Domain? This Wolf?

[Level Progression: 125%] [Erinthea: Level 9 increased to Level 10] [Status has been restored] [Skill Points Gained +2] [Ability Points Gained +2] [Level Progression: 25%] [Level 10 reached. Level Requirement Met – Commence Evolution into Three-Tailed Fox-kin?]

Say what now?

“CURSE THIS!!” shouted the humanoid creature in a vast cavern devoid of any source of light. “WHO?! WHO?! Who was that… Vixen!?” It was squeezing its own fist until it bled.

The humanoid creature turned its menacing and enraged gaze at the human in its captive, who was still bound and on his knees. The man wasn’t in a better shape nor was he in a worse shape. The humanoid creature did nothing to him but questioned him endlessly. Although, it did threaten to take a part of his body if it sensed any falsehood. Knowing that he wouldn’t be to lie nor was there any incentive to lie, he spilled everything without withholding any information.

“Tell me… who…?” The creature lifted the man off the ground by just gripping on his neck.

The man did not know what the humanoid creature was talking about. Since some moments ago, the creature had been staring into darkness and chanting in some sort of language in a trance. When the man pleaded that he didn’t know what it was talking about or who it was referring to, the creature tightened its grip around his neck.

“I-I don’t know! I-I swear!”

Seeing the desperation and tears in the man’s eyes, the creature released its grip and let him fall to the ground. It walked into a small hallway within the darkness. After a while, the creature returned to the man with a horn-like object in its hand, similar to the one lodged in the Dire Wolf’s forehead but slightly smaller in size.

“Then… help me… find out…” As it said, the creature threw the man to the ground. Disregarding the man’s moans and cries, it straddled onto the man. It tore off his shirt and slowly pushed the “horn” into the man’s chest as the man himself screamed out the most painful agony he ever experienced in his miserable lifetime.

Erinthea – Faerie-kin: Fox-kin

Remaining Skill Points: 2

Remaining Ability Points: 2

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