Chapter 648: Dark Flame Wolves II

Nora stood behind a fallen column, her face pale with concentration as she maintained the magic strengthening their bodies.

A thin cut marred her cheek, but she hardly seemed to notice it, her eyes following the remaining wolves as another spell spread from her outstretched hand.

The nearest beast faltered mid-stride.

Yaana seized the opening, hooking her scythe behind its foreleg and dragging it off balance.

It struck the concrete heavily, and she stepped around its thrashing body before driving the point of her weapon down through its throat.

Gruesome blood poured out of the creature’s wound, splashing onto the cold stone floor.

Her injured arm shook when she pulled the blade free, but she gritted her teeth and turned toward the next threat.

Elion saw the others drawing closer together through the smoke.

The smaller wolves were dangerous enough, especially since there were so many, but the leader was the reason they couldn’t hold their position.

Every howl forced them to move, breaking their formation and giving the pack another chance to rush whoever had been separated.

He needed to stop it, but each time he was tempted to rid himself of his self-imposed shackles and go all out, Dorian’s voice echoed in his head, warning him.

"Tch..." In the end, he clicked his tongue and decided to work with what he had.

’I will never break through if I keep relying on skills completely unrelated to my growth as a mage and a swordsman!’ He told himself.

Of course, it would be quite easy for Maya to notice that he was holding back; in fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if she already suspected it, but he would explain if need be.

Things were not so dire that he would need to resort to using his overpowered repertoire of skills.

"Maya! Keep everyone together!" he shouted, stepping clear of the pillar sheltering him. "I’ll take the leader!"

The enormous wolf turned toward his voice, its lips peeling back from teeth longer than his fingers. Black fire swelled around its neck, and Elion felt the mana gathering before its jaws even opened.

He thrust his hand toward the ground.

A thick ridge of stone surged upward beneath the creature’s front paws, striking its chest and forcing its head back.

The howl broke into a furious snarl, and Elion was already moving, rushing along the raised earth toward it.

His sword flashed through the smoke and cut across its muzzle.

Blood burst over the blade, but the wolf jerked aside before he could take its eye, its jaws snapping toward him again.

Elion stepped off the ridge, landed beside its injured foreleg, and drove his sword into the same wound he had opened earlier.

The beast roared.

Its paw struck him before he could withdraw completely, catching his shoulder and throwing him across the courtyard.

Elion hit the ground, rolled through broken stone, and forced himself back to his feet. A sharp but inconsequential pain spread down his arm as warm blood ran beneath his bodysuit’s collar.

The pack leader came after him, its injured foreleg dragging for half a step before it gathered itself and lunged.

Elion raised a wall between them.

The wolf smashed through it almost immediately, but the brief delay gave him time to move toward the open stretch of courtyard beyond the columns.

He could hear the others fighting behind him, the ring of steel broken by a sharp cry and the wet sound of another blade finding flesh.

"Last one!" Mayumi called.

A moment later, a wolf’s dying yelp rang through the smoke.

The others had done their part. Now it was time for him to finish off the towering pack leader.

Elion let out a slow breath, never taking his eyes off the enormous creature stalking toward him.

There was finally enough space between it and the others, and he planted his feet firmly against the fractured concrete.

A current of mana poured into Kurogoroshi.

The blade trembled in his hands, giving off a deep, eager hum as the air around its dark edge began to distort.

Dust lifted around his boots, and thin cracks spread through the floor beneath him as he steadily increased the flow.

The wolf took a step back.

Its amber eyes followed the sword, and the flames along its back rose higher, gathering into a seething mantle around its massive body.

Then it threw back its head and released a howl so violent that loose fragments began falling from the tower behind it.

"Maya, get everyone back!"

A pillar of black fire erupted beneath Elion’s position, but he had already pushed forward.

Heat tore across his back as he cleared the blast, his scorched cloak whipping behind him while the leader lunged to meet him.

Its jaws opened wide, flames spilling between its teeth, and for a brief moment, the monstrous head filled his entire view.

Elion raised Kurogoroshi above his shoulder.

’Mountain-Splitting Slash!’

He brought the sword down with both hands, putting the strength of his whole body behind the strike.

The mana gathered along the blade erupted.

A brilliant, cleaving force ripped through the black flames and struck the wolf between its eyes, splitting its skull before the creature could close its jaws.

The slash continued through its neck, chest, and the length of its massive body, tearing the pack leader apart in a single, thunderous stroke.

The wolf’s blood burst across the courtyard.

The two halves crashed to either side of Elion, spilling dark entrails over the shattered floor as the force of the attack carved a deep, ugly trench through the concrete beyond them.

Booom!

A broken pillar collapsed into the opening, and a heavy cloud of dust rolled outward, swallowing the nearest columns.

For several moments, there was nothing but falling stone and the hiss of dying flames.

[You have kille...]

Ignoring the system’s notification, Elion remained where he had landed, his sword lowered and his chest rising steadily as he breathed.

Blood dripped from the tip of Kurogoroshi, pattering against the ground while the last remnants of mana slowly faded from its edge.

He turned as the dust began to settle.

The others were still standing, though they looked considerably worse than they had after the fight at the lake.

Cole held his injured arm against his chest, Mayumi’s clothing was dark with blood along one side, and Yaana was staring at the angry burns running across her forearm.

Maya had scorch marks along both sleeves, while Uta was pressing a hand against his shoulder, the torn flesh already beginning to draw together.

"Is it dead?" Yaana asked, looking past Elion toward the enormous remains.

He glanced back at the two halves. "Very."

Cole let out a strained laugh, only to wince when the movement pulled at his arm. Nora was beside him a moment later, guiding him toward a fallen section of pillar.

"Sit down," she said. "And move your hand. I need to see it."

Elion watched as she carefully pulled the torn fabric away from the wound, revealing the deep punctures and ragged flesh beneath.

A gentle light gathered around her fingers, spreading over Cole’s arm as she placed her hands above the injury.

The bleeding quickly slowed.

The torn flesh began to close, drawing together beneath the glow while Cole stared down at it with visible relief.

Nora worked carefully along the length of the wound, her brows drawn together until even the deepest punctures had sealed.

Elion raised a brow.

"You’re a healer too?"

Nora looked up briefly, her expression softening when she realised he was watching. "Y-yes. Stay nearby, please. You’re bleeding as well."

He glanced down at his wrist, only now noticing the damage around the edge of his wrist.

His body was already recovering, but he decided there was little reason to argue.

Nora moved from Cole to Mayumi, closing the claw marks along her ribs before tending to the burns surrounding them.

Yaana came next, holding her arm out with an unusually quiet expression while the blistered skin gradually smoothed beneath the healing light.

Maya helped clean away the blood so Nora could see what she was doing, then reluctantly allowed the healer to examine her own burned hands.

Even Uta submitted to a quick inspection, though most of his shoulder had healed by then, probably with his own healing ability.

By the time Nora finally reached Elion, her fingers were trembling from the amount of mana she had used.

Nevertheless, she carefully treated his shoulder and the burns along his arm.

"Thank you," he said, watching her lower her hands. "You should rest for a bit."

Nora nodded, and Maya guided her toward an intact section of the fallen pillar, where the others were gathering.

Elion remained standing for a moment longer, his gaze moving across the ruined courtyard.

The delicate flowers had been crushed beneath bloodied paws, the moss was blackened, and the pale floor now lay strewn with corpses and smouldering stone, with a few dying flames here and there.

Beyond it all, the tower still stood, its entrance half-hidden behind hanging vines.

Elion wiped Kurogoroshi clean before sliding it back into its sheath. This time, he waited until he had checked every gap between the surrounding pillars before joining the others.