CHAPTER 94 — THE COMMANDER RETURNS

Two days later, they were on the road again.

This time, everyone had truly rested.

Their wounds had closed.

The muscle aches weren't entirely gone.

But they could walk.

And more importantly...

They wanted to hunt again.

William was up front, studying the map.

Marcus advanced a few meters to his right.

Clara checked the left side.

Arthur tested his arm now and then.

Charlotte noticed every time.

Percy walked at the very back.

William stopped.

“This way.”

Marcus looked around.

“Shadows are normal.”

Clara listened to the air.

“I don't sense anything.”

Arthur crouched.

Studied the tracks.

“Old.”

Charlotte raised her head.

“We can keep going.”

Percy looked at all of them.

No one had turned to him.

No one had waited for approval.

But they had all reached the same conclusion.

The corner of Percy's mouth lifted.

I can activate it now.

He half closed his eyes.

In the first two real battles...

He had deliberately not used it.

He hadn't wanted to start ahead of them.

While they were afraid...

He had wanted to be afraid too.

While they learned what reality meant...

He had wanted to learn from the same starting point.

See the same claw.

Feel the same aura.

Taste the same fear of death.

Without knowing what his team was experiencing...

He hadn't wanted to lead them.

Now he knew.

The fear wouldn't change.

The monsters wouldn't grow smaller.

Death wouldn't become less real.

But something would return.

Percy opened his eyes.

Master of Probability.

The world didn't change all at once.

The trees were the same.

His friends were the same.

The darkness was the same.

But the empty spaces...

Were no longer empty.

Places where a movement could begin...

Started opening in Percy's vision.

Right.

Left.

Above.

Back.

Waiting.

Attack.

Escape.

None of them was the future.

But all were possible.

Percy laughed quietly.

The commander of the battle...

Had returned.

Marcus saw the first wolf.

“Ahead.”

William folded the map.

Arthur moved forward immediately.

Clara spread out to the right.

Percy to the left.

Charlotte stayed in the center.

Marcus approached a shadow.

The wolf emerged between the trees.

Three meters tall.

Green eyes.

Bared teeth.

A deep growl.

Its aura spread.

The fear came again.

But this time...

Percy looked through the fear.

Possibilities opened.

The wolf's right shoulder.

Its front paw.

Its hind leg.

The tilt of its head.

Percy's expression changed.

“Arthur.”

Arthur didn't ask.

He set his shield at an angle.

The wolf attacked.

Its claw found the shield.

But not its center.

Its edge.

Arthur channeled the blow sideways.

The wolf lost its balance.

“Clara.”

A Spear of Light came.

The wolf leaped.

Percy was already there.

Blaze touched the wolf's ribs.

Chaos fire erupted.

The wolf rolled across the ground.

William's eyes widened.

“This is much faster.”

Percy didn't answer.

The wolf rose again.

Marcus emerged from a shadow.

The wolf noticed him.

But too late.

Shadow Bind caught its hind leg.

Arthur came again.

Shoved it with his earth shield.

Clara flashed light into its eyes.

Percy brought down a pure Orin strike.

The wolf screamed.

Then fell.

But it still wasn't dead.

Charlotte approached.

“Left side's weak.”

Percy had already seen it.

“William.”

“I know.”

An Ice Lance rose.

Pierced the left side of the wolf's neck.

The body went limp.

Silence.

Arthur looked at Percy.

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“That...”

Percy raised an eyebrow.

Arthur continued.

“...was much better.”

Percy smiled.

“That's what I thought too.”

The second wolf appeared five minutes later.

This time, no one was surprised.

Percy saw the possibilities.

William closed the routes.

Marcus marked the blind spots.

Arthur held the front.

Clara disrupted its rhythm.

Charlotte left no one alone.

Three minutes.

The wolf fell.

William recorded the time.

“Three minutes, twelve seconds.”

Arthur laughed.

“We couldn't have imagined that yesterday.”

Percy looked at the wolf.

“It wasn't easy today either.”

Clara nodded.

“But we were in control.”

Percy looked at her.

“For now.”

Clara's eyebrow rose.

“My line.”

Percy smiled.

“Stole it years ago.”

The third wolf...

Came more quietly.

But it wasn't alone.

Marcus raised his head.

“There's something else.”

William looked at him.

“Where?”

Marcus didn't answer.

His shadow stretched left.

Then stopped.

“Above.”

Everyone looked up.

Among the trees...

There was a long body.

Green-gray skin.

Two long arms.

And Orin in its hands.

Arthur's expression changed.

“Nevr.”

Percy's grin disappeared.

“Our first real Nevr.”

The Nevr didn't come down.

It stayed behind the wolf.

William understood immediately.

“It'll command.”

Percy nodded.

“Yes.”

The Nevr moved its fingers.

The wolf changed direction abruptly.

Turned toward Charlotte.

Percy's gaze sharpened.

Possibilities opened.

One.

Two.

Four.

Eight.

Thirteen.

The blood drained from Percy's face.

If Charlotte went right...

She died.

If she went left...

She died.

If Arthur stepped in front of her...

He was too late.

If Clara sent light...

The Nevr intercepted it.

If William blocked the path with ice...

The wolf leaped over it.

If Marcus moved behind it...

The Nevr brought down a second attack.

Percy looked at another possibility.

Charlotte retreated.

Died.

Moved forward.

Died.

Arthur ran.

Didn't reach her.

Clara shouted.

Too late.

William's expression changed.

“Percy?”

Percy didn't answer.

Arthur looked at Charlotte.

Then at the wolf.

Then at the Nevr.

For the first time...

He didn't know what to do.

Charlotte noticed.

The wolf attacked.

The Nevr gathered Orin.

Percy raised his hand.

His voice was calm.

“Absolute Cancel.”

The Nevr's spell...

Disappeared.

It didn't explode.

Didn't scatter.

Didn't fade.

It simply...

Wasn't there anymore.

Everyone paused.

In the distance, Galahad straightened.

Holar's eyes narrowed.

Arthur's expression changed.

Clara looked at Percy.

Percy wasn't looking at Charlotte.

He had already turned toward the wolf.

He raised Blaze.

“Nature of Fire.”

A dark red glow rose.

Chaos flames wrapped around his wand.

“Chaos Fire Form.”

Blaze began to change.

The veins in its dark shaft shone.

Amber lines opened.

Fire swirled around the wand.

Percy took a step.

“Descent of the Fire Angel.”

The sky reddened.

But the attack didn't descend straight.

Percy angled his wand diagonally.

The fire angel changed direction too.

Swept past the wolf's ear.

The wolf turned its head by reflex.

Percy opened his other hand.

“Fire Sphere.”

A small sphere formed.

Then expanded.

Shrank.

Expanded again.

“Variable Volume.”

The sphere grew without a steady rhythm.

The wolf couldn't judge the distance.

It dodged one step too early.

Percy smiled.

“Now.”

Clara attacked.

A Spear of Light pierced its shoulder.

The wolf was thrown sideways.

Arthur raised the earth.

The wolf's escape route closed.

William locked down the space behind it with ice.

Marcus vanished into shadow.

The Nevr gathered Orin again.

This time, its target was Percy.

William noticed first.

“Percy!”

Percy looked.

But didn't dodge.

The Nevr released the attack.

Percy was still standing there.

Arthur's expression changed.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Clara looked at Percy.

Then...

Saw that he was smiling.

Only a little.

But unmistakably.

Clara's eyes widened.

She understood.

Arthur didn't.

But Clara didn't shout.

She just looked at Arthur.

Arthur saw her face.

Then looked at Percy.

Then Charlotte.

All at once...

Arthur understood too.

The Nevr's attack was approaching.

Arthur stepped in front of Percy.

Earth erupted.

“IMPENETRABLE SHIELD OF EARTH!”

BOOOOOOM!

The Nevr's attack struck the shield.

Arthur slid a few meters.

But held.

Percy stayed behind him.

Arthur didn't turn his head.

He only spoke very quietly.

“Thank you.”

Percy didn't answer.

Only smiled.

The other wolf leaped at Arthur.

Arthur was still holding the shield.

He couldn't turn.

Charlotte shouted.

“ARTHUR!”

The wolf was coming from behind.

But just before it reached him...

Percy disappeared.

Appeared behind Arthur.

Swung Blaze horizontally.

Chaos fire erupted.

The wolf changed direction in midair.

Percy pushed Arthur with his shoulder.

They both moved sideways.

The wolf landed in empty space.

Arthur looked at Percy.

Percy:

“Debt settled.”

Arthur stayed quiet for a second.

Then grinned.

“Not yet.”

Percy grinned too.

“Okay.”

Three wolves.

One Nevr.

The field turned to hell in an instant.

The Nevr always stayed behind.

Directing the wolves.

One to the right.

Two to the left.

Then all of them back.

William was shouting.

“Arthur, center!”

“Clara, two steps right!”

“Marcus, wait!”

“Charlotte, back!”

Percy...

Filled the gaps between William's commands.

“Arthur, now!”

“Clara, down!”

“Marcus, three seconds!”

“William, look up!”

The Nevr attacked.

Percy didn't cancel it.

William redirected it with ice.

The first wolf ran at Clara.

Clara didn't activate Dethronement of Light.

She conserved energy.

Used ordinary Resonance of Light.

The wolf staggered.

Arthur struck it with his shield.

The second wolf caught Marcus's scent.

Marcus didn't enter a shadow.

He deliberately waited.

The wolf attacked.

Marcus dropped at the last moment.

Percy struck from behind.

A pure Orin blow landed on its waist.

The wolf crumpled to the ground.

Charlotte gave Arthur a buff.

Arthur's movement quickened.

His earth shield turned into a fist.

BOOM!

The first wolf went flying.

William froze its foot.

Clara finished it with her spear.

The first wolf fell.

The Nevr shouted.

The other two wolves...

Suddenly grew more aggressive.

Percy noticed.

“They're getting angry.”

William nodded.

“So is the Nevr.”

The Nevr spread both hands.

Four Orin spheres formed.

Percy saw the possibilities.

“Scatter!”

Everyone split apart.

One sphere at Arthur.

One at Clara.

One at William.

The last at Charlotte.

Percy's expression changed.

“Charlotte again.”

Charlotte heard it.

But wasn't afraid.

This time, Arthur had already moved.

So had Percy.

The Nevr released the spheres.

Arthur stepped in front of Charlotte.

Percy deflected the attack aimed at William.

Clara split the one aimed at her with light.

Marcus emerged from a shadow.

Knocked the last sphere off course.

Four attacks...

Passed without touching anyone.

Charlotte looked at Arthur.

Arthur didn't look at her.

“What?”

Charlotte smiled.

“Nothing.”

Arthur:

“Not the time.”

Charlotte:

“I know.”

The second wolf reached Percy.

A claw came.

Percy ducked.

The possibility changed.

A tail attack emerged.

Percy pulled back.

Another possibility opened.

A bite.

Percy thrust Blaze between them.

Teeth struck the wand.

Percy grimaced.

“Don't bite Blaze, dammit!”

Clara laughed from a distance.

The wolf clamped down harder.

Percy couldn't pull it free.

“CLARA!”

“Coming!”

A Spear of Light struck the wolf's leg.

The wolf released Blaze.

Percy inspected his wand.

“Are you okay?”

Arthur looked at him.

“Are you talking to your wand?”

Percy:

“Like you don't talk to your shield.”

Arthur went quiet.

Charlotte laughed.

Marcus moved behind the third wolf.

This time, the wolf caught his scent.

Turned.

Marcus was waiting.

Shadow Bind caught a front leg.

The wolf raised its other paw.

Nathaniel wasn't here.

But Marcus remembered something.

One sign wasn't enough.

Shadow.

Pressure.

Shoulder.

Center of gravity.

Marcus stepped aside.

The claw struck empty air.

William's ice lance came.

Pierced the wolf's chest.

Marcus smiled.

“Good.”

William, from a distance:

“What?”

“Nothing.”

The wolf attacked again.

Marcus entered his shadow.

Emerged behind the wolf.

“Shadow Execution.”

A dark line descended.

The wolf fell.

The second wolf remained.

Arthur and Clara pressed it together.

Percy pulled back.

William blocked the path.

Charlotte redirected her buff to Arthur.

Arthur raised his shield.

The wolf was lifted into the air.

Clara brought her light down.

Percy sent the final blow.

Chaos fire struck its chest.

The third wolf fell too.

But the Nevr...

Was still alive.

And retreating.

William spoke immediately.

“It's going to escape.”

Marcus looked at the shadow.

“Getting farther away.”

Clara raised her wand.

“I can catch it.”

Percy raised his hand.

“No.”

Clara looked at him.

Percy was watching the Nevr.

The Nevr gathered Orin again from a distance.

Percy gripped Blaze with both hands.

Drew the wand back.

William frowned.

“Percy?”

Percy didn't answer.

He planted his feet.

His Core opened.

Pure Orin rose.

Not chaos fire.

Not an element.

Raw power.

Arthur's expression changed.

“What's he doing?”

In the distance, Galahad leaned forward.

Holar's eyes narrowed.

Percy gathered all his power...

Not at the wand's tip.

But behind the wand.

As though drawing a bow.

The Nevr prepared its attack.

Percy took a breath.

Then...

Thrust Blaze forward.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The air before him collapsed.

A wave of pure Orin spread.

At first, it was straight.

Then it began rotating.

One turn.

Two turns.

Three.

Wind was drawn inside.

Earth rose into the air.

Leaves tore free.

The Orin wave...

Became a tornado.

William's eyes widened.

Clara's mouth fell open.

Arthur could only stare.

Charlotte forgot to breathe.

Marcus's shadow was swept aside.

Percy shouted.

“TRY RUNNING NOW!”

The tornado reached the Nevr.

The Nevr released its attack.

The Orin sphere entered the tornado.

Disappeared.

The Nevr tried to flee.

Too late.

The pure Orin tornado...

Engulfed its body.

One second.

Then...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Nevr exploded.

Trees bent to either side.

The earth shook.

Then silence came.

Long.

Heavy.

Real.

Percy was still holding his wand.

His arms were trembling.

Clara approached first.

“Percy.”

Percy looked at her.

“That was a bit much.”

William answered immediately.

“A bit?”

Arthur looked at the ground.

The earth was gouged.

Charlotte pointed at a tree.

Its bark had been stripped completely.

Marcus pointed at the distant crater.

Percy considered it.

“Okay.”

“Too much.”

Clara smiled.

“A bit.”

Percy looked at her.

“Are you making fun of me?”

Clara looked innocent.

“No.”

Arthur laughed.

William took out his notebook.

Percy turned at once.

“Don't write it down.”

William:

“I'm writing it down.”

“William.”

“New technique.”

“It doesn't even have a name.”

William stopped his pen.

“Name?”

Percy went quiet.

Everyone looked at him.

Percy looked at the trail the tornado had left.

Then shrugged.

“I don't know.”

Arthur:

“Incredible.”

Percy:

“You name it.”

Arthur immediately:

“Orin Tornado.”

William grimaced.

Charlotte:

“Really bad.”

Clara:

“Awful.”

Marcus:

“Bad.”

Arthur looked at everyone.

“All right, fuck.”

Percy started laughing.

The mission progress appeared.

[GREEN-EYED WOLF: 8/35]

[NEVR: 1/12]

William looked at the numbers.

Arthur raised a finger.

“Don't.”

William shut his mouth.

Percy laughed.

Far away...

Galahad folded his arms.

Holar stood beside him.

They didn't speak for a while.

Galahad finally exhaled.

“Absolute Cancel.”

Holar nodded.

“After so long...”

“He used it when death was a real possibility.”

Galahad looked down.

“For Charlotte.”

Holar didn't answer.

Galahad looked at him.

“You saw it too.”

Holar spoke calmly.

“I did.”

Galahad's mouth curved.

“So did Arthur.”

This time, Holar looked at him.

Galahad continued.

“He thanked him.”

Holar:

“Did you hear him?”

“No.”

“How do you know?”

Galahad looked at Percy and Arthur.

“Being a big brother.”

Holar rolled his eyes.

“Nonsense.”

Galahad laughed.

Then grew serious.

“Percy changed today.”

Holar shook his head.

“No.”

Galahad raised an eyebrow.

Holar gestured at the six children below.

“Today, he came back.”

Galahad thought for a while.

Then understood.

“Master of Probability.”

“Yes.”

“He hadn't used it in the first battles.”

“Deliberately.”

Galahad's expression changed.

“Why?”

Holar looked at Percy.

“He wanted to start from the same place as them.”

Galahad fell silent.

Below, Percy...

Was checking Charlotte's wound.

Arthur waited beside them.

Clara tapped Percy's shoulder.

William was writing something.

Marcus was collecting monster parts.

Galahad smiled faintly.

“Idiot.”

So did Holar.

“Yes.”

They watched a little longer.

Then Galahad asked.

“Why are you still here?”

Holar answered immediately.

“Getting some air.”

Galahad looked at the sky.

Then at Holar.

“For three days.”

Holar:

“Nice weather.”

Galahad nodded.

“It's night.”

“Yes.”

“Middle of a forest.”

“Yes.”

Galahad sighed.

“Okay.”

Holar looked at him.

“You?”

Galahad didn't hesitate.

“Getting some air too.”

They both looked down again.

Neither exposed the other's lie.

Below...

Percy opened the ring.

The monster parts went inside.

Charlotte checked her arm.

Arthur came over.

“Are you okay?”

Charlotte looked at him.

“Me?”

Arthur nodded.

Charlotte smiled faintly.

“I'm fine.”

Arthur exhaled.

Percy saw it from a distance.

Said nothing.

Clara came to his side.

“What are you looking at?”

Percy:

“Nothing.”

Clara looked where he had been looking.

Then smiled.

“Stone Man.”

Arthur turned from a distance.

“I HEARD THAT.”

Charlotte burst out laughing.

Percy laughed too.

Only moments ago...

The possibilities of death had been everywhere.

Now they were teasing each other again.

Percy looked at the darkness ahead.

The possibilities were still there.

But this time...

He wasn't looking at them alone.

“We keep moving.”

William unfolded the map.

Marcus checked the shadows.

Arthur moved to the front.

Charlotte returned to her position.

Clara came to Percy's right.

Percy looked at her.

“By my side again.”

Clara raised an eyebrow.

“Surprised?”

Percy smiled.

“No.”

The six started walking again.

And the forest...

Was waiting for them this time.

CHAPTER 94 — THE COMMANDER RETURNS

END