CORINNE nocked an arrow and focused her gaze on the bushes, and Haruka and the twins simultaneously began reciting incantations:
“Blade of wind, arise, multiply, sharpen, soar, mow, pierce…”
“Blade of wind, arise, sharpen, soar, mow…”
The mages readied spells in the direction of the wolves’ approach and waited. Leo felt that something had been off about Haruka’s incantation and looked over at her. He was surprised to see that while he and his brother each had a single Wind Cutter hovering in the air in front of them, five floated in front of Haruka.
“Pierce where I command you. Shoot, Wind Cutter.”
The moment the thicket rustled, Theo sent his spell flying, and Leo hurriedly followed suit. It was a little early, but Leo was so shaken by the sight of Haruka’s magic that he had jumped the gun.
The spells hit the wolf as soon as it appeared, cutting it right in half. Relieved that his misfire worked out after all, Leo turned his eyes back to Haruka. Theo, too, looked over at her, his chest puffed out proudly, and was shocked when he noticed for the first time how many spells she had activated. Next to him, Leo stared strangely at her.
Haruka waited patiently for the wolves to appear, and one by one, launched her magic. Each neatly cut the sprinting beast it targeted in half from crown to tail. The wolves’ aerial momentum meant that each time they were hit, their two halves fell to the ground with audible thuds. The speed, power, and accuracy of Haruka’s spells far exceeded the ones cast by the twins.
Haruka, concentrating hard to make sure she didn’t miss or accidentally hit an ally, fired spell after spell—not even bothering to chant the necessary incantation. The twins, who had sensed from their limited interactions that Haruka’s personality was somewhat reserved, were taken aback by her stern profile and her determined composure as she relentlessly unleashed such power. She looked so different now from how she usually was that they found themselves feeling overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, the wolves charged forward one after another, closing in on the group until they were finally forced to fight at close quarters—and it was no longer possible to fire magic or arrows. Haruka sighed and kept an eye on things. Between her and Corinne, they’d managed to kill ten wolves before they got too close to shoot, so they’d done pretty well, all things considered.
“I’ll back them up,” Corinne said. “Haruka, you take down the ones we missed!”
“Got it!”
Corinne put on her gauntlets and raced toward Albert and the others. Haruka watched the battle quietly, praising herself mentally. In her first group battle, she’d been calm and collected while defeating multiple enemies. All she had to do now was trust in her comrades and wait.
And she was still completely unaware of the stares boring into her from nearby.
✦ ✦ ✦
FROM a distance, it looked like Albert was pushing the front line forward, slaughtering wolf after wolf, with Montana providing support from the sidelines. They didn’t seem to be in any real danger, and with Corinne catching up, they would likely be in an even more solid position.
With a deep breath, I remembered the twins beside me. I should probably say something to them, just in case they’re scared. And if they weren’t scared, praise for defeating the wolves was in order. Children that they were, I knew I needed to be especially considerate of them. With that in mind, I turned to face them, only to find two pairs of eyes already staring at me. Had I done something strange?
Just as Leo was hesitating to say something, his attention was drawn elsewhere. The bushes in front of him shook. He caught sight of a gray snout and yelled instinctively, “Something’s coming!”
Frantically, I pushed the twins aside and took a step forward. At almost the same time, a huge shadow kicked off from the ground and leaped at me. It was twice the size of the other wolves, its steps so quick it looked like it was flying through the air.
How had this creature made it this far? Had it decided it would be too difficult to break through the front line, so it would be better off attacking from the rear? Way too clever.
Before I could come up with any good solutions, the wolf closed in on me. I stretched my arm out as far as I could and summoned a flaming arrow. I saw the wolf’s massive jaws open wide, its fangs gleaming in the flicker of the flames. I had to protect the children, so I’d jumped right in front of it, but I knew this wouldn’t be easy. Fear suddenly struck me and I started shaking uncontrollably, but I couldn’t run away after coming this far.
I felt like I was watching in slow motion as the wolf swallowed my arm whole.
✦ ✦ ✦
Part 9: Getting Things Under Control
THE monster was a fierce warrior who had led the wolves for a long time. After a certain point, its already-huge body had become even larger, its thoughts clearer, and its movements faster. The monster led the pack, devouring food and enemies alike until there was nothing left. By that time, the monster’s pack had grown even larger—and at this rate, it wouldn’t be able to feed its subordinates.
Then, just as it was wondering what to do, bipedal creatures entered the forest.
The monster had hunted their kind several times before. Their eyesight was poor at night, and they lacked the sharp fangs and impressive claws of wolves. But despite that, they were fools and wandered freely around the forest like they owned the place.
They were easy to hunt. They didn’t even have much hair to get in the way of their meat. It was as if they were born to be eaten.
The pack would fill their stomachs before they moved on. The monster issued orders to its underlings with a howl that echoed around the forest. It didn’t matter if they were discovered, because their prey wasn’t going to escape.
The comrade the monster had sent ahead was torn apart by a mysterious attack. That was troublesome. It looked like the monster would have to kill the enemy itself, so it hid in the bushes and circled around behind them.
They sensed it before it could catch them by surprise. No matter though. It was already plenty close.
The monster jumped out and sank its teeth into the thin, outstretched arm, focusing all its strength into its jaws. There should have been a snap and the taste of blood filling its mouth. And yet.
The creature’s thin arm with its strange elasticity repelled the fangs in which the monster had so much pride. Not understanding what was going on, it didn’t react right away. Then the monster heard a voice mutter something, and was snapped back to reality.
By the time it tried to put some distance between them, it was already too late. As the heat swelled in its mouth, its last sensation was to hear the sound of an explosion echoing from inside itself. Then the monster’s consciousness scattered into the dark forest along with a spray of blood, and it disappeared without a trace.
✦ ✦ ✦
A shock ran through my arm. I slowly opened my eyes, and met the monster’s gaze. It was clenching its jaws as hard as it could, and staring at me in wide-eyed shock.
My right arm, halfway down its throat, might have appeared from the outside to have been completely torn off. But I still had feeling in my hand. I was so grateful for how tough my body was.
“Arrow of flame, arise… Ummm, in any case, Fire Arrow.”
I was so impatient that I couldn’t recite the incantation properly, so I gave up, went with something that was good enough, and unleashed the spell from my engulfed right arm.
✦ ✦ ✦
The magic caused a tremendous explosion. The massive body, now headless, went limp and slowly collapsed to the ground. I felt the warmth of its blood and brains where they’d splattered all over my body. My decision had been spur of the moment, but I still had to wonder if I could have chosen a more elegant spell. I was glad I’d survived, but the smell of so much blood was making me nauseous.
In any case, I still couldn’t relax. Not wanting to cause any trouble for the others, I wiped my face and turned my attention back to the front line, where Albert and the others were continuing their successful battle.
Maybe the wolves could sense that their boss had been defeated, because their movements had grown sluggish. Some fled, some stopped fighting, and some attacked desperately. It was safe to say they no longer posed a threat to my comrades.