CH 131

An hectic exchange of attacks is happening in front of me.

Sera swings her axes to block an attack from the shadow armor, which is followed by an attack by the shadow wolf, that’s coordinating its attacks with those from its shadow armor. But Sera expertly uses her axes to defend herself and quick moves to evade.

She doesn’t show the slightest bit of an opening.

The adventurers can’t keep up with those movements, let alone move to help.

Hikari has erased her presence and is looking out for an opening, but she is also not interfering. Mia is trying so hard to follow the shadows that she forgets to breathe and starts choking.

“Are you all right, Mia?”

She nods with tears welling up in her eyes.

“Take a deep breath and calm down. Stop trying to follow everything, and instead take a step back and try to get a feel for the bigger picture. For example, instead of looking at Sera, try to look at everything surrounding Sera.”

It looks like Sera is moving frantically, but she’s actually keeping her movements to a minimum.

The shadow wolf itself is also not moving that much, it just feels that way because the shadows it controls move in such a flashy way.

“Mia, it doesn’t matter if you miss, but get ready to use Holy Arrow. It might help Sera.”

I really don’t want to put her in danger, especially when I don’t think the spell will hit, but Holy Magic is the weakness of the shadow wolf.

If it feels threatened, it might turn its attention to Mia.

I can follow the movements of the shadows, and I feel like I can even evade them, but protecting Mia… That might be difficult.

If I prioritize using a barrier while defending, I might have to rely on Sera’s help.

I talked about this with Sera and Hikari last night, and of course, I also explained the risks to Mia, but she still said she wants to do it.

That means I just have to do what I can.

I grip my sword tighter without thinking. I would feel more relaxed if it was just me, but the responsibility of having to protect someone else feels heavy.

She starts kneeding magic energy, and contrary to what I was expecting, it’s stable. It’s like a manifestation of her resolve.

The shadow wolf is pushed back by one of Sera’s attacks.

“Holy Arrow.”

And that’s when Mia fires.

The shining arrow takes proper shape and flies straight towards the shadow wolf, leaving a white trail behind it.

The shadow wolf immediately stretches its shadows to brush it off, but the arrow erases them.

It recognizes the arrow as a threat and tries to take evasive action right away, but Sera doesn’t let it.

There’s a small opening, as the shadow wolf notices Sera’s attack and stops to defend against it. It manages to stop it, but the Holy Arrow hits it immediately after.

The change is immediately obvious.

The shadows are peeled off, and reveals the body of the shadow wolf.

Its fur is a deeper black than other wolves’. Is this why it was mistaken for a dark wolf?

The one that’s most surprised by this is none other than the shadow wolf itself.

The shock makes its movements stiff, and it seems to panic as it takes a big jump back to avoid another attack by Sera.

But where it jumped to compose itself, is Hikari, who has been concealing her presence all this time.

Hikari quickly runs towards it and slashes with a stroking motion.

This surprises the shadow wolf, and it quickly strikes back, but Hikari easily evades it.

The shadow wolf cautiously moves the paw that was slashed, like it’s checking its damage, but it eventually stops and looks towards Mia.

Mia takes a step back, and the magic users, whohaven’t been doing much since the start, attack.

The shadow wolf is flustered by an attack it wasn’t expecting, and is late in dodging.

Their fire magic hits it, leaving scorch marks on the outer skin.

The shadow wolf has high defense even without the shadow armor, but it’s still shaken by taking damage. No, I feel like it’s something else.

In any case, the adventurers run forward, sensing a good opportunity.

The shadow wolf growls, and then jumps at them.

Fred blocks its swinging arm with his sword and is blown back, but other adventurers take advantage of this to slash at their enemy.

It felt like a proper attack, but Fred blocked it.

Does the shadow wolf not deal damage unless it has its shadow armor?

The shadow wolf then blows back the adventurers surrounding it, like it’s annoyed by them. But Sera takes their place and swings her axes.

The shadow wolf decides to block this attack instead of dodging it, but an axe rips its flesh.

Fresh blood sprays, and the shadow wolf shrieks.

The shadow wolf is clearly afraid, as it takes a big jump back and looks at its slashed arm. It stands there looking at it, almost like it’s frozen.

But no one moves to attack it. It’s like the mood changed.

The presence of the shadow wolf itself is clearly different.

That feeling of power, like it was toying with weaklings is completely gone.

It looks at its opponents cautiously, like it’s looking out for every little movement.

Sera attacks, but this time, the shadow wolf dodges and counters. It’s not just attacking directly anymore, it’s now mixing in feints to try to catch Sera off guard.

Hikari is still looking for chances to attack, but she sees none, and stays still.

Mia and the others are also preparing spells, but those skillful moves don’t give them the chance to fire them.

It’s leading the adventurers, and stands at all times in a position that turns it into a wall.

There’s no carelessness or even arrogance in that stance anymore.