With a speed that sliced through the wind, I ascended into the sky. My eyes felt dry.
By now, I had likely risen twenty or thirty meters. The treetops of the forest spread out beneath me like a deep green carpet.
The speed of my ascent began to slow, and then… shifted. A tug downward—the unmistakable pull of gravity. My body was now in free fall.
“Now then,”
Directly below me, I spotted Sheth sprinting swiftly toward Marrow. Marrow, on the other hand, looked flustered, trying to keep up with both Sheth’s movements and my sudden airborne maneuver.
… Things are about to get much busier for you, Marrow.
I slipped a folded parchment out of the pocket of my lab coat. Holding it between my index and middle fingers like the barrel of a gun, I aimed directly at Marrow below.
“Word Bullet of Malediction: Kotodama.”
A purple magical bullet launched from my fingers. Its attached effect, naturally, was Dark Heal.
However, before the bullet could even reach Marrow, it was effortlessly dispelled.
“Pathetic! Did you think attacking from two directions would weaken my defenses?”
As Marrow deflected Sheth with a wall of light, he raised his hand toward me.
“The only difference is that the hole-ridden battlefield has shifted from the ground to the air, you inferior creature!”
A barrage of light beams as powerful as ever shot toward me. I deflected them with a Dark Heal shield, but the pressure…
…was immense.
“It seems you’ve miscalculated. I am currently in free fall.”
My body continued descending toward Marrow, unhindered. On the ground, I could only be pushed back, but in the air, gravity was my ally. It was no longer possible for him to stop my approach.
“Perhaps you should focus more on amplifying your spell? That is, if you’re even capable of such an output.”
“Damn you! Don’t underestimate me!”
A greater number of beams rushed toward me, resembling fireworks. Their force grew stronger, pressing against me, illuminating the area as if the sun had risen.
But amidst the sudden brilliance, I saw it.
A silver figure, swift as a gale, shaking the grass and trees as it bounded toward Marrow.
The figure cast a shadow large enough to engulf Marrow entirely from behind.
“What…?”
As Marrow instinctively turned around, he was greeted by a massive silver-furred wolf, its enormous jaws gaping open.
There was no time for him to scream.
In an instant, the wolf tore through Marrow’s neck and chest, flesh and bone alike. His upper body was gouged out in the shape of the wolf’s maw, leaving his eyeballs rolling back into their sockets.
The barrage of holy magic suppressing my descent dissipated. The ground drew closer.
“Are you unharmed, Lord Kiwi?”
I never hit the ground. Sheth had anticipated my landing and caught me gently.
“Please refrain from such reckless actions. It gave me quite the scare.”
“Apologies for worrying you. But as the one attracting the most aggro, it seemed I was the most suitable for the task.”
As I touched down, there was a thud—the sound of Marrow’s body collapsing to the ground. The silver wolf behind him licked its blood-stained jaws with a long tongue.
“So, this is… Lady Urklow ?”
The magical wolf species was often called beautiful beasts, but her ferocity far outweighed her beauty.
…Still, now wasn’t the time to dwell on such things.
“Don’t die yet, Marrow’s vessel!”
I hadn’t even performed a proper examination!
I rushed to the lifeless, face-down Marrow, flipping his body over. He wasn’t completely gone—his eye movement had not yet ceased.
“What’s it like to be possessed? How are your consciousness and power anchored? Come on, answer me!”
“…”
“Consciousness level zero, huh? Fine, then.”
Waiting for him to speak would only waste time.
I infused diagnostic magic into Marrow’s vessel.
Crackle, twitch!
Marrow’s body jerked like a fish out of water. The reaction was likely the “devil’s lightning” phenomenon caused by the magic. There was a slim chance it could function as CPR, but—
“Ah, he’s dead.”
The vessel’s pupils were dilated.
The elf’s body no longer held any life.
“Tch, don’t torment the dead, mate.”
I felt my collar being grabbed, lifting me off the ground.
The one staring me in the face was the massive wolf—Urklow .
“Well, well. You’re no ordinary human, are ya?”
She sniffed me, grinned, and chuckled.
“Hah! A wingless human launching into the sky just to distract an elf? What guts you’ve got!”
She dropped me onto the ground and gave my back a hearty slap, almost knocking me forward. Her wide grin revealed sharp fangs as she laughed boisterously.
“Hilarious! I felt a surge of holy energy and came to check it out, and I find someone like you fighting? What a riot!”
“I had faith that you, Lady Urklow , would come investigate.”
“Oh? You seem to know me well, huh? So that ‘signal’ wasn’t just a shot in the dark?”
“Exactly.”
To locate Urklow , we had initially devised two strategies: Rose’s astrology and short-range communication between magical beasts.
“That ear-piercing ultrasonic signal wasn’t pleasant, but I’m glad I memorized some simple tactical signals. Thanks to that, I could ride the wind here.”
“Your scent confirmed that it reached you clearly.”
Magical beasts often used ultrasonic waves emitted by vampiric species for communication. But since Urklow couldn’t emit them herself, we relied on the soldiers’ sharp noses to detect her scent and confirm the message had been received.
“Hah! So I was dancing in the palm of your hand! Impressive! What’s your name?”
“Kiwi Alaya , Lady Urklow .”
“Kiwi Alaya , huh? The rookie who became an officer?”
“That’s correct.”
“Hah… hah… hah…!”
Urklow grinned, then threw her large arm around my shoulders.
“Alright, I like ya. Kiwi, marry me.”
Her long, red tongue licked my cheek.
The thick scent of blood invaded my nostrils.
