In the midst of the raging storm, a monstrous beast resembling a wolf revealed itself.
Its body, as large as a house, was covered in black fur.
Electric arcs of purple flowed along its fur, reminiscent of a lion’s luxurious mane.
Its eyes glinted with a violet shine, and sharp teeth lined its elongated snout.
The sight was identical to the Thunder Fang that Rudell remembered.
“Already a monstrous beast…”
“Be careful; it’s not going to be an easy one.”
Leje, who had descended from the carriage, drew her sword upon seeing it, while Rudell spoke and summoned his staff.
The huge storm it brought along.
It was clear at a glance that this was no ordinary thing.
“It feels definitely different from before.”
Kurt seemed to have sensed the unusual sensation and said so.
To sum up the Eternal Winter Plains in one word—it was literally survival of the fittest, a dog-eat-dog world.
If you weren’t strong, you would be eaten.
This was no different among the monstrous beasts; weak ones would be consumed, and the strong beasts would devour the weak ones to grow even stronger.
And, even though several years had passed, the fact that the Thunder Fang still survived and brought an even stronger storm meant that, just as Rudell and his party had grown, it had survived and become stronger too.
“O Goddess, grant your followers the power to fight against evil…”
As Eleor prayed, a bright light enveloped Rudell and his companions, and feeling a surge of vitality, they prepared for battle.
And then, the next moment.
[Aoooooo-!!]
Once again, the roar of the Thunder Fang echoed, and dozens of lightning bolts began to pour down, targeting Rudell and his group.
The divine power barrier created by Eleor absorbed the lightning, and with a loud noise, the blocked lightning spread out in all directions, causing large and small explosions.
It was a scene as if the end of the world had come.
For ordinary people, it was a sight that would instill terror.
“Are these types of monstrous beasts roaming around in the Eternal Winter Plains?”
“No, not like that. That beast is extremely dangerous among the monstrous beasts.”
At Leje’s question, Kurt shook his head.
If all monstrous beasts had abilities at that level, the Nord tribe living in the Eternal Winter Plains, not to mention the entire world, would surely become a haven for monsters.
It was obvious that I was going to be in trouble.
“Well then, that’s a relief. Eleor! I need your support!”
“Yes, Duchess Lagrind.”
With a reaction that seemed relieved, Leje shouted, and Eleor began to pray, casting a divine power barrier around her.
A dimly glowing hemispherical shield formed around her, and Leje, feeling light, nodded at Rudell and sprinted straight toward Thunder Fang.
“I’ll go too.”
Kurt rushed right after her, while Rudell began to prepare his magic, watching the scene unfold.
“Haaah!!”
“Heeeugh!!”
[Kuhuheng!!]
Avoiding the falling lightning, Leje and Kurt charged in, wielding their weapons.
At the same moment, Thunder Fang wrapped its tail in electric bolts and swung it directly toward Leje and Kurt.
The magic imbued in Leje and Kurt’s weapons clashed with Thunder Fang’s electric charge, bursting forth in a flash of magic and scattering the electric bolts in all directions.
[Kuhuhng-!!]
In that moment, Thunder Fang, regaining its stance first, surged forward wrapped in purple lightning, heading straight for Leje and Kurt.
Fortunately, Leje and Kurt managed to recover in time to block its attack, and with a loud noise, they were thrown back several meters.
“This guy… is no ordinary monstrous beast…!!”
“It’s much stronger than before.”
Having already fought a monstrous beast once and been confident in her abilities, Leje’s voice trembled at Thunder Fang’s ferocity.
Kurt also tightened his grip on his weapon, his face stern, taken aback by the change in Thunder Fang’s strength compared to his memories.
Thunder Fang, fully enveloped in lightning, charged at them both.
As the flashes of magic and purple lightning intertwined, creating a loud noise…
“Something feels off…”
Watching the scene, Rudell tilted his head, sensing an inexplicable unease.
[W-what do you mean…?]
Suddenly, Silphier, who was already seated in her power suit, asked.
In response to her question, Rudell replied:
“I mean, something about their movements seems strange…”
“Easy…”
In the past, as soon as Thunder Fang confirmed he couldn’t win, he turned tail and ran.
In other words, his behavior was almost indistinguishable from that of a regular animal.
But now, Thunder Fang was attacking Leje and Kurt as if he had met a sworn enemy.
However, if you asked whether Thunder Fang could actually defeat the two, the answer was absolutely not.
Just by looking at the current scene, Leje and Kurt had no visible injuries, while the one injured was Thunder Fang.
Compared to the past, something clearly felt off.
“Ready! Both of you, get back!!”
But amidst all this, Rudell didn’t have the luxury to think too deeply.
As Rudell shouted, having finished preparing the magic, a massive magic circle was etched into the ground.
Seeing this, Leje and Kurt quickly rushed out of the magic circle, and Thunder Fang immediately pursued them.
But just barely, Leje and Kurt managed to escape the range of the magic circle…
“Sun Flare!!”
The moment Rudell unleashed the magic, a fireball the size of a human head was created.
Then, in less than a second, the fireball rapidly expanded to a staggering size, engulfing everything within its range.
As it grew, the red fireball turned white, radiating an intense heat in all directions.
Moments later, just like it had appeared, the fireball quickly shrank and vanished, leaving behind a massive crater at least a hundred meters wide, with Thunder Fang charred and collapsed, lying in its wake.
“W-what, are you trying to kill us!? What were you thinking if we got caught up in that!?”
“…”
Seeing this scene, Leje violently shook Rudell by the collar with a look as if ready to devour him, while Kurt tried to maintain a calm expression but couldn’t hide his trembling fingertips.
“W-wait a moment, Leje!! I made sure you wouldn’t get dragged into it…!!”
Just as Rudell felt dizzy and was responding to Leje…
“L-look over there…!! A-ah, it’s not over yet…!!”
“What!? He’s still alive!?”
At Silphier’s words while looking at the crater, Rudell and the others turned their heads.
And at that moment, they saw Thunder Fang rising from the crater.
“Was the power lacking…?”
“What kind of defense is this?”
As Rudell muttered while looking at the scene, Leje drew her sword again.
“Leje, wait a minute.”
“What’s the deal? We have to finish this for sure! What if it comes after us again?”
As Rudell stopped Leje, she looked puzzled.
Rudell shook his head silently at her and turned to look at the rising Thunder Fang.
[Kiiing…]
The standing Thunder Fang groaned as it stared at Rudell and the group.
[Grrrr…!!]
And then, as if it didn’t care about its own condition at all, it began to bare its teeth and growl.
But that lasted only a moment…
[Kiiing…]
Once again, Thunder Fang let out a painful groan.
[Grrrrr…!!]
[Kiiing…]
[Kuhhhh-!!]
[Kiiing…]
After that, the Thunder Fang repeated hostile and non-hostile actions as if it had lost its mind.
It seemed as if those actions weren’t even its own will.
“What’s up with that? Why is it acting like that? Is it always like this?”
“No, it’s the first time I’ve seen a monstrous beast act like this.”
“[What is going on…]”
“It definitely doesn’t seem normal.”
The group also seemed to feel a sense of unease and chimed in one after another.
“Leje, wanna follow me?”
“What are you doing!? Are you trying to get close to that thing? Are you out of your mind!?”
“Please.”
“Ugh…”
As Rudell began to approach Thunder Fang, Leje exclaimed in surprise, but Rudell spoke to her with a serious face.
Seeing him so earnest, Leje let out an unwilling groan, and before long, she followed Rudell with a short sigh.
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