40. Let me know if you guys see any major typos or grammatical errors. It'll be a huge help.
(3rd)
(Back with Saeko)
With her allies out of the way, the sword user closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled.
When Saeko opened her eyes again, her pupils had morphed into skulls, and her irises glowed a striking blood red. Her long, silky purple hair transformed into a fiery red, with the ends shaping into ten locks that swayed side to side, dripping with blood. Her previously unblemished fair skin turned milky white, and the veins coursing through her body glowed a bright, vivid red.
However, Saeko's physical appearance wasn't the only drastic change.
Her uniform was replaced by traditional samurai armor and an Oni-style helmet featuring a prominent U-shaped crest. The armor itself matched her striking appearance perfectly, with plates that reflected the colors of her hair and eyes, while the cloth complemented her complexion, adorned with red trims.
Her katana also transformed; the handle became a pristine white, the guard took on the shape of a skull, and the blade transformed into a sleek black with a glowing red edge.
Fenrir's eyes dilated as alarm bells went off in his mind, sensing the sudden and overwhelming surge of power radiating from Saeko. He narrowed his gaze, going on high alert. Initially, he had focused all his attention on Shushu, believing her to be the greatest threat due to her abilities and weapon.
However, the woman standing before him was not just dangerous; it felt as if he were in the presence of Cain. He needed to eliminate her before it was too late.
At the same time, both charged at each other. When they were only a few meters apart, Saeko unleashed a blast at Fenrir's face. An arc of red energy shot from her katana, coming at Fenrir from the right at a sharp diagonal upward angle.
Reacting swiftly, Fenrir moved to the left, reinforcing his right front paw, and swiped at her. Saeko managed to block the attack but was still pushed back a few feet. The redhead then retaliated by rapidly slashing her blade in all eight directions, sending hundreds of energy blasts hurtling toward Fenrir.
In response, Fenrir slammed a paw to the ground, triggering several events. First, a thick wall of ice materialized in front of him. Seconds later, a severe blizzard erupted, engulfing a half-mile radius, plunging the temperature below freezing, and producing the sound of thunder. Finally, thousands of ice constructs resembling humanoid creatures emerged from the ground and began attacking the women.
As the weather shifted dramatically and the ice creatures appeared, Saeko rushed toward Fenrir's location. Along the way, she encountered hundreds of ice constructs.
The moment the ice creatures spotted her, they pounced from all directions. The redhead effortlessly cut through each one, her movements fluid and precise, and by the time she reached her destination, only shattered fragments of ice remained scattered around her, with Fenrir nowhere to be seen.
Saeko narrowed her eyes and scanned her surroundings, trying to sense him. Unfortunately, her extrasensory abilities weren't working, much to her growing frustration. No matter how hard she concentrated, she could neither see nor detect anything.
Sighing in frustration, Saeko attempted to contact the others. However, she faced a significant problem: no one was answering. Each time she tried to reach out, all she heard was static, indicating that the blizzard was blocking their mind link.
"That's just great," Saeko huffed, annoyed.
Not only was she effectively blind and deaf due to the blizzard and the constant rumble of thunder, but she also couldn't use her extrasensory abilities or contact the others.
As she contemplated her next move, a sudden chill ran down her spine. Her instincts kicked in, and she spun around just in time to block Fenrir's claws, which were now just inches from her face.
Fenrir regarded her with mild surprise. "Not bad. I didn't expect you to block that."
"And I didn't expect you to fight like a coward," Saeko retorted, a snarl escaping her lips, which made Fenrir chuckle softly.
He pushed her back and fired a blast of energy at her. Saeko swung her sword, deflecting the blast back at him. Fenrir raised his paw and absorbed the energy back into his body, much to the redhead's annoyance.
"You call it cowardice; I call it dividing and conquering," he replied coolly. "You don't survive as long as I have in my field by being honorable. Honor gets you killed in battle. You win by understanding the limits and flaws of both your enemies and yourself," Fenrir said, his voice calm and wise.
If he continued to fight out in the open like this, his chances of defeat would exceed ninety percent. He was powerful, yes, but not invincible.
One of his greatest flaws was his transformation ability. While it granted him access to a myriad of powerful forms, the limitation was clear: his forms had a cap on their strength before he needed to transition again.
In his werewolf form, he would have greater mobility and enhanced speed, but despite that advantage, he'd still be far too weak to take on Saeko in her transformed state, let alone confront three entire ADC units and their chiefs simultaneously.
Logically, that left him with no choice but to rely on his third and strongest form. However, being strong did not mean it was without limits or guaranteed victory.
Fighting as a wolf, especially one towering dozens of meters tall, severely restricted his combat ability, mobility, and speed.
He could only attack physically by biting, hitting targets with his massive paws, or clawing at them, and he could even use his tail like a wrecking ball.
He couldn't jump carelessly, perform complex maneuvers, or blitz his targets. He was simply too large and heavy for that. Every jump, evasion, strike, and physical action had to be incredibly precise, calculated, and perfectly timed.
To combat this limitation, he had to get creative with ranged attacks and developed techniques by cleverly combining his existing abilities for a significant advantage. Techniques like the ones he was currently unleashing: Unrelenting Cryostorm and the Cryo Legion.
By employing these techniques, he effectively rendered their physical senses useless. Not only that, the barrier he summoned nullified their extrasensory abilities, making them effectively blind on both fronts.
And as the battle wore on, they would gradually weaken due to the below-freezing temperatures and the relentless assaults from his Cryo Legion, allowing him to eliminate them with minimal effort.
Saeko didn't want to admit it, but Fenrir had a point. If he fought her while also battling three entire units and three chiefs, he'd most certainly die.
"But enough of that. You're not here to listen to a fossil like me preach about principles and philosophy." With that, Fenrir lunged at her, jaws wide open.
The redhead swiftly moved to the side, effortlessly evading his attack. She then slipped beneath him, slashing at his left and front legs. Fenrir grunted, quickly reinforcing his legs with anti-demonic energy. In a flash, he jumped forward, spun around, and unleashed several energy blasts at her.
Saeko managed to deflect all of them. However, she couldn't defend against the energy blast that struck her from behind, sending her stumbling forward.
As she fell, Fenrir took advantage of the moment and slammed his paw down, smashing her to the ground with tremendous force. He began to repeatedly stomp on her back, causing the earth within a fifteen-meter radius to crack and tremble.
When Fenrir stomped on her for the tenth time, a vertical line stretched across the ground for forty meters. Just a moment later, the ground shook and split open, revealing an unknown depth below. Noticing this, Fenrir kicked Saeko toward the gaping chasm.
She hovered above the opening, but before she could descend too far, wings of blood manifested from her back. With effortless grace, she halted her fall and began to hover steadily in the air.
Saeko looked down at Fenrir and grinned widely.
"My turn."
Arcs of red energy violently erupted from the edge of her katana. When she swung it, a massive vertical line of compressed energy shot toward Fenrir at incredible speeds.
Fenrir barely had enough time to move out of the energy's blast radius, so he quickly surrounded himself with a force field just before it made contact. However, it wasn't nearly enough. The projectile exploded, obliterating the force field and catching him squarely in the blast.
Fenrir gritted his teeth in pain as he felt his fur singe and flesh begin to melt. His healing factor activated, rapidly mending his injuries, though at a slower rate than usual.
He immediately noticed the difference, his eyes narrowing. He attempted to cancel the effect impairing his regeneration, but to his annoyance, it wasn't working.
This wasn't the first time he'd found himself unable to undo an effect, and he was certain it wouldn't be the last. However, the main issue is that it wasn't only weakening his regeneration, but it was also draining his physical strength. He could feel his power slowly slipping away.
'I'd better not get hit by too many of those, or it's game over,' Fenrir thought grimly.
Saeko flew toward him at blinding speed, launching a relentless barrage of energy blasts. Fenrir evaded the projectiles while returning fire, and this intense game of cat and mouse continued for what felt like an eternity, with neither of them able to land a hit.
Eventually, Fenrir managed to knock Saeko out of the sky with a well-aimed energy blast.
The redhead quickly got back to her feet, wincing in pain. A second later, Fenrir appeared right in front of her, swiping his claws with deadly precision. Saeko barely managed to block the attack, and she was pushed back a few feet. She backflipped several meters away, quickly preparing another energy blast.
Before she could fully charge her attack, one of Fenrir's ice creatures suddenly appeared and decked her right in the face, sending her flying across the ground. As the sword user began to get up, more of Fenrir's ice constructs emerged from the ground, yanking her down and holding her firmly to the ground.
The redhead quickly broke free, got up, and sliced them apart. She spun around to cut another one in half. Saeko looked for Fenrir but found he was gone.
As she scanned her surroundings, a massive surge of pain erupted in her body, sending her flying to the right. She was then sent flying to the left, back to the right again, and then upward and downward. This rapid assault continued, and with each strike, the pain intensified.
Desperate, she swung her blade wildly while firing energy blasts in every direction. The light and sounds of multiple explosions echoed faintly. If someone looked closely, they might catch a glimpse of a dim glow and hear a distant boom.
One of her blasts struck its target, prompting a grunt of pain, but just as quickly, her body hit the ground. Saeko got up and scanned for Fenrir again. She found him ten meters to her right and saw his current state.
Seventy-five percent of his face and right side were gone, exposing his skeletal structure and organs. The remaining flesh resembled charred meat, emitting wisps of smoke.
Recognizing his vulnerability, Saeko charged her sword and sprinted toward him, intent on finishing the job. Before she could close the distance, Wolf spun around and slammed his tail into her side, sending her crashing to the ground.
Regaining her footing, Saeko fired several charged energy blasts at Wolf. However, a thick wall of ice materialized in front of her projectiles.
The energy blasts caused minor cracks in the ice wall, but it held firm. Moments later, ice cannons emerged from the wall, firing energy-infused ice shards at her.
Saeko darted toward the wall, skillfully avoiding the projectiles. As she approached, hundreds of ice dragons emerged from behind the wall, prompting her to click her tongue in annoyance and accelerate her flight.
The closest ice dragons unleashed blasts of condensed energy or charged at her. Saeko quickly dispatched the nearest dragons before turning her attention to those farther away, all while staying clear of the wall cannons' line of fire.
Once the ice closest to her was dealt with, she rushed toward the rest. She swung her katana with deadly precision, evading enemies and cannon fire as she moved. With each strike, an ice dragon was either cut in half or used as a shield.
After what felt like hours of relentless fighting, Saeko finally scaled the wall. She spotted Wolf, who had recovered from her earlier attack, and rapidly descended toward him, generating flames that erupted from her body due to her immense speed.
Fenrir encased himself in reinforced ice armor and lunged at Saeko just as she approached. Saeko charged her katana, while Fenrir opened his jaws wide, revealing a swirling mix of blue, red, and golden energy.
Just mere meters apart, they both unleashed their respective attacks simultaneously. The collision created a blinding explosion, louder than thunder and shaped like a mushroom cloud.
The blast was so powerful that it shattered the Unrelenting Cryostorm's barrier, causing the blizzard, tornadoes, thunder, and everything else Fenrir had summoned to cease.
Minutes later, the mushroom cloud dissipated, revealing everyone within the barrier's radius. Five hundred meters to the north were Kyoka, Tenka, Yakumo, and Sahara. A thousand meters to the east was Group One, while seven hundred meters southwest lay Group Two.
Except for the 7th Unit, which appeared worse for wear. The 7th Unit was largely unscathed, thanks to their armor, though they were freezing.
The condition of the rest was dire: some were encased in ice, others lay unconscious, and many were freezing and covered in deep cuts and bruises. A few were missing chunks of flesh, and their uniforms were torn and stained with blood, dirt, and sweat.
Saeko and Fenrir lay four hundred meters south. Saeko was injured, unconscious, and out of her transformation, while Fenrir remained unharmed, protected by his ice armor reinforced with anti-demonic energy and a multilayered force field.
"Well, I'd better go help out Serpent," Fenrir said to himself, assessing the state of Saeko and the other ADC members.
However, before he could progress much further, a sudden and overwhelming pain engulfed him. He felt his strength, stamina, and anti-demonic energy rapidly depleting.
Fenrir was abruptly forced out of his wolf form and collapsed to his knees. His skin turned pale, he was sweating profusely, trembling like a leaf, and his breathing was ragged.
"Sorry, bro, but I can't let you do that." Fenrir's eyes widened in shock at the familiar voice.
"R-Rouge?!" he gasped.
The man appeared slowly and casually in front of him, looking down with a complicated expression.
"Hey, Wolf. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
End.
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Bronze Tier [1.50]
1 Extra Chapter
Silver Tier [3.00]
2 Extra Chapters