We visited the Celestial Pavilion every day, and Lin learned several sorceries in addition to transformation magic.
Having learned the techniques, what we needed was experience. We got ready to go outside, intending to build our practical experience.
“Are you going out?”
“Yes, I’m planning to go to the forest with Lin. Isn’t Seira coming with us?”
Seira no longer stuck by my side like before. She had other duties, and there were reasons why I was no longer a primary surveillance target.
I wondered if that was why she wasn’t coming, but Seira brought up a completely different topic.
“Today is a full moon. On the night of a full moon, the wolf tribe receives a special holiday.”
“Does your body get worse?”
“The wildness increases. It’s even more so when I smell bl**d. I can control it to some extent, but it won’t hurt to be cautious. I won’t be coming out of my room today, so you don’t have to look for me. No, please don’t come at all.”
“Got it. Then we’ll be back, so you rest well.”
We left the city with Seira seeing us off.
The place we found was the marshland we often visited.
Slimes crawling on the ground.
Lin stood at the center of the marshland, floating the Fox bead in the air.
“Hoohoo, these wicked slimes. The time for revenge has finally come after enduring the waiting!”
“But you haven’t been wronged.”
“Don’t interrupt, Juin.”
She seemed to have fully embraced her concept.
Since she was engrossed, I decided not to disturb her.
Lin focused, using the sorcery she learned from Yu Hwa. The Fox bead sparkled with light.
Hwa-ruk.
Three blue fox flames appeared.
“Amaterasu.”
“Where did you learn that term?”
“From Juin.”
Sigh. It seems that while raising a Gumiho, I accidentally talked about that side of things.
It might be too late, but I should be careful now.
Lin’s fox flames flew towards the slimes. They stuck to the slimes, which had been sluggishly wriggling, and burned them.
The slimes writhed in silent screams. Eventually, all the slime evaporated, disappearing without a trace.
Lin shook her head vigorously, scattering her hair.
“Hah, this body. I’ve become too powerful. What do you think, Juin? Am I cool?”
“Hmm, I guess I won’t have to worry about getting dirty anymore. I won’t need to buy a new dress.”
“That’s not it! You’re supposed to say I’m cool at times like this!”
“You’re completely cool.”
“Too late!”
Hmph! With a huff, Lin turned her head.
For Lin now, the entrance to the forest posed no threat. I decided to go a bit deeper, to build up spirit power and gain practical experience.
I trotted along behind Lin, who was walking ahead with the bead in hand.
“Do you have to carry that Fox bead all the time?”
“No. Grandma taught me how to put it away, too.”
When Lin clenched her fist, the Fox bead vanished with a flutter, then popped back when she opened her hand again. That way, it didn’t seem likely she’d lose it.
At that moment, Lin, who was ahead, sniffed the air.
“Juin, I smell bl**d. There’s something ahead.”
What appeared as Lin said was a pack of wolves.
However, they were massive.
Their fur was a dark reddish-brown, as if dried bl**d had glued it together. They had four eyes, and their grotesquely torn mouths bared all their sharp teeth.
“Huh. Juin, it’s a Seira!”
“If you say that in front of Seira, you’re going to get scolded. Not all wolves are Seira.”
They were classified as monsters known as bl**d Wolves. Since Vestia is a beastman country, the monsters that appear are mostly in animal forms.
bl**d Wolves are relatively tricky monsters to deal with. Being wolves, they hunt in packs, and their berserker-like states make them hard to take down.
As a three-tailed fox, Lin could probably win without much trouble, but we shouldn’t let our guard down.
“Lin, be careful. They’re different from what we’ve faced so far.”
“Worried? Nope. Just please cheer for me unconditionally.”
With a confident declaration, Lin spread her tail into three and jumped in.
Having become skilled in utilizing spirit power, Lin was able to unleash a variety of techniques beyond mere sorcery.
Lin dashed forward, slashing through the air with her claws. A sharp claw-like strike rushed towards the bl**d Wolves.
The bl**d Wolves were cut down like trees.
A series of subsequent slashes. The bl**d Wolves fell apart in pieces.
“Oh dear, I think I’m going to d*e of boredom.”
“It’s not over yet.”
“Huh?”
The body of a dismembered bl**d Wolf wriggled and slowly stood up.
It possessed a passive ability.
Even when dead, it could come back to life once.
Its severed upper and lower halves seemed to be alive in their own right, with the lower half spewing bl**d and guts while moving without an upper body.
“Yah! Juin! I don’t like that!”
“You love meat, don’t you? It’s fresh meat.”
“Is your eyesight gone, Juin? That’s not meat!”
Even I found it disgusting.
In the game, they revived in perfect form after dying, but in reality, they moved while completely dead. It was indeed a grotesque sight.
Lin summoned fox flames to burn the bl**d Wolf, seemingly wanting to avoid even a drop of bl**d. The smell and sound of roasting meat filled the air.
While Lin burned the bl**d Wolves, I looked around.
‘I didn’t go deep enough for bl**d Wolves to appear.’
The area where bl**d Wolves spawn is the “Forest of Red Night.” In this bl**d-stained forest breeze, where the dead wolves come back to life, it is a dangerous zone.
But here, it was still a green forest. There was still a long way to go before bl**d Wolves would appear.
‘Hmm…’
I had a bad feeling.
“Lin, let’s head back.”
“No, Juin. Lin is fine.”
“We don’t need to push it….”
“Juin, don’t you trust me?”
Lin asked seriously, without a hint of frivolousness. This was not just a simple question but an issue that led to mutual trust.
This made it difficult to suggest turning back.
“Sigh, fine. Since you’re with me, I guess we can go a bit further. But we return before it gets dark.”
“Okay! Got it!”
*
As we went deeper, we encountered more monsters, and Lin easily took them out without any danger.
With just a flick of her fox flames, the monsters burned helplessly. The scent of char filled the air instead of the forest aroma.
Using up spirit power to hunt monsters and absorbing their essence to recover spirit power created an endless cycle of energy. Enjoying her own strength, Lin even hummed a tune.
Our advance was unimpeded. The only downside was that Carami’s stamina was gradually depleting.
‘Now it’s really time to go.’
As evening approached, the atmosphere of the forest began to change.
It was the time when nocturnal beasts and monsters would become active. Perhaps because we were near the Forest of Red Night, the ominous red mist that appeared created a foreboding ambiance.
Carami disliked scary things.
“Lin, let’s turn back.”
“Why?”
“It’ll soon be dark. I’m getting a bit tired too.”
“Juin, get some exercise!”
“I need to free as many slaves as possible during my exercise time. Or Lin, you could just carry me.”
Lin looked at Carami with disdain.
I could understand if others acted like that, but you shouldn’t do that with me. You’re not in a position to sigh at others.
Carami thought about this, but decided to overlook it maturely.
“Let’s go. If we take too long, Seira will worry.”
“Alright.”
The two turned around and began retracing their steps.
Awooooooo.
The howl of wolves echoed through the forest. From the dark underbrush, dozens of glowing eyes glimmered.
Revealing themselves slowly were indeed the bl**d Wolves.
“Lin?”
“Huh?”
“Weren’t we surrounded?”
“Ugh… I didn’t notice because of the smell of burning.”
“Sigh…”
“Well, it’s okay! It’ll be over in an instant, an instant!”
Hwa-ruk!
Lin’s fox flames flew towards the bl**d Wolves from all directions. Just like before, it seemed like they would burn effortlessly when an unexpected event occurred.
One bl**d Wolf jumped in and blocked the fox flames. It didn’t stop there. Covered in blue flames, it ran around and willingly took all the fox flames.
Since beasts are usually scared of fire, they should feel fear, but they seemed to not just lack fear but even felt no pain at all.
“Lin, keep firing without stopping!”
“Ah, got it.”
Flustered, Lin unleashed a large amount of fox flames. The bl**d Wolves tried to withstand the flames, but it had no meaningful effect. Lin’s spirit power was still abundant.
The revival of the bl**d Wolves was the same. They were still burning, and as soon as they revived, they turned to ashes. They could be wiped out without any difficulty.
But perhaps due to her confusion, Lin, not adjusting her strength, threw out an excessive amount of fox flames, and the fire spread to the forest. The trees were coated in blue flames.
The blue flames soared up to the sky.
The ends of the flames seemed to point at something.
What the flames pointed to was the full moon.
Due to the mist of bl**d acting as a film, it appeared like a red moon.
Today is the night of the full moon.
A full moon that increases the ferocity of the wolves.
Currently, we were near the area where the bl**d Wolves appeared in the Forest of Red Night.
Hwa-ahh!
The thick scent of bl**d wafted in at that moment.
As expected, a bl**d Wolf appeared. However, it had two more eyes than a typical bl**d Wolf, totaling six. It was even standing on two legs, towering at least 2.5 meters tall despite its hunched back.
It was the boss monster of the Forest of Red Night, the bl**d Human.
“Juin, Juin. It really is Seira.”
“Not all werewolf humans are the same.”
Even though Seira and the bl**d Human are both werewolves, they are distinctly different. That one is a monster.
‘That’s a bit ambiguous.’
The limit that Lin, a three-tailed fox, could handle without difficulty was the bl**d Human. But now it was under the full moon. The specs of the bl**d Human had dramatically increased.
“Lin, there’s no need to fight. Let’s withdraw. Carry me.”
“No. This is a matter of pride. Showing my back is a fox’s disgrace. Right now, Lin is invulnerable.”
Ignoring Carami’s words, Lin summoned fox flames and threw them at the bl**d Human.
The bl**d Human lowered its body. With four legs on the ground, it assumed a predator’s hunting posture, and its hind legs swelled as it fiercely pounded the ground.
To Carami, who had no experience in battle, it was a speed she couldn’t keep up with. The fox flames couldn’t catch the bl**d Human’s speed, merely chasing its tail.
The bl**d Human rampaged through the forest. It momentarily stepped on a tree, paused for an instant, then leaped at Lin like a heavy chunk of metal.
Boom!
The tree exploded. Its wild, bl**d-red mane swirled violently. It quickly closed the distance, swinging its grotesque front paws.
Perhaps it was the first time Lin faced an attack containing malice. She could have panicked, but her response was quick. With her fox’s agile body, she easily dodged.
Then Lin clenched her fist tightly. Pink spirit power swirled around her right hand. Lin, having concentrated spirit power in her fist, unleashed a powerful blow.
Perrung!
The bl**d Human’s body, struck in the abdomen, burst like a balloon, splattering bl**d and flesh everywhere.
Just one hit.
One hit was enough.
Lin, enhanced by becoming a slave, exceeded Carami’s expectations in power.
“Seriously, Juin, you’re too worried!”
Carami’s surprised expression, along with Lin, who was elated to be praised, looked back with her head tilted.
“Huh?”
Carami groaned and stumbled. She bent over, clutching her abdomen with both hands, where a massive claw was embedded.
It was the claw of the bl**d Human. The foot, which had flown from the point farthest from the impact, was almost circular compared to other parts of its body.
Of all places, that foot had gone right to where Carami was.
That was unmistakable misfortune.
