He rested the dull side of Belus against his unafflicted shoulder as a light breath came out foggy.
"The first one to resort to magic loses: reinforcement only," he smiled.
She returned his smile, raising her hands in front of her chin, "You're on."
As its bulkening, form-changing metamorphosis seemed to reach its climax as it unleashed a howl that sent the surrounding nature into a convulsion, they pressed forward at the same time.
Aiko utilized her nimbleness, subverting a snap of the massive, black-clad alpha's monstrous jaws with a jump over its head.
While it was momentarily distracted by the small girl's move, he dashed across the nightly grass before attacking its frontmost leg with a quick swing of his sword.
"---Huh?"
He was left briefly shocked as only a shallow cut was felt from his blade sliding along the beast's leg, expecting to carve out a chunk of its flesh in the process.
