Aflra, without hesitation, hurled a half-skull down the stairs. It bounced to a halt at the feet of a large gray wolf, which let out a terrified howl and fled.
Two shadow wolves, lurking in the darkness, sensed something amiss. Aflra, moving with lightning speed, burst from the shadows and charged toward them. Her blade of darkness pierced the shadows as if a boulder had shattered a tranquil lake, disrupting the magic. The shadow wolves reacted swiftly, leaping out of the shadows to avoid being torn apart.
One shadow wolf lunged at Aflra, while the other aimed for her legs. Aflra parried both attacks with ease, her sword held firmly in both hands. She then delivered a seemingly light blow to the first wolf's head, but the result was devastating. The blade of darkness, heavier and sharper than a standard sword, sliced through the wolf's tough leather armor. Aflra had employed a sword technique known to players, specifically designed for breaking iron armor, and the wolf's skull posed no challenge.
The shadow wolf collapsed, blood and brain matter spilling from its wounds. The other wolf, terrified, turned to flee. Aflra, however, was faster. With a diagonal slash, she severed the wolf's leg. The creature fell to the ground, writhing in pain and desperately trying to bite Aflra. But before it could turn far enough, a black line extended rapidly, and its head flew off.
A group of gray wolves, huddled in fear, watched Aflra. They had never seen such a creature—human in form, but shrouded in darkness under the firelight. The "prisoners" in the cage were equally terrified. Kelly huddled with her cubs, the bear trembled, and the rainbow bird peeked out from behind a wall, its tail feathers a burst of color.
Aurora, peering through the cage, saw the mysterious, all-black figure and cried out, "Wuwuwu, Dad, Mom, Aflra sister..."
Aix felt despair. Was this truly the end? A spark flew as a thick iron chain was severed. Aflra swung her sword, striking the gap in the chain. With a crash, the chain fell, and Aflra pulled it open, tossing her sword aside. She removed her hood, entered the cage, and patted Aurora's head, causing the child to cry even harder.
"Aflra sister!" Aurora and Aix exclaimed in surprise.
Outside the dragon's lair, the wolf witch watched the battle with satisfaction. The ogre's powerful attacks forced the goblins to retreat. Suddenly, she felt a jolt, reached into her purse, and pulled out a broken gemstone.
"Damn it!"
The gemstone was linked to the dungeon. Its breakage meant something had gone wrong inside.
"Tieya, take your people to the dungeon, now!"
Tieya roared in agreement and led the shadow wolves toward the dragon's lair.
The wolf witch, tidying her clothes, ordered Tieya and the shadow wolves to hide. Tieya complied.
Aflra led her group out of the dungeon and found themselves confronted by the wolf witch, who pointed her magic wand at them. Both sides were stunned—Aflra by the witch's appearance, and the witch by Aflra's presence.
The witch realized that Aflra must have entered the dragon's treasure house and obtained the useless sword. For the witch, the blade of darkness was of no value.
Without hesitation, the witch launched a poisonous liquid spray, a green beam of light. At the same time, she shouted, "She has the sword of shadows, come out quickly!"
Although useless to her, the witch knew the sword's lethality to shadow wolves. Lion Alix had once used it to subdue a group of these creatures.
Aflra instantly countered with a cold wind spray, dispelling the poisonous attack. The blade of darkness was ineffective against rough magic like the cold wind spray, but it was potent against fear spells and fire control spells.
The cold wind chilled the air outside the dragon's lair, but inside, it condensed the water vapor, creating a thick mist.
The wolf witch cast a living rope spell, but Aflra's blade of darkness cut it in half. The witch, sensing the connection break and seeing the swirling mist, retreated.
Over twenty shadow wolves emerged from the shadows, ten surrounding the mist and ten rushing towards Aigesa and the others.