My team and I stood frozen in place, overwhelmed by the oppressive aura of Canis, The One Who Conquers the Shadow. My body refused to move—not even a twitch. The sight of its massive, fearsome form standing against the backdrop of the full moon filled me with a mix of awe and dread.
"This is bad, Master Naoki! That monster shouldn't even be here. No, it's impossible for it to be here!" Rosan shouted, his voice laced with panic.
"Canis is a legendary monster that appears 100 years ago, marked by the crimson full moon," Rosan continued. "The Blackmore family in the history can't defeat him and let it to rampage in this forest, no one has ever been able to defeat it—except for the founder of the family, who once sealed it."
Hearing this, the gravity of our situation sank in.
"Exactly, Nao! Canis is an anomaly of this world, and only a handful of people in history have ever survived an encounter with it," Envi added grimly.
Canis let out a thunderous roar, its voice echoing through the forest, and the force of it inflicted a Fear status on everyone. Then, without warning, it turned and charged straight at us.
"HEY, NAO! YOU IDIOT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! RUN!" Envi's voice was desperate, trying to snap me out of my stupor.
"I… I can't move, Envi…" I admitted, struggling to even speak.
"Ugh, idiot! If that's the case, then there's only one thing left to do—"
Before he could finish, Canis closed the distance in an instant. Its massive claw swung horizontally, aiming straight for our Supporter and Defense team.
"Ahhh!" Lyra screamed as Vivin threw herself in front of her, raising her shield in a desperate attempt to block the attack.
"No! I won't make it in time—!" I yelled, powerless to intervene.
CLANG!
I froze. Somehow, I had managed to block the attack, even though moments ago, I couldn't move a muscle.
"CALM DOWN, YOU IDIOT! Get a grip already!" Envi's voice rang out—through my own mouth.
"What…?!" I gasped, realizing what had happened.
"I'm taking over for now, since you're useless right now!" Envi barked. "Hurry up and recover your mental state. I can only maintain this for a short while before you have to take back control!"
Envi's commanding tone jolted me out of my panic. He was fighting in my place because I had frozen up.
"Ugh… Fine! Hang in there until I'm ready!" I shouted, forcing myself to focus.
CLANG! CLANG! THWACK!
Envi expertly parried Canis's relentless attacks, countering whenever he saw an opening.
The air slashes streaked toward Canis, but its body dissolved into a dark purple shadow, evading the attack entirely. It reappeared behind Envi, launching a vicious counterstrike.
"Damn it! It's like fighting a shadow itself!" Envi growled, narrowly dodging.
Canis unleashed a barrage of claws at blinding speed, striking from every direction. Envi barely managed to fend off the onslaught.
"Rosan! Lyra! Cast protection magic and remove the Fear status—NOW!" Envi shouted.
Rosan quickly chugged an MP potion and cast, creating a barrier that bolstered our defenses. At the same time, Lyra used her ace skill, to eliminate all negative statuses, including Fear. But the strain left her drained of mana, collapsing to the ground.
With the Fear status lifted, the Attackers rallied. Alan and Darius took flanking positions as sub-DPS, striking at Canis from the sides. Meanwhile, Elan and Freya targeted its back, while Vivin stood her ground as the lone tank, intercepting any attacks directed at Envi.
Now free to focus entirely on offense, Envi went on the offensive.
"Freya! Channel your maximum-output flame magic at me! We're going to use a combined attack!" Envi ordered.
"What?! But we need Lyra's magic to stabilize that—" Freya hesitated, unsure about the risky strategy.
"Just trust me and do it!" Envi snapped, his voice filled with conviction.
Freya took a deep breath, then nodded. She activated her strongest skill:
The fiery energy surged around her blade as she directed it toward Envi, trusting him completely.
The entire team was stunned into silence. They thought Freya had missed her target. But then, Envi absorbed the flames of her magic and turned them into his own attack.
Without hesitation, Envi launched a counterattack against Canis, who was preoccupied with the other attackers. His skill,
"D-Did we do it?" Freya asked hopefully.
"No, not yet..." Envi's eyes narrowed as he sensed the lingering bloodlust radiating from Canis.
Sure enough, Canis emerged from the explosion, its body ablaze—but only partially scorched. Canis stood tall, its fierce eyes gleaming. With a deafening roar, it tried to cast fear upon us again.
But Envi wasn't about to let that happen.
He swung his blade five times in rapid succession, unleashing a storm of air slashes. The attacks collided with Canis's feral assault, but the wolf's power overwhelmed Envi's defenses. Its claws tore through his armor, leaving deep gashes on his body.
"Gah…!! Cough… Cough…" Envi was thrown backward, blood dripping from his lips as he struggled to rise. His legs trembled under the weight of his injuries.
"Envi, that's enough… Drink a potion and let me handle it." I stepped forward, steadying myself for the fight ahead.
"Tch… Finally growing a backbone, huh? You're such a pain, Nao… But…" Envi gave a faint smirk, downing a health potion. "Don't lose!"
As the potion took effect, I felt my own wounds healing. My body surged with renewed energy.
"Leave it to me, partner!" I shouted confidently. Switching places with Envi, I stepped forward and assumed my fighting stance.
"Round two, you damn old wolf!" I readied my katana in an Iaido stance, the blade sheathed, prepared for a lightning-fast strike.
Canis sensed the shift in my intent. It darted toward me, zigzagging to throw off my aim before lunging with both claws poised to rip me apart.
But this time, Vivin intercepted the strike with her massive shield, holding firm against the wolf's powerful attack. Alan, Darius, Freya, and Elan closed in, attacking Canis from all sides.
I saw my opening and dashed forward, releasing my attack.
A blindingly fast vertical slash. But it only grazed the Elder Shadow Wolf's paw. I disrupted its strike, but...
"What?! Even my strongest move only left a scratch?!" My heart sank at the realization.
In a rage, Canis spun wildly, becoming a whirlwind of claws and shadows. The force of its spin knocked everyone back. Its claws lashed out like a storm of blades, and I was barely able to deflect the strikes.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
I parried its attacks ten times in rapid succession, but my arms were growing numb. The wolf's relentless assault pushed me to my limits. I shifted into a defensive stance, and maneuvered closer with, aiming for a decisive counterattack.
When I got close enough, I unleashed again, striking faster than the eye could follow. My blade met its mark, but Canis turned part of its body into shadow, nullifying the attack.
I caught a critical delay in its transformation. Seizing the moment, I poured everything into my next strike.
My blade carved into Canis's belly, leaving a deep, gaping wound.
"Don't stop now, Nao! Keep going! This is our chance!" Envi's voice roared behind me.
I unleashed, raining a barrage of slashes of
"GRRRAAAGH!!" Canis howled in pain.
"We've got this! Just a little more!" Envi cheered, his hope contagious.
But suddenly, Canis leaped back and let out a bone-chilling howl. The entire forest was consumed in a dark, purplish shadow.
"Status of Canis: Activated Skill – Shadow World (Immune to physical and magical attacks)."
"No… way..." My voice quivered. The wolf's wounds were gone, and its presence now felt impossibly overwhelming.
I glanced at my team. Freya and Elan were barely standing. Alan and Darius had lowered their weapons in exhaustion. Vivin struggled to lift her shield. Lyra clutched her staff, tears streaming down her face as despair gripped her.
But then, a voice rang out.
"Don't give up, everyone!"
It was Rosan. Despite the chaos, he stood tall, unwavering. His determination reignited our hope.
Rosan began chanting a powerful spell. Meanwhile, I did everything I could to hold Canis at bay with, even knowing my physical attacks couldn't harm it.
When Rosan finished, he unleashed
Alan, Darius, Elan, and Freya all unleashed their ultimate skills against Canis. Yet none of their strikes could penetrate its shadowy form.
Canis retaliated, aiming directly at me. Its claws descended in a blur, but Vivin shielded me, taking the brunt of the attack. Together, we were thrown backward.
Before we could recover, Canis followed up with, it's devastating skill.
There was no time to dodge.
Vivin and I braced ourselves, knowing we couldn't avoid what was coming.
...
...
---Continued to next chapter---