The children who had once mocked Nolan now stood frozen, watching in stunned silence as he placed himself between Ruby and the monster.
"Hey… that kid is sacrificing himself for us…" one of them muttered.
"Ruby, we should run," another suggested, his voice shaky.
"Call the officers now!" Ruby barked at them. "We need help!"
She turned to Nolan, urgency in her eyes. "Nolan… what should I do?"
Nolan knew the reality of the situation. Without Gaia Force, he was just a skilled warrior trapped in a child's body. He couldn't kill the monster—only she could. His only option was to create an opening.
"Ruby," he said, his tone firm. "Keep your distance and wait for an opportunity. I'll make sure you get it. Can you do that?"
Ruby hesitated, taken aback by how calm and direct Nolan was.
"…Yes," she finally nodded, steeling herself.
Without wasting time, she executed another set of hand seals. Her sword ignited once more, the flames burning brighter, her energy now fully focused.
Meanwhile, the wolf had recovered. Its bloodthirsty eyes darted around, searching for its next target.
Nolan moved first.
Grabbing a rock, he hurled it with precision, striking the beast's head. The impact wasn't enough to hurt it, but it was enough to piss it off.
With a vicious growl, the wolf charged.
Nolan ran.
The monster lunged, snapping at him, but he twisted his body at the last second, barely dodging its jaws.
The other children watched, eyes wide in disbelief.
"How is he moving like that…?"
They stood frozen as Nolan executed impossible maneuvers for someone his age. Each step was calculated, each dodge a perfect evasion, his movements sharper and faster than any ordinary six-year-old should be capable of.
But Nolan wasn't just an ordinary six-year-old.
And if this plan was going to work, he couldn't afford to slow down.
With a sudden burst of speed, Nolan leaped onto the wolf's back.
Gasps echoed from the children as they watched in shock.
Using his small size to his advantage, Nolan scrambled up the beast's body, his hands shooting forward to cover its eyes. Blinded, the wolf let out a furious snarl, thrashing wildly in an attempt to shake him off.
Nolan held on. But he couldn't do this forever. He turned his gaze toward Ruby.
"Ruby, now!"
Ruby, momentarily stunned by Nolan's reckless move, quickly snapped out of it. Her grip tightened around her sword, flames burning along its edge.
With a sharp inhale, she lunged, her blade slicing toward the wolf's eyes.
Just as Nolan pushed off its back, flipping away, Ruby's strike found its mark.
A pained, guttural howl tore through the air as the monster reeled from the blow.
The other children, witnessing the moment, found their courage.
"Kill… kill the monster!" their voices merged into a desperate battle cry as they rushed forward.
But the wolf wasn't finished.
It was a wounded beast—cornered, enraged, and unpredictable.
"Robert, don't be stupid!" Ruby yelled as one of the boys recklessly lunged forward, blinded by adrenaline.
Too late.
The wolf's claw slashed across his chest, blood spraying into the dirt. Robert stumbled back, eyes wide in pain and shock before collapsing.
Ruby's face twisted in horror as she rushed toward Robert, but the wolf, sensing an opportunity, lunged at her.
At that critical moment, Nolan moved.
Without thinking, he grabbed Ruby's wrist, forcibly redirecting her sword in a desperate counterattack.
The blade sliced into the wolf's lower jaw, the impact so forceful that both Nolan and Ruby were sent flying backward. They hit the ground hard, pain jolting through their small bodies.
Nolan groaned, forcing himself up, but his vision blurred for a moment. His body wasn't built for this kind of battle yet.
He barely had time to recover before he saw the wolf, bleeding, furious, and more dangerous than ever, set its murderous gaze on him.
"Damn, this body can't keep up!"
His mind raced. He tried to dodge, to counter, but he was too slow.
The wolf's claw descended toward him.
Nolan clenched his teeth. He knew he couldn't avoid it in time. His young body lacked the strength, the speed—he was about to take the full force of the monster's attack.
"Damn it…"
He braced for impact—
But then, everything stopped.
The wolf, mid-air, frozen.
A suffocating stillness settled over the battlefield.
Then—SCHLKT!
The wolf's body split in two.
Blood sprayed as the two halves of the beast collapsed onto the ground.
Lifeless.
Nolan's breath caught in his throat.
What… the hell… just happened?
Nolan, still dazed, struggled to process what had just happened.
The wolf was dead. Split in half.
But how?
His breath came in short, uneven gasps as his eyes darted around—searching for an answer.
And then… he saw it.
From a distance, someone was running toward him.
Fast. Unbelievably fast.
The sight made Nolan's stomach drop. His mother.
Lily.
She was sprinting from the direction of the city gate, her movements a blur, her speed inhuman.
Before he could even react, she was there.
"Nolan! Nolan!" Her voice, filled with panic and desperation, shattered the silence.
In a single motion, she scooped him up into her arms, her hands trembling as they frantically checked him for injuries.
"You're okay… Don't worry, honey… Mom's here…" Lily's voice shook, raw with emotion.
As she held him close, something incredible happened.
A warm, green energy radiated from her body, wrapping around him like a protective cocoon. The aches in his limbs, the dull throbbing of bruises—all of it began to fade.
The warmth seeped into his very core, healing him. Restoring him.
Nolan's eyes widened.
Mom…?
As the warm energy of the Gaia Force flowed into him, Nolan's breath hitched. The realization hit him like a tidal wave—his mother was a Cultivator.
And not just any Cultivator.
The strength of her healing ability… the sheer potency of the energy wrapping around him… this wasn't the power of an ordinary healer.
A Tier 4 ability.
That meant she was at least a Gaia Master.
Maybe even higher.
His mother—his gentle, kind, cake-selling mother—was actually a warrior with immense power.
Nolan's mind raced, piecing it all together. She had been hiding this from him. From everyone.
But why?
Around them, the other children cried out for help, their voices trembling with shock and fear. Ruby lay on the ground, her breathing ragged.
Lily, still holding Nolan tightly, looked into his eyes, her concern evident.
"Nolan, are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm fine, Mom… thanks to you," Nolan replied, still processing everything. His heart was still pounding, but not from the fight—from the revelation. "I had no idea you were a Cultivator."
Lily exhaled slowly. "I'll talk to you about this later, okay?" she said softly.
A few moments later, the pounding of boots announced the arrival of two city officers. Their expressions were grim as they took in the aftermath—the injured children, the massive corpse of the wolf, and the unmistakable signs of battle.
One of the officers stepped forward. "We received reports of a monster attack," he said.
Cries of urgency rose among the children.
"Help Robert! He's badly injured!"
One of the officers, visibly alarmed by the severity of Robert's wounds, wasted no time. He quickly scooped the boy into his arms and turned to his partner. "I'm taking him for treatment. Handle things here." Without another word, he hurried off.
The remaining officer turned back to the group. "What exactly happened here?"
One of the children, eager to shift blame, quickly pointed at Nolan.
"Nolan was stirring up trouble! He took my sword, leaving me defenseless against the monster. He made things harder for us, and that's why we got injured. He's just an ordinary kid, not even a Cultivator, but he still tried to fight a monster he had no chance of defeating!"
Another child, voice laced with frustration, turned their blame toward Lily. "She—she can heal, but she didn't help heal us!"
Ruby immediately stepped forward, positioning herself beside Lily and Nolan.
"It's over now. This was an unexpected incident; no one is to blame," she stated.
The officer, however, didn't seem convinced. His gaze lingered on Lily. "I understand your concern for your son, but we need your statement for our records."
Lily's expression remained calm, but her voice carried a quiet, unshakable strength. "I'm sorry, officer, but my son needs me right now."
The officer wasn't willing to let it go so easily. He reached out, gripping Lily's shoulder.
"I can't let you leave without a report. This is standard procedure."
Nolan's body tensed. Seeing the officer put his hands on his mother ignited something inside him.
"Leave her alone!" he snapped.
But before he could do anything, a sudden wave of weakness crashed over him. His body, already exhausted from the fight and the rush of Gaia Force earlier, finally gave in. His vision blurred, his legs wobbled—
And then, everything went dark.