Extra's Descent

It was going on for quite a while.

"Hahaha…."

For nine months, he was unconsciously awake.

And for nine months, he was arduously subjected to a lot of stress.

The pain.

…..He could never forget the pain.

This was especially so whenever he tried to sleep.

Whenever he closed his eyes.

For forty days straight, not once had he ever slept.

But due to Amelia and the childrens' presence, he had to control himself.

All so he wouldn't lose himself.

Pain.

He felt like he could still feel it.

Everyday.

Like sharp daggers stabbing his skull.

The intense heat that rose from his mana core.

Burning his entire body.

Burning and burning and burning—

"Haha….!"

And due to the side effects of the [Curse] affinity….

….He couldn't suppress the bottled up stress any longer.

Vooosh—!

Black flames crackled, burning the frostwolves until their body had grown limp. Slowly, their bodies withered, turning into ashes.

[You have slain a Frostwolf!]

[You have slain a Frostwolf!]

[You have slain a Frostwolf!]

[You have slain a Frostwolf!]

.

.

"Haha…"

Yet Brandon didn't stop from there.

The flames continued to expand. The snow around the area started to melt.

The heat wasn't as intense as regular flames.

But flames were still flames.

The rough patch of grass revealed itself and the flames gradually spread.

***

The frostwolves gathered around Amelia.

"Hurrr—"

—Awooo!

They coordinated with each other. Ice—shaped like spikes shot up from the ground. Wolves lunged themselves, baring their fangs against Amelia.

"Hraa—!"

Gripping her sword, Amelia swung up. Magic swords shot down and shattered the spikes heading towards her.

Clang!

However, the crystalline ice around the wolf served as its armor. Her sword recoiled back as soon as it impacted.

It was now apparent to her that these wolves were somehow different.

They were stronger, and their ice-like armor was thicker.

Realizing that she couldn't finish this off in one fell sweep, Amelia leapt backwards, distancing herself from the wolves.

Extending her hand, the magic sword in her hand dematerialized, and another weapon appeared in her hands.

A sniper.

Or as she liked to call it,

"Railgun."

Yet again, the wolves lunged themselves towards her.

—Awoooo!

It was the same strategy. But this time, there were more wolves up close.

It was fascinating. The wolves seemed to adapt, as if they knew that close–combat was the optimal choice.

But Amelia was composed.

A thick ounce of mana coalesced around the railgun. With her finger—right on the trigger, Amelia steadily aimed.

Eight wolves glared at her as they jumped mid–air. Thirteen wolves at the back, as ice spikes headed towards her, shooting from the ground.

Bang—!

Pulling the trigger, the muzzle ignited. Heavy magic energy shot from the gun. The sheer force of her attack was so great as it pushed Amelia back.

Pure magic energy rippled in the air, hurling the wolves, suspended in mid–air, along the process.

Crack!

Their armor instantly shattered, and an opportunity revealed themselves.

Using the opportunity, Amelia burst forth. The railgun dematerialized, and a magic sword appeared in her hand.

Clenching it tightly, Amelia thrusted the tip of the blade.

Spurt!

Confirming the kill, and that the blade cut deep, Amelia instantly maneuvered the sword in the air.

The wolves with broken armor were instantly cut down, blue blood splattered, staining her cheek.

Their eyes flickered before the light in their pupils faded.

Slash, slash, slash—!

With swift and precise movements, Amelia employed the same strategy for the other wolves with broken armor.

No movement was wasted, each step served a purpose, and Amelia quickly dispatched the wolves.

[You have slain a Frostwolf!]

[You have slain a Frostwolf!]

[You have slain a Frostwolf!]

[You have slain a Frostwolf!]

.

.

But she was given no time to recover as the ice spikes had neared her.

"Ah—"

Bracing for impact, Amelia positioned her sword, motioning to block the ice.

Thankfully, she didn't suffer any damage. The ice met her sword, narrowly saving herself from getting impaled.

Clang!

Skidding back, Amelia materialized several magic swords behind her. The swords loomed and floated around her.

Extending her hand forward, a pistol appeared in her hand.

The pack of wolves sprinted and encircled her.

—Awoooo!

They all howled in unison, and ice spikes shot up from all directions. Closing her eyes, Amelia focused on the magic energy around her.

Half a second passed.

And…

"Now."

In an inch of a second, before the spikes reached her, Amelia leapt up from the ground, elegantly twisting her body.

The floating magic swords followed her, and the spikes met each other, shattering in the process.

Safely landing on the ground, the wolves instantly rushed towards her. Their eyes flickered and glared ominously at Amelia.

They leapt up from the ground, while some ice spikes shot towards her.

Turning around, Amelia pulled the trigger. Magic energy rippled, and the spikes shattered.

Magic swords rained down, dematerializing as soon as it met the wolves. But instantly reappeared and rained down.

However, the impact of the swords weren't enough to even chip their armor, as they were forcefully pushed back.

Feeling her mana gradually drain, Amelia rushed forward. One of the swords disappeared, and another weapon materialized on her left hand.

A rapier.

She had realized that there was a gap in their armor. There, she could see the narrow gap of the ice on their body, and a small strand of fur could be seen.

With such thoughts, Amelia gripped the rapier tightly. Her entire focus was on the tip of the rapier's trajectory.

She was talented with the blade. Even more so than her father.

Trained in all sorts of swordplay, Amelia recalled her experiences with the rapier.

Swoosh—!

On the first try, her calculations were correct. The blade's trajectory instantly cut through the narrow gap of the armor, and the rapier deeply impaled the wolf.

Bang!

The wolf was pushed back by her gun, and Amelia employed the same strategy.

But this time, she increased her pace.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!

A flurry of strikes thrusted through the wolf. The rapier's edge pierced through the other side of the wolf.

Bang!

The wolf was pushed away by the gun, its body limp and lifeless.

Maneuvering in the air, Amelia swiftly headed towards the wolves with graceful movements.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!

[You have slain a Frostwolf!]

[You have slain a Frostwolf!]

.

.

By the end of it, despite the cold, sweat trickled down Amelia's cheek.

"Haa…. H-haaa…"

She took deep heavy breaths as she focused her attention on the goblins, surrounding the earth formed wall around Carl.

Thankfully, the wolves ignored them as they seemed to be safe.

But as she gazed ahead…..

"....!"

The forest had started burning.