Chapter 30: The Silver Aura

Kaien and Yun Yun stood together in front of the Shadowrunner.

Both were trembling.

Both were exhausted.

But this time, neither of them ran.

The wolf growled deeply.

Black saliva dripped from its mouth onto the forest floor.

Kaien tightened his grip on his sword.

Then he glanced toward Yun Yun.

“Can you still move?”

Yun Yun breathed heavily.

Blood slowly ran down her forehead.

Even so, she gave a small nod.

“Yeah...”

She forced a faint smile.

“I can still move.”

The Shadowrunner suddenly lunged.

Yun Yun rushed toward it.

Just as before, she feinted a direct attack.

The wolf immediately snapped at her.

Yun Yun darted to the right.

But this time...

the creature had already figured out her trick.

The Shadowrunner twisted its head in midair.

Straight toward Yun Yun.

Its jaws opened.

Its fangs lunged toward her.

At that exact moment...

Kaien burst forward from behind Yun Yun.

He had deliberately stayed hidden behind her movement.

His sword came down from above.

WHOOSH.

The Shadowrunner recoiled and barely avoided the strike.

Kaien landed heavily on the ground.

His hands were still trembling.

But his gaze remained focused.

Yun Yun gave him a brief smile.

“That was new.”

Kaien breathed heavily.

“I’m trying.”

Meanwhile, Rowan continued fighting the pack.

His sword tore through black bodies again and again.

SLASH.

STRIKE.

CLANG.

Another Shadowrunner collapsed to the ground.

Yet Rowan's attention kept shifting through the forest.

Something was wrong.

There were too many wolves.

They were moving with too much chaos.

And most importantly...

someone was missing.

Rowan's eyes narrowed.

“Where are you...?”

The Alpha.

He couldn't see it anywhere.

Meanwhile, Kaien and Yun Yun continued keeping the lone Shadowrunner occupied.

Kaien attacked from the front.

Several quick strikes forced the wolf backward.

Yet the creature moved with surprising speed, avoiding each attack with sharp movements.

Yun Yun immediately took advantage of every opening.

She never attacked directly.

Instead, she kicked at its legs, kicked up dirt, and constantly forced the wolf to keep moving.

The Shadowrunner grew increasingly aggressive.

More furious with every exchange.

Then Kaien made a mistake.

His foot caught on a root.

He lost his balance and fell forward.

The Shadowrunner immediately lunged.

Straight for Kaien's throat.

Rowan's eyes widened.

WHOOSH.

Without hesitation, he hurled his shield across the forest.

CRASH.

It struck the wolf directly in the head.

The impact sent the creature flying sideways.

Before the Shadowrunner could recover...

Rowan was already there.

SLASH.

One clean strike severed its head.

Black blood splattered across the ground.

Kaien breathed heavily.

Rowan pulled his sword back.

“Don't look down while you're fighting!”

Kaien immediately nodded.

“U-Understood!”

At the same moment, the last remaining Shadowrunner lunged at Rowan.

This time, Rowan was ready.

He absorbed the attack with a simple turn of his body.

A faint silver aura suddenly formed around his blade.

SHWIIIIING.

One single strike.

The final wolf was cleanly split in two.

The forest fell quiet.

Only heavy breathing remained.

Kaien stared at Rowan's sword in surprise.

Even Yun Yun looked momentarily speechless.

Before anyone could say a word, a bush behind Lyra suddenly moved.

CRACK.

Rowan's eyes widened.

“LYRA!”

A much larger Shadowrunner burst from the bushes.

The Alpha.

Its body was nearly twice the size of the others.

Its eyes glowed a deep yellow.

Dark shadows writhed beneath its fur.

Its jaws lunged straight toward Lyra.

But Lyra...

didn't move.

Her entire body had frozen.

Kaien and Yun Yun tried to get back on their feet.

They were too exhausted.

Too slow.

Rowan sprinted toward her.

He didn't think.

He simply moved.

Only a few meters separated the Alpha from Lyra.

Then...

THUD.

Rowan shoved Lyra violently out of the way with his left hand.

She hit the ground hard.

In the next instant...

CRUNCH.

The Alpha's jaws snapped shut.

A horrifying sound echoed through the forest.

For several seconds, nobody understood what had happened.

Then something fell among the leaves.

Blood began dripping onto the forest floor.

Rowan's severed left arm.

Yun Yun's eyes widened.

Kaien froze.

Lyra stared at the ground without moving.

Rowan's severed hand lay beside her.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Lyra began to tremble.

“...R-Rowan...?”

The Alpha growled triumphantly.

Yet Rowan was still standing.

Blood ran down his body.

His breathing was heavy.

Slowly, that familiar silver aura began gathering around his blade again.

This time, it was stronger.

Far stronger.

The air around the sword began to vibrate.

Even the shadows surrounding the wolf seemed to be pushed back.

Rowan's expression had gone completely cold.

“...You shouldn't have.”

He slowly raised his sword.

“You shouldn't have touched the children.”

The Alpha lunged again.

SHRIIIIING.

One single strike tore through the forest.

For a brief moment, everything stopped.

The Alpha's body slowly split apart.

The demon collapsed to the ground.

The forest settled again, leaving only the faint creaking of trees in the wind.

The children stared at Rowan.

Then Lyra began to cry.

Not quietly.

Not with restraint.

She simply broke down.

Tears streamed down her face.

“...Why...?”

Yun Yun was crying too.

Even Kaien could no longer hold back his tears.

Amid the fallen demons, Rowan stood there, breathing heavily.

Blood dripped steadily from his body onto the forest floor.