The rhythm started to form.

Block. Buff. Counter.

Torren held the line.

Althea pushed him beyond what he should be able to handle.

Selene punished every opening she could see.

Ryn guided it all, his voice steady, sharp, always a step ahead.

"Right side."

"Don’t chase."

"Wait for it."

Every call mattered.

Every move counted.

Arthur fit into it like he always did.

But he wasn’t just following.

He was hunting too.

He watched the wolf closely now, not just its movements but the way it chose them.

The wolf started avoiding him.. not completely.

But enough to notice.

Whenever he stepped in, it shifted away faster, like it didn’t want to take his hits directly anymore.

"...You feel that?" Arthur said.

Ryn didn’t look at him. "Yeah."

"It’s avoiding me."

"Good," Ryn replied. " you’re definitely hurting it."

Arthur grinned slightly. "And I’ll keep doing just that."

But it wasn’t getting easier.

The wolf changed.

The longer the fight went on, the more the tainted mana gathered around it.

Arthur felt it first.

Then Nox.

"It’s pulling more again," she said.

The air around the wolf thickened, dark and heavy. Its wounds... slowed.

Some even closed.

Not fully.. but enough to matter.

"Of course it heals," Torren muttered.

"Stay focused!" Ryn snapped.

The wolf moved again.

Faster.

Not by a huge margin, but enough to throw them off.

It slipped through Torren’s guard this time, its claw grazing his side before he could fully turn.

"Ghk..!"

"Torren!" Althea’s voice cracked as her mana surged again, reinforcing him before the follow-up could land.

Arthur stepped in, cutting the wolf off before it could press further.

The blade struck.

But..

Less.

The fur stopped more of it now.

"...It’s getting tougher," Arthur said.

"No choice," Ryn replied. "We wear it down anyway."

They all knew this pattern.

Bosses like this burned fast.

The more they pushed themselves with tainted mana, the stronger they got.

But only for a while.

After that.. they crashed.

"We just outlast it," Selene said, firing another arrow.

"Yeah," Torren added, breathing rough. "Simple plan."

"Not easy though," Althea murmured.

Her hands were shaking slightly now, but she didn’t stop.

Another buff.

Another layer.

Arthur glanced back briefly.

"You good?"

"I will be," she said. "Just end this before I drop."

"Working on it."

The wolf came again.

They held.

Again.

And again.

But something felt off.

Arthur noticed it first.

Not in the attacks.

In the pauses.

There were moments.. small ones.. where the wolf didn’t press.

Where it could have.

Where it should have.

But it didn’t.

It pulled back instead.

Watched and waited.

"...Ryn," Arthur said quietly.

"I see it."

The wolf stood at a distance again, breathing steady despite the fight.

Its eyes flickered past them.

Not just at them.

Past.

Toward the guardian.

A faint sound came again.

The cub.

Weak.

Hurting.

The wolf growled.

Low.

Different from before.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

"...It’s reacting to that."

Ryn didn’t answer immediately.

Because he saw it too.

Every time the cub made a sound..

The wolf changed.

Just a little.

It didn’t lose control completely.

Didn’t go wild like most corrupted beasts.

It held on.. although barely.

And then the guardian pressed harder.

For fun.

The cub twitched and a weak sound followed.

And the wolf..

Roared.

It charged this time, faster than before.

More aggressive.

Less controlled.

Torren braced.

"Here it comes!"

The clash was heavier this time.

Harder.

Torren dropped to one knee from the force.

"Too much...!"

Althea pushed everything she had into him.

"Hold!"

He did.

Barely.

Arthur and Ryn moved together, striking from both sides again.

Selene’s arrow followed.

They drove it back.

But not cleanly.

Not easily.

The wolf retreated again, breathing heavier now.

The guardian laughed.

Loud.

Annoying.

"Hoho... what’s this? Still playing?"

Its grip tightened around the cub again.

The small body jerked.

Another weak sound.

"End them already," it said, voice twisted with amusement. "Or do you need more motivation?"

The wolf froze.

For a second.

Just one.

Arthur saw it.

The hesitation.

The resistance.

Then the mana surged again.

Harder than before.

The wolf’s body tensed, its form darkening further as more of that tainted energy forced its way in.

Arthur’s grip tightened on his dagger.

"...What are you doing..."

It didn’t make sense.

It kept pulling in more power.

Getting stronger.

But it wasn’t using it to finish them.

It wasn’t fighting like something that had lost itself.

It was holding back.

For something.

Arthur exhaled slowly, eyes locked on it.

"...You’re still there, aren’t you?"

The wolf didn’t respond.

But it didn’t deny it either.

It lowered its body again.

Ready to move.

And this time..

Arthur stepped forward first.

"Ryn," he said, calm now.

"Yeah?"

"...Next time it comes out, don’t hold iyback."

Ryn glanced at him.

Saw the look in his eyes.

And nodded.

"Got it."

The wolf came in again.

Fast.

Too fast to follow with the eye alone.

Arthur saw the line of attack forming, felt it in that small shift before it appeared...

Then it stopped.

Not slowed.

Stopped.

The wolf snapped its jaws mid-motion and pulled away, claws digging into the ground as it forced itself back instead of completing the strike.

Arthur didn’t chase.

"Hold," he said.

Ryn glanced at him, just for a second.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

There was something in Arthur’s voice that made him listen.

"Everyone, don’t move," Ryn added.

Torren frowned. "Now?"

"Now," Arthur said.

It felt wrong.

Everything in them said to keep pressure on it, not give it space.

But they listened.

The wolf stood there for a second, breathing heavy, its body tense like it was fighting itself.

Then it turned.

Not toward them.

Toward the guardian.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

"...So that’s it."

Even knowing..

Seeing it happen still hit different.

The ritual guardian was still laughing, still toying with the cub in its grip like nothing had changed.

Distracted.. and just enough as the wolf vanished.

A/N:

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