A new morning was dawning, and the sun began to peek its first rays over the horizon. The birds sang cheerful melodies, filling the air with their music. The golden light filtered through the leaves of the trees, creating dancing shadows on the ground.

  Inside a room in the palace, the sunlight illuminated the figure of Mei, who was peacefully resting in her bed. Her purple hair, short to the neck, was a bit messy, spreading over the pillow. Her breathing was slow and regular, indicating a deep and peaceful sleep.

  On a small piece of furniture next to Mei, was Clara; she slept in a tiny bed specially made for her. She glowed slightly with the light that slipped through the window, reflecting small flashes of color. Clara moved from time to time, emitting a soft hum as she dreamed.

  Suddenly, Mei murmured softly, with a sleepy and sweet voice: "Maybe... I'm too old for you" A moment of silence followed her words, broken only by the birdsong.

  Suddenly, an alarm sounded, filling the room with its sharp ringing. Mei opened her eyes suddenly, blinking as she stretched. Clara, also awakened by the noise, began to fly and got close to Mei.

  "Good morning, Clara, did you sleep well?" While Mei stretched, Clara responded by gently rubbing against her cheek. "We must get ready, today might be the day" Mei got out of bed and went straight to take a shower. She put on her pink leather jacket over her black high-neck shirt, her pink boots, and black pants. She placed her earrings and a necklace. Finally, she took her pink scimitar and left her room with Clara flying on her shoulder.

  Then, in another room, she stood in the entrance... squinting, unsurprised, at the sight of Mern still asleep. "Mern, wake up!" She walked up and shook him a little with no response; then she pulled his ear.

  "Ow... two more hours..." Mern, still disoriented from sleep, turned over, completely ignoring Mei.

  She looked at him annoyed and raised her hand a little, and created several golden butterflies. Then she snapped her fingers and all of them exploded at once, causing Mern to fall out of bed in fright. "Aah! Are we under attack?!" Mern took the sheet off his face and rubbed his eyes.

  "Good, now get ready" Mei sat on a chair near the door and crossed her legs.

  After a few minutes, both were walking down a hallway, although Mern still looked a bit sleepy and had his coat on his left shoulder. "I wanted to sleep more because I didn’t sleep well yesterday... 'yawn'... I’m sorry".

  "It’s okay, and don’t worry, eight hours are enough for you," said Mei understandingly. "I have to talk to Louis... I hope he's ready for this".

  Mern put on his coat and stretched his arms. "Remember he has a trauma, he’ll never agree to kill. Also, the vow he made as a Keeper is not to kill his enemies. It’s better if he just stops the lava and that’s it".

  "You’re right... 'sigh'... I still need to talk to him, but he’s not answering the calls, I’ll go to his room" Mei began to walk faster and Mern followed her.

  They both reached Louis’s room, but he wasn’t there. "He’s not here..." Mei opened the door with the number 5. "Neither is Jonathan... that only means one thing" Mei took her communicator from her jacket and started dialing.

  "They’re in the west, right? With the project," Mern mentioned as he closed both doors.

  "Jonathan! Is Louis with you?... When you come back, tell him to look for me, I want to talk to him about something very important... Okay, thank you" Mei ended the call and put the communicator away. "Well, do you want to go get breakfast?".

  "Of course" Mern extended his hand and waited for Mei’s response.

  She rolled her eyes with a smile and gave him her hand. "Why do you like so much that we go hand in hand?".

  "I like it, so everyone can see our relationship," Mern replied as they walked hand in hand.

  "But everyone already knows we’re a couple..." said Mei, a little confused.

  "I know, but I like it".

  In the western zone, in an underground warehouse, were Louis and Professor Maxwell; they were walking down a narrow hallway.

  "Did something happen, Professor?" asked Louis as he walked with the professor down the hallway.

  "Mei says she wants to talk to you, when we finish here you’ll go find her," replied the professor, putting away the communicator.

  Finally, they had arrived at the place where the professor worked on his project. The place was very spacious and had metal stairs to go down, where the professor and Louis were coming from. "Sure, I’ll do it... No way!" Louis ran with excitement. In the place, the sounds of welding, hammering, and machines cutting metal could be heard. "This is your project?!" The project was nothing more than a giant robot; it had the control chamber in its chest. Its legs had three metallic toes, two in front and one in the back, where the ankle should be, but not at all like a human's. The arm that was already connected was long and the hands also had three fingers, but these did resemble human fingers. The head was square and had several holes on the back.

  The professor was surprised to see Nila’s group working so early on the robot. "Yes, I’ve worked a lot on it... Nila! What’s going on here? Didn’t you sleep?".

  "Of course we did! We slept here, to start early and finish as soon as possible," answered Nila with lots of energy and excitement from down below. She was working on a cylindrical piece on a metal table that had several tools in metal boxes.

  "Ha, ha, ha, ha... I like your style, but remember that without me you won’t be able to assemble it correctly" The fingers of the professor’s mechanical arm turned into various tools.

  "Of course, sir!" She noticed Louis’s presence. "Paladin Louis! A pleasure to see you again".

  "The pleasure is mine!" Louis came down the stairs with the professor to the work area.

  Arriving with Nila, the professor rolled up the sleeve of his left arm. "Let me handle this and prepare the core" Nila, with nothing more to say, went to a room where there was a large battery connected to some cables to direct energy to a silver sphere with yellow lines.

  "This is amazing! And... who will pilot the robot?!" asked Louis as the professor worked on the piece that was on the table.

  The professor stayed silent for a moment and answered the question. "I... I will pilot it".

  "What...? But... with something so big you’ll totally be the enemy’s target" Louis's excitement turned into concern and fear.

  "That’s the idea... the robot will have its own shields to avoid attacks, don’t think I didn’t think of everything" The professor spoke without taking his eyes off the piece he was working on.

  "But...".

  The professor turned for a moment, noticing the expression of fear and anxiety invading Louis. "Ha! Are you worried about me? I’ll be fine, besides I’m the only one who can pilot it. Worry about the others, I’ve already lived my life".

  "I still worry, you... are very important to me," said Louis, looking at the ground. His words were sincere, and the fear in them was evident.

  The professor turned for a moment and then continued working on the piece. "Ha, ha, ha... you get attached too quickly. Avoid that, people die...".

  "You were the first person who accepted me after so many years. You gave me a place to sleep... helped me change, to improve... to learn things I’d never understand... Also... it sounds like you know you’re going to die" Every moment, memory with Professor Maxwell, passed through Louis’s mind... The fear and concern were completely in him.

  The professor turned around and approached him, placing both hands on Louis's shoulders. "Calm down... I won’t die. I’d like to teach you more things and also create new machines and objects that can help people".

  "That sounds good," suggested Louis with a small smile.

  The professor went back to working on the piece. "I want to ask you something... Do you hate your magic?".

  Louis stayed thoughtful for a few seconds until he found the right answer. "I never thought something like that... the moment I heard the question, only one thing came to me... It’s a curse, that will keep hurting me forever".

  "Uhh, I see... Did you know that one of the reasons I let you stay was because of your magic?" This surprised Louis. "When you woke up two days after fighting Yeynos, I assure you that if you didn’t have lava magic, I would’ve let you go" Louis had not a word to say. His head mainly told him that his father died because of that magic; he could see it in no other way but a curse. "It mattered a lot that you had lava magic, so... don’t think your magic is a curse. Use it the right way and it will keep giving you more good things. What happened years ago wasn’t your fault, back then magical catastrophes hadn’t been discovered. You got such power for a reason; after all this, continue on to discover what that reason is. Also, another tip... if you want to control it better, become one with it, have fun using it, but with caution".

  Louis's eyes lit up and opened slightly along with his mouth... as if he had experienced a revelation he had never had, not even in his six years of training with Rei. "I'm going... to go for a walk".

  "Sure, but be careful not to touch!" she exclaimed while lifting the piece to see if it was even on both sides.

  From that large and spacious place... we headed to another not far away... a nearby forest close to Ystir.

  *Black Forest - Werewolf Camp*

  In the werewolf camp... each one of them was gathered, there was a large crowd of about 360 werewolves, both males and females, all watching Gilbred, who had two large boxes on his left and right; behind these were three werewolves with already purple fur, but their eyes were not purple. Separated from them was Yeynos, who was lying against a tree, attentive to what would be said.

  "20 years for you... 230 for me... 230 years full of experiences and blows that only increased my conviction... so that werewolves like us could return to the top. Many didn't want to wait and went headfirst... delaying our plans, but it was very beneficial in part, we were able to obtain more weaponry, more strength, more men and now... more power!" Gilbred opened the two boxes and revealed a dose of the Plumorium serum. "With this, you will become even stronger and we will be able to attack Ystir once and for all!" Gilbred lifted both boxes and placed them in front of his people. Each of them began to approach to take a dose.

  "Today, we face a challenge that will define our future. For too long, we have been marginalized and hunted, treated like monsters instead of the powerful warriors we are. But that changes today. We are not just werewolves. We are the embodiment of fury and freedom, we are untamable spirits," as he spoke, each werewolf was injecting themselves with the Plumorium, which turned any fur purple. It didn’t matter if it was brown, black, dark brown, or dark green, the transformation could not be stopped.

  "Today, we break those barriers. Today, we show the world that they cannot chain us. We will infiltrate, overcome their defenses, and take the kingdom! Anyone who tries to stop us will pay dearly, even the traitors of our own race, who think they're better because they have two colors in their fur" Their eyes did not change color, but each of them gained more muscle, those who seemed elderly became youthful again, and the young became taller.

  "We are not here just for conquest; we are here for our survival, for our dignity. We fight not only for ourselves, but for our children and for the legacy of our species" Each of the werewolves had injected the Plumorium serum, they were ready for war.

  "Wolves, rise up! Let us advance with the fury of the full moon and claim victory!" Gilbred ended his speech with an intense and fierce look, his eyes shining with determination.

  The werewolves roared in unison as if a spark had ignited a fire. Their deep and powerful voices resounded, full of fervor and resolve.

  "For the Herd!" several shouted, their eyes shining with the same intensity as Gilbred’s.

  "For our future!" added others, raising their weapons to the sky.

  "TO BATTLE!" exclaimed one of the leaders, and his call was followed by a chorus of howls that echoed through the forest, sealing their oath of loyalty and determination.

  With each word and shout, the werewolf pack filled with unbreakable energy, ready to face the challenge that was closer than ever. Each werewolf took up their weapons, armament, and carried some items in wooden carts.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  "We’ll see what you’re capable of," thought Yeynos, approaching Gilbred.

  Before Yeynos was at the front, Gilbred stored the dose he had shown inside his coat. "We must get there before them... How fast are you?" asked Gilbred as the werewolves split into three groups.

  "Fast enough to leave them behind," replied Yeynos, adjusting his katana that was at his waist.

  "Hah, I want to see that. Let’s go!" Gilbred began to run on all fours along with the three werewolves who were with him, heading toward Ystir at great speed. Yeynos was not left behind, managing to match their speed as he ran and jumped through the trees.

  *Kingdom of Ystir - Royal Palace*

  In an armored training room were Mei and Mern, looking through a magical glass window. Several shots were heard, magic of different types and two people who were performing remarkably.

  "Come on, push yourselves more! If you want to fight in this war so badly, you’ll have to show me you can handle this," Mei watched Yina and Jayden training in a simulation chamber that created a realistic war atmosphere.

  "They’re doing well, despite having gone quite some time without practice," Mern said while playing with his magic, making a Gyverna sphere take several shapes like a square, triangle, and rectangle. "Will you let them?".

  "Obviously not, they’re only 16," Mei replied instantly, crossing her arms. "I let them run the simulation to get the idea out of their heads, but even so, I won’t allow it".

  "Sure... What would you tell the parents if something happened to them?" Mern looked sad, only memories came to his mind after that question, but those memories were interrupted by the kingdom’s alarm.

  Instantly, a kind of static ran through Mei and Mern’s bodies. "Get out now, head to your rooms!" Mei shouted. She ran off with Mern, leaving Jayden and Yina behind.

  "Din, how many do you see?!" Mei ran at full speed with Mern through the hallways, also with Clara on her shoulder, as she spoke through a communicator.

  "More or less... about 100 people in the east, west, and south, from the north no one’s coming... No way! Mei, none of them are human!" exclaimed Din from the kingdom’s watchtower. He was seated while looking through binoculars that were connected to several golden tubes. He wore engineer clothes, with metallic shoulder pads and wristbands. His hair was brown, his eyes black, and he wore engineering goggles over a red bandana on his forehead.

  "What?! Everyone to their positions! Din, what do you mean by that?" Mei continued moving and alerting everyone. Mern veered off and took another route, leaving Mei alone as he headed outside.

  Din kept looking through the binoculars for more information. "They’re all werewolves! And their fur is purple! All of them have purple fur!".

  "Purple fur... Don’t you see Blackyn? Yeynos? Zthur?" Mei had arrived at a room where several knights were preparing to head into battle.

  "Not at all, I don’t recognize any of them, and I never saw Zthur," he replied, standing from the chair and grabbing a magical megaphone.

  "Alright, then proceed with the plan," Mei ended the call. "What is this? Is it a trap?... Zthur..." Mei took a bluish orb and began grabbing equipment from a wall filled with them.

  "It’s time to begin! Everyone, prepare the plasma cannons and electric walls!" Din shouted through a magical megaphone.

  Several silver plasma cannons emerged consecutively from the walls, pointing at the werewolves and beginning to charge energy. Several electric walls rose from the ground in every direction from which the enemy was coming. In addition, several knights began installing more weapons and infirmary posts behind the electric walls by pouring a bit of water into tiny buckets.

  "Tanks, to the front!" shouted the werewolves who commanded each group approaching the kingdom. They could be identified by the silver bracelet on their shoulders.

  Many werewolves with silver armor that shone like rainbows stood at the front of all their companions, to receive the cannon fire.

  "Damn, I think I regret choosing this post," said one of the werewolves in armor. His nerves were evident, he trembled and sweated over what was about to happen.

  "Don’t be afraid, nothing will happen to you..." said one of his companions, trying to calm him.

  "Ready! What the heck?!" Din was surprised to see the men advancing at the front through the binoculars. "Could it be...? No... impossible. Aim at the ones in the back! And... FIRE!".

  "Go on, activate your armors!" said the wolf leaders, while the others prepared all their weapons.

  The plasma shots flew at full speed like a great beam of white and bluish light. As they were about to hit the armors, they seemed to create a rather large shield that absorbed the plasma rays without any trouble. There were four werewolves with silver armor in each group from the east, south, and west.

  "No...! they have Tletatic armors! Keep firing so they don’t advance!" Din took his communicator instantly. "Mei! The wolves have Tletatic armors, four in each direction, except north. These armors were designed to counter any type of energy" Din began searching for a book on an old shelf.

  "How is that possible!? Where did they get those!?" Mei was in front of several knights, while Xitlari was sitting on the floor, gathering estritual magic. Some knights looked at Xitlari perplexed, not knowing what she was doing. Mei wore a silver armor, but her high-neck shirt was visible underneath the armor.

  "I have no idea... Those armors were supposedly completely destroyed by Glaryon in the Ancient Age," Din replied while flipping through a book with several notes. "We must avoid using pure or energy-based magic".

  "Understood. Everyone! Get ready and avoid using pure or energy magic; those wearing silver armor, use elemental weapons. When we reach the gates, use support magic. Now, forward!" All the knights and war machines began advancing westward, perfectly prepared for battle. "I’ll inform the others through the communicator".

  *Kingdom of Ystir - Eastern Zone*

  A large group of knights, with their war machines, were advancing rapidly toward the east; at the head were Ririam, Ann, and Kassie. Ririam checked the communicator while continuing forward.

  "Did something happen?" asked Ann, seeing him so focused on the communicator.

  "Apparently, the enemy has an ancient armor that is very effective against pure and energy magic" Ririam put away the communicator. "When we reach the gates, we’ll inform everyone about this".

  "Alright, as you say" Ann wore a yellow coat with several stars on the back, her high-neck shirt, pink pants, and yellow boots. Her hair was in a braid and a sword hung at her waist. Kassie, for her part, dressed the same as in the mission to recover the gold stolen by Jens. She looked a bit nervous, with a worried expression.

  *Kingdom of Ystir - Western Gate*

  In the west, all the knights and war machines were arriving at the western gate, already preparing to go out to battle. Reck checked his communicator upon hearing it beep twice.

  "Knights! Prepare to defend your kingdom. Do not use pure or energy magic on the enemies with silver armor; try to use elemental magic, status magic, or fight them in close combat. We won’t let them destroy everything we’ve achieved and we won’t let a single one through!" Reck raised his hand to the sky as he spoke his last sentence, with firmness, determination, and a look that inspired courage in his troops.

  "Are you ready, sister?" asked Caspian, as he took his tiger form. He wielded his war hammer, and his clothes adapted perfectly to his new form, although he wore no shoes. His height increased from 174 cm to 200 cm.

  "Of course. Do you think I’m afraid?" replied Blanca, then transformed. Her height increased from 171 cm to 192 cm. She wore silver bracers and a silver armor that adapted to her new form without problems. Her hair was tied in a bun and she also wore no shoes. She had a belt with several pouches and her tail wrapped around her waist.

  "Right, I almost forgot..." Caspian made his tail wrap around his waist and his voice also became deeper.

  With a surprised gasp, Blanca turned around shyly. "Louis! What are you doing here!?" Louis was coming out of a hole, after tossing aside a metal cover that sealed it.

  Caspian raised an eyebrow at his sister’s reaction and then looked at Louis. "You should be at the center of the kingdom!" Blanca ran to hide behind a house.

  Reck approached upon hearing the commotion. "Where did you come from?" he said, slightly surprised and with a slight smile on his face, while holding his sword. He wore his usual armor, with golden pauldrons and metallic boots.

  "I was with Professor Maxwell, sir, and this was the fastest way to reach my position," Louis replied seriously and firmly.

  "Okay, run to the center of the kingdom and wait for the signal." Before Louis left, Reck placed his right hand on Louis’s shoulder and gave him a confident smile. "We’re counting on you!".

  "Thank you, sir!" Louis began running toward the center of the kingdom. "I won’t let you down!".

  Blanca peeked out slowly. "Is he gone?".

  Caspian looked at her with narrowed eyes for a few seconds. "Yes, he’s gone...".

  *Northwest Zone - Underground*

  Beneath the kingdom, Yeynos, Gilbred, and three werewolves were walking through a tunnel. Gilbred was in the lead; he held a kind of small drill in his hands that created a silver sphere around them, allowing them to move forward without problems.

  "Where do you get these gadgets? I’ve never heard of any of them," asked Yeynos, walking calmly behind them.

  "Many years collecting rare and ancient objects. I planned to use several of them, but the materials to make them ceased to exist. I managed to create only one. In the Ancient Age, they were used to avoid detection by earth magic users or other systems," Gilbred replied, focused on continuing forward and keeping the drill correctly positioned.

  "You really have a lot of Ancient Age stuff..." added Yeynos.

  Finally, Gilbred raised the drill and they all came out of the ground without issue.

  "Perfect, now..." Gilbred and his wolf companions put on masks that made them look like elderly humans. "How do we look?".

  Yeynos turned his head toward them. "Is this some kind of joke?" he exclaimed calmly, then touched the palm of his hand, which had a black symbol emitting a light mist.

  Both eyebrows lifted for a millisecond, as if something clicked in his mind. "Ah, right... Sorry, I forgot you’re blind".

  "It looks good, sir," commented one of the werewolves.

  "Alright, here we split up. Go cause a ruckus in the center of the kingdom and I’ll go look for my son at the palace," said Yeynos, ready for whatever might happen.

  "Wait! Go with Yeynos and follow all his orders." Gilbred grabbed one of his companions by the shoulder and gave him a gentle push.

  "Understood!" replied the wolf without complaint.

  Gilbred headed with his companions toward the center of the kingdom. Yeynos and the other werewolf went toward the palace at high speed, but avoiding making much noise.

  "I hope there aren’t many guards at the palace." The moment he said this, a loud noise was heard coming from the direction of the palace.

  *Kingdom of Ystir - Outside the Palace*

  Outside the palace, Mern was using a large amount of magic, creating a golden Gyverna shield that covered the entire palace.

  "I have to make it as strong as possible, but without running out of magic," Mern thought, struggling to create a very pure golden Gyverna.

  "Well done. It must be tiring to create such a pure barrier. For me, this is a piece of cake" Rays extended his hands and several vines came out of them, covering the entire Gyverna shield.

  Mern pulled out his communicator. "The palace is secured, all knights are in position and Jayden and Yina didn’t go outside".

  "Well done. I’ll inform you if anything happens," said Mei through the communicator.

  "Understood!" Mern took on an expression full of worry and fear. "Mei... Take care, please... I love you".

  "I’ll be fine... I love you too..." Mei ended the call and contacted Din again. "It’s time. Open the gates and activate the shield!".

  "Understood. Cease fire!" shouted Din through the magic megaphone, then opened the kingdom’s gates by pressing a button on a panel in the watchtower.

  The eastern, western, and southern gates opened and all the knights, war machines, and paladins advanced and took their positions.

  While they continued positioning, Mei saw the werewolves ready for battle. "Don’t you see anything suspicious, Din? The lava attack maybe?".

  "Not at all, everything looks fine... Strangely fine," replied Din, carefully observing through binoculars.

  Mei looked worried and thoughtful, then saw Xitlari warming up. She had armor like Reck’s covering her torso, and also wore white gloves on her four hands; the rest was her usual clothing. "Xitlari! Stay alert, if anything happens... Attack with your magic without hesitation".

  "Of course!" Xitlari nodded with a blue aura radiating from her four arms.

  "Let’s hope this won’t be your last day on earth," commented the spiritual owl calmly on Xitlari’s shoulder.

  She looked at it for a second and then turned her gaze back to the battlefield. "Me too".

  Din pressed another button and a large purple shield began to cover the entire kingdom, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

  The battle broke out in broad daylight.

  The war machines advanced, firing projectiles with elemental magic aimed at subduing the werewolves and any progress. In response, the werewolves began digging large holes to avoid the attacks; others threw rectangular red objects. Upon hitting the ground, several shields were created that effortlessly stopped the war machine's attacks. Additionally, the war machines appeared damaged with each attack that hit the shields.

  "Cease fire!" Mei shouted, and all the war machines stopped their attacks. "Din, what's going on now?".

  "Uh, let's see... Jhotlyn shields, they have great resistance, and any damage received is returned by 30% to the object or person causing the damage... The best way to destroy them is to strike with enough force, and it won't take any damage when destroyed," Din replied while flipping through his book.

  "Understood, inform the others... Do they want me to get closer to catch me off guard?" Mei analyzed the situation cautiously... Until an idea crossed her mind. "Din, the shields wear out, right?".

  "After a while, they stop working if they receive several attacks," Din continued looking for more books on the shelf; they were quite dusty.

  "Inform everyone to use ten war machines to attack consecutively to wear out their shields, it doesn't matter if the machines are destroyed," Mei directed the war machine controllers behind the electric walls. "Ten war machines will fire consecutively, regardless of whether they are destroyed!".

  "Understood!" the controllers replied. The ten war machines moved in front of the others and began attacking the Jhotlyn shields. With each shot, the war machines took significant damage, bending metal, receiving dents, and exploding their wheels.

  *Kingdom of Ystir - Kingdom Center - Minutes Earlier*

  "We're here... So now we just need to make some noise... Huh? What the hell!" Gilbred was surprised to see the large shield covering the entire kingdom. "Damn show-offs".

  "Hey! What are you doing here?!" Seeing their appearance, Louis approached without caution. "You should be in the palace! Got lost? I'll take you there quickly," he passed by them. "I think I can carry all of you".

  "Look, look... It's our lucky day, victory is definitely ours," Gilbred whispered while grinning sadistically with his decrepit, sweet face.

  Louis' communicator rang, and he answered it quickly. "Kassie?..." Instantly, Gilbred grabbed the communicator and punched Louis, making him stagger.

  "Why did you do that?!" Gilbred destroyed the communicator and looked at Louis with a sinister smile.

  "I thought all the useless humans would be at home... I was in the mood for a massacre, but finding you here is much better for me," Gilbred and his companions removed their masks, revealing their true form.

  Louis' eyes and mouth opened in shock at the revelation. "How?... How did they get in?" Louis thought.

  "It was exactly you I wanted to meet after returning the favor to him..." Gilbred made hand signals for his companions not to interfere. "If I defeat you, victory is totally ours..." Louis reached for his katana on his waist. "Do you remember me? I'm the werewolf you humiliated during the Eastern harvest".

  "You... How did you survive that fall?... Judging by your appearance, that aura must have been the reason. Ha! You wasted an opportunity, for this? Do you think a nerosma is worth it?" Louis started to distance himself slightly, circling Gilbred.

  "Nerosma?... Oh, right, you think Zthur is attacking right now... So... Is this war unexpected?" Gilbred also began circling Louis, while his companions kept their distance.

  "You're not with him? Then it will be much easier for us to defeat you," Louis stopped and stood firm, ready for the fight.

  Gilbred frowned, visibly annoyed by the comment, and let out a sneer. "You! Don't let anyone get close, I don't want anyone interrupting this," the two werewolves climbed to the top of a building to keep watch. "Defeating you will give us victory."

  "Me? Do you think I'm the most dangerous because of my magic?... Any of the other paladins is stronger than me, but... You won't get past me!" Louis slightly drew his katana, and a flame erupted from the blade. He raised his fist and looked at Gilbred with a serious expression, ready for anything.

  Gilbred took out the plumorium dose he'd been saving and injected it into his arm, then crushed it and threw it on the ground. "It's just for precaution, I don't want any trouble with your magic."

  The two stared at each other for a few seconds. Then... they charged! With a great force, they collided: claws against katana. At great speed, they kept exchanging blows, causing sparks and the metallic sound of clashes echoing in the place. Then, with a swift movement, Louis slashed Gilbred's chest! He pressed his right hand against the wound, enduring the pain, but the wound instantly closed, surprising Louis.

  Without wasting time, Gilbred kicked Louis in the neck, grabbed the katana, enduring the heat, and landed a punch in his stomach that sent him flying.

  "Without weapons, your strength..." Gilbred threw the katana far, and it stuck in the ground, still glowing red. "Against mine!".

  Gilbred ran on all fours towards Louis, jumped, and extended his right arm to land a powerful attack. Louis dodged with a lateral jump, and Gilbred's strike destroyed part of the ground, lifting debris. Taking advantage of the opening, Louis propelled himself by kneeling and landed a punch in Gilbred's stomach, followed by another one in the jaw that lifted him up. Then, Louis jumped and kicked him down to the ground, further destroying it. Without losing time, upon landing, Louis extended both hands and created a large layer of moderate-temperature lava that fell over Gilbred. Louis solidified the lava, forming a sort of coffin to contain him inside.

  "Boss!" Gilbred's companions rushed to his rescue. Louis saw them approaching, and his hands covered with lava.

  "No!" Gilbred's claws pierced through the lava coffin, and he began emerging from it with several burns that were regenerating. "I told you... not to INTERFERE!" This took Louis by surprise; he couldn't believe someone was withstanding his attack, especially without any burns or injuries.

  "How is he regenerating so quickly? Is it some kind of magic? I know werewolves have good regeneration, but not a magical one like mine," Louis thought, taking a few steps back to buy himself time to think. "He won't let me escape to warn Mern, but I'm sure he already noticed the huge ruckus we made here" Louis glanced at his katana several meters away. "I shouldn't have dropped it, but he gave me a good hit... I need to get it back".

  Gilbred slammed the ground with fury, destroying it and raising debris. "Magic... Magic is trash... Face me without it!".

  "Why would I do that? It's stupidity!" After hearing the response, Gilbred gestured for the wolves to move away. "Are you frustrated because you can't beat me with your new form? When you're going for a rematch, you can't just think that only you improved".

  "You... damn! Do you think you can teach me anything? You're just a child!" Gilbred shouted angrily, leaping at Louis and trying to slash him with his claws. Louis dodged agilely while Gilbred's claws left deep marks on the ground. "You're not even half my age! What do you know?!" Gilbred attacked with both claws straight for Louis' face, but Louis stopped them, grabbing his forearms.

  They struggled, and it seemed Gilbred was winning... until Louis started burning his arms with his magic. Gilbred screamed in agony, and in a final effort, he kicked Louis in the stomach, forcing him to let go. His arms began regenerating, but with scars.

  "He regenerated that too... What the hell is going on here? Also, I feel like he's getting stronger," Louis thought, recovering from the kick.

  "Damn... If this keeps going, I'll have to use the Clasty... Why is he so calm and focused? The curse was supposed to destroy his mind... Did he get rid of it? If so, I'll have to put it back on him, and quickly," Gilbred thought, and then made his claws grow bigger and darker. "I can't risk losing this chance." Gilbred noticed his two companions were no longer watching the fight. "Yes, I have little time left".

  Gilbred ran towards Louis and began launching several wild and reckless attacks, but Louis had no problem dodging them.

  "You don't fight properly, you just aim for a hit and that's it!" Louis managed to land a right hook, but Gilbred became even more enraged.

  "I'm so fed up with you!" With a quick lunge, Gilbred grabbed Louis by the neck and slammed him into the ground, creating a hole in the earth. Then, with his other hand, he scratched Louis' entire face, making him groan in pain. Without thinking, Louis hurled lava at Gilbred's face, and he released him, writhing on the ground, trying to remove it with his hands.

  Louis rolled away from the ground to distance himself, and seeing how Gilbred was, a chill and fear ran through his body. "No..." Louis extended his right arm and solidified the lava completely, while the scratch on his face disappeared. Gilbred tore the rock off his face, and this... was raw flesh, severely burned, but quickly his face regenerated, and even his fur started growing back, including on his arms. "You... What did you do to have that kind of regeneration?" he said, surprised by the scene as he stood up.

  "Surprised? You can do it too... with your garbage magic! I've had enough..." Gilbred took an object from his coat; the coat was quite burned from Louis' attack. "I thought I wouldn't need to use this object, but time is running out," he lifted the object, and it generated a very high-pitched sound wave.

  Louis covered his arms with lava, but the lava disappeared instantly. "What? How is that possible?" Louis tried again to use his magic, but nothing came from his hands.

  Gilbred started smiling and put the object back into his coat. "It's an Ancient Age object, and it allows me to take your magic away for a few minutes. This time will be different... I'll defeat you and make the world fear my race again! Ha, ha, ha, ha, of course... It's just you left..." Gilbred extended both arms, showing his black claws, and smiled... His fangs were enormous, and his gaze was terrifying.

  End of the chapter