"Phew, that’s a relief. Thanks, Ash."

Wiping herself down with the towel I handed her, Nameless gratefully offered me a handshake.

"What happened, Nameless? Why were you inside Jormungandr?"

Ignoring the handshake with forced casualness, I asked Nameless.

How on earth do you wind up doing a miraculous rendezvous inside a monster’s belly? What the heck happened at the Imperial Capital?

Whoosh!

Despite my desperate efforts to avoid it, Nameless determinedly took my hand and shook it. Ahhhh! Soap! Bring soap!

"I’ve been fighting off monsters that try to rampage outside the Lake Kingdom."

Nameless began to explain, shaking my hand gratefully up and down. I hastily rummaged through my bag for another towel.

"Of course, my power alone isn’t enough to stop all of them. Some continue to break out and invade the surroundings. Lately, the number of escaping monsters has increased due to their growing numbers."

I see. I meticulously wiped my hands. Any perfume around?

"Anyway, as always, I was trying to stop this horde of monsters."

Nameless looked down at the scales of Jormungandr she was standing on.

"... This time, it was this snake."

"Ah..."

Could it be, so that’s why.

"I’ve never had the experience of facing Jormungandr head-on before... Anyway, I tried to stop it."

"Did you fail and it ended up eating you?"

"No, initially I succeeded. I managed to stop Jormungandr."

...Really? Are you lying?

How did you stop this huge snake on your own? Are you bragging? Right?

"But then, right after... the Wolf King interrupted."

At the unexpected name, my eyes twitched.

The Wolf King? You mean...

"The commander of the Werewolf Legion, that Wolf King ’Lunared’?"

"Exactly. You’re well-informed."

Well, of course. It’s a named monster that appears as a boss in the game.

The Werewolf Legion, a monster squad made up of werewolves, only appears in the boss stages as an elite group of monsters.

’...Could it be that the boss group I have to face in Stage 10 is the Werewolf Legion?’

Nothing happens without reason in this damn game. Everything hints at future developments.

So, after vampires, it’s werewolves now? What a classic sequence.

"I told you before, Ash. Some of the Nightmare Legion commanders are after your life."

"Mm. I remember."

Orlop and Celendion had marked me after I killed them, frustrated they couldn’t devour me.

Nameless continued her explanation impassively.

"The Wolf King is one of those most ardently seeking your life. He has been searching for you within the dungeons..."

I clicked my tongue. So, he was a stalker-fan too.

"...And when he couldn’t encounter you in the dungeon, he orchestrated this. He hid his elite forces within Jormungandr as part of a strategy."

My eyes widened in disbelief.

Wait a minute, does that mean...

"I stopped Jormungandr, and that’s when the Wolf King attacked me. In the meantime, the Wolf King’s elite guard jumped into Jormungandr’s mouth."

"..."

"I couldn’t just stand by and let their scheme unfold. So, I also jumped into the closing mouth of Jormungandr. I spent the next few days fighting those wolves inside its belly."

I sighed in relief.

"So you managed to take care of those wolves?"

"..."

Nameless, who had been silent, unsheathed the worn-out longsword strapped to her back and held it in front of her.

"Ash, it’s awkward for me to say this, but I pride myself on being the strongest in the Lake Kingdom."

I wasn’t sure about her being the strongest, but it was undeniable that Nameless was quite powerful.

"However, once I step out of the Lake Kingdom, my abilities are severely restricted. At this moment, I’m just an ordinary human who can’t cast any magic or miracles."

"And why are you telling me all this?"

"The elite guard of the Wolf King that jumped into Jormungandr’s belly."

Nameless muttered awkwardly.

"I couldn’t finish them off."

"What?"

"Upon returning to the surface, I became too weak... I couldn’t eliminate them all. And they managed to escape Jormungandr’s belly before I did."

Chills ran down my spine.

Wait, hold on. Does that mean—"If you haven’t dealt with them yet—"

Nameless looked around quickly.

"Those wolves are hiding somewhere in this snake’s body, waiting for an opportunity."

"Damn it! What the hell! A sudden intrusion of another hostile monster faction!"

I yelled, trembling in anger. Weren’t there supposed to be no dark events? How is this different from a dark event?!

’No, this is on a different level from dark events.’

At least dark events only strengthen the monsters of the existing stage; they don’t introduce new factions.

In other words, this is an even shittier difficulty spike!

In a rush, I took out a device resembling a small handgun from my pocket.

It was a flare gun I had made in the blacksmith’s shop in preparation for this operation.

After loading an orange flare, I shot it into the sky without hesitation.

Whooosh—Boom!

The orange flare exploded in the darkening sky.

***

"Huh?"

Evangeline, who had been moving from the middle of Jormungandr’s body toward its tail using a grappling hook, tilted her head.

Boom!

An orange flare burst into the sky near the tail.

Beforehand, Ash had assigned different meanings to the colors of the flares.

Red was for requesting assistance.

Yellow was for rallying.

And orange was for being on guard.

’On guard? Suddenly why?’

Did something happen when they entered the forest area? Or because it’s becoming night? Why did he shoot a warning flare?

Confused but decisive, Evangeline swiftly fired her grappling hook and pulled it back.

She didn’t know what was going on, but she needed to hurry to Ash’s side and protect him.

Swoosh—Thud!

With that thought, she quickly moved across Jormungandr’s body when,

"…?"

She noticed something odd.

A shadow beneath the snake’s body.

There, a dozen beasts with glowing red eyes were crouched close together.

Evangeline blinked her large green eyes in bewilderment.

"...Wolf?"

As a perplexed Evangeline mumbled,

- Woosh!

A beast sprang from the shadows.

It was a monstrosity, half-wolf, half-human.

Bipedal like a human but covered in thick wolf fur, its tail stretched long. Its wolf head featured large, menacing teeth and eyes that glowed a sinister red.

A monster.

- Slash!

The creature’s claw tore through the air. Evangeline twisted her body in alarm,

"Whoa?!"

- Snip!

The monster’s claw severed the silver thread connecting her to Jormungandr.

"...What?"

As Evangeline mumbled in confusion,

- Whiiish—

Like a cut string, she was flung off of Jormungandr’s body.

***

Central area of Jormungandr.

- Fwoosh! Boom!

At the sound of a flare bursting, the unconscious Lucas and Kuilan popped their eyes open.

The knight and the bandit king rose simultaneously. They caught each other’s eye after spotting the flare.

"Oh! Knight! Captain! Had a good nap?"

A Penal Squad member, who had been gleefully grinding away at their spinal cords with a drill, giggled as he showed off his tool.

"Look at this! It’s called a drill and it’s awesome! With this tool, we can make up for the digging you two did all night in no time…"

"Put that away and draw your weapon."

"Huh?""I said draw your weapon, quickly! If you don’t want to die!"

Kuilan grumbled menacingly, startling the Penal Squad member.

Without a word, Lucas drew his longsword. The knight’s icy blue eyes fiercely scanned the surroundings.

Kuilan chuckled softly as he hurriedly put on his gauntlets.

"I see you sense it too, Knight."

"...It’s impossible not to."

Despite the warm summer night, a cold breath escaped Lucas’s lips.

"The scent of kindred is vibrating."

As the Penal Squad members scrambled to draw their weapons and complete their combat preparations,

Werewolves began to crawl out from the sides of the serpent’s skin.

Ash-grey and brown-furred werewolves. Two types.

Their fur might be different, but both types had the same, flickering red eyes.

The monstrous figures, standing on two legs like humans, quietly sharpened their claws, preparing for battle.

Their numbers were about a dozen.

"I always sang about wanting to be a beast-man, but the real deal is a bit off-putting."

Kuilan raised his fist, throwing out a frivolous joke.

"I guess they should trim their fur, seniors!"

Right after,

- Awooo—magic

The lead werewolf tilted its head back and howled.

- Awooooo—

- Awooooooo—

A unison of howls erupted from the mouths of the werewolves surrounding the Penal Squad.

Howling.

The sound reverberated like an echo, and all the werewolves on Jormungandr’s back let out a chilling howl.

A normal wolf’s howl would simply be a call to its pack, but a werewolf’s howling was different.

A combat buff through group resonance.

It was a legion skill that established the identity of the wolf ’pack’ and facilitated group combat.

Following that, the werewolves stomped the ground with their four legs.

The eyes of the monsters, awakened to their wild instincts by the howling, flickered with a savage hunger.

Drool dripped from the gaps between their bared fangs, eager to rip apart their prey and taste its flesh.

"Get the hell out of the way, you mutts."

Channeling magic power into the tip of his sword, Lucas growled menacingly.

"I need to go check if my lord is safe."

His eyes held a fierce glint, making it difficult to tell who the real wolves were.

***

Jormungandr, near the head region.

"Hah, hah…"

Covered in blood, Junior let out shallow breaths and slumped down.

She had been clawed from her shoulder to her side by a wolf’s claw .

Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, Junior trembled in a state of shock.

Blocking her path, Reina rolled up the corners of her mouth and smiled bitterly.

"…This isn’t good."

Around twenty werewolves surrounded the two mages.

Twice the force had attacked them here, focusing their assault on the most crucial units: the mages.

On the other hand, there were only two mages here.

Could they possibly fight just with two mages and no vanguard?

’Of course, we can.’

Reina chuckled to herself.

She had devoted her life to the military. There wasn’t a type of battle she hadn’t fought. Land, sea, air… listing them would just be a waste of breath.

Reina was absolutely confident that she could rip these pathetic werewolves to shreds and survive.

However.

"…"

She wasn’t sure if she could protect the young mage behind her.

There was no battle strategy more foreign to Reina than fighting while protecting someone else.

’If I don’t worry about the kid in the back, my chances of winning are 100%. But if I have to protect this kid…’

Reina’s seasoned eyes dimmed.

’…Can we survive?’

Whoosh—

As the elderly mage pondered, dozens of werewolves lunged at them all at once.

--TL Notes--

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