Boom!!
It was like the sound of a morning bell and an evening drum.
A figure in the sky fell like a shooting star, crashing to the ground with the force of a shell landing, making a huge explosion and causing the earth to violently crack apart, with dust flying up in all directions.
"What happened?"
The blonde boy took two steps back, avoiding the flying dirt, and said with an unsatisfied expression.
"Be careful, Beo."
From behind him, his master's voice, suddenly serious, rang out.
"Huh, someone strong has arrived, is that it?"
Beo, upon hearing this, not only wasn't discouraged, but rather became excited.
"Just as I expected, something like this happened."
The dust cleared, and a boy appeared from it.
He looked around and let out a sigh that seemed devoid of any emotion.
"Oh! What a handsome big brother!"
The blonde boy blinked and suddenly began to compliment the newcomer enthusiastically.
"Big brother, what are you here for? It looks like you fell from the sky just now, that's amazing!"
He eagerly started talking to Eiji.
However, Eiji completely ignored him. After pulling his legs out of the dirt, his gaze shifted towards the injured Aoko, who was standing behind Beo.
Her body was still somewhat intact, but a large wound was visible on her side, deep enough to expose her white ribs.
"…Can you move?"
"This level of… injury, it doesn't… hurt at all!"
Aoko's face was stiff, and she forced a smile.
It was clear that she was putting on a brave front.
Her left hand was firmly pressed against her bleeding side, indicating that she was badly hurt.
"Big brother, don't ignore me, are you a companion of this human woman?"
The blonde boy pouted, clearly displeased.
But he still eagerly tried to engage Eiji.
"Get out of here, I'll handle this."
Once again, Eiji ignored him and warned Aoko.
After being ignored twice, the blonde boy's expression darkened slightly.
"...Tch!"
Aoko was reluctant.
This was supposed to be a battlefield, but she was only left as a spectator.
Despite her frustration, she could only slowly retreat.
"Be careful, this little brat is not normal."
"I can tell."
Eiji's gaze was cold as he shifted his attention to the enemy.
Beo, the blonde boy, didn't seem to mind Eiji's indifference. When he finally looked at him, the slight displeasure on his face quickly dissipated, replaced by a look of excitement.
"Ah, big brother, you finally noticed me?"
"You're annoying."
"...Huh?"
The smile on Beo's face froze for a moment.
"I said you're annoying."
Eiji calmly repeated himself, his expression cold and sharp.
"Can't you see I'm busy? Constantly interrupting me, are you a dog or something?"
A dog?
Who? Me?
"Hahaha... Don't joke like that, big brother..."
Beo's eyes quickly narrowed, and his smile became dangerous, an unsettling aura radiating from him, making the air around him tremble.
"Making me angry isn't something you can just laugh off!"
Golden flames began to rise around him.
His white down jacket disappeared from his body, and his grim face, shrouded in the golden flames, vanished. When it reappeared, it had transformed into a fierce wolf-like face.
It was a golden wolf.
Its fur gleamed with a sacred golden hue. Its graceful posture, as it lay still, made it seem like an ethereal being birthed by the world itself.
Sacred, noble.
Invulnerable, untouchable.
An aura of awe-inspiring authority emanated from it.
"...No way?"
Aoko leaned against a tree, staring in shock at the golden wolf.
"It's actually a werewolf, and not just any werewolf, but a golden werewolf... This shouldn't exist in the modern world!"
"Be careful, Eiji, he's a legendary phantasmal species, a golden werewolf, on the same level as the monsters from myths!"
She quickly shouted a warning to Eiji.
Werewolves were legendary creatures.
Even ordinary werewolves were magical beasts that surpassed the animal kingdom. They rarely appeared in the human world today, only being kept by a few powerful magicians.
Silver-furred werewolves had already crossed into the realm of phantasmal species, which were superior to magical beasts and could not even be seen in the world of magicians.
A golden-furred werewolf, however, had completely transcended human intelligence.
Such a being was incomprehensible to humans, and even in ancient times, it was rare. In the modern world, they were long extinct.
In legends, the village chief of a werewolf clan would be a silver wolf, and a golden wolf would only be born once every several hundred years.
"Looks like your knowledge has improved."
Touko's voice came from a distance, as she stood about ten meters away, arms crossed and observing with a look of pride.
"Beo is a mutant, essentially a reflection of mystery itself, but because of that, his strength is not to be underestimated."
Aoko gritted her teeth.
She certainly knew this.
Not even Alice could survive against this golden wolf; it would be a one-hit kill.
It wasn't a matter of lacking strength, it was that the levels of their mysteries were far too different!
At the end of the day, magi were simply manipulators of mysteries, whereas phantasmal species were the very embodiment of mystery itself. It was like fighting with your opponent's own power—utterly absurd!
Lowly mysteries clashing with noble mysteries would only result in a crushing defeat.
"But his opponent this time doesn't quite match him!"
Aoko calmed herself down and shot Touko a glare.
Thinking of this, she felt a little more at ease.
"...Maybe."
Touko lowered her head.
What Touko said seemed like a show of strength.
But in fact, Touko knew that it wasn't a show—it was the truth.
Back on the field.
"So it's not a dog."
Beo lay there, his neck raised as if he was waiting to hear more praise and admiration.
Every magus would view him with reverence, like a devout worshiper of the original and supreme mystery, unable to resist.
"It's a husky."
Eiji, however, couldn't help but think that the golden wolf, lying still there, bore a striking resemblance to a husky.
Once he had that thought, the creature's noble aura seemed to vanish.
Beo nearly ground his teeth in anger.
A husky?
To compare his noble werewolf, a phantasmal species that transcended human intelligence, to that clumsy, cowardly inferior dog?
"I think I'm starting to dislike you, big brother!"
The golden wolf's eyes grew more vicious, its previous gentleness entirely gone, replaced by a strong killing intent brewing in its gaze.
"You'll see what happens when you anger me, big brother!"
In an instant, like a shooting star, it lunged.
***
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