The Wolf Commotion (6): The Lion's Pride and the Knight's Wall

The battle with the leopard ended more easily than I expected. And it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much faster than the fight with the wolf, too. That made sense; if the wolf was a martial artist who used clones to jump its opponents, the leopard felt more like a debuffer, weakening its foes with mental attacks or hypnosis. Since I possessed Dragon Power, a trait that grants resistance to status ailments, I was essentially its natural predator. And unlike the leopard, I had focused more on subduing the wolf rather than killing it, so the outcome was only natural.

Dante rushed over, looking incredulous, and shouted into my ear. "Ian, have you lost your mind?! What were you thinking, just charging in like that!"

Dante’s scolding was laced with worry, but perhaps because we were inside a cave, his voice echoed loudly. "If someone is standing right in front of you, that’s an ambush."

"How on earth is that an ambush... *Sigh*." Dante let out a deep breath at my response.

"This is the spirit of chivalry."

"That’s not the point! You didn't just wake up a sleeping monster, you actually waited for it to fully wake up! Who does that, you lunatic!"

Well, here I am.

"If you wake up and find yourself in the afterlife, it’d be unfair, wouldn't it? The least that thing deserves is to know who killed it."

"How are you so incapable of letting anyone have the last word..."

"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but could I say something?" The person who stepped between Dante and me was Dolnesia. She was currently staring at the wolf. Had the wolf done something in the meantime? Looking at the lack of a 'Danger' alert, it didn't seem like it had done anything to betray or threaten us. Well, the nudity earlier was a danger of sorts—socially, at least. It was an attempt at social assassination.

"Ian, what on earth did you bring with you?"

"What do you mean, what? It’s a giant wolf." And for the record, I didn't bring it.

"But why do I feel the power of a spirit coming from that wolf?"

What? The words coming out of Dolnesia’s mouth were a bit shocking. A spirit? Anyone could see that was just a giant wolf. It transformed into a human, though. The transformation was a bit strange, but since it was called a test subject... I assumed it was something like a chimera created with a wolf as a base. Maybe a beastkin. Its human form certainly looked like one.

"No, that wolf is a spirit. I didn't know when I first saw it, but I can see it now that I've summoned Sancho. And it’s not just that wolf. The leopard was the same."

The leopard and the wolf were spirits... Were they spirits to begin with? This was the first I’d heard of it. The she-wolf, the leopard, and the lion. In the game and the lore books, there wasn't much information revealed about these three. All that was known was that they were test subjects created by a guy named Dottore, one of the executives of the villain organization that would soon appear. So, I had just assumed he’d snatched up any random wolf to use as a test subject. But they were spirits?

"I think some explanation is in order." As I looked at the wolf, it nodded as if it were nothing.

"As she said, the leopard, the lion, and I are indeed spirits." It paused for a moment, let out a small sigh, and continued. "Or, to be precise, I should say half-spirits."

"Half?"

"I was originally human. I became this way after being fused with a spirit."

A heavy topic suddenly dropped on us. ...You seem to be confused about the genre of this story. This is a romance fantasy. It’s not supposed to be dark fantasy.

***

"The doctor who made me this way was conducting a single experiment." While we were on our way to the boss room, the wolf began to talk about its hidden backstory. "I don't remember it well, but it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an experiment to forcibly fuse spirits with other things. In my case, it was a human."

Ugh! A sudden sound of retching. The person who made the noise was Iris. The idea of kidnapping two beings that were essentially polar opposites—a human and a spirit—and forcibly fusing them seemed horrific to her.

"I'm sorry."

"It is fine." The wolf spoke with a detached, indifferent tone.

"This must be a memory you wouldn't want to recall, so why are you speaking so calmly?"

"Too much time has passed to worry about every little thing." My eyes narrowed as I watched the wolf speak so calmly. Only after seeing that reaction did I feel like I understood why it could react so nonchalantly even after being seen naked. It wasn't because the wolf had become a human. Perhaps it was because the human had become a wolf. Its heart was already broken. Into very small pieces, at that. This isn't going to be easy. Was that why it showed no reaction? Just... because it had let go of everything.

The wolf continued its story calmly. I just chimed in with a similar, indifferent tone. "The leopard was a fusion of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a spirit and a monster."

"Then what about the lion?"

"An undead."

Undead?

"The lion is a collaboration between a spirit and an undead."

"That’s a completely incompatible combination." A spirit, which is the embodiment of nature, and an undead, which has returned from death. There couldn't be a more chaotic lineage than that.

"To begin with, what was the reason for forcibly mixing them when you could have just used the spirits?" Dante, who had been listening quietly, voiced his curiosity.

"Do you think there’s a reason for a mad scientist?"

If there was one, it would be something trivial. 'I will transcend humanity,' or 'I will transcend this or that.' They just add plausible excuses. There’s no need for a reason when a madman is doing mad things.

We walked for a while until we reached the door to the boss room.

"Regardless, be careful. The strongest beast among us is the lion."

"Is that so? They are polar opposites, so it should be weaker, shouldn't it?" Dolnesia asked, her tone suggesting she couldn't understand, but the wolf only nodded at her reaction.

"I’ve forgotten the details, but according to the doctor, he put quite a bit of effort into creating the lion. He said he used the corpse of a famous hero. I don't remember well, though."

It was a vague answer, but the wolf wasn't wrong. It was the highest-level beast among the three, and it was the boss of this dungeon. Well then.

"Let’s finish this quickly." I opened the boss room door. As the door creaked open, a cavern appeared, so large it made the leopard’s lair look like nothing. In the center of that cavern, something huge was sitting.

A single lion, much larger than the clones the wolf had shown us. ■■■■■■———!!!! Once the beast roared, the cave shook, and a wave of magical power washed over us. It was a roar worthy of a final boss. In time with its roar, I drew my sword and shield. Dolnesia channeled her spirit power, and Dante forged a sword out of frost. As I drew my sword, my party members took up their respective battle stances.

"Well then...?" Just as I was about to charge in confidently, as I always did, Ding! A notification window suddenly popped up in front of my eyes.

What? What kind of nonsense is this? Why are you appearing here? A sudden outburst from a voyeur. I couldn't understand that outburst. It made sense, given that the Stars of the Knights were never mentioned in the game, the art books, or anywhere else. But this lion was related to the Star of the Knight?

Oh, fuck. That’s a deeply unsettling notification. It was obvious that things were about to get much harder. Along with that notification, ■■■■■■■■■——!!!!! The lion began to howl. It suddenly started slamming its head into the ground. It slammed, slammed, and slammed again. To be precise, it was more like it couldn't control its body and kept dropping its head because it couldn't bear the weight, but regardless, it kept slamming it repeatedly. Then, the lion’s head split in two, and something popped out from within. A black figure walking on two legs. Looking closely, I could see that it also had a lion’s head.

An S-rank danger level for the first time. Dammit. Ding! Just then.

The Oath of Chivalry gauge I had worked so hard to fill disappeared.

What the hell. It wasn't enough to raise the difficulty, now it’s ending the trial whenever it feels like it. While I was busy cursing the so-called Knight of the Lion's Heart, another notification popped up.

The first quest I’d received since falling into this world. And that quest wanted the destruction of a corpse. I had no idea what this bastard wanted. The fact that a notification appeared saying its influence had diminished meant it had laid down something of its own to create this quest. If it could discard that so nonchalantly, did that mean destroying this body was more important than that? Regardless, I had to stop thinking here. ■■■■■■———!!!! The lion head was howling and charging at me. Its level was 54. Even for Dante, who had the highest level here, facing that lion head head-on would probably be impossible. Then, I had to do it.

I held the sealed Prydwen, channeled strength into my legs using the Orlando-style muscle training method, and braced to take its attack. And its attack didn't reach me. The effect of Prydwen. A skill that guaranteed the nullification of any attack, provided it was just once. Its fist couldn't reach me and only struck the empty air. I didn't miss this opportunity. Logres Sword Technique, Swift Sword Style.

The razor-sharp blue blade wounded it. The wound wasn't that deep, but the cold radiating from the sword caused a small frostbite. That was all, but it was enough. It placed its foot against me, used me as a support to create distance, and I was sent flying by the recoil. I had blocked its foot with my shield, and I hadn't intended to be kicked, but to think that I, standing over two meters tall, would be sent flying through the air by that...

"Ian!"

Fortunately, I didn't crash into the wall and landed well, but it was immense brute force. Tsk. I clicked my tongue without realizing it. If I had known it would turn into this mess, I should have forced Iris or Haede to return to the dormitory. Dolnesia and Dante were strong, but Iris hadn't awakened yet, and Haede was practically an extra. This was extremely troublesome. If it had just been a lion, I would have memorized the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠patterns from the game, so it would have been easy. But the guy in front of me was a mess made by one of those voyeurs. I had no idea what patterns it had. Fuck. This is really shitty. These goddamn voyeurs. They kept pushing us into the fire, and now that wasn't enough, they were burning us themselves?

At that moment, a cold energy surged from behind. Dante had channeled his mana to create frost. He spread the frost around, and it condensed, reborn as small walls and pillars. I had to wonder if he was truly the protagonist of the DLC. To think he could create terrain structures like this with frost. "Ian! A frontal breakthrough is impossible!" Dante shouted, showing no signs of fatigue despite displaying such a performance. "Use the walls and terrain I’ve created to fight. I’ll provide cover." Dante said that with a smile. He would watch my back. And.

"You really never do anything the normal way!" Following Dolnesia’s grumbling, a Jack-o'-Lantern was summoned to my left, and four colors were summoned to my right. Darkness gathered from the Jack-o'-Lantern and became a reaper, and the four colors became a horse. A brainless scarecrow and a cowardly horse that moved at the princess’s command. And a knight who only knew how to charge. Right. Then. I should demonstrate the spirit of chivalry on this side, shouldn't I?

"Use the walls, you say."

"What?"

I held my sword and aimed it at the lion-headed monster. As a knight, I wouldn't use such a cowardly tactic as using walls. Why? "What am I, if not a wall?" Because I am the wall.