The Ashen Wolf from the Void
A rift had torn open in the empty air. As it widened with sharp cracking and crunching sounds, everyone on the training ground held their breath. Zeron’s usual smirk had completely vanished, his eyes sinking into a cold, focused stare. This was a phenomenon he had never witnessed before. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down for even a second.
Soon the rift had grown large enough for a person to slip through. A loud gulp broke the silence as someone swallowed hard. At the same moment—CRACK!—a foreleg shot out from beyond the rift. It was ash-gray. Ash-gray claws, ash-gray fur, ash-gray hide. The paw of a beast that looked as if it had been sculpted from pure cinders planted itself on the ground.
BOOM! The earth trembled beneath its deceptively light step. Zeron tightened his grip on the sword and twisted at the waist. His body drew inward like a pulled bowstring, coiled with explosive tension. The creature retracted the paw it had set down. A second paw emerged, and its full form slowly revealed itself. A long, tapered snout. Then those crimson eyes—eyes that seemed to curse every living thing that breathed—appeared.
In that instant, Zeron’s blade flashed.
Not a single person present saw the sword move. They only instinctively registered its lethal sharpness, the fact that its position had changed.
“Hmm…”
As he always did after cutting something down, Zeron rummaged through his coat, pulled out a cigarette, and stuck it between his lips. By the time he lit it, the rift had already vanished. The massive wolf now stood fully exposed, its shoulder height slightly taller than a grown man. The moment their blood-red eyes met—ssshhhhh—it crumbled into ash. Amid the gray powder scattering on the wind, a single bead no larger than a thumb rolled across the ground.
“Hoo…”
Zeron exhaled a long stream of smoke and studied the bead carefully. With a clean tick, it split perfectly in half. The energy trapped inside spilled out, mixing with the ash before both dissolved into the breeze.
“Uncle… what the hell was that…?”
The kid’s eyes trembled with confusion. Zeron watched her for a moment, then wiped the grave look from his face and let out a soft chuckle.
“Must’ve escaped from the zoo.”
“…Was that supposed to make me laugh?”
“I was being serious.”
Medeia’s lips pursed into a pout. She reflexively rubbed her arm. Though hidden by her sleeve, goosebumps had risen all over her skin. That thing had clearly been Expert rank—at least as powerful as those knight bastards. No, it had been far more savage, incomparably so. And Uncle had sliced it apart with a single stroke. One could argue it had been an ambush, but… to Medeia, that explanation felt completely wrong. She looked at him with fresh eyes.
“Well, anyway, the test ends here. Kid, you get an A, so keep that in mind. We’re done, so the rest of you can fuck off. As for me… hm?”
Suddenly Zeron’s eyes narrowed. In Colhuer’s usually empty, dead-fish gaze, flames were now blazing. Rage and hatred. They burned hot, feeding on raw, violent emotion.
“…I’ll go make a report first. The headmaster should know something.”
Zeron turned away without sparing the boy another thought. Colhuer’s personal issues were none of his business. He flicked his cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it under his heel. The half-burned ash stuck to the dirt. Colhuer’s fiery glare showed no sign of dying down.
It’s faint… but it’s definitely there.
Zeron clenched his fist tightly as he walked toward the Magic Department building. The nagging pain that usually flared up whenever he exerted force had grown slightly duller. He had abused his body so badly as a kid that the damage had become permanent. Whether it was the muscles, the bones, or the mana pathways, he couldn’t tell. All he knew was that it was damn uncomfortable. Even the doctor David had called in had simply shaken his head, so Zeron had resigned himself to living with the constant irritation. Yet after cutting down that wolf, the pain had faintly receded. Was it because he’d killed it? Or because of the energy that had leaked from the bead?
Lost in thought, he walked on autopilot until he suddenly found himself in front of the headmaster’s office. Zeron clenched his fist once more, sighed, and knocked.
Knock knock.
A voice from inside told him to enter. Zeron shoved the door open. A middle-aged man with a cold, stony face sat behind the desk, staring at him intently.
“Yes… you’re the Zeron who was hired as a temporary instructor this time, correct?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
Zeron answered casually and stepped inside. I’ve really mellowed out lately, he thought to himself as he stood in front of the desk and looked down at the man. The headmaster’s eyebrow twitched.
“What do you want?”
“Something weird happened during the test.”
“Weird?”
“The space cracked open and some gray wolf jumped out. Any idea what that was?”
The headmaster’s eyes flew wide open. So he does know. Zeron stared down at him, silently demanding an answer.
“It’s a… Void.”
“A Void?”
“…I’ll explain the details later. Thank you. It seems we’ll need an emergency meeting right away.”
It was a polite way of telling him to get lost. Zeron scratched his eyebrow, then turned and left the office. Since the man had said he’d explain later, he probably would.
Zeron stepped out of the building and paused, thinking.
“Ah… I had something to tell the kid.”
Would she even be in the dormitory at this hour? Or was she wandering around somewhere? Besides, it was the girls’ dorm—he couldn’t just walk in. He let out a long sigh and started walking anyway. He figured he’d at least go check.
And, sure enough—
“You can’t come in here.”
A friendly-looking guard stepped forward to block him.
“I’ll just deliver a message and leave.”
“Still no. You look like an instructor. If you go in and someone reports you, you’ll be fired on the spot.”
“Fuck’s sake.”
Zeron tilted his head back. The sky was a clear, mocking blue. If he yelled loud enough, would she hear him?
“Haa… Then could you pass on a message for me?”
“Sure, I can do that much.”
“Then tell the kid—no, the student named Medeia—to get her ass out here quick. Say it’s urgent.”
“Medeia… Got it. One moment.”
The guard disappeared into his booth and fiddled with a communication crystal. From the muffled conversation, it sounded like he was relaying the message to the dorm supervisor. After a short wait, the guard came back out with a kind smile and told him to hang tight. About five minutes later, Medeia came trotting out from the dormitory entrance.
“Urgent matter? Is it about what happened earlier?”
“Nah, I just told you to come out quick.”
“…I knew it. You’re always late yourself, yet you drag me around like this.”
“When was I ever late?”
“When?! You should at least have a conscience!”
The kid grumbled nonstop. In his head, Zeron wanted to grab that stupid doorknob-shaped twin-tail and hoist her into the air. She’d probably scream and flail like crazy. But she’d sulk for at least a week if he did, so he swallowed the urge.
“Anyway, the test is over. Let’s go outside and have some fun. I’m sick of being stuck inside all the time. Feels like my skin’s crawling.”
“Huh…?”
The kid’s eyes narrowed. She quickly took several steps back, then spoke with open suspicion.
“Who are you? You’re not Uncle.”
“Why are you being such a pain again?”
“Because it’s weird! You never suggest going out first!”
“It’s not that weird.”
A dry laugh slipped out. Zeron fought back the urge to knock on that tiny head and turned away.
“If you don’t want to, forget it.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t want to!”
The kid let out a sharp squeak, told him to wait, and trotted back into the dormitory. Her swaying twin-tails looked exactly like a puppy’s tail. About ten minutes passed. Just as he was seriously considering leaving, the kid came bouncing back out.
“Oh, what’s this?”
For once, she had dressed up. Not quite high heels, but shoes with a noticeable lift. A black-and-white dress accented with red trim, plus a white headband with round ornaments. It was a childish attempt at looking mature. If you’re gonna try that hard, at least undo the twin-tails.
“Hmph. I’m an adult now too.”
Despite her words, the kid puffed out her flat chest with a proud expression. She was still a seventeen-year-old brat, but according to kingdom law, students became legal adults the moment they enrolled in the academy. He remembered Jeremiah de Lapien was only fifteen, yet by the same law she too was considered a full adult. Truly lamentable.
“Oh dear, is that so?”
Her getup was so ridiculous he couldn’t help but ruffle her hair roughly. “Kyaaak!” She screamed and flailed her hands, but against Zeron it was pointless. He easily pinned her arms and turned her neat hair into a complete mess.
“W-what are you doing?!”
She started sniffling.
“Uh… hey, wait. I wasn’t trying to make you cry…”
“I’m not crying…! Idiot…”
She claimed she wasn’t, but her eyes were glistening. Zeron panicked and quickly fixed her hair again. He’d taken care of her a few times when she was little, so it wasn’t difficult.
“Aigoo, our good little kid. You’re cute no matter what you do. Right? When the base is pretty, anything looks good on you.”
“……”
She kept her lips pressed tight, but the corners of her mouth were slowly creeping upward. So easy. Zeron chuckled and held out his hand.
“Come on, kid. It’s been a while—let’s go grab a drink with Uncle.”
“Who are you calling Uncle…?”
Even as she grumbled, she grabbed his hand tightly. It reminded him of the old days. Apparently it reminded her too, because she pouted and muttered, “We’re not going to get attacked again or something, right?”
As he always thought, the root of all evil was that mouth of hers.