Everyone stopped in place after hearing a howl that made their bones tremble.
ā Is that a wolf? Hey, what happened with the ones we left guarding?
ā I donāt know. Iāll go ask.
After receiving the order, one of my classmates started talking in a different language. It wasnāt anything like demon language.
ā AWOOOOOOOOOO ā
The beast kept roaring.
And it kept getting louder every time.
ā Khā¦ Come on! Say Something! Whatās going on!?
ā What? Your magical beasts?
Akito unsheathed his sword.
Something unexpected was happening.
Their formation was falling apart.
ā The magical beasts are not listening to me! They say they canāt go against their emperorās orders.
ā Emperor!? Why would something like that be- TAKAYA, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?
Akito took a step towards me.
But itās too late now.
Using the little strength I had saved for this opportunity, I yelled my lungs out.
ā MIKEEEEEEE! IāM HEEEEEERE!
ā Grrā¦
The howling suddenly stopped in response to my cry for help.
ā Tch. This is bad. We have to abandon this place.
ā EH!? Itās just a little dog, Harukawa. What are you so scared of!? (Suetsugu)
ā You idiot! Look at your feet!
ā My feet!? What abou-
Shunichi finally realized the current state of affairs.
ā W-W-What is the meaning of this!?
Shunichi was leaking.
With each howl, everyone around except for Takaya was suffering some sort of abnormality.
Some couldnāt stand up, some couldnāt stop shaking, some were foaming while having seizures.
āPanicā
A status inflicted by the fear of having to face an opponent of much higher strength. Itās different from paralysis since it canāt be cured with antidotes or magic. It lasts for as long as the threat is close to the person.
Iāve been trying to raise that divine wolf properly.
And now her howl was saving the person she was devoted to.
The morale of my classmates was on the floor by now.
The only ones that could move were Shunichi and Akito.
ā We canāt escape. What are we supposed to do with Nagami?
ā Who cares about him!? Our party is full of high levels, and look at what a simple howl of that beast did to them! What do you think is gonna happen to us!?
The leader and the muscles of the group were arguing while running out of time.
Why are they wasting time?
Mike and the others will be here any second now.
ā GAAAWR!
Mike ran through the cave at full speed. Or, to be more precise, she bit and clawed through the walls to get here.
Every silver hair of hers is on edge, and her fighting spirit is overwhelming.
Not even I would be able to control her anymore.
Sheās way too far gone.
To Akito, Shuichi, and everyone else who made fun of me: