Chapter 325 – Claws of the Greedy Wolf

We faced each other in midair, circulating and refining our magical power through continuous cycles.

Its grin widened further—it let out a long, drawn-out howl. A beast’s cry that stretched higher and higher. Mixed within it were joy and ecstasy. As if signaling the end of that howl, one of us moved—though it was impossible to tell who initiated first.

Combining Levitation with the power of Nemea and Capella, I stepped in at maximum speed from the initial movement. The gleam of magical power and fighting spirit left afterimages in the air as we crossed paths. Claws wrapped in fighting spirit clashed with Ouroboros imbued with magical power, scattering sparks.

I wasn’t deflected. The werewolf received the blow at a perfect angle, allowing its body to flow with the impact. Without resisting, it accelerated into a cartwheel. A moment later, a claw strike aimed at my neck left a golden trajectory in the empty air.

I immediately reversed direction, kicking off a Shield to rebound. We turned to face each other almost simultaneously. As we passed, we exchanged attacks.

We flew through the grand corridor, weaving through it as we crossed paths countless times along sharp-angled trajectories, clashing staff against claws and leaving sparks in our wake. This was high-speed combat without reducing velocity. Our encounters lasted only an instant. We traded slash attacks and strikes.

But I couldn’t let my guard down against just its fangs and claws. While it deliberately drew my attention upward by dramatically raising its right arm, a knee strike wrapped in fighting spirit shot up from directly below like a cannonball. I avoided it by a hair’s breadth with a Form Shift, simultaneously delivering a horizontal sweep with Ouroboros, but this was blocked by its free left arm.

We passed each other and faced off from a distance. The werewolf remained stationary as if standing firm on the air, now showing a stance like that of a Fighter—perhaps having decided there was no need to hide its capabilities after the failed ambush.

I had known since our initial exchange… it seemed to possess genuine intelligence and close-quarters combat skills. I had to be wary not only of its claw-based slash attacks but also strikes and throws.

What remained unclear was—the principle by which it remained suspended in midair. It wasn’t deploying Shields like me, nor was it flying like the demons. It simply ran through the air as if treating it as solid ground.

That was—similar to how Dullahan’s horse galloped through the air. Or perhaps it was closer to being a Spirit.

I stepped in. Unlike before, we didn’t pass each other but stopped to exchange techniques.

I deflected its attacks with my staff and Shield, then repaid the favor by sweeping with the Dragon Staff. It too parried the trajectory of my strikes with its fighting spirit-enhanced body. Right arm and left leg. It scattered my attention diagonally while launching consecutive claw-based slash attacks and kicks. The leg that should have passed by instead traced a right-angled path downward. A heel drop with enough power to shatter my skull if it connected.

But it cut through empty air. What the werewolf had caught was an illusion created by Mirage Body. I drove Ouroboros into its flank, but the response felt unnaturally solid for a flesh-and-blood body.

Its fighting spirit-enhanced body hair seemed to function as sturdy armor. Combined with its speed and physical strength, even a grazing touch became a weapon capable of shredding flesh. I avoided it by the thinnest margin, but my cheek was lightly cut by its body hair. Dodging too widely would reduce the power of my counterattacks. I accepted this as necessary.

At this rate, Nemea and Capella would struggle to land effective attacks. I also wanted to avoid taking damage from that body hair. I positioned the lion and goat as support for aerial mobility. Balor had also used up considerable magical power after firing at two large targets. There was no point in forcing them back—I would just have to see this through.

The second illusion wouldn’t work. Whether through smell or hearing, it accurately identified my position and launched a spinning back kick. I blocked the kick with a Shield while countering with a shockwave attack. But using the momentum of the deflection, it spun its body and brought its claws down from directly above in a high stance. Claws wrapped in fighting spirit couldn’t be blocked by half-hearted Shields, and retreating would prevent counterattacks. I drew it in until the last possible moment, evading by a hair’s breadth. A slash attack that embodied pure destructive power swept past right beside my body. Had its wire-like body hair grazed me again? A slight pain ran through me.

But I had closed the distance. The exterior was impregnable. Then the interior must be—

I concentrated magical power in my palm, twisting it into a spiral, and drove a magical shockwave into an area with thinner fur. The werewolf’s expression twisted slightly, and its massive frame was sent flying backward. I deployed a Magic Circle. It was at an unavoidable range.

“Solid Hammer!”

I slammed a mass of rock toward the flying werewolf. Seeing this, the werewolf took a deep breath and planted itself firmly in place.

Its upper body swelled. Then came the release of power. It was a roar. The roar transformed into a directional shockwave that collided with the Solid Hammer. They canceled each other out. We both charged through the finely shattered rock fragments.

Breath-taking distance. Ultra-close combat. Gripping the Dragon Staff midway, I launched strikes from both sides, while it responded to the short range with elbow strikes and knee strikes.

Then, perhaps showing why it was a werewolf, it opened its jaws wide as if to swallow my head whole and tried to bite down. The sound of fangs clashing echoed right by my ear. No problem. I avoided it.

Palm strike. But this time it seemed to have anticipated it, blocking with its upper arm concentrated with fighting spirit. Having expected the shockwave impact, it swept my arm aside forcefully, resulting in both of us being blown backward.

As if returning the favor from earlier, the werewolf pulled its arm far back. More fighting spirit than ever before swelled up, concentrating in its drawn-back right arm. A shudder. A chilling thrill ran through me along with goosebumps. I leaped high upward, matching its movement.

“Ooooh!”

A spirited shout that could tear silk. A claw strike that seemed to tear space itself apart. An enormous amount of fighting spirit became five overlapping giant slash attacks that roared as they swept through the space I had occupied moments before. The stone pillar behind was cleanly sliced through.

Tremendous destructive power—but an attack that misses is meaningless. Paying no mind to each other, we charged forward like arrows from our jumped positions.

I clashed with the Dragon Staff wrapped in lightning. A lightning strike that should scorch and paralyze any living creature it hits instead scattered across the fur covering its body surface. Fireballs and ice spears were equally ignored. It burst through explosions and shattered ice spears by concentrating fighting spirit. It emphasized durability, breaking through with brute force.

It attempted to crush me through sheer power, and when I deflected it with a Shield, it flowed with the motion without resistance, releasing a fighting spirit slash attack as we separated. I avoided it with a cartwheel. The sky and ground swapped dizzyingly as we were repelled left and right, clashing countless times. I landed several strikes. I hit it with numerous spells. There must have been damage, but it ignored everything and unleashed countless techniques as if determined to tear me apart if they connected.

High-level techniques, an unyielding instinct for combat, and durability that allowed it to get away with recklessness. Then—

I deployed multiple Magic Circles. Solid Hammer and Mirage Body. The illusion flew in the opposite direction from me, but it accurately pursued my true body. I launched rocks from the front, then stepped in using them as shields.

The werewolf showed its intention to intercept the incoming rocks with another roar. Fighting spirit in both arms—it probably planned to intercept my true body with the fighting spirit wrapped around both arms. The released shockwave shattered the rocks—it prepared to meet me as I broke through the shattered fragments—when a rock projectile flying from the side struck its temple directly. Only the rock carried by

the illusion side was real

(

……..

)

.

I had deployed multiple Solid Hammers for both the main body and illusion side, firing rocks in a cross pattern.

A trap made possible precisely because it could accurately discern my true position. I deliberately let the rock fired from the front be shattered. Sound and smell. A diversion against both senses. As a result, an attack from an unexpected angle connected. I had chosen a rock strike that could transmit shock to the interior more easily, even if blocked by the fur.

The werewolf widened its eyes in shock, still in its roaring posture. Before it could comprehend the nature of the attack from the side, I released another spell aimed into its wide-open mouth.

“Shatter!”

Fire and earth composite 7th-tier magic—Mine Explode.

An explosion erupted before the werewolf’s face. A composite magic of fire and earth. Generation of rock masses. And explosion. The blast and fragments swallowed and tore through its face.

It staggered and began to fall. Even while bleeding from the corners of its clenched mouth, the werewolf didn’t stop fighting. Its eyes still overflowed with fighting spirit. Even while falling, it released a giant claw attack from its right arm.

Was that—its final desperate effort? If I created distance, perhaps the werewolf would exhaust itself immediately. But I wouldn’t let it counterattack. I wouldn’t let it suffer needlessly either. I would properly—deliver the finishing blow.

I dove headfirst toward it. Slipping through the gaps between the five overlapping claw strikes, I closed in on the werewolf. I concentrated all my magical power into the very tip of Ouroboros’s horn.

“Pierce!”

My voice overlapped with Ouroboros’s roar. I thrust Ouroboros like a spear through the werewolf’s left chest. Spiral shockwave. The narrowly focused magical power pierced the werewolf’s heart. The werewolf and I fell to the ground as one mass.

Leaving behind a blue magical afterglow, we fell straight down like lightning. It effortlessly pierced through the sturdy exterior and stabbed down as if nailing it to the ground. Upon impact, cracks ran across the grand corridor’s floor.

I disengaged, spun once, and landed a short distance away. I had pierced its heart. Would it still stand or not? The werewolf stretched its claws toward me even while spitting up blood. But—the fighting spirit was fading.

The corners of its mouth twisted as the werewolf smiled. Its eyes closed, the strength drained from its outstretched arm—and it moved no more.