Chapter 544 – Hunting of the Black Dog

Belius, with his superior hearing and sense of smell, served as the scout. Following slightly behind Belius, Weltes and Eckels advanced through the Glacial Forest, with our group trailing after them.

At first glance, Weltes and the others didn’t appear to be using Magic Tools or flying through the air. However, they weren’t taking the easier paths but rather moving across the ice.

It seemed they were manipulating moisture with their Magical Power, melting the ice back into water and wrapping it around their feet. This seemed closer to an innate ability rather than a Spell Formula, and apparently didn’t consume much Magical Power. Similar to how Lavigne created ice or Seraphina manipulated sound without using Spell Formulas, Weltes and the others unanimously agreed that if there was moisture in the surroundings, even if it was ice, they could use it effectively.

This was probably why they had claimed they could handle even the cold seas around here.

The two of them simultaneously converted the ice back into water and wrapped it around their bodies. Since water-producing Magic Tools converted their own Magical Power, it was more efficient to utilize the surrounding environment like this, and they were likely securing water before combat began.

Once they had wrapped a sufficient amount of water around their bodies, they then utilized their Magic Tools, riding them as they glided through the air, advancing behind Belius.

As for Belius, who was moving slightly ahead—he progressed majestically right down the middle of the path, showing no intention of hiding his presence.

However, he wasn’t being careless. His three heads moved independently in various directions, casting their gazes around while twitching their noses and flicking their ears.

In this manner, he continued forward while sniffing scents and listening to sounds. At branching paths, he showed no signs of hesitation whatsoever. He would glance back lightly as if indicating the way forward before resuming his advance.

“…He might already have a grasp on the direction where the Demon-Slaying Knight Order is,” Claudia remarked after observing him.

“Probably so. Judging by how he looks.”

Although we had already received updated maps of the Glacial Forest from the Demon-Slaying Knight Order through Elliot, we hadn’t informed them about the terrain and other details this time, partly to test Belius’s detection abilities. But so far, he seemed to be choosing the correct paths.

This high level of detection capability and tracking skill truly lived up to the reputation of a guard dog protecting the Deep Floor of the Labyrinth. The way he freely moved his three heads while performing scouting duties reminded me of a radar network being deployed.

As we advanced like this, Belius came to an abrupt halt. Reacting immediately, Weltes and Eckels also stopped moving and took up Spear Stances.

Belius looked around at the surrounding trees and let out a low growl. It probably meant enemies were nearby—but rather than showing intimidation or caution, the corners of his mouths were twisted into a belligerent grin, making it seem like he was enjoying the current situation.

“They’re coming—” Sheila murmured softly.

Emerging through the trees was a herd of deer Monsters—Prism Deer. At the front was a single larger Yeti. It approached while holding a club, as if leading the deer.

Furthermore, from further down the path, a mixed force of Snow Golems and Prism Deer appeared, leaping and charging toward us.

What intercepted the Yetis coming through the forest was a crimson line of fire spat out by Belius.

A merciless, ruthless strike. Three streaks of flame raced through the Glacial Forest as if tearing it apart, exploding and setting everything ablaze. The lead Yeti leaped to Dodge, but many of the Prism Deer in the rear, being densely packed, failed to evade. They were either burned apart by the fire lines, blown away by the blast, or set aflame by the intense heat.

Trees were mowed down by the blast wave. In an instant, the Glacial Forest was illuminated by raging flames, becoming a horrific scene.

With a creaking sound, the muscles in Belius’s hind legs bulged, and he charged at the Yeti with the force of a cannonball. It seemed he was taking charge of the enemies coming from within the forest.

Weltes and Eckels exchanged glances at the sight, nodded, and then charged toward the Snow Golems approaching from the front.

The Snow Golems and Prism Deer laid down a barrage of ice bullets and Magic Bullets aimed at Weltes and the others—but.

“Ooooh!”

“Haaah!”

With a spirited shout, Weltes spun his Spear like a windmill. Water coiled around the Spear, Deflecting the incoming barrage upon contact. Eckels swirled the water wrapped around his body like a vortex, scattering the incoming ice bullets and Magical Power backward.

The two slid across the ground near the surface as they charged into the enemy group—when Weltes slammed his Fighting Spirit-clad Spear in a sweeping motion, the head of the Snow Golem that took the hit was sent flying.

The water that scattered when he swung his Spear away was also clad in Fighting Spirit. The water became like buckshot, flying out and striking the Snow Golems and Prism Deer.

As for Eckels—he wrapped the vortex around his body onto his Spear as well and thrust toward a Prism Deer. The Prism Deer tried to block it with its translucent antlers, but its stance was broken by the vortex, and it was swept up by the hand movement and sent flying into the air.

When Eckels swung his left arm upward—part of the water wrapped around his body transformed into a Spear, piercing through the body of the deer that had been blown away. By that time, Eckels was already leaping toward his next prey.

I see. Their strategy seemed to be to charge into the midst of enemies primarily using projectile weapons with few troops, making it difficult for the enemies to use their Shooting. This was probably a tactic made possible because both of them possessed water Armor.

Realizing this, the Snow Golems generated icicle-like swords from both arms and leaped to attack. The Prism Deer also, now in Close Combat, leaped left and right, apparently intending to deliver headbutts.

But when it came to Close Combat, this was their domain as well. Originally, their physical strength and physical abilities for operating in water were considerable. Combined with their water Techniques used for offense, defense, and movement—they could demonstrate significant power even on land.

Observing them, while both fought using wrapped water, Weltes preferred hit-and-run tactics utilizing speed, whereas Eckels solidified his Defense through water manipulation and pushed forward with honed offensive and defensive skills to engage the enemy head-on—there seemed to be a difference in their styles.

“Sir Eckels!”

“Understood!”

They kept each other within their peripheral vision, covering the rear.

Responding to Weltes’s call, Eckels leaped upward, evading a Prism Deer charging from behind, then manipulated water to Dive straight down, piercing through it from directly above before leaping sideways.

Both were fighting without any apparent danger so far. From what I could see, they seemed to have a policy of not relying too heavily on the Magic Tools they had just acquired.

There were instances where they utilized Magic Tools, such as when making high-speed escapes or gliding across water to avoid being caught off guard by poor footing… but they apparently maintained a solid safety margin by not attempting to manipulate too many things simultaneously. This was probably the result of combat experience and training.

Weltes was also quite skilled at land combat, apparently because he trained as a military officer serving the palace to be able to fight even without water.

If they trained to fight in places without water in case of intruders into the palace, that alone would give them an advantage.

Indeed… it might be an effective method precisely because they were of the same race. An environment where they could train without water wasn’t something ordinary thieves could prepare.

Since we had left Balor and Caduceus on standby, they could intervene if we judged it dangerous… but for now, it seemed safe to watch. As expected of Grantios’s elite, both were putting on quite a display of combat.

Meanwhile, as for Belius—he was clad in flames over his entire body, racing through the air, three-dimensionally bounding through the trees while exchanging attacks with the Yeti in passing.

While contending with the Yeti, he fully utilized the visual, auditory, and olfactory capabilities of his three heads, effortlessly Dodging the Magic Bullets coming from behind, then firing back Fireballs from the mouths of the heads that had turned around. When a Prism Deer tried to escape by leaping, another head spat flames at its landing point, setting it ablaze.

His aim seemed to be to prevent the numerous deer from getting behind him, drawing in the larger force while defeating them individually. He wasn’t allowing any to escape toward our location or toward Eckels and the others. While dealing with multiple enemies, he was reliably defeating them one by one.

At this sight, the Yeti roared in frustration. It leaped at Belius using a tree for recoil, but Belius, wreathed in flames, drew an arc as he moved away, as if mocking it.

Belius scattered flames while passing by, using his fangs to tear out the necks of deer. The Yeti pursued frantically. Belius flipped in midair and returned toward the Yeti.

The Yeti tried to meet this with a Fighting Spirit-infused club—but it only cut through empty air.

Kicking off the air as if leaping, Belius immediately reversed direction and had taken the Yeti’s back. Ah… that movement was somewhat similar to the aerial maneuvers I had shown him. Since he could originally fight in the air, he could probably pull that off.

The left and right heads bit into the Yeti’s shoulders, immobilizing it, while the middle head drove its fangs into the medulla oblongata.

They fell to the ground together in a heap. While slamming the Yeti into the ground, he crushed the medulla oblongata, kicked and shattered the spinal cord, then leaped away. He had delivered the Finishing Blow precisely.

As I had expected… opponents like Yetis or Prism Deer were no match for him. He also seemed to be verifying each thing he could do one by one…

Spinning round and round in the air, he landed on the ground, and Belius let out a proud roar, expressing the joy of having brought down his prey. He seemed to be in high spirits, having been able to rampage after so long.