His body reacted instinctively before his mind could. He raised the shotgun to fire a precise shot. However, the Elder Wendigo instantly lifted one of its clawed hands and struck the weapon aside.

The force of the impact was monstrous. The shotgun was sent flying, spinning violently while releasing blue sparks of Arcane Magic. The weapon bounced several times across the shattered ground before vanishing into the ash stirred up by the tornado.

Mitsuki was left defenseless for an instant, but before the Wendigo could strike him again, he summoned his sword and guarded himself. The next impact of those claws against the blade was devastating. Mitsuki’s feet sank into the stone beneath him, shattering it into fragments and leaving behind a crater. His single remaining arm trembled as he tried to endure the Elder Wendigo’s beastly strength. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The vibration traveled all the way up his arm to his shoulder. Even his teeth ground together from the pressure. The Wendigo’s claws felt as though they weighed tons.

’S-Rank,’ he thought.

This was absurd. Mitsuki did not believe he surpassed S-Rank, which meant it was impossible for an S-Rank beast to be weaker than him. In fact, from that single brief clash alone, he could already grasp just how terrifyingly powerful that damned Elder Wendigo truly was.

The creature smelled of dried blood and rotten flesh. Its massive deformed antlers partially pierced through the tornado’s mist while those hollow eyes glowed with unnatural malice.

’I can’t beat it.’

Not in his current condition. Fortunately, Marco was there as well. He recovered quickly, forcing himself forward against the Wendigo.

His boots shattered the ground as he launched himself ahead. Despite his recent injuries, Marco still moved with almost desperate ferocity.

The beast saw him coming and retreated, vanishing into the tornado’s dark mist. Then the roars of the other Wendigos echoed behind the wall of ash. Those hollow eyes appeared from the sides in the blink of an eye.

The shadows moved through the swirling ash like predators waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The tornado’s wind grew stronger and stronger, lifting small stones around the battlefield.

Marco clicked his tongue. Mitsuki stored his sword, dematerialized the shotgun, and summoned it back into his hand.

Back to back, Marco blocked the antlers of one of the Wendigos. Mitsuki fired at the next one. Just as the remaining two Wendigos were about to hit them, both men instinctively ducked.

The claws whistled over their heads. Even the air itself seemed to split apart from the speed of the attacks.

Marco dragged his sword across the ground while Mitsuki rolled behind him.

The sword collided with the Wendigo’s antlers while the blue blaze burned the face of the next bastard. The four Wendigos, like vile cowards, retreated back into the mist with their tails between their legs.

The smell of burned flesh mixed with the scent of wet ash. The creatures’ distorted roars echoed from every direction.

The two shared a brief glance, planning their next move, but at that moment the Elder Wendigo appeared—tall and terrifying, ready to attack. Its speed was grotesque; it appeared before Marco in the blink of an eye.

There was not even enough time to react properly. The creature was simply there all of a sudden, as though it had crossed space itself.

Mitsuki tried to defend him by aiming the shotgun, but the Elder Wendigo feinted to the side and rolled across the ground, using its abnormal deformed body to turn into some kind of ball that tore through the floor until it positioned itself beside Marco. Once there, the beast rose with both claws ready to cut.

The unnatural speed and flexibility of that monster made it uncomfortable even to look at.

Desperate, Marco blocked the Wendigo’s first arm, but he was left defenseless against the second.

Mitsuki used Ash Propulsion to move to the side. He switched the shotgun for his sword and blocked the next arm. Immediately after, both of them pushed their blades outward, causing the beast to lose balance.

The clash of forces sent a small shockwave of dust around the three of them.

Together, they seized the opportunity to strike at the Elder Wendigo’s neck. Mitsuki switched from his sword back to the shotgun once more, but the other two Wendigos from earlier appeared to protect the elder beast.

The creatures emerged from the ash without the slightest fear, sacrificing themselves to protect their leader.

Without hesitating for even a second about their own lives, both Wendigos threw themselves in the way. The first was impaled by Marco’s sword, while the second was completely disintegrated by the scorching flames of Mitsuki’s Arcane Magic.

The blue explosion briefly illuminated the inside of the tornado. Burning ash floated everywhere before fading out.

[ You have defeated an A-Rank Specter. ]

[ You have obtained rewards. ]

A mana crystal lay on the ground. Unfortunately, the Elder Wendigo stepped on it. The crystal shattered beneath its enormous claw, and the glowing fragments scattered through the dust.

After being protected by the others, it disappeared once more into the far side of the tornado.

Marco and Mitsuki regrouped in the center of the tornado with a leap.

The wind constantly lashed against their clothes. Visibility worsened with every second due to all the ash floating around them.

"The smaller Wendigos are still weak," Marco said.

"The big one is the problem."

How were they supposed to deal with that coward that fled like a pathetic cockroach at the slightest opportunity? It still had four shields of flesh left. Marco and Mitsuki might as well get rid of all of them and leave only the Elder Wendigo behind.

The tornado intensified and rose even higher into the sky, becoming a powerful shield of ash curse.

The pillar of ash roared like a living storm. Small fragments of rock spun at incredible speeds within the tornado, constantly colliding with each other.

"That’s not our only problem. Without Monar, we’re vulnerable to the Ash Curse. With that tornado surrounding us, if we so much as touch it, we’ll turn into statues."

"I didn’t think about that."

Mitsuki stared at the rotating wall of ash before him. The whirlwind looked like an impossible barrier to cross.

If only Mitsuki knew the spell against the curse, both of them would have been protected. Regretting something that never happened was pointless now.

Through the whispers of the tornado, laughter and voices speaking in the distance could suddenly be heard. Those voices sounded exactly like the girls and Marco’s friends. The same voices appeared and disappeared amidst the roaring wind. Some sounded cheerful; others desperately cried for help.

The two looked at each other in confusion.

"Those voices..."

"I remember a legend saying Wendigos used the voices of people close to you to draw your attention, then use your body to continue killing," Mitsuki said.

He frowned while aiming at the tornado.

’At least the Wendigos from Ultimate Fantasy did that. I remember the way to defeat them was by making them deaf, but I doubt that weakness applies to these guys.’

For a brief instant, he thought he could even hear the voice of his former manager calling out to him from within the storm.

"Yeah. I’ve heard something similar," Marco replied.

The knight tightened his grip on his sword’s handle. Clearly, those voices were affecting him as well.

The very next moment, both of them became alert after sensing danger rising behind them.

The sensation was immediate, like needles stabbing into the back of their necks.

At the same time, that danger materialized in the form of sharp flying bones that shot in from outside the tornado. They were like bullets trying to tear the duo apart.

The projectiles pierced through the ash at absurd speeds.

Marco, however, stepped in front of Mitsuki and, with intense and rapid movements, sliced apart the bone bullets. The bones exploded into small white fragments every time they collided with his sword.

The feeling of danger suddenly increased.

Both turned around, raising their swords defensively. There stood that great evil spirit, wielding its claws like swords, as though they were tennis rackets.

The Elder Wendigo’s stance was grotesque and unnatural. Its overly long arms of uneven lengths moved with monstrous precision.

A rapid exchange of blades followed. When the Elder Wendigo realized it could not match the speed and coordination of Marco and Mitsuki, it retreated into the tornado once more.

Sparks and blue flames briefly illuminated the monster’s deformed face.

Clearly, neither of them intended to let it escape, so they chased after it. Mitsuki moved first, transporting himself through the ash in an instant. A fraction of a second before the beast exited the tornado, Mitsuki raised the shotgun and fired.

The detonation was deafening within that enclosed space of wind and ash.

The blue blaze managed to burn the beast’s back, but it still disappeared.

A roar of pain echoed from within the storm.

With the beast gone, Mitsuki abruptly looked behind him.

[ The skill "Premonition" has activated. ]

Dozens of bullet-shaped bones, like flying phalanges, shot from the side once again. Mitsuki raised the shotgun and fired point-blank at the bones. He managed to burn some of them while Marco defended himself with his sword, but several bones grazed their skin, leaving bleeding cuts on both of them.