The next clash began without hesitation.
The moment the large wolf lowered its body and coiled its strength once more, Raon and the Moon Leader moved at the same time, not as two individuals reacting separately but as a pair that had already understood each other's rhythm through battle, their movements aligning not through trust but through necessity, through the shared understanding that one mistake here would not leave room for recovery.
The wolf lunged first.
Its body tore across the ground with explosive force, its claws ripping through the fractured concrete as it aimed directly for Raon this time, its jaws opening wide with enough power to crush bone in a single bite, but Raon didn't retreat, instead stepping forward into the attack with controlled precision, his body shifting just enough to avoid the direct line of the strike as his sword rose in a sharp diagonal arc aimed at the already injured section beneath its neck.
The blade connected.
This time deeper.
The resistance was still there, still unnatural, but weakened, and as the edge forced its way through, dark blood burst out in a heavy spray, the wolf's body jerking violently as a low, furious growl tore from its throat.
At that exact moment—She moved.
The Moon Leader closed in from the side, her speed surpassing her previous limits as she drove her blade forward in a rapid sequence of strikes, each one targeting a different weak point—first the joint of the foreleg, then the lower rib, then again the underside of the neck—her movements fluid and relentless, forcing the wolf into a defensive reaction it had not shown before.
For the first time it stepped back not by choice but by pressure and raon didn't let it recover.
He advanced immediately, his strikes no longer testing but committing, each swing of the black sword carrying more force, more intent, as he began to cut deeper into the wounds they had already created, widening them, exploiting them, turning small damage into something that could no longer be ignored.
The wolf retaliated.
Violently.
Its tail lashed out again, its claws tearing across the ground in wide arcs, forcing both of them to shift constantly, to evade rather than block, because the sheer strength behind each attack was enough to break through even reinforced defenses, and yet—
They didn't lose rhythm.each time it struck and they answered it and each time it adapted and they pushed harder.and the fight became faster and more sharper.
More dangerous with every passing second, as the wolf's movements grew more desperate and their attacks grew more precise, until the balance finally began to shift.
Another strike.
Another wound.
Another step back.
The wolf's breathing grew heavier, its body now marked with multiple cuts, dark blood dripping steadily onto the broken ground, its once overwhelming presence beginning to fracture under sustained pressure.
And then an opening it was small.but real and raon saw it first.An slight delay in its movement.A fraction of a second where its injured leg didn't respond as quickly as it should have and it was enough.
He moved instantly, his body accelerating forward as his sword rose, aiming directly for the neck, for the point that would end it—
And at the same time—
The Moon Leader moved as well, her blade aligned with his attack, both of them converging on the same fatal point from different angles.
Victory was right there within the reach.
On the other side of the battlefield, however, the situation was far from stable.
The Moon faction members were struggling.
Their movements, once sharp and controlled, had begun to slow, their breathing heavier, their strikes less precise, as exhaustion finally started to take its toll after fighting wave after wave of relentless wolves, and worse—
Some were injured and it was not lightly but the have deep cuts and torn muscle.and also blood loss that could not be ignored.
A man staggered backward as a wolf lunged at him, barely managing to block the attack as his arm trembled from strain, while another fighter dropped to one knee after taking a hit to the side, her grip tightening desperately around her weapon as she forced herself back up despite the pain.
They were holding but barely and everyone could feel it.That if this continued they would break.
Then—Something changed at first, it was subtle.A faint warmth an light sensation spreading through their bodies.
Then the srength returned it was not slowly and not gradually but all at once.
The man who had been struggling felt his arm steady, the pain dulling as his muscles responded again with full strength, while the woman who had nearly fallen felt her breathing stabilize, the sharp sting of her injury fading as if it were being pulled away from her body.
They turned back instinctively toward the shelter gate and there behind the reinforced fencing, within the relative safety of the inner boundary the healers had begun their work.
Light glowed softly around them, spreading outward in controlled waves, reaching the fighters beyond the barrier, restoring what had been lost, stabilizing what had been broken, allowing those on the brink of collapse to stand again.
The hope is now returned and with it the momentum shifted.
Back at the center and raon's blade was about to land.and the Moon Leader's strike was aligned perfectly that the wolf could not avoid it.
And then—A circle appeared it was bright. And green in color and it was perfectly formed beneath the wolf's body.
For a fraction of a second everything froze. And then Light erupted.it was blinding them and it was intense.
Covering the wolf entirely as the circle pulsed with energy, its glow spreading upward, wrapping around its massive frame, and the moment Raon's blade touched that light—
He felt it the resistance but it was not from the wolf but from something else.
The strike was forced off course.and the Moon Leader pulled back instantly.
The light intensified and within it—
The wolf's wounds began to close.but not slowly and not naturally but it was unnaturally fast.The deep cuts are now sealed and the blood had stopped flowing.
The damaged flesh restored itself as if time itself had been reversed for that single body.
Then the light faded and the circle disappeared.and the wolf stood there once again.like it was that he had healed enough.
Because all the injuries that he received by there attacks are now gone.
Raon's eyes shifted but not toward the wolf but beyond it.and it was far from it. And he saw across the broken skyline on the top of a distant building someone was stood there it was an figure.Still and like he was watching them.
The distance made details unclear, but the outline was unmistakable, the posture too composed to belong to someone uninvolved, and as Raon narrowed his eyes, trying to focus and then the figure turned back.
And for an brief moment he saw it .he saw an symbol.it was an marke across their back.
It was clear and deliberate and it was also unfamiliar but it was not meaningless.
And then they disappeared they were all gone.As if they had never been there.
Raon's grip tightened slightly around his sword.and said in an low voice – "so it's not just us."
And then the wolf howled but this time it was more louder than before and stronger.
As if the restoration had not only healed its injuries but also reinforced its presence.
The sound spread outward and then it was answered by far from the distance.Far from beyond the streets they could see.
And now there are more howls and more movement are now coming towards them.
Raon turned his head slightly and looked toward the Moon Leader but she was already looking at him and there was no words were needed because now they both have understood that.
This battle was no longer just a fight it had now become something else.something that is being controlled.something that is now escalating more and as the echoes of approaching wolves grew louder and now the night has deepened.
And the danger is multiplied.