"Yeah," Xaba nodded.
"I understand.
We'll use the savage mode."
"Lady Carla," Jula turned to her,
"please stand back.
Watch from a safe distance as we kill this beast."
"Break a leg… and an arm too!" Carla said, though her voice trembled.
"If we could get away with just that…" Xaba sighed.
"I'd bring flowers to the Goddess's statue every day."
Xaba and Jula Enter the Savage Mode
Carla Wolfwood stepped away from her two bodyguards —
but she did not run.
There would have been no point.
The demon would have flown after her anyway.
From a distance, she watched as her knights stood their ground against the Clan Leader.
Xaba and Jula activated their elemental magic:
Xaba's sword ignited in crimson flames,
Jula called upon the power of the earth, forming a shield of stone and soil around himself.
Together, they charged at La Kratos.
But the demon was too strong.
Too fast.
Too confident.
He toyed with them.
Every strike they made had an answer.
Every attack was deflected with a single hand.
The difference in their strength was so vast that the battle looked less like a fight
and more like a cruel game.
Carla's heart tightened as she watched her two Wolf Knights give everything they had —
and still barely manage to hold their ground.
The battle had only just begun.
And the Clan Leader was still only warming up.
"This is truly entertaining!" La Kratos laughed, blocking both knights with one hand.
"You can't even scratch me!"
"There's no point…" Jula panted.
"This is the end."
"Giving up already?" the demon mocked.
"Are human knights really this weak nowadays?"
"Yes, we are weak," Xaba said, charging again.
"That's why I'll pay with my life."
"Not just you," La Kratos grinned.
"You'll both die.
And the woman will be mine."
Jula glanced at Xaba.
"Are you ready, brother?"
"Yeah.
Three… two…"
"One!"
The Memory of the Savage Mode
Before activating the Savage Mode, Xaba's life flashed before his eyes.
And he remembered the day when Young Wolf first spoke about this forbidden technique.
After the hunt for the Blue Ogre, at the Wolf Knights' training grounds…
"What is this technique the girls learned?" Xaba asked, watching Andrea and Anita still panting after their training.
"Oh, you mean the Feral Mode?" Andras replied casually, as if it were nothing special.
"It's still in testing, but it's a magical technique I created for defeating magical beasts."
"You created something this powerful… for the knights?" Jula asked in disbelief.
"Well… powerful it certainly is," Andras nodded.
"But it's a trump card that demands a heavy price."
"So it's a forbidden technique?" Xaba asked.
"Not exactly," Andras explained.
"With the wind, water, earth, and lightning elements, the price isn't that big.
It overloads your magical energy, and after using it you'll collapse for days, with severe muscle pain.
But that's not a high price to survive a fight against a magical beast…
which would normally cost you your life."
"That really doesn't sound too bad," Jula said.
"No — not if you're fighting one-on-one," Andras continued.
"Because if you have multiple opponents, then the moment you kill the first one…
the second will finish you off."
"But magical beasts fight alone.
Never in groups."
The Truth Behind the Savage Mode
"So this technique is only for fighting magical beasts?" Xaba asked, watching Andrea and Anita still gasping for breath after testing the Feral Mode on the training grounds.
"Well… it works against pretty much any opponent, as long as it's one‑on‑one," Andras replied, as if discussing something trivial.
"Then why is it forbidden?" Jula raised an eyebrow.
"Because of the fire element," Andras sighed.
"If a fire‑element knight uses it, the overload of magical energy causes a massive explosion.
Not physical enhancement like with the other elements."
Xaba's expression darkened.
"So… for fire‑element knights, it's basically a final, suicidal technique?"
"Exactly," Andras nodded.
"With fire, the offensive power is much greater — but the user dies.
With the other elements, you get a body or attack two or even three times stronger, and after a few days of rest you recover."
"What exactly happens with an earth‑element knight?" Jula asked.
"With earth, you can create multi‑layered earth shields," Andras explained.
"Absolute defense, if you truly want to protect someone.
But it's useless for offense."
"I see," Jula nodded.
"So in our case, it's more of a two‑against‑one advantage."
"So if I used it…" Xaba said slowly,
"I'd definitely kill my enemy.
But at the cost of my life."
"I'm glad you understood so quickly," Andras smiled.
"So… do you want to learn it?"
"Of course we do!" they answered at once.
"Excellent," Andras continued.
"As for you, Xaba… this will be your final trump card against a monster that would kill you anyway.
But instead, you'll drag the beast to the grave with you."
"That's a perfect trump card!" Xaba said enthusiastically.
"A true knight couldn't ask for anything better."
"Yes…" Andras mused.
"Maybe the fire‑element version shouldn't even be called Savage or Feral Mode.
Maybe it should be called the Final Command."
"A Final Command…" Xaba repeated.
"A technique that allows fire‑element knights to defeat any monster they'd normally have no chance against."
"That's a true knight's technique," Jula added.
"Perhaps it is the Goddess's will, Xaba, that you were blessed with fire," Andras said.
"You honor me, my lord!" Xaba bowed.
"I'm so happy to serve you and Lady Carla."
"What are you talking about?" Andras waved him off.
"Your time hasn't come yet."
"Not yet," Xaba smiled.
"But one day it will.
That is my destiny as a fire‑element knight."
"And I will protect House Wolfwood with the earth's shield until the end of my life!" Jula declared.
"I know," Andras nodded.
"You are both excellent Wolf Knights."
"But I still like Anita more."
"We'll never catch up to her," Xaba sighed.
"No one will," Jula laughed.
"Hahaha!"
The memory shattered in an instant as La Kratos lunged again.
Xaba and Jula knew:
this was the day they had spoken of.
Activating the Savage Mode was no longer a choice.
It was fate.
The Final Command
Time slowed.
Xaba and Jula's Savage Mode began activating at the same moment —
but just as they had planned, Jula triggered the earth‑element version two seconds earlier.
Those two seconds were the thin, fragile gap in fate on which Carla's life depended.
From the ground, three thick, layered earth‑shields rose like the arms of the Earthmother herself, serving a single purpose:
To protect the one Jula had sworn his life to defend.
And Xaba…
Two seconds were enough for him to speak the final words
that a true Wolf Knight may utter only once in his lifetime:
"FINAL COMMAND!!!"
The fire‑element Savage Mode overloaded Xaba's magical energy.
In the next instant, an explosion shook the forest so violently that even the treetops trembled.
Light, heat, and flame fused into a single blinding flash.
From the Fire Demon Clan Leader, not even dust remained.
Xaba, Wolf Knight of Wolfwood, died a hero's death.
He saved his sworn brother.
He saved Lady Carla.
He saved the house to which he had devoted his life.
Jula's earth‑shields held against the blast —
Carla did not suffer even a singed hair.
But Jula had been too close to Xaba.
Even absolute defense could not fully shield him from the touch of his brother's final flames.
When the explosion faded, Jula collapsed to his knees.
His face was severely burned, his armor melted, his body trembling from the agony.
Carla screamed and ran to him, dropping to her knees and pulling the wounded knight into her arms.