Chapter 46: Meeting the holy Wendigo again

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Meeting the holy Wendigo again

They stood right at the edge of the wall when Jade’s attack came flying at them.

Beare and Morgan were only a split second late, but their bodies moved together like they had trained for this exact moment. Beare was facing Morgan, so she never saw the crystal ice streaking toward them.But Morgan did. He grabbed her arm and yanked her hard to the side, copying her own technique in the same breath.

"Binding Shield!"

Ribbons exploded out of Morgan’s hands and knitted into a thick wall right in front of them.

**BOOOOM!!!**

The ice hit the shield like a cannon. The impact shoved Morgan backward, boots scraping across stone. Crystal frost raced over the ribbons, freezing them solid the second they formed,but Morgan kept pouring more out, layer after layer, but the cold was faster. In just a moment under the attack white frost crawled up his elbows. His arms burned for a moment and then went numb. Skin started cracking under the ice.

"Beare—help!" he shouted through clenched teeth.

"Hold on."

Beare dropped low. While Jade poured everything into smashing Morgan’s shield, she shot her own ribbons forward. Hers were thicker, darker, moving like living snakes. One ribbon slid under the chaos, wrapped tight around Jade’s ankle, and locked.

"BEARE!" Morgan’s voice cracked. His last ribbons shattered into frozen scraps. *Shit... I’m almost out of mana.*

Beare yanked once.

Jade felt his leg bugged a little, so he looked down. "Huh?"

But Too late.

In a fluid motion she ripped him off his feet and slammed him face-first into the dirt. Then she spun, using the full length of the ribbon like a whip, and hurled him. Jade’s body sailed over the great wall and vanished into the forest beyond with a distant crash.

Beare pulled her ribbons back, breathing hard, a small proud smile on her face. She turned to Morgan.

But His face showed zero joy.

"What?" she asked. She already knew something was wrong.

"Beare... you killed him." Morgan’s voice was ice-cold.

"So?"

"He was my friend."

"Was—"

"Is* my friend."

Beare rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, don’t give me that face. I was saving *you*. It was the only rational thing to do."

"You sure took your damn time making that move."

Lizard stood a few steps away, eyes flicking between them. Do they always argue like this?

Beare threw her hands up. "Okay, fine, I’m sorry! But there’s a high chance he’s still alive. Let’s go check instead of jumping to conclusions."

Morgan stared at the wall for a long second, then gave a short nod.

"Can you fly?" Beare asked Lizard.

"Ah, n—"

"Beare, just carry him!" Morgan snapped.

Beare shot him a glare, but she bent down anyway. Lizard climbed onto her back. She fired ribbons at the top of the wall and launched them upward in one smooth pull. Morgan followed a moment later, landing hard on the other side.

His boots sank into wet soil. The forest was thick with smoke and the heavy smell of damp earth. Trees towered over them like giants. Beare landed beside him with a loud *THUD*

"Have you seen him?" she asked.

Morgan didn’t answer. His eyes swept the shadows between the trunks.

But Then he saw them.

Familiar faces. Twisted and formless

"The Unclean..." he muttered. His scythe shimmered into existence in his hand.

Thank The system they were mindless. And they do not haste. No real thinking. Just hunger and mindless march.

Morgan moved. The scythe carved wide arcs, cutting through gray flesh and bone like paper. Bodies dropped in pieces around him. Black blood sprayed across the leaves. He never stopped moving, never let them close the circle.

"I still don’t see him," Beare called. "Morgan, you sure that guy didn’t get eaten already?"

"For once in your goddamn life, Beare, just shut up and look!"

She twisted her face in annoyance but kept searching.

Morgan slowed, staring at the corpses. "Strange... These Unclean... why are they out so early? It’s not even sunset yet."

That thought pushed him deeper into the trees. Beare shot a ribbon high into one of the tallest oaks and pulled herself up for a better view.

"I can see a lake up ahead," she called down. "There’s mana energy coming from there too. Maybe old Jade is still alive..."

Morgan turned and looked the direction she pointed.

Even from this far he saw them—two long deer horns rising above the undergrowth. They were covered in crawling bugs and tiny insects that seemed to never stopped moving.

He stepped closer. Beare dropped from the tree and landed beside him with a crunch of leaves.

Another step. Then another.

That’s when the shape became clear.

"The Holy Wendigo!" they both gasped at the same time.

Beare instinctively spun to run.

But it was far Too late.

Hundreds—maybe thousands—of Unclean crawled out of the trees, surrounding them on every side, forming a wall of gray bodies and twisted faces. They could fight their way out... but mana was already low. They would run dry long before they broke free.

"Shit... How is the Wendigo this close to the capital?" Morgan whispered. He pressed his back against Beare’s.

"I’ve never seen this many Unclean in one place..." Beare muttered.

Morgan’s head then turned toward the monster. His eyes went wide with pure horror.

The Wendigo’s massive hand held Jade by the face like a doll. It lifted him slowly toward its open mouth. Jade’s body hung completely limp. His body was not even struggling. As if lifeless

But somehow, with the last of whatever he had, Jade’s fingers twitched. He raised one trembling hand toward Morgan and forced out a single broken word.

"Help..."

That one word felt like it hit Morgan harder than any hammer.His resolve instantly locked into place like steel.

"Beare. We have to save him."

"Are you fucking insane?!" Beare’s voice cracked. "There’s no chance in hell we can beat the Holy Wendigo! It’s as strong as Bailon, for fuck’s sake!"

"I don’t care. I don’t know how we’ll beat it. But one thing is certain—my resolve is set. It will not waver."

Beare let out a long, pained groan. She already knew arguing was useless now.

"Morgan... I don’t want to die hereeeeeee..."

"I know you hate dying, Beare. That’s why we’re not going to."

The Wendigo’s head snapped toward them. Clearly annoyed that Its meal had been interrupted. In that moment It threw its head back and roared.

**ROARRRRR!!!**

The sound hit like a physical blow. Leaves and trees shook.The ground trembled, Morgan and Beare staggered, vision swimming for a second under the raw force of it.

The Holy Wendigo lowered Jade’s limp body just enough to look at the two tiny humans who dared stand in its way.

"Let’s do this..." muttered Morgan, Beare and Lizard just by his side