Chapter 237: A Quiet Battlefield

BOOM!!!

A gigantic python made up of blood collided with a crimson wolf made up of thunder, crossing the ground to tear apart.

Four large golden magic circles appeared around both entities as they unleashed gigantic rays of destruction straight towards the wolf, who in turn unleashed his thunder, clashing with them in mid-air.

BOOM!!!

The next second, it snapped its jaws around the neck of the python, tearing off it’s head in one brutal motion.

But the headless crimson python didn’t fall as expected. It stood there upright, before growing out a new head a second later as it resumed the attacks.

Before the Wolf could make any counter-attacks, Golden Circles materialised around 4 sides before pulling, each wrapping itself around his limbs and pulling hard, causing it to fall on the ground in pain.

"AWOOO!!!" The Crimson Wolf howled in anger, his eyes flashing even redder as a giant storm of thunder started to gather on top of his head.

In front of it stood two Terra Beasts, covered in scratches and bruises as they looked at him with eyes filled with determination.

It had been more than one hour since Raiden closed his eyes, and Neva and Rose had been fighting against this gigantic crimson wolf constantly, holding it back single-handedly from harming Raiden.

But holding a possible God Tier Terra Beast, as weakened as he may be, had started to take a toll on their bodies, and they started growing weary.

"Sha Sha...!!" We must...hold until... Rai Rai comes back from saving... Big Brother....!!

"Shissss..!!!" *Nobody is...getting past us!!!

"AWOOOOOOOO!!!"

With a long howl, the Crimson Wolf stood up again, breaking the chains binding his body, and snapped at the large python with thunder fangs, obliterating it completely.

This caused both Terra Beasts to grow even weaker as they fell down in front of Raiden with a plop.

Under the howl of the crimson wolf, a large sphere of crimson thunder began to form atop its head, growing larger by the second until it reached over 100 meters in diameter, looking like a miniature sun in the sky.

An oppressive feeling fell on Theodore and Aria’s chest as they looked at the seemingly impossible attack.

The scope of the attack was so big and wide they couldn’t even think of outrunning it and could just wait in despair, hoping these two Terra Beasts could block it.

A serious expression appeared on Neva and Rose’s faces as they looked at the gigantic attack that was falling towards them.

"Sha Sha...??" Can we block it...?? No!! We can!! We will Block It!!! For Rai Rai and Big Brother Woolie!!!

"Hiss!!!" Stand back, Big Sis!! I’ll go first!! Just Watch Me!!!

A mature look appeared in her eyes as she stared solemnly at the attack, a look that was far beyond her age.

Just as she made up her mind to unleash the hidden power, the attack on top of the head disappeared along with the crimson wolf.

Both Neva and Rose stared at the falling wool that collapsed on the ground without any movement with a bit of relief and worry in their eyes.

"Cough.. Cough!!" On the other side, Raiden also opened his eyes as he coughed out a little blood.

"Raiden, are you okay?!" Aria, who felt like she just walked out of the jaws of death, snapped her head at attention and went towards Raiden, checking on his body.

"I am... Fine... Don’t worry about me... Woolie, take me towards Woolie..." Raiden’s respivodes rang out. His entire skin reddened, and smoke started coming out of his whole body.

When his soul got back in, it brought back all the damage it suffered in the void, causing his entire body to feel extremely weak.

"Hiss!!" I’ll carry you there, Rai Rai~ Don’t worry!!

Both Neva and Rose appeared next to Raiden with a concerned look on their faces.

The next second, Rose slithered under Raiden and started expanding at a super-fast rate, becoming a 10 m-long crimson python.

With a speed unimaginable for such a large body, she moved towards Woolie with Neva clinging to the side.

The scorched ground rushed past beneath them, torn open in long jagged trenches where the crimson thunder had scarred the earth only moments ago.

Rose weaved around fallen trees and half-buried craters, her massive coiled body carrying Raiden with surprising gentleness despite the speed. Neva clung to her body beside her, glowing faintly, her tiny limbs trembling from exhaustion but refusing to let go.

They found Woolie lying at the centre of the ruined battlefield, small and still.

His wool, once fluffy and full of static energy, now lay flat and matted, streaked with faint traces of violet and crimson that flickered weakly before fading out completely.

There was no lightning or overwhelming aura crushing the air around him. There lay just a tiny, exhausted sheep, breathing shallowly on a bed of scorched grass.

"Woolie!!" Raiden’s voice cracked as Rose lowered him down beside the small body.

He crawled the rest of the way, his arms shaking from the aftereffects of tearing his own soul apart inside that void, and gathered Woolie into his lap. Up close, he could see the faint burns scattered across his wool, the singed patches where thunder had eaten through skin that should have healed instantly.

"Hey. Hey, come on buddy. Open your eyes." Raiden pressed his palm gently against Woolie’s side, feeling the faint, uneven rise and fall of his breathing. "You promised me three minutes, remember? Don’t tell me you’re taking a nap after going way, way over time."

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Then one small ear twitched.

"... Woolie...?" The voice that came out was barely a whisper, rough and cracked, nothing like the confident bellow that had been shaking the battlefield an hour ago.

Raiden let out a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding.

"Yeah. It’s me. I’m here."

Woolie’s eyes opened slowly, dazed and unfocused at first, before they finally settled on Raiden’s face. Recognition flickered through them, and something in his tiny body seemed to relax all at once, like a rope that had been pulled taut for far too long finally going slack.

"Woolie Woo..." Did we win...?

Raiden laughed, though it came out more like an exhausted cough. "Yeah, buddy. We won. You beat him!! You beat that stupid wolf!!!"

"Woolie Woo..." Told you... This Emperor never loses...

His eyes fluttered shut again, but his breathing had already evened out, steady and calm, none of the frantic unevenness from before.

Whatever had been fighting for control inside him had finally gone quiet, at least for now.

Neva pressed herself gently against Woolie’s side, nuzzling her small body into his wool.

"Sha Sha..." Big brother is okay... Big brother is okay...

Rose curled protectively around all three of them, forming a loose crimson wall that blocked the wind and the drifting ash still falling from the scorched trees above.

"Hiss..." Rose will watch over everyone. Sleep well, Rose will protect you all.

Raiden leaned back against her coiled body, his own strength finally giving out now that the immediate crisis had passed. Across the ruined clearing, what remained of the enemy forces lay scattered and unconscious, and somewhere among the wreckage, Theodore was already stumbling toward them with Aria close behind, both of their faces caught somewhere between relief and disbelief.

For now, though, none of that mattered.

Woolie was breathing, and Woolie was finally safe. And for the first time in what felt like hours, the battlefield had finally gone quiet.