During the day, a party of three men and one woman adventurers were walking cautiously through the forest surrounding Heimer Village.

The interior of the lush, overgrown forest was dimly lit, with rays of sunlight barely illuminating the ground and glistening drops of water on the moss shining brightly.

Floating Rocks could be seen hovering in the valley surrounding the mountain visible from here, creating a fantastical landscape.

Many of the floating rocks in this area were entangled with plant roots and ivy, and were fixed in the air, so they were not blown away by the wind.

Through gaps in the trees, three moons could be seen. In addition to Earth's moon, there was a larger, azure-colored moon and a scarlet-colored moon, each appearing as a half moon floating in the sky.

“Kyaaaaaa――――――!!”

A woman's scream echoed in the forest deep in the mountains, and the men who were walking in the forest immediately headed towards the scream. Ms. Splendid, the only female, calls out to the leader, Hardy.

"Hardy, I heard that woman scream...?!"

"Ah! It's the peddlers from earlier!"

The four dashed through the mountain forest at an incredible speed.

Leading the pack was Hardy, the young 28-year old leader.

Tall with tanned skin and stubble on his handsome face. His short hair was shaved at the temples, with three thin 15cm braids hanging by his collar.

His whole body was wrapped in adventurer's garb with brown, purple, and blue colors.

He had long-swords called "Falcon Shadow" and "Hawk Claw" hanging at his waist, with two crossed swords called "Phoenix Twin Swords" on his back, for a total of four weapons equipped.

The woman who called out to Hardy was the sorceress Ms. Splendid, age 24.

She was dressed primarily in black and wine red, with long black hair and fair skin, an a beauty with a sharp face. Her red lipstick added sex appeal.

Parts of her arms, chest, abdomen and thighs were exposed, wearing a short skirt, pantyhose and boots, gripping a magical staff called "Crimson Magic Staff" topped with a red gemstone.

Lambert, running third, is the youngest, a small young man, 19 years old.

he is an archer. He has ash green hair with a slight perm, and a cute face with big eyes.

He is dressed in an olive green costume woven from high-quality thread, holds a silver-colored and luxurious "Silver Falcon Bow" in his hand, and carries "Magic Quiver" on his back.

Einhard, the last one, is a slender, blond-haired 26-year-old man who looks like an aristocrat.

He is a handsome man, but he has quite sharp eyes.

He is dressed in an aristocratic and luxurious costume with blue and silver as the main colors, and gold as an accent color, and a slender sword "Swan Rapier" hangs on his left hip.

When the four arrived at the source of the scream, there was a peddler's wagon there, with one male and female victim each already dead. The two horses were down but still breathing. The two remaining peddlers stood brandishing swords, surveying their surroundings. The female victim's upper body was gone, while the male had huge claw marks from his face to his waist, rendering his face unrecognizable.

"Dammit..."

Hardy and the others furrowed their eyebrows and looked frustrated.

Lambert calls out to the peddlers.

"What the hell happened?"

One of the bearded peddlers responded tremblingly.

"Ah... ah... It's a giant beast monster. It's probably still out there...! Oh, you guys, do something! I'll give you the money...!"

"Ah! ....Ah! Ah!"

Another peddler pointed at the beast with a frightened look on his face.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

An jet-black, glossy, muscular beast resembling a huge panther or hairless Wolf appeared atop a rock outcropping some tens of meters away, growling menacingly at them. It was an anomalous 5 meters long for a carnivorous beast, and its body appeared to be covered in protrusions.

"That's... a Demonic Wolf. What's it doing in a place like this? Could the village barrier have weakened...?"

Hardy wondered.

(No, it's not a barrier, it's a monster that shouldn't be in this area... Could it be that a "Demonic Human" is working behind the scenes?)

“Grrrrrrrr…aah!!”

While I was thinking about this, the Demonic Wolf pounced on me at such a speed that it was able to close the distance of several tens of meters in an instant.

Swish!!

Lambert had already fired an arrow, grazing the Demonic Wolf's shoulder.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Damn!"

Lambert scowled in frustration at his own aim.

Hardy barked orders to his companions.

"Lambert, Splendid, guard the peddlers! Einhard, close quarters combat! Open your [Magia Aura] full blast!!"

The three responded "Roger!"

"Amyna Murus!"

Ms. Splendid cast a barrier magic spell. There was a sound like "Gang-Gan-Gang-Gan!" and a magical barrier consisting of a series of hexagonal honeycomb structures appeared. The entire magical barrier is curved, enclosing and protecting the peddlers.

"Eclair!"

Continuously, Ms. Splendid releases electric magic from the tip of her staff.

A sound like glass breaking rang out, and a pale bolt of lightning cut through the air. However, the Demonic Wolf barely manages to dodge it.

"Tch!"

Ms. Splendid clucked her tongue in annoyance.

"Venom Shot!"

Lambert continued to shoot arrows in quick succession, and several arrows pierced the Demonic Wolf.

"Huh? Poison not working...?"

Normally, it was a powerful poison that would take effect in an instant, but it doesn't seem to work, perhaps because the Demonic Wolf have a resistance to poison. It continues to move quickly.

Although it was stabbed in the first place, the arrow did not pierce deeply because the skin was thick. And it wasn't just that he had thick skin.

Because the Demonic Wolf's body is surrounded by a [Magia Aura], it cannot cause deep scratches.

"Epee de Glace!" (Sword of Ice)

When Einhard applied freezing magic to his rapier, cold white smoke like dry ice and sparkling diamond dust were generated.

He then relaxed and readied his rapier, glaring at his prey with sharp eyes.

"Graah!"

The Demonic Wolf tried to tear Einhard apart with its claws.

Zash! Einhard's ice rapier flicked it and slashed at it.

Part of the Demonic Wolf's front legs froze and momentarily stuck to the ground. The Demonic Wolf forcefully removes his front leg from the ground, but his fingertips and some of his claws stick to the ground, injuring his front leg and causing it to bleed.

The color of the Demonic Wolf's blood is a deep purple, like a mixture of crimson and ultramarine blue, compared to the deep red blood of a human.

Einhard grinned.

Meanwhile, Hardy himself was nowhere to be seen...

The Demonic Wolf attacks Einhard again.

moment. A flying figure fell from the sky at a speed similar to that of a missile, and in one blow the Demonic Wolf's head and body were separated.

To those witnessing, the Demonic Wolf's head seemed to fly off in slow motion, with great sprays of arterial blood jetting from the stump of its neck as all dove to avoid the spatter.

The flying figure was Hardy.

Hardy jumped high into the sky, fell towards the Demonic Wolf at high speed like a falcon hunting its prey, and cut off the Demonic Wolf's head with the two swords that were hanging on his waist.

Hardy's movements at that time were as if he were kicking an invisible wall in the air.

As Hardy's party approached the peddlers after the battle, the peddlers bowed deeply over and over again.

"Th-thank you so much! Thank you! I don't know how I can ever repay you..."

"Well, we were just doing what anyone would do... More importantly, it's unfortunate there were casualties..."

"No, you saved our lives at least...uuh..."

The peddlers wept.

"Ereme Pithera!"

Ms. Splendid cast the intermediate recovery spell "Ereme Pithera" on the two horses.

The horse was suddenly enveloped in a pale green light, and the wound began to heal quickly.

"Your horses will recover after a while."

Ms. Splendid then made a proposal:

"Let's bury the bodies."

The victims were buried and graves were made.

The horse is getting better with recovery magic.

"Ah, Umm, we truly can't thank you enough. Please, if there's anything at all we can do to repay you, just say the word, anything you might need..."

"Hmm..."

Hardy stroked his chin in thought, arms lightly crossed.

"Ms. Splendid, can you use compression magic to shrink that Demonic Wolf small?"

Hardy asks Ms. Splendid.

"Huh? Are you serious?"

Ms. Splendid looked askance with arms folded.

"I'm serious. Let's take the carcass back to the village and have scholar Keegan examine it."

"Living things can't be compressed, but a corpse with an empty soul should be able to... Alright."

Ms. Splendid pointed her staff at the Demonic Wolf's carcass and incanted "Compressao!", shrinking the corpse to around a quarter of its former size.

"Still pretty big huh... Think you could double compress it?"

"Ehhh...? I dunno about that... Compressao!"

The the Demonic Wolf's carcass has become about 20% smaller.

"Hmm, well, I guess I can take this much home with me, Mr. Peddler. Pack it into some suitable bag. I want you to deliver this thing to Heimer Village with us."

"Understood. Please leave it to me."

"Let's see... ahem... Some alcohol would be nice... And any medicinal herbs or recovery potions you might have. Do you have any elixirs?"

"My apologies, but we are currently out of stock of elixirs..."

“I see.…Ah, by the way, is anyone injured? Especially, was Ein okay?”

"Isn't it too late to worry?"

Einhard said with a grin.

"Well, I figured you were probably fine... Anyway, I pegged that Demonic Wolf at around level 250, what do you think?"

Hardy posed the question to Einhard.

"Well, maybe so... My attacks were just barely getting through, so it seems accurate... Could it have come from the Demon Realm...?"

Just then, Lambert excitedly called out to them.

"Wow! You two really are amazing! None of Ms. Splendid's or my attacks did anything, but makes sense for that level!"

"Ah, you...I was concentrating on protecting everyone! If attack magic hits Demonic Wolf, you can defeat me! Don't underestimate me!"

Ms. Splendid retorted.

"Ehhh... Is that so? It was over level 250 you know? Your power seems a little... lacking."

Thump! Lambert sneered a bit, so Ms. Splendid, irritated, gave Lambert's head a solid thump.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

Einhard wears an awkward expression. His eyes seem a bit unfocused, and beads of cold sweat are forming.

“Ah, you… you’re underestimating my ability…”

Ms. Splendid was peeved, while Einhard somehow had an apologetic look.

"Alright, time to head back. the Demonic Wolf appearing is an irregularity. I'm worried about the village."

Hardy clapped his hands and took control of the situation.

◆　　◇　　◆　　◇　　◆　　◇　　◆

After Hardy and his friends left, a group of unscrupulous men who looked like thieves arrived.

Each has a snake pattern tattoo on their left arm. It has a coiled design with the tail penetrating downward.

Even those whose arms are not exposed have a snake pattern on their costumes.

"Hey, there are magia traces from the the Demonic Wolf that ran away. The wet ground there is a pool of blood..."

“What about the carcass?”

"I can't find it."

"It'd be bad news if it was still alive and wandered off injured somewhere. Could still pose quite a danger."

"No, but this much damage... It's possible that they used compression magic on the carcass and took it away."

"Damn... that's bad..."

"For now, go back to the hideout."