Before they knew it, dusk was upon them. They'd spent the day talking with Joseph and helping him with errands around the farm. When the sun was beginning to set, he’d asked the party to help shepherd his animals into the barn.

When all of that was taken care of, all that was left was to deal with the wolf. They waited for it near the barn, hoping it would show itself soon.

“Nothing yet.” Mahiro shook his head. He’d gone out and searched for any signs of it in the forest, but apparently there was nothing yet. “It should be here soon, though. Joseph said it’s been coming every night. Are you guys ready?”

Was Keisuke ready? Frankly, he had no idea. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the whole “killing” thing. It’s what was expected of them, and he agreed to the quest knowing that, but still. The thought of taking a life lingered in his mind the entire time.

“I…guess?” Keisuke replied, though with growing uncertainty. “Maybe I’ll have an easier time once we get to fighting it. But right now I’m pretty nervous.”

“I don’t know if I can–” Fumiko started but abruptly stopped. She was fidgeting apprehensively. “U-um, I don’t know if I can k-kill animals...”

Apparently, she had shared Keisuke’s concern. It was a pretty normal thing to be weary of, right? None of them had any experience with that sort of thing. At least, it felt that way.

Mahiro nodded his head in agreement. “I understand. To be honest, I’m quite reluctant as well. But this is just something we’re going to have to do sooner or later.” He stopped and took a breath. “I’m not asking you to enjoy it. Actually, it’s reassuring that you’re both so worried. All I ask is that you trust me.”

The look Mahiro gave them was gravely serious. Keisuke and Fumiko were both uneasy about the whole thing, but Mahiro was right in that they had to do it sooner or later. As scouts, it was just a matter of when. They both knew that much.

“I-I'll try my best...” Fumiko nodded her head a little and clutched her staff.

A couple minutes passed and there were still no signs of the wolf. According to Mahiro, this would’ve been easier if they had a ranger in their party. They were a union that trained in forestry and animal handling. That included the hunting and tracking of animals, along with how to survive in the woods. They knew everything there was to know about wildlife. But neither of them were rangers, so this was the best option available. If they wandered in the forest this late, they might get lost. So, all they could do was wait for the wolf to come to them.

A few more minutes passed until they heard a rustle in the woods.

“Did you hear that?” Mahiro was the first to sense something. He quickly stood up to scout the surrounding area. Keisuke and Fumiko followed his lead.

As soon as they stepped out of the barn, Keisuke noticed a dog-like creature in front of Mahiro. It was the wolf. It had dark grey fur and yellow eyes that shone in the night. Keisuke immediately took notice of the wolf's size. It was big. And not as in slightly larger than a regular wolf, but almost twice over the size of one. It wasn't a normal wolf, that much was certain.

“They didn't say it was a dire wolf...” Mahiro muttered. He was standing in front of the wolf and the two were staring each other down. The wolf shifted its oval eyes over Keisuke and Fumiko. Fumiko was shaking like a new-born fawn. It was almost as if the wolf could sense this, as it bared its fangs and let out a low growl.

“Watch out!” Mahiro suddenly shouted, and then the beast pounced.

It was lunging at Fumiko with bloodthirsty intent. It moved so quickly that Keisuke had barely any time to react. If it wasn't for Mahiro, Fumiko would've been killed right there.

Mahiro slammed into the wolf with his shield, stopping the wolf’s advances and knocking it away.

“Get ready, you two!” Mahiro shouted and that snapped some sense into Keisuke.

“R-right!” Keisuke drew his longsword from over his shoulder and aimed it at the wolf.

This was happening. This was seriously happening. Keisuke’s heart was pounding in his chest and his hands were shaking. He was even struggling to keep his sword upright. But he knew he couldn't afford to waver now. This was a matter of life and death.

The wolf raised its head and howled and the sound was bone-chilling. When it was done, it looked down at the three of them, and then attacked.

It launched its attack directly at Mahiro first, charging at him with its fangs bared. Keisuke could barely see it properly as it moved. It was like a grey flicker in the night.

He heard it collide into Mahiro's shield. It looked like Mahiro had managed to cover himself.

“Attack it now, Keisuke!”

Hearing that, Keisuke was spurred into action. He charged at the wolf and swung his sword across.

The wolf backed away from Keisuke's attack and his sword sliced through the air.

“We have to work together to kill it,” Mahiro said. He glanced over at Fumiko who was terrified and left trembling. She was in no state to fight whatsoever. Noticing this, Mahiro looked at Keisuke. “It’s up to us. Stay behind me, okay? I'll protect us.” Keisuke nodded. He was terrified as well, but he knew it had to be done.

“I'll attack first!” Mahiro ran at the wolf and swung his sword at it. The attack and movement itself was a bit messy and uncontrolled. It was evident that he was still an amateur.

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The wolf avoided the attack almost effortlessly. It settled and glared at both of them through its yellow eyes. Keisuke decided to follow up on the attack.

“Hungh!” he yelled out and swung at the wolf. His attack was also sloppy. His teacher had made it look so easy when she was beating him to a pulp everyday. But now, the weight of the sword, the heat of battle...it all felt too real.

The attack missed again. But as the wolf reeled back, Mahiro used the opportunity to strike. He brought his sword down to the wolf's side, and there was a yelp. Mahiro had managed to get a hit in. The proof was in the line of blood now coating his longsword, and the stain of red spreading like dark wine on the wolf's fur.

“I-I hit it...” Even Mahiro sounded surprised. He looked at his sword and Keisuke could see his hands trembling slightly.

Fumiko gasped behind them. The sight and thought of harming an animal must've been too much for her to handle. Keisuke couldn't blame her. He couldn’t say he was having an easy time, either. His heart was pounding like a drum in his chest and he hadn't realised it until now but he was sweating profusely. If a strike from the sword was that easy to draw the wolf's blood, then just how easy would it be for the wolf to tear them apart? That thought frightened him the most. The thought that at any moment the wolf could lock its fangs around one of their throats and just like that it would be over.

“Keisuke, watch out!” He heard Mahiro's voice suddenly shouting at him. When Keisuke snapped out of it, his eyes refocused and he caught a grey blur fluttering before him.

When he looked again, the wolf was on him. He knew he should've kept his guard up. He knew that. He was trained to position the sword across his body to prevent attacks like this. But in the heat of the moment that was the last thing on his mind. Keisuke immediately thought to protect himself, and his first reaction was to use his arm.

The bite was deep.

Keisuke felt fangs sinking into him and piercing into his bone. He fell to the ground. The wolf was on him. It had his right arm in a vice and Keisuke could feel the power of the wolf as it pulled on him. Blood was spraying everywhere and the pain was immeasurable.

“ARGHHHH!” Keisuke screamed so loudly his voice cracked. “GET IT OFF! GET IT! PLEASE, PLEASE, IT HURTS! IT HURTS!”

He tried hitting the wolf with his other arm but it was no use, it wasn't budging. The wolf was viciously mangling him. It was determined to rip Keisuke's arm apart. He could feel the bite getting deeper and deeper.

"Get off of him!" Mahiro came charging in with his shield in hand. He slammed into the wolf, and Keisuke felt its weight leave him. Mahiro had managed to knock it off.

Keisuke coddled his arm. It was severely wounded and bleeding profusely. Not to mention the pain was unbearable.

Mahiro grabbed his longsword and edged towards the wolf. It looked like the beast was still disoriented from his previous attack and couldn't defend itself in time.

Now was the time. Mahiro could end it here.

“S-stop it...”

He raised his sword in the air. Almost as if to psych himself up, Mahiro screamed.

“Ahhhh!”

And then he brought the blade down.

But just before he could deal the blow, another voice screamed out.

“STOP IT!” Fumiko's voice took all of them by surprise.

Mahiro stopped his attack mid-swing and turned his attention to Fumiko. The wolf seemed to notice this. It used the opportunity to slip away from Mahiro as his guard was down. The beast ran away and disappeared into the trees.

“Damn it!” cursed Mahiro as he watched the wolf flee. That was their chance to finish it and it was now gone.

His attention was immediately redirected, though, when he heard a sob. “Keisuke-kun!” he called and rushed to his side.

Mahiro crouched down beside him and examined the injury. His face contorted into a wince. “This is bad. If we don't do something about this...”

Keisuke's entire body was quivering, growing hotter and hotter. He was losing a lot of blood and his vision was getting blurry.

Is this how I die…? Wow, that’s not even funny…

“Fumiko-chan,” Mahiro turned to her. “You can heal him, right? Please, he needs help quickly. My spell Lay On Hands can't mend a wound like this.”

But Fumiko seemed to scarcely hear him. “I’m sorry...” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean to... I'm sorry...” She kept repeating those words over and over.

“Fumiko-chan, please. Keisuke is...”

“I’m sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorr—”

“Fumiko!” Mahiro shouted at her.

That seemed to work. Fumiko snapped out of it and she looked at Mahiro.

“Keisuke needs healing. Please.”

Fumiko looked down at Keisuke and she seemed to only now realize what was happening. Almost immediately, she rushed over and dropped before Keisuke.

Fumiko held both of her hands over Keisuke's arm. “M-Mother Lucilla, I call upon your power. Mend this one so he may fight again... [Cure Light Wounds].”

Fumiko’s hands began to exude a bright, blue light. Keisuke felt a gentle warmth come over him. It felt exactly like what that girl from Ren's party had done to him, but the potency was different.

Keisuke could feel the bite marks on his skin closing and the pain subsiding. When it was done, his arm looked as good as new. There were no wounds from the bite mark left. He'd still lost quite a bit of blood, so his head was woozy. The pain didn't seem to be all the way gone, either.

“Sorry, I'm not a high level cleric yet. My healing spells can't get rid of all of your pain...” Fumiko had her eyes cast downward. She said that in a small voice. She sounded pretty disappointed in herself.

“It's okay,” Keisuke assured her and smiled. “This is more than enough. Thank you.”

Fumiko looked really distraught. Keisuke heard her sniffle, and when he looked at her face, he saw tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “I couldn't help. If it w-wasn't for me you would've—”

“If it wasn't for you, Keisuke's arm would be worse off. Mahiro placed a hand on her shoulder. “You were scared. It's okay to be scared. Neither of us blame you.”

Fumiko kept crying.

“We should head back to Fortuna,” Mahiro said. “Keisuke-kun, can you stand?”

Keisuke nodded.

And so, they made their way back to the city with nothing to show for their efforts but Keisuke's bloodied sleeves.