Hana's sword sprang forth with lightning speed at one of the advancing creatures, only to be met by the lycanthrope's masterful deflection. It parried the strike with the flat side of one of its short swords, supporting the flat of its blade with its left shoulder and dipping into the strike.

A dazzling cascade of sparks erupted from the point of contact, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared. The maneuver was executed with incredible fluidity, forcing a clash of metal to ensure the oncoming serpent was guaranteed to ricochet. It was something I had never before witnessed from the creatures, even during the times I had fought them alone.

In response, Hana channeled an increased level of focus into her blade, unleashing a relentless barrage of strikes against her monstrous adversary as we continued to kite it.

Each attack was still skillfully deflected, revealing that the previous parry was no simple fluke.

I raced ahead, outpacing the onslaught of snow, and once we were clear of the avalanche, set Hana and Claire down on their feet, preparing the party for the imminent battle.

Almost immediately, a White Wolf pounced at me, its razor-sharp claws and fangs encased in a layer of solid ice. It swiped ferociously, carving through the air and leaving behind a trail of freezing cold.

I retaliated with a stiff punch, reducing the beast to red paste and shattered bone. But not before its icy attack connected with my left arm.

As the frosty claws made contact, ice spikes erupted from my cloak, shattering against my iron-like skin. My left arm was momentarily frozen to my torso, but I wrenched it free with ease, my body now pulsating with an intense surge of purple mana.

The clash of metal rang out, and Hana's glistening, serpentine blade whizzed past me, targeting the next oncoming White Wolf. It severed one of its front legs, the creature having narrowly evaded a fatal blow to its torso with a horizontal jump.

Nevertheless, its fate was sealed.

Taking the advantage, I tapped into my full speed, no longer weighed down by Hana and Claire. A surge of electricity coursed through my legs, propelling me into the air with a burst of white powder. Cocking my fist back, I unleashed another devastating punch.

The injured White Wolf's head disintegrated upon impact, this time its skull reduced to a fine mist of red and purple, the drain taking effect even though Hana hadn’t dealt the final blow. Much like the previous White Wolf, its demise resulted in a layer of ice forming on my skin. This recurring phenomenon sparked a sudden idea in my mind, and without hesitation, I shared it with Hana.

(Hana, drain the White Wolves. They’ve got some ice magic, so you can try disabling the Werewolves’ swords with it.)

(Okay, got it.)

In a moment of decisive action, Hana swiftly turned her focus to the menacing White Wolves, her enchanted sword striking with unparalleled accuracy.

The serpentine blade sliced through the ferocious creatures as easily as a hot knife through butter, transforming their life force into a rejuvenating purple fog.

Upon my command, Hana unleashed her sword once more. She targeted the Werewolf that led the pack, focused with the intention of creating ice with her excess of mana.

The creature once again managed to parry the attack.

This time, however, it was taken by surprise as a torrent of icy spikes erupted from its blade, impaling the monster in multiple locations. The Werewolf's howls of anguish echoed through the night, its torment abruptly cut short as the segmented sword's tip gracefully arced back around, penetrating the back of its skull and bursting forth from its mouth, shattering its fangs in the process.

From the doomed creature's eye sockets sprouted a thicket of frozen thorns, glistening with a macabre mixture of crimson blood and skewered eyes.

The beast's weapons tumbled from its lifeless paws, only to be captured by a swirling vortex of purple mana.

As the creature's body slowly disintegrated, Hana swiftly moved on to the next threat, her blade dancing gracefully through the air as it sought out the next Werewolf.

Having observed the fate of its fallen comrade, the beast adopted a different strategy, hurling one of its blades to intercept Hana's sword, and using the brief window of opportunity to dart past its deadly arc.

Wanting in on the fun, I hurled myself at the creature targeting Hana, the inside of my elbow connecting viciously with its throat in a powerful lariat strike. The impact sent the Werewolf twirling through the air, its broken neck lolling awkwardly, yet still connected to its body.

We were still not done with it, however, as Hana unleashed her newfound arsenal of blades to seal the deal. They soared skyward before descending like vengeful bolts of lightning, impaling the falling beast twice and pinning it to the cold, unforgiving ground in a grotesque display of dominance.

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With the tide turning in our favor, eliminating the remaining Wolves became almost effortless. Hana's proficiency grew exponentially, as each killed Werewolf added two more weapons to her arsenal. The sheer volume of swords ensured that if one missed its mark, another was close behind, eager to capitalize on the first attacker's failure.

Her focus was unevenly distributed, the segmented blade demanding most of her attention, while the other blades were primarily directed in straight lines.

As the swords clashed against the combination of steel and ice, they whirred and hissed, accompanied by a spray of sparks and the shattering of ice shards. The battlefield was enveloped in a fog of blood and frost, the once-fierce White Wolves and Werewolves locked in a fierce struggle against the ever-growing swarm of airborne swords.

Like bees pollinating flowers, the swords darted to and fro, their enchanted strikes releasing an icy pollen that formed jagged lines of icicles upon contact with the ground. Some of the icicles caught legs in their bloom; impaling, cutting, or entirely removing whole limbs of the creatures.

Hindered by the cluttered battlefield, strewn with icicles and lifeless bodies, the wolves found their movements increasingly restricted.

Yet, even after some of them made a desperate dash to close in on Hana, the flying swords swiftly switched priorities, relentlessly spearing any who dared to approach. Many were pinned to the ground, bleeding out with no hope of living, yet still struggling to break free of the prison of steel and ice. Despite their muscles built for speed and power, the wolves were no match for the swords that were not bound by skin or bone. Emotionless and cold, the weapons skewered the last of the beasts through their hearts, or eviscerated them from within by the force of the magical ice. In this death’s dance, the once-mighty wolves were reduced to nothing more than gore-strewn, frozen husks.

And soon, they were not even that.

The remnants of the decimated creatures were quickly reduced to nothing more than a purple mist, as every trace of their liquid life force was siphoned away. The battlefield, now strewn with desiccated skin, saw the crimson stains on the snow gradually fade, returning to their original pristine whiteness. It appeared that Hana's energy-draining abilities had evolved during the battle, allowing her to efficiently cleanse the battlefield of spilled blood.

“Damn,” I said, only able to watch as she effortlessly dispatched a whole legion of monsters, and then proceed to be her own clean up crew. “That was pretty nuts.”

Claire chimed in, her gaze fixated on Hana, lips pursed while nodding up and down.

“Yeah, no kidding. If you keep this up, you’ll be freakishly strong in no time. I mean, not that you aren’t already.”

“…”

For some reason, Hana remained unresponsive, neither acknowledging nor addressing either of us.

Her numerous weapons, however, persisted in their aerial suspension, forming a menacing metallic cloud above her. Her eyes seemed to be transfixed on something in the distance, the purple mana within them shimmering with dangerous intensity. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but through our telepathic connection, I could sense that her thoughts were not intentionally shielded; rather, it appeared as though her concentration was solely directed towards the slope we had just fought on.

Her silence grew increasingly disquieting, so I decided to speak up once more.

"Hana, are you alright?"

(Sun. There's one more. Look.)

Reacting to her mental prompt, I spun around to survey the battlefield once more, scanning the landscape intently.

There, amidst the carnage, I spotted an unfamiliar, lean figure that bore some resemblance to the Werewolves we had encountered, but was also distinctly different.

This creature was more slender, with an elongated torso and extended limbs. It wielded no weapons, but the length of its claws was comparable to that of daggers. Its ears were floppy, akin to a dog's rather than a wolf, and lay flat against the sides of its elongated, narrow head, drooping down like forlorn curtains. Its eyes were dark, and I could see no sparkle of life within them.

The creature languidly licked its lips, its eerie demeanor further unsettling us.

(What is that thing?) Hana inquired, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized the distant figure.

(I'm not sure,) I confessed. (But it’s really creeping me out. Let's kill it quickly and get out of here. We’ll have plenty more opportunities for you to absorb more stuff after we set up camp and rest.)

Hana nodded in agreement, sharing my sentiment. Due to the adrenaline rush from the heat of battle, she had almost forgotten about how tired she was.

Her swarm of swords aligned in formation, pointing menacingly towards the mysterious beast.

Hana was poised to unleash a barrage of frigid strikes, eager to end this conflict as soon as possible. Yet, the creature remained motionless, unfazed by the impending onslaught.

‘Does it not know what’s going on?’ I thought to myself, wondering why the creature did not make any moves to protect itself.

Hana initiated her attack by launching the serpentine blade, its tip unerringly homing in on the creature, with the rest of her arsenal following suit. And still, despite the increasingly imminent threat, the creature did not budge. An uneasy feeling began to take root in my mind.

Something felt off.

It seemed like...

The monster didn’t perceive us as threats at all.

The moment Hana's serpentine blade connected with the creature's fur, it triggered the formation of a crystalline layer of icicles to sprout even thicker than her previous attacks. Almost simultaneously, her aerial armada of swords descended upon the monster, relentlessly piercing its form and encasing it in a colossal ice cocoon with countless thorns adorning its perimeter. Snow danced in the air around the scene, temporarily masking the aftermath of Hana's devastating onslaught.

Immediately after, her blades retreated skyward, and a moment of silence ensued, all of us anticipating the outcome of Hana’s vicious attack.

Our wait was short-lived, as the creature casually emerged from its icy confinement, shattering the frozen shell into innumerable fragments as it effortlessly withstood the force of Hana's assault.

Not a single scratch marred its form.

My heart fell into my stomach as the creature languidly licked its lips once more, its gaze fixed intently on us. With a sudden burst of terrifying speed, it lunged in our direction, razor-sharp claws extended and fanged maw agape.