His distress signal worked!

The five guards jumped out from their respective craters and quickly approached the Knight with incredible speed. Well, except for the chubbiest one in the pack. Even so, he was still deceptively fast for what his body made one expect.

Each guard was exceptional in their own right. They were the Lycan Squad, after all.

All of them were Wolves, led by the illustrious Captain Tash. Her physical features were almost identical to Lien's, except for the lack of a fringe and the brown fur patches replaced by grey. She wore an armor that allowed flexibility with metallic grey plates on her shoulders, arms, torso, and legs. Around her neck was a necklace with a trinket shaped like a Dragon's head (their logo).

Standing on her right side was Locci, the tallest of them all. He had fur as black as the night sky on a new moon and eyes as yellow as a sunflower. Because of his unmatched strength, he could afford to wear heavier armor than his comrades. The Dragon's Guard symbol adorned the armor protecting his right biceps.

Tarb stood by the captain's left side. He was her brother and Lien's uncle. He was the smallest, oldest, and chubbiest of the squad but no less formidable. He was completely different from his sister and niece, as shown by the thick folds around his face, flat snout, and protruding lower jaw. Their symbol adorned his right biceps, mirroring Locci.

Supporting the squad on the back were the squad's mages, the twins Euraidd and Hufen. They had floppy ears and thicker fur than the other Wolves, and the way to differentiate them was simple. Euraidd had golden fur, while his sister's were cream-colored.

They each held a wooden staff with sikpha crystals adorning the top. Euraidd's were green, while Hufen's were blue. They wore lighter armor with the Dragon's Guard insignia on the golden one's right shoulder and the opposite side in the cream Wolf's case.

Grýla scowled at the newcomers. "Y'all came here to die?!" She giggled. "Bunch of fools!"

Tash got on all fours, and her squad followed suit. The twins held their staffs with their mouths.

"Spear Formation!"

They collectively flared their aura, white and transparent like the Lien's. Their Saniya coalesced into a pillar of unfathomable power, even momentarily dwarfing the Ogre's.

The pack's combined power shaped itself into a point of a spear. Tash took the lead, and then they clashed their Spear Formation against the dome of magenta energy!

The Knight watched in awe as the energy spear slowly carved its way into the swirling Saniya. Of course, Grýla became more and more desperate as time went on.

"N-NO! DON'T YOU DARE!"

Like a bubble, the squad popped Grýla spell! The room finally stopped shaking, and the floor was stable again. The witch was horrified.

"H-How...?" She was brought to her knees, practically accepting her defeat.

Tash didn't answer. The captain jumped at the Ogre's head and knocked her out with a single punch in her forehead!

And that was how the Giant Witch was conquered. Now, she lay like a pathetic tall heap on the floor, just like the rest of her family.

The Knight felt so relieved. He had accepted his death, but he saw no problem getting to live another day. That meant more people to save and more justice to serve.

The rest of the squad approached him. Tarb already started with his iconic hearty laughter. "Geez, Knight! You've been going through the wringer!"

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The hero laughed back. "Indeed, my fellow guard! But The Silver Knight always comes on top!" Seeing his colleagues again did wonders for his spirit.

Euraidd joined in the laugh while Locci and Hufen kept silent. They enjoyed this light moment for a few seconds before the captain chimed in. Then, everyone kept their mouths shut.

"Well, the self-destructing Ogre begged to differ!" Capt. Tash had that common expression of seriousness but with a slight edge of annoyance. The hero was the target of more of these than he wanted to admit.

"Captain! I am honored to have been saved by you and your glorious squad!" He always returned the coldness by doubling down on his bright attitude.

"Save the paw-licking for someone else, Knight." She was more worked up than usual. Yikes.

She turned her gaze towards the top of the pego jam wall. The hero could see two tiny figures on it. "And, of course, wherever you are, Lien is close."

She coldly stared at Knight's eyes, almost as if she knew exactly where they were. "With a Human, no less."

The captain had always freaked him out ever since they first met. The hero would swear Lien was adopted if it wasn't for the striking resemblance.

Speaking of who, Tash shouted at her pup. "YOU'RE GONNA GET IN REAL TROUBLE, YOUNG LADY!"

"SORRY, MOM!" Lien shouted back from far away. The hero couldn't help but chuckle at the weirdly adorable scene, then stopped when the captain's gaze returned to him.

"Euraidd. Hufen." The twins quickly stood ready for Tash's orders. "Heal him."

Oh, boy! It was time for the secret Wolf healing technique! The mages put their staffs and started to lick the unarmored parts of the hero's body. Except... you know...

The Knight giggled desperately, trying to hold his composure as the Wolves' tongues tickled him mercilessly. Thank goodness they couldn't see his tears.

This silly act was actually a pretty advanced water spell. The mages channeled Saniya through their saliva to heal the target's wounds and/or reenergize them. It took a while for the hero to get used to it, but spending as much time with Wolves made him prepared for anything.

A wave of relief crashed upon him as the water droplets went through his spandex, and the pain and fatigue slowly faded away.

----------------------------------------

Stella:

"So... That's your mom, huh?"

Lien nodded. "Yup! She's the captain of a whole unit! Captain Tash of the Lycan Squad!" Lien spoke loudly with pride, almost like the Knight. However, her mood deflated right after. "And she's gonna ground me for life."

Stella took a little while to absorb all of this. After that storm of emotions, she could finally breathe with ease. Everything was going to be alright. Lien, the Knight, herself.

While her heart lowered its rhythm to a healthy pace, the golden aura was reduced to a faint glow. This was pretty convenient since she didn't want to continue as a walking lightbulb.

Yeah, she'd be fine! She even had Lien by her side again.

Now that the Human thought about it, it was surprising how this rowdy pup made such an impression on her. Stella didn't have an actual friend for many years, only acquaintances. It was all she could afford with the thieving life.

However, it was so weird how she reacted to Lien's touch. Her heart rate skyrocketed by just a simple hug. It was a tight one, but still! It wasn't embarrassment or discomfort. It was as if...

...If she desired this, for some reason. What was wrong with her? Was she that lonely?

Argh! No use ruining a good thing. Besides, look at her! It would be like dating her dog! Gross!

Though the view she had from up there was divine! She was now considerably closer to the sparkling blue crystals on the ceiling. Now, her mind drifted to a scenario where the two girls stargazed, just like she did in Namadi.

Their hands touching, their eyes meeting...

"ARGH! STOP. IT!"

The girl focused on the cool stuff, like the pool of lava around them. That was fucking awesome! Literally hot!

Then she remembered the warmth of the Wolf's fur.

"FUCK!"

Stella blamed her sleep deprivation for these silly thoughts. Just a good night of sleep, and she would be good as new!

Lien sparked the conversation once again. "What do you think of my mom? Isn't she the coolest?!"

The captain was... something, alright. When they met a few minutes ago, she stared at the Human as if she found a cockroach. It was... humiliating and a bit scary.

"Uh..." Stella couldn't talk crap about the pup's mother in front of her. "Yeah! She was cool as heck!"

Lien's tail wagged. Damn, she was cute! In a platonic way, of course!

Her heart pounded again, not because of Lien, but something else. Then, it felt like all her energy was drained in a second, her vision blurred, and her hands took seconds to obey her brain's commands.

"Lien... I'm not... Agh!" She rested against the pup.

Lien grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her. "Stella! C'mon, don't be like that!"

Her body was completely spent. Lack of sleep, the jam, you name it. The situation escalated when she vomited a red puddle on the jam surface. She couldn't see much, but she already knew what it was.

Lien's words echoed through her last moments of consciousness. "Stella!" Then she turned to someone else. "HEY! OVER HERE!"

Then everything went to black.

She was alone in the void of the unconscious.

Except for...

"Ya think that these guards will protect ya? Ya ain't getting to the castle alive!"