"Wait. " Ester said. She extended her hand and stopped the impatient and worried Lupa from approaching Vincent for the second time. Ester wanted to be safe no harm comes to Lupa.

"What now?" Asked Lupa in an irritable tone. She wanted to hurry.

Ester didn't reply. Instead, she took out a shirt from her Gender Bound Bag Of Holding and tossed it on the acid floating on the water. Ester wanted to be on the safe side that it was truly safe and not watch Lupa melt her feet off. The injured Vincent was enough.

As Ester suspected but wanted to confirm, the shirt didn't melt, nor could a hint of reaction be seen. Strangely, water or blood was the weakness of the ant's acid. As if a liquid substance could weaken the acid while dense objects could do nothing but melt.

"Now it's safe to approach Vincent. " Ester confirmed. She became anxious, and her heart raced now that they could approach Vincent to check his condition. From a few meters away, he looked like a shriveled corpse.

Lupa arrived next to Vincent and swiftly lowered down on her knees. She gently touched a skinny and deeply scarred arm.

Vincent was similar to a burned patient. His muscles seemed mostly gone. Ester and Lupa were too worried to feel sickened by this horrible sight. Their loved one was at death door.

"Sister... what are we going to do? How can we help Vincent?" Questioned Lupa, filled with distress. As the question ended, a rain of tears started falling on Vincent's face. The brave wolf began crying.

"... " Ester had no answer to the question. She placed her fingers on the unmelted neck and checked for a pulse. Vincent was still alive, but only he had the ability to cast heal.

Ester and Lupa knew they had to do something quickly, but what could they do was the question repeating in their minds. Both didn't possess healing items nor spells. Rushing to the city would take too long to arrive.

"Maybe... maybe we need to let Vincent survive the night and wake him up. Only Vincent can heal... " Ester positively said. She then joined Lupa as the two shed tears for Vincent.

Vincent was unconscious, and Kazumi was hanging by a mana thread. She almost exhausted her existence supporting Vincent. All she could do was to enter deep sleep and hope that her eyes would open again.

Ester and Lupa felt tired after a few minutes of constant crying. They had to leave this area as soon as possible. However, trouble didn't shy to find them.

Lupa noticed the sound of multiple rustling bushes. Her ears perked up, and her tail became tense. She quickly stood up and shapeshifted her arms to fight.

"Ohh no." Ester blurted after watching Lupa suddenly becoming serious.

A Soldier Ant rushed from behind a bush and charge at Lupa; as it drew close enough, the ant lunged filled with bloodlust. It seemed the ant knew what transpired in the ant's nest.

The tired and exhausted white wolf was deeply furious. She didn't feel threatened by the deep-seething anger bubbling inside her heart. Lupa wanted to take all the anger she felt on the Soldier Ant lunging at her.

Lupa clenched her clawless fists and prepared to throw a punch with all her remaining strength. Suddenly, time slowed down, and her golden eyes lit along with the focus boost they provided. A few red tears of blood trickled from her eyes. It seemed the mysterious ability was overused and reached the limit.

The shining golden eyes locked on the slowly approaching Soldier Ant. Lupa bolted forward and opened her arms with precise accuracy. The next second, she grabbed the Soldier Ant's head and twisted it with incredible strength.

Such speed from the increased reflexes caused the ant's head to spin like a record. The ant landed on the ground, looking quite dead. When Lupa landed, the ant's head rolled on the ground.

Time returned to normal as her boosted senses and reactions disappeared. Lupa fell on her knees. Her remaining strength was almost entirely spent from overexerting her body.

"Lupa..." Ester wanted to ask about the wolf girl's condition, but Lupa interrupted.

"I'm fine!" Lupa exclaimed.

Lupa then noticed tears of blood falling on her white-furred arm. She quickly wiped the red tears and shapeshifted her armed back to human. She wanted to hide the fact of the bloody tears.

However, the situation turned grim a minute later. The ant colony was strangely on high alert. The death of the Royal Guard Ant had caused the ant colony to notice the nest's guardian was destroyed. The Soldier Ant that attacked might have been a scout.

*Thu-thum-thump*

Ester and Lupa felt the ground tremble. Loud thumping sounds rocked the ground, trees quivered, and their branches shook. It felt like a stampede or something large was approaching them.

"Take Vincent and run! I will protect you!" Lupa shouted. She intended to sacrifice herself for the survival of her loved one and sister.

Lupa's will was brimming with bravery, but her body was sensitive to the approach malice. Her instincts told her to run, but she denied any intention of doing so. Her body shivered in fear, but she stayed rooted to the ground with the intent to fight.

"No! I will fight with you! I will not be a liability any longer! " Said Ester while she forcefully used Frost Sigil spell. She then noticed a strange connection near her, like a fine link tugging to have her body complete.

As Ester's gaze moved to the side, Elsir entered her sight. The blade was emitting cold and mysteriously shaking as if it was alive. Strangely, no acid was on the blade nor near it.

Elsir trembled with liveliness as if it wanted to be in Ester's hands. The determination to fight no matter the odds was being shared through their soul-bound connection.

Lupa understood what Ester felt. Lupa learned that it was better to die together than living with a loss. She lost too much in her difficult life. So the wish to protect Vincent, Ester, and her life grew even fiercer.

Ester picked Elsir. The enchanted sword instantly shone brighter and frosty runes radiated cold at a higher intensity.

Ester could feel the Mana Fatigue assaulting her body with pain, but she was still adamant about fighting. The human and blade acted as one.

"I love you, sister. You are the first female human to be kind to me. " Lupa said. It felt like these were her final words.

"I do too, little wolf. Hehe. I always wanted to call you that." Ester replied with a weak chuckle. It appeared the two women who loved the same man decided to protect or die with him.

*Crack!*

Trees started falling violently by something massive one after the other. The thumping sounds of heavy footsteps reverberated loudly as each step sounded louder... sounded closer.

Ester placed her shoulder against Lupa's shoulder. Both their shoulders trembled from the feeling of dread. They knew from experience that running away never seemed to work. So standing their ground and fight was all they felt both could do.

"I'm happy to have met you. My little wolf sister Lupa. " Ester said with a shaky voice.

"The new chance of a different and happy life was nice. I'm fortunate to have met you, my human sister Ester." Lupa replied with a similar thought.

As the two women stood their ground for their man, danger arrived.

*Snap, Boom!*

A tree flew deadly close to their direction. A Royal Ant Guard appeared a few meters in front of them.

*Tsss, Crunch!*

A tree melted from the opposite side. Another Royal Guard Ant appeared. The situation seemed grimmer than they thought. It was difficult to kill one, but now two appeared.

Ester and Lupa gulped. Lupa stood in front of Vincent while growling at the Royal Ant Guard. Ester stood at the opposite side of Vincent and pointed the cold enchanted Elsir at the other Royal Guard Ant.

Their death was a foregone conclusion. Both even forgot Tula was still alive and nearby. In the past few weeks after meeting Vincent, fighting for a chance to live was engraved in their soul.

*Thump Thump*

Both massive ants approached. They stomped their legs as if issuing a challenge to another predator. The Royal Guard Ants strangely glared at the near-death Vincent as if they were wary of him.

'Please slow time. I wish to slow the time. I need to move fast. I wish to move faster.' Lupa repeated the same thoughts over and over.

However, it was to no avail. The mysterious time slowing-like ability that increased her reflexes and focus didn't activate. It seemed killing the previous Soldier Ant used the last bit of juice left.

*Skroar!*

Shouted one of the Royal Guard Ants. It raised its scythe-like appendage, ready to swing at Lupa.

The second Royal Guard Ant inflated its throat to shoot a ball of acid at Ester. The situation couldn't be worse than this. It was game over...

*Whoosh!*

A gust of wind suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Lupa's skirt and hair suddenly fluttered along with the momentary gust. Ester flustered and was about to fall from her weak, trembling legs. Her body couldn't handle any more scares.

*Skrooo...*

*Thud*

*Thud*

Blood suddenly gushed from the two Royal Guard Ant's upper and lower body like a fountain. The two monstrous ants got severed in two by this mysterious sharp wind.

This occurred so quickly that it took a few seconds for their body and wings to slide, separate, and fall on the ground like a kid trying to fix a broken toy without super glue.

Somehow, the two towering Royal Guard Ants died so quickly that it was inconceivable. Body parts fell, and the ground was painted red. Deathly wind reaped the monstrous ants in the blink of an eye.

"W-what happened, sister?" The bewildered Lupa asked. She couldn't believe the towering ants died in mere seconds when they suffered so much just to kill only one.

Lupa then glanced at Vincent with hopeful eyes as she heard from Ester how he killed the Great Gray Wolf, but it wasn't him. Vincent lay on the ground with his life hanging by a thread.

Ester also turned her head to check if Vincent caused it. His power was unimaginable when he lost control. His body healed even a missing arm by the mysterious unknown power. However, Vincent was still at death's door on the ground.

The gust of the wind came from someone or something else. It was too destructive and selective to have been a natural occurrence. The wind felt as if it was controlled rather than simply moved in one direction.