From behind, Joshua sprinted like an arrow, his blade shining with its sharpness, and it swung through the air as he came like a hurling wind at the beast. The beast, having deflected the spear, turned to face Joshua and struck at him with the same paw it lifted to deflect the spear.

  ?Joshua curved in an arch, avoiding the strike, circling while also rotating his sword and swinging it upward through the path the wolf's paw extended, cutting it across as a result.

  ?The wolf exclaimed slightly at its cut and tried to create distance between itself and Joshua, but the recently gotten injury to its leg made it unable to reach its full speed, and Joshua was able to swing his blade in that time of the wolf's struggle.

  ?The blade that went up, after swinging upward to cut its paw, was brought down by him with great force to slice across the dark, shining fur of the wolf's body. The wolf, having been reduced from its usual speed, failed to respond to the attack, and the blade ran across its body. The sharpness of the blade proved itself to be able to slice through the dark fur of the beast as Dark red blood spilled out from the cut.

  ?The beast took the attack upfront and responded even in a deadly manner, as it bit down toward Joshua while suffering an attack from him. Joshua saw the teeth-filled jaws of the beast reaching him through the spilled blood from the wound, and his blade came to a halt halfway through the swing. Ducking his head, he stepped back, avoiding the wolf's bite, and then he once again thrust his sword at the same spot he took it from, swinging it down to continue his slice.

  ?The second attack proved more effective than the first, as the wolf screamed when the sword thrust into it, and for the moment Joshua swung it down, the beast showed an expression of pure agony as it roar in pain. The blade only released from its body after it reached the end of the wolf's body, and at that point, blood is pouring out like a stream. However, Joshua's blade did not halt; he jump at the beast again, getting extremely close to the beast that was suffering in pain. The beast, seeing Joshua get close, tried to back away while growling at him and biting aimlessly at him.

  ?Then it halt to take a breath and howled. And as it did, the nearby wolves started to show a reaction. The beasts that once showed no attention to the battle between Dark Shadow and Joshua now focused only on this battle and started to rush to the aid of the Dark Shadow.

  ?Joshua knew he had only a little time in hand. If the wolves got here, he would not have another chance to end the battle, and he would surely be in danger when facing an overwhelming amount of wolves at once.

  He had already moved, and the wolf failed to back away enough to avoid his blade. Joshua swung his blade at once and sliced across the wolf's face, slightly cutting it from the surface. The wolf responded and bravely bit at Joshua as it endured his attack. Joshua circled again, avoiding it, and brought his blade and thrust it into the neck of the beast, digging it more than two inches into the iron like skin.

  ?Joshua ran at once after the thrust, bringing the sword along with him and dragging it across the body, creating another deep cut mark all the way through its body.

  Once he reached its stomach length, Joshua took his sword back and jumped at the beast's head; his sword is already lifted, and the beast was growling in pain and did not react to him.

  ?After the jump, he lands next to its head, and the sword came down with him with great force; the sharpness of it shines as he strikes it directly through the neck.

  ?At first, it only cut through a few inches before halting, but Joshua mustered up his strength and forced the sword down with his hand. And through the whimpering and growling of the wolf, he swung down the sword right through its neck, slicing it apart.

  ?The sliced head of the beast rolled once before falling to the ground, but before it touched it, Joshua grabbed hold of it. Looking at the head, he straightened up his back and breathed heavily. The exhaustion is visible in him, yet Joshua had the focus of an eagle on his face.

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  ?From a slight distance away, Melavan is beholding this scene; the battle only took less than fifteen seconds to come to an end, and he gazed at Joshua holding the sliced head of the beast, seemingly proud and even enjoying his victory.

  ?Just as Melavan thought of it, Joshua lifted the head of the Dark Shadow up and roared in victory. His voice did not show his age; instead, it was a roar that shook the heart, piercing through the battlefield. It attracted enough attention for everything to come to a halt for once.

  ?Seeing the blood-dripping head of the dark-fur wolf lifted by Joshua, the other wolves suddenly showed signs of uncoordinated behavior. The beasts that already ran at Joshua and the dark-fur wolf scattered, and soon all started to run away in all directions without unity, like a pack that lost its leader.

  ?Soldiers did not try to stop the beasts as they were already exhausted from the battle, they watched as the wolves left, sighing in their hearts in relief but also having anger over losing most of their comrades to the beasts.

  ?Some among them cheered for their victory, which was soon joined by all. Melavan , having stayed nearby to Joshua, also joined and turned to Joshua to share the celebration of the victory.

  "The beast falls and we won! It was an incredible battle, kid, and we actually won because of it!"

  ?He exclaimed. It was a celebration filled with joy for the victory. However, Joshua's face did not show the joy of winning. He, who was previously in the thrill of a battle, now stood with a blank expression as if something important had been taken away from him.

  ?"True. We won." Joshua's blade lifted from the ground, and it was directed at the throat of Melavan . Melavan himself is suddenly taken back and took a cautious and confused step back.

  ?"What... what's this about—"

  ?"It was my battle, and you interfered. Do not interfere with my battle ever again, even if my life is at risk." Joshua's words arrived like a clear, sharp sword cutting off Melavan 's own.

  ?The silence returned. Melavan gazed at Joshua awkwardly. Nearby soldiers observed both of them, their gazes having self-caution as they looked at Joshua. They had witnessed how he battled, and it left a clear mark in their heads about him. This mark is a strong one that offers both a way of protection and also a danger to them.

  ?Gazes filled with caution and hesitation landed on Joshua. Soldiers standing around Sedric became more tense as they quickly treated the injured wounds of their captain to bring him back to consciousness, and others stood around him for protection.

  ?Beholding all this, Joshua had only his eyes for Melavan .

  ?"I understand. I apologize for what I've done. I swear on my name: in the future, even if your life is at risk, I would not interfere with any of your battles, kid."

  In a sharp and clear voice, Melavan gave his promise.

  ?And it was all Joshua needed to hear. He tossed the wolf's head into Melavan 's hands before turning back to the Dark Shadow's deceased body.

  ?But at that moment, a light became visible to him.

  ~

  ?[Individual quest cleared]

  ?[You receive Rare class: Burster]

  ~

  ?Words appeared through it, showing his achievement and what he gained.

  ~

  ??[Burster class source is being granted to the individual; adjusting physical traits fitting to the class]

  ~

  A sudden whisper reached Joshua's mind. And he looked around for the source of the sound. The soldiers are still dealing with the aftermath of the battle, and Joshua knew what he heard was the whimper of a woman—and on this battlefield, there are no women.

  ?Yet another mysterious thing that happened, but compared to what he experienced before, hearing the voice of a woman from nowhere felt more believable to him.

  ?"Huh! What's happening to the Captain? Why is his body changing and twitching?"

  ?A sudden exclaim from one of the soldiers taking care of Sedric's wounds reached Joshua, and observing them, he saw that Sedric, laying on the ground, started to twitch like a fish that's pulled out from the deep water.

  ?As the twitching intensified, there were clear signs of change starting to appear in his body. His hands became red and his finger nails became much sharper, and blood started to flow down through his closed eyes to the ground. His hair became brown and messy, as if he is turning into an inhuman being.

  ?Soldiers panicked, but they were soon distracted by lights that appeared in front of their own eyes, leaving Joshua as the only witness to see what's happening to Death Galloper on the ground.

  ?He wondered what's happening and what the Death Galloper is going through. And as if fate is playing its tricks on him, the moment after his thought, a twitching started to appear within his body.