Lord Of The Lost

In the frozen stillness, the Black Swan's lips moved slightly.

[Voice Transmission]!

"Iris," she whispered, her voice carried through the darkness, "I'm at my limit. I'll use my soul to cast [Eternal Night Guardian], putting Sophia into an absolute defense. But it will only hold until dawn. Can you finish this by then?"

Iris's faint voice replied, barely audible to anyone else.

"I will. Don't ask why. But I'm taking Mott with me.

"We are the last of the old Wolf Lords. This ship, the werewolf clan, should have sunk with the original moon five hundred years ago.

"For centuries, I've served as the werewolf priest, but I've long wondered why I'm still alive. It's been pain and suffering. But now it's over.

"When Sophia opens her eyes, she'll see the morning sun and fields of flowers. No werewolf will ever threaten her again.

"In this new era, werewolves and witches will both endure."

The Black Swan's voice softened. "Then let it be so. Only by shattering the old statue can a new one rise from the ruins. The night has been corrupted for too long, and the witches cannot rest. I hope Sophia finds redemption."

She took a single, decisive step forward, her form consumed by the silent, consuming darkness. The battle was about to reach its final act.

A soft, childlike voice echoed in the Black Swan's mind.

"Elder sister…"

The Black Swan froze, her pitch-black eyes softening with a faint glow.

"…Sophia, you're awake."

"It's so noisy outside," the voice complained, sleepy and innocent.

"…It won't be for long," the Black Swan replied gently. "I promise."

"Is this the first time we've spoken, sister? I could only feel you before."

"No, Sophia. I spoke to you once, ten years ago, when you were born."

"What did you say back then?"

"I said, 'Sophia, welcome to the world.'"

"Then why did you leave me, sister? Do you not like me anymore?"

The Black Swan's voice trembled slightly. "How could I not like you? I will always love you, Sophia."

"Then why did you leave?"

"We never left, Sophia. We've always been by your side."

The Black Swan whispered these words, and with them, the oppressive darkness around her began to fade. The night gave way to a serene glow as moonlight poured over the ruined wilderness, illuminating the devastation.

Before her, the elite werewolf trembled. His body, covered in deep wounds and dripping blood, was failing. His massive, exaggerated right claw hung limply, torn and mangled from the battle. His entire arm quivered, the muscle fibers stretched to their breaking point.

But even in his broken state, it wasn't a victory.

The Black Swan turned her gaze toward the distant horizon, where more wolf howls rose into the night. In the direction of the border town, the remaining werewolves had broken through and were now racing toward the battlefield with unrelenting ferocity. Behind them, human pursuers followed closely, their determination burning like a flame in the dark.

Farther back, Iris and Mott were locked in their final clash, their strength completely spent. Flesh and blood melded grotesquely as Iris's decaying body began to fail. Her movements slowed, her control slipping, but still, she seemed to be waiting, waiting for something.

The Black Swan took it all in, the chaotic battlefield, the moonlit wilderness, the charging wolves. She raised the corners of Sophia's lips into a calm, almost serene smile. Even in the borrowed body of a child, she exuded an air of elegance and mystery.

Softly, she began to chant.

[Eternal Night…]

Suddenly, a sharp cry split the air.

[Piercing Attack]!

"Look out!" the elite werewolf screamed with what strength he had left.

In an instant, the battlefield erupted. A spear-like force tore through the werewolf ranks like an arrow fired from the heavens.

A pair of massive wings appeared, cutting through the chaos like a rising star.

Under the bright moonlight, William streaked into the fray, his presence shining with unshakable determination. His expression was fierce, but his energy was radiant.

"Sophia, I'm here to help!"

The Black Swan's eyes widened in brief surprise as William swooped down, scooping her up effortlessly with one arm. With a light touch of his toes to the ground, he launched himself skyward, wings flapping powerfully as he ascended into the air.

"You won't escape, human!" the elite werewolf roared, his bloodshot eyes blazing with fury. His body swelled grotesquely as he pushed himself far beyond his limits, his muscles bulging and tearing under the strain.

With a guttural roar, he swung the Wolf Lord's claws, aiming to tear them from the sky.

But William didn't falter. Holding Sophia securely in one hand, he spun in midair, backlit by the glowing moon, and threw a scroll from his free hand.

[Cold Fury]!

The scroll unfurled, and an icy storm descended upon the battlefield.

A howling blizzard swept across the wilderness, freezing everything in its path. Snow and ice swirled in violent torrents, blanketing the ground and slowing the werewolves' advance. The winds howled as though summoned from the heart of winter itself.

William soared higher, Sophia cradled safely in his grasp, as the battlefield below was consumed by frost and chaos. The storm raged on, a beacon of defiance against the darkness.

The cold wind howled like a living beast, tearing through the night with relentless ferocity. Ice and snow filled the air, tiny silver arrows swirling and slicing as they danced in the frigid gale. The temperature plummeted, the once-dark wilderness now awash with glinting snowflakes, their sharp edges gleaming under the pale moonlight.

Then, the snow began to shift.

A tornado of icy flakes formed, spinning faster and faster, condensing into a figure of raw, frozen power. The storm coalesced into the shape of a towering knight, standing two meters tall, forged entirely of snow and crystalline ice.

His features were indistinct, but his presence was undeniable. The moonlight caught on his armor, reflecting a dazzling silver glow. With a determined gesture, he reached into the air and drew forth a massive greatsword of unyielding white ice, its edge gleaming with frost.

Boom!

The sky erupted as the knight swung his sword. Snowflakes for hundreds of meters swirled violently, each spinning like a dart. The whirlwind roared, its icy breath slicing through the air.

The Ice Knight stepped forward, his enormous blade cutting through the storm with cold, calculated precision. Each swing brought with it a tidal wave of frost and wind, a force so overwhelming that the werewolves froze in their tracks, their primal instincts screaming at them to stay away.

His voice, faint and ethereal, broke through the howling storm, carrying a chilling command.

"Face the Blizzard's Fury!"

The air seemed to freeze, then detonated in a storm of snow and ice. The blizzard roared to life, unleashing an unstoppable wall of frost that surged forward, swallowing the land in its merciless advance.

But even in the face of this elemental wrath, the elite werewolf refused to yield. His body, stretched beyond its limits, unleashed one final, desperate attack.

"ROAR!"

With a thunderous cry, he swung the Wolf Lord's claws. The violent strike tore through the ground, ripping apart everything in its path. The force clashed with the storm, carving through snow and ice, splitting the blizzard with raw, primal energy.

The clash was deafening.

Snow and ice exploded, filling the air with shards and dust. For a moment, the battlefield was obscured, nothing visible beyond the storm's fury. Then, with a resounding crack, the claws tore through the Ice Knight, shattering him into a thousand pieces.

Yet the storm didn't falter.

The swirling snow gathered once more, and the Ice Knight's figure reformed, standing tall and unbroken.

The claws continued forward, ripping through the blizzard and hurtling toward William and Sophia.

William's instincts screamed danger. He knew this was an attack beyond anything he could counter. Without hesitation, he clutched Sophia tightly, shielding her with his body as the Wolf Lord's claws bore down on them.

The Black Swan's dark eyes glimmered with a strange calm, as if she had foreseen this moment.

Her voice was soft, almost reverent. "Demon Wolf..." she whispered.

[Eternal Night Guardian]!

In an instant, her soul surged outward, forming an unbreakable shield of pure defense.

Crash!

The claws struck with devastating force, blasting William and Sophia backward through the storm.

---

In the heart of the blizzard, the Ice Knight's reformed figure loomed, his movements slow and deliberate. He turned, his frozen, featureless face staring into the depths of the Black Forest, as if drawn by an unseen force.

He let out a low, haunting roar, the sound of a blizzard gathering strength. With the greatsword held high, the Ice Knight charged toward the forest, each step echoing like the shattering of ice.

Bang!

The ground trembled with his advance, the sound like a glacier breaking apart. The storm followed in his wake, an unstoppable force of frost and vengeance barreling toward the dark heart of the Black Forest.

The ice sword disintegrated, vanishing into the air like scattered shards of frost.

The Ice Knight was unraveling as well. His armor loosened, his legs and torso crumbled, and his form began to dissolve into delicate snowflakes, drifting away into the cold night.

He did not turn back.

With unwavering resolve, he charged forward, as if drawn by an unseen malevolence. His intensity burned so brightly it overpowered his frozen mind, blinding him to the werewolves trailing behind.

But the knight only made it three steps beyond the blizzard's edge.

Bang!

His body collapsed, exploding into a flurry of snowflakes. Each fragment scattered into the endless night sky, carried away by the bitter wind.