The Werewolf’s Fury and an Unlikely Alliance

I am the Hero.

My current situation is dire.

“You monster! Don’t come any closer! If you take another step, I’ll kill her!” Demonflame threatened, his arm tightening around my throat.

“I think… we should just run. He’s completely lost his reason right now, so using me as a threat won’t work,” I told Demonflame.

“Huh?!”

Before us, Helter had transformed once more into that terrifying werewolf, a dagger still protruding from his chest.

How could he have transformed again in the afternoon, right after doing so in the morning? Was this frequency normal?

No time for complaints. Let’s rewind.

“Aha ha ha!” Flames erupted, explosions rocked the air! A red-haired man danced through the sky, toying with his powers.

He paid no mind to the unfortunate soldiers around him; those who deserved to die perished, and those who deserved to be crippled were. How did this guy become a leader?

“Excellent! Very strong!” He landed with a heavy thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

At that moment, a massive figure strode directly out of the flames.

It was Helter!

He emerged from the parting smoke, both hands gripping a greatsword, his body marred by numerous burn marks. In recent days, Helter had sustained injuries that would have been fatal to anyone else.

“You too,” Helter declared, “though you’re merely a minion, I, Helter, acknowledge you as a formidable warrior!”

No, no, no, that terrifying strength was clearly not the mark of a mere minion!

“You truly underestimate me!” the red-haired man snarled, grinding his teeth.

“I have shown you the utmost respect! Martial Skill – Teleport!”

It was here! He leapt with incredible power, then dove into a cleaving strike.

I remembered sparring with him before; taking that move had left my arm numb.

“Where is he?” The red-haired man momentarily failed to realize where Helter had gone.

“Hey! Look out!” A voice boomed from above, followed by…

Crash—

The greatsword slammed directly in front of the red-haired man, startling him into realization. “That strike could have killed me… Why?” he asked Helter, stepping back.

“When strong individuals meet, there’s a mutual respect,” Helter replied. “From your eyes, I can perceive your tragic past. You don’t truly wish to be a bandit, do you?”

‘What was he talking about, mutual respect, at a time like this? What an idiot! One more strike and it would all be over!’

“Tragic past?!” The red-haired man looked utterly bewildered.

“Precisely,” Helter said, hoisting his greatsword. “With your abilities, you shouldn’t be working for Demonflame. You could do so much more that would benefit the country.”

“Aha?” The red-haired man shook his head, placing one hand behind his back. “What did you say?!”

Helter, that blockhead, assumed he hadn’t heard clearly and extended a hand of friendship. “What I mean is, you don’t need to be a bandit. Turn over a new leaf! We can be friends!”

‘Instead of using his skills, he resorted to talking. Remarkable, Helter.’

‘Wait a moment! What was the red-haired man doing with the hand behind his back?! He was pulling something from his clothes… a dagger!’

“Helter! Look out!” I immediately shouted.

“Huh?” Helter stared blankly in my direction.

‘It was over! I had drawn his attention, only to hinder him!’

“You beast!” The red-haired man plunged the dagger into Helter’s heart! In an instant, the blade flared with fire, inflicting secondary damage to Helter’s already wounded heart.

“You… Argh—” Helter’s face contorted in agony.

“Idiot! I am Demonflame! Turning over a new leaf is impossible! Never in a lifetime! I refuse to contribute to this pathetic country, and I’d never be friends with an enemy like you!” With that, the red-haired man kicked Helter to the ground, then furiously stomped on the dagger in his chest, a truly maniacal display. “Aha ha ha ha!”

‘This is bad…’ Cold sweat trickled down my back. It wasn’t Demonflame I feared, but Helter, who was now writhing and howling in pain on the ground.

Demonflame’s head swiveled, his gaze landing on me. “Oh? Is that beautiful lady the Hero this man follows? Yo ho, what an unexpected beauty~”

“I think you should probably pay more attention to yourself… and refrain from saying such insensitive things,” I kindly advised.

“Are you threatening me, Hero?” Demonflame slowly released his foot from Helter’s chest and advanced towards me. “Come on, avenge him! Draw your sword! I, Demonflame, have never known fear.”

My hands trembled as I drew the sword from my waist.

“Oh? What’s wrong? Aren’t you the Hero? Scared, are we? Or is it anger?” Demonflame snapped his left fingers, and a ball of red flame ignited in his palm.

“This is really bad…” I murmured, almost unconsciously.

“A small ball of fire is ‘really bad’?” Demonflame tilted his head. “By the way, what are you looking at?” He slowly turned around…

And then, he saw the six-meter-tall werewolf Helter!

“What in the world?” Demonflame’s small flame instantly extinguished, all his previous bravado vanishing.

Howl—

The werewolf immediately delivered a colossal slap, sending Demonflame flying from the left side of the street all the way to the right!

“Cough.” Demonflame spat out a mouthful of bright red blood as he lay in the rubble. “Where did that monster come from!” He quickly scanned the spot where the werewolf had appeared, noticing Helter’s body was gone! He immediately looked at the werewolf, then saw the dagger in its chest. “A swordsman? Is it a werewolf?!”

Just as he tried to get up, the werewolf charged, biting down on his left arm!

“Argh, argh, argh! Damn it!” Demonflame’s entire body burst into flames.

In an instant, the werewolf’s fur was engulfed in fire! It released its grip and began to roll on the ground, howling in agony.

“Damn it! My left arm is almost ruined!” Demonflame dragged his bleeding left arm and scrambled towards me.

As for me… I was frozen in fear, standing rooted to the spot. Intervening wasn’t an option, nor was escaping.

“Hero!” Demonflame rushed over, seizing my neck with his right arm. “I’ll have to use you as a shield! There’s no way I can defeat that werewolf!”

‘What? Had even this boss-level character chickened out?’

Howl—

The werewolf seemed to have adapted to being on fire. It dropped to all fours and slowly began to crawl towards us.

“Damn it, this creature only gets stronger the more it fights! Did it develop fire resistance that quickly?!”

Fire resistance?!

“Damn it! Take this poison arrow! Time for a nap!” Demonflame fumbled inside his clothes, pulled out a crossbow bolt, and shot it with a whoosh directly into Helter’s werewolf head.

Howl— The werewolf’s crimson eyes widened, and it seemed to grow even more agitated!

“What the hell! Does it already have poison resistance?!” Demonflame threw down the crossbow bolt.

‘It seems he only got it after being bitten by a bunch of venomous snakes a few times before…’

Howl—

“You monster! Don’t come any closer! If you take another step, I’ll kill her!”

And so, we returned to the opening scene…

“What? No reason?” Demonflame was stunned. “Doesn’t that make him no different from a monster?!”

“Never mind the differences right now… escaping is more important,” I urged.

Howl— The werewolf charged!

“Aaaahhh!” Demonflame scooped me up in his arms and bolted! (A princess carry, no less…)

“Why are you carrying me?!” I asked, utterly baffled.

“I don’t know! For a moment, seeing that monster, I thought you were my companion! Now I want to throw you away!”

You’re surprisingly honest!

“Don’t you dare throw me away!” I countered, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“You beast! Aaaahhh!” “Aaaahhh!”

And so, the Hero and the bandit leader temporarily formed an alliance to escape?!