Quinette took off into the sky through the broken roof. I scaled a cabinet, leaped out the window.

The moment my feet hit the ground, I went running, with my blade raised behind me.

Quinette flew by as she went ahead. Coordination.

The sun wolf’s nail extended in its length, ice grew out of its claws. It blurred, leaving a streak of crimson from its motion.

It leaped, claws raised, coming down with a deadly strike. Its size loomed over me.

I opened my palm, conjuring mana, ice pillar. I swatted my hand upwards. A frozen pillar shot off from the ground, slamming the sun wolf in its chest midair. It kept growing. The ice froze it still.

It struggled, straining its muscles to break, with loud growls. The ice began to crack, spreading throughout, reaching the base of the— just for a second it had held it for, before it could snap fully.

Quinette flew by, dived through the air, with her blade raised.

Swoosh. She slashed at the sun wolf. The edge of her blade, aiming it at the nape of the wolf. Clang. Her sword curved through the ice protecting the wolf’s nape.

Her sword wasn’t painted in the blood of the sun wolf; it wasn’t deep enough to penetrate the armour.

The wolf then swiped at the base of the pillar. Its long claws destroyed the column, and it came crumbling down.

Now it was my turn to strike. I skidded to a stop, then leaped into its neck, the weakest spot to hit.

The sun wolf raised its hand to swat me. I wrecked myself to the side, using explosive ice. I curved in the air, spun my blade. Swoosh.

I sliced through. My slash digging past the ice. It whined, a streak of red splattered out, staining the snow.

Quinette gasped. She stared at me, surprised — after her blade had failed to cut through, I got it on the first try.

"Impossible. H-how did you do it?"

"What? I just struck it and my blade went through, that’s all."

My body was constantly enhanced with mana, giving me speed and agility. I rushed in to attack. With Quinette, we attacked the beast from both angles, from above and from below.

I carved into its legs, its ribs, every part of its body I could reach.

My attacks were doing much more damage than Quinette’s, since the ice around its body was a problem to cut through. The wolf kept swinging its claws at both of us simultaneously, divided attention.

It couldn’t focus on me, cause Quinette started chipping away at its armour. Worse, I was impossible to ignore.

I launched myself forward. Slash. Blurred again. Slash, slash.

Soon, its body was filled with cuts, bleeding out, with huge body it still moved fast.

I paused for a second, strike. My mana aura cloaked in blue, dark blue. I spun with another slash, aimed perfectly at its throat.

Its jaw widened to snap at me. I conjured ice and shot it at the wolf, sending a loose tooth flying. It choked, abandoning its strike.

It all came together; it might be strong on the inside, but from the inside, we could finish this out quick. Sending Quinette’s severing magic through its throat from the inside will work.

I dropped, slid backward, making space between us, drove my daggers to the ground.

"Quinette. Attack me, as hard as you can."

Without hesitation, she swung her blade in a circle. It cut through the air. From our stay, Quinette already fully knew my magic, and just now she hasn’t hesitated, because she knew I could absorb it.

I stretched out my hand, welcoming the attack. It didn’t wait to hit me. Absorbed the magic on contact with my palm. With my increased rank, it was easier.

I molded the magic in my palm, like a warm, formless energy, into my palm. Drained into my veins.

[absorbs]

Growl! The wolf roared. Its mana gushed out in waves.

From the surge.

Ice spikes shot out from where it stood, occupying its surroundings. The icicles grew faster, freezing everything around. Their height staggered higher than the trees.

It crept forward, multiple spikes burst out.

I slid through the snow, grabbing my daggers. A spike grew before them. I used myself off of it, backflipped out of the pace.

"Guess you’re stronger than I imagined."

The spike kept spreading out, forcing us away from it.

"It can control ice, too?" Quinette commented, with an irritated tone.

"Well, it’s matching its environment. Every creature we encounter have ice affinity, but it doesn’t have fluid control, it’s just a lousy attack. Quinette, we’re going in."

With explosive ice, I launched myself faster. The trees blurred past me as I streaked, launched in the air.

From above, I could see the wolf in the center of the outrage of spikes, pumping mana, ice crept forming. It crept over its body, fur grew pure white as snow.

I dived down. It didn’t notice me in time. By the time it looked above, my fist met with its jaw. It crunched. The sound of bone snapping — it was its jaw, and also my fist. I flexed my finger.

[broken fist: healed.]

My fist healed back, bones mended instantly, but mana draining.

It swatted its tail, covered in sharp ice. Quinette swung in like the protector she is, her blade intercepted.

It once more tried to bite at me. I smirked, watching it open its jaw wide. Its heated breath, which smelt like copper, crimson from its loose teeth.

"Severing magic," I whispered, conjuring the absorbed energy back. I could amplify it further, since Quinette’s severing magic was already S rank.

Still, it was enough. I pointed into its throat and released the energy, cut shot into the sun wolf.

Blood gushed out from behind its neck. It abandoned attack, crashing to the ground.

I slid down the ice, walking up to it. It whined, desperately trying to claw away, its paw trying to climb up the cage he created for itself, with the spikes.

Slumping itself on the ground, it left a trail of crimson behind, blood gushing from its throat.

The hunter became the hunted. I raised my dagger to finish it off.