KamiKowa: That Time I Got Transmigrated With A Broken Goddess-Chapter 99: [] The Wolf That Smiles Back

"That... is a Vorthak."

The Vorthak stood fifteen feet away, its crystalline fur refracting the dying light into prismatic patterns that hurt to look at directly. Each breath from its massive lungs created clouds of vapor that crystallized and fell to the ground like snow. Xavier had seen wolves before—even fought one during a contract in the Carpathians—but this thing belonged to an entirely different category of predator.

"Gunnar," Xavier said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Do you have a knife or something I can use?"

Fortuna, I know we haven’t seen eye to eye, but please... I won’t call you a fraud again if the answer is yes.

The trader’s knuckles were white around his crossbow grip. "In the wagon. Under the driver’s seat."

Well... that’s half a point to you Fortuna.

"Of course it is." Xavier fought the urge to run his hand through his hair, knowing any sudden movement might trigger an attack.

The Vorthak’s massive head tilted, studying them with an intelligence that made Xavier’s skin crawl. This wasn’t some mindless predator—it was evaluating, calculating. Its nostrils flared, sampling their scents, and Xavier could practically see it categorizing each of them as threat, prey, or irrelevant.

Pink light began to emanate from beneath his skin, starting as a faint glow around his hands and spreading up his arms. The Input Buffer system was coming online, responding to the threat. Xavier felt the strange mechanical pulse of his Essentia awakening, that gamified sensation that had become second nature over the past weeks at Catalyst.

Hopefully he won’t be able to sense this...

The Vorthak’s head snapped toward him, ears pricking forward. The creature’s entire posture changed, muscles bunching under that crystalline pelt. A low growl rumbled from its throat—not the warning growl of an angry dog, but something deeper, more resonant. The sound seemed to vibrate through Xavier’s bones.

"Oh shit," Gunnar breathed. "It sees you as the threat now."

No fucking shit.

Xavier’s headache pounded behind his eyes, each pulse sending lightning bolts of pain through his skull. But adrenaline was a wonderful painkiller when survival was on the line. "Rebecca, get to the wagon. Get that sword or dagger or whatever the fuck is in there and throw it to me."

"My name is Rachel, don’t talk to me like—"

"Get the fucking weapon. Now." Xavier’s voice carried the edge of absolute command, the tone he’d used in his previous life when hesitation meant death. "I can’t take my eyes off this thing for even a second."

Rachel’s dark blue eyes flashed with anger at being ordered around, but she began moving backward toward the wagon. "What exactly are you planning to do? Dance with it?"

The Vorthak’s attention remained fixed on Xavier, those glacial eyes never blinking. It took one step forward, massive paws spreading wide to distribute its weight across the snow. Each claw was as long as Xavier’s fingers and looked sharp enough to puncture steel.

"I’m planning to not die," Xavier said through gritted teeth. The pink glow around his hands brightened, and he felt his Input Buffer begin to register potential combat actions. Basic Combo. Counter Strike. Perfect Dodge. All useless without an opponent he could actually hurt. "Though I’m open to suggestions if you have any brilliant ideas."

Another step forward. The creature was now close enough that Xavier could see the individual crystals embedded in its fur, each one catching and splitting the pale light. Its breath smelled like winter storms and old ice.

"The eyes," Rachel called from behind him. "Aim for the eyes if you get a chance. It’s the only soft spot." freewebnøvel_com

"Great. So I just need to punch a creature the size of a small horse in the face. Super simple."

Gunnar was backing away too, crossbow still trained on the beast. "They’re pack hunters usually. Where there’s one, there’s usually—"

Another howl echoed from the forest, this one from their left. Then another from the right. The answering calls were closer than the first, and definitely plural.

"You were saying?" Xavier muttered, his combat instincts screaming at him to move, to find cover, to do anything other than stand in the open like bait.

The original Vorthak seemed to smile, lips pulling back to reveal more of those ice-pick teeth. It understood pack tactics. It was keeping them pinned while the others moved into position.

"The wagon," Rachel said, her voice tight. "I’ve got something."

Xavier risked a quick glance backward and saw her pulling a long, curved dagger from beneath the driver’s seat. The blade gleamed with an odd blue tint, and even from fifteen feet away he could feel cold radiating from the metal.

"Throw it," he said.

"Like hell. This is ironwinter steel. You break it, you will buy me another one. If we survive."

The Vorthak’s muscles coiled, and Xavier recognized the preparatory tension of a predator about to strike. Every instinct he’d developed over two decades of violence screamed danger.

"Rachel, just throw it!"

The beast’s hindquarters dropped lower as it gathered itself. Steam rose from its nostrils in steady streams.

It’s about to attack.

Time seemed to stretch like taffy. Xavier could hear his own heartbeat, the whisper of snow falling through pine branches, the creak of leather as Gunnar’s finger tightened on his crossbow trigger. Rachel as she started to throw the weapon.

The Vorthak launched itself forward.

Xavier threw himself sideways, rolling across the frozen ground as six hundred pounds of supernatural predator sailed through the space where he’d been standing. Claws longer than kitchen knives whistled past his ear, missing his head by inches.

He came up in a crouch ten feet away, snow coating his shirt and pants. The beast landed hard, its massive paws digging furrows in the ground as it spun to track his movement. Those intelligence-filled eyes locked onto him again, and this time there was something like approval in their depths.

Input buffer: 10/250

The hunt had begun.

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