Fortunately, Beowulf did not attack us before we reached the building . Though it was possible that he was observing us from a short distance away .

But right now, we were focused on the structure . The building that we were looking up at was made of stone and in fact, looked like an ancient ruin . Its layered stones were covered in a blanket of ivy . There were no doors in its wide entrance, and it was too dark to see what lay inside .

“This building is huge…”

“Asagi, this is an ancient elven ruin . ”

“Huh?”

Ancient Elves?

“My ancestors from ancient times . They were not diverse as our tribes are now, it is said that they were established as a single tribe . ”

“So, then you’re not sure…”

“Aye . Some might say that they are long extinct . ”

Daniela looked at me and chuckled .

“We are still here, though . We’ve branched out into different groups, but the blood of the ancient elves still runs in our veins . ”

I suppose that was true . If the ancient elves really were extinct, than there wouldn’t be elves in this world . This ruin was proof of a history that continued for years .

“Well then, let’s pay your ancestors a visit . ”

“Aye, let us see them . ”

We give each other a nod and together, enter the ruins left by the ancient elves .

It was dark inside . Or so I thought at first, but the deeper we went in, the brighter it started to become . Most of the light was from holes in the roof that let in rays of moonlight . This building with its long history, was starting to fall apart . There were fallen doors and collapsed ceilings every once in a while .

“Hmm, it is surprisingly intact . ”

“You think so? It looks like a dump to me…”

“Not really . It is said that the ancient elves perished one thousand years from now . And a building from that far away an era is still standing . Perhaps it is still alive . ”

“Alive?”

“It is said that the ancient elves lived in a time of advanced magic . So, it is possible that this ruin itself is…”

“An instrument, like a machine?”

“Yes . ”

In other words, while the exterior may be that of a sad ruin, the insides could be br.i.m.m.i.n.g with technology . In that case, there could be something useful here that would help us destroy that Beowulf creature .

“Good, let us explore then . We may find something that can help us fight him . ”

“I was just thinking the same thing . Great, so we…”

“Wait . ”

Daniela whispered as she held a finger up to her lips .

“…It seems that he has come . ”

“Are you serious…”

I guess we would not be able to leisurely look around . I quickly scan my surroundings . There was an entrance to the far right that led to another room .

“Daniela, over here . ”

I lightly tap her shoulder and point to the far right . She nods and we both make our way through the entrance . It was a room, but much larger than the others, though not quite large enough to be called a hall .

“Right… This looks like a good size to contain him while preventing him from running around too much . ”

“Nice thinking . ”

“I’m sure he’ll catch up with us real quick, but he won’t be able to run wild at a speed we can barely follow if he’s in here . ”

“I’m sure he’ll catch up with us real quick, but he won’t be able to run wild at a speed we can barely follow if he’s in here . ”

We hid in a corner of the room and immediately began to make plans .

“Beowulf is a giant wolf . Regardless of his size, he still runs on four legs, has a sensitive sense of smell and is very fast . ”

“How would you fight him, Daniela?”

“I would use earth magic to break the floor under his feet and attack . ”

“Then I could use water magic to create mud and stop his movement . If I can, I could use ice magic after that to freeze it . ”

My magic would supplement hers . It seemed like it had a better chance of working than wholly relying on a novice’s magic .

“It would be splendid if you could use ice magic, but are you sure of it?”

She asked me with a worried expression .

“I haven’t had much opportunity to use magic… So I’m not sure . If it turns out I can’t partway in, you should ignore me and run . ”

“Fool . As if I could do that . ”

She glared at me .

“Of course I want us both to make it out of here, but at least one of us should be saved if that’s not possible . ”

She was looking at me rather angrily now . I ignore the impulse to look away and glare back at her . Then it was her that looked away . Her cheeks looked a little flushed .

She was looking at me rather angrily now . I ignore the impulse to look away and glare back at her . Then it was her that looked away . Her cheeks looked a little flushed .

“Fool . We will both make it out alive…”

“Uh, ah…yeah . Well, I’ll lure him over here . You cast the spell when he comes . ”

I say as I jump out from the shadows . Daniela was shouting at me to wait, but I ignore her .

It was better this way .

Just then, I could hear the sounds of heavy creaking . I use Presence Detection . I could very clearly sense the presence of the wolf near the entrance now . With determination, I shout in an attempt to provoke it . The battle had begun!

“Come here! I’m over here!!”

The answer was a deafening crash . The stones around the entrance blew away . I covered my face with my arms with just enough s.p.a.ce to view ahead of me, but there was so much dust in the air that it was hard to see . But I didn’t have any time to think about it, because something was charging through the dust cloud and then jumped .

“Wha… . !”

I felt something blast into my stomach . A blinding pain overtook me . My body had been thrown through the air and against a wall before I crumpled to the floor . All I could see ahead of me was stone . Stones that made up this building . They had flown through the air like cannonb.a.l.l.s, and one had caught me in the stomach . s.h.i.+t . That was my weak spot for rather personal reasons . I breathed in the air which tasted of sand and then coughed up something that tasted like blood . I stood up then . There was a strong wind blowing now, it was pus.h.i.+ng away the dust cloud . Daniela . I knew she would think of something .

Now my vision was much clearer . I glare at the enemy in the room .

“b.a.s.t.a.r.d… You got me real good back there…”

In the center of the room stood the giant wolf with silver fur and three tails . It calmly looked down in our direction . Then he answered my outcry with a roar .

“RUOOOOOOOORRRR!!!”

The room began to shudder violently . Beowulf’s legs bent as he prepared to pounce on me . And in that brief moment .

The room began to shudder violently . Beowulf’s legs bent as he prepared to pounce on me . And in that brief moment .

“NOW!!”

The signal to Daniela . In an instant, the ground beneath the giant wolf’s feet crumbled . The wolf was unable to escape, its legs were swallowed up by the hole created through magic . Now it was my turn .

“Imagine…imagine!!”

Easy . It was like discharging a dam . Imagine that going into the hole . It was easy, but the magic depletion was also insane . I could not make precise adjustments, but I could make it rotate in a whirlwind . And so the water combined with the dirt in the hole, creating a tide of mud against Beowulf . Thankfully, some of the larger rocks that he had crushed were inside as well . They rushed speedily in the current and sc.r.a.ped at his flesh . As the mud began to turn dark red with blood, I finally started to think that we could win .

But then I sensed that my magic had run low . An intense fatigue, like after catching a terrible cold overwhelms my body .

“Daniela! I can’t freeze it!”

“Leave it to me!”

Daniela leaped forward . Before I knew it, she had her bow made from the Tree of Life and Death in her hands and was firing arrow after arrow . Beowulf thrashed in a frenzy as the arrows pierced his back and the sides of his stomach .

“Take that…!!”

It was a strong shot that took all of her strength . It must have been the power of wind magic, as the arrow had a glow to it . The arrow flew, enveloped in a tornado as it went straight into Beowulf’s right eye .

“RUWWOOOoooOOOOooOO!!!!!!”

The maddening cry pierced my ears .