Lightning streaked across the battlefield as Williamsk was forced to retreat once more. But he didn't flinch—regaining his footing, he charged toward the Deep Sinner again.
"Come at me as many times as you like!" the Deep Sinner sneered, unleashing another barrage of chain lightning. This time, the arcs twisted unpredictably, closing in from all directions.
Williamsk couldn't dodge them all.
"Kaz!" he shouted.
"Got it!" Kaz leapt into the fray, transforming into his wolf form mid-air. With a defiant growl, he threw himself between the lightning and his brother.
"Stonewall Body!"
The lightning erupted on contact, the explosive force veiling the battlefield in smoke. As it cleared, Williamsk reappeared—now much closer to the Deep Sinner than before. So close, in fact, that he struck before the demon could react, slamming his fist directly against its magical barrier.
The force drove the Deep Sinner slightly backward.
Williamsk roared and pressed the attack. The demon raised two arms to block with its shield while the others began forming another orb of crackling black lightning. It clenched the energy sphere and hurled it into Williamsk's back.
"Mr. Williamsk!" Kaelin shouted, panic in her voice.
The explosion erupted around him.
Everyone held their breath. But as the smoke dispersed, relief washed over them—a shimmering magical barrier had formed around Williamsk. Behind him, Nina stood with a spellbook in her hands, her eyes calm and focused.
"Nice one, Nina!" Williamsk shouted. "Now—this ends here!"
The barrier shattered as his magic surged into his fists. With a primal howl, he delivered a devastating punch. The Deep Sinner's protective shield finally shattered.
His fist lunged straight for the demon's face.
Everyone watched, breathless.
But then—
SNAP!
The Deep Sinner caught it. With one hand.
"What—how?!" Williamsk's eyes widened in disbelief.
The Deep Sinner sneered. "Hmph. As expected of Williamnir's descendant... but compared to your ancestor, you're still a pup."
It swung its arm, flinging Williamsk through the air like a ragdoll.
"Warm-up's over. Now the real show begins."
A pulse of darkness erupted from the mountaintop.
The broken seal fully collapsed. Overhead, the moon turned blood-red, casting a crimson glow over the land that stirred fear and unease in every heart.
The Deep Sinner rose into the sky and released its full power. From beneath the starlit heavens, tens of thousands of dimensional rifts appeared, each spilling dark energy.
From these cracks poured a legion of demons—the demon army had returned to the world atop Mount Wolfbane.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Kaelin cried. "There's no way we can beat all that!"
"The time of rebirth has come. Tonight... is my Night of Revelry!"
There would be no time to panic. As the Deep Sinner's voice faded, the demonic hordes surged downward like a flood, descending upon the group in a relentless wave.
They were overwhelmed.
Despite their valiant efforts, Williamsk and the others soon found themselves encircled, barely holding their ground.
"This isn't working!" Kaz yelled. "Big bro, think of something!"
"Don't ask me!" Williamsk snarled. He turned to Tianlang. "You've studied the Deep Sinner, right? You must know something we can do!"
Tianlang swung his scythe, felling a cluster of demons with one wide arc. Though his power wasn't at its peak, his combat instincts had not dulled.
"I do know—there's only one way. We have to get close to the Deep Sinner. But with it flying high and demons blocking the way, there's no chance… unless Evilbane himself appeared!"
"So basically... we're screwed," Kaelin muttered, switching to her sniper rifle. Her machine gun had proved ineffective, and rockets were too dangerous at such close quarters.
"Just stay alive for now," Zhao Heng said as he fought beside them. "The right moment will come."
Wave after wave came crashing down. The group endured—but the opening they hoped for never came. Above them, the Deep Sinner laughed gleefully, eyes full of malice.
"What a pathetic sight," it mocked. "Williamnir... I wish you could see this. You sacrificed everything to stop me, even dug up your own army's resting place. And now, here I am, turning your precious people into ash."
The laughter echoed through the mountain—until a voice answered from behind it.
"Don't count on it."
"What?!" The Deep Sinner whirled around.
A pair of colossal eyes had opened in the night sky above.
When the Deep Sinner looked into them, its arrogance turned to dread.
"No... No, it can't be. You're supposed to be dead! 500 years ago—!"
"You're right," the voice replied. "But I gave up my body and became one with the mountain. All for this very moment."
Suddenly, a whirlwind of spiritual energy erupted from Mount Wolfbane.
A giant wolf—glowing with the light of the stars—took form in the sky.
It opened its blood-red maw wide, like a divine beast devouring the moon.
"No—NO! This isn't possible!" the Deep Sinner screamed.
It tried to flee, but it was too late. Starlight bound the demon legions. The rifts that had brought them became chains that now sealed them.
The wolf's shadow swallowed them whole—demons, rifts, and Deep Sinner alike.
It all happened in an instant. The demonic army was gone. The battlefield fell deathly silent.
Everyone stared up in awe.
Only Williamsk recognized what they had just witnessed.
"That form... it's Lord Williamnir!"
"What?!" Kaelin exclaimed. "That's your ancestor? But—he's dead, isn't he?"
The great wolf descended gently onto the mountain and turned toward the ground.
His voice was old, but unmistakable.
"...Is that you, Williamsk?"
"Yes! Yes, it's me, Ancestor!" Williamsk's eyes filled with tears.
Kaz and Nina rushed up.
"I'm Kaz!"
"I'm Nina! Do you remember us?"
"Of course I do. How could I forget?" Williamnir smiled and shrank down, taking on a more human form as he stepped forward. "It's been centuries. You've all grown up."
"Yes, Ancestor." Williamsk wiped his tears, then asked, "But... why are you like this? What happened 500 years ago?"
"It's a long story," Williamnir said as he looked up at the sky and the shattered seal.
"Back then, I sensed the presence of the Deep Sinner here. It had been gathering power, summoning an army to challenge Lord Evilbane. I attempted to destroy it... but it noticed me first.
To stop me, it dispersed its army throughout the world. Without a leader, demons become erratic and attack indiscriminately. If left unchecked, even beyond the Dark Domain would suffer.
So—I gave up my body, sealed the Deep Sinner, and became one with Mount Wolfbane, waiting for the right time... to devour it whole."
Zhao Heng stepped forward. "But what about Evilbane? Wasn't he there too? Couldn't he help?"
Williamnir nodded. "He could have. But it would've taken too much. Demons can hide anywhere—leaves, shadows, even within the human heart. And as Lord Evilbane's contracted partner, it was my duty to carry the burden."
"I forced him to keep my decision secret, even if it meant my name would be smeared."
"You didn't care about your reputation?" Williamsk asked.
"Of course not," Williamnir said softly. "To humans, we were always monsters. Without Evilbane, I wouldn't even have a name.
I don't care about being remembered.
All I ever wanted—was to honor the contract."
"The world called me 'Greedy Wolf.'
But that contract… that was the only thing I ever craved."
As he spoke, dawn broke.
His spiritual form began to dissolve into particles of light.
"...Seems it's time. I'll be going now."
"You're leaving?" Williamsk asked, choking up.
"Yes. But don't be sad. Though my form fades, my soul will always watch over this mountain."
'So long as Mount Wolfbane stands, I will remain.'
With a final smile, Williamnir's spirit scattered into stardust, vanishing into the galaxy above.
(Contract Quest – Interlude: The Chapter of Greedy Wolf – Complete)
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