Chapter 60
“I didn’t expect this to happen.”
Originally, Lionel’s plan had been to take the wolf cub and lure the giant wolves to the cliff, then jump off with it.
The giant wolves would follow him without hesitation and leap off the cliff as well.
It was a gamble he could take because of the divine prophecy. No matter what, he would not die.
But as Lionel reached the edge of the cliff and waited for the giant wolves to come close enough, the blue bird suddenly jumped out of his arms and cast a spell.
“Piiiiiit!”
With its long tail feathers raised stiffly and a sharp cry bursting from its beak, a massive ring of flames exploded up around the giant wolves.
A huge circular wall of fire formed right before Lionel’s eyes, perfectly trapping the wolves inside.
Yet the fierce flames did not burn even a single strand of Lionel’s hair.
This magic felt different from the enchantment on the bow Cecilia had given him. The bow’s protection spell did not burn him because he was registered as its owner.
But this kind of fire magic—one that burned only specific targets without any special registration—there was only one spell like that.
Hellfire.
It did not burn those the caster did not wish to harm. But once it chose a target, it would burn them to ashes without mercy.
For now, it was burning the natural surroundings around the giant wolves, not the wolves themselves. But if the blue bird decided to target them directly, they would be burned alive without escape.
Only the caster could extinguish that fire.
“But Hellfire is on the forbidden spell list…”
A spirit familiar, made from a fragment of a mage’s soul, could freely use the magic its master knew—if it had enough power.
Cecilia likely did not know what was happening here. So the blue bird must have cast this spell on its own.
“Did it know that fire is the giant wolves’ weakness?”
It did. Fire was their only weakness.
Their hides were so tough that arrows and blades would bounce off. But they were weak against flames.
Even now, trapped inside the fiery prison, the wolves could not even think of breaking through the thick wall of fire. They circled inside nervously.
Then, perhaps deciding they could not stay like this, they began growling threateningly at the blue bird floating in the air.
“Grrrrrr!”
“Piit!”
One wolf bent its legs and leapt high into the air to attack the bird.
But the blue bird lightly flapped its wings and avoided the attack. Then it strengthened the flames, making them burn even fiercer.
As the fire closed in, the wolves grew confused and gathered closer together.
The larger wolves pushed the smaller and younger ones toward the center, standing on the outside as shields.
But blocking with their bodies would not put out the fire. At this rate, they would all die.
Perhaps the wolves realized that as well.
Finally, the one that seemed to be the pack leader bent its knees and lowered its head toward the blue bird.
Lionel had never seen such a sight before.
As he stood in surprise, the other wolves inside growled more fiercely at the bird. But when the flames tightened further and the outer wolves began to suffer from the heat, they too slowly bent their knees, following their leader.
“Ah, I see.”
If there had only been one wolf here, it would have fought to the death.
But when an entire tightly bonded pack faced destruction, they bowed like this to save each other.
“So they can be subdued this way.”
While Lionel was impressed, the blue bird, which had been circling proudly in the air, suddenly hesitated.
“Pi…”
When the wolves had acted threatening, it had puffed up its feathers and acted boldly in return. But now that they were bowing to protect one another, it seemed to soften.
Eventually, the blue bird pulled the flames back slightly.
Lionel did not find that strange. The bird was made from a fragment of Cecilia’s soul.
“If it truly meant to kill them, it would have burned them from the start.”
Lionel placed the wolf cub he had been holding onto the ground.
Even though it had been dying moments ago, it still glared at him fiercely.
Of course, it was not threatening at all.
Ignoring its weak whimpering, Lionel took out a small potion bottle tied to his waist and poured its contents over the cub’s wound.
“Kiing…!”
The wound that had pierced its small body closed up, and the bleeding stopped.
After confirming that the injury was fully healed, Lionel took out a second bottle and poured its contents into the cub’s mouth.
The cub struggled not to swallow it. But the holy water flowed into its mouth anyway.
“…Kiing?”
The effect was immediate. Its drained strength returned, and the cub could stand on all four legs again.
It began hopping around energetically and immediately tried to run back to its mother. But the wall of fire blocked the way.
“Kiing, kiing…”
Had it realized that Lionel saved it? Or did it understand that he was the only one who could stop the fire?
The cub rubbed its body against Lionel’s leg, whining.
The blue bird, still circling above, quickly flew down and chirped sharply.
“Piit! Pipipii!”
The threat was clear: if it did not move away, it would be pecked. The cub quickly stepped back from Lionel.
Satisfied, the blue bird landed on Lionel’s head and chirped again, as if claiming him as its territory.
Lionel, unaware of the silent conversation between the animals, looked at the cub circling him and spoke to the blue bird.
“Can you open a path so that cub can return to its parents?”
“…Piit!”
After thinking for a moment, the blue bird nodded generously.
With a light flap of its wings, the flames parted, and the cub ran straight back into its mother’s embrace.
“Kiing!”
“Grrr…”
Seeing the injured cub return healthy, the wolves’ sharp hostility softened.
At that moment, Lionel’s eyes met the leader’s.
“Grr…”
There was clear intelligence shining in its black eyes.
It was certainly no ordinary beast. Understanding roughly what it wanted to say, Lionel spoke to the blue bird again.
“Cancel the spell. Let them return to their territory.”
“Piit?”
“It’s fine. This fight wasn’t something they wanted in the first place.”
“…Piit!”
The blue bird flew in circles above the wolves’ heads, pointing once to its own eyes and once at them, as if to say it was watching. Then it canceled the spell.
The roaring flames vanished in an instant.
“Grrrraaaah!”
The second-largest wolf moved first, turning to lead the way. The cub’s mother followed, carrying her pup gently by the scruff of its neck.
“Awooooo!”
A few wolves let out short howls, and the others began to follow.
The leader stayed behind until the very end, as if guarding the group’s retreat.
“Grr…”
It lowered its head once toward Lionel, then carefully approached him.
Then it pulled out one of its claws and offered it to him.