Wait, surpassed the Dark Fenrir?
The words the Witch of the Forest spoke through her visible distress didn't immediately register. For a heartbeat, my brain just stalled.
"The Dark Fenrir's Roar is no longer affecting you two. That, in itself, is proof that you both have surpassed it."
"Ah!"
So that was it.
It took the pervert pointing it out for me to realize it, but he was right. The Dark Fenrir had definitely unleashed its Roar at us. Yet, unlike that first time, I didn't feel a shred of weight pressing down on me.
I shot a quick glance at Ana; she seemed to be in the same boat.
Alright. This is our chance.
"Ana!"
"Yes!"
Ana started her incantation right away. The Dark Fenrir tried to lunge to stop her, but I kept it at bay with the Saiga.
In an instant, the beast draped itself in multiple layers of what looked like black lightning. The Saiga’s bullet hit the barrier, but unlike our previous exchanges, it actually managed to shatter several of the outer layers of lightning.
Is that the boost from my increased mana? Even the bullets are hitting harder.
"Holy World of Ice Binding."
Taking advantage of that opening, Ana finished her chant and triggered the spell. Frost began to crawl up from the beast's feet, slowly encasing it.
The monster tried to fight back with its black lightning, but the ice didn't care. It surged upward, ignoring the electricity and swallowing the creature whole.
Before long, the Dark Fenrir was entirely sealed within a block of ice.
"Did we... get him?"
"No, this is merely sealing its movements."
"This magic, if I recall..."
"Yes," Ana said. "It is the same magic I used to restrain the Prince... excuse me, the former Crown Prince Karlheinz. It is impossible to break out of by ordinary means."
"Can we bring it back to its senses somehow? It was a Divine Beast once, wasn't it?"
"...Let me see."
Ana stared intently at the frozen Dark Fenrir, her expression quickly turning troubled. Then, the pervert interjected from the side.
"Unfortunately, there is no way to restore a being that has fallen into a demon beast. The best we can do for it now is grant it eternal sleep."
"..."
Ana nodded sorrowfully.
"I see. It can't be helped, then."
I slammed a fresh magazine into the Saiga and leveled the sights at the Dark Fenrir's head.
I had been able to damage its defenses with just a standard shot earlier. If I dumped every last drop of mana I had into this shot, I could definitely end it.
"Ana, when I give the signal, can you release the ice? I’m going to hit it with everything I’ve got."
"Understood."
"Three, two, one... Ana!"
"Now!"
The moment Ana released the spell, I pulled the trigger while flooding the weapon with all my mana.
A thunderous boom—louder than anything the Saiga had ever produced—rattled my bones. When the smoke cleared, there was a charred, gaping hole right between the Dark Fenrir's eyes.
Its skull pierced through, the Dark Fenrir collapsed powerlessly.
At that same moment, the Saiga crumbled into dust in my hands. It seemed the weapon couldn't withstand the full extent of my current power.
"Did we do it?"
"It would appear so."
"Allen, that was magnificent."
"..."
Ana replied with a tense expression while the pervert gave his usual composed response, but the Witch of the Forest was staring fixedly at the fallen beast with a complicated look on her face.
"Um, are you okay?"
"...Eh? Ah, no. Come, let us go to Mary."
The Witch of the Forest composed herself and walked straight toward the grave marker.
◆◇◆
"The ice embraces the form of days past. The snow buries the memories that have faded. O, my holy ice. By the name of Anastasia Kleiner von Ramslett, I command thee. Release the soul of Mary, captive of the Demon Forest, and guide her to the side of my Goddess. Holy Ice Funeral."
Ana rose as the prayer ended, and countless massive snowflakes manifested around her, drifting and shimmering with a soft light.
They were drawn toward the grave marker as if by a vacuum, and the headstone was enveloped in ice in the blink of an eye.
But the effect didn't stop there. The frost spread from the grave across the ground until the entire clearing was completely frozen over.
In the fantastic forest of ice, enveloped in absolute silence, those massive crystals appeared once more, dancing wildly as they sparkled in the morning sun.
It was hauntingly beautiful—a sight so ethereal it felt almost dangerous.
Eventually, the radiance intensified, emitting a light so bright I had to shield my eyes.
A crisp, glass-like crack echoed through the air, and the ice enveloping the area vanished as if it had never been there.
Memories of the last time she used this level of magic crossed my mind, and I reached out to support Ana, but she didn't collapse this time. She stood firm, staring at the grave marker engraved with the name 'Mary' with a solemn gaze.
Then, the figure of a young girl began to shimmer into existence above the grave.
"Oh! Mary!" the Witch of the Forest cried out.
So this was the girl who had been held captive in the forest.
"Mmm... it's Mommy. And Loringas-ojichan is here too... da o."
...Da o?
Ana whispered the strange suffix under her breath, a dubious expression crossing her face at the girl's peculiar verbal tic.
"Ah, Shiro too! Come here!"
We spun around, only to find the Dark Fenrir approaching us from behind.
"What—?"
I hurriedly readied the Karashi, but Ana held out a hand to stop me.
"It's alright, Allen."
Lowering the gun, I looked closer. The Dark Fenrir's body was slightly translucent.
"Whine..."
The beast, its form gradually fading, wagged its massive tail and approached the girl with a needy whimper.
"Whine, whinnne."
The girl gently cradled the head of the Dark Fenrir as it licked her face, giggling as if she were being tickled.
As we watched, the Dark Fenrir's body turned into pure light and vanished, leaving behind a single, small glowing sphere.
The girl hugged it to her chest as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
"Mommy, Loringas-ojichan... thank you, da o."
"Mary!"
"Mary!"
The girl wore a beaming smile and waved her hand grandly.
"Thank you, da o!"
With one last word of thanks, the girl's body was enveloped in light and began to ascend toward the heavens.
The Witch of the Forest watched through a veil of tears, and even the pervert had moisture welling up in his eyes.
The girl vanished into the distant sky, leaving only the grave marker before us.
"...At last... I've kept my promise, da o," the pervert muttered in a voice so small I almost missed it.