Chapter 1 — The boundary line, the marriage between a girl and a wolf. Part 22
"So what now? There's nothing left for me to tell you."
"Well, that's a pity. I wanted to have a really long talk with you."
"What were you even planning on conversing with a rebel about?" Shiro continued, his words oozing with cold hostility. "All I wish is for my fangs to have a go at you."
"Seriously, there is nothing that can be done about this."
He just stood there, receiving Shiro's enmity head on.
I took a few steps back and leaned against the trunk of the evergreen tree behind me.
I knew that this was about to turn dangerous, that I should fall back further than this.
But I stopped there and let my eyes open wide, absorbing all the tiny details of the scene that was unfolding between the two.
"Die, brother."
Moon Eater kicked off the ground with his blazing rage concealed beneath a frozen tone.
"Don't just blabber on, kid!"
The attack was directed towards him, and Silent Steps initiated a chant in response.
However, Shiro was faster than the chant.
Not giving him enough time to finish the chant, Shiro charged head on and struck him from above.
Silent Steps turned his neck sideways to evade him.
But his shoulder was slightly cut and blood started seeping out, leaving his flesh in plain view. At the same time, his chant finished and the wind came to his aid, wrapping around his body like armor.
"You are slow, weak, and lacking in any sort of aspiration, but yet, you still dare call yourself my older brother!"
The shadows at Shiro's feet stretched ahead as though they were dancing.
Forming blades and swaying like snakes, they easily penetrated the armor made of wind and shredded his face.
The deep wounds gouged at his skin, stealing his vision.
Shiro's attacks now were so overwhelming that they made the fight from before seem like a farce.
And yet, even after all that, Silent Steps wouldn't pull back.
Heavily wounded, he still stepped forward, baring his fangs aggressively.
In return, Shiro stepped back as if he had been anticipating that.
Silent Steps placed one leg into Shiro's shadow.
At that very moment, the wriggling shadow changed shape into that of enormous jaws.
And resembling the fangs of a tiger, those jaws of death began swallowing him up whole.
At the same time, he started shouting:
"Silent Steps calls out to you, spirits---!"
A moment of silence ensued, and then it seemed as though I could hear a bell ringing in my ears, after which the wind enveloping him blew fiercely and turned into a ravaging tornado.
The enraged wind blew the shadows apart and rumbled like thunder.
Stiff trees swayed like willows, leaves were stripped and blown away, grass flattened down to the ground, and dust rose.
I held my hair and skirt down while also trying to hold myself in place without being blown away, and continued to watch them through squinted eyes.
All I could do was to press my body against the tree that was behind me.
Still, I had decided not to lose sight of them for even an instant.
This was the real strength of wolves, so resolute, so mighty.
"Beautiful," I muttered in a trance.
If I were to summarize it all in one word, it would be, violence.
Power only meant to destroy, to hurt, and to kill.
That's all there was to it. There were no useless additions, and that was exactly what made it so beautiful.