Chapter 812 Qualified
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After that battle, Luck was still alive, and we did our all to heal all his broken bones. I used a few powerful Elixirs on him, but he managed to get out of this without much of a scratch. It seemed the power he had used mimicking the Fenrir was destroying him from the inside... It is a risky power.
Nonetheless, he was completely knocked out, and slept through the entire day. We used this time to talk with the Fenrir (and heal him a bit too), while getting to know his pack and more.
"Honestly, I am amazed..." He said. "I really thought he was a good for nothing brat with not even an ounce of talent, but I guess I was wrong."
"You were too harsh on him." I sighed. "At the end, he even pushed you to your limits, didn't he?"
"Hmph! Of course not!" He said angrily. "He merely made me... use a bit more of my powers."
"But you used Magic, those claws you used were magic." My father pointed out. "You broke your promise. I can't believe you got so scared you forgot about it."
"E-Eh?! Agh... So you did realize..." The Gray Fenrir sighed. "That damn boy..." novε-lb-In
"Why are you so zealous of needing him to be so strong?" Asked Aquarina. "I just don't get it. I doubt Elise was as strong as you when she was recruited! I don't know why are you asking so much out of Luck." She crossed her arms.
"Yeah, you're pretty mean." Zack agreed.
"T-That's..." The Gray Fenrir sighed. "Well, I guess it is fair to explain this but... I just... Elise was always a rather weak child."
"Eh? She was weak?" I wondered. "But wasn't she a hero?"
"She suffered from a weak physique, and her magic was much better than her physical strength..." Sighed Fenrir. "Nonetheless, we loved her for what she was. And always protected her and helped her in everything we could. But that... ended making her weaker when she grew up. We made her rely on magic and the support of friends, but the moment she couldn't rely on such things completely... She was..."
"So you're saying that because she wasn't strong physically and relied on magic, you want her successor to be much stronger so you don't... lose them?" I asked.
"That's... I guess it is like that..." The Gray Fenrir felt embarrassed. "Now that I think about it... It is rather stupid."
"Of course it is!" My uncle reprimanded the dog. "You're asking for unreasonable things out of the kid before he could even get any power! The sooner he gets the inheritance, the better! That way he can continue growing stronger with less risk instead!"
"T-That's... correct." Sighed the wolf. "Oi! Stop barking at me! You don't have the right!" He quickly changed his voice and character. I guess he realized he was getting scolded.
"Ungh..." Luck slowly woke up. "What is all the ruckus- Ah! Hey! The battle... D-Did I lose?!"
"Of course you did, dummy, there was no chance from the beginning." Celeste laughed. "But you did gave out a nice battle."
"T-That's... I see..." Luck sighed, feeling rather heartbroken. "So I lost... I guess I couldn't help it. But... I feel much stronger than before. I know it might be everyone's help, and Sylphy's too. But... I guess this battle helped in strengthening my resolve a bit more."
"..." The Gray Fenrir glanced at Luck; his eyes seemed to remember something very dear to him.
I wonder if he was seeing Elise through Luck...
"No, you qualified." He said. "I actually lost."
"E-Eh?" Luck felt surprised.
"You forced me to use Mana, and I felt... even if for a few seconds, afraid of your strength." Sighed the Gray Fenrir. "I ended breaking my promise, and I used Magic. You win, Luck."
"I-I won?!" Luck was left speechless. "B-But there's no way that's possible..."
"Shut up and accept the damn thing already!" The Gray Fenrir had little patience. "Be happy you did it, you damn brat!"
"O-Okay! Thank you very much!" Luck bowed his head.
Honestly, Luck was quite endearing sometimes.
"Well, now do as you promised and bring Luck to the inheritance!" Aquarina said. "Also we're going too to see what's there."
"Tch, fine, but you're staying outside. The inheritance is a special place where only I and the inheritor can enter. And only I can open. Follow me. Can you walk, kid?" Asked the Gray Fenrir.
"Y-Yeah, I can walk just fine- Ugh..." Luck groaned, as he fell to his knees. "A-Ahahah, just a bit of muscle strain..."
"Hah, you're such a weak brat." Sighed the Gray Fenrir, quickly grabbing him and putting him on his back with his jaws.
"Woah?! Is this fine?!" Luck felt surprised.
"You're so pathetic I can't help it! Now let's go." The Gray Fenrir barked back. Despite how he was acting, it was as clear as water that he had grown fond of our beast boy.
We walked across the vast and beautiful forests, until we arrived at rather surprising scene, a clearing covered by ancient, broken-down ruins. Much similar to the other ruins we've visited before. There was a few animals there, grazing around, even rather large bugs, which scared me for a bit, but weren't actually the Swarm.
"So the inheritance is in these ruins?" I wondered. "But how were you able to save her strength in here and seal it so only you can open it?"
"Elise was well versed in magic." Said the Gray Fenrir. "Much more than you imagine a "wild girl" to be, mostly thanks to the things she learned from the other magicians in your parent's group. She was able to combine her magic with the powers of these ruins... And fuel them anew, modifying them into a... vault, of sorts."
"I see..." Aquarina nodded. "That's really crazy. I wonder if we could ever do something like that ourselves..."
"Well, thinking about the stuff we suffered in that damn water dungeon ruins, I just don't want to have anything to do with these places for a while..." I sighed.
After all, I had yet to forget how those damn ancient gods controlled Aquarina's mind, and even wanted to use her as their vessel...
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