"Regeneration!"
"And at such an absurd speed… This isn't just natural healing."
Sofia's expression turned grim.
I understood why.
In this world, there are all sorts of monsters, and some possess a special ability known as natural healing.
As the name suggests, it allows their wounds to heal naturally.
However, no matter how powerful a monster is, if its leg is cut off, it usually takes several days to heal.
But what Snow just displayed—recovering in less than ten seconds—was impossible.
"This is beyond extraordinary!"
Sofia swung her sword, blocking Snow’s charge.
In that moment, I slashed at Snow’s leg once again.
This time, my blade went through.
But the result remained the same.
Just like with Sofia, Snow’s wound healed instantly.
"At this rate, how are we supposed to neutralize it…?"
"If we had time, we could set a trap, but that’s not an option right now."
"Even if we did set one, there’s no guarantee it would work."
"Exactly."
While barely managing to fend off Snow’s attacks, we continued searching for a strategy.
If I were alone, I wouldn’t have lasted a minute.
But Sofia was here with me.
With her by my side, I felt like we could hold out indefinitely.
That said, thinking about the damage to the city and what comes after, we needed to end this as soon as possible.
"Besides, we need to handle this before that thieving cat does something reckless."
"You think Lena is planning something?"
"It was that thieving cat who turned Snow into this. There's no way she’d just leave Snow alone. She’s bound to interfere at some point."
"…Lena…"
She didn’t seem like a bad person.
Sure, she lacked common sense, but she had a beautiful smile.
So why would she do something like this…?
What exactly is the Dawn Alliance?
There were so many things I wanted to think about.
But now wasn’t the time.
Right now, our top priority was Snow.
"What about putting it to sleep with magic?"
Dodging Snow’s front paw, I counterattacked while continuing our discussion.
"Snow isn’t just any monster. It likely has a high resistance to magic. A normal mage wouldn’t—ugh!"
Even as she spoke, Sofia skillfully launched her own counterattack.
Unlike me, however, she unleashed multiple slashes in a single instant.
Given Snow’s incredible regeneration, she wasn’t holding back.
"What about Licorice?"
"It might be possible… but leaving Aisha-chan’s side right now would be problematic."
"I see… In that case—whoa!"
Snow suddenly spun around and lashed out with its tail like a whip.
The unexpected attack caught me off guard.
I barely managed to dodge in time, but—
"Wait… is it getting faster?"
"Maybe it's getting used to our movements, or perhaps it's learning how to control its body better…"
Snow hadn’t been in this form for long.
Like a newborn chick, it had struggled to move properly at first.
But now, it was beginning to adapt.
But as time passed, it was getting used to its body...
It was beginning to unleash 100% of its power.
It was a terrifying thought.
Up until now, it hadn’t even been fighting at full strength—it still had energy to spare.
What would happen once it truly went all out?
How much destruction would it cause?
"Tch…!"
Maybe the only option was to defeat Snow.
Maybe there was no way to turn it back, and we were just wasting our time.
Even so—
I didn’t want to give up.
I wanted to struggle with everything I had, to keep fighting, keep resisting…
Even if I was pushed to the very brink, I wanted to keep fighting, no matter how desperate or pathetic it looked.
I refused to lose to something so unfair ever again!
"Snow!!!"
So, I called out.
With all the strength I had.
I called the name we had all chosen together.
"Snow! It’s me, Fate!!!"
"Grrrr…!"
"You can’t do this! Remember—you're kind, you're Aisha’s friend! You're our family!!!"
"Guh…!"
"So please, come back… Snow!!!"
"Uuuh…"
Was it a miracle?
Or was it inevitable?
My voice seemed to reach Snow—because it stopped moving.
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