Chapter 2

Deep blue night cloaked the Sun Temple of Lunatia. Solya sat in the main seat of the council chamber, holding a meeting with several key officials of Lunatia, and High Priestess Dreven was among them.

This was Solya's last meeting of the day, and also the most tense.

 

"Captain of the Guard, this matter has already gravely threatened the safety of the wolf god!"

The bearded Chief of Military Affairs, Vik, cast his gaze across the long table, looking at Vela, who stood slightly behind Solya.

 

"People disappear whenever the monsters appear, and they always show up near the temple. Yet your Guard is oblivious and has done absolutely nothing!"

Chief Vik's voice was emotional as he pointed his finger directly at Vela.

It was as if he had caught the Guard red-handed, launching a relentless attack on Vela without mercy.

 

The atmosphere in the council chamber instantly grew even more tense.

 

Solya raised her eyes, her expression serious.

"Chief Vik, mind your manners."

Her unquestionable tone suppressed the conflict that was about to erupt in the council chamber.

 

Chief Vik lowered his head, let out a low grunt, and spoke no further.

 

"I do not want to hear any arguments about who is to blame. I only want to know where the monsters came from, and why such things exist."

 

The officials fell silent; no one dared to speak.

Solya looked at the officials, who kept their heads down and did not dare to meet her gaze, and she could guess in her heart that this meeting would yield no progress.

 

Finally, High Priestess Dreven, who had remained silent throughout the meeting, broke the silence.

 

"My Lord, the Guard has long stood watch over the interior and surroundings of the temple; no one is more familiar with this area than they are."

 

She raised her eyes and looked at Vela.

 

"I believe this matter should indeed be investigated by the Guard in person."

 

The council chamber fell into a brief silence once again.

 

Solya frowned slightly.

She knew High Priestess Dreven was telling the truth, but she could not rest easy letting Vela face such unknown danger.

 

Solya closed her eyes and thought for a moment.

 

In the end, she spoke anyway.

 

"...Captain of the Guard, I leave the investigation of this matter to you." Solya turned around and said to Vela behind her.

 

"Yes, My Lord." Vela bowed her head slightly in response.

 

Solya's expression was grave, but currently, only the Guard of the Sun God was best suited for this task, forcing her to make such a decision.

 

No other officials spoke, and the meeting finally ended in oppressive silence.

 

Finally, Solya concluded her schedule for the day.

After the guards escorted Solya back to her chambers, she signaled Vela as usual to let them leave first, keeping only Vela behind.

 

Confirming that the guards had all departed, Solya looked up at Vela for a moment and sighed.

 

"My Lord? Is something the matter?" Vela asked softly, her voice carrying concern.

 

"...I am sorry, Vela, for still letting you take on such a dangerous mission."

Solya lowered her eyes, speaking with guilt.

 

"Please do not worry too much," Vela said very softly. "Ensuring the safety of the temple's surroundings is the Guard's responsibility to begin with."

 

She paused.

 

"And... I will be fine, do not worry."

 

Solya did not respond, only lowering her head slightly. She looked somewhat weary, seemingly unable to let go of the fact that she had been forced to make that decision in the meeting.

 

"Then, My Lord, I shall head out to investigate this matter. Please rest well."

Vela took a step back facing Solya and bowed respectfully to her.

 

"Now?" Solya was taken aback. "Isn't everyone asleep except for the night patrol? You are going alone?"

 

"Yes," Vela nodded calmly.

"This is only an investigation. Moving alone is the only way to avoid alerting the target."

 

"No!" Solya countered almost without hesitation. "You must take at least one or two guards with you!"

 

"My Lord, please trust me."

Her voice was quiet, yet there was not a hint of wavering; she clearly had no intention of changing her mind.

 

"It is not a matter of whether I trust you or not..."

Solya frowned, but she could probably guess that Vela simply did not want her subordinates to face such unknown risks.

 

Solya walked quickly to Vela, tilting her head up to get close to her.

"Then I am going with you." Solya looked directly into Vela's eyes.

"I do not have my own High Priest yet, so I cannot transform into the wolf god to fight, but my martial skills are not poor."

 

"I must refuse."

Vela looked down at Solya and answered without a moment's hesitation.

 

Solya was stunned for a second.

 

For as long as she could remember, Vela had hardly ever refused any of her requests.

But this time, she rejected her without the slightest hesitation.

 

The two of them locked eyes, one looking up and the other looking down, as if the air had frozen between them, neither willing to yield.

 

After a tense standoff, Solya turned her head away, feeling deflated.

 

"...I am begging you, Vela," she said, lowering her eyes. "I really cannot rest easy with you going alone..."

 

Vela looked at Solya, remaining silent for a few seconds.

Then, she slightly averted her eyes and let out a helpless sigh.

 

"Then today we will only go to the area closest to the temple. For other areas, I will bring the guards with me."

She looked back at Solya.

"How does that sound to you, My Lord?"

 

To ensure Solya's safety, Vela decided to head to the safest area first.

 

"Mmh!" A bright smile curved Solya's lips, her tail swaying gently.

 

Seeing the wolf tail that gave away Solya's mood, Vela knew she had lost to her yet again.

"*Sigh*..."

 

Solya followed Vela into the woods on the outskirts of the temple.

There was no lighting in the woods at night, but the two could still make out their surroundings by the warm light cast from the temple not far away.

Silence reigned all around, broken only by the chirping of insects and the soft rustle of their footsteps on the grassy ground and dry twigs.

 

"This is my first time accompanying you on guard duty, and at night too. The atmosphere really makes me a bit nervous..." Solya walked behind Vela, looking at the surrounding woods.

 

"Your reaction, My Lord, is very similar to the rookies who have just joined the Guard." Vela smiled.

Though Solya's martial skills were solid, she had no real combat experience, so Vela was not surprised by her reaction.

 

Suddenly, Solya took a few quick steps to catch up, pressing close to Vela's side and walking shoulder to shoulder with her.

 

Vela turned her head, looking at her in confusion.

 

"Hehe... Sorry, I feel less nervous this way."

 

Vela was taken aback for a moment, then smiled helplessly.

"I take back what I just said. It is my first time seeing a rookie who clings to the Captain of the Guard."

 

"Please~ easing the tension helps me perform better." As Solya spoke, she leaned her entire body against Vela.

 

"My Lord... you are crowding me so much that it is hard to walk..."

 

The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder for a short distance.

 

Solya turned her head slightly to look at Vela, only to look away again after a brief moment, appearing as if she had something to say but was hesitating.

 

"What is it? Why are you staring at me?" Noticing Solya's gaze, Vela asked with a light chuckle.

 

"Nothing..." Solya murmured.

 

She fell silent for a few seconds, then slowly spoke again.

 

"When we went on adventures together as children, as long as I held your hand, I felt like I feared nothing..."

 

"...Can we hold hands like we used to, Vela?"

She knew her cheeks were burning, yet she still spoke with a squinting smile.

 

"Eh?"

 

Vela froze.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at Solya.

 

Vela knew Solya had always been direct.

But this request made her start to doubt whether Solya was simply being innocent as in the past, or if there was another meaning hidden behind it.

 

But in the next second, she immediately pushed that thought back down into her heart.

 

Solya was the supreme Sun Wolf God, and the deity she served.

 

Just having that thought cross her mind made her feel she should not think any further.

 

"I..."

The tips of Vela's ears felt hot enough to burn.

She knew she could no longer hold Solya's hand without any reservations as she had when they were children.

 

But she was afraid that if her hand lingered for even a second longer, the feelings hidden deep in her heart would be noticed by Solya.

 

Solya tilted her head up, gazing quietly at Vela as if waiting for her reply.

 

Whenever she saw Solya like this, Vela didn't have the heart to see her look disappointed.

 

Not because she was her deity.

 

But because—it was Solya.

 

Vela could no longer hold back the emotions she had deliberately suppressed.

 

She swallowed, slowly reached out her hand, and gently took hold of Solya's fingers.

It was as if her body moved faster than her thoughts, and even she hadn't expected to actually take Solya's hand.

 

Only then did Vela realize,

she wanted to be close to Solya even more than she had thought.

 

She lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on their lightly interlaced fingers.

 

Compared to the tenderness of childhood, Solya's fingers had become slender and long.

Yet what had never changed was the feeling of warmth that brought comfort to Vela.

 

Solya gazed at Vela, her eyes narrowing slightly as she smiled softly.

Though Vela only held her fingers, it still made her heart beat much faster.

She knew her face was probably flushed red, but the dim light in the woods meant Vela did not seem to notice her change.

 

 

"*Growl*..."

 

Suddenly, a low beastly growl echoed from the darkness.

 

The moment she heard the sound, Vela pulled Solya behind her with the hand holding hers, while her other hand went to the saber at her waist.

Her expression, which had shown a hint of fluster and shyness just a moment ago, was replaced in the blink of an eye by sharp vigilance.

 

"Vela, what was that...?"

Frowning, Solya also placed her hand on the saber Vela had lent her, her nerves tensing.

 

"...Shh."

Vela lowered her voice, carefully discerning the direction of the sound.

The low growling seemed to be gradually drawing closer to them.

 

"*Growl*...!"

The beast's growls suddenly became rapid and frenzied, its hostile intent clear.

 

In an instant, a massive shadow lunged toward them, its sharp front claws slashing down fiercely at the two of them.

Both evaded the attack by dodging to opposite sides, but they were forced apart in the process.

 

"*Roar*!!!"

 

The shadow finally materialized before their eyes.

It was a massive, wolf-like monster with no hair covering its body—indeed, no skin at all—leaving its blood-red muscles completely exposed.

It bared its fangs, and its unnervingly numerous sharp teeth seemed to drip with bloody water, which slowly dribbled down from the gaps of its teeth along the corners of its mouth.

Its abnormally long limbs bent to the ground, and its front claws were unnaturally long, as if a single horizontal sweep of those razor-sharp claws could shred everything in front of it.

 

Though its shape retained the outline of a wolf, it possessed not a shred of a wolf's sacredness or spirituality.

Standing before them was something much more akin to a beast consumed by madness and bloodlust.

 

"A wolf...?" Solya frowned.

As the wolf god, such a distorted "wolf" made her feel exceptionally uneasy, a sudden inexplicable chill even spreading down her chest.

 

"My Lord! Please get behind me!"

Vela stepped forward to block Solya, shielding her almost by instinct, while the saber at her waist unsheathed in the next instant.

 

The monster's appearance so close to the temple was completely beyond Vela's expectations, and now it stood only a step away from Solya.

Vela had no time to slowly observe the enemy's movements. At this distance, the slightest hesitation could put Solya in danger.

 

She lowered her center of gravity, kicked off the ground, and closed in on the monster in an instant.

The blade drew a crescent of cold light, slashing toward the monster's abnormally long front limb.

Unbelievably, a sweep of that front limb blocked Vela's attack. The front limb, which was almost entirely bone, was the hardest part of its entire body.

The powerful impact traveled up her arm through the blade. Vela frowned, flipping and landing to regain her footing using the momentum of the impact.

 

Almost simultaneously, Solya leaped out from behind Vela.

She seized the moment when the monster blocked Vira's attack and, without hesitation, swung her blade down at its head.

But the monster's speed was far beyond her imagination. In the next instant, it hopped backward and evaded Solya's blade.

 

Suddenly, the monster's movements paused for a split second.

Its gaze locked onto Solya.

That long golden hair and the swaying wolf tail seemed to make it recognize something.

It let out a deafening roar, a sound higher in pitch than before, as if it had discovered its true target.

The next second, it lunged toward Solya as if driven into a frenzy.

 

This time, the monster no longer attacked with its limbs.

It snapped its jaws open wide, biting directly toward Solya.

Its speed was too fast, leaving Solya no time to dodge. She could only hastily wedge her saber between its gaping jaws.

 

"...Ugh!"

 

The massive impact knocked Solya flat on the ground, the mouth dripping with bloody water and saliva only inches away from her.

Lying on the ground, Solya gripped the hilt with all her might, propping it against the monster's upper and lower jaws to barely keep them from closing.

 

Right at this moment, Vela's saber slashed another flash of cold light horizontally.

She severed the monster's tail from behind in a single strike, attempting to stop its actions.

 

"*Howl*—!"

 

The intense pain caused the monster to jerk its head up, loosening its bite on the saber.

 

By instinct, it swung a massive claw behind it, trying to drive Vira away.

But at the same time, its other claw swept toward Solya, who had not yet managed to push herself up.

 

"My Lord!"

 

Vela lunged forward, using all her strength to shove Solya out of the way.

 

In the next instant,

the monster's sharp claws ripped fiercely through her uniform and inner protective vest from behind.

 

Vela felt a searing pain like burning on her back.

She gritted her teeth, but her body still knelt heavily on the ground from the impact, blood dripping down from her torn uniform.

 

"Vela—!"

 

Watching this scene, Solya's heart seemed to skip a beat.

She had never felt such intense terror.

 

Not out of fear for the monster before her.

But out of fear—that Vela would vanish from her side.

 

Just the passing of this thought made Solya feel as though she had been completely hollowed out.

 

Having its tail severed also slowed the monster's movements.

But in the next second, it continued to approach Vela, who could not get up immediately.

 

Vela struggled to her feet and raised her saber into a fighting stance, but the sharp pain in her back made her unsteady.

The monster opened its bloody jaws again, closing in on her.

 

"Get the hell away from Vela—!"

 

Solya charged forward.

Gripping the saber with both hands, she stepped onto the monster's lowered front limb to propel herself and leaped high into the air.

 

In the next instant, she plunged the blade down fiercely.

 

The sharp blade sank deep into the back of the monster's neck, penetrating straight through to the front.

 

The monster's low growls stopped abruptly.

 

Its massive body crashed heavily to the ground.

 

"*Pant*... *pant*..."

Solya sat on the back of the monster's neck, her rapid breaths still carrying a tremor that had not yet subsided.

 

After a few seconds, Solya suddenly snapped back to her senses.

 

"Vela!"

She scrambled down from the monster and ran toward Vela, who was sitting on the ground.

Solya squatted down, anxiously inspecting the wound on Vela's back.

 

"I am fine. The protective vest deflected most of it..."

The monster's claws had not impaled Vela, but they had torn through the vest and severely slashed her back.

 

Solya swiftly tore off a corner of her divine robe and pressed it against the wound on Vela's back.

 

"My Lord! You cannot...!"

Vela was stunned, and she instinctively spoke to stop Solya.

The white robe was a sacred object of the supreme deity, yet now it was stained bright red with her own blood.

 

"Please don’t move, you’ll start bleeding again."

Frowning, Solya applied pressure to the wound on Vela's back, her voice clearly carrying an uncontrollable anxiety.

 

Vela looked at Solya's anxious face beside her, then silently lowered her gaze.

She said nothing more, her expression much heavier than usual.

 

A few minutes later, the bleeding was finally stopped.

Solya slowly let out a deep breath, and her tense emotions finally eased slightly.

 

"I have caused you trouble, My Lo—"

Before Vela could finish speaking, Solya gently leaned her forehead against Vela's chest.

 

Vela was stunned.

 

"...I was really terrified."

Solya lowered her head, her voice muffled as she pressed into Vela.

 

"I was so afraid... that you would vanish just like that."

 

Vela remained silent for a while.

 

Her heart was filled with guilt toward Solya and the frustration of failing in her duty.

She was the Captain of the Guard, yet she had still allowed Solya to fall into danger.

 

"...I am sorry."

Vela propped herself up with one hand on the ground, while her other arm gently wrapped around Solya in her embrace.

 

In the night-shrouded woods, only the chirping of insects and the gentle breeze rustling the leaves remained.

The two of them silently felt each other's warmth, as if to confirm that the other was still there beside them.

 

 

A few days passed, and peace seemed to return temporarily around the temple, with no more monsters appearing.

 

Vela came into the High Priestess's room. She wore the Guard's simple short-sleeved undershirt and trousers, and white bandages wrapped from her back could still be seen on her shoulder.

High Priestess Dreven stood before the window with her back to Vela, her gaze fixed on the orange-red sunset.

 

"...You have gravely failed in your duty this time."

High Priestess Dreven's slow and low voice sounded exceptionally heavy in the quiet room.

 

"I'm sorry."

Vela kept her head slightly bowed, her eyes never turning toward High Priestess Dreven.

 

High Priestess Dreven turned around slowly to look at Vela.

 

"I know you and Wolf God have been close since childhood, but this is no longer child's play."

Hearing this, Vela averted her already lowered gaze even further, her brow furrowing.

 

High Priestess Dreven fell silent for a moment.

 

"...When you fought the monster head-on, I believe you noticed it too," she spoke slowly once more.

 

"From ancient times to the present, no such monster has ever appeared. And now, it is the era of the wolf god..."

 

She paused for a moment, her tone growing even heavier.

 

"At a time like this, the form of that 'wolf' might not be a mere coincidence."

 

Vela frowned, her expression grave.

 

"...Yes, I felt it."

 

High Priestess Dreven took a breath.

 

"...Vela, the position of the Captain of the Guard does not possess enough power."

 

"Only by rising to a higher position can you truly become the one who protects the Sun God."

 

Vela remained silent for a few seconds.

 

Then, she slowly raised her head and looked at High Priestess Dreven.

 

"Yes."

 

There was no excess emotion on her face, but her eyes were firmer than ever before.