Chapter 250: Welcome Party?

The Snowdrift Wolf Schneewalzer charged forward, cloaked in dazzling white light.

There was even a faint trace of color glowing from within.

Seeing this, both Himeragi Yukina and Yukari were momentarily surprised.

However...

Yukina frowned slightly. Her magic...

Was draining too fast.

The magic in her body couldn't keep up with the Snowdrift Wolf's output.

This...

She felt a little embarrassed.

As its wielder, she couldn't even stand still and let it attack properly?

The Snowdrift Wolf itself seemed to notice the issue. Once the colored glow reached a certain level, the light dimmed.

It didn't continue charging.

That was the limit of the magic Yukina could channel.

Snowdrift Wolf Schneewalzer: "…"

"?"

A flash of surprise crossed Yukari's eyes.

Did... she just see a sigh of disappointment from a spear?

What was that?

She knew the Snowdrift Wolf had shown signs of sentience for a while now, but...

Its emotions were clearly becoming more expressive.

If it one day turned into a human, Yukari probably wouldn't be surprised at all.

On the other side.

The Black Death Emperor's Brother looked at the Snowdrift Wolf charging toward him again and sneered.

"The weapon is good. But the wielder, not so much."

From their earlier exchange, he had already roughly grasped what Himeragi Yukina was capable of.

No need to be cautious.

His massive arms ignited in black flames. He raised them and went to grab the incoming Snowdrift Wolf!

Like a giant net engulfing the sky, his hands descended, thick with distorted heatwaves from the intense flames.

Just as his hands were about to enclose the Snowdrift Wolf, its light suddenly blazed brighter!

Buzz—

Amid the intense white glow, a streak of color stood out sharply!

Slash—

The beam of light touched his arms, followed by a sharp crackling sound!

The black flames wrapped around his arms were immediately erased, like pencil marks wiped clean by an eraser!

Seeing this, the Black Death Emperor's Brother's pupils shrank.

His heart skipped.

A chilling sense of danger surged through him.

A second later.

Agonizing pain erupted from his right arm!

"Urghhh..."

He groaned under his breath, eyes snapping down to his arm.

What was once a massive limb was now gone. Blood gushed violently and splashed to the ground.

His expression twisted in pain. He quickly pulled back and covered the severed stump with his left hand, pouring in magic to stop the bleeding.

When the blood flow ceased, he let out a breath, then looked up with gritted teeth.

What just happened?!

His gaze locked onto the Snowdrift Wolf, now dim and lying motionless on the ground. His eyes grew uncertain.

Was that... the spear's power?

Then... where was his arm?!

He frantically scanned the area.

If he could retrieve it, maybe it could still be reattached.

But...

No matter how hard he looked, there was no trace of it.

His frustration built.

The sudden turn of events left Liana and Gajou stunned.

It worked?!

Seeing the Black Death Emperor's Brother's current state, they were finally certain. A sliver of hope stirred.

Could this be a turning point?

But...

Their eyes shifted to the gasping Yukina, and that fragile hope dimmed again.

That look—she was completely drained.

Damn it!

Even if the attack landed, if all her magic was exhausted just to take one arm...

Liana's heart sank again. Her eyes drifted toward the Snowdrift Wolf lodged in the ground.

If Yukina didn't have enough magic... could she—

"Don't even think about it."

Yukari, having seen right through her thoughts, spoke calmly.

"If the Snowdrift Wolf doesn't recognize you, you don't even qualify to wield it."

Liana paused, frowning slightly.

Yukari gazed quietly at the Snowdrift Wolf, sighing internally.

"Returning the world to its origin…"

"What a broken ability..."

Even with the magic reserves of a mid-level devil like Yukina, it had reached this level.

What if her magic kept growing?

She couldn't help but click her tongue.

But...

She looked at the pale, heavily panting Yukina and asked in surprise,

"Yukina, were you able to tap into the Snowdrift Wolf's true power?"

Yukina, hands on her knees, shook her head.

"No."

"Hmm?"

Yukari raised an eyebrow, focusing on her closely.

Yukina took a deep breath and continued,

"It was the Snowdrift Wolf that triggered it on its own."

She wasn't strong enough to release its full potential.

And after this...

Even if she could use it again, she probably wouldn't dare to easily.

She was completely drained, her body feeling hollowed out.

After hearing her explanation, Yukari fell silent.

"So..."

"The Snowdrift Wolf can act on its own?"

Still...

It seemed the Snowdrift Wolf was also in a pretty bad mood...

Yukari's expression turned odd.

Opposite them.

The Black Death Emperor's Brother, still unable to find his arm, was growing visibly darker in mood.

His beast-like gaze swept past the Snowdrift Wolf and locked onto Yukina and the others.

He had thought they were nobodies. Yet now...

They had left him this humiliated.

"Die."

He parted his bloody jaws and spat out the word coldly.

A moment later.

Pitch-black flames surged!

He opened his mouth wide, condensing a sphere of searing black fire.

Then with a roar, he fired a scorching black beam!

Seeing it.

Liana and the others' pupils shrank.

Even in the freezing depths of the underground mausoleum, they could feel the beam's unbearable heat!

We're going to die.

Those words flashed through Liana's mind.

Yukari narrowed her eyes and swiftly deployed several barriers to intercept the oncoming beam.

But...

Crack! Crack!

Sharp breaking sounds rang out from the flames!

The layers of barriers shattered in rapid succession!

Yukari's expression froze. She hadn't expected such an overwhelming surge of power!

Still...

She wasn't panicked.

Because—

Buzz—

Just as the black flames were about to engulf them, a pitch-black magic circle appeared on the icy floor!

In the next moment.

A tall figure emerged from the magic circle!

It was Lynn, having responded to the message Yukina sent through the group.

He glanced at the incoming black beam, raised an eyebrow, then turned toward Yukari.

"So... is this the welcome party you arranged for me?"

Yukari laughed dryly and scratched her head. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond, so she forced a smile.

Thankfully.

Lynn didn't press the matter.

His eyes calmly scanned the black flame beam. Then he raised his hand and opened his lips slightly.

"Emerald Core."

(To be continued.)