"GET BACK! NOW!" 

SWOOSH

A heavy force sent the girls flying in the other direction. With the sounds of thumping and soft landings, Tanya was a.s.sured that it went well. If they were to fight a fourth ascension beast right now, they would all die.

"TANYA! WHAT THE h.e.l.l ARE YOU DOING!?" Penelope cried out as she got back onto her two feet. Her face was full of anxiety and she was sweating at the immense pressure being released by the beast. Even if she was considered a powerful magic user at the second ascension, Penelope did not think she could handle such a beast; let alone Tanya.

"JUST RUN!!!"

ROOOOAAAAAR

The harrowing blast of noise sent a chill down Tanya's spine. Even though she had fought beasts much more powerful than this one in her last life, something about this encounter made her feel fearful. 

She looked back to the girls with anxious eyes, hoping that they had fled, but alas, they had only just gotten to their feet. 

The beast slowly began circling around the homunculi and Tanya, stalking them like a predator would to its prey. 

In these moments, Tanya did not think about herself. She only though about the girls that she had brought along with her. She wanted them to flee and leave her behind. Even if she only had a slim chance of victory, it would become impossible if the girls were to join. Tanya did not have confidence in protecting them all.

CLANG

A sharp set of claws came down on Tanya, only to be aggressively blocked by Tanya's sword. Nevertheless, the sword broke. It broke like a twig in the face of this beast. It was like history repeating itself all over again; Tanya fighting a beast after breaking her weapon.

"[Iron Skin]"

"[Flame Blade]"

A glimmer of silver light fizzled around Tanya as her skin became stronger. This was followed by a sword of flame appearing within her grasp, like an angels's divine weapon.

"Tanya! We're coming to help!" Erina and Yuna immediately came running forward with their weapons in hand. Although unprepared, they still had some level of equipment. Nevertheless, this would mean nothing.

Tanya had already lost her weapon in a single engagement. What good would their weapons do against such a powerful beast? Did they intend to poke it, prod it?

"RUN!" This was the duty of an emperor or empress. The sovereign must put their people before themselves. Only a coward would leave their own people to die, especially those that abandon their friends and lovers.

Her sword again clashed against the wolf. Again and again she tried to fend off the beast while the homunculi attempted to wound it and protect their precious master. The girl's all came running to the scene, despite Tanya's advice.

They all wanted to help Tanya. It was more than just grat.i.tude. Every single one of them agreed that letting Tanya possibly sacrifice herself for them would never sit well in their hearts.

"You think I will let you harm my future wife?!"

"I will barbecue you and feed you to the pigs."

"HOW DARE YOU STRIKE AT TANYA!"

"You will die today!"

"I will end you even if it takes my life,"

"YOU BEAST!"

Despite the logic, the obvious power gap, the girls ran towards the beast.

All of them came running like a small stampede. As Tanya noticed this, she immediately felt her heart pumping faster and faster. Nothing would change their minds, so the only course of action is to eliminate the immediate threat without having any of the girls killed.

'This was exactly the situation I was trying to avoid.' A look of disappointment was projected from Tanya's face. She had given them the opportunity to escape yet they chose to come and die. 

RRRROOOOOOAAAAAR

PUCHI

"AAARGH!" A razor sharp claw dug into Tanya's thigh, twisting as it pulled out like a pick. Her lapse in concentration had cost her dearly.

"Yuri, heal Tanya!" Diana cried out with her wand pointed towards the wolf already.

s.h.i.+CK

Tanya immediately cut into the wolf's claws, separating one set of claws from it's legs. With a firm and serious expression, Tanya held her sword ready. She wanted to find a way to kill the beast as soon as possible. Cutting the claws was already a challenge for her. 

Any more problems and she feared she would die from the inability to mult.i.task.

ZOOM

A ray of light hit the surface of the wolf's hide, scorching it minorly. Yuri had finally readied her destructive saint spells for the battle. With her hands pointed to the beast in front of her, she held a furious expression.

"DIE!"

This mood went for almost all of the girls. Only Rosellia and Penelope were able to keep their minds in check. As adults, they did not have hormonal instabilities like the other girls. Therefore, they could manage the situation much better.

"Why won't you just run?" Tanya mumbled as she deflected another heavy hit from the wolf.

Each hit felt like a building cras.h.i.+ng down on her. She felt each strike mentally as well as physically. She did not desire death, neither did she desire for her companions' deaths. Tanya wanted everyone to get back to the academy safe and sound, but she was not sure at this moment in time.

The Tanya that was almost always the most sure of herself had fallen into contemplation. She needed something, anything, to come down and help her defeat this beast. There was no point in using [Avatar] if she was not even strong enough to make full use of the skill. She did not even know half of the abilities she could manifest with the skill.

Nevertheless, she held a plain expression. At the very least, she would protect the girls.

'I will not let you touch a single strand of their hair.'

Tanya thrusted forward with her fiery blade, stabbing shallowly into the wolf's hide. With a spin of her body, she routed to Alpha and cut at the ankles of the beast, followed by a shallow cut from Alpha. 

Even if it were to die, Alpha would never regret it. Alpha firmly believed that a life without Tanya is a life that has no purpose. Tanya had given Alpha life, therefore Tanya is Alpha's parent and master. This would never change.

"Master, let me fend off the beast for you and your companions. We will willingly die to help you escape." Alpha announced.

At his point, the wolf seemed wounded. Yet it did not stagger, it continued howling. It's pressure grew until the tree withered around them. This is the power of a true king of the forest. It would not die to such low level fighters.

AAAAWWWWOOOOOOOO

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM

And yet, it ended with a bang. The sky turned white and the wolf turned black.

A beam of pure energy came down, piercing the wolf from the top of its skull down to its jaw. Like that, the whole body began to decay. It was like nothing the girls could have ever imagined. The power of a fourth ascension being could not be measured by low level people like them.

If they wanted to know, they would have to ascend too.

"I-I feel something! I feel like my body is aching! I'M ASCENDING!" Erina cried out as she knelt down onto the ground on all fours.

"I FEEL IT TOO!" Yuri did the exact same thing, albeit much more cutely as curled up into a ball soon after.

"Finally…" Penelope also felt this change.

"What?!" Rosellia felt like she had been engulfed in flame as her body began to ascend past her previous state.

"This is really happening…" Yuna breathed so deeply that the air around her formed a gust of wind.

"I never thought…"

This was a ma.s.s ascension. Not even the homunculi were left out. Everyone except for Tanya and Alpha managed to ascend an entire stage.

[Level up: …]

Before Tanya could read the level, she felt a presence appear from behind her.

"Greetings." Like an uninvited guest, the voice revealed itself. Imposing itself onto the girls.

The figure of an old lady. With a hunched back and grey hairs, she appeared to be approaching the final decade of her long life. From the looks of it, she possessed a lot of power too. This power perhaps rivalled that of Tane's.

"Greetings… Thank you for saving us." Tanya respectfully replied with her body still stiff from stress.

"It is no issue. I am simply taking care of my great great granddaughter's friends and my future daughter-in-law~"

"!!!" Yuri nearly jumped out of her skin.

"I am Samantha Carter, you must know my dear little Yuri. I trust that you know that you will be marrying her, non-negotiable~" The old lady came slower and poked Tanya on the shoulder, showing her insistence on the matter.

"YOU ARE MY GRANNY?!! YOU SAID YOU ARE A SHOPKEEPER!"

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