Case #3: Fenrir

"THIS CAKE IS SO DELICIOUS!!!" Emila exclaimed, indulging herself in another slice of cake, inside the Vice Captain's office. 

"I'm glad you enjoy it so much," Alexis answered, with an awkward smile, as she watched Emila consume her twelve slices from the five-tier cake by the Raul Bakery. "Do you think she will be okay?" she whispered to Ana. 

"Do you mean Haruno or Emila?" Ana asked, as they glanced over to see Emila smiling while Haruno was unconscious with a distraught expression on her face, lying on the brown leather sofa. "Let's just focus on the task here for now," she suggested, with three large stacks of testimony from the prisoner. 

"Honestly, I've never witnessed a prisoner gladly reveal so much information without being practically tortured to death," Alexis stated. "For the first time, we ran out of paper and had to send someone to purchase some. A part of me wants to learn whatever Emila did to that prisoner to extract so much information," she joked. 

"I wouldn't," Ana recommended, "Remember, we had to practically knock out the strong-willed Haruno to remove her from the prisoner cell," recalling that Haruno refused to let anyone touch her and started to retaliate by throwing deadly punches. Ana had to cast a sleeping spell to stop her. 

"Point taken," Alexis replied, "Let's get started now," with the two starting to review the large piles of testimony. 

After spending multiple hours reviewing the testimony, Ana & Alexis had fallen asleep from the previous night's exhaustion, but were suddenly woken up by the sound of paper shuffling. 

"What's going on?!?" Alex exclaimed, placing her hand on her sword handle. 

"Sorry for waking you," Haruno apologized, fully recovered and standing near a wall where a pull-down map was located. "I needed a large map of this area to compare the findings from the testimony," she explained, with the large pile of testimony separated into five different piles based on their importance. 

"Were you able to find anything regarding the organization?" Ana asked, rubbing her tired eyes. 

"Yes, I was able to ascertain where their hideout was," Haruno answered confidently. "This is a bit tricky after all,"

"THE HIDEOUT!?!?" Alexis exclaimed, "How did you find that out?" 

"Based on the testimony, the prisoner mentions that the hideout was in an underground cave inside the Forest of Telia. He also mentioned that there was a long tunnel system that extended out to multiple entrances." Haruno explained, "Earlier today, Emila & I followed a trail left behind by this reactive white powder I had placed under the body double's right arm in the morgue. The moment they lifted the arm to verify the tattoo, the powder would have sprinkled onto their boots, leaving a trail for us to follow. We were able to establish a general area where their hideout could be, but lost track once we reached the river," she stated.

"WAIT, YOU TWO WENT ON YOUR OWN AGAIN!!" Ana yelled, "DID YOU TWO NOT LISTEN TO ME ABOUT THE DANGER OF TAKING ACTION WITH JUST THE TWO OF YOU!!" She lectured. 

"We weren't alone," Haruno stated. "We took Fubuki's mother with us," she added. 

"Who is Fubuki ?" Ana questioned. 

"A white wolf cub that Haruno has been playing with inside the Forest of Telia," Emila answered. "During one of the requests, we rescued the injured white wolf cub from an Orc pack, treated its wounds, and returned it to its pack. The pack leader was Fubuki's mother, who was furious to see how injured she was and thought we had hurt her child after it had gone missing. She proceeded to attack us and bit down on Haruno's right shoulder, but Fubuki quickly cleared the misunderstanding. The mother quickly let go and apologized to Haruno for hurting her, and since then, we've been made an honorary member of the pack. Once in a while, we would go out and play with Fubuki and the rest of the pack."

"I'm sorry, but did you say the white wolf pack inside the Forest of Telia ?" Ana asked, "Correct if I'm wrong here, but the only white wolf pack that resides inside that forest are Fenrirs, right, Alexis?" She verified, with her eyes darting wide open. 

"Yes....I believe so?" Alexis stood up, concerned, "It's been a while since we've seen or heard from the Forest Guardian, as they haven't been seen patrolling for the past few years. Maybe a new species of white wolf has taken over the Forest Guardian role," she hoped, as coming in contact with Fenrir means immediate death according to legend and a simple, clear warning given by the Royal family. "NEVER APPROACH OR UPSET THE FOREST GUARDIAN," the single warning that is given to every single person in this Kingdom and other Kingdoms. 

"I'm not too sure if they are Fenrirs," Emila questioned, taking out two small bundles of silky white fur that she had kept after brushing the pack while Haruno played with Fubuki. "Fubuki's mother gave me permission to keep her and pack's furs after I gave them a good brushing. She mentioned something that wards off evil and is used to make strong armor if used correctly." Handing over the small bundles to Ana for appraisal. 

"This silky texture, this immense mana coursing through each of the strands of fur," Ana appraised, "No doubt, this one came from the Lesser Fenrir, and this one is from a Fenrir," she stated, with Alexis falling to the ground with her legs giving out.

"Are they that famous?" Haruno questioned, "The mother was very pretty and also fast when she carried us out of the forest," she mentioned. 

"YOU RODE THE FENRIR?!??!?!" Alexis exclaimed, "I'M SO ENVIOUS!!" 

"Haruno, this Kingdom has had a non-aggressive agreement with the Wolf Queen for centuries now, " Ana explained, "The Wolf Queen alone has enough power to easily destroy this entire Kingdom within a few hours if she wanted to."

"I can see that," Haruno said, "She is extremely agile and hard to keep up with when she starts to sprint. I couldn't properly land a blow on her for a while and only landed a blow after tricking her with a feint," she chuckled. 

"YOU FOUGHT THE WOLF QUEEN!?!?!" Ana & Alexis exclaimed, amazed by the fact that Haruno was still standing in front of them. 

"Fubuki 's Mother wants to get some exercise after lying around so much, so she requested I do some light exercise with her," Haruno explained. "It was actually an interesting match! I can't wait for next time!" she smiled. 

"Emila, how did the fight go exactly in your words?" Ana & Alexis quietly asked, knowing that Haruno's perspective varies extremely differently from that of normal people. 

"Dangerous," Emila stated. "At first, Fubuki's mother was playing with Haruno by running around and avoiding her punches, but things got serious when Haruno predicted her next move and got close enough to land a punch. She summoned an extremely large, thick ice wall in front of her to block Haruno's punch, but the strength alone shattered through it, as she connected to her face. At this point, Fubuki's mother started to attack seriously as she started to enjoy the sparring match, mentioning it had been a while since another human excited her. The fight continued, with multiple trees being destroyed or uprooted from their blows, until a pack of Wyvern started to engage them. At that point, the fight was over, and the Wyvern became that afternoon's lunch, " she explained, taking out a large purple mana stone from the Wyvern. 

"I see...." Ana & Alexis muttered, realizing that Haruno's strength was more dangerous than they'd assumed. 

"For now, hold onto the Wyvern material, and we will give it to Gus to make equipment for you two," Ana suggested. 

"Okay," Emila answered, walking towards Haruno and asking if she needed help sketching a copy of the map onto a piece of paper.

"Normally, you would want them to sell such a rare material to the Adventurer Guild," Alexis questioned Ana's intent. "Why are you suggesting she hold onto it?" 

"They are drawing too much attention lately," Ana answered. "Just two days prior, these two girls alone destroyed a large Goblin settlement, which was ruled by a Goblin Lord and other different Goblin subspecies."

"REALLY?!??" Alexis exclaimed, with Ana covering her mouth. 

"If the two of them end up drawing the attention of some unsavory people like the King, this Kingdom might end up getting destroyed," Ana warned, "Especially if they have a close bond with that Fenriri." 

"True..." Alexis muttered, realizing Ana's reason for caution. "Haruno, what is the plan of attack?" she asked, knowing full well that Haruno was working on an attack plan. 

"The operation will commence in three days," Haruno announced, arranging the sketched-out version of the map onto the large table. "How many knights are under your command, Alexis?"

"My squadron has a total of forty knights plus me & the captain," Alexis answered. "If that number is not enough, we can always request assistance from the other squadrons or request assistance from the Adventurer Guild," she suggested. 

"No, the smaller the attack force, the better the outcome of this fight," Haruno said,  "Forty knights, huh?" she muttered. "This plan is going to be extremely taxing on you and the rest of the Order. Is that going to be okay with you?" she asked. 

"Of course!" Alexis proudly answered, "We are Knights who would gladly give our lives to end this farce," she declared. 

"NO!" Haruno yelled, walked over to Alexis, "NO ONE DIES A HERO IN THIS FIGHT, DO YOU HEAR ME!" she warned, staring at Alexis' eyes with extreme anger.

"O-Okay....." Alexis answered, as her body trembled from Haruno's pressure. 

"GOOD!" Haruno stated, backing off, Alexis, and returning to the map, reveals the attack plan for this operation.


Three days later, on a clear, bright night, the two full moons were shining brightly in the sky as they arrived at their peak. 

"Are you sure you only want the two of us to support you? Shouldn't we have asked for more support from the other squadrons?" Eric asked Alexis as they hid inside the dense forest, surveilling a group of watchmen as they paced back and forth around a hole in the ground. 

"It'll be fine. Don't tell me you are scared?" Alexis teased, "If you're feeling scared, why don't you ask your big brother, Max, to hold you?" She suggested, glancing towards another Knight. 

"I'm ready to give you a hug if you need one, little brother," Max offered. 

"I DON'T NEED A FUCKING HUG!!!" Eric exclaimed before being held down tightly by Max as he covered his loud mouth. 

"SHHH!!!" Alexis shushed, "You can be loud in a moment, so relax!" she whispered, waiting for the signal, as she recalled the operation's plan.

"Based on the information we have here and the information Emila & I previously obtained, there are a total of five access points to their underground hideout," Haruno announced as she took out multiple small pieces of wooden markers from a box, arranging them at the entry points.. 

"FIVEE?!?!!?" Alexis exclaimed, "HOW WERE THEY ABLE TO EXPAND IT SO LARGE??!!? WHERE DID THEY GET THE WORK FORCE FOR IT?!?!" she questioned.  

"Remember what had occurred in the plaza a few days ago?" Haruno reminded Alexis, "There was a reason why they purposely targeted the Beastkin children. They wanted to use them for slave labor, as Beastkins are a lot stronger than humans. Not to mention, the BeastKins can later be sold to other underground organizations that require slave labor," she explained the reason. 

"Are you sure, Haruno?" Ana asked, "Enslaving & selling BeastKin can result in war with Cremonia if they found out," she warned. 

"Yes, I'm sure. Remember that Goblin Settlement that we discovered? " Haruno stated, "I had gone back there with Fubuki's mother as she was concerned about the large number of Goblins we had encountered. When we arrived at the flooded area, she mentioned there was a large scent of Beastkins lingering in the air. I believe they had planned for a sixth entranceway, but it sprang a leak during the excavation, so they abandoned it." 

"SHIT!" Ana yelled, "ARE THEY TRYING TO START A WAR AGAIN?!?!" she yelled. 

Four hundred years old, a major war broke out across the continent where humanity had attempted to enslave all BeastKins for their personal use. The war lasted for over thirty years, with millions of lives lost, but finally ended after the Human Hero and the Beastkin Hero established a peace treaty. This event would later give birth to the Kingdom of Teralisa & Kingdom of Cemonia. 

"If that is the case, all we need to do is quickly rescue them," Alexis stated, placing her right hand on Ana's left shoulder. "What is the plan of action?" 

"At each of these three access points, I want to place a party of nine Knights here, with the remaining eleven at this point." Haruno explained, "I believed this boss would flee out of this access point once they realized they were attacked." 

"I'm assuming the Captain & I, along with the remaining two knights, will be placed at the main entranceway?" Alexis assumed, placing two wooden markers for her & the Captain on the map. 

"No, it'll just be you and the Thunder Brothers," Haruno stated, removing the Captain marker. "I have something else planned for the Captain. I need you and the extremely obnoxious Thunder Brothers to make as much noise as you can and draw out as many enemies from the hideout," with a smile. 

*HOWLLLINNNNGGGG!!!!*

"THAT'S THE SINGAL!!" Alexis yelled as they darted out of the forest covering and charged towards the watchmen.