Chapter 19 Life or Death Situation

White fur. Glowing yellow eyes. Low, rumbling growls. The White Wolves. A dozen of them. Maybe more. And behind them, much larger than the rest, emerged their leader.

Fenris.

Students screamed. Swords raised in trembling hands. Several people stumbled backward.

"FENRIS?! THAT'S FENRIS! A pack leader! These aren't training monsters! They must have migrated from the deeper woods! This is bad! We can't fight them! Most of the class have too low combat power to beat white wolf! And Fenris is on another level entirely! But I can't just turn and run."

Cedric stepped forward, placing himself between the pack and his classmates. 

"NOBODY RUN! If you turn your backs, they WILL attack! Slowly back away while FACING them! Keep your swords up!"

Students began to move, shuffling backward in a terrified cluster.

"I can hold them. Maybe. Long enough for the others to escape. I hope."

"I'll hold them back! Retreat to the camp! Tell Hemsley we encountered Fenris leading a pack of white wolves! GO!

 Ellie! You have the highest combat power here, make sure they reach the camp!"

His eyes landed on Molly next.

She was completely oblivious to the life-or-death situation. She was looking at a pink butterfly.

It fluttered before her face, her expression was one of pure, goofy enchantment. Her lips were parted in a dreamy smile. A tiny line of drool traced from the corner of her mouth.

"...NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! NOT NOW! NOT HER! NOT AT A TIME LIKE THIS! We're surrounded by a pack of white wolves. Fenris is RIGHT THERE! One wolf requires 120 combat power to defeat alone and with pack leader present double that! Fenris alone requires OVER 1000! These are monsters for hero, not first-years!

And she's playing with BUTTERFLIES! She doesn't even have her SWORD! We are going to DIE here! And she is distracted by a PRETTY BUG! I'm so mad I could use her as bait. Throw her to the wolves. Buy time for the others to escape!"

He took a deep breath and shouted.

"MOLLY! HEY! MOLLY! THIS IS SERIOUS! SNAP OUT OF IT! GET OUT OF HERE! I'LL HOLD THEM OFF! YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR SWORD! YOU'LL JUST GET IN MY WAY! MOVE!"

The butterfly fluttered away.

Molly's head slowly turned. Her eyes focused on Cedric. On the wolves. 

On Fenris.

"Whaaaaaaa! CUTE! FLUFFY! BIG DOGGY! KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Her hands flew to her cheeks, squishing them together. Her entire face transformed into the kind of overwhelming, heart-exploding delight.

"LOOK at them! Look at their BIG fluffy ears! Their LITTLE pink noses! Their SHINY white fur! I can only image how soft their paws are! Kyaaaa! They're like a basket full of PUPPIES but BIGGER and FLUFFIER and—"

Fenris growled, a low, territorial rumble that shook leaves from the trees.

Molly's heart melted further.

"KYAAAA! Even his growl is CUTE~! He's trying to be scary~! Like a kitten hissing~! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!

Back home in the castle, I had a few of these! Kept them as fluffy pets! I'd snuggle with them in my bed and they'd try to nibble on me but that's just how they play! So adorable!

Though... Dad did mention they were trying to eat me, not play. But like, whatever? I'm the demon lord's daughter. They couldn't have hurt me if they tried. So really, they WERE playing! Just... aggressive playing!"

Fenris took another step forward, yellow eyes locked on the strange girl who wasn't running, wasn't screaming, wasn't doing anything a normal prey should do.

Molly's knees buckled slightly from the cuteness overload.

"He's so BIG! So FLUFFY! I wanna bury my face in that fur. I wanna feel that tail wrap around me. I wanna, I wanna—"

A tiny, dreamy sigh escaped her lips.

"Ah~ So cute~"

Cedric, still braced for death, heard it.

"Did she just... did she just call the DEATH WOLF cute? While we're about to DIE? WHILE SHE HAS NO SWORD?!"

"MOLLY! THAT IS NOT A DOG! THAT IS A MONSTER THAT WILL EAT US! OTHERS RETREATED, YOU SHOULD GO TOO! I WILL HOLD THEM OFF!"

Molly moved.

She shot past the wolves like they were standing still, a streak of tan skin and pink lace and absolute, unhinged glee. Her target was clear: the biggest, fluffiest, most magnificent beast in the pack.

Fenris.

Cedric got an eyeful.

Her skirt flickered, tan thighs flashed, pink fabric stretched taut over her curves. He saw what she was wearing, that same pale pink lace set from last night, the tiny bows at her hips, the delicate fabric doing very little to contain her curves. 

She hit Fenris like a missile of pure affection.

WHUMP! 

Her arms wrapped around his massive neck. Her face buried deep into his chest fur. Her legs somehow hooked around his torso. And the two of them, tiny demon girl and legendary wolf, went tumbling backward in a tangle of limbs and fur and happy squeals.

CRASH! 

They slammed into the nearest tree. A massive oak. It shuddered, leaves raining down.

Every white wolf froze. Their jaws dropped open comically wide. Their yellow eyes bulged in their sockets. A few of them staggered backward, pawing at their own faces as if trying to un-see what they'd just witnessed.

Cedric's sword slipped from his fingers. His face cycled through shock, horror, confusion, and then right back to shock.

"HUH!? She tackled Fenris!? She TACKLED Fenris. Fenris. The pack leader. The 1000+ combat power monster. She tackled it like it was a STUFFED ANIMAL!"

From the base of the tree, a voice drifted out, muffled by fur.

"Mmmmmmmm~ So FLUFFY~! I wanna keep you!"

Molly was still wrapped around Fenris, her face smooshed against his chest, her hands gripping fistfuls of white fur. She nuzzled deeper, rubbing her cheek against him like a cat with a favorite blanket.

"You're SO soft! Like a cloud! Like a hundred clouds! How are you this FLUFFY?! And your FACE! Look at your little nose! Your BIG fluffy ears! You're the GOODEST boy, yes you ARE!"

She booped his nose.

Fenris's eye twitched.

Molly hugged him again, squeezing tight, her voice rising into a happy squeal.

"I'm keeping you! You're my new fluffy pet! Leon won't mind! He can share!"

Behind her, the pack of white wolves remained frozen, their simple predator brains unable to process the scene before them. Their leader, their invincible, ancient, terrifying leader, was being snuggled. By a tiny girl.

A few of them looked at each other. A silent question passed between them. "Do we... do we still attack?"

None of them had an answer.

Cedric's legs finally gave out. He sat down hard on the forest floor, staring.

"Her combat score was 147. Fenris requires over 1000. She just tackled it like it was nothing. Either the crystal was wrong, or..."

He swallowed hard.

"...Or she was holding back. A LOT! One thing is clear; she is not a normal transfer student."

Fenris survival instinct kicked in, massive body twisting, legs kicking, fur flying everywhere. Molly went tumbling off him like a doll, rolling twice before landing in a heap of tangled limbs and disappointed pout.

Fenris scrambled to his feet, shook his massive coat once, and threw his head back.

"AWOOOOOOOO!"

The pack didn't hesitate. They turned as one and bolted into the woods, white fur disappearing between the trees. Within seconds, the forest was empty of wolves.

She stared at the spot where Fenris had vanished.

Her lower lip trembled.

A tiny, pathetic sound escaped her.

"Ehhhh...?"

She kicked the ground with one foot, a small, childlike kick that did nothing but scatter some leaves.

"My fluffy puppy ran away... I didn't even get to say goodbye..."

She hugged her knees, staring at the spot where Fenris had vanished.

"He was so warm. So fluffy. So perfect. Maybe he'll come back if I wait here?"

Behind her, footsteps approached.

A hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up to find Cedric standing over her.

"How will you explain this, Miss Molly Moriana? Your combat score is 147. To even contend with Fenris, you need to be at least 1000. To tackle him like a stuffed toy and send him running? That's not 147. That's not even close. This time, you're not talking your way out of it. No jokes. No teasing. No 'oops, silly me' excuses. What is going on with you Miss Molly or whoever you are?"

Molly's brain scrambled for an explanation.

"AAAAAAAA! Stupid me! I totally blew it this time! Puppy was just too cute; I could not help myself! Think, think, think, think—FLUFFY! Say it was the fluffy!"

She turned, pointing both hands at herself with a bright, desperate smile.

"Adrenaline! It was adrenaline! And-and-I really REALLY like fluffy things! It gave me power! Fluffy power! It's a thing! Totally a thing!"

"I gave you a chance, Miss Molly Moriana. Multiple chances. Every time something strange happened, the test score, the sparring, the magic practice, NOW this? I told myself, 'Maybe there's an explanation.' Maybe she's just naturally talented. Maybe she works harder than she shows. Maybe I'm just jealous.

But this? Tackling Fenris. Treating a legendary monster like a PET! Showing power that shouldn't exist in a first year, in anyone below champion rank."

He stopped right in front of her, close enough that she could see his eyes.

"You could have told me the truth. But you can't help yourself, can you? You have to joke. You have to play games. You have to make me feel crazy.

 Fine. I get it. You leave me no choice. I'm taking this to the head principal. I'm telling him everything. Let's see what HE has to say about you, Molly Moriana. Or whoever you really are."