The Void Wolf

“You’re going to be an aunt, Harper,” Ira said happily.

“Avery’s going to have a baby?!” Harper asked Ira with starry-eyes.

Ira nodded before gesturing toward his shirt, “Why do you think I’m wearing this shirt?”

Harper nodded as if it was obvious, but to anyone else listening they would no doubt be lost. Black was a comforting color to Ira because it reminded him of the Void. For him to change the color of his shirt was his way showing he was able to accept change and a child would definitely count as a change.

“Did you think of a name? Wait, did she already have it? Where is she anyway?” Harper was excited and happy to see Ira so she couldn’t control herself.

“I haven’t thought of a name yet. It’ll be a few months before she actually gives birth. She’s back at the Valkyrie Hall on the mountain.” Ira answered each one patiently as he placed Harper on his shoulders and looked at the group behind him.

“...My sister’s pregnant?” Aldis asked as he clutched his throbbing head.

“Yeah, you’ll be an uncle,” Ira said with a laugh.

“Ira! Just what the hell was that?!” Lance shouted with a hint of anger.

“Ah, it was just a joke,” Ira waved his hand in a nonchalant manner.

“You call that a joke? I thought I was going to die,” Amy raised a hand that was still trembling.

“Letting you think you were going to die was the best way to see how much all of you grew,” Ira gave a casual shrug as he failed to see the problem.

“You’re insane…” Sarah huffed out a breath as she plopped on the floor.

“Hey, I have some good news for you three,” Ira said as he raised his eyebrows in realization.

“...Have you found a way to bring them back?” Lance asked carefully.

“Yup, she’s right here,” Ira raised his hands and grabbed Harper before tossing her into the air and catching her, much to her delight.

“Stop!” Harper giggled.

Ira caught her and placed her on his shoulder again before looking around the room, “So you finally got something, Clark?”

“Y-Yeah.” Clark slightly straightened his posture as if to show his pride.

“It seems like it’s really handy,” Ira nodded before looking at Randolph who stood up and evaluated Ira with wide eyes.

“You...I don’t actually know you, do I?” Ira squinted his eyes.

“No, my name is Randolph. I’m Clark’s friend and a Mercenary,” Randolph said expectantly.

“You’re strong for a human, Randolph,” Ira sniffed the air to confirm that he was a human and not someone of a different race, “You are a human right?”

“Yes, I am,” Randolph nodded.

“Well, everyone, I see most of you grew in my time away. How about you all help me clear the rest of this place and then we go outside to talk?” Ira asked.

There were resounding nods and exclamations of agreement before they followed his lead deeper into the caverns. What took place next was less of them helping and more of them catching anything that attempted to run away from Ira which was a daunting task. The feeling of amazement was shared by everyone as they watched Ira kill anything and everything that wasn’t an actual person. He showed no more effort than one would use when killing a fly without wings and moved quicker than they could keep up with. They quickly gave up on the thought of matching his pace and just followed the dead bodies he left behind, with Amy consuming all of them with her Demon’s Flames.

They eventually came to a large cavern filled with brightly glowing mana crystals and a giant pile of bodies in the middle. Ira sat atop of the pile, having a friendly conversation with Harper who couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

“Why don’t you combine your names to make a baby name?” Harper asked.

“Good idea,” Ira said as he smiled at Harper.

Ira showed a look of concentration as he brainstormed a proper name for his unborn child.

He finally spoke after several moments of thinking, “Avira if it’s a girl and Avir if it’s a boy...maybe, We’ll see if Avery has any suggestions.”

“Avira, Avir, Avira, Avir.” Harper repeated as if attempting to ingrain it in her mind, “I like it!” She nodded.

Ira was about to speak when he looked at the others who had just arrived, “Oh, Amy, Harper told me that you burn the corpses to grow.”

He gestured to the pile of warm bodies underneath him, “Have at it.”

He lifted Harper up and jumped down before stepping to the side. Amy nodded and moved forward before raising her hand and summoning her Demon’s Flame. The green flames quickly spread and burned away the flesh of the dead creatures.

Amy clenched her teeth as her forehead filled with sweat, the monsters Ira killed were far above her level in strength which would nourish her flames several levels higher than they had been before. As the blaze finished, Amy grunted and fell to her knees before catching her breath.

“All done?” Ira asked.

“...Yeah,” Amy heaved out.

“Ok, let’s get out of here. Everyone gather up and stand in a circle, I’ll teleport us out,” Ira said with a yawn.

“Spatial Magic takes too long to use, we can walk out by the time you finish,” Valerie replied with a confused expression.

“I don’t use magic,” Ira retorted, “Just come over here.”

Valerie was slightly skeptical and upon noticing it Ira produced his status card and handed it over to her.

Valerie went silent before jumping back in fright and dropping the status card on the floor.

“Hey,” Ira frowned as he picked it up and dusted it off, “You don’t get to touch it anymore.”

“How, Ira? How do you have a double S rating?!” Her shout echoed off of the cave walls.

In that moment a feeling of realization was shared by everyone. They realized that the distance between Ira and themselves was impossible to cross. Though, Randolph had a look of burning determination in his eyes. It was apparent his own limits didn’t register in his head and he still held onto some belief that he would catch up to Ira. Aldis, on the other hand, felt it was to be expected but couldn’t help but recall the days when he was able to land a few scratches on Ira.

“How, Valerie? How are you unable to stand in a circle?” Ira asked in a monotone voice.

“Come on, let’s go!” Ira clapped.

The group dragged their feet toward him in a dazed state before he used his Spatial Leap. The air around them rippled before they vanished from sight.

…

Back at the Quarry Campsite, most of the adventures were just about to go back in to earn more money when a loud boom spread throughout the camp and a group of nine appeared from thin air. A young man with black hair and yellow-eyes dressed in a loose grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black pants, and black boots were at the forefront.

“Alright, go make a bonfire or something, I’ll tell you a couple of stories before I help Lance out,” Ira said to Harper who giggled as she went to carry out the task, “The rest of you can go find some food. Make sure its a lot because I can eat at least three times my own weight.” Ira was technically wrong, he could eat indefinitely if he wished to, it was just a matter of him letting his metabolism run at its normally inhuman level.

“Uh...Alright…” Lance said in a daze as he walked off, Sarah and Valerie trailed behind him.

Aldis and Amy looked at each other before following in the direction Harper ran off to.

“...Do you want any vegetables?” Randolph asked in an eager tone. His battle with Ira, that really couldn’t be called a battle, had allowed him to make a breakthrough in his strength.

“Why not?” Ira shrugged. Randolph nodded before departing with Clark in search of vegetables.

Ira was next approached by the Site Operator who looked to be slightly disappointed.

“Were you unable to clear it entirely?” The Site Operator asked if he knew it was an impossible task.

“It’s empty now.”

“It’s fine as long as you...I’m sorry what?” The Site Operator questioned with wide eyes.

“I said it’s empty. I don’t know if you give out extra money for the remains of monsters, but if you see any bones covered ashes they go to my sister’s group. Don’t let anyone try to steal them, ok?” Although Ira was smiling the Operator felt a wave of cold wash over him as Ira made his request. He gulped loudly before nodding.

“Seal off the entrance to the Quarry and send a few people in there to evaluate it.” The Operator bellowed to the nearby guards who nodded before following through with his orders.

The Mercenaries who heard his shouts broke into a commotion with some unwilling to accept it. When they found out that Ira was the cause of the Quarry’s closure, a few people approached him without knowing of his current standing in the Kingdom.

“Hey! Some of us get most of our money by hunting monster and selling the materials. What the hell are we going to do now?!” A man who looked to have some type of capability shouted. There were a few voices who spoke up in agreement, but everyone else remained silent.

Ira turned toward the man with a friendly smile that made one think he had a solution that all parties could agree on.

“That’s not my problem,” Ira stated while maintaining his ever-present grin.

“But you…” The man went to speak, but Ira held his hand up.

“If you say one more word to me I’ll rip your arms off and toss you in a river,” Ira spoke with a warm laugh which caused him to appear as if he was joking, but if one looked at his eyes from up close they could see there was something wrong.

Of course, the Mercenary was unsatisfied and wanted to bring up the laws of the Kingdom, but something told him that Ira would really follow through with it.

“Nothing to say?” Ira asked with surprise.

“Wow, I really didn’t think you were that smart...Well then, go ahead and get a move on. If I look at you for too long I might end up breaking your neck,” Ira made a shooed him away which caused the Mercenary to squeeze his fist tightly before walking away.

Anyone with thoughts of letting Ira hear their problems let them go after witnessing the scene in front of them. Since the camp was large only a few were lucky enough to realize that Ira’s somewhat innocent and charming smile wasn’t completely honest.

As the sun began to set everyone had returned with food and supplies for a campfire. Harper was the most enthusiastic about the situation and couldn’t wait to listen Ira tell stories. The Site Operator sent someone to retrieve the skeletal remains of the monsters as a way to thank Ira and it was only at that moment Ira realized that he could’ve stored them away in his Void Space. The Operator explained that they would purchase the bones, but most of the money couldn’t be transferred until they arrived at the Capital. At which point the Mercenaries Union would pay them a little under the standard market price for the materials. Ira saw no reason to keep the bones at that point and decided to only take a ribcage with him.

After everything was set up, Valerie cast a fire spell and lit up the pile of wood. Ira handed over the skeletal ribcage to Harper who shaped it into a makeshift stand to cook the food. The meat consisted of various game and fish, while Randolph managed to procure some vegetables from the wilderness.

Ira placed his hand into the fire and grabbed several pieces of meat without being burnt in the slightest and placed them onto a skewer made from monster bones before taking a bite.

“So...where should I start?” Ira grinned.