LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 77 – Their pursuer
Sophia had detected the strong being she first noticed back when the group arrived at the sea again. They hoped it was just a coincidence, but it had now become clear that the being, which was at least 50% stronger than Fen, was indeed following them. Even worse, it was now heading straight towards them with tremendous speed.
"I-Is there really nothing we can do?! L-Like, at all...?" Maya was still panicking.
"Hmm... Ah!"
"Stop that already, Sophia!" The tension caused her to snap. "I'm stressed enough already! I can't deal with even more now!"
"It's a good Ah this time!"
"R-Really...?"
"Do you have a plan?" Fen also looked at her.
"Should I stop time again? If we travel that way for a while, we should be able to lose it after a couple of days while they're frozen."
"Let's do it!" The cat-girl sounded desperate.
"I think that would be for the best." Even Fen agreed.
"Alright." Putting her idea into action, Sophia stopped time and brought her comrades over to the frozen world.
"It's still as fascinating as ever..."
"And scary!" Maya wasn't in the mood to enjoy the sight. "S-Speaking of scary... N-Now that it can't fight back... how about instead of running away, we go and defeat the strong one? I know it's cowardly, and I said it's a bad thing, but I really don't care about any of that!"
"Hmm..." The tiger-girl wasn't convinced. "We still don't know if it's an enemy. Maybe it just wants friends, and we're the strongest around?"
"Uuh..." It wasn't what she wanted to hear.
"Maybe we should still take a look at it? I'm not going to lie, I'm really curious about that individual." The wolf wanted to find out what or who was following them.
"That's a good idea." Sophia agreed. "How about we decide what to do when we see it, Maya?"
"O-Okay..."
Having agreed on a plan, the group decided to head towards their pursuer while time was stopped.
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It had taken them a couple of hours worth of time, but the three eventually reached a lush green plain where Sophia had last detected the strong being.
"Uuh..." The cat-girl was fidgety for the entire time. "I-Is it really safe to approach it...?"
"Yeah, once you're frozen, you're completely defenseless." Sophia was sure there's no danger.
"R-Right, I even was molested without being able to do anything..."
"H-Hey... it was just a kiss!"
"Hehe." Maya's tension eased up a little.
"Haa... I think we should see that thing any time now- Oh?" The tiger placed a hand on her forehead while looking into the distance and stopped.
"W-What is it now... Eh?" She looked in the same direction and froze up, as well.
"What's going on, you two?" The wolf was more specialized in hearing and smell, and so he couldn't see anything yet.
"It's-, It's, uhh, another Fen..."
"Huh?!" He hadn't expected those words.
"The fur's a little darker and more of a greyish-blue together with lots of white, and it's a bit thinner, but it's another oversized wolf..." Sophia identified the being as something rather familiar.
"B-Blue and white…? No. H-How can that be...?" Fen wasn't sure how to react.
"Let's get a better look~!" With the tiger-girl in the lead, the couple made their way closer to it while their resident wolf lagged behind.
"I-In a way, he looks kinda cute. Somewhat scary, but cute nonetheless..." The two arrived, and Maya took a good look at the two-meter tall, mostly blue and white wolf.
"Hmm?" Sophia bent forward to look under the belly of the wolf for some reason. "She looks cute." She noticed that a certain detail was missing.
"Where are you even looking?!"
"W-Well, she looked female... smaller than Fen, not such a big build, the fur, and just the overall feel. I just wanted to make sure."
"I see... You're right. She does look feminine." She took another glance.
"Oh my gosh, she's soo fluffy!" The tiger-girl wasted no time and touched the side of the wolf with her hand. She looked ecstatic as it had completely sunken into the thick and soft fur.
"W-What are you doing?!"
"How could I resist such a temptation?" By now, she had both her hands deeply burrowed into the fur. "You should try it, too, Maya!"
"R-Really…?" She was a little intrigued. "W-Wow, so silky-smooth and soft! And this volume!" The couple was enamored by the fur of this female wolf.
"I want to keep her! She looks like a gigantic husky! She's so adorable! I don't want to let go of this supremely fluffy fur! Is she really an enemy...?" Sophia wanted her as a companion.
"Err, I have no idea how we could find out..."
"Fen, what do you think? Huh, Fen...?" She looked for their wolf and noticed that he was still around 100 meters away, not moving a single muscle for some reason.
"..." He blinked a couple of times with a very shocked expression, seemingly distressed about something.
"Hmm?" The couple noticed that something was amiss and walked back to him.
"..." He continued to stare in silence at the other wolf.
"E-Eh?!" Sophia took a better look at his face and noticed that the corners of his eyes were wet with tears. "Wolves can cry...? Wait, that's not important! W-What is wrong?!"
"A-Aura...?" After his low mutter, Fen slowly staggered towards the other wolf. He almost tripped over himself a couple of times.
"Aura...?" The girls looked at each other in confusion.
"Does he know her?" Maya tilted her head.
"Seems like it."
"Aura..." Fen arrived at the female wolf and was staring at her in point-blank range. A short while later, he made contact with her nose before he gently rubbed his face against her neck as a greeting and trying to make sure it really was the wolf he thinks she is. "H-How...?" Having slight difficulties with standing, he eventually sat down on the grass in front of her without ever looking away.
"F-Fen...?" The couple approached him with a very worried expression.
"What's... going on, big guy?"
"I-I-, I have no idea... T-This can't be-... She couldn't be-... It's impossible."
"Do you know her?" The cat-girl tried to ask him.
"She's... Aura... Or Aurora. She's my old... companion. My... dead companion..."
"E-Eh?!" The girls were in perfect sync.
"Y-You mean the one who teleported herself into nirvana, err, the other side?"
"Yes..."
"How's that even...? It makes no sense." Sophia was confused.
"..." Fen was obviously the most affected one by this whole situation.
"Maybe it really was a different kind of accident?" Maya tried to understand what happened. "She teleported herself to a really far away place and needed this long to come back?"
"It's-, It's been almost... 200 years since the accident."
"A-Ah... Really, really, REALLY far away...?"
"Stop talking, Maya." Sophia wanted to keep the damage low.
"Yes... Urgh, to be told that by you of all people..."
"Fen... What do you want to do now? Maya wanted to kill that strong being, but-"
"H-Hey!"
"But the situation has obviously changed."
"I... want, no, I need to talk to her."
"Is it safe for us to unstop time?"
"She is... was a bit eccentric, but a truly gentle soul. Well, at least before we parted..."
"Okay, eccentric is our specialty, anyway. Maya, is it alright if we risk it?"
"Yes! The circumstances are something else now!"
"Thank you." Fen was glad that the couple was so understanding.
"Alright. Well, if push comes to shove, I can stop time again." The risk wasn't that big. "Ah, but we should distance ourselves a good bit. She, uhh, Aura, was it? She's currently running at full speed. Once time resumes, she would crash into you with so much force, Fen... Maya would need another set of clothes because they would be died blood-red again."
Not being interested in such a future, the group got a couple of hundred meters away from the female wolf. Just enough room for her to realize their arrival and stop her chase. The couple also distanced themselves from Fen because it was his reunion. Once everyone was in position, Sophia unstopped time again.
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Immediately after time resumed, the female wolf continued her high-speed sprint for a second or two before hitting the brakes. Once she realized their instant arrival, she barely managed to stop about 20 meters in front of the waiting Fen, followed by a massive cloud of dust behind her.
"Aura..."
"Fen..." The duo stared at each other for a good minute.
"Is it-, is it really you...?" Even though he was seeing it with his own eyes, he still couldn't believe it.
"Yes... it's me, Aurora, Fenrid."
"Fenrid...?" A little distance away, Sophia tilted her head. "It's similar but different! I'm safe!" For the first time, she was glad about the slightly different sounding names in this world. Now she can really convince herself that he's not the mythical beast she's known from her past life.
"S-Shut up and read the mood, idiot!" Maya placed a hand on her lips to silence the tiger-girl.
"Why... How... are you here...?" The group's wolf was still overwhelmed by everything that was going on.
"It's a long... long story. Before that, though... Fen, how did you appear here in an instant? Don't tell me you continued to pursue teleportation magic in my stead after I disappeared?!"
"No... I traveled here while time was stopped... It only appears that I arrived in an instant."
"Y-You're able to stop time now?! After all those years we researched it together, you finally succeeded?!"
"Unfortunately, I can not... One of my current companions made it possible."
"These two over there?" Aura glanced at the couple. "This continent sure changed a lot since I was gone. The cat's already ridiculous, but the power of that tiger... What's up with her?"
"No, these two are rare exceptions among exceptions... If anything, this continent got worse... But yeah, Sophia, the tiger... she's the one who can stop time. She's an absolute monster."
"Hey!" The monster in question complained from a distance.
"S-Stay silent already!" Maya shushed her again.
"You two, come over for a bit." The female wolf wanted them to join.
"Is it okay...?" Sophia was hesitant. "It's the reunion of the two of you, after all."
"You're eavesdropping anyway. Both of you." Fen saw through them.
"A-Ah." The two then walked towards them.
"N-Nice to meet you. I'm Sophia..."
"Maya."
"I'm Aurora, an old... companion of your Fen. Feel free to call me Aura."
"O-Okay."
"So, you're able to stop time, huh?" She looked at the tiger-girl.
"Y-Yes... Although I have no idea how to really do it. It happened on accident..."
"You accidentally stopped time?! Just how ridiculous are you, girl?!"
"You have no idea..." The wolf and cat sighed in unison.
"Ahaha..." A dry laugh escaped her lips. "I-, I do think there are more important topics other than my idiocy right now, are there not?"
"Yes... Aura, what happened?" Fen looked at his old companion again. "I thought... No, I was sure you died back then.
"I... almost did when I teleported myself. It was a close call, but I somehow barely managed to survive the aftermath... "
"Really, what happened...?"
"It's a very long story... How about we get some food while I tell you? It'll take a while. I've run for a long time, and I'm hungry."
Having agreed to that, the group gathered some food and had their usual camping activity, only now with an extra member. While a ton of meat was being roasted over the fire, the three, especially Fen, were waiting for Aura to tell the story about her sudden and, not to mention, long disappearance.