The moment I took his hand, the mana inside me began to move.

  But it didn’t feel like it was leaving me.

  —We’re connected.

  Heat echoed inside Ren’s grip, like a wave hitting and rebounding.

  I hadn’t just pushed it out.

  It came back—changed.

  Sharper. Stronger.

  Ren kicked off the ground.

  The wind caught up before the sound did, and he vanished from my sight.

  Fast.

  I’d never seen a human move like that.

  I steadied my breathing and extended my hand.

  Ren’s mana rebounded inside me, piling up, compressing.

  And then—I released it.

  The air shattered.

  A beast’s shadow was blown away in an instant.

  I understood.

  This was resonance.

  My mana passed through him and became force.

  From another direction—two more.

  They came from the left, deeper in the trees.

  I couldn’t fire right away.

  Ren was still in my line of sight.

  But I knew.

  Somehow, I was sure—he’d noticed.

  Ren’s foot slid across the ground.

  Not half a step wasted, he slipped into the beast’s blind spot.

  At that instant, I fired again.

  The sky split.

  The wind pushed back.

  The beast was hurled in the opposite direction.

  My breathing grew rough.

  But my chest didn’t hurt.

  Ren’s heartbeat sounded like it was my own, echoing from far away.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  When he fights—

  I’m being supported.

  But not just supported.

  I can push back.

  Strike.

  Deliver power.

  The moment I realized that, a third beast leapt straight at me.

  Straight line.

  Fast.

  Too close to shoot.

  —Ren, where are you?

  In the next instant, his awareness flowed into me.

  「Crouch!」

  Before I could think, my body reacted.

  I dropped to my knees, and the beast passed overhead like a gust of wind.

  Immediately after—Ren’s footsteps.

  His back entered my field of vision.

  Weight.

  Momentum.

  Then the beast’s scream.

  I smelled blood.

  But I wasn’t afraid.

  …So this is what it means to fight together.

  I thought it was over.

  Three beasts lay fallen.

  Ren was on one knee, catching his breath.

  My fingers were trembling too, but the flow of mana was still there—

  faint, weak, but unmistakably alive.

  I was about to ask, “Are you okay?” when—

  The forest went silent.

  The wind stopped.

  The birds vanished.

  Everything fell away, replaced by the pressure of something approaching.

  Branches snapped, one by one,

  as if they couldn’t withstand it.

  And then—it appeared.

  Clearly different.

  Its body was much larger,

  and black, crystallized cracks of mana ran beneath its fur.

  A giant wolf.

  The leader of the pack.

  The moment our eyes met, I knew.

  —This one understands.

  Ren stood up.

  「It’s different from the others.」

  「Yeah… it’s thinking.」

  Ten steps.

  No closer than that.

  But in its gaze,

  there was intent—

  as if it was choosing us.

  「Shall we?」

  「…Yeah.」

  We took each other’s hand.

  「—Resonance.」

  Mana surged back.

  This time, it hurt.

  Too strong.

  But I knew—we needed it.

  Ren charged.

  He closed the distance in a single burst.

  The great wolf didn’t retreat.

  It dodged.

  Kicked off with its hind legs.

  Spun.

  Claws raked in from behind.

  Ren was blown back. Rolled.

  He got up—but one arm wouldn’t move.

  「I’m fine!」

  —His voice shook.

  I fired.

  Straight ahead.

  But it dodged.

  The sky tore, and a tree behind it split apart.

  Head-on won’t work on this one.

  Ren attacked again.

  But he was repelled.

  This time, fangs sank deep.

  A scream.

  The smell of blood.

  The flow of mana faltered—for an instant.

  —This is bad.

  My breathing broke rhythm.

  「…I’m not done yet!」

  I fired—

  into the ground, just beside it.

  The reflected shockwave rattled the great wolf’s footing.

  Ren reacted instantly.

  Our timing matched.

  And then, an idea surfaced.

  「Ren—pull it. Sideways.」

  I sent it—not with words, but intent.

  He felt it.

  He ran in, used his shoulder to throw the wolf’s movement off.

  Just a little was enough.

  If there was space—

  「…Now!」

  I fired.

  At the ground.

  Impact.

  A thunderous blast.

  The earth shattered, and the great wolf was thrown into the air.

  And then—Ren.

  Everything he had.

  Fist. Knee. Body weight.

  The great wolf collapsed.

  …And silence followed.

  It didn’t move.

  And the bond didn’t hurt.

  It just trembled.

  Under my skin.

  Deep in my chest.

  And in the shaking of my fingertips.

  Ren is… alive.

  And I’m still here.