I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 236. I Won’t Hurt You (4)

A clearing in the forest, swallowed by darkness.

The full moon, hidden by clouds, emerged, and moonlight spilled into the clearing.

In the very center of this clearing knelt a lone figure.

“Hoo…”

The person who let out a small breath was none other than Jerry Bee.

Jerry held the object placed in front of him on his knees reverently with both hands, his gaze pious.

“Finally…”

His voice was somehow soaked in emotion.

What he held in his hands was none other than a headband with fluffy animal ears attached.

Jerry, holding the headband, was overwhelmed with feelings.

“…Finally, a wolf.”

Jerry’s headband symbolized the wolf.

He was so moved by his elevation in status that he felt a pang in his nose.

‘I am a wolf now!’

Last year, he had participated in this quest as a deer, and oh, how miserable it was.

Unable to strike first, he always had to take the first hit before he could finally retaliate.

But the wolf was different.

Only those who achieved the status of Certified First Rank could qualify, with the limitation of 200 exchanges in offense and defense.

The ultimate privilege of the wolf rank that made it all worthwhile.

That was the ability to strike first.

Only those who had experienced being a rabbit or a deer could truly understand what a huge benefit this was.

“Hoo, hoo…”

Jerry, with slightly trembling hands, put on the headband.

He softly uttered his identity to himself.

“Woof.”

Jerry let out a few low barks, proving his status as a wolf.

Satisfied, he smiled as he stood up and looked up at the sky.

“It’s night.”

The time when beasts hunt.

It was his moment to truly shine.

Jerry puffed out his chest with confidence.

And at that exact moment—

Rustle—

A sound of rustling bushes came from behind.

Jerry’s eyes sharpened at the noise.

‘It’s here!’

It was time for Wolf Jerry’s debut hunt.

The sacrificial lamb that would decorate the grandeur of his debut.

Jerry’s eyes gleamed with determination as he spun around.

“Bad luck for you, meeting me here—”

The bold Jerry froze on the spot.

From the bushes peeked a head with black hair.

Though it wasn’t fully revealed, just the sight of that pitch-black hair sent shivers down his spine.

‘N-no way. Could it be?!’

Yeah, there’s no way that guy would be here, right?

Trying to calm his racing heart, he assured himself, but the moment the face fully emerged from the bushes, his heart began to pound again.

“Huh?!”

Seeing the golden eyes piercing through the darkness, Jerry instinctively stumbled backward.

No, anyone, not just Jerry, would react the same way upon seeing those golden eyes.

Jerry’s eyes blinked, and a familiar voice greeted him cheerfully.

“Oh? Jerry-senpai, is that you?”

“W-why are you here?!”

“Jerry-senpai, long time no see!”

Yuri, still hiding his body in the bushes with only his face peeking out, waved his hand.

Jerry struggled to calm his surprise.

‘C-calm down. This is the 51st quest!’

He briefly panicked, recalling last year’s 50th quest of gathering skins, but upon thinking rationally, it was clear Yuri participated in this quest for the role of an animal.

In other words, it meant Yuri and he were on the same side.

Realizing this, Jerry, whose face had been clouded with unease, asked with a clear expression.

“What are you doing here?”

“What else? I came to join the quest.”

“You?”

Jerry looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Bears and tigers were usually handled by the Black Sword Corps.

Deer were assigned to uncertified First Rank, and wolves were reserved for certified First Rank.

Which meant there was only one role Yuri could play in this quest.

The role of the rabbit, which had no restriction on rank but could only run away.

Jerry chuckled.

“You… Are you a rabbit? Hehe.”

He then puffed his chest with a face brimming with pride.

As if to say, ‘You’re a rabbit, but I’m a wolf…’ with a slight air of superiority.

Yuri noticed it and chuckled as well.

“A rabbit? Do you think I’d play such a weak, short-lived species?”

Yuri scoffed, stepping out of the bushes.

“…Huh?”

Jerry’s eyes widened as he saw the leather vest Yuri was holding.

“T-that vest?!”

Yellow with black stripes.

Yuri spun around once, showing off the vest for Jerry to see.

Then, with a haughty expression, he lowered his voice.

“Kneel and bow, for I am the king of this forest.”

“…?!”

Jerry’s shocked exclamation burst out immediately.

“A tiger?! You’re a tiger?!”

“Of course.”

“N-no way! I thought bears and tigers were for the Black Sword Corps!”

“They asked me to take the tiger role yesterday.”

Seeing Jerry gaping in shock, Yuri casually jerked his chin.

“Hey, Wolf. Wouldn’t you like to be my first subordinate?”

“…Subordinate?”

“Yeah, come with me to beat up those guys.”

“With you?”

“Yeah, with me.”

“…What about your other friends? Theresia and the others.”

“They were going to join this quest too, but there were no roles for Certified Second Rank. And they didn’t want to play the rabbit. So they’re probably resting now.”

“Aha.”

“So, are you coming or not?”

Jerry blinked at Yuri’s urging.

‘Move with this guy?’

After blinking a few times, Jerry quickly bowed his head.

“I will gladly obey, Your Majesty!”

“Good.”

Jerry bowed deeply.

He was grinning.

‘If I move with this guy… who would dare mess with me!’

The tyrant of the forest.

No, the mad king!

Jerry eagerly grabbed the opportunity to become his right hand.

Thus began a frenzied hunt led by a tiger and a wolf.

***

Boom-!

A low thud.

Crackle—

The burning firewood popped, scattering embers and ash everywhere.

“Charge!”

“Block them!”

Amid the light of the burning firewood and the moonlight intertwined.

Three members of the 51st class, bearing white epaulets, and two members of the 50th class, with red epaulets, were entangled in a chaotic fight.

Amidst the brawl, silver flashes crossed each other.

Clang-! Clank-! Clang!

Sharp noises echoed in the night sky.

Soon, groans and irritated shouts followed.

“Gah!”

“Hey, Ivan! What the hell are you doing?!”

The irritated voice belonged to one of the 50th class.

Surprisingly, they were the ones being pushed back.

While it was true that in a 3 vs. 2 fight, the two-person side would be at a disadvantage, these two wore wolf headbands.

Not just any two, but the top fighters among the 50th class: Clarice and Ivan.

Their faces were full of bewilderment.

“What do you think I’m doing? Swinging my sword for my life! What about you? What are you doing, just watching?!”

“I’m… argh! Damn it, I almost got my head split open just now! Hey, do something about that bastard!”

“If it was that easy, would we still be struggling like this?! We would’ve already knocked those bastards out!”

The three members of the 51st class.

Two of them were rather unremarkable.

Yet, the fact that the two 50th members were being pushed back by the 51st group was due to one person alone.

Whoosh—

That one person was Mucci, swinging his giant axe spear like a switch.

“Damn it, there’s a monster in the 51st class too!”

“Oh, that guy! The one who took nine steps at the Hundred Steps Ceremony!”

It was a 3 vs. 2 fierce battle.

But it was practically Mucci single-handedly driving the two 50th members back.

The remaining 51st class members merely assisted Mucci slightly.

‘Damn it! It’d be better if we dealt with the other 51st members first and then had Ivan and I properly handle that big guy.’

‘If we take down those two first, we’d surely win!’

The problem was, the 51st class members assisting Mucci also seemed to know that if they got caught, the battle would turn, so they diligently stayed behind Mucci, only offering support.

As the situation dragged on into a deadlock, Ivan and Clarice exchanged glances.

‘What should we do?’

‘Should we run?’

At this rate, they might actually be defeated by the 51st class monster.

So, the two decided to withdraw and reassess the situation.

Just as the two began to retreat—

Rustle—

A noise came from nearby.

In response, both the 51st and 50th members distanced themselves, watching nervously in the direction of the sound.

Both sides hoped that whoever appeared would be on their side.

Moments later, their expressions diverged dramatically.

“It’s an ally!”

“Help us out!”

The 51st class rejoiced.

“Damn it!”

“N-no way…”

The 50th class wore despairing expressions.

The new arrivals were none other than eight members of the 51st class.

Realizing this, the two 50th members quickly tried to escape.

But—

Thump-thump-thump—

The newly arrived 51st class members quickly spread out, surrounding the two 50th members.

Among them, a girl with lemon-colored hair behind the 50th members was particularly fierce.

Lisa, having effectively trapped the two 50th members, waved at the front.

“Hey, Mucci! Long time no see!”

A cheerful voice unsuited to the situation.

Caught off guard, Mucci waved back awkwardly.

“Oh, hey!”

As Mucci returned the greeting, Lisa smiled sweetly and asked.

“Did you need my help?”

“Uh… yeah.”

Mucci nodded, and Lisa gave him a gentle smile.

But when her gaze shifted to the two 50th members, her warm smile disappeared, replaced by a cold stare.

Simultaneously, killing intent poured from all sides.

Facing it in the center, Ivan and Clarice whispered quietly.

“Hey, are we…?”

“Yeah… I think we’re screwed.”

“If Yuri finds out we lost to the 51st class, he’ll mock us until we die.”

“If mocking us was all he’d do… He’d probably run us ragged for embarrassing the 50th class.”

“…We’re screwed?”

“…Pretty much.”

The two 50th members’ faces turned grim.

However, they were actually lucky.

Woof woof!

The sound caught their attention, and their ears perked up as they shouted excitedly.

“Woof woof!”

“Woof woof woof! Arr-woof!”

As noble family scions, barking like dogs was a bit humiliating.

‘Whatever!’

The disdainful looks from the 51st class also stung.

‘Who cares!’

But this was no time to worry about pride.

‘You try living under that bastard for a year.’

‘And see if you don’t end up like us!’

Pride? Dignity? Decorum?

All of that was a luxury.

Barking now was a hundred, a thousand times better than being treated like dogs by Yuri later.

“Woof woof! Woof woof woof!”

“Arf arf arf! Woof!”

Maybe their desperate call for help reached its destination.

“Woof woof!”

A person wearing a wolf ear headband and barking appeared.

Seeing the familiar face, Ivan and Clarice looked slightly disappointed.

‘Damn, we barked so desperately, and it’s only one person?!’

‘And it had to be that senpai!’

Still, having one was better than none, so they shouted as energetically as possible.

“Jerry-senpai, please help us!”

“We can’t handle this on our own! We’ll hold out as long as we can, so please go get backup!”

Jerry, hearing their desperate pleas, scanned the crowd, not fleeing but stepping further into the clearing.

His face was full of confidence.

His appearance was unusually relaxed compared to his usual self.

Seeing Jerry’s uncharacteristic calmness, Ivan and Clarice wondered if he had gone mad.

But soon, they realized where Jerry’s confidence came from.

“They say they need support… What shall we do, Your Majesty?”

Jerry bowed politely to the person behind him.

From that direction, another voice spoke.

“Pfft, this is so embarrassing. Asking for help after getting beaten by juniors? Ugh, pathetic bastards.”

The familiar voice made Ivan and Clarice flinch.

They then widened their eyes in shock as Yuri, with his gleaming golden eyes, stepped out.

“W-why are you here?”

“Hold on… that outfit?!”

“No way?!”

Recognizing the tiger-patterned vest Yuri was wearing, Ivan and Clarice’s faces brightened.

Finally, Yuri fully stepped into the clearing and announced with a smile.

“Roar, behold the arrival of the Tiger King.”

The mere mention of a tiger turned the atmosphere of the area upside down.

The 51st class members stiffened, their faces tightening.

Mucci, in particular, was sweating from nervousness.

The odd thing was that Yuri’s appearance delighted not only the 50th class but also some from the 51st.

“…Yuri?”

Lisa’s eyes lit up at the sight of Yuri.

Meanwhile, Yuri, not paying her any attention, waved his hand at the tense 51st members.

“Hey, don’t be so scared. This tiger doesn’t hurt you.”

But contrary to his words, Yuri cracked his knuckles and stepped forward.

“Though it might sting a little.”

He then cracked his neck side to side.

Crack- crack.

“But I’ll make it quick.”

At Yuri’s fierce smile, the two 50th members also grinned broadly.

‘Yes!’

‘You guys are screwed!’

Today, the madman they usually avoided at all costs felt incredibly reliable.