Andras Ibos
Wolfheart
Volume III.
Blackbird
Contents
17. Desire Frozen in Ice
18. A Visitor from the Empire
19. Witch Hunt
20. Adventure in the Trade City
21. Blackbird
22. The Shadow That Haunts the Empire
23. The Average Agent, Young Wolf
Genre
Fantasy – Isekai – Adventure – Drama –
Sword and Sorcery
The Unawakened Power
On the Celestial Island, after the Battle of Greenwood
The peaceful warmth of summer embraced the Celestial Island. From high above, the clouds drifting over the world below were clearly visible as they floated lazily across the sky, sometimes forming amusing shapes. One resembled a dragon, another a sword, and yet another a strangely grinning face. But the two valkyries standing at the island's edge enjoyed none of it—they had been arguing for hours.
Sakura Dry, the Valkyrie Knight, tapped her foot impatiently with her arms crossed, while beside her the floating, golden‑haired Valkyrie Mage, Eli, rolled her eyes dramatically.
"It's not fair," Sakura burst out. "A fragment of your soul, or a copy of it, or whatever it is, gets to be down in the lower world having fun with Young Wolf every single day!"
Eli waved dismissively, clearly offended.
"Oh, give me a break! I've told you a thousand times—I completely forgot that I made a copy of my soul's ancient version a thousand years ago! You think I'm not annoyed that my copy gets to go on adventures instead of me? If I could switch places with her, I would… but I can't."
"It really seems to me like you're the one down there," Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Not that so‑called copy of yours."
"You've got to be joking!" Eli clapped her hands together in outrage. "That copy is the version of me from a thousand years ago—meaning a thousand years dumber! How could she possibly be anything like me?"
"Oh, she's exactly like you!" Sakura shot back. "Every single day she carefully observes Young Wolf's holy sword while he's bathing, and then grins like an idiot afterward—just like you!"
Eli's face turned bright red.
"Don't even remind me! That shameless copy sleeps in Young Wolf's bed every single night. Even I never got to do that. I'm practically jealous of my own copy. Good thing she's just an artificially created astral spirit and can't do anything naughty with my disciple."
"You mean my disciple!" Sakura snapped.
Their argument was cut short when Archangel Uriel appeared behind them, holding two cold beers. Sunlight filtered through her wings as if the light itself bowed before her.
"You two are making such a racket," she said with a tired smile, "that even Elcres might stop training and come over to see what's wrong. Here—drink. And if possible, lower the volume."
Sakura accepted the beer with a guilty expression.
"Sorry, Uriel… but it still wasn't a nice move from Eli."
"Elcres wouldn't come out," Eli muttered as she took a sip. "Not even if another archangel visited our world. Hm… this beer is good. Is it from the Earthrealm? Anyway, I don't get why you're so worked up, Saku. When I made that copy, I didn't even know who Uriel was, or what valkyries were. I certainly didn't expect Young Wolf to find her one day."
"Of course you didn't," Sakura grumbled. "With that genius brain of yours."
Uriel smiled, then her tone shifted to something more serious.
"It's not such a bad thing, actually. How well can MS Eli support our agent in his mission?"
"Completely," Eli replied. "Young Wolf trusted her immediately and told her everything. My copy will support him in every possible way. You don't need to worry."
"MS Eli, the little helper," Sakura said mockingly.
"One beer won't be enough for this," Eli sighed.
Uriel set down her own mug and gazed into the distance. Behind the clouds, the faint glow of the lower world shimmered.
"Finding the Magical Staff Elisabeth is a very fortunate turn in our timeline," she began. "But something very unfortunate has happened with the Hero, Eris Scarlett."
Sakura's head snapped up.
"What? But the Hero survived the fight against Wildfire without even a scratch."
"It will be easier to understand if I explain what happened on the Evil Future timeline," Uriel said.
The air around them seemed to tighten, as if the Celestial Island itself had begun to listen.
Uriel continued slowly, and as she spoke, all traces of playfulness faded from the two valkyries' faces. The events of the Evil Future cast a dark shadow over them. By then, the Wolfwood House had completely died out; their ancient lands were abandoned, and the once‑proud family name survived only as a sad footnote in history. The withdrawn Silverwood and Redwood Houses had also refused to take risks: with the demon threat growing stronger, they chose not to leave their territories at all and didn't attend the Royal Hunt. Their leaders feared that if they left, the demons would strike in their absence and slaughter those left behind.
And they weren't the only ones who stayed away. Floralys, terrified of the demons, also kept her forces back. The Green Hawk Knights and hunters of the Elven Lady of the Greenwood Forest did not appear at the hunt either. They all remained in Greenwood Castle, armed and alert, ready for a demon invasion that could erupt at any moment.
Thus, in the end, only the Royal Knights and the Royal Family attended the Royal Hunt, and barely a few hundred knights took part.
"The King wanted to capture the Golden Stag at all costs even in the Evil Future," Eli said quietly.
"Yes," Uriel nodded. "That one thing didn't change. But there… far fewer people died. And more importantly: Andrea Wolf and Fireburp were already dead. When Wildfire tried to execute Eris's father, there was no one left to save him."
Sakura paled.
"So… Eris watched it happen?"
Uriel nodded.
"Yes. And in that moment, the true power of light awakened within her. That pain, that loss… that was what made her a true Hero. With that power, she defeated Wildfire."
Eli stared at him in shock.
"But then… in our timeline, that never happened. Andrea saved John Scarlett, and in the end Young Wolf defeated Wildfire."
"Exactly," Uriel said. "Because of that, our Eris is ten times weaker than she should be."
Sakura collapsed onto a nearby stone bench in despair.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Eli practically jumped to her feet. "In the Evil Future, Eris's power was reduced to one‑third because of the White Witch's curse, and that's why she lost to the Demon King. And now you're telling me that our Eris isn't just three times weaker, but ten times weaker than she should be? Then we're actually worse off than in the Evil Future!"
"Not entirely," Uriel shook his head. "There is one good turn as well. The Golden Stag, Aurelyndra, survived the battle. And thanks to her unique ability, she carries a fragment of the light element of the Hero from a thousand years ago, Robin Greenwood. That power fully awakened when she merged with Fireburp, creating the Golden Dragon, Lightburp."
Eli's eyes lit up.
"So there is another entity besides the Hero who carries the light element."
"Yes," Uriel nodded. "The only problem is the time limit. Lightburp can maintain her Golden Form for only a few hours. And the Demon King is not an opponent who can be defeated in a few hours."
Sakura stood up and looked into the distance.
"Then Young Wolf will have to time it perfectly. Lightburp might be the key. And Eris… could even serve as a distraction."
Uriel smiled.
"We're not in a good position, but it's not hopeless. Eris missed the chance to awaken the true power of light within her. But that doesn't mean she can't become stronger in other ways. We must trust our agent, Andras. He will find a way."
"Yeah," Eli added. "And my copy too. The two of them together will figure something out."
"But for that," Sakura noted, "Young Wolf would have to join the Hero Team. And I find that highly unlikely."
Uriel's eyes gleamed mischievously.
"If Young Wolf doesn't want to join the Hero… then the Hero will join him."
Eli burst out laughing.
"You really think that's how it'll go?"
"We'll see," Uriel replied. "Don't underestimate Eris. I didn't choose her as this generation's Hero by accident."
Sakura glanced sideways.
"Hey, Eli… couldn't you make a copy of my soul too? One we could send down to the lower world?"
Eli snorted.
"My copy was made back when I wasn't a valkyrie yet. If we made one now, it would be as strong as a valkyrie's soul. There's no vessel in the lower world that could withstand that."
Sakura sighed in disappointment.
"Uriel… do we know what events are coming next?"
"Young Wolf has already changed the flow of events quite a bit," Uriel said. "But one thing will likely remain the same: in the Empire, there will be a Gladiator Tournament. That's where the first member of the Hero Team appears—Iceclaw."
Eli's head snapped up.
"Young Wolf is heading to the Empire right now! What happens if he meets Iceclaw instead of Eris?"
Uriel shrugged.
"I have no idea what will come of that."
Eli set down her empty mug.
"Saku, go get me another beer."
"You go get me one," Sakura shot back.
Uriel let out a weary sigh.
"I'll just bring the whole crate… just don't start arguing again. I'd like to read a little."
The two valkyries grinned at her in perfect unison, as if they had never argued in their lives.
Above them, the clouds drifted on, as though nothing in the world had happened.
Uriel eventually did bring the entire crate of beer. She set it down in front of them and began filling the mugs one by one with the golden liquid. The foam slowly settled, droplets of condensation sliding down the sides of the mugs. By the time she finished, all three of them were sitting at the edge of the Celestial Island, legs dangling toward the world below. The wind gently stirred their hair, and the clouds above drifted lazily past, as if they too were listening to the conversation.
Eli pointed upward over the rim of her mug.
"Look, that cloud looks exactly like the time Saku kicked Young Wolf in the ass during training. Though back then we didn't call him Young Wolf—we called him Andras."
Sakura snorted and bumped her shoulder into Eli's.
"As if you never kicked him. You slapped his butt plenty of times."
"That's because he kept stealing my chocolate from the rune‑sealed magic box," Eli defended herself, gripping her mug. "I had to do something."
"You should've slapped his hand, not his butt," Sakura retorted. "What are you, some kind of old perverted mage hag?"
"Shut up, or I'll kick your ass," Eli growled, though a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Uriel shook her head and took a sip of her beer.
"You can't even look at clouds without starting a fight? Sometimes I wish Elcres would come hang out with us for once."
Eli looked up at the sky, as if expecting the elven warrior to suddenly appear from behind a cloud.
"In a thousand years I haven't seen her drink a single beer with us. Is it really worth spending every moment of your existence training?"
"How should I know?" Sakura shrugged. "Even I don't take training that seriously."
"I wasn't asking you," Eli shot back. "You could drink any brewmaster under the table all by yourself."
Uriel laughed.
"Elcres takes full advantage of being a valkyrie. I've never seen anyone so obsessed with training. And trust me, I've lived a very long time."
"She could still relax sometimes," Eli muttered. "Even if she doesn't need rest. Young Wolf never even met her, and he trained here on the Celestial Island for two years."
Uriel gazed into the distance, as if searching for something among the clouds of the lower world.
"Elves have always produced eccentric individuals. Time flows differently for them. That didn't change for Elcres even after she became a valkyrie. When the time comes, she'll show herself. And one day, she will definitely meet Young Wolf."
The three women sat in silence, the only sounds the whisper of the wind and the soft clink of their mugs. Above them, the clouds drifted on peacefully, as if the troubles of the world could never reach them.