A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Seeing Erik's arm was now free from any binding magic, the ginger werebear used his enormous paw-like hand to grasp Erik's smaller version, and they shook on their deal.

Then, he turned to the members of his team. "Go stand back a ways," he told them. But while Björn and Nora quickly agreed, Anne was slightly more reluctant. She was finally calming down a little but still looked ready to tear Erik's, and especially Emily's, throats out.

The werelynx growled and panted from barely contained fury, "Don't do this, Boss! Let's just tear that race traitor and his human lovers apart!"

Before the werebear could respond, Nora had already grabbed Anne's left arm and began pulling her away. "Don't be an idiot, girl. I don't like humans either, but this is the best solution. Even if the boss loses, which he won't, we'll still get some of what we want."

Then, Björn grabbed Anne's right arm and agreed with Nora. "I understand your anger, Anne, but this is not the time."

So Anne was dragged away, kicking and screaming, by her teammates under their leader's concerned gaze.

Normally, Anne was one of their cooler-headed people. Unfortunately, that was only true in matters that didn't include humans. Her hatred of them was significant enough to set her usually cool head to boiling.

While those three moved away, Erik briefly considered telling Emily to kill Olaf if they made a move but quickly discarded that thought. Not only would it sour relations even more, but he also didn't really want to lose Olaf as a fighter.

Besides, Elora could keep an eye on them while he was fighting, and if they made a move, he would retreat into the barrier.

Meanwhile, Erik had lost his armor and stepped through the barrier, still carrying his hammer. He watched as the trio receded a little into the distance and then turned to the werebear. "You should really start putting aside your hatred for humans and teach them to do the same."

"Easier said than done," the man answered with a complicated expression. Then he turned to the glassy-eyed Olaf. "And that human of yours isn't exactly helping matters."

Erik smirked in response. "So it would have been better if she was a shapeshifter or vampire? Olaf would still be enslaved, and, factually, nothing would be different. Only your perception would be."

The werebear smiled, a little exasperated, "Logically, you are correct. But, unfortunately, the world runs on perception." Then he shook his head, took off the bodysuit he was wearing, and moved to stand a few meters opposite Erik. "Regardless, this is not the time for philosophy."

Since Erik's home was on the village outskirts, they moved the battle to the other side to not damage the graveyard or other houses, turning the space between Elora's barrier and the village's fence into their battlefield.

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Erik's opponent turned to him with a serious expression. "I believe we have a duel to get to. But first, we haven't been introduced. My name is Viljar Hafbjorn. Please tell me yours."

Hearing that name, Emily's eyes widened as Erik had mentioned his uncle to her before. She immediately got confused about why Erik was going through all this but naturally kept her mouth shut.

Meanwhile, Erik couldn't help but smile at hearing his uncle's name. But he wasn't ready to end this just yet. Not before he finally got to beat his uncle in a fight after always looking up to his strength in the past.

So he answered with a sly grin, "You can call me silver, for now. My real name, you'll have to beat out of me."

Viljar wasn't exactly happy with that response but accepted it anyway, as he took a fighting stance.

Just like Katya, Viljar had also concluded that his claws were better than any weapon he could get his hands on. This likely meant that one of his Runebound skills allowed him to enhance those claws somehow.

Which proved to be correct.

When Erik took his position on the opposite side and adopted a fighter's pose with hammer in hand, his opponent roared and gained dark-red runes all over his ginger fur. Viljar's claws began to glow in response, suffused with a deep, fiery light that pulsed from within.

The once solid claws morphed and began to resemble flowing magma, each now appearing as if forged from the heart of a volcano, with swirls of red and orange encapsulating their brutal strength. Drips of molten rock seemed to cascade from the tips and left a trail of heat haze in the cold northern air.

Elora sounded in Erik's head. "Magma affinity, huh? Make sure to push your icy shell to the limit if you can't avoid him. Also, remember he has another, unknown rune."

Erik nodded seriously in response. This fight would be difficult. Not only was magma affinity powerful, but werebears in and of themselves were one of the most powerful kinds of shapeshifters on Earth.

Erik activated his own runes and gained a layer of crackling lightning and ice over his skin. The lightning increased his speed and reflexes, while the ice provided increased protection.

Now, they stood opposite each other, both ready for battle. Erik had a wide stance with his hammer over his shoulder. On his right was his old home, encased in a dark green barrier, with Olaf and Emily behind it. In front of him was his uncle Viljar, and a few tens of meters behind the werebear were Nora, Björn, and Anne, spectating.

Erik howled and made the first move by charging his opponent while moving the hammer from his shoulder to a dual grip. An excited grin hung on his lips, and a wild glint showed in his eyes.

Viljar roared and prepared to receive Erik's hammer with arms crossed in front of his chest. To Erik's surprise, the fur on his uncle's arms took on the same properties as the man's claws, causing his entire body to turn from ginger to dark red and becoming like a walking ball of magma as all the snow around him began to melt.

Viljar seemed to have flipped a switch as he went from a calm leader to a man who loved showing his strength. "Come, boy! And be careful you don't burn yourself!" he growled at Erik excitedly.

"Oh my. It's not just his claws; it's the keratin from which claws and fur are created that he can change into magma. How dangerous." Elora's chirpy voice sounded in Erik's head.

Yet, instead of being deterred, Erik's grin only became more excited. He arrived before Viljar and swung his hammer against his opponent's arms. Yet the dark red magma fur was a strange combination of soft and hard that appeared to absorb the blow easily.

Despite that, Viljar roared from a combination of pain and surprise while skidding back through the now-melted snow puddles.

"You should care for yourself first, old man!" Erik quipped as he recovered from his attack.

Viljar shook his arms as if to regain feeling in them and laughed. "You have quite a bit of strength in that body of yours. Are you sure you're not half-werebear?"

Erik shook his head and responded. "Pretty sure!" Just like his mother Runa, his father Leifur had also been a werewolf. Besides, half-breeds were rare, and most didn't even believe they could really be born.

Instead, his increased strength came from a combination of being merged with Elora's body and the two powerful bloodlines flowing through his veins.

Immediately after Erik's response, Viljar now went on the offense. He was like a massive clump of roiling magma in werebear form, bearing down on Erik, who felt dwarfed by another in size for the first time in a long time.

But that didn't deter him either, nor did he plan to dodge, despite his speed likely outclassing Viljar's. Instead, under the astonished gazes of Emily, Nora, Björn, and even Anne, Erik moved his hammer to his left hand, balled his right fist, and charged a concussive lightning blast in preparation for Viljar's arrival.

Viljar himself seemed to have expected Erik's move and laughed wildly. "You really are like that woman! Now let's see if you have the power to back it up."

Using his powerful momentum, Viljar swiped at Erik in a cross formation with his magma claws and met Erik's balled-up fist in the middle.

The moment they met, Erik detonated the concussive lightning blast, forcing Viljar to contend with both Erik's strength and the blast. Lightning crackled, and ice sizzled as the extra thick layer of icy shell on Erik's fist began to melt.

Their confrontation lasted a mere fraction of a second before they were both forced to take a step backward. Everyone spectating the fight, except for Erik and Elora, was surprised by the result, as they had expected Erik to be blown back alone.

Outwardly, neither of them appeared to have received much damage from that, but Erik had to use a lot of power to combat the heat from Viljar's claws while Viljar felt a strange and aching pain in those same claws.

Looking down, he noticed they had blackened a little and showed small fractures before quickly going back to their previous magma-like state, causing him to frown.

Elora noticed the same thing and quickly relayed this to Erik before they came up with a hypothesis together. 'I can make use of that later,' he thought.