CHAPTER 118: WOLF DRAGON

"Can we talk to it?" Hermes asked, glancing between Magni and the snarling wolf-dragon that circled the barrier. "Like... reason with it? Tell it we mean no harm?"

Magni barked a laugh that had no humor in it. "Reason? With that? No. It’s Skadi’s hound. By Void law, we’re trespassers. It doesn’t matter what we want. We die here out of starvation or it tears us apart."

"That’s very reassuring." Hermes muttered.

The beast moved first. Its massive claws swiped through the barrier. The ice didn’t break. Its body phased through like mist, but when Hermes slammed a fist into the wall to test it, his knuckles cracked against something solid.

No way out.

"Trapped." Ymir hissed. "Of course."

The wolf-dragon lunged. Ymir raised both hands, shards of jagged ice forming into chains that lashed out, wrapping around its claws. The beast snarled, flexed once, and shattered them like glass.

"You can’t fight ice with ice. Fucking hell. " Ymir growled, teeth bared.

"Move!" Hermes stepped forward, his throat vibrating with the power of Sirentone.

His voice ripped through the barrier like a command from the gods. "STOP!"

The wolf-dragon didn’t even flinch.

Hermes’ pulse jumped. "That usually works."

Magni shook his head grimly. "It serves Skadi. Its loyalty is absolute. No enchantment or trick will sway it."

The beast pounced again, jaws snapping inches from Hermes’ face before Magni shoved him aside with a shoulder. Lava erupted from Magni’s fists as he slammed them into the wolf-dragon’s muzzle, forcing it back. The barrier rattled around them, ice cracking under the pressure but not breaking.

Hermes grit his teeth. "Fine. Then we do it my way. Ymir! Shield me. Magni, keep it busy."

"You have an idea?" Ymir snapped, already pulling up a wall of jagged ice in front of Hermes.

"Eirwyn was useful for one thing and one thing only." Hermes said.

His hands pressed against the wall of ice trapping them in. A golden clock appeared, hand turning backwards. The air warped, his power unraveling the frozen structure layer by layer.

"Rewind!" Ymir exclaimed, remembering how Hermes healed his nails yesterday. "Why do you still have it?"

"No idea. But it’s our only way to escape this ice prison!" Hermes yelled.

Magni’s laughter boomed behind him as he launched fireball after fireball at the wolf-dragon. "Go fetch, hound!"

The wolf-dragon slammed its body against the barrier, phasing through, snapping at Magni, who met it head-on with a blazing kick. Lava and frost collided, steam filling the prison.

"Almost there." Hermes muttered, sweat rolling down his temples.

His fingers dug into the ice as time itself peeled backward under his command. Cracks widened. The barrier thinned.

"Faster, Potentia!" Ymir urged, holding the ice shield steady against the beast’s strikes.

"I’m going as fast as I can!" Hermes barked.

Then, with a final pulse, the wall behind them shattered.

"Go!" Hermes roared.

They bolted through the gap, the wolf-dragon’s howl chasing them into the frozen expanse.

The beast didn’t hesitate. It spread its glacier wings, soaring after them, frost trailing from its jaws. Ice shards the size of boulders rained from the sky, smashing into the ground, splitting cliffs like paper.

Magni hurled flame upward, blasting apart the incoming daggers. "By Muspelheim’s beard, this beast is relentless! This is its throne-room, and my fire burns like a candle in a blizzard!"

"Then lend me some!" Hermes shouted.

Magni blinked at him mid-run. "What?"

"I need Magnarok. Just for a little while."

Magni hesitated, then tore a strand of his long red hair free and shoved it toward Hermes. "Catch, Brother Modi!"

Hermes didn’t wait. He grabbed the fiery locks and sank his teeth into them with a crunch. The heat flared in his chest, his system pulsing.

[Power Thief Activated: Magnarok Form Available

Duration: 15 minutes and 7 seconds]

"Perfect," Hermes said, lava already sparking across his fists.

Ymir cursed under his breath when the lava almost torched his platinum locks. "Watch the hair!"

"Sorry!" Hermes shouted back.

The ice beneath their feet cracked, slick and treacherous. Ymir snapped his fingers, frost spiraling upward. Blades of ice bent into smooth skates, clamping around their boots.

"There." Ymir muttered. "Try not to trip."

They skated across the icy field, weaving between crashing glaciers. The wolf-dragon swooped overhead, its wings scattering froststorms. Hermes and Magni hurled fire upward, the flames carving through falling ice.

But every time they bought themselves a second, the beast was there again.

"I’m running low." Hermes gasped, the timer in his head ticking down. "Fifteen minutes isn’t enough for this!"

Magni swung a molten fist at the wolf-dragon’s jaw, barely dodging the snap of its teeth. "Bah! Its hide is thicker than my father’s skull, and his skull is made of diamond! What now, what now?!"

Ymir snarled, blasting a wall of jagged spears from the ground to slow the creature. It shattered them in one swipe. "This is pointless! It won’t stop until we’re corpses."

Hermes skidded to a halt, chest heaving. His gaze snapped to Ymir. "Wait. You’re Skadi’s blood, aren’t you?"

Ymir froze. "What?"

"Her descendant. This thing only listens to Skadi. That makes you the closest thing to a master it has." Hermes jabbed a finger at him. "You tell it to stop."

"That’s ridiculous," Ymir scoffed, skating backward as the beast smashed another cliffside. "I don’t have her authority. I only have a drop of her blood in my veins with how far off I am in the family tree!"

"Just try it!" Hermes insisted.

Magni’s eyes widened, and for once, he looked like he actually got it. "Of course! Yes! The blood of the Queen runs through your frosty veins, little icicle! This beast is yours to command, like a dog waiting for its leash!"

"No." Ymir said sharply. His tone was colder than the ice around them. "I reject that lineage. Always have. I am not Skadi’s heir. I’m a hero, not a Voidling!"

"You’d rather die here?" Hermes snapped, ducking as a massive claw tore through the ground beside him. "Because those are the options, Cryoshift. Accept it, or we’re finished."

The wolf-dragon landed with a thunderous crash, wings folding in as it stalked closer. Its icy breath froze the air, frost crawling across their skin.

Ymir stood still. His fists trembled.

"Ymir." Hermes said, softer this time, his voice cutting through the beast’s growls. "I know you hate where you came from. I know how that feels. But that blood... it’s part of you. If you don’t claim it now, we’re all dead."

Magni raised his flaming arms, buying them a final few seconds as he hurled molten strikes at the beast’s eyes. "Uh-oh! I’m out of ammo! Do it, Snow Prince! By the fiery arse of Surtr, command your dog before it bites our heads off!"

The wolf-dragon roared, frost spiraling around its jaws as it prepared to strike.

Ymir clenched his teeth. His voice cracked through the frozen storm.

"Halt, beast of my kin!"