CHAPTER 236: CHAPTER 235 - OP FEELING.

The snowy wind howled as Cluckles the Wise stood tall—well, two feet tall—between a terrified group of teenagers and a monster that had just snacked on one of their friends like a mid-morning muffin.

The massive wolf growled, lips curling into a snarl. "Move, chicken. This meal belongs to me."

Cluckles raised his twig-staff high. "Cluckles the Wise does not move for bullies... nor carnivorous canines with bad breath issues."

The wolf blinked.

"...Did the chicken just insult my breath?"

Behind Cluckles, Tevin whispered, "Should we run?"

Lyra smacked him. "And go where? Through the murder fog?!"

But Aira stared, wide-eyed—not in fear now, but disbelief.

Because Cluckles was... changing.

With a dramatic whoosh of snow and puffed feathers, Cluckles grew—his body stretching, fluff expanding.

His stubby legs elongated slightly (still comically stubby), his wings broadened, and his fur cloak transformed into a majestic, flowing scarf.

He now stood nearly the size of the wolf, still very much a chicken... but now, a chicken of prophecy.

"Cluckles has entered... Enlightened Rooster Mode!"

The wolf blinked again. "...You’re still a chicken."

"And you," Cluckles declared, striking a pose with both wings raised like a boxer, "are about to catch these feathered fisticuffs."

"...You’re joking."

"Cluckles never jokes. Only jests... in poetic justice."

Without warning, Cluckles charged.

A blur of fluff and fury, he shot forward like a squawk-powered missile, snow kicking up around his talons.

WHAM—!!

His feathered wing connected with the wolf’s jaw, sending the beast stumbling back. Before it could recover, Cluckles launched upward, flipped midair, and dropped a snowball the size of a pumpkin onto the wolf’s head.

"Behold," he bellowed mid-somersault, "Cluckles’s Wintery Wrath Punch!"

"GAK—!" The wolf gagged as snow clogged its nose.

The kids watched, dumbfounded, as Cluckles rained icy blows and pun-laden moves.

"Take that! Snowbrawl Special! And this! Featherstorm Uppercut! And don’t forget... Beak of Balance!"

Each strike forced the wolf back.

Even the snowy penguins had arrived, chanting like an underground fight club.

"CLUCK-LES! CLUCK-LES!"

The wolf growled, shaking off the snow.

It knew it wasn’t the fastest, and that was why it couldn’t counter the chicken, but that didn’t mean it was weak.

The wolf’s instincts and strength were among the top in the pack.

"Enough," it growled, its claws digging into the ground, and the next second—

Flash!

One second, Cluckles was mid-strike.

Next, the wolf’s paw slammed down like a falling mountain.

BOOM—!!

Snow exploded outward. The earth trembled.

Cluckles was pinned to the ground.

Silence fell.

"...Oh no," Tevin whispered.

Cluckles’s head poked out from under the paw, dazed. "Cluckles... does not remember consenting to a surprise massage..."

The wolf loomed above him now, eyes glowing with ancient fury.

"You’re strong. Annoying, but strong," it said, pressing harder. "But not strong enough. You thought I was just a level seven? Fool. This one is a Frostfang Elder. A level eight predator of the Icebound Peaks."

Aira’s heart stopped.

Level eight? That was a level higher than Cluckles, their only hope.

Even Cluckles looked stunned. "Cluckles... may have underestimated dinner’s older brother..."

The wolf bared its teeth in a cold grin.

"You shouldn’t have interrupted my meal, bird."

But even pinned, Cluckles smirked.

"...Then allow Cluckles to offer you a complimentary appetizer."

His beak opened—and from beneath him, a ripple of snow-charged mana began to pulse.

But before the attack could even succeed—

Boom!

Cluckles grunted as the Frostfang Elder’s other paw slammed down, face-first into the snow.

FOOMP!

"Cluckles... may now officially become dinner... Extra crispy..."

His muffled voice came from beneath the snow, only his legs twitching above the surface like the world’s saddest weather vane.

The wolf chuckled darkly. "You should’ve stuck to laying eggs, bird."

Cluckles groaned. "Cluckles lays philosophy... not eggs..."

Nearby, Aira’s group was on the verge of meltdown.

Tevin was frantically flipping through a half-frozen spellbook that he carried on his back, helping him remember what magics he could use. "I-I don’t have anything for a level eight! Not even a ’Don’t-eat-me’ spell!"

Lyra’s lips trembled. "We’re doomed. The chicken was our strongest card!"

"Who says that like it’s normal?!" Shouted Juno, another girl in the group, gripping her staff with white knuckles.

But Aira was frozen—not in fear, but in shock.

Her gaze had drifted up the slope, where soft footsteps now echoed over the crunching snow.

A figure stepped out from behind a boulder, followed by a girl in black with blue eyes and windswept silver hair.

The boy had messy black hair, glowing faintly gold at the tips, and a presence that made the air still.

"...Raven?" Aira whispered, her voice cracking.

Lyra blinked. "Wait... No way."

Tevin dropped his book. "RAVEN VO—?!"

Even the wolf paused, ears twitching as it glanced toward the newcomers.

Cluckles, still buried, peeked one eye from the snow and met Raven’s gaze. "...The meat-giver has arrived..."

Raven slowly exhaled. "Chicken. You’re not even strong enough. Why try to be a hero?"

Cluckles sniffled. "Cluckles is... Cluckles is the reason they were in danger. Cluckles had to do something."

"You could’ve done nothing, and none of this would’ve happened," Selena muttered, arms crossed, rolling her eyes.

Raven shook his head, walking forward, ignoring the massive wolf growling as it towered over him.

The Frostfang Elder lowered its stance, hackles rising. "You’re brave... or stupid, boy."

Raven didn’t answer.

Instead, a black pulse shimmered across his arm, and with a faint ripple of magic, a dark blade materialized in his hand—jagged, void-carved, and somehow radiating sass.

"Yo, it’s slicing time!" Omni declared cheerfully. "Let’s fillet us a frost-puppy!"

... Or so Raven thought he would’ve.

Right now, Omni was silent. Not even humming like normal ego swords.

The wolf blinked. "Wait, what—?"

SHING—!!

With one silent swing, Raven cleaved through the massive paw pinning Cluckles.

The beast screamed, staggering back as blood and mana sprayed into the snow.

Cluckles rolled to his feet, dazed and wobbly.

The chicken whispered reverently as he saw this. "The meat-giver... has saved Cluckles’s life."

Then, it added, louder this time. "Cluckles owes the meat-giver not just for food... but for life. From now on, Cluckles shall follow meat into the unknown. Even unto spicy marinades."

Raven rubbed his head, feeling that he had done something he shouldn’t have. "Just stand back."

With a shimmer, Cluckles shrank back to his humble two-foot form, waddling behind a bush with dignity.

Aira’s group watched the entire exchange in stunned silence.

Aira’s eyes welled up, heart pounding.

Raven—the boy who had once faced impossible odds against the demons and disappeared like a dying star—was alive.

Her role model, the boy she admired the most, was alive.

More than that... he had just saved a chicken in mid-death squawk with one swing.

Her hero was back.

Selena glanced at the group, a smirk tugging her lips. "Try not to blink. He gets cooler."

With that, Raven took a step forward, sword humming, eyes locked on the now-terrified Frostfang Elder.

"Your turn."

The Frostfang Elder roared, its massive frame cutting a shadow through the swirling snow. Blood seeped from its injured paw, steaming in the cold, but its pride burned hotter.

Turns out that the beast’s instincts had saved its paw, as it had jumped away before the sword could pass through its bones.

"You think a single swing makes you strong?" It snarled, snow crackling beneath its claws. "You’re just a cub. Barely out of your den."

Raven said nothing.

He merely clenched Omni harder, its sharp edges shimmering under the moonlight.

His hair was caught in the wind, and his eyes pulsed with a faint glow—calm, unreadable, and deadly.

’Is this what being OP feels like?’ He wondered, feeling that he could take on more such wolves at once.

The wolf, on the other hand, lunged.

BOOM—!

A claw swept at Raven like a collapsing glacier.

He sidestepped, barely moving, and the snow exploded behind him. Before the wolf could blink, Raven ducked low, slid under its belly, and slashed upward.

A gash bloomed across the beast’s ribs.

The Frostfang howled, leaping back—but Raven was already in front of it.

WHAM!

A claw came down again, but Raven raised one hand and caught it.

The ground cratered beneath him, but he didn’t budge.

"You’re fast," the wolf growled, shaking off the pain, "but this body is powerful. Hardened by decades of blood and ice."

"You talk a lot," Raven murmured.

CLANG!

The wolf’s tail whipped toward him like a frozen whip. Raven ducked, spun, and countered with a knee to the wolf’s jaw, sending the beast stumbling again.

"Is this a joke?" Lyra whispered. "He’s not even trying."

"He’s... stronger than anyone I’ve ever seen," Aira said, her voice hushed in awe.

She knew that Raven was strong, but she wasn’t aware of his limits.

Today, she was feeling his power firsthand.

The Frostfang Elder spat blood and fury. "ENOUGH!"

It reared back, breath shimmering with pale blue mist, then unleashed its Frost Breath.

A blizzard beam tore through the clearing, freezing trees, rocks, and even the air itself.

"Move!!" Tevin screamed.

But Raven didn’t.

Instead, he leapt straight into the frost breath.

"Is he insane—?!" Juno shouted.

No.

He was calculating.

As the frost torrent rushed forward, Raven spun, Omni flashing with power. In one motion, he slammed the blade down, pinning the wolf’s mouth to the frozen ground.

SHUNK—!!

The sword pierced the entire length of the wolf’s maw and jaw, locking it shut and anchoring it to the earth like a divine nail. The breath halted mid-blast, ice sputtering.

The beast’s eyes widened in horror.

Raven stood atop the wolf’s snout now, calm as moonlight.

The sword glowed faintly, anchored in the ground, and as expected, the wolf’s head slammed downward, unable to move.

"Why... can’t I lift it?!" The wolf grunted, straining, muscles bulging.

"Sorry, fuzzball," Raven’s voice came from above its back. "Only I can pick him up."

The Frostfang Elder trembled, pinned, and humiliated.

Raven, on the other hand, turned slowly, stepping off the beast as if it were a staircase.

Snow fell in silence.

He looked toward the group, eyes locking with Aira’s.

She gasped.

There was no hesitation in his gaze. No doubt. Just calm strength.

"We need to have a small chat, Aira."