Without his five senses, he couldn't tell if he truly got hold of Fenrir or not. However, with how close he was to its body, he could tell that if given a moment, he could easily grab the Gleipnir without obstruction before the wolf could notice him.

And as if on cue, Nina coughed up blood, loosening her control over the spell and causing it to disintegrate even faster.

The black veil disappeared, causing the Fenrir to grow alert.

It looked around, catching up as its senses slowly returned.

"Hehe..." only to hear a soft laugh from above it.

Axel, in the short window of opportunity he was given, managed to successfully grab the Gleipnir! Fenrir, seeing this, quickly showed a bitter expression. Then—

"WOAH!"

Like a raging bull, it started to jump around, trying to shake Axel off its back.

"Rodeo, huh?!" He grinned, holding the chains tight. "Too bad! I was trained for this!"

Of course, it's not like he was a professional cowboy or anything. He was just forced to learn and practice it for one project in the past that was shoved onto him.

Rather than trusting his abilities, it was more like being forced to pick the short stick—a "failing" project that was beyond recovery.

But, well, he somehow managed to overturn any and all expectations, causing it to become a successful project in the end, and earning their company big profits.

He learned rodeo back then, up to a semi-professional level!

Axel, of course, tied his hand to the chain by then.

That way, he wouldn't fall off even if he wanted to. The rope he used to tie his hands was quite thin, though, causing it to dig into his arm and inflict intense pain and draw blood.

"Guh...!"

But what's suffering some pain for the bigger picture?

He gritted his teeth, observing the flailing wolf from above. He had to find a way to make Fenrir submit to him.

After touching the Gleipnir, he knew that just the fact that he "held" it wasn't enough. There was something more profound he needed to do.

Seconds passed as he kept on observing, trying to stay on the monster's back.

Just then, he saw something red flash at the base of Fenrir's neck—something right beneath the golden chains.

"WOAH!"

But before he could inspect it, the wolf took drastic measures.

It stood on its hind legs, planning to slam its back—where Axel was—against the ground!

Axel wasn't sure if his remaining HP could handle that; thus, panic surged. It was too late to untie his hand and escape, however. He only had one choice. One chance.

"Fuck it! We ball!!!"

Using his free hand, he reached into the beast's fur and grabbed whatever it was that was glowing.

"Kuh!"

As he did, he realized it was sharp.

Although he couldn't see it, he could tell it was covered in spikes all over, as he felt his hand get pricked by it… But he didn't stop. The fear of injury was overpowered by his fear of death!

Biting his lips hard until they bled, he grabbed whatever it was and pulled it out.

"GRAAAOOOO!"

It wasn't only painful for Axel, but also for Fenrir.

After all, that spiky thing wasn't just spiky on top—but along its entire length, embedded into the wolf!

His hand was bleeding, pierced through, but the pain was tolerable. For the wolf, however, the pain was like having its wisdom tooth pulled out while awake, without any anesthesia. Its nerves were burning with pain!

As soon as Axel pulled the object out completely—an ominous red spike about a meter long, dripping with fresh blood—he quickly placed it in his inventory and shouted.

"YOU DAMN MUTT! NOW, I'M YOUR MASTER...!!!"

Blood and saliva mixed as he shouted, mustering his fiercest expression.

He wasn't sure if this would work, either, of course.

"...!"

Then the wolf fell on its side.

Axel hit his head on the ground, but remained mostly uninjured. He was safe!

As for Fenrir, it seemed to have lost all its spunk.

It kept whining lightly, as if in pain, not moving an inch.

Axel could tell it was still alive, though. However, its voice was weakening by the second.

The spiky stake he pulled out had been embedded in the wolf's spine. Pulling it out damaged its nerves, causing the wolf to become completely paralyzed. Given some time, it would surely breathe its last.

"...You."

Axel untied his hand and limped forward, near the wolf's face, staring into its blue eyes—previously a crazed red. Its gaze held acceptance and peace, as if it already knew its fate.

Axel's hand gripped the sword he had just taken from his inventory, ready to swing at any given instant. However, he remained still.

It was the perfect chance to deal the final blow, to finish this monster once and for all. Even Navi, if he returned to his senses, would definitely suggest it.

However, he didn't.

Instead, he took out something else from his inventory and threw it into the wolf's open mouth—an action that made the still-conscious witches' faces pale.

"You..."

Axel spoke as the thing he threw—a max-level recovery potion—began healing its injuries.

"Choose what you want. Become my mount and live across battlefields. Disappear from my sight and live a quiet life far from strife… or die by my hand here and now," he demanded.

Not only the wolf, but even the witches listening nearby were flabbergasted.

This was a gamble!

He could instinctively tell that the spike he pulled out was placed there by the demons to control it. Removing it meant Fenrir was now free—although it had nearly cost it its life.

However, that also meant it could still attack Axel and take his life with a single bite.

"..."

Still, the two beings stared into each other's eyes, unbothered, as if communicating through their gazes alone.

And then—

{Yes… Master.}

A clear and calm voice echoed in Axel's head, followed by Fenrir being enveloped in a bright flash of light.

"Ugh...!"

Axel covered his eyes with his arm by reflex, but still tried to peek through.

There, he saw—

The giant monster was slowly morphing, turning smaller and smaller. Its limbs narrowed, its gray fur grew even lusher than before… Its body shrank until it was now as tall as Axel was!

"You..."

He stared forward in disbelief.

After all, the mighty Divine Wolf, Fenrir, had completely changed.

"I… Fenrir, hereby swear fealty to you, the man who gave me a second chance at life."

Before him, instead of a dog or a pet… stood a cool, naked, dog-eared beauty!

"Hehe..."

As he released the tension in his body, Axel could only laugh bitterly as his body fell, gazing into the dark, cloudy sky.

His powerup ended, with a grand cost of half of his mana pool, and about 150 billion Colts in all. And now, his slight hope of gaining a grand mount and bragging rights also disappeared into thin air...

'Who the fuck asked for a beauty? I want my giant wolf back!'

Such thoughts echoed in his mind as his consciousness slipped into darkness.

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