With that decision made, Noctis released his blood aura in a controlled expansion, allowing it to spread from his body in a broad crimson wave that did not erupt violently into the mountain but rolled outward with deliberate precision, flowing over snowfields, sliding between cliffs, sinking into valleys, and crossing ridges as it mapped the living signatures hidden throughout the northern peaks. The aura carried his presence with it, but it was not a challenge yet. It was a search. It touched the mountain and returned information in layers, allowing him to sense scattered lifeforms first, then packs, then the difference between ordinary cold-adapted creatures and the sharper signatures of frost lightning wolves.
The first pack he found was small and positioned along a lower slope near a cluster of ice-coated boulders, their auras thin but quick, each wolf carrying a mixture of cold and electrical tension that marked their species clearly. They moved in loose formation, likely hunters from a secondary pack, and although one among them had a slightly denser presence, it was not enough to interest him. He allowed his aura to pass over them and continued searching.
The second pack was larger, located deeper within a valley where wind had carved the snow into hard ridges, and its members formed a more disciplined cluster around a central presence that stood above the rest. That one was likely a pack leader. Its aura was stronger than the ordinary wolves, sharper in the lightning aspect and colder in its internal density, and for a moment Noctis considered it as a candidate. It would have been suitable if he had only needed a strong beast, but suitable was not the same as optimal, and he was no longer interested in taking something merely acceptable.
He pushed the scan farther.
The aura widened across the mountain range, passing over hidden dens, narrow cliff paths, and frozen shelves where wolves had left traces of movement beneath fresh snow. More packs appeared, each with its own structure. Some were scattered and mobile, likely hunting groups. Others remained closer to sheltered terrain, using natural cover to protect their young or weaker members. He could sense the hierarchy in the way their signatures arranged themselves, stronger presences occupying the center, weaker ones orbiting or patrolling around them. He rejected each one in turn, not because they lacked strength, but because none of them carried the kind of dominance he wanted.
Then his aura reached the gorge.
The response that came back was different enough that his attention fixed on it immediately. Within the gorge was the largest concentration of frost lightning wolves he had detected so far, not a hunting group or a scattered pack, but a full territory with hundreds of signatures layered together in a dense arrangement that filled the channel from entrance to depth. At the center of that mass sat a presence unlike the others. It did not blend with the pack. It pressed down on it. The surrounding wolves were strong in their own right, but the central aura was many times heavier, carrying cold that felt condensed rather than emitted and lightning that seemed restrained rather than unstable.
Noctis turned toward it, his eyes narrowing with interest as the scan settled around that powerful lifeform. "There you are," he murmured, the faintest smile forming on his face. "That one is not just a leader. That one is the reason the rest of them gather there."
He studied the aura a little longer before moving, wanting to understand what he was approaching. The creature's presence had layers. The outer layer carried frost, broad and oppressive, suggesting a passive environmental influence. Beneath that was lightning, sharp and compressed, not flickering wildly like lesser beasts but held under control. Deeper still was something that felt like authority, an instinctive dominance that had shaped the structure of the pack around it. This was not an ordinary alpha. This was an evolved existence.
"That's going to be my pet," Noctis said quietly, and the decision carried no hesitation.
He adjusted his wings and flew toward the gorge, keeping his speed controlled rather than rushing blindly, because while he was confident in overpowering the creature if necessary, he did not want to damage it too severely before taming it. As he crossed the distance, he continued sensing the territory through the lingering reach of his aura, watching how the pack's structure became clearer the closer he drew. The wolves near the outer ridges moved in patrol-like patterns, circling between rock shelves and snowbanks where their white-grey coats blended naturally into the terrain. Deeper within the gorge, the signatures grew denser, with older and stronger wolves occupying the central channel while smaller groups remained near side cavities that likely served as sleeping dens or shelters from storms.
After several minutes of flight, the gorge came fully into view beneath him, cutting through the mountain like a long wound between steep walls of black stone and ice. Snow clung to the ledges in thick layers, but the inner walls were too sheer in many places for accumulation, leaving exposed rock glazed by frost. Wind funneled through the entrance in a low, hollow current that made the entire formation sound as if it were breathing. The channel stretched far inward, narrowing and widening at intervals, creating natural chambers and bends where visibility would have been poor for anyone relying only on ordinary sight.
Noctis descended toward the entrance rather than dropping into the center, landing at the mouth of the gorge with enough control that the snow beneath his boots barely shifted. The air at ground level was colder than above, because the gorge trapped the frost and funneled the wind through it, causing every breath of air to carry a biting density that pressed against exposed skin. From where he stood, the interior appeared dim, its depths obscured by drifting snow, rock shadows, and uneven turns in the path, yet the life inside was unmistakable. He could hear faint movement carried through the stone, the scrape of claws against frozen ground, the low breath of beasts, the soft crackle of electricity hidden deeper within the pack.
He did not enter immediately. Instead, he let his eyes glow crimson and activated Omni Eyes, allowing his perception to pierce through the layers of snow, stone, distance, and obstruction until the gorge became clear to him in a way ordinary sight could never achieve. The outer wolves appeared first, their bodies lean and powerful, fur patterned in frost-white and storm-grey, their eyes pale blue with thin arcs of lightning occasionally dancing across their jaws and shoulders. Beyond them were larger wolves, more heavily built, their bodies carrying thicker frost and stronger electrical flow. Farther inside, past several bends in the gorge, his sight found the central chamber where the strongest aura waited.
The Ice Thunder Wolf King stood there.
It was three times larger than the surrounding wolves, its body built with a combination of raw power and predatory balance, the shoulders high, the chest broad, the limbs thick enough to crush stone beneath a full charge. Its fur was not smooth like the others. It rose in jagged spikes along its neck, back, shoulders, and tail, forming rigid frost-coated ridges that gave it the appearance of a living storm beast rather than a normal wolf. Blue-white arcs of electricity traveled between those spikes in controlled patterns, flowing from shoulder to spine, from spine to tail, then back toward its neck in repeating circuits that suggested the energy was not leaking but circulating.
Wherever its paws touched the ground, frost spread outward in thin, pale webs that crawled across the stone and snow before hardening into ice. The effect did not appear intentional. It was passive. Its presence alone lowered the temperature around it, and the wolves nearby seemed to understand that better than anything else. None of them approached within three meters. The boundary was clean, consistent, and respected by all of them. Even when younger wolves shifted restlessly near the edge of the chamber, they never crossed that invisible radius.
Noctis rubbed his chin while observing it, his expression thoughtful rather than excited. "A domain," he said under his breath. "Three meters, maybe a little more if it activates fully. The air inside that radius is probably cold enough to freeze blood in the veins of weaker creatures."
He shifted his focus to the electricity flowing through its fur. "Lightning control is stable. It probably fires bolts, but with that body structure it should be just as dangerous at close range. If it can enhance movement with electricity, then it might be able to burst forward faster than its size suggests."
His smile deepened slightly. "Good. Close-range damage, crowd pressure, passive freezing, lightning mobility. That is exactly the kind of familiar worth taking."
The name displayed in his vision confirmed what he had already understood.
Ice Thunder Wolf King.
Noctis lowered his hand from his chin and allowed his Omni Eyes to continue tracking the creature for several seconds longer, studying its breathing pattern, the way its ears shifted toward distant sounds, the way its tail rested low but not relaxed, the way the wolves around it watched it without needing commands. This beast ruled through presence. That made it more valuable. A familiar that already understood hierarchy would adapt better to being dominated, provided it survived the process of submission.
He began walking into the gorge.
His pace was slow, not because he was cautious, but because he wanted the pack to notice him properly. He did not hide his presence, suppress his scent, or soften his aura. The snow beneath his boots remained stable with each step, refusing to swallow his weight despite the depth along the entrance, and the sound of his movement carried forward through the enclosed space, subtle but distinct against the natural noise of the gorge. The walls rose on both sides as he advanced, narrowing his field of lateral movement while deepening the echo of every sound.
A gust of wind moved from behind him and slipped past his body into the gorge, carrying his scent inward before he had advanced more than a short distance. He felt the shift in the atmosphere before the pack reacted openly. The outer wolves stopped moving. A few raised their heads. Others turned sharply toward the entrance, nostrils flaring as the foreign scent reached them. The warning did not begin with noise. It began with stillness passing from wolf to wolf as awareness traveled deeper into the pack.
Noctis continued forward, his expression unchanged. "The wind carried my scent," he murmured. "That saves me the trouble of announcing myself."
The scent reached the central chamber.
The Ice Thunder Wolf King lifted its head.
Through Omni Eyes, Noctis saw the moment clearly. The king's ears angled forward, its electric arcs flaring brighter along its spine as frost thickened beneath its paws. It did not panic. It did not recoil. It recognized intrusion and responded with command.
A howl rolled through the gorge, deep and layered with lightning, vibrating along the stone walls and shaking loose fine snow from ledges overhead. The sound carried authority rather than alarm, and every wolf within the gorge answered it with movement. The outer wolves lowered their bodies and began advancing. Those deeper inside shifted into coordinated formation. The hundreds of frost lightning wolves did not rush chaotically. They moved under order, spreading through the channel as the command of their king guided them toward the intruder at the entrance.
Noctis kept walking.
He could feel the snow trembling lightly beneath the collective movement, could hear claws striking frozen stone, could sense the electricity in the air thickening as the wolves prepared to attack, and yet none of it changed his pace. He had come for the king, but the pack would not allow him to reach it without proving dominance. That was expected. In fact, it was useful. The king would watch how he handled its pack, and that would become the first stage of submission.
He looked into the depths of the gorge and spoke calmly, "Come on then. Show me whether your king is worth taking."
The first line of wolves emerged from the drifting snow ahead, eyes glowing pale blue, teeth bared, electricity flickering across their jaws as the gorge filled with the sound of approaching claws and low, building growls, and Noctis continued forward as if he had stepped not into enemy territory but into a test already decided in his favor.
The wolves did not emerge as scattered attackers but as a unified mass that filled the gorge from wall to wall as they surged forward under the command that had been issued from deeper within their territory, their bodies moving in coordinated aggression as their silver-blue fur carried thin arcs of electricity that traveled across their backs and limbs in unstable currents, and as they advanced, their breaths expelled into the cold air caused moisture to condense and freeze instantly, forming fine crystalline particles that hung momentarily before being shattered apart by the force of their own movement, creating a shifting haze of frost between them and their target.
Noctis remained where he stood as he watched them close the distance, the ground beneath his feet carrying the subtle vibration of hundreds of claws striking against compacted snow and stone in overlapping rhythms that blended into a continuous pressure rather than distinct impacts, and instead of stepping back or preparing to evade, he allowed a faint smile to form across his face as the intent behind the encounter settled firmly within him.
"So this is how it's supposed to feel," he said quietly, his tone carrying a restrained excitement that had not been present during his earlier engagements, and as he continued observing the incoming wave of wolves, his expression sharpened slightly as he added under his breath, "I can finally play this properly."
His hands moved without hesitation as he drew Nocturne and Ruin from their holsters, the motion smooth and practiced as both pistols aligned naturally with his stance, his right arm extending forward while his left adjusted slightly to maintain balance and control, and as the wolves entered effective range, he spoke again, this time with a faint smirk forming at the corner of his mouth as he said, "Let's go with full Dante mode."
He pulled the triggers.
Both pistols discharged simultaneously, not with the explosive force of conventional firearms but with a compressed surge of blood energy that released in controlled bursts, forming projectiles that carried dense, accelerated mass without relying on physical propellant, and as the first two blood bullets left the barrels, they traveled in straight trajectories through the cold air, cutting through the frost haze without deviation as they struck the leading wolves directly.
The impact did not stop at penetration.
The bullets passed through their skulls with such force that the structural integrity of bone and tissue failed instantly, and the moment the projectiles exited, the pressure imbalance caused the entire cranial structure to rupture outward, sending fragments of bone, flesh, and blood dispersing in expanding arcs that followed the forward momentum of the charge before collapsing into the snow beneath.
The bullets did not lose speed.
They continued forward into the advancing mass, striking additional wolves behind the initial targets, and with each impact, the same result followed as bodies failed to contain the force passing through them, leading to catastrophic disintegration of vital sections, whether through skull rupture or torso collapse depending on the point of contact, and within moments, multiple wolves fell in succession as the advancing line began to break apart under sustained penetration.
Noctis did not pause.
He continued firing.
The rhythm established itself quickly as each pull of the trigger aligned with his breathing and stance, creating a consistent flow of shots that maintained both accuracy and pressure against the incoming pack, and as the blood bullets continued to travel through the wolves, they carved through the formation in straight lines, leaving behind disrupted bodies that collapsed or fragmented depending on how directly they were struck.
The ground before him began to change.
What had been a smooth, compacted surface of snow gradually became layered with remains, first as isolated bodies, then as overlapping forms, and eventually as a growing accumulation of dismembered parts that no longer resembled individual wolves but rather the aftermath of sustained high-force penetration through dense targets.
Despite this, the pack did not stop.
The wolves continued advancing.
Their numbers absorbed the losses without hesitation as those behind filled the gaps left by those that fell, maintaining forward pressure under the command of their king, and as this continued, Noctis remained in place, adjusting only minimally to maintain his firing angles as he continued suppressing the frontal charge.
Less than half a minute passed.
The pile had grown.
But the attack evolved.
From within the advancing mass, several wolves broke formation and shifted direction, their movement distinct from the others as they did not continue forward along the ground but instead angled toward the walls of the gorge, and with controlled bursts of force through their limbs, they leapt upward and latched onto the vertical surfaces, their claws finding purchase against stone and ice as they began moving laterally along the walls rather than directly toward him.
Noctis noticed immediately.
His eyes shifted slightly as he activated Omni Eyes without breaking his firing rhythm, and the information presented itself clearly as he observed their distinguishing traits.
"Alpha variants," he said under his breath, his tone carrying interest rather than concern.
Their bodies were larger than the standard wolves, more heavily built, with denser electrical output that ran across their limbs and spine, and as they moved along the walls, their speed increased rapidly as the electricity flowing through their bodies intensified, forming visible streams that reduced friction and enhanced their movement to the point where they appeared to glide across the surface rather than climb.
Noctis adjusted his stance.
His left foot shifted backward slightly, his weight redistributing as his torso angled just enough to allow both weapons to maintain independent firing arcs, and although his right hand continued to fire into the advancing mass below, his awareness extended toward the incoming alpha wolves without splitting his focus.
One of them closed the distance first.
It launched from the wall.
Its body carried forward in a direct trajectory aimed at his upper body, its jaws opening as it prepared to bite into his shoulder, and as it entered striking range, Noctis turned his head slightly, his gaze aligning with the wolf's eyes at the moment its attack reached its peak extension.
"You're fast," he said calmly.
His right hand did not lower.
Instead, his left hand shifted.
Ruin rose.
The barrel aligned directly with the wolf's eye at the exact moment its forward motion carried it into optimal range, and without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
The blood bullet traveled a negligible distance before impact.
It entered through the eye socket and passed through the skull, and the resulting force caused the entire cranial structure to rupture outward in a forward-expanding pattern, with fragments dispersing along the direction of motion before losing cohesion.
The wolf's body continued forward briefly due to momentum before collapsing and falling into the snow beyond him.
Noctis did not follow it with his gaze.
His attention had already shifted.
Another alpha approached.
This one adjusted its trajectory mid-air, aiming slightly higher, attempting to compensate for the previous failure, and Noctis responded without hesitation as he rotated his left arm upward while pulling his right arm inward slightly, maintaining firing pressure on the ground wolves with Ruin while aligning Nocturne toward the incoming aerial threat.
"Same pattern," he muttered.
The second alpha entered range.
Its jaws opened.
Noctis fired.
The blood bullet entered from beneath the jaw and traveled upward through the skull, and the resulting rupture forced the upper section of the head to disintegrate outward while the lower body continued its forward motion momentarily before collapsing.
The body struck the ground.
Noctis returned both weapons forward.
His firing rhythm resumed.
The ground wolves continued advancing, though their numbers had already been reduced significantly by sustained penetration, and as he continued shooting, he felt the alignment of movement, perception, and action synchronize into something fluid.
"This… is better," he said quietly.
His expression carried genuine satisfaction now.
"This is how it's supposed to feel."
The rhythm continued.
And the pack kept coming.