Prologue: The Village of Red Eyes (Part 10)

The demon wolf growled deeply.

Warm breath rose from its jaws like smoke.

Its yellow eyes glowed through the mist between the black trees.

Kaien stood motionless in the snow.

The rusty knife trembled in his hand.

His heart pounded so loudly he thought the wolf might hear it.

The forest had suddenly become far too quiet.

Even the wind had fallen silent.

Only that growling remained.

Deep.

Unnatural.

Then the wolf slowly raised its head.

A long howl tore through the darkness.

AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUU—

The sound was wrong.

Not like an animal.

More like something dying.

Something cursed.

Even the trees seemed to tremble.

Kaien felt his entire body freeze.

His legs refused to move.

His fingers went numb.

The wolf slowly advanced.

Step.

By step.

Snow crunched beneath its enormous paws.

Kaien tried to move.

His body refused to obey.

Fear.

Pure fear.

The wolf was gigantic.

Far too gigantic.

Its jaws alone were large enough to crush his skull.

Panic slowly tightened around Kaien's chest.

I'm going to die.

The thought hit him with brutal clarity.

Not someday.

Not later.

Now.

Out here.

Alone in the snow.

The wolf slowly tensed its muscles.

Preparing to leap.

Kaien trembled violently.

His breathing became ragged.

Then...

...he drove the knife straight into his own leg.

SCHLK.

Kaien instantly clenched his teeth.

Pain exploded through his entire body.

Hot.

Brutal.

His mind suddenly became clearer.

"AAARGH...!"

The wolf paused.

Confused.

Kaien tremblingly pulled the knife back out of his leg.

Blood dripped into the snow.

But the fear actually weakened.

Not gone.

Just buried beneath the pain.

Kaien breathed heavily.

Then he slowly raised the knife again.

"...Come here, you filthy bastard."

The wolf growled deeply.

Then it charged.

BOOM.

Snow exploded beneath its paws.

Far too fast.

Kaien's eyes widened.

Too damn fast—

The wolf lunged straight at him.

Jaws wide open.

Teeth like blades.

At the last second, Kaien threw himself sideways.

KRASH.

The wolf barely missed him.

Kaien slammed into a tree.

Pain shot through his back.

"UGH—"

The wolf landed in the snow.

Then immediately turned back toward him.

No pause.

No hesitation.

That thing wanted nothing except to kill him.

Kaien stumbled backward.

His wounded leg burned with agony.

The wolf growled again.

Slowly circling him.

It was playing with him.

Panic began creeping back into Kaien's chest.

Then something caught his eye.

Stones.

Small, frozen chunks near the base of a tree.

His gaze darted to the wolf.

Then to its eyes.

Sensitive?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

But he had no better idea.

The wolf charged again.

Kaien desperately grabbed the stones.

One after another.

The first missed completely.

The second missed too.

The third only struck its fur.

The wolf came closer.

Far too close.

The fourth missed entirely.

Damn it—

The fifth stone smashed directly into the wolf's right eye.

KRRK.

The wolf let out a deafening howl.

Its body twisted violently to the side.

Kaien's eyes widened.

I HIT IT!?

The wolf crashed into a tree.

Only for a moment.

But it was enough.

Kaien charged.

Adrenaline completely took over.

Screaming, he drove the rusty knife into the wolf's side with all his strength.

SCHLK.

Black blood sprayed across the snow.

The wolf roared in agony.

A panicked grin spread across Kaien's face.

"I GOT YOU, YOU...!"

BOOM.

A gigantic paw slammed directly into him.

Kaien was hurled several meters through the air.

KRASH.

He crashed violently into another tree.

Something cracked loudly inside his arm.

Kaien screamed.

"AAAHHHH!!"

His right arm hung at an unnatural angle.

Numb with pain.

Slowly, Kaien slid down the trunk into the snow.

Panting heavily.

Blood dripped from his leg.

His back burned.

His arm was nearly useless.

And still...

The wolf remained alive.

The monster slowly limped in circles.

Black blood dripped from its side.

Its right eye was half destroyed.

Yet somehow...

...the creature almost looked as though it were smiling.

That disgusting, animalistic grin.

Kaien breathed heavily.

"Why... won't you die...?"

The wolf growled again.

Then suddenly...

...other growls answered from deep within the forest.

Several of them.

Kaien's blood froze.

Between the dark trees, glowing red eyes appeared.

One.

Two.

Five.

Wolves.

More demon wolves slowly emerged from the mist.

Large.

Twisted.

Hungry.

The first wolf had used its howl to summon the pack.

Kaien froze.

His breath caught.

No...

The wolves slowly began circling him.

Snow crunched beneath their paws.

Their yellow eyes glowed in the darkness like burning coals.

Kaien pressed himself against the tree, breathing heavily.

The knife trembled violently in his hand.

His body was finished.

And deep down...

...he already knew.

This was it.

At the same time...

...back at the North Wall.

Yun Yun slammed both fists against the gigantic gate.

"OPEN THIS DAMN GATE!"

The guards exchanged nervous glances.

The captain sat atop a crate, laughing.

A bottle dangled loosely from one hand.

"The boy's already dead."

"SHUT UP!"

Several guards flinched.

Lyra stood nearby in silence.

Even she looked serious now.

Very serious.

Yun Yun desperately looked at the soldiers.

"Please..."

Her voice cracked.

"He's out there all alone."

The young guard from earlier lowered his gaze.

Guilt was written across his face.

Yun Yun stepped directly in front of him.

"You wanted to help him."

The guard bit his lip.

"I..."

"THEN DO SOMETHING!"

The captain laughed again.

"If he's weak enough to die out there, then he was useless anyway."

Yun Yun spun toward him.

Her red eyes trembled with rage.

"YOU-"

But suddenly...

...another howl echoed through the forest.

This time closer.

Much closer.

And not just one.

Several.

The guards' faces instantly turned pale.

Even the captain stopped laughing.

Slowly, Lyra turned her gaze toward the forest.

Then she calmly said,

"That is no longer a single demon."

No one spoke.

The wind howled between the walls once more.

Out in the snow-covered forest...

...the demon wolves slowly tightened their circle around Kaien.