The forest remained deathly silent.
Gray's violet eyes lingered on the overturned carriage, their calm gaze tracing every shattered plank, every splintered wheel, every frozen stain of blood that scarred the untouched snow.
Nothing moved.
Not a single bird called from the towering pines.
Not a single woodland creature stirred beneath the undergrowth.
It was as though the entire forest had forgotten how to breathe.
Marie slowly stepped forward, one hand resting on Scarlet Thread's hilt.
"...There's too much blood."
Gray knelt beside the carriage without replying.
His fingers brushed against one of the massive claw marks carved across the wooden frame.
The grooves were deep enough to expose the inner timber.
Fresh sap still clung to the torn edges.
The attack hadn't happened long ago.
He shifted his attention to the snow beneath the carriage.
Boot prints.
Several of them.
Some large.
Some...
Much smaller.
Children.
The tracks overlapped chaotically, circling one another before scattering in every direction.
Panic.
Someone had shouted.
Someone had run.
Someone had fallen.
Gray followed the trail with his eyes until it vanished beneath patches of disturbed snow.
"...They were trying to escape."
Marie crouched beside another trail several steps away.
"No."
She pointed toward the shattered driver's seat.
"They never had the chance."
Gray looked closer.
The reins had been severed.
The coachman's bench had been ripped apart.
Whatever attacked...
It had struck the front of the carriage first.
Before anyone could react.
A heavy silence settled over the clearing once again.
Then...
Zil slowly lowered himself onto one knee.
He pressed two fingers into the snow before closing his eyes.
His breathing became almost imperceptible.
The cold wind shifted.
His ears twitched.
Once.
Twice.
Then his nose lifted toward the eastern forest.
"...Something's wrong."
Gray and Marie turned toward him.
"What is it?"
Zil didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he inhaled deeply.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
His expression gradually hardened.
"...Blood."
Marie frowned.
"We're standing in the middle of it."
He shook his head.
"Not this blood."
He opened his eyes.
"...Fresh blood."
Gray stood at once.
"You can tell the difference?"
Zil nodded.
"The blood around the carriage is already freezing."
He looked toward the forest.
"...The other scent isn't."
Silence.
The three exchanged uncertain glances.
Then another scent reached Gray.
Smoke.
Faint.
Barely noticeable.
Yet unmistakable.
Not the comforting smell of burning firewood.
Something hotter.
Sharper.
As though stone itself had been scorched.
Marie noticed it a heartbeat later.
"...Do you smell that?"
Gray gave a single nod.
"I do."
Before anyone could say another word—
BOOOOOOM!!
The explosion rolled across the mountains like thunder.
The earth trembled violently beneath their feet.
Snow crashed from the towering branches overhead.
A flock of birds burst from the forest in frantic panic, vanishing into the pale winter sky.
The echo continued for several seconds before fading into silence once more.
None of them spoke.
They didn't need to.
Whatever had destroyed the carriage...
Was still here.
Another explosion erupted.
Closer this time.
A pulse of scorching air swept through the frozen forest.
The snow beneath their boots hissed as tiny droplets of water formed before freezing again almost instantly.
Gray tightened his grip around Graveveil.
"...Let's move."
Zil was already running.
His body surged forward with explosive speed, weaving effortlessly between the towering pines.
Marie followed without hesitation.
Gray remained close behind.
The forest changed the deeper they ventured.
More broken trees.
Fresh claw marks gouged into ancient trunks.
Deep craters where something unimaginably heavy had crashed into the earth.
Every sign pointed toward one conclusion.
A battle.
And it was still happening.
Then...
Through the endless wall of pines...
They saw it.
Not the combat.
Not the enemy.
Fire.
Brilliant crimson-orange flames rose above the treetops like a second sunrise, illuminating the snow-covered forest with an unnatural glow.
The fire didn't spread.
It twisted.
It spiraled.
Almost...
As though it obeyed someone's command.
Gray slowed for the briefest moment.
"...That's no ordinary fire."
No one answered.
The three pressed forward, disappearing into the burning light.
****
As they pressed forward, a wall of fire towered before them.
Heat rolled across the forest in heavy waves, forcing the three to shield their faces against the scorching wind. The snow beneath their boots had completely disappeared, replaced by damp earth and drifting steam.
The closer they came...
The stranger the flames became.
They weren't spreading.
They weren't consuming the surrounding forest.
Instead, they rose in great spirals, twisting toward the sky before collapsing inward again, as though invisible hands guided every movement.
"...Fire doesn't move like that."
Marie spoke quietly.
Gray didn't answer.
His attention had already shifted beyond the flames.
Something...
Was moving was inside the flames.
A deafening roar shattered the silence.
The wall of fire exploded outward.
A massive silhouette burst through the inferno, sending burning embers raining across the clearing.
Gray's pupils contracted.
The creature was enormous.
Nearly four meters tall even on all fours, its body covered in dark crimson fur streaked with jagged patches of black crystal that pulsed faintly beneath its skin. Two twisted horns curved backward from its skull, while its elongated claws carved effortlessly through the frozen earth with every step.
It's red eyes burning with madness.
Its breathing came in violent, ragged bursts.
Fresh blood covered almost every part of its body.
Yet...
None of it seemed to belong to the creature.
It suddenly stopped.
Its head slowly turned.
For one tense heartbeat...
Its gaze met Gray's.
No one moved.
Then—
The creature threw back its head and released a deafening roar that shook the clearing.
Instead of charging the trio...
It turned.
Its enormous body lunged toward the opposite side of the battlefield.
Gray's eyes followed.
Only then...
Did he see her.
A lone figure stood amidst the burning forest.
Long ash-gray hair danced wildly in the scorching wind, the ends stained with soot and blood. A deep crimson wound stretched across her left shoulder, soaking part of her dark robes, yet her posture never wavered.
Around her floated dozens of glowing runes.
Some no larger than a coin.
Others nearly as tall as she was.
Each revolved silently around her, shifting position with impossible precision.
Gray frowned.
"...What are those?"
"I..."
Even Zil sounded uncertain.
"...I've never seen anything like that."
The woman slowly raised one hand.
No chant.
No incantation.
Her fingertip traced a glowing line through the empty air.
One stroke.
Another.
Another.
Light followed every movement.
A new rune took shape before her.
Ancient.
Elegant.
Alive.
The creature roared again.
It lowered its head and charged.
Its claws shattered the frozen earth beneath every step.
Gray tightened his grip around Graveveil.
"...She's not moving."
Marie narrowed her eyes.
"No..."
"...She's waiting."
The final stroke connected.
The rune pulsed.
Then—
It shattered into dozens of glowing fragments.
The fragments drifted outward like embers carried by the wind.
The charging beast entered their path.
Reality twisted.
For the briefest instant...
The monster's body lurched violently to one side, as though an invisible hand had grabbed the world itself and pulled.
Instead of crashing into the woman...
It tore through three towering pines before rolling across the clearing in an explosion of snow and shattered timber.
Gray's violet eyes widened.
"...She changed its direction."
Before anyone could recover—
A child's scream echoed through the clearing.
The four of them froze.
Gray's head snapped toward the sound.
Half-hidden beneath the wreckage of another overturned wagon, no more than thirty meters away, a little girl clung desperately to the body of a woman lying motionless in the snow.
"...Mom..."
"...Please wake up..."
The creature heard her.
Its golden eyes slowly shifted.
The girl stopped moving.
Its massive jaws parted.
A deep growl rumbled through the clearing.
"N...No..."
The child couldn't even run.
She simply stared.
Frozen.
The woman in the robes reacted instantly.
Three runes burst into existence around her.
Their light flared brilliantly.
She thrust out her hand.
The runes shot forward.
But...
They were too late.
The beast had already crossed half the distance.
Gray moved.
There was no hesitation.
No thought.
Blood's voice echoed inside his mind.
"Hesitation... is defeat."
The chains binding Graveveil exploded outward with a metallic shriek.
The colossal blade slammed into the beast's shoulder.
CLANG!!
The impact echoed across the clearing like a bell struck by a giant.
For the first time...
The monster lost its footing.
Its charge lurched sideways, missing the little girl by mere inches before plowing through the frozen ground.
Gray landed between the child and the beast, his boots carving two deep trenches through the scorched earth.
The creature recovered almost instantly.
It roared.
The sound struck Gray like a physical force.
Rotting flesh.
Fresh blood.
The smell pouring from its mouth was enough to make an ordinary man collapse.
Gray never moved.
Behind him, the little girl trembled violently.
"...Don't move."
His voice was calm.
Steady.
Marie blurred into existence beside him.
Scarlet Thread flashed.
Crimson Essence surged along the blade before erupting into dozens of razor-thin threads.
They wrapped around the monster's right foreleg.
The beast tried to lunge—
Its leg jerked sideways.
For the briefest instant...
Its balance broke.
That instant was enough.
Zil exploded forward.
His Beast Fang Gauntlets crashed into the creature's ribs with the force of a falling boulder.
BOOOOM!!
The impact launched the monster several meters across the clearing before it smashed through two burning trees.
The forest shook.
Ash drifted through the air like black snow.
The woman finally looked away from the child.
Her amber eyes met Gray's.
Only for a heartbeat.
There was surprise.
Recognition.
Then...
She nodded.
No words were exchanged.
None were needed.
Gray understood.
She wasn't asking for help.
She was accepting it.
Around her, six glowing runes appeared.
Unlike before...
These did not burn.
They hummed.
Each symbol rotated at a different speed as if every one obeyed a separate law of reality.
Gray shot forward.
The ground shattered beneath every step.
In a blur of motion he reached the monster just as it regained its footing.
Graveveil descended.
The beast raised one claw.
BOOOOM!!
Steel collided against crystal.
A violent shockwave ripped through the battlefield.
The surrounding flames bent outward.
Gray was forced backward.
The creature wasn't.
Instead...
One of the black crystals covering its forearm fractured.
A thin crack spread across it.
The monster stared.
Almost...
Confused.
Gray noticed.
"Those crystals..."
"They're protecting it."
The realization lasted less than a heartbeat.
The monster vanished.
Gray's instincts screamed.
He twisted.
A massive claw swept past his face.
The tips grazed his cheek.
Blood scattered into the air.
Gray's eyes widened.
"Fast..."
He barely ducked beneath the second strike.
The third caught his shoulder.
BOOM!!
Gray was thrown through two burning trees before crashing into the frozen earth.
For a moment...
Silence.
Marie froze.
"...Gray!"
He rolled onto one knee.
Blood dripped from his shoulder.
He smiled.
"...That actually hurt."
Blood's training echoed inside his head.
"Pain confirms you're alive."
The monster charged again.
Marie intercepted it.
Scarlet Thread danced like crimson lightning.
Her blade crossed once.
Twice.
Three precise cuts carved across the beast's face.
Black blood sprayed through the air.
Unlike before...
The wounds remained.
The monster blinked.
One eye narrowed.
It could still see.
But barely.
It roared in frustration.
Then—
Reality shifted.
Not around the monster.
Around the blood.
The droplets hanging in the air suddenly stopped falling.
Every black drop froze in place.
Gray looked up.
The witch.
She hadn't created fire.
She had altered motion itself.
The suspended blood ignited.
Not from outside.
From within.
Each droplet became a tiny explosion.
Hundreds of burning impacts erupted across the monster's body simultaneously.
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
The beast howled.
Gray stared.
"She isn't controlling fire..."
"She's changing what the fire is allowed to burn."
For the first time...
Fear crossed the monster's face.
It turned.
Not toward Gray.
Not toward Marie.
Toward the witch.
She was the greater threat.
It lunged.
The earth exploded beneath its feet.
The woman calmly drew another rune.
One line.
Two.
Three.
The symbol completed.
The monster suddenly slowed.
Not because it wanted to.
Its own body betrayed it.
Its enormous muscles fought against invisible resistance.
Every movement became heavier.
Each step slower than the last.
Gray understood immediately.
"She changed the law governing its movement."
"Now!"
Zil roared.
His body expanded as thick gray fur erupted across his arms.
Muscles swelled.
Bones cracked.
Within seconds he stood transformed into a towering werewolf.
His golden eyes burned with savage determination.
He slammed both fists into the monster's side.
BOOOOOOM!!
Ribs cracked.
The beast screamed.
This time...
It stayed down.
Only for a second.
Its flesh began writhing.
The cracked ribs slowly pushed back into place.
The wounds closed.
Marie stared.
"...It's regenerating."
"No."
The witch answered for the first time.
Her voice remained calm despite the blood running down her arm.
"...It's accelerating its natural healing."
Gray frowned.
"So we overwhelm it before it can recover."
She nodded once.
The monster suddenly forced itself upright.
Its body trembled violently.
The regeneration had consumed enormous energy.
Its breathing had grown heavier.
Its movements...
Slightly slower.
Gray smiled.
"...Good."
"So it isn't immortal."
The beast answered with another furious roar.
Its eyes locked onto the wounded witch once more.
It understood.
If she lived...
It would lose.
Ignoring everyone else, it charged.
The witch tried to stand.
Her injured leg collapsed beneath her.
"...Damn..."
She couldn't move.
Gray disappeared.
Marie followed.
Zil roared.
Three figures rushed toward the same target from different directions.
The monster chose only one.
The witch.
It never reached her.
Gray appeared first.
Graveveil crashed downward.
Marie crossed Scarlet Thread against its exposed neck.
Zil's fist slammed into its spine.
Three attacks.
One instant.
The battlefield erupted beneath the combined impact.
The monster's roar echoed across the burning forest.
Then...
Its healing stopped.
For the first time...
Its fear became unmistakable.
***
The monster's fear lasted only a heartbeat.
Then...
It went mad.
A deafening roar erupted from deep within its chest as black crystal spread violently across its body, crawling over crimson fur like a living plague.
The earth trembled.
The surrounding trees cracked beneath the pressure pouring from the beast.
Gray's instincts screamed.
"...It's doing something."
The witch's amber eyes widened.
"No..."
"It doesn't have enough Essence to regenerate anymore."
"It's burning its life instead."
The monster lunged.
Not with precision.
Not with strategy.
Only instinct.
Only rage.
Gray met it head-on.
Graveveil collided with its claws in an explosion of sparks.
The impact sent both of them skidding backwards.
Marie appeared from the beast's blind side.
Scarlet Thread carved another crimson cross across its ribs.
This time...
The wound didn't heal.
Black blood poured freely onto the scorched earth.
The creature howled.
Zil didn't allow it a moment to recover.
His massive werewolf form crashed into the monster's back, driving it onto one knee.
The ground shattered beneath the impact.
"...Gray!"
"I've got it!"
Gray's violet eyes narrowed.
Blood's voice echoed once more.
"One strike..."
"Make it enough."
Gray inhaled deeply.
Essence surged through every fiber of his body.
The chains surrounding Graveveil rattled violently.
One after another...
They unraveled.
The enormous blades began spinning around him.
Faster.
Faster.
Until they became nothing more than silver arcs cutting through the smoke.
The monster broke free from Zil's grip.
It rose with another furious roar.
The witch slowly lifted her trembling hand.
One final rune formed before her.
Unlike the others...
This one was painfully simple.
A single circle.
One line passing through its center.
She whispered only two words.
"...Fall."
The rune dissolved.
Nothing happened.
Then...
The monster's body suddenly became impossibly heavy.
Its front legs buckled.
Its head dropped.
Its muscles strained merely to remain standing.
Gray moved.
The world blurred.
In a single instant he appeared directly before the creature.
The spinning chains wrapped around both hilts once more.
His hands tightened.
"Graveveil..."
For the first time...
He spoke the weapon's name.
The two blades became one descending arc.
CRAAAAAASH!!
The strike split through crystal.
Through flesh.
Through bone.
The monster froze.
Silence engulfed the clearing.
For several endless seconds...
Nothing moved.
A thin crimson line slowly appeared across the creature's neck.
Then...
Its head slid from its shoulders.
The enormous body remained standing for one final heartbeat before collapsing with a thunderous crash that shook the entire forest.
Dust.
Snow.
Ash.
Everything settled together.
The fire surrounding the battlefield gradually weakened.
Without the monster's presence...
The unnatural pressure vanished.
Gray stood motionless.
His breathing was uneven.
Blood trickled from the cuts across his face and shoulder.
Marie leaned heavily against Scarlet Thread.
Even Zil returned to his human form, dropping onto one knee as exhaustion overtook him.
No one celebrated.
No one spoke.
The little girl slowly crawled toward the motionless woman lying beneath the broken wagon.
"...Mom..."
She reached out with trembling hands.
There was no response.
The forest became quiet once more.
A quiet unlike before.
Not one born from fear...
But from loss.
Gray lowered Graveveil.
His gaze drifted toward the ash-haired witch.
She remained standing only through sheer determination.
The glowing runes surrounding her flickered weakly before disappearing one after another.
For the first time since they had arrived...
Their eyes met without an enemy between them.
She studied the three of them silently.
Then...
A faint, exhausted smile appeared on her lips.
"...You..."
"...You're not from the Dark Regions... are you?"
Before anyone could answer...
Her legs gave out beneath her.
Gray stepped forward instinctively and caught her before she struck the frozen ground.
The last thing he saw before she lost consciousness...
Was the strange symbol embroidered onto the sleeve of her robe.
A symbol unlike anything he had ever seen.
And somehow...
He knew.
Their journey had just become far more complicated.