From the darkness of the night, Raymond's figure moved away from the site of the massacre. Yet the remains of human corpses were still vividly imprinted in his eyes. As he stepped forward, he accidentally kicked a lifeless body lying on the ground—
A body torn apart, its flesh mangled, its blood seemingly drained completely.
Raymond shuddered at the sheer brutality of what those creatures had done.
"What the hell are those things…? They've turned human bodies into something that shouldn't even be looked at…!?" he muttered.
(Bushh—the sound of wind brushing through the trees)
(Dres-dres—the faint sound of something moving)
In an instant, Raymond's body tensed as he prepared himself for whatever was hiding within the bushes.
"Damn it… is that thing still here…?" he whispered.
His body remained on high alert, ready for anything that might happen next. But gradually, the movement inside the bushes seemed to fade, as if whatever was there had decided to leave.
The darkness of the night made it impossible for Raymond to see clearly into the dense undergrowth—while the silence pressed heavily against him, suffocating his senses.
The suffocating aura clawed at his body, forcing him to take a step back from where he stood.
"Should I check it… or should I just leave…?" he questioned himself.
However, just as he was thinking, the bushes rustled again—this time, more violently.
His curiosity overcame his caution.
Slowly, carefully, Raymond reached out and began to part the bushes.
(Kres-kres—the sound of leaves and branches being pushed aside)
One small step…
Then another…
When the bushes finally opened completely—
Raymond saw it.
The black figure.
Its mouth stretched unnaturally wide, filled with hundreds of sharp teeth, as it devoured the head of a human.
And as Raymond looked closer—
He realized who it was.
The commander.
The very same commander who had been leading the guards protecting the carriage.
"Damn it… looks like I made a mistake…!" he muttered under his breath.
(Krak-krak—the sound of bones in the skull being crushed between those jagged teeth)
The sight caused Raymond to lose his balance, his body nearly collapsing backward.
The noise he made, though small—
Was enough.
The creature immediately stopped.
Then—
It turned its head toward him.
Its eyes glowed with a bright, unnatural red. Its body was covered in thick, dark fur, and its claws were long and razor-sharp.
Raymond didn't hesitate.
He knew exactly what would happen if he stayed frozen.
Without thinking, he turned and ran—straight into the forest, without knowing where he was going.
"Damn it… where do I even go…?" he muttered.
But the creature didn't stay still.
It chased him.
Relentlessly.
Raymond glanced left and right, desperately searching for any place to escape.
"Shit… there's nowhere to run…!"
Behind him, he could hear it—
Heavy footsteps.
Fast.
Too fast.
"That insane thing… it's way too fast…"
He ran deeper and deeper into the forest, but it felt as if the forest itself was swallowing him whole.
Gradually, a thick white fog began to form.
And then it grew denser.
And denser.
"What… what is happening…?" Raymond said, his voice strained.
The fog made it almost impossible to see ahead.
Still running blindly, Raymond suddenly tripped over a large tree root and fell hard onto the ground.
"Damn tree…!?"
"Am I seriously going to die because of
something like this…?" he muttered.
Before he could even get back up—
The sound of footsteps grew louder.
Closer.
"I… need to get up…!"
But before he could even finish his sentence
The creature was already there.
Standing right in front of him.
The distance between them—
Barely a step.
"I'm going to die like this…!?"
The massive creature stared down at him, its glowing red eyes piercing through the darkness.
Then—
It smiled.
A wide, horrifying grin that revealed all of its sharp teeth.
"Found you… found you…" it said—
In the voice of the commander it had just devoured.
(The voice sounded distorted… broken… unnatural)
Thick saliva dripped from its mouth, as if it had found the most delicious prey imaginable.
Slowly—
It extended its tongue.
And licked Raymond's body—from his feet, all the way up to his head.
"Disgusting…"
"I'd rather die to a beast than something like you…!" Raymond said quietly.
The creature opened its mouth wider—
Wider—
Enough to swallow him whole.
But just before it could—
A blinding light suddenly burst out from Raymond's hand.
The brightness forced the creature to recoil, temporarily blinded.
Raymond stared at his own hand in confusion.
"What… what is happening to my hand…?"
But there was no time to think.
He immediately got up and ran again.
Moments later—
A deafening roar erupted behind him.
The sound was so powerful that birds scattered in panic, and anyone who heard it would have gone temporarily deaf.
"What is it trying to do…?" Raymond muttered.
But the answer came quickly.
From behind him—
More footsteps.
Many of them.
"Damn it… it called the others…!?"
Raymond pushed his body further, running as fast as he could until, eventually, the creatures seemed to lose his trail.
But his suffering didn't end there.
Just as he thought he was safe—
Whispers began to echo around him.
Soft at first.
Then louder.
And louder.
"What now…? This must be their doing…"
"Damn it… it's like the world itself wants me dead…"
The whispers slowly began to invade his mind.
His body weakened.
His control faded.
And once again—
He fell to the ground.
The voices didn't stop.
"𐌍𐌀𐌓…"
"𐌍𐌀…𐌓𐌄 𐌌𐌀𐌓𐌄…"
"𐌍𐌀𐌓𐌔…!?"
"𐌅𐌄…𐌋…"
Raymond couldn't understand what they were saying.
"What… are they saying…?" he whispered.
Gradually, his vision darkened.
The world began to shake.
Then—
They appeared.
The faces of the dead.
One by one.
Some with half their faces crushed.
Some with their eyes torn out.
Some with no faces at all.
"What… what is happening…"
The figures continued to speak.
But then—
One voice.
Clear.
Understandable.
"Why didn't you save us…?"
Raymond froze.
He looked closer.
It was—
The little girl.
The same child who had died together with her mother.
Would Raymond survive…?
Or was this—
His end?