The bad weather seemed to bring bad luck with it. I wandered through the forest for a long time before finally spotting a thin wild rabbit. Even then, the little creature slipped away and dove straight into its burrow.
Not wanting to waste more time, I pulled out an explosive charge card and detonated it at the entrance of the nest. The small blast collapsed the burrow, letting me dig the rabbit out easily. When I finally held it up, I could not help but sigh. The rabbit was so small it was barely enough to feed one person.
"Well, it is what it is. This will have to do."
I shrugged, gripping the rabbit by its ears while carrying my bow over my shoulder as I headed home. I had promised to return quickly. Besides, staying out here longer probably would not help. I glanced up at the sky and saw dark clouds spreading across it. Rain looked imminent.
The animals must have sensed it as well, since everything had hidden early. With nothing else to hunt, I quickened my pace toward home. That strange sense of unease quietly crept back into my chest.
About twenty minutes later, I reached the foot of the hill where our house stood and began walking up the path.
"Mikasa should still be learning embroidery right now. Hank and Yato will probably laugh when they see this tiny catch. After all, this is the first time I have come back almost empty handed."
Thinking about it made the corner of my mouth lift into a smile.
This was home.
When I reached halfway up the hill, a faint but bitter scent suddenly drifted through the air.
Blood.
My body instantly tensed.
As a trained hunter, I was extremely sensitive to that smell. This was not animal blood. It was human blood, and it was coming from above.
I broke into a full sprint toward the house.
"No... no, that cannot be right. The timing is wrong. It cannot be."
I kept muttering to myself while running. The closer I got, the thicker the scent became. Deep down, even though I refused to accept it, my worst fear had already begun to take shape.
Bang!
I slammed the door open with my shoulder.
What greeted me was not laughter or warm voices, but the heavy stench of blood.
Hank and Yato lay on the floor, motionless.
The sight shattered the final trace of hope in my heart.
My fingers loosened. The rabbit and my bow slipped from my hands and fell to the ground. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.
My family in this world was gone.
And I had once had the chance to stop it.
Pain and fury twisted together inside my chest, crushing my heart.
"Ah!"
I collapsed to my knees and let out a hoarse cry. I felt like a fool who believed he understood everything, only to realize he had been nothing more than a toy in fate's hands.
"Why? Why did this happen?!"
My fists clenched tightly.
"I want revenge. Whoever did this... I will kill them."
I forced myself to stand, tears still blurring my vision, and bent down to pick up my bow.
Then I froze.
Hank's chest moved ever so slightly.
He was still breathing.
I rushed over immediately and pulled two healing cards from my belt. After activating them, I pressed them against his body. A faint green glow flickered briefly before fading away, and the cards burned into ashes.
Hank's eyelids trembled.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
But there was no joy on my face.
He had lost far too much blood. His life force was almost completely drained. With my current ability, the healing cards could only stabilize him for a moment. They could not truly save his life.
"If Renn were here, maybe he could save him... but he is not."
I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.
At that moment, Hank's eyes focused on me.
"Jax..."
His voice was hoarse and weak.
With great difficulty, he lifted his right hand and pulled a crystal crescent pendant from his chest. He pushed it toward me.
"Help me tell Doctor Jaeger... Skog is a traitor..."
His voice faded as he spoke.
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