Chapter 478 - The Red Devil

"Sigurd!" One of the younger hunters screamed, his voice ragged from panic and strain, as he stumbled down the icy slope with the motionless body of his companion slung limply across his shoulders. His boots skidded and scraped against the frost, each hurried step a fight to keep balance as the slope tilted treacherously beneath him. Breath tore through his lungs in visible clouds, each exhalation spilling into the frigid night air like smoke from a dying fire. The weight on his back dragged him lower, bending his spine, but he did not stop. He could not. The sound behind them drove him forward, the thunder of claws gouging into ice, the guttural howls of creatures bred in nightmare.