"Found ya."
Kairoz charged straight into the forest.
Dark Kendra energy surged at his feet as he leapt—tree to tree, faster than a shadow, zeroing in on the figure he'd spotted.
"Tch… what? He already found me?!" the attacker hissed, drawing his sword too late.
Kairoz's twin blades slammed down.
The enemy managed to block—but Kairoz's force was brutal.
CRACK!
The attacker was hurled backward, crashing into a thick tree trunk with a sickening thud before falling hard to the ground.
"Ahhh—!!"
Kairoz landed softly.
"One down," he muttered coldly, stepping toward the fallen figure.
As the attacker gasped, trying to crawl backward, Kairoz's blade flicked up, stopping inches from his throat.
"Hey," Kairoz said softly, dangerously.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you ?"
"Ahhh…!" the attacker gasped.
KRAK!
Kairoz slammed his boot down onto the man's face, grinding it into the dirt.
"I don't have time for this," Kairoz said coldly, pressing harder.
"Ahhh! Aghh!!"
Suddenly—SWISH!
A blade came from behind.
Kairoz sensed it—slid aside smoothly.
The second attacker missed, stumbling past.
Kairoz didn't even look.
Pathetic.
The man pinned under his foot forced himself up, blood running down his face. But he laughed.
"Heh… hehehe… You're dead. All of you are dead. That's the order."
Kairoz's eyes narrowed.
From the trees—shadows moved.
Dozens.
Masked figures emerged from the mist, surrounding him.
"Tch…" Kairoz muttered, raising both blades.
"So it's like that."
Kairoz slammed another kick, sending the attacker sprawling away with a grunt of pain.
"Ahhh!"
At that moment, the rest of Kairoz's squad finally charged into the fight.
Kairoz glanced over his shoulder, coldly surprised. So… they didn't just hide.
Blades clashed around him—CLANG! CLANG!
Kairoz raised his voice.
"Don't hesitate! Kill them all!" he barked.
"Yes, sir!" his recruits shouted back.
One recruit grinned wildly. "This is why I joined Killer Squad!"
"Don't worry about us!" another laughed. "Go to the village, Kairoz!"
Kairoz smirked slightly—but his gaze locked back on the bloodied man who'd threatened him earlier.
That one.
He walked toward him, slow and deliberate.
The attacker's confidence broke instantly. He stumbled back. "H-Hey! Stay away! Go away!"
"I just need one answer," Kairoz said calmly, deadly. "And I'm going to beat it out of you."
"I'm not telling you—!"
CRACK!
Kairoz's boot smashed into his jaw. A tooth flew out.
"You brat!!" the man screamed.
KICK.
"Ahhhh!!" Blood poured from his mouth.
"I won't—"
SLAM!
"I won't—!"
SLAM!
"Aghh! Ahh! I'll say! I'll say!!" he screamed finally, sobbing, crawling.
"I'll talk! Please! Please! Don't hit me again!" He dropped to his knees, shaking, head bowed.
Kairoz stepped forward, calm as ice, and placed his boot firmly on the man's trembling head.
"Now talk."
"T-There's a demon…!" the man gasped, trembling.
"He… he kills people. Controls them. I work for him…! He's in the village… If I don't obey, he'll kill me!"
CRACK!
Kairoz's boot smashed into his face again.
"Do I look like a fool to you?" Kairoz growled coldly.
"Ahhh! I'm telling the truth! I swear!" the man sobbed. "Please… believe me…"
Kairoz's eyes narrowed, jaw tightening.
"There's no such thing as demons," he snapped.
"There is! You'll see… see it yourself… Go to the village! He's there!" the man begged.
Kairoz paused.
He looks… confident.
Kairoz leaned closer, voice low and deadly.
"If I don't find your 'demon'… I'll come back and kill you myself."
"I swear! I swear! You'll see!" the man cried, nodding frantically.
Kairoz stepped back slowly, sheathing one sword while keeping the other ready.
Glancing around, he saw his squad still locked in scattered skirmishes. Calmly, methodically, Kairoz cut down two masked attackers with precise strikes, lightening the pressure on his squad.
"Don't slack," he said coldly to them. "Finish them."
His squad responded with a fierce shout:
"GO! For everyone!!"
Kairoz glanced toward the mist-covered village ahead.
"…I'm going down."
And without waiting for a reply, he moved—silent, focused, deadly.
As Kairoz vanished into the mist toward the village, the bloodied, broken man—now tied to a tree—let out a shaky, twisted laugh.
"Hehehe…"
He spat blood.
"Go on… Just go down there…" he thought, eyes flickering with fear and madness.
"He'll chop you into pieces."
And in the silence, he kept laughing softly.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the village…
In a broken, abandoned house, Lysa knelt beside Derius, hurriedly wrapping bandages over his bruised chest.
"Ahhh! That's too tight!" Derius hissed in pain.
"Stop screaming—or he'll hear you," Lysa snapped, her voice low and tense.
"Then do it gently," Derius grumbled.
"I am," Lysa shot back, pulling the bandage tighter. She shook her head. "Honestly… I'm surprised you're still moving."
"Yeah… so am I," Derius muttered, glancing down at his shaking hands. "Pretty sure I got slammed into that wall… what? 3 times?"
"More like five to six," Lysa said flatly, taping the last bandage in place. "Maybe after awakening Kendra… our bodies do get tougher."
"Guess so…" Derius exhaled. His voice dropped. "We need to move. Tell Miss Violet."
"For once, you're right."
Derius flopped onto the cracked floor, exhausted.
"I joined this squad because I thought it'd be less work than the scouts," he muttered, eyes half-lidded. "I thought… campfires… easy patrols… sleep…"
"And now?" Lysa asked dryly.
"Now I'm fighting some… ghost in the dark." He closed his eyes, sighing. "I should've stayed with Kairoz. He'd have handled everything."
Lysa snorted. "What a slacker you are. I've never met someone like you."
She stood up. "We need to move. Say when you're ready. Or I'm leaving you here."
"What?!" Derius sat up in disbelief. "You didn't even do anything! I fought that damn thing! You just stood there frozen!"
"Hey! If it weren't for me, you'd be dead already!" Lysa snapped. "And—unlike you—I don't know how to use a sword."
Derius blinked. "What? Then… why were you carrying one?"
"I thought—if something attacked me up close… a bow wouldn't help!" Lysa barked defensively.
There was a pause.
Then Derius laughed weakly. "Idiot."
Lysa flushed. "You're the idiot."
Step… step… step…
Footsteps echoed outside.
"Someone's here," Derius whispered tensely.
"Shh…" Lysa murmured.
Both of them crouched behind the broken wall, peeking through a cracked hole.
A shadow moved.
Human-shaped… slow… deliberate.
Their eyes widened.
Lysa exhaled softly, eyes hopeful. "It's… it's Captain Lucus…"
Derius turned sharply, grabbing her mouth and forcing her silent.
"Tch… Shhh. Look at him." His voice was barely a breath.
Lysa's eyes flicked back—and froze.
Lucus stood there, but something was wrong.
His eyes… they glowed faint blue.
And then… he smiled.
That hollow, lifeless smile.
Whispers. A faint, crackling sound—impossible to place—seemed to coil around them.
"He's… possessed…" Lysa whispered, terrified.
Derius hissed softly, his expression dark.
"Yeah. No kidding."
He shot her a sideways glare.
Both of them ducked down, pressing against the ruined wall, holding their breaths.
"He's searching for us…" Derius murmured grimly.
Neither of them dared to move.
Outside, Lucus's slow footsteps continued.
Step… step… step…
The hunt had begun.
Meanwhile — At Mountain B
Blood Hawk Squad
Touka lay sprawled on the cold earth, gazing up at the endless sea of stars above. The night sky shimmered faintly, casting a soft glow across her sharp, pale features.
She smiled—quiet, calculated.
What is that…?
She could feel it now. That oppressive, twisting presence in the middle of the village.
The Monk… its Kendra energy coiled in the distance, thick and unnatural.
Behind her, slow, uneven footsteps echoed.
Regan stirred from his restless sleep. His face, stitched crudely, bruised and bandaged, looked far more hollow under the moonlight.
Touka didn't glance at him at first. Her voice was flat, indifferent.
"You're awake."
Regan stood there silently for a moment, his expression hidden by shadows.
Then he stepped closer—standing above her where she still lay comfortably on the ground.
"Hey… I fought Vairan for you," he said suddenly, his voice trembling between frustration and longing.
Touka sat up gracefully, brushing dirt from her cloak without looking at him.
"Yes, you did. Thank you."
"'Thank you'…?" Regan repeated, confused.
Then his eyes darkened.
With the crooked stitches across his face and the swollen bruises, his expression turned almost corpse-like.
"I don't want your thank you."
He stepped closer—then grabbed her wrist harshly.
"I want you."
Touka's violet eyes flicked calmly toward his trembling hand, then to his face.
"Want me?" she repeated coldly, pulling her hand back effortlessly, her expression flat. "I already told you my answer."
Regan's breathing grew ragged.
"I… I took the punches for you! I protected you!" His voice cracked—half anger, half desperation. "I fought for you… and you just—!"
Touka suddenly laughed softly. Her tone was sharp, mocking.
"I never asked for your help."
Regan froze.
"You… looked at me…" he whispered like a broken child.
Touka's smile widened, merciless.
"Is looking at someone considered a promise now?"
"…But still…" he gasped, coughing, his voice raw with pain.
"I told you," Touka said, stepping closer. Her voice was cold as steel.
"I don't like losers."
"I'm… not a loser…" Regan muttered weakly.
"You can't even talk without cracking," she said flatly.
Something inside Regan snapped.
"You bitch!!" he roared.
He lunged forward and clutched her throat, his fingers trembling with rage and confusion.
But Touka's eyes didn't flinch.
Her expression didn't change.
A heartbeat later—she drove her knee upward.
CRACK!
A brutal strike—directly into his most vulnerable spot.
Regan gasped, collapsing onto the cold ground, writhing and clutching himself in agony. His voice cracked into a broken whimper.
Touka stood tall over his trembling form, her silhouette sharp against the moonlight.
She smiled icily.
"You should be thanking me."
Regan looked up at her, barely able to breathe.
Touka leaned slightly closer, her voice lowering into a venomous whisper.
"Because of me… you've finally grown some balls."
She turned away, walking slowly.
Regan broke down.
"I hate you…! I hate you! I don't want to see you again…!" he sobbed, face buried in the dirt, his body trembling helplessly.
Touka watched him in silence, expression unreadable.
Tch… crying like this…
Her gaze softened slightly—Just like Vento…
Did I overdo it? she wondered, sighing quietly.
With slow, measured steps, she walked closer, standing above Regan as he cried.
"Look at me."
Regan didn't move.
"I said, look at me."
Reluctantly, choking back tears, Regan lifted his head slightly, his eyes red and swollen.
Touka crouched, her violet eyes cool but not entirely cruel now.
"I'm sorry."
Regan blinked, confused.
"You're not a loser."
He flinched at her words, shaking harder.
"I… I hate you…" he whispered weakly.
Touka, without hesitation, reached forward.
She grabbed his face gently between her hands.
"You're not a loser, Regan."
His breath hitched.
"Actually…" she said softly, her voice suddenly kind, "I'm starting to like you."
His wide, broken eyes met hers.
"You were brave today," Touka said, her tone calm yet controlled, wiping his tears with her thumb. "But… I want you to be braver."
She leaned in closer.
"And protect me. No matter what happens."
Regan's body stopped shaking. His breathing slowed. He stared up at her, confused… yet desperate for hope.
"I… If I protect you… then you'll be mine?" he asked quietly, childishly.
Touka smiled softly.
"Sure."
But in her mind, her thoughts were colder.
If you're useful enough.
Regan sniffled, nodding weakly.
"O-Okay… then…"
Touka's hands lingered on his cheeks a moment longer, keeping him steady.
Inside, her mind was already elsewhere.
Calculating.
Planning.
But her voice… remained soft.
"Good."
TO BE CONTINUED