"Shut the fuck up, all of you!" Jin suddenly shouted.
Everyone froze mid-argument, startled by his rare outburst.
"This is not the time to fight," he hissed, pointing toward the village.
"Look… there."
The group turned toward the darkened cluster of houses.
BOOOOM!
A deafening explosion shattered the silence. A shockwave of dust and smoke erupted from the heart of the village, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
Roof tiles flew into the air, scattering like deadly shrapnel.
"What the—!" Seraphina staggered back, shielding her face from the sudden blast of wind.
Through the rising smoke and collapsing houses, a massive shadow emerged.
Thud.
Thud.
Then it appeared, a giant demon, nearly three times the height of a man. Its skin was dark and cracked like scorched stone, glowing faintly with red veins of molten heat.
The creature lifted a screaming villager into the air and bit down with a sickening crunch.
