In a certain village, chaos had broken out. People were screaming and running for their lives. Monsters had invaded—wolf-like beasts with twisted and hideous faces. They were chasing the villagers down, catching them one by one, tearing them apart with brutal hunger and was devouring them without any mercy. Bloods stained the ground, and houses lay shattered. The whole village was drowning in screams and fear.
Among the chaos, a young mother clutched her newborn child tight against her chest. She was running as fast as her trembling legs could carry her. Her eyes darted behind her, desperate to see how close the monster was. In that panic, she didn't notice that a stone was in her path. She tripped after her leg hit the stone. She hit the ground hard, the baby was pressed beneath her. Her arms shielded the child, but pain shot through her body. She struggled to rise—too late. A monster had already reached her. The shadow of that monster was looming over her. It's jaw opened wide, hunger was burning in it's eyes.
"Please... Somebody... save my baby!" She cried out loud. Her voice was breaking with desperation.
But no one came. Nobody had the time to listen to her. Those who might have helped her had been already devoured by those monsters.
Then, it's fangs tore into her side. She screamed in agony as it began to eat her alive. Her bloods spilled, it was staining the ground beneath them. Her sceams were piercing the air. Yet, the baby beneath her did not cry. The child only smiled— his tiny hands were reaching up to brushing against his mother's face. He was too innocent and unaware of the horror which was consuming his mother.
All around them, the same fate met the other villagers. Men, women and children were getting devoured mercilessly by the group of wolf-like monsters. All around them, the villagers screams mixed with the growls of beasts as the group tore into the villagers. The village was no more peaceful. It was only full of blood, fear, and corpses.
Far away from the chaos and screams of that doomed village, Arashi and Emi's boat was drifting calmly on the sea. The waves were gentle, the sky was bright blue with its soft white clouds, and group of birds were flying across the horizon. Silence was hunging between them. Neither of them spoke. Arashi stared to his left and Emi to her right—two people on the same boat, yet each were lost in their own thoughts.
Arashi stole a glance at Emi, his lips parting as if he wanted to say something to her, but he quickly looked forward again. She didn't notice that Arashi glared at her.
Then the sea shifted. The waves which was once soft and smooth, grew restless. Suddenly something massive rose from the dephts of swelled and churned water.
A monstrous sea beast burst out from the waves, rising high above them. Its dragon-like head stretched upward with a long snout, rows of jagged fangs were glistening as it roared. Its eyes were small and fierce which was glowing with hunger. From it's head, two massive fin-like horns tore skyward, while jagged spikes crawled along it's back like armor. The creature's thick, serpent-like neck was twisting like a living whip, dark blue scales were glinting against a lighter, purplish-blue underbelly. Though only half of it's body was surfaced, yet still their boat was looking very tiny in comparison.
Arashi and Emi shot up to their feet, eyes widened in shock. Arashi's limbs shook awkwardly, like someone had just tickled him. Emi's voice trembled.
"W-what is that?"
Arashi's throat tightened.
"It … it's a sea beast."
The monster let out a guttural roar and charged toward them, water was splitting violently in it's wake. Emi's panic broke loose.
"Hey—ply! Ply!"
Arashi's eyes snapped to her. "What?!" "I said PLY, you fool!" Realization hit.
Arashi grabbed the paddles of the boat and rowed like his life was depended on it. His arms got blurred, the boat was cutting desperately through the water, but the beast was still closing in, It's jaws were wide with hunger. Emi glanced back, horror was twisting in her face.
"Row faster, idiot! Or we'll get eaten by it!"
Arashi gritted his teeth, he was rowing until all of his muscles screamed. Then, through the mist of spray, something caught his eye - a village hugging the shore, which was close enough for them to reach.
"Emi!" he shouted. "I see a village!"
She turned, eyes widening as she spotted it too. But the beast was almost on top of them now. Arashi stopped rowing and stood.
"When it gets close enough, we will jump to the village!"
Emi's jaw dropped. "What?! Are you insane?! We can't jump that far!"
" Without it we don't have any other way!" The beast surged forward, water was erupting around it. It's shadow was swallowing their boat.
"Now—jump!" Arashi yelled.
Together, they jumped just as the monster's fangs tore through their boat, splintering it into pieces. They soared through the air, but the landing was chaos. Emi hit the ground hard. Arashi came crashing after, barely catching himself on his hands so he don't fall over her completely.
He froze, realizing he was right above her. Their eyes met each other, and for a moment he forgot how to breathe. Heat rushed to his face, which left him bright red.
Then—smack! Emi's palm connected with his cheek.
"What are you staring at?!" she shot at him. Arashi nearly toppled, his hands flying to his face. Emi pushed herself up, her face was red with embarrassment, and then she rushed toward the village. Arashi lingered for a moment, rubbing at his cheek as his eyes drifted back to the beast shredding their boat apart. He sighed softly, then ran after her.
They started walking deeper into the village. Following a narrow road carved between steep cliffs, the rocky walls were towering on both sides like silent watchers. The path was stretched endlessly ahead, it was heavy with silence. At last, they reached the center of the village. What they saw brought them to a sudden stop.
The small houses were torn apart, roofs collapsed and walls were shattered. Trees were lay broken across the road, their trunks were splintered, and some were half standing like jagged bones. The ground was soaked in crimson, bloods were pooling in the grass, soaking the dirt and was splattering the stones. Corpses were scattered across the ground, some were ripped apart, others were half-devoured, faces were locked in pure terror.
A chill ran through Arashi and Emi, their breath caught in their throats. Emi's voice trembled as she whispered, her eyes were widened at the horror infront of her.
"...What the hell happened here?"