Syl's boots sank into ash and soot as she ran through the burning village.
The air was a choking haze. Thick with smoke and reeking of charred fur and rotting flesh. The metallic smell of blood stung.
Every step she took was measured. Messing up now would be suicide.
'Coming back here is suicide in the first place.' Syl thought to herself, crouched low.
She focused on her ears to get a read on the creature's location through the guttural noises it was emitting.
The Corrupted Draconic Spawn moved like a ghost through the smoke.
Syl's heart hammered as she followed, always keeping at least one hut between them. She couldn't afford even a single mistake.
'Just get to the Chief's hut. I just need to get in the hut and open the cage… No, I can toss her the key from outside the hut-'
The Corrupted Draconic Spawn suddenly stopped.
It turned.
Syl froze mid-step, lungs locking as the creature's head swiveled unnaturally in her direction.
It started walking. It started walking towards Syl.
She felt like her heart was going to explode with each step taken by the monster.
Eventually, it felt like her heart wasn't beating anymore. Like her heart had stopped. Right when the monstrosity arrived in front of her.
Its melted sockets faced her. It sniffed, black lips peeling back, dark strings of saliva stretching and breaking.
The stench slammed into her. The stench of rot, bile, and death. It was strong enough to make her feel the urge to gag. She managed to stop herself.
The creature lurched closer, inch by inch. Its bony jaw lowered until it was right in front of her, the cold exhale of decay sweeping across her face.
Syl's entire body tensed, screaming at her to bolt. Her hands shook around the key she gripped.
'Don't move. Don't breathe. Don't… Do anything.'
The monster stared at her. For a long time, it stared at her. Too long. Long enough for Syl to start feeling like her body was about to instinctively back off.
Grrr-
It turned its head away. As if losing interest, it grunted low, and stepped past her.
Syl collapsed into a crouch, her knees weak, sucking in shallow breaths. Her fingers trembled as she wiped sweat from her brow.
'It didn't smell me. The smoke, the corpses, the fire… They're masking me.'
She rose again and crept forward, making her way toward the Chief's hut. The walls were half-scorched, timbers groaning from the heat.
'The flames didn't reach this hut. Not completely.' She sighed.
Syl pressed herself against the frame, listening, then slipped inside with the key in hand.
"You need to…" she whispered.
Syl's eyes widened.
The cage stood there, but the Fox girl was gone.
"What the…?"
She was reminded of what she had told the Fox girl earlier.
The cage cannot be broken down, not without waking up everyone in this damned village.
The cage stood there, two of its bars bent outward.
"What…?" Syl muttered, pulse racing. "She…?"
There, now, was more than enough space between those iron bars for someone to slip in, or out.
***
Outside, the Corrupted Draconic Spawn was sniffing again. Its ruined face was pressed close. Inches from Akane's.
The Fox girl stood barefoot on the ash-stained ground, her eyes glazed, her body perfectly still.
The Spawn loomed above her, dripping ooze, its lips peeling into a hideous grin.
It stared. She stared back.
Neither moved.
The Corrupted Draconic Spawn and the Fox girl simply stood there, staring at one another.
***
On the other side of the village,
'ARGHHH!!'
Amon's body twitched on the scorched ground. His claws dug into the dirt as his body spasmed violently, veins burning and bones shattering.
"Ghh—!!" His jaw clenched as he stifled a scream. "Still, it's… Not as bad as… Last time…!"
After bringing food to the Fox girl, Amon had decided to take out the Hobgoblins' mounts.
Leaving the Black Wolves there would have meant allowing the Hobgoblins to run away when things inevitably turned sour.
After devouring those ten or so Black Wolves, a System message had popped up, informing Amon that Evolution was nearly available.
It informed him that only an additional five Hobgoblins were necessary.
And so, Amon had watched the fight, only opening a path for the fighters to escape once the necessary five had fallen.
'Come on… Quickly…!' He ordered his own body as he gritted his teeth. 'Syl… And Akane are…!'
***
"...!"
Crouched a safe distance away, Syl stood frozen with her eyes wide and her knuckles white around her spear as she watched.
"What the hell is happening here…?" she whispered, voice trembling.
The wind turned violent, feeding the scorching flames further.
It was like the air was spinning around the village. Like a tornado of fire was about to rise.
Still, neither of them moved.
The Fox girl and the Corrupted Draconic Spawn simply stood.
'If she moves, it's going to attack.' Syl gulped. 'I know that but… How can she stand there so…?'
The Corrupted Draconic Spawn opened its jaws wide.
'Just when a glimmer of hope arises, this happens.' The emotionless Akane stared into the darkness contained within the monstrosity's jaws.
Her heart did not race. She was not afraid.
The flames reached for the night sky, emboldened by a powerful gust of wind.
Akane glared with an icy gaze.
The flames, the burning illage… It was all too familiar.