(Nex's pov)
The forest felt… wrong.
The deeper Nex went, the less sound there was—no rustle of small animals, no buzz of insects, just the steady beat of his boots on damp earth.
A shadow moved to his left.
The next second, the ground where he stood exploded in a spray of dirt and roots. Nex dove sideways, tucking into a roll, and came face-to-face with something far too big for a C-rank zone.
Its frame was massive, the black-veined hide stretched over muscle like corded steel. The eyes—pitch black and unblinking—were locked on him.
C+… borderline B.
If he hesitated, he was dead.
The beast lunged. Nex didn't counter. Instead, he slipped between its claws and a tree trunk, letting the impact splinter bark behind him. A flick of his wrist sent a throwing knife into a low-hanging branch, snapping a vine. It whipped down like a lash, slapping across the beast's muzzle.
It snarled, swinging its tail, but Nex vaulted over it, boots skidding in wet leaves. He didn't run in a straight line—he zigzagged, leapt over roots, ducked under fallen logs—forcing the beast to slow as it smashed through obstacles.
The sound of water drew him toward a narrow stream.
He splashed into it deliberately, the cold biting his legs. The beast followed, but Nex's foot hooked under a submerged branch; he yanked it up hard, sending a sheet of water into the air. Mana surged from his palm, turning each droplet into a stinging shard. They peppered the beast's face, not to kill, but to blind for a breath.
He used that breath.
Bounding off a moss-covered rock, he grabbed a low branch, swung himself across to the far bank, and disappeared into a patch of thick reeds.
The beast hit the opposite bank seconds later—only to find nothing.
Nex was already crouched behind a fallen tree fifty meters away, moving silently along its length. Every step took him further from the roars and splashes behind.
He didn't slow, didn't look back.
The moment he cleared the treeline, he dropped low and sprinted deeper into the forest, breath ragged but eyes sharp.
That was too close.
And if there was one of those here… there might be worse ahead.
The forest was changing.
The deeper Nex went, the older the trees became—towering, skeletal things draped in vines that looked more like dried veins than plants. The air was thick, heavy, as if he were wading through smoke he couldn't see.
Every few steps, he found signs.
A deer carcass, drained of blood yet with no visible wounds.
A shredded wolf, its bones blackened as if burned from the inside out.
Even the insects avoided the bodies.
Nex's boots crunched over something brittle.
He glanced down—splintered antlers, broken and charred.
A faint vibration hummed under his feet.
It wasn't footsteps. It was… deeper, a constant pulse that seemed to throb in sync with his heartbeat. He crouched, placing his hand to the ground. The soil was warm. Too warm.
The warmth spiked—followed by a pop.
A fissure in the ground oozed a thin trickle of black liquid, thick like tar, steaming in the cool air.
He stepped back instinctively. The smell hit him a second later—metallic, rotting, wrong.
Then came the noise.
Not the cry of an animal. Not the snarl of a beast.
A low, layered whisper that scraped along his spine like cold metal:
"...hunger..."
Every instinct screamed at him to run.
But Nex stayed still, scanning the forest. The sound wasn't coming from any one place—it was everywhere, crawling along the bark, echoing in the spaces between leaves.
Something moved ahead.
Not a beast—something humanoid, tall, gaunt, its limbs slightly too long. It crouched over another carcass, fingers buried deep in the meat, pulling out organs with slow precision.
Its head twitched.
Then it turned toward him.
The eyes were not black.
They were empty—two hollow sockets, from which faint trails of black mist coiled into the air.
Nex's grip tightened on his blade.
He'd gone too far to turn back now.
The thing didn't move toward him—it simply appeared closer with each blink, its body jerking forward in unnerving, unnatural motions. The sound it made wasn't a roar, but a shuddering inhale, like it was tasting the air for him.
Nex's instincts screamed to dodge, and just in time—its arm, thin as a branch yet faster than lightning, scythed through the space where his head had been. The wind pressure alone cut a shallow line across his cheek.
He dashed backward, feet splashing into a shallow stream, letting the water's reflection help track its movements. The creature tilted its head, almost curious, before plunging both hands into the water. The stream hissed as black rot bled from its fingers, killing fish instantly.
Nex didn't wait.
He kicked off the streambed, scattering droplets into the air. His eyes sharpened. The droplets caught the moonlight—tiny mirrors—and in those fractured reflections, he caught the monster's next move.
He ducked low, sliding beneath its swipe, slashing at its knee joint. The blade cut halfway before the flesh hardened unnaturally, forcing him to let go and roll away.
The thing lunged again, knocking him off his feet. His ribs screamed as he hit the water hard. The world spun. He coughed blood, vision tunneling.
It loomed above him, empty sockets staring. Its fingers stretched, talons brushing against his collarbone—
—when something soft brushed his cheek.
A butterfly.
Made entirely of light.
It hovered inches from his face, its wings shedding faint sparks. It circled him once, then flitted toward the left, pausing every few meters as if waiting for him.
The monster twitched violently, its head snapping toward the butterfly with… fear? No. Hatred.
Nex didn't hesitate. He rolled to his feet, ignoring the stabbing pain in his side, and bolted after the butterfly. The creature gave chase, its movements a blur in the trees, each step cracking branches like dry bones.
The butterfly weaved between tree trunks, gliding effortlessly through narrow gaps. Nex followed, vaulting roots, splashing through muck, ducking under low branches that ripped at his clothes. The creature was gaining—he could hear its breath on the back of his neck.
Then, the forest broke.
A clearing opened, moonlight spilling down on something unnatural—a half-buried structure of silver metal, cracked open like an ancient shell. Tubes and cables snaked out of its wounds, vanishing into the earth.
The butterfly's light grew brighter, leading him toward a jagged opening in the metal. Nex dove inside just as a clawed hand swiped through the entrance, gouging deep scars into the steel.
Silence.
Only his ragged breathing, and the faint glow of the butterfly waiting deeper inside the ruined lab.