The Black Forest had always lived in whispers.
For centuries, villagers of western Veyrath told stories of hunters who vanished beneath its shadowy canopy, of strange cries echoing in the night. Its trees grew so massive and so close together that sunlight could never pierce the gloom. The undergrowth was a snarl of thorns, thick enough to tear flesh from bone.
To those who lived nearby, it was not merely a forest.it was a warning.
That night, two villages slept in uneasy silence, divided by the towering mountain that loomed between them. Farmers lay in straw beds after long days of toil. Children dreamed of simple games. Old men smoked pipes outside their homes, muttering about the cursed woods.
"Never wander into that place," one grandfather told a wide-eyed boy. "Not even in daylight. The forest doesn't give back what it takes."
The boy only giggled, chasing fireflies. His mother quickly dragged him indoors.
No one imagined the forest would come to them.
_____
At first it was subtle—the rattling of windows, a groan from deep within the mountain. The villagers thought it was another tremor. In this hilly land, the earth often complained. But the shaking grew violent. Crockery smashed to the floor. Lamps toppled. Babies began to cry.
A farmer burst from his house, lantern in hand, shouting, "Earthquake! Everyone, outside!"
But then his lantern light swung toward the mountain base. His jaw fell open.
The earth split wide, glowing with blinding purple light. A massive portal tore itself into existence, lightning crackling around its edges. From its depths, something stepped out—tall, snow-white, with glowing blood-red eyes and claws like blades.
Another followed. And another. Dozens.
The man tried to scream, but only a strangled wheeze left his throat. His neighbors rushed out behind him. When they saw the creatures marching from the light, they screamed in his place.
"Monsters!"
"They're coming this way!"
"Wake the village! Wake everyone!"
The ground shook beneath the weight of the advancing horde.
Panic ripped through the streets. Doors slammed open, villagers spilling into the night with torches, half-dressed, clutching children.
Some men grabbed tools—axes, pitchforks, even kitchen knives. They tried to form a line, shouting desperately.
"We must hold them here!"
"For our families!"
But their courage cracked the instant the first Bunny Monster struck.
The creature moved with blinding speed, snatching a villager by the skull and lifting him high. In one brutal motion, it tore the body clean in half. Blood rained across the cobblestones.
"Papa!" a boy screamed, frozen in horror.
His father shoved him behind. "Stay back!" His voice trembled. "Stay—"
A claw speared through his chest, silencing him mid-sentence.
The boy's scream was lost in the chaos.
The monsters laughed—high, twisted shrieks that echoed like mockery. They ripped through men as if they were paper. Women fled with children, only to be caught by the ears and thrown into walls like rag dolls. Bones snapped. Blood painted doors and windows.
A priest rang the chapel bell, trying to warn the neighboring village. Gong… gong… Each toll spread hope for a heartbeat—until claws punched through the wooden tower, impaling him. The bell fell silent.
Inside a barn, a cluster of children and their mothers huddled, whispering prayers.
"Will the rabbits find us?" one little girl asked, her voice tiny, trembling.
A mother hushed her, holding her close. "No, sweetheart. Stay quiet. Stay—"
The barn wall exploded inward. Red eyes glowed through the dust. The last thing the children saw were claws stretching wide.
The night became a slaughterhouse.
By dawn, silence hung heavy. The streets were choked with bodies—limbs scattered, torsos split, blood running like streams. Those who still breathed gasped shallowly, organs spilling across dirt, dying alone. By sunrise, none remained alive.
____
As light broke, the monsters grew strangely orderly. One larger than the rest appeared, carrying a massive black sack. With chilling precision, the creatures began collecting the corpses, tossing them in like meat.
A farmer's severed head rolled across the street, caught by a claw and stuffed into the bag.
One monster growled in a guttural language—alien yet deliberate. Another screeched in reply, a sound that resembled a command.
Within an hour, every body was gone. Blood remained, but not a single corpse.
One by one, the creatures marched back into the glowing portal. The last clawed foot vanished, the light collapsed, and the night was still again.
The neighboring village across the mountain slept peacefully, unaware that their kin had been erased.
_____
By morning, soldiers and messengers of the G.P.F swarmed the ruins. Scribes recorded shattered homes and blood-soaked streets. But no bodies. Not even bones.
"Fifteen hundred villagers," one official muttered, his hands shaking. "Gone. All gone."
News spread like wildfire. Crowds stormed outside the courts of the W.N. and the halls of the Grand Council in Ozythra, capital of Solarys.
"Where is W.N.?!"
"What do we pay you for?!"
"If they could vanish in one night—what about us?!"
Some threw stones. Others wept. Even the calm voices could not quiet the storm of fear.
Inside W.N. headquarters, high-ranking Noblesse sat pale and speechless.
One slammed the table. "If this was on the level of Death Island…" His voice cracked. "Then none of us are prepared."
____
Far above the storm clouds, Lei Shan drifted like a man lying on air, one leg crossed, hands behind his head. Rain slicked off his golden aura. A purple rosary swayed at his neck, each bead pulsing faintly.
Below, a G.P.F. sky-ark thundered through the storm.Lei Shan watched it idly.
He remembered the voice of his Master.
"Lei Shan:enemies no longer strike from the front. They wear the faces of friends. And in the end, betrayal kills us all. Never trust anyone."
Lei Shan lips curved faintly. "Yes, my Lord."
Then came the order:
"Go to the Black Forest of Veyrath. Kill every Bunny Monster. Brutally. Leave no survivors. And let no one see you—not mortals, not Noblesse, not even the monsters themselves."
Lei Shan rose higher, golden energy flaring around him.
"Command accepted."
He dove. To the soldiers below, only thunder rolled. But to the forest, a golden star had fallen.
______
Veyrath (West Continent)
Capital: Myrrhvale
That same stormy night, a briefing in hall
filled with Noblesse students from across the central continent. They stood in rows, armor gleaming, eyes sharp.
A commander's voice rang out:
"Your mission is clear. Evacuate civilians. Destroy the Bunny Monsters. Fail—and this land will fall next."
The most renowned among them, Ichihara Academy, brought thirty elites. They split into two teams.
Team A – On the mountain:
4 Attackers (A-Rank)
2 Wizards (B & C-Rank)
2 Medics (both B-Rank)
2 Defenders (both A-Rank)
Team B – In the village:
A mix of Attackers and Defenders, all A and B Rank
Murmurs spread among the students.
"Tch," one arrogant Attacker scoffed. "Rabbits? This will be child's play."
The C-Rank wizard paled. "Did you not hear? They slaughtered fifteen hundred in a night…"
The Medic gave a cold smile. "Stay sharp. If you fall, I can patch you up. But don't expect me to sew pieces together if you're torn in half."
Lightning cracked across the sky as the students marched into formation.
_____
On one side of the storm stood Lei Shan silent, unseen, a one-man army with his Lord's blessing.
On the other, the Noblesse students—eager, proud, terrified, ready for blood.
And beyond them, in the depths of the Black Forest, the Bunny Monsters prepared to return.
The air trembled.The storm raged.
The Black Forest waited.
To b continue..