They stood sealed beneath layers of steel and wire, separating the outpost from the forest beyond it. Six hunters waited near the fence, silent and watchful. Leon, Anya, and Maya approached them slowly, the sound fading just enough for unease to settle in its place.
When they arrived, Renji was the first to speak.
"Took you long enough," he said, arms crossed. "We've been waiting way too long."
Vireth let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Yeah. At this rate, I might've died of boredom before the mission even started."
Ise stood quietly beside them, gripping Kai tightly, her eyes fixed on the ground. She didn't say a word.
Zane didn't look at anyone. His mind was somewhere else, his eyes closed.
Nyrelle, on the other hand, was visibly shaking, her hands clenched as if trying to steady herself.
Before anyone else could speak, Maya stepped forward.
"That's enough," she said calmly, her voice cutting through the group. "Keep quiet."
All eyes turned to her except for Zane's, as his mind was still somewhere else and his eyes were still closed.
"My name is Maya," she continued. "I'm from Division Six, and I'm the one who called you all here."
She paused, letting her words settle.
"Some of you already know each other. Some of you don't. That changes today," Maya said. "From this point onward, you'll be working together, so I want everyone to introduce themselves properly."
Renji was the first to respond to Maya's request. He glanced toward her, then toward the gate behind her.
"Do we really have time to be introducing ourselves right now?"
Maya didn't hesitate. She met his gaze evenly.
"Yes," she said. "You all do. It won't take more than five minutes."
Renji opened his mouth to respond, but Vireth spoke before he could.
Vireth stepped forward with a lazy stretch, hands clasped behind his head.
"She's right. We've got time."
He tilted his head slightly, eyes half-lidded.
"Might as well get familiar with each other."
Renji clicked his tongue, then exhaled through his nose.
"Fine."
He stepped forward, boots scraping lightly against the ground.
"My name's Renji," he said flatly. "Most people just call me Ren."
His eyes swept across the group.
"I'm the strongest hunter on this mission. Mid B-rank."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"So if you don't want to die," Renji added, "stay close."
Vireth rolled his eyes.
"Here we go again with the Ren speech."
He straightened slightly.
"Name's Vireth. Basic B-rank. Second strongest here."
He smirked and gestured lazily toward Renji.
"Just one stage below our fearless leader."
Before anyone else could speak, a low voice cut in.
"I'm Zane," he said, lifting one of his arms from his pocket and slowly opening his eyes.
He didn't look at anyone. His gaze stayed fixed somewhere past the fence, with one arm resting inside his pocket.
"Mid C-rank," Zane added quietly.
Kai shifted his weight, his hands tucked into his pockets, with Ise standing close beside him and holding onto his sleeve.
"Guess I'm next," he said with a shrug.
"Name's Kai. Basic C-rank. And this is my partner, Ise. High D-rank."
Leon said nothing.
He stood slightly apart from the group, his eyes moving from face to face, silent and unreadable.
Anya noticed and stepped forward before the pause could grow awkward.
"I'm Anya," she said clearly. "Basic C-rank."
She hesitated, then nodded toward Leon.
"And Leon over here. He's low C-rank."
Nyrelle spoke quickly.
"I'm Nyrelle."
She flinched even as she spoke, her fingers gripping the edge of her bow. Her eyes darted briefly toward the forest before returning to the group.
"I am, uhhh…" she added. "Low D-rank."
She hid her face, feeling embarrassed. Her voice trembled just enough to be noticeable.
Maya watched them all, her arms crossed and her expression thoughtful.
"Good," she said after a moment. "Now you know where everyone stands."
Her gaze lingered briefly on Ise and Nyrelle.
"This is a B-ranked mission," Maya continued. "You'll need to work together whether you like it or not. Consider this your first team-up mission."
She then added,
"Although this is a squad mission, you will all be separated."
Nyrelle shouted as she heard the news.
"Wait, whattt!?"
As Maya was about to respond to Nyrelle's frustration, she was interrupted by Renji. He stepped forward to address her, standing in a proud posture.
"There will be no need for worry, madam," Renji said. "I will be your shield."
He said this with a brazen look on his face.
Maya replied,
"Sadly, you won't be on the same team, since you're separating into two teams. Renji and you, Nyrelle, will not be on the same team. Everything has already been prepared, and you'll be separating into two teams, as I already said."
She paused and took a breath.
"You'll be separating into teams organized by Miss Kira herself."
Leon thought to himself, Could this be the same Kira he knew?
Maya continued,
"Miss Kira suggested that the right team will be the team allowed to take the right path and face the Orc Lord. It will be Renji, of course, Leon, Anya, and lastly, Ise."
She shifted her gaze slightly.
"And on the left path, it will be Vireth, Zane, Kai, and Nyrelle."
She then stepped back and said,
"Hunters, now it's your time to do what you do best."
Nyrelle—who had never been brave to begin with—felt her thoughts spiral out of control.
*Oh no… I'll be on the weaker group,* she thought to herself, starting to shake.
*I won't have the strongest hunter with me.*
Her body trembled as the fear settled in.
*I'll be without Renji, the highest-ranked hunter among us.*
She stared ahead blankly as the thoughts raced through her mind.
Maya noticed her staring and said calmly,
"Nyrelle, every team here was assigned for a reason. Focus on what you can do out there."
She gestured slightly.
"No path is safe on a mission like this. Stay sharp and trust your judgment."
Her gaze briefly scanned the group. She knew fear before a mission was common, even among reliable hunters. It was something each of them had to master on their own.
Nyrelle, however, thought in panic, *Can she read my mind or something?*
Anya shifted her weight and exhaled quietly, her impatience starting to show.
She gripped Leon's hand at her side, pulling it back slightly, and looked up at him before shifting her gaze toward Maya.
Renji then said, "Alright then, what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here and kick some orcs."
Kai thought, "I won't be on the same team as Ise… That's a shame. I would've really liked to stay with my Ise."
He looked her in the eyes and asked quietly, "Will you be okay without me?"
Ise replied with a small smile, "I'll be fine. No need to worry."
The gates were then opened, and the hunters began walking inside.
Renji scoffed and said, "Why are you all walking so slowly? Pick up the slack."
They moved on, and a few minutes later, they reached two diverging paths. It was time to separate.
Kai felt a knot in his chest as he hesitated, nervous about leaving Ise alone with the rest of the group.
An hour later, on the left path, Vireth, Kai, and Nyrelle were surprised to find orc bodies everywhere they passed.
Zane suspected it was forbidden magic used by whoever controlled the forest, yet he didn't share that information with the others.
Nyrelle's whole body was shaking with fear, and she was biting her nails.
"I'm gonna die," she said in a low voice.
Vireth put his hand on Nyrelle's shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'm here."
She didn't reply, just continued biting into her nails and repeating the phrase, "I'm gonna die" over and over again.
Then, out of nowhere, an axe flew from the trees above and struck Nyrelle, It split her body into two, and her blood splashed everywhere.
They all froze, wondering what had just happened in such a short time, but Zane reacted quickly. He immediately ran an picked up a stone, and threw it at the two orcs standing in the tree above.
The stone missed and the orcs didn't move from their position; they just watched the three hunters.
On the right path, everyone faced the same problem—orcs' bodies were scattered everywhere they looked. They were shocked, but what surprised them most was the Orc Lord standing before them with a presence they had never felt before.
All of them were afraid, but Leon was grinning in the face of danger. Ise stood at the back. She launched a fireball toward the Orc Lord, but he reacted in time and hurled his axe toward her. It flew incredibly fast.
Renji tried to block it, but in the process,he lost one of his hands and the axe still hit Ise, knocking her to the ground and blood spilled from the wound on her head.
The orc lord jumped from the tree landing on Ise crushing her body and bones looked at the injured Renji in front of him. The orc lord smiled out of Joe.
Renji tried to fight back but was punched in the stomach so hard that he fell to the ground at the same time.
The orc lord grabbed Renji and started ripping him apart .
Leon and Anya ran at the orc lord simultaneously and started kicking the Orc Lord so quickly that he didn't even manage to dodge. They struck the same spot at once, but he was so strong he barely felt it. He reached down and grabbed both of them by the legs.
He started spinning them in the air like they were pieces of paper, then tossed them away. They crushed in the trees, the force of the impact snapped the branches.
Anya couldn't handle the force and fainted. Leon slowly stood up, blood coming out on his face.
He brushed the blood off his head and struggled to take a step forward. Then he said, "Guess you're the real deal. You took down my group in seconds. I may be weak right now, but I won't let you step on my sister and get away with it."
The orc lord had a hard time talking, so it walked over Ise, picked her head up, and ate it.
After eating it, he was finally able to talk. It wasn't easy, but he now had intelligence greater than an ordinary human.
He looked at Leon and asked, "What are you?" Leon didn't answer.
The Orc Lord grew frustrated—those were his first words, and he got no reply. He started to think Leon was underestimating him.
The Orc Lord then walked over to Anya who was on conscious and kicked her, trying to provoke Leon.
Leon's mana began to rise, but it still wasn't enough to make him fully angry.
The orc lord grinned, realizing that anger was the key to drawing out Leon's mana.
He grabbed Anya by the head and lifted her up, then looked at Leon and said, "So what is so special about you? Why haven't I attacked you, and why am I still playing games with you?"
Leon was enraged. He couldn't find the words to answer. His thoughts were a mess as he saw his sister in pain, and he could barely think straight. All he could feel was anger.
He moved so quickly that the orc lord didn't even see him coming, he grabbed the orc lord's hand so tightly that it was forced to release Anya.
Then Leon kicked it upward so fast the orc lord could barely track his movement. With a powerful punch to the stomach, he sent the orc lord flying far away. It crashed through trees and landed hard, it started to feel pain for the first time.
The orc Lord grinned as he watched Leon transform. Fur began to grow on Leon's hands, and sharp fangs showed at the corners of his mouth. His eyes turned red, and claw-like nails formed at his fingertips. His body grew larger, and with every second, his speed, strength, and mana increased.
The Orc Lord watched with interest and said, "That's why I didn't finish you first—I wanted you for myself."
Then he raised one hand and declared, "Forbidden magic—demon god's armor, grant me power."
Dark magic formed armor around his body. It was strong but light, letting him move freely. Two large axes appeared in his hands, summoned by the spell. In exchange for this power, he gave up his army.
Chapter >2 { The Beast Within}