The pack charged all at once. Three wolves leaped from the left, their skulls splitting open to launch their deadly tongues.
The girl didn't move until the last second. She drew her blade in a circular motion, the steel humming a sharp, melodic note. In one fluid strike, she parried the first two tongues and sliced the third clean off.
She stepped forward, her movements are a deadly dance. One wolf dashed for her throat, but she ducked down, letting the beast fly past. As it flew above her, she drove her sword upward through its chest cutting it into two vertical halves.
Before the body even hit the ground, she had already spun around to face two more.
The wolves realized their tongues weren't enough. They began to circle her, snapping their jaws and charging in from different angles. One wolf managed to get behind her, launching its tongue at her neck. Without looking, she leaned her head to the side, the tongue missing by a hair, and caught the fleshy muscle with her bare hand.
With a burst of strength, she pulled the wolf toward her and decapitated it with a single, horizontal slash.
The ground became a mess of black fur and crimson blood. The remaining wolves grew desperate, their howls turning into high-pitched screams. They launched a coordinated attack, five of them jumping at once to overwhelm her.
The girl took a deep breath. Her sword began to glow with a soft, red light. She moved so fast she became a silver blur. Slash. Thrust. Parry. In a matter of seconds, she moved through the pack like a storm. The sound of clashing steel and tearing flesh filled the air.
When she finally came to a halt, she flicked the blood off her blade with a sharp motion. Behind her, the five wolves stood frozen for a heartbeat before their bodies slid apart, perfectly divided by her strikes.
The forest went silent once more. The girl sheathed her sword and turned back to the young man, her red eyes filled with enthusiasm.
The silence of the forest was broken not by a threat, but by a soft sparkling light. With a casual flick of her wrist, the girl's heavy, glowing armor vanished into thin air, stored away in her invisible inventory.
Underneath, she wore much simpler attire: a loose-fitting white tunic with rolled, durable sleeves, dark travel trousers tucked into lightweight leather boots. The transition made her look less like a master of war and more like a high-spirited traveler.
"Ugh, that's so much more comfortable!" she exclaimed, stretching her arms toward the sky. "Maintaining that armor is way above my current rank. It's a nightmare to keep it active for too long."
Her demeanor shifted instantly. The icy warrior vanished, replaced by the energy of an enthusiastic big sister. Her red eyes glittered like dancing flames as she hopped over a fallen log and marched straight up to the young man. She leaned in close, her face beaming with curiosity.
"Hey! You still with me? Are you okay? Any broken bits?" she asked, her voice bubbling with excitement.
The young man blinked, stunned by her sudden change in personality. "I... I think I'm fine," he stammered, wiping a smear of black wolf blood from his cheek. "Aside from the blood on my face and my hands being a mess, I'm alive."
"Good! Because dying is a real mood killer," she joked, giving him a playful pat on the shoulder that nearly knocked the wind out of him. She tilted her head, her eyes scanning him intensely. "So, what's your name ?"
He looked down at his scarred hands. "I don't know. I just woke up in this forest a few days ago. I don't remember anything before that."
Instead of looking concerned, the girl's eyes widened with even more enthusiasm. She leaned in even closer, practically vibrating with energy. "No memory? Woke up in the woods? This is getting better and better!" Suddenly, her expression turned serious, though her eyes remained bright. "Strip."
The young man froze. "Excuse me?"
"Your shirt. Take it off. I need to confirm something," she said, reaching for his collar.
"Wait! What are you doing? We just met!" he cried out, backpedaling in a panic. "I appreciate the help with the wolves, but this is moving a bit fast!"
"Oh, don't be a baby! It's for science, well, magical science!" she laughed.
Before he could protest further, she moved with a speed he couldn't track. She used a burst of her power to pin his arms, playfully subduing him. While he let out a comical cry of protest, she expertly pulled the tattered fabric from his torso.
In that moment of struggle, despite his embarrassment, he couldn't help but notice her up close. Without the intimidating armor, her beauty was unmatched, her features were delicate yet strong, and her scent was like fresh rain. He hadn't noticed it when he was about to die, but now, it was undeniable.
"Found it!" she shouted, ignoring his red face.
She wasn't looking at his muscles; she was staring at his back. There, etched into his skin, was a special scar pattern, a complex glowing mark that looked like a lightning strike.
To his shock, the girl's energetic mask broke. Her eyes filled with tears of pure joy. She let out a sob of happiness, her face glowing with a level of relief he couldn't understand. "It's really you," she whispered, her voice trembling. "You're actually here."
The young man scrambled to retrieve his shirt from her hands, covering himself quickly. "I don't understand. What are you talking about? What is that mark?"
She opened her mouth to answer, her eyes shining with the secret she was about to reveal. But she never got the chance.
Whiz!
From the deep shadows of the forest, a branch as sharp as a spear flew through the air at the speed of sound. The girl's instincts kicked in instantly. Without a second thought, she shoved the young man aside with all her might.
The spear-like branch found its mark.
It slammed into her back, piercing through her right lung and erupting out of her chest in a spray of crimson. The girl gasped, a thick trail of blood coughing out from her lips. She collapsed to her knees, the light in her red eyes flickering.
The young man watched in horror, his heart dropping into his stomach. His savior, the girl who had just been laughing and crying with joy, was now pale and broken on the dirt.
"No!" he screamed, reaching out for her as the shadows of the forest began to move again.