The corrupted howlers wasted no time. With snarls that cut through the thick mist, they lunged at the group, their movements disturbingly coordinated as if driven by a single, malevolent will.
One of them, larger than the rest, threw back its head and unleashed a piercing howl that reverberated through the fog like a psychic blade. It was a howler alpha.
The sound echoed not just through the air but through the mind. Those with weak resistance to mental attacks faltered, paralyzed by an overwhelming wave of fear.
Laverna felt the fear claw at the edge of her mind, foreign, invasive, cold. Her knees nearly buckled, but the presence beside her grounded her.
Shin's steady, unmoved stance was like an anchor. Her breathing steadied.
She clenched her jamadhars tighter and gritted her teeth. She could endure it—for him, for the mission.
Shin barely blinked. The fear washed over him like wind over stone.
He had faced true terror before, the kind that froze the soul and hollowed the heart. This was nothing in comparison.
Shin's crimson eyes sharpened. He moved precisely, intercepting the first howler mid-pounce with a crushing palm strike that sent it crashing into a tree.
Corrin staggered first, eyes wide with panic.
"Nope, no! I'm not dying here!" he screamed, breaking formation despite Laverna's command.
"Formation! Hold together!" Laverna barked, quickly taking the lead.
She parried another beast's lunge with her jamadhar, slicing through its neck with swift, brutal efficiency. Her razor-sharp instincts guided her movements as if she'd led dozens of battles before.
The panicked Corrin shoots his arrows in a panicked frenzy. The howlers dodge the arrows with ease, their gnawing hunger grows with each movement.
"Screw formation! I'm not dying here!" he shouted, breaking away from the group despite Shin and Laverna's shouts to hold his ground.
"Corrin, stay close!" Laverna called out, but it was too late.
A massive howler, larger than the others, shot out from the mist with blinding speed. Corrin barely managed to turn before the beast clamped its jaws around his torso, lifting him off the ground.
His scream echoed through the forest for only a moment before it was cut short, his body torn apart like a ragdoll. Blood splattered across the mist, staining it a ghastly crimson.
Misha screamed, her staff crackling with unstable magic. Grant gritted his teeth, slicing down an approaching beast with a roar of frustration and fear.
Misha gasped, her hands trembling as her staff slipped in her grip. Her eyes welled with panic, and she dropped to one knee, unable to breathe.
Grant felt the fear too, a chilling dread like icy fingers curling around his spine. He ground his teeth and slapped a gauntlet across Misha's cheek.
"Snap out of it! Look at me, Misha!"
She blinked, tears rolling down her cheeks, but her hands steadied. She nodded slowly, drawing in a shuddering breath just as Corrin was torn to shreds by the howlers.
The terror was real. But so was their resolve."Eyes forward!" Shin barked, his voice a grounding force amidst the chaos. "Mourn later! Survive now!"
Laverna swallowed the bile rising in her throat. Corrin's death was brutal, but it was a harsh lesson.
She couldn't afford to let emotion cloud her. Her focus sharpened to a deadly point.
They fought back to back, Shin and Laverna moving with a lethal synchronicity. Shin used the howlers' momentum against them, redirecting attacks with minimal effort and striking at joints and throats with bone-breaking precision.
His style was fluid and merciless. Laverna mirrored him, reading his movements and filling the gaps.
Her jamadhars danced in the mist, each swing deliberate and lethal. Her instincts led her well, and Shin couldn't help but feel a flicker of approval even amidst the carnage.
"They're enhanced," Shin muttered between blows, his sharp gaze catching the strange runes glowing faintly beneath the howlers' matted fur. "Experiments."
Misha, regaining some composure, unleashed a wave of fire that engulfed a group of lesser howlers. The flames bought them precious seconds to regroup.
Shin's mind raced. The carriage, the sigil, the traps—all signs pointed to the same hidden hand.
"We finish this," he said grimly to Laverna, "then we find out who's behind it."
Another howler lunged at Laverna. Without hesitation, Shin intercepted it, grabbing its forearm and twisting it mid-air before slamming it into the earth.
Bones cracked loudly, and the creature whimpered before Laverna finished it cleanly. The mist thinned slightly as their enemies fell, but the victory tasted bitter.
Corrin's remains lay crumpled and broken on the blood-soaked ground. Misha wiped at her face, shaking hands barely steady.
Grant remained stoic, but his fists were white-knuckled around his sword's hilt. "We need to find shelter," Laverna said, voice steady but hollow.
Shin nodded, casting a lingering glance toward the bloodied sigil on the ruined carriage. Whoever had unleashed these monsters wasn't just targeting civilians.
They were testing their creations. And Shin had a sinking feeling they were only scratching the surface of something far darker.
Misha's voice broke the heavy silence first.
"We need to head back to the capital. Report this… regroup."
She clutched her staff tighter, her knuckles pale. Her eyes darted nervously through the mist, as if expecting more horrors to lunge at them from the fog at any moment.
Grant grunted his agreement, wiping his blade clean with a torn scrap of cloth. "We're down a man. This wasn't what we signed up for."
Shin shook his head slowly, his expression unreadable. "Running back without answers won't solve anything."
His gaze sharpened, fixing on the ruined carriage and the faint trail of broken debris leading deeper into the woods. "There's more to this than a simple caravan raid. Someone wanted us here."
Laverna stepped beside him, her amber eyes hardening with resolve. "They picked us for a reason. This wasn't random. We can't leave empty-handed."
Before Misha could argue, Laverna crouched near one of the crates half-buried under rubble. She pried it open with her jamadhar, revealing a waterlogged satchel tucked beneath broken planks.
Inside was a worn map, its edges frayed but still legible enough to trace a path. It wound through the Alden Woods and ended at a spot ominously marked with a black circle.
At the edge of the map was a crude sketch. A cave, fronted by a massive stone door etched with ancient symbols.
Shin studied the map silently, a cold certainty settling over him. "They wanted survivors," he said quietly, half to himself. "They wanted to guide us."
Grant scowled. "You're saying they herded us here like cattle?"
Shin folded the map carefully and tucked it into his pocket where his orb was. "Maybe. But we're not cattle. We're Hunters."
He turned, his crimson eyes burning through the mist. "We finish what we started."
Laverna gave a small nod, steel in her spine. "Lead the way, Shin."
Misha hesitated, biting her lip before reluctantly following. Grant cursed under his breath but fell into step beside them.
As they moved deeper into the woods, toward whatever fate waited at the cave, Shin couldn't shake the feeling growing in his gut. Like threads woven by unseen hands, their paths were being tugged, twisted into patterns not of their own choosing.
It was as if fate itself was toying with their lives once more, dragging them relentlessly forward whether they wanted it or not. And somewhere ahead, past the mist and the blood and the broken bodies, answers awaited.
Or annihilation.