The beast struck first.
A wall of silver fur and muscle surged out of the trees, maw opening wide enough to swallow a man whole. Its roar shredded the night, sending flocks of crows screaming from their roosts. The pines shook as if a storm had been loosed.
Karahad did not move until the beast was already upon him. His eyes — cold, pale, unblinking — watched the creature's fangs descend.
Then the shadow beneath his boots rose like water.
A black Veil spread outward, cloaking him in darkness. The beast's jaws closed, but it found only mist. Its teeth shattered empty air as Karahad slipped aside in silence, reappearing ten paces away.
The A-rank monster snarled, whipping its massive head toward him. Its form was lupine yet warped — a direwolf touched by mana's corruption. Veins of pale light pulsed beneath its skin, and every step it took cracked the soil as if the land itself could not bear its weight.
