Echoes in the Void
Zeron was about to kick off the ground with the little brat and Flone clutched tightly in his arms when the space twisted. At least, that was how Zeron perceived it. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in what could only be called a cave. Not a single ray of sunlight pierced the darkness, yet somehow a faint, hazy glow allowed him to see.
"Little brat…!"
But he had no time to worry about that. The little brat he'd been holding had vanished. His body stiffened instantly. Grim thoughts flashed through his mind. The dreams he'd had. The corpse on the mountain path. Red hair. Elena, resurrected as an undead.
Zeron's expression hardened like stone. He quickly pieced together what had happened. The resistance he'd unconsciously put up when the space warped. It must have flung him out. In other words, the little brat and Flone were likely still together. That brought him a small measure of relief.
Then there was no time to waste. Zeron immediately began to move. He suppressed his presence as much as possible while pushing his speed to the limit. Even as his feet struck the ground, they made no sound. The faintly glowing walls blurred past him. At the same time, he expanded his senses.
But the range was far narrower than he'd expected. That strange aura the Void emitted filled the space, interfering with his perception.
"Tsk."
Just as he clicked his tongue, something brushed against his senses. It wasn't the little brat. It was a Void.
Zeron melted into the dim darkness and surged forward.
- Grrrr…
By sheer coincidence, the creatures had taken the same form he'd seen before. Wolves. No problem for Zeron, but a different story for the little brat. Impatience flared inside him.
He darted past them in a blur, drawing both swords in one fluid motion.
Swish—
Something sliced through the air. Zeron didn't even glance back as he leaped forward. Behind him, six wolves crumbled to ash. Gray powder swirled in the air, and through the haze, six beads rolled across the ground. He would've loved to smash them, but he couldn't spare even that split second. Zeron simply ran.
His chest burned. Pain shot through his limbs. The more he pushed his broken body, the closer it came to shattering, but this was no time to care. He hurled himself past the limits he'd set, pouring everything into every stride. His form became the wind itself. In the pitch-black cave, the Sword Demon's eyes drew a crimson line through the dark.
*
"Where… are we…?"
Medeia huddled in on herself, eyes darting around nervously. It was dark. The walls gave off a faint glow, but her visibility was still severely limited.
"Medeia…"
"Ah, Flone."
She sighed in relief at the presence of her friend beside her and reached out. Flone took her hand and scooted closer, whispering.
"…What the hell just happened?"
"I don't know either. I think I saw Oppa rushing toward us right before…"
"Instructor Zeron? Then where is he?"
"I don't know… I can't see him…"
Medeia ran her hand along the cave wall. It was rough and cold. This didn't feel like a dream.
"Let's just wait here for now. Oppa will come find us."
"Yeah. It'd be bad if we started wandering and missed each other…"
The two of them sank to the ground. The atmosphere felt unnervingly eerie, sending shivers down their spines. Medeia fiddled with her gun to keep from being swallowed by the mood. She poured mana into it, and with a sharp click, the rifle transformed into a sniper rifle. She swapped the magazine for sniper rounds and peered through the scope toward the far end of the cave.
The scope doubled as night vision, so she could see much farther than with the naked eye. And that's when she spotted a silhouette.
Is that Oppa? she thought at first, but no. It looked like a dog. Though calling it a dog wasn't quite right. It was more like a savage hound shrunk down to a smaller size. Medeia watched it curiously.
- Bark!
It let out a sharp yelp. Immediately, similar-looking dogs began gathering around it. Roughly six in total. That's when a memory from the past surfaced in Medeia's mind.
The ash-gray wolves that had torn through space. The suffocating killing intent they'd radiated. And now these ash-gray dogs in front of her, emitting that same skin-crawling aura.
"Flone!"
Without hesitation, Medeia shouted and pulled the trigger.
Thump—!
The suppressor kept the gunshot quiet. A mana-infused bullet pierced straight through one of the creatures. Its body turned to ash and scattered.
"Got it!"
Flone reacted instantly as well, thanks to having already tensed up at the barking. Dogs charged in from the edge of their dim vision. They were faster than expected. Flone raised her greatsword and stood protectively in front of Medeia.
- Bark! Bark!
Another dog howled. Thump—! A second bullet tore through another body. The four remaining dogs lunged at Flone with snapping jaws. She swung her greatsword in a wide arc.
Whoosh—!
Thud, thud—!
The struck dogs were sent flying. One that had somehow dodged lunged at her with open jaws. Flone thrust her arm forward, gritting her teeth against the pain she knew was coming.
But then—
Pew—!
A smaller gunshot rang out, and the dog was blasted backward. Medeia had drawn her backup pistol and fired a rapid burst of mana-charged shots.
Pew—! Pew—! Pew—!
The dog that took three consecutive shots to the head disintegrated into ash. But it wasn't over. The three that had been knocked away by Flone's greatsword shook their heads and charged again.
Thump—!
The sniper rifle cracked. Two more dogs rushed in.
"Haaap—!"
Boom—!
Flone brought her greatsword crashing down.
'Yelp—!'
One dog with its head crushed turned to ash. At the same time, she rammed her shoulder into the one on her left.
Thud—!
Her shoulder charge smashed into its head. As it staggered back, Flone brought her greatsword up in a rising slash.
- Yipe!
Its head jerked upward. Then came the final thump—! After the gunshot, silence fell over the cave.
"Haa… haa…"
Flone dropped to the ground, gasping for breath. Her whole body was trembling. She'd improved a bit during field training, but real combat was something else entirely. An isolated cave with no one to help them. Being directly exposed to that killing intent made even breathing feel difficult.
"Flone… are you okay?"
"Y-yeah… I'll be fine after I rest a little…"
Flone leaned against Medeia as she drew closer. She was so glad her friend was with her. If she'd been alone… ugh, just imagining it was terrifying. Flone rubbed her increasingly cold fingertips and whined to Medeia.
"Medeia… Instructor Zeron will come, right…?"
She knew she shouldn't act like this, but she desperately wanted someone to lean on. Medeia must be struggling too… yet she still craved her warmth.
"Yeah. I definitely saw Oppa. If it's him, he'll definitely come find me."
Medeia pulled Flone into a tight embrace as she spoke. The scent that had brushed her nose right before they entered the cave. The warmth. The feeling of being held. It had definitely been Oppa. And she had absolute faith that he would come looking for her. That's just the kind of person he was.
He'd definitely come running from far away soon, panting for breath. He'd brush back his sweat-soaked hair and pull her into his arms, asking, 'You okay, little brat?'
"Hehe…"
A small smile tugged at Medeia's lips. Memories from her childhood came flooding back. This time too, just like back then…
"M-Medeia…!"
But what emerged from the far side of the cave wasn't Oppa.
Ash Wolf Alpha
Killing Intent: MAX
- Grrrrr…
An ash-gray wolf radiating suffocating killing intent. Medeia could barely breathe under its overwhelming presence as she gripped her gun tightly.
"Oppa…"
She wanted to see him so badly.
*
He kicked off the ground. The scenery whipped past in a blur. Yet the fire in his chest only burned hotter.
"Where the hell…!"
Kwaaahk—!
The Void creatures were sliced apart by his swinging blades. Zeron gasped for air and kicked off the ground again. The cave was like an ant nest—twisting and complex. And it was packed with Void entities. There weren't an unnaturally huge number of them, but every encounter still made his heart sink.
"Where are you…"
There were too many creatures the little brat couldn't handle. If she ran into anything resembling a wolf, it would be truly dangerous. As time passed, his anxiety only grew. His breathing became more labored, and his overworked body creaked in protest. The ones who should have been dying without even being able to react were the Void. Yet it was Zeron who was slowly growing exhausted.
"Fuck…"
Even so, Zeron kept running. He no longer bothered hiding his presence. He'd only done so before because some of them took time to deal with. Now, the best option was to run as fast as possible, presence be damned.
"Huk… huk…"
His lungs screamed for oxygen, twisting painfully. His bones felt like they were being crushed. His muscles shrieked as they were wrung dry. Even then, more Void creatures appeared. Zeron swung his swords as he ran.
Slash—!
He drove between two of them, swinging both blades. He brought the two swords together to slit the throat of the one in front of him. His right sword drew a complex straight line. His left sword stabbed into a body and exploded it from within. He kicked a head to pieces, then smashed another with his own skull. Most couldn't even react. The rest reacted and still died.
Leaving the swirling ash behind, he kicked off the ground again, but this damned maze showed no sign of ending.
"Little brat…!"
He even shouted, trying to draw the surrounding Void toward himself.
Little brat…! Brat…! Ah…!
His voice echoed off the cave walls. Yet all that stretched before him was still more endless darkness.
"You fucking—!"
Kwaaaaaang—!
A desperate sword strike smashed into the cave itself. In that instant, Zeron stopped dead in his tracks and strained his ears. He ignored the screams of his lungs demanding oxygen. He silenced the violent pounding of his heart and focused solely on his hearing.
……Thump.
A faint gunshot reached him. After that, no other sound followed. His heart plummeted.
No way…
As if to deny the thought, he kicked off the ground. The scenery blurred past. He cut down every Void he encountered along the way. He ran like a madman toward the source of the sound.
And what he found was…
"No…!"
A pool of deep, vivid red blood.