Near the village, while people were busy taking refuge in their homes, a wild-looking man found himself in its confines.
His silver hair and blue eyes gave off an icy air. The man was Alseif, a trusted follower of Kaleichrom, who for safety's sake sent him as a back-up plan in case of the unexpected.
So while Scarn attracted the attention of all the men in the village, no one noticed his presence.
Alseif's plan was very specific, namely, to cover Scarn's retreat once the targets were captured.
How? Very simply, by sowing death and destruction in the village. What simpler plan for the greedy hunter that he was.
The evil behind Alseif's expression was as great as Kaleichrom's, if not greater. That's why he was very much in tune with his lord's plans for conquest.
He didn't care about glory and honour, he only cared about satisfying his whims, despite his noble and unchanging appearance, he had a rather distorted character.
This made him far more dangerous than Scarn, who did not hesitate to display his brutality.
Alseif walked with an unconcerned air, as if the problems of the world were not his own, and he was just a step away from crossing the village border.
However, when his foot was a hair's breadth from touching the village ground, his expression changed.
"Wolf, set foot in the village and it will be the last thing you do in your ignoble life."
A man's commanding voice boomed in his mind, like thunder beating with immense roar on the earth.
"W-who the hell are you?"
Alseif let out a choked voice.
His body was paralyzed by the destructive power that surrounded him; it was as if a giant boulder had settled behind his back.
What's more, he couldn't feel a thing, he had no idea where this immense power came from or who it belonged to.
Of one thing he was sure, the power that surrounded him was infinitely greater than his own.
"Who I am is none of your business, you have chosen the wrong village for your raids, go back to your forest if you do not wish to face my wrath. This is my last warning!"
As the voice vanished into thin air, the pressure on Alseif also vanished, causing him to fall backwards.
Alseif's expression was pale and unwatchable at the same time, fear and frustration mixed with anger and resentment harboured within him.
However, he couldn't help but think back to the behaviour of the dangerous individual in the village, if he was so powerful why didn't he kill him on the spot.
Alseif pondered for some time before recomposing his usual impassive expression and leaving.
"That's all I can do..."
The voice that intimidated the dangerous Alseif changed tone, inside his study the man sighed with a distressed air. If Rada had been there, he would have been extremely surprised to know how mysterious his elderly master was.
The village elder hid more secrets than anyone could have imagined. However, for some strange reason his behaviour was completely different from what could be expected in that situation.
Still cowering in a bush, Rei tried to make as little noise as possible, even her breathing was almost inaudible.
She didn't know how long she had been stuck there, only that the bear was still there, surveying the area, and didn't seem to have any intention of moving.
Surprisingly, however, something caught the bear's attention and it immediately moved into a fighting stance.
The girl looked curiously at it his behaviour, apparently there were others in the vicinity, this relieved her, it was the right opportunity to get out of there.
The mighty scarlet bear immediately sensed the danger, but had no chance to reconsider, as three ravenous wolves emerged from the trees nearby and surrounded him.
He tried to extricate himself by making the most of his natural defences and the power of his claws, a black aura like the night covered his coat and he prepared for the attack.
But it wasn't as easy as it looked; the wolves didn't seem at all surprised by the bear's impetuousness.
Although their aura was a little fainter than the bear's, the colour was the same, meaning that they too were in the Hunter stage, but for a little less time than the bear.
Rei looked at the scene shocked.
(How is such a thing possible...)
She was speechless, she could imagine everything but three wolves with power not much less than the bear.
The forest he was in was a place specially chosen by the village elders where he could start the Wild Hunt.
He knew there was a probability of danger, but not to that extent.
The participants were young possessors who barely made it to the Materialisation stage, it was unthinkable for them to hunt a beast at the hunter stage.
But now there were four beasts at the Hunter stage in front of her! Three of which were from the same group.
The wolves especially had a great deal of understanding in groups, which made them extremely dangerous. On top of that, they were visibly more majestic than the usual ones she was used to seeing.
(Where did these wolves come from...) she couldn't help but wonder.
The situation was not looking good for her, if for some strange reason one of the beasts noticed her presence, it would be the end. The only thing that reassured her was the fact that she was completely covered in mud and her scent was practically imperceptible.
Every cloud has a silver lining after all.
Frightened by what she was seeing, Rei tried to hold back her emotions. Only a clear mind and a quiet spirit had any chance of surviving in such a situation.
However, something happened that shocked both her and the scarlet bear.
From a nearby bush, a person emerged. A tall and sturdy man with slightly dark skin, even his hair was dark, but his eyes seemed to burn like torches.
"Hurry up and finish him off!"
The man with extreme indifference spoke to the wolves, the imposing scarlet bear was less than nothing to him.
The wolves waited no longer and threw themselves at the bear without any scruples.
The fight did not last long and the bear had a few moments to retaliate, his power was not inferior to theirs, but the numerical advantage, added to their extraordinary strength was too much even for him.
A few moments later:
"Fshh!"
One of the three wolves jumped against the bear's throat and tore it out while the other two held his upper limbs in place. It looked like a real assault between humans, while two held the victim in place, a third struck him.
Paling at the sight of the wolves' extraordinary coordination, she saw one of the three wolves retrieve the bear's core and give it to the man.
(Who is he? Why do the wolves seem to listen to him?) the girl wondered.