Axel had found a figure in the ancient records that matched the creature he had killed. It must be a Wendigo. It was described as a creature that loved human flesh and could hibernate for long periods of time without feeding, much like a hibernation. This hibernation could last for many years, and the Wendigo was said to be as intelligent as a human.
Though normally calm, Axel was now excited. He had found another piece of evidence to support what he had been deducing all along. He thought he could find more.
Maxwell looked at Axel and said, "They say it is as intelligent as a human. Have you ever tried to talk to it?" "No," Axel was sure the creature would not communicate. Axel never trusted the words of an enemy. If the creature had something true to say, it would have pleaded in the face of death.
If the Wendigo gave them false information, it could cast doubt on their investigation. Axel didn't want to get involved with something he couldn't verify as true or false.
He didn't think the Wendigo knew much, despite its intelligence as described in the records, because its activities, according to the records, involved feeding and sleeping.
"Why didn't you try to talk? Maybe we could have learned something," Maxwell looked at Axel curiously. "I was sure it wouldn't talk," Axel replied, and Maxwell fell silent after that. He didn't comment on what was true or not because he wasn't sure.
Axel had entered the forest before the RV reached the town. They usually preferred to stay in the woods. Axel wanted to do some exploring today while Felix and Maxwell replenished the RV's water and fuel supplies.
Given the supernatural nature of the missing persons cases, Axel decided to conduct his investigation in the woods. After dressing appropriately for the forest, he strapped his axes to his belt and retrieved a map of the area from a drawer in the RV.
Maxwell usually got maps of the places they were going to in advance, and these maps had accumulated in the drawer.
With the map in hand, Axel got out of the RV. Felix started to drive the RV after Axel got out. As they went their separate ways, Axel explored the woods. He wanted to take a shortcut through the woods to get to a paved road.
The common denominator among the missing people was that they had passed this road. Despite extensive police investigations, nothing had been found. Recent announcements advised against using the road.
Now only the police were using the road. They disguised themselves as civilians to fool the culprit. However, things didn't go as planned and two policemen went missing. After that incident, everyone believed that the area was cursed, and even the police were reluctant to go there.
Axel's biggest suspicion was a vampire coven. A single vampire couldn't have killed so many people in such a short time. Another point was that despite extensive searches, no bodies or traces of missing persons were found, even in the forest.
These vampires could be hiding the bodies. Axel couldn't figure out how they did it.
"Could there be another Wendigo?" The question lingered in Axel's mind. Wendigos only ate human flesh. But the Wendigos had left some clues. Perhaps there could be an evolved version of a Wendigo.
According to ancient records, there were creatures stronger than Wendigos. While Axel wasn't afraid of them, the appearance of such a creature would mean that humanity was discovering a part of the supernatural world. If humans discovered these creatures, vampires might be next.
At that time, people didn't believe in things that were found in ancient ruins or Egyptian pyramids because there wasn't a single piece of evidence to prove their existence. But if they found such evidence, their first step would be to confirm its authenticity.
Axel believed that the likelihood of humans and vampires living together peacefully was very small. The majority would want to destroy the vampires. Some would want to experiment on them. A great war might break out. Axel didn't want to live in a chaotic world.
Sometimes Axel thought what the Volturi were doing was right. Those men may have been blinded by power and foolish, but they did a good job of keeping vampires from being discovered.
Axel knew that if he wasn't ruthless, other vampires wouldn't fear them. If the Volturi weren't ruthless, vampires wouldn't take them seriously. For now, Axel didn't mind the existence of such a group, so he never fought with them. But if the Volturi made trouble for Axel, he could kill them.
If there was a community, a leader or responsible individual would be needed. The Volturi did that reasonably well. There was no guarantee that the next leader would be any better. Most creatures became arrogant when they gained power. Axel wasn't one of them. He just wanted to be free. He would do whatever he wanted.
Axel wasn't always selfish. In a war between humans and vampires, he was immortal thanks to his abilities. But he cared about Felix and Maxwell. He cared about their safety, so he was careful.
As the sun moved across the sky, Axel reached the road rumored to be cursed. The area was eerily quiet. Not a single living creature was in sight. Occasionally, birds could be seen flying in the sky. The sun shone down from above.
After examining the road, Axel began to walk as if stranded at the roadside. He walked through the tall trees along the road.
He had seen some animals on the way, but hadn't seen any people yet. But then he came across a car. The car doors were locked. There was no one inside, and it was clear that no one had forced their way into the car. Since the car windows were completely closed, he couldn't smell what was inside.
Axel began to look around the car. When a strong wind blew, Axel caught the scent of blood. He followed the scent and looked for its source. When he found drops of blood on the ground, he traced them with his finger and brought them to his nose. As he smelled it, he opened his eyes. The blood was human. Axel couldn't smell anything else, no matter how hard he tried.
Axel had many suspicions. If a vampire had been hunting humans, it would have killed the people on this farm. If it had been a Wendigo, it would have done the same thing. Something else had to be at work.
As Axel walked through the corn stalks, he picked up his axe. He concentrated on the scents of the humans he had detected, but they didn't speak. Axel wondered how to handle this situation as he approached.
In truth, this situation didn't concern Axel, but considering the possibility of a vampire army forming, he wanted to check this place out. There had to be a reason why the bodies of the missing had not been found.
Axel emerged from the corn stalks. The farmhouse was in sight and no one was in the yard. Axel sensed one person in the barn and several others in the house.
Axel didn't want his face to be seen in a situation where he wouldn't kill the person in front of him. If the people on that farm were innocent, Axel would be in trouble.
Axel took a black mask from his belt and tied it over his face. His mouth and nose were covered. Only the tip of his nose was exposed. Since he sensed only humans around, he put away his axe and