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Back to the present, Asher panted as he hid in the bushes, carefully observing the open field before him. In the field, ten gigantic wolves lay asleep, and nine of the wolves lay in a circle, the biggest of which lay asleep in the middle. The sound of snoring echoed as he slowly moved.
'Let's hope I survive.' Asher thought with a small smile, moving towards the wolves. The leaves rustled under the serene environment. Asher let out a small sigh, moving out of the bushes.
With a solemn expression, he started to move slowly toward the gigantic wolves. The wolves were blood-red crimson, each with a white 'V' mark on their foreheads. The V mark extended itself to white patterns until it reached their necks.
Suddenly, one of the wolves moved its leg, forcing Asher to halt in his place, blood draining from his face. The white tachi lay swiftly in his hands as he stepped forward once again.
'Three...'
The wolves moved lightly as Asher placed one of his hands in his pocket.
'Two.'
Asher moved slightly as he bent himself, his hand still inside his pocket.
'One.'
He moved towards the wolf nearest to him. Sweat dripped down to his forehead. With sweaty palms, he brought forward his white tachi.
'Now.' Instantly, he brought his hand out of his pocket, throwing a rock in the distance with immense force. The rock crashed against the boulder, near the wolf in the middle, waking it instantly.
The wolf wobbled up groggily as it let out a faint growl; its crimson fur waved as its three eyes snapped open. Asher's face broke into a grin as time seemed to slow down. With a fast motion, Asher threw the sword in the air, catching it like a spear.
Realizing someone was here, the wolf turned around its face...
However, it was too late.
A white blade pierced its eye as Asher ran towards him, putting more pressure on his blade. The wolf tried to let out a small screech, but it couldn't.
The wolf's eyes widened as it realized its throat had been sliced apart. Asher held the blade with both of his hands, holding a bloodied dagger by his teeth.
'I will massacre your existence.' Asher thought, hoping that the wolf would hear his hatred-filled voice.
The wolf let out a small growl as It fell to the ground, its crimson fur stained by its own blood. The grass beneath it got much more crimson due to the blood as Asher heard a mysterious voice.
[You have slain a beast with a Hint of Divinity: The Divine Fallen Apostle.]
Asher shrugged the voice off as he stood up. He turned around, facing the rest of the wolves, awoke with their bloodshot eyes. One of them let out a small growl in rage as it burst forward towards Asher.
Asher immediately brought out his tachi from the slain abomination, rushing forward toward the incoming behemoth. The behemoth jumped, and Asher immediately tried to halt himself, sliding across the plain field.
The Crimson Wolf fell behind him with its throat sliced apart. Asher had sliced its throat as he slid across the field. The other wolf let out a small growl as well before rushing back into the woods.
[You have slain a beast with a Hint of Divinity: The Follower of the Apostle]
Asher stood there as he looked at the retreating wolves. He let out a small chuckle, remembering how he used to run from these very wolves.
The grass crunched beneath Asher as the winds brushed his half-blood-stained hair. Asher tried to contemplate the names of the beasts, but he felt something stopping him from doing so.
'It's pointless.' Asher thought while shaking his head. Every time he tried to think about the voice, his thoughts simply vanished. Although he had the oblivion to know that he did think about that, he can't merely continue his contemplation.
The dark fissures in space were especially horrifying tonight. Every time Asher looked up, all he saw was the sky shattered like a glass with a moon shining in the middle, surrounded by black lines that were cracks in space.
Such lines spread through the sky in diverse places, creating a fantasy yet horrifying view. The strange bloody hue still tainted the grass and the leaves, albeit vaguely. Unless focused, it would be hard to distinguish.
'At least I got myself dinner.' Asher thought as he picked up the small wolf, leaving the big one's corpse alone.
A couple of hours had passed by since he had killed the abominations. At the moment, Asher was inside a small shack made of tree branches. Leaves covered its roof and its interior, giving shelter from the cold.
Inside the small shack, A campfire was ablaze as it roasted a huge chunk of meat. Just beside it was Asher, who had his arms behind his face, staring at the meat getting cooked.
'That Citadel. Why am I even going there?' Asher thought with a nonchalant expression. He still wasn't sure if it was the objective he had to achieve lay inside the Citadel.
"What if it's a trap?" Asher mumbled with a thoughtful sigh. The leaves beneath him crunched as he tried to get himself comfortable.
He had never gotten an education of any sort. So he didn't know what to do here.
'Am I supposed to enter one of those fissures?' Asher thought as he immediately shook his head afterwards.
Who the hell knew where would those goddamn fissures would take him? It felt like a death sentence to Asher.
"Ah well whatever, let's get eating. I should reach the Citadel by tomorrow."