Alicarde glanced at his phone. It was 7:30. That demanding witch Malefica wanted him in her office by 8 PM sharp, and he couldn't be late. He had to find Anne first. He didn't understand why Elizalina had suddenly confessed to him, but he would settle that problem later. For now, talking to Anne came first.
Anne was a smart girl. She would have figured out he was just intimidated by the large crowd and didn't want to hurt Elizalina. He was well aware that she didn't like Elizalina one bit.
He placed his phone in his shallow jacket pocket and held the straps of his guitar case, which contained his sword. He always carried it with him. As he searched the deserted area, far from the crowd, he kept his senses alert.
After leaving the crowd behind, he finally found Anne. She was alone and hadn't noticed him, her expression tense, suggesting she was in a sour mood.
Before he could call out to her, his voice choked in his throat at what he saw.
Anne had just turned to face it, and her face mirrored the fear that hit Alicarde's chest like a hammer. The creature was the incarnation of dread. Its hunched, muscular body, grotesquely powerful, loomed over her. Elongated limbs ended in sickle-like claws, sharp enough to carve through flesh with ease.
Its head was a nightmare, twisted and gnarled, with pointed ears and a maw filled with jagged fangs. A sinister snarl was permanently etched into its hideous face, dripping with menace.
As it unleashed its aura of paralyzing fear, Anne froze, her body trembling as pure terror overwhelmed her. Alicarde didn't hesitate—his legs moved before he could think, adrenaline pushing him into action.
"Anne! Anne! Get away from there, Anne!" His voice cracked with urgency, but it was useless. The monstrous figure gripped her in its clawed hands and, with a horrifying leap, bolted off into the darkness.
The blaring music drowned out his scream, and no one in the distant crowd noticed as the creature snatched his friend. Desperation surged in his veins. He activated his body-enhancing magic, sprinting after it with reckless abandon.
The twisted creature, with its hideous legs, sped through the campus grounds, holding Anne's limp body.
Evergreen University was massive, and most of its grounds were still left to nature. The creature shot into the dense woods, its movements almost like an animal, leaping from tree to tree as the darkness swallowed it whole.
But Alicarde was not one to give up easily. His body was pushed to the limit, weaving through the trees, his training with Argint coming to life. She had taught him how to move with speed and agility—werewolf techniques to mimic their natural grace and raw power. And he used every ounce of that now.
The creature was a blur, its limbs slicing through the foliage like a scythe through grain. Its glowing red eyes blazed with malevolence as it carried Anne deeper into the woods.
The terrain became rougher, and the creature moved with frightening speed, leaping over rocks, sliding under fallen logs, and darting across streams.
Branches whipped across Alicarde's face, tearing at his clothes, but he pressed on, every cut and scrape healing almost instantly due to his magic-enhanced endurance.
The gap between them was growing. Alicarde's desperation deepened, fear for Anne's safety gnawing at his core. He grabbed a stick, intending to hurl it like a spear at the creature, but quickly abandoned the idea. One wrong move, and Anne would be the one paying the price.
He grit his teeth and pushed his body harder, the sound of his breath ragged in his ears. They emerged from the woods onto the outskirts of the forest, where the ground sloped downward toward the city.
The creature didn't hesitate. With Anne clutched in its grip, it leapt off a cliff, disappearing into the dizzying drop below. Alicarde followed without thinking, diving after them.
The wind howled in his ears as he fell, his body spinning midair. Gravity pulled him down fast, but not fast enough. He stretched his arms out, desperately trying to close the gap between him and the creature.
The moment of impact was brutal—his feet slammed into the ground with a loud thud, and he rolled across the rough terrain. His bruises began healing almost immediately, his body's regenerative abilities already working to patch him up.
The creature had already gained ground, sprinting toward the city, but Alicarde was right behind it. He could see the distant glow of the city lights as the creature climbed the sides of buildings with alarming speed, gouging deep marks in the brick and concrete as it ascended.
Alicarde jumped onto the nearest building, his fingers scraping for purchase on the jagged edges. His muscles ached with magic-fueled strength, but he pushed on, driven by the thought of saving Anne.
They moved like phantoms through the city, the creature darting over rooftops, slipping through narrow alleys, and leaping across streets in a blur of motion.
Alicarde was relentless in his pursuit, his eyes locked onto the fiend, knowing he couldn't let it escape with Anne.
At one point, the creature stopped, seemingly annoyed by his persistence. With a snarl, it ripped a large metal water tank off a rooftop and hurled it at Alicarde.
He barely managed to roll out of the way as the tank crashed down, sending shards of metal and water spraying across the rooftop.
The creature leaped into a dark alley, running along the walls with terrifying agility. Alicarde followed, adrenaline surging through him.
"Damn it, goddammit," he cursed under his breath, frustration boiling over.
In a moment of improvisation, he snatched the lid of a trash can and flung it like a Frisbee at the creature. It connected, sending the creature tumbling onto a pedestrian street below. The few passersby who caught a glimpse were frozen in shock and confusion, but Alicarde didn't stop to explain.
The creature dashed into another alley, climbing the walls of a smooth skyscraper as if gravity meant nothing. Alicarde cursed again as he tried to leap after it, but his human hands found no purchase on the slick glass. He could only watch in horror as the creature vanished over the rooftop, taking Anne with it.
"NO! NO!" His voice cracked as despair clawed at his throat. He reached the top of the building, but the creature had disappeared. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
"No… no… Anne… no, no, noooo…" His fists pounded the ground with fury, cracking the concrete beneath him as his screams echoed through the empty rooftop.
"I can't give up. I won't give up." Alicarde forced himself to his feet, his resolve hardening. But as he reached into his jacket pocket for his phone, panic set in. It was gone—lost in the chaos of the chase. His only means of contacting anyone had slipped away.
He felt the walls closing in around him. Alone. Lost. His heart raced with dread as his mind filled with the worst possibilities for Anne. But he couldn't let those thoughts consume him. There had to be a way.
As he stood, scanning the rooftop for any sign of the creature, a thought struck him.
"The marks..." He whispered, his eyes narrowing.
The creature had left claw marks everywhere during the chase. He could follow them.
With renewed determination, he scoured the rooftop, searching for any sign of its trail. After a tense ten minutes, he found it—a faint but unmistakable set of gouges leading in one direction.
Toward the docks.
"Hold on, Anne, I'm coming." His voice was cold with resolve as he drew his sword from the guitar case. His heart beat steadily, not with fear, but with purpose. The Alicarde who once feared monsters was long gone. He had grown, and nothing would stand between him and saving his friend.
Without another moment's hesitation, he sprinted into the night, following the creature's trail, vowing to hunt it down—no matter what.