Dera took the tiger and walked through the village, he got the reaction he wanted from the villagers.
"What the… is that… the barbarian tiger?" a man stammered, his voice trembling.
"W-wait a minute, am not seeing things right?" another muttered, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
"That kid… did he just hunt that beast all by himself?"
The crowd murmured in awe, their faces lighting up with admiration.
"As expected from the Chi clan," a villager declared with a newfound respect. "A new warrior has been born!"
Dera smirked, reveling in their praise as he dropped the tiger's carcass on the ground. Let them do what they wanted with it; he hadn't hunted the beast for himself. He had hunted it for them..
The sun was already slipping below the horizon, casting long shadows across the village. Dera's gaze lifted to the sky, and he realized he was running late.
"Crap, I promised to be back early for dinner."
As he hurried home, he noticed a familiar figure locking his door, his movements quick and frantic. Dera approached, smirking.
"Hey, Mister Park, is there a storm coming or something?"
The old man's head snapped up, his face grave.
"Kid, what are you still doing out here at this hour?" There was an edge of panic in his voice that caught Dera off guard.
"What's the hurry, old man? Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark now," Dera teased, but the old man's face only grew more solemn.
"You should go home. Now." The old man's voice dropped to a whisper. "Before they get you."
Dera blinked, confused. "Before who gets me?" He almost laughed, thinking the old man hadn't heard about the tiger yet.
"If you're talking about that barbarian—"
"I'm not talking about the damn tiger!" the man interrupted, his voice a terrified hiss.
" There are creatures out there, creatures even that tiger wouldn't dare cross… beings from the abyss."
A chill ran down Dera's spine. "Alright, you're starting to scare me, old man," he muttered, forcing a weak smile.
"Good," the old man replied, his eyes wild with fear. "You should be scared. They're coming… they're coming for blood."
"What… what's coming?" Dera asked, the hairs on his neck prickling.
" R-run if you value your life kid." the old man stuttered .
"The Moon Is Red" the man whispered, glancing skyward, his face ghostly pale.
" And The Frenzy Has Begun" Without another word, he slammed his window shut, locking himself inside as he snuffed out his lamp.
'Dera frowned, glancing up at the sky. The moon shone a soft white, nothing strange or red about it. Shaking his head, he muttered,
"Guess he's living up to his nickname—the Mad Monk."
As he made his way into the forest, though, unease gnawed at him. The old man's words replayed in his mind. He has been using that same root to go back home for a while now, but never have he seen the old man all shaken up and acting all weird like that.
He'd told Dera stories before, tales of creatures from the abyss that had haunted him when he got married. He claimed that they'd killed his family in front of him, leaving him as the sole survivor. The villagers had dismissed him as insane, believing he'd invented the monsters to cover his own crimes.
Of course Dera didn't think that he killed his family. After spending some time with him, he didn't think he was capable of killing any one and of course he didn't believe him when he talks about those unknown monsters. He would always think that the old man was full of crap, but ....
But tonight… something felt different. Dera couldn't shake the sense of dread creeping over him.
'I have to get home as fast as possible and.... ' He suddenly froze. His instincts, honed from years of hunting, screamed a warning. A presence loomed behind him, watching from the shadows. His heart pounded as he spun around, his eyes scanning the darkened trees.
....
There was nothing there. What gives, he could've sworn that something was just staring at him just now.
Dera tried to keep running again but this time he suddenly stopped as shivers run down his spine.
After spending most of his years hunting animals in the forest, he couldn't mistake that smell for anything else. Yes that smell, the smell of Blood....
And what was even more dreadful was that it was coming from the direction of his house.
Dera's feet pounded against the earth as he sprinted faster than he ever had. When he reached his home, he stopped dead, his heart plummeting into an abyss of horror.
His mother and baby sister, Chizuru, lay sprawled on the ground outside, their bodies drenched in blood, their faces pale and lifeless.
"Mom! Chizuru!" he cried, his voice cracking as he dropped beside them, shaking them frantically. But they didn't stir. Their skin was cold.
"No… no, no, no!" he gasped, tears spilling down his cheeks as despair clawed at his chest.
kiekkkkk!
A strange, grotesque squelching sound drifted from inside the house, snapping him out of his daze. His siblings!. He staggered to his feet, a rush of dread flooding his veins as he flung open the door.
The scene inside was a nightmare he could barely comprehend.
His remaining siblings lay in a pool of blood, their bodies torn open, intestines spilling out in a grotesque display.
But what was even more scarier was that there was someone or rather something crouched among the carnage, feasting on their remains, were three monstrous figures.
Their skin was a sickly, mottled gray, their fangs and claws long and razor-sharp. One had two jagged horns sprouting from its head, while the other two was hornless, though no less terrifying. They gnawed on his siblings' flesh as if it were a fine delicacy.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he shouted, his fists clenching as rage and horror twisted within him
The two hornless creatures looked up, its hollow, soulless eyes meeting his. For a sickening moment, it seemed to grin, like something delicious has arrived.
Mr. Park hadn't been mad. He had been right. These were the creatures from his nightmares, the ones he'd warned Dera about, the ones the village had dismissed as myth.
The horned creature turned slowly, blood dripping from its jaws as it licked its lips with a monstrous grin. Its voice was guttural, mocking.
"Ho ho ho... are you the one?" Its gaze lingered on Dera's red hair and ocean-blue eyes, scrutinizing him with disturbing familiarity. A frown creased its grotesque face.
"Hmm… no," it growled, dismissing him. "You're not the one."
Then with a disinterested huff, it returned to it's feast, ripping one of his siblings lifeless body with savage hunger.
"Kill him" it commanded , it's voice like a death knell, echoing through the air.
Then the two hornless creatures turned to Dera, it's eyes gleaming with bloodlust.