The entity watched the dead oversized hare on the ground, amazed. The attack that had ended its life was so devastating that the head was almost unrecognizable. Meanwhile, its assailant stared at him without remorse, her pleading eyes silently urging him to start a fire and cook their hard-earned first meal in what felt like forever.
The entity, pondering how best to prepare the meal, began scanning the area for branches and twigs, deciding they would simply grill it over a large fire. But as he managed to collect just one fallen branch, the ground beneath him began to shake.
Suddenly, multiple mounds of frozen soil erupted, forming bumps that began moving in a circular pattern, encircling the two of them.
They could do nothing as the frozen soil scattered, and large holes appeared in the ground. Shadows leapt up from the newly formed openings, crowding the area. The new arrivals possessed all the characteristics of the dead hare, their eyes glowing red as they fixed their gaze on the two responsible for their kin's demise.
The entity immediately began racking his brain for any way to survive against the more than ten hares that now surrounded them. His only ally, a woman named Leah, was eyeing the enemies with an intense, unknown surge of determination on her face. He didn't think she would run. Meanwhile, his heart was racing, as this was the first time he would face a confrontation of this size.
As he waited for them to make the first move, he mulled over the previous events. When he had woken up in this forest, he had thought the world would be neutral in presenting him with problems. Those problems, he believed, could easily be solved with willpower and determination. But now, he was faced with challenges that put his life on the line, requiring more than just determination or willpower—luck was a factor he couldn't ignore.
The first hare to attack came from the front, its movements swift, using legs even more powerful than those of normal hares. It kicked the ground, closing the distance and arriving immediately in front of the entity. He was able to react in time, swinging the branch he was holding into the side of the hare's head.
Thud!
His attack, which might have been devastating, landed, and the hare fell to the ground motionless. Its allies immediately rushed to its side, and the woman could do nothing but block the incoming onslaught.
The woman attempted a kick to the head of the first hare to arrive, sending it slumping to the ground. But five hares were able to surround her as they stood on their hind legs and launched a barrage of strikes with their white paws. The woman ducked her head and raised one arm to block the attacks, but most of them pierced through her hasty, untrained defense.
She could only stand there while her head took the full fury of the onslaught. Meanwhile, the entity continued his offensive on the fallen hare. He slammed the weary branch again and again, not planning to stop until he was out of breath. By the sixth slam, the remaining hares had passed through the woman and turned their attention to him. But unlike her, he wasn't as sturdy, and afraid of taking the damage, he stepped back. However, the hares simply shifted their focus to the woman, now surrounding her ten to one.
The woman managed to strike back once or twice, sending a few hares flying, but it wasn't enough to push back the raging swarm. The entity had no time to think and began smashing his ground-found weapon into the backs of the hares. They stumbled and fell, creating a brief opening.
The wild retaliation of the woman and the continuous strikes from the entity had reduced the enemies to five. The entity paused to catch his breath while the woman continued to punch and kick the remaining hares, and the battle seemed to be turning in their favor.
But just as the entity was about to resume fighting and help the woman with the remaining hares, he felt a sudden pain in one of his legs. When he looked down, he saw one of the fallen hares moving. He immediately slammed the branch into its face. Bones cracked, but its eyes remained wide open.
In the distance, the first hare to fall from the woman's flying kick, the one they had hoped would satisfy their hunger, began to rise. Broken bones started to reform, and wounds began to heal. The hare he thought was dead, suddenly sprang back to life.
But that wasn't their only problem, as all the fallen hares began to stir. The damage they had taken was undone as they rose one by one. The woman turned around, her face bruised and swollen. She looked at him, shook her head, and then ran past him. The entity could only follow, and together they fled into the snowy mountains.
Their feet left marks in the snow as they ran through the thick trees in the middle of the day. As usual, the woman led ahead, and the entity could only follow, forcefully dragging his tired and aching body. Their pursuers—an angry drove of hares—snapped branches and their heavy footsteps signaled their nearness. The entity thought to himself that if he survived this and escaped this icy hell, he would train his body to be in condition just enough to comfortably outrun an oversized hare.
The chase went on for minutes, and by the time his body was on the verge of collapse, they arrived at a bottleneck. The woman suddenly stopped and looked at him in despair. Ahead of them was the edge of a steep ravine, shrouded in darkness. Realizing they had no more room to run, the entity frantically searched for a way out, but all he could see were trees and endless white snow.
He could faintly hear the sound of a river far below, but his heart lacked the courage to even approach the edge. The rustling of leaves behind them snapped him back to reality, and his pounding heart thundered with nervousness.
Then, between the trees, the unharmed hares emerged, their gnawing incisors filling the air with a chilling sound that reached both him and the woman beside him. The hares hopped closer, paused, then hopped again, deliberately prolonging the inevitability. At that moment, the woman spoke, her voice trembling with fear. He could feel her terror through her ragged breathing.
"L-let's jump," she stammered.
The entity had no time to think as he noticed the strange expressions on the hares' faces. Their black, hollow eyes remained round and alive, but their mouths twisted into eerie, unnatural curves. Then it hit him—they hadn't been chasing them out of desperation. No, they were herding them, guiding them into despair.
The realization sent a chill down his spine. These creatures could have easily outrun them—they were hares, oversized and far faster than any human. Yet, they had chosen this deliberate, methodical pursuit.
Perhaps they were testing how long the two could last, or simply watching for the look of despair on their faces. Or maybe it was for their own amusement and revenge, for daring to harm their kin.
The hares stopped moving and watched them, waiting to see their next move. What would it be? Would the two of them jump into certain death, or would they stay and beg for forgiveness?
The gnawing echoed again—no, it was laughter. It was their own way of mocking them. Their paws were itching to smash their heads, but they were holding back, savoring the moment. They could easily kill them, but they wanted to prolong the suffering, to make them endure the agony of their impending death.
The entity watched, imprinting the scene deeply in his mind. The boars, now the hares, their smirks, their underestimation. They knew they were the predators, and they were the prey. The thoughts of these conveyed a message to his soul—a meaning, an implication that survival was always uncertain, and their efforts up to this point had been in vain.
The desire to turn the tide, to witness the confident expressions of these creatures fade into despair, ignited something deep within him. His fists clenched, and the fire that burned in his hands spread to his heart, fueled by rage. Veins bulged on his forehead as his body was flooded with an unknown energy, replacing the aftereffects of the adrenaline rush.
Now he felt it—the emotion he had been searching for. The urge to dominate, to leave everything in ashes, to erase anything or anyone unneeded. With that emotion still burning inside him, he ducked and picked up a random stone from the ground, while the hares stared at him curiously. He assumed a throwing stance, the stone held firmly in his hand. Then, he hurled it.
The small object glowed with a red fire as it flew through the air, striking the targeted hare. The impact wasn't great, but the burn spread quickly across its body, nearly consuming it whole in less than a second. The hare panicked, and the flames spread to whatever they touched.
Meanwhile, as the swarm hopped frantically, trying to extinguish the flames, the entity continued gathering anything he could find to throw at them. Sticks and twigs, burning fiercely, flew through the air. Some hit their targets, while others struck the ground, but the flames continued to grow, spreading into a barrier of fire that blocked the hares' path forward.
Despite this, the entity couldn't claim victory yet. Determined, he searched for more stones to throw, aiming to trap the hares completely by setting the trees and vegetation behind them ablaze. However, the enemies' intelligence surprised him once again. Fierce determination gleamed in their eyes as they charged straight through the fire, unafraid of the burns. They refused to sit idle, waiting to be consumed by flames, and instead chose to fight their way out.
The first hare to pass through was charred black from the heat, its once-white fur scorched. It kicked the ground with its powerful hind legs, releasing a booming sound that left a gaping hole in the earth. The entity had no time to react as the lightning-fast hare aimed for a death blow, slamming into his stomach with full force.
His back hit the ground with a resounding thud, and he teetered on the edge of unconsciousness. Only his desperate will to survive kept him awake. The hare stood over him, shaking its head left and right, momentarily disoriented. Spotting the opening, the entity thrust his hands into the hare's stomach. The creature let out an ear-splitting shriek of pain before its entire body burst into flames, consumed by the fiery energy.
Another hare leapt high, aiming to crush his head with its powerful legs. Just as it descended, a well-timed fist struck its groin, sending it hurtling away with a shriek of pain.
The opening allowed him to scramble to his feet. Around him, hares writhed and screamed as the flames consumed them. He spat a mouthful of blood onto the snow, its crimson stain vivid against the white.
But before he could recover, two hares burst through the searing flames, charging at him with murderous intent. He rolled to the side, narrowly dodging one but the second hare landed a direct hit as he tried to recover. The impact sent him tumbling toward the edge of the ravine.
When he thought his end was certain, he heard a heavy thud—the hare that had struck him last had fallen hard to the ground. If that creature hadn't been half-dead from the flames when it hit him, he wasn't sure the outcome would have been the same.
Forcing himself to his feet, he felt the ground begin to tremble beneath him. His eyes darted toward the distant trees, which bent unnaturally, as if pushed aside by some immense force.
He braced himself, gathering his breath and preparing for another attack. But as he scanned his surroundings, he realized none of the hares were standing. Their charred remains lay scattered, burned to ash and blackened beyond recognition, with no sign of their miraculous healing this time.