"We have to go back," Myr's voice trembled as she faced the elder.
Her fists were clenched as she talked with them.
"It's already morning! Zion—he could still be alive!"
The coachman shook his head solemnly. His scarred face was hardened with experience.
"No, girl. He's gone. Those weren't normal wolves you saw. They were the giant among their species."
He stepped closer, his eyes meeting hers.
"Even Rank C Adventurers struggle against one. What do you think a boy like him can do against a pack?"
Myr's breath hitched. She glanced down, her nails digging into her palm.
"But Zion isn't weak. He's not weak!" Her voice cracked with frustration. "He's waiting for us! We can't just—"
"Myr," Nora's hand gently rested on her shoulder. Her green eyes were filled with sadness.
"I know it's hard, but you're not thinking straight. Zion wouldn't want you to throw your life away."
"She's right," Melvin said firmly, arms crossed. "Even if you're strong, going back alone is suicide."
"Tch," Karl scoffed, leaning against the carriage. "He's probably dead already. Why waste time?"
"Shut up, Karl!" Nora's eyes flared as she turned on him. "If you've got nothing useful to say, keep your mouth shut!"
Karl's face flushed red, but he said nothing more.
Myr drew a sharp breath, her voice trembling.
"He's not dead. I know he's not," she said, as much to herself as to the others.
---
Inside the forest.
As Zion emerged from the dense grass, his eyes fell upon a small basket. His brows furrowed with bewilderment as he approached it.
"A baby…" he said in disbelief. "What's a baby doing out here?"
His eyes flicked around the clearing, searching for any clues or signs of who might have left the infant there.
But the baby's cries intensified.
Zion crouched down, exhaustion forgotten for a moment. Slowly, he reached for it.
The baby's tiny face peeked from the cloth, eyes big and teary, its little mouth letting out weak, pitiful cries.
"Hey, little one. It's okay. I—"
Zion stopped as he heard a rustle from the tall grass.
His head whipped to the side.
The grass swayed unnaturally.
"The family?" Zion's heart leaped with hope, thinking it might be the child's mother.
But when the rustling grew louder, his instincts screamed at him.
They might be in danger!
A deep, guttural snarl followed. And the grass parted, revealing a hulking form.
The beast's eyes locked onto Zion, and his blood ran cold.
It was no wolf.
It is a grizzly bear!
No. It's not just a bear. It's a giant grizzly bear!
It towered over him, 300 centimeters of muscle and fury.
Its fangs glinted in the light. Its claws, sharp as daggers, dug into the dirt as it stomped forward.
"You've got to be kidding me," Zion's grip on his sword tightened.
His body protested every movement, but he positioned himself between the bear and the baby.
"Stay hidden," he whispered to the bundle, then shoved it under a thick patch of roots.
The bear roared and charged.
Zion's world moved in flashes. He ducked low. His eyes darted to the bear's claws as it swiped at him.
Gritting his teeth, he spun away, narrowly avoiding the full brunt of the strike, but the sharp edge grazed his chest.
Pain shot through his body. His breath hitched, blood seeping down his side.
Staggering, he gasped for air, his vision flickering, and his mind was on the edge of collapse.
'Stay up,' he growled to himself.
His knees trembled under the weight of exhaustion and pain.
"I'm… not dying here," he growled even as his knees buckled.
The bear walked toward him to finish him.
Suddenly, he heard a voice.
"Hey, dummy. You're not done yet."
The voice was light, casual, and almost playful.
Zion's eyes darted to the baby—except it wasn't a baby anymore.
The child stood upright, arms crossed, and smirking like an adult. His eyes glowed with an eerie light.
"W-what?" Zion's voice cracked with confusion. "You're… talking?"
"Yeah, yeah, save the shock for later," the child yawned. "You want to live, right? Then use the blood."
"Blood?" Zion's head throbbed as his body shook with fatigue.
"Yeah, big guy. Use. The. Blood." The child's eyes sharpened, its tone suddenly serious. "Take it. Feel it. Become it."
Zion's heart pounded in his chest. His own blood was soaking his clothes. His mind was blank and his breath ragged.
But, he felt something different.
Heat.
Power.
Rage.
The world slowed and his vision became red. His pulse surged like a drumbeat of war.
Suddenly, blood from his wounds stopped spilling. It swirled in the air, defying gravity.
Then it snaked around his arms.
"Kill it," the child's voice echoed in his head.
Zion raised his right hand—the one with his cut fingers—and pointed it at the bear.
His blood shimmered unnaturally, twisting and hardening into a crimson spear. It shot forward with a crack, piercing straight through the bear's chest.
The bear staggered, letting out a roar. But before it could react, spikes of solidified blood erupted from its body.
One after another, they burst through its limbs, its back, its sides. Each thorn growing thicker and sharper like fast-growing roots...
The bear's roar turned to a gurgled cry of agony as its body was shredded from within.
With one final pop, the bear's body tore apart without spilling blood.
Meanwhile, Zion's vision blurred.
His knees gave out and his body crashed into the ground with a heavy thud. The thorn-like roots melted and blood and flesh scattered in every direction.
The clearing was painted red, the ground soaked with blood.
Then darkness overtook him.