Chapter 52: Moonlight Against the Beast
634 Words
The massive gates of the Lycan kingdom slowly lifted.
The ground trembled as the monstrous creature approached, its heavy footsteps shaking the battlefield.
Dust rose into the air.
The beast’s glowing red eyes burned with hunger as it spotted its target.
Aria.
It let out another terrifying roar that echoed across the valley.
ROOOOOAR!
Many of the younger warriors stepped back in fear.
But Kael didn’t move.
He stood firm beside Aria, his sword gleaming under the fading sunlight.
“Stay focused,” he said quietly.
Aria swallowed hard.
“I’m trying.”
The beast charged forward.
Each step cracked the earth beneath it.
“Now!” Kael commanded.
In a flash, Kael shifted into his massive black wolf form and leaped forward.
His claws slammed into the monster’s side.
The impact echoed like thunder.
But the creature barely staggered.
Instead, it swung its massive claw toward Kael.
SLASH!
Kael jumped back just in time, the claw slicing through the air where he had stood.
The watching warriors gasped.
“That thing is fast!”
Aria raised her glowing hands.
Silver light began swirling around her fingers.
The crescent mark on her wrist burned brighter.
She remembered Kael’s words.
Focus.
Control.
Protect.
The beast suddenly turned toward her.
Its red eyes narrowed as if recognizing the true threat.
It roared again and lunged straight at her.
Aria’s heart jumped.
But this time she didn’t panic.
Instead, she stepped forward.
“Stop!” she shouted.
The silver light exploded outward from her hands.
A powerful wave of moonlight shot across the battlefield.
BOOM!
The blast struck the monster directly in the chest.
The enormous creature was thrown backward, crashing into the ground with a deafening impact.
The warriors on the wall erupted in shocked cheers.
“She did it!”
But the celebration didn’t last long.
The creature slowly stood up again.
Dark smoke rose from the wound on its chest.
Then it laughed.
A horrible, deep sound that didn’t belong to any natural creature.
“You… carry the scent of the Moon Goddess,” it growled.
The battlefield fell silent.
The creature could speak.
Aria’s stomach twisted.
“You serve the Devourer,” she said.
The monster’s red eyes burned brighter.
“I am only the first.”
It spread its massive wings—wings that no one had noticed before.
Dark energy pulsed through its body.
“When our master rises… this world will burn.”
Kael shifted back into human form beside Aria.
His expression hardened.
“Not today.”
He raised his sword.
Aria lifted her glowing hands again.
Together, they faced the monster.
The creature roared and charged once more.
This time Kael attacked from the side, his blade slicing across the beast’s leg.
At the same moment, Aria unleashed another burst of moonlight.
The two attacks struck the creature at once.
The energy exploded across the battlefield.
CRASH!
The beast screamed as the silver light burned through its dark scales.
Its body began to crumble into black ash.
“No…” it snarled.
“Our master… will avenge me…”
Then its body shattered into dust.
The battlefield fell silent.
The Devourer’s servant was gone.
Slowly, the warriors on the walls erupted into cheers.
“We won!”
“The monster is dead!”
But Kael didn’t celebrate.
His eyes remained fixed on the drifting black ashes.
Because he understood something the others didn’t.
If that creature was only the first…
Then far worse monsters were coming.
Aria stepped closer to him.
“We stopped it.”
Kael nodded slowly.
“For now.”
High above them, hidden in the shadows of the castle tower…
Darius watched the battlefield.
A strange smile spread across his face.
“Interesting,” he whispered.
Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness.
- Writer
