The night air was thick with the scent of blood and smoke. It clung to their clothes, to their skin, to their lungs. The silence that followed the previous attack had been an illusion—a brief, cruel trick that made them think they were safe.
But now, as the distant screams echoed from the village up the hill, that illusion was shattered.
They were soldiers.
Or at least, they were supposed to be.
But as soon as they heard the sounds of destruction, they ran.
There was no shame in it—not really. They were still just recruits, barely trained, and whatever they were up against wasn’t something a normal soldier could fight. They knew that now.
That beast… it wasn’t just strong. It was something unnatural.
Something that could not be killed.
Still, as they sprinted through the darkened f
