My blood was still roaring in my ears, a mix of adrenaline and pure, undiluted terror. The boy, was gone, vanished like a phantom. The Blight Wolf was a pile of black dust, already scattering in the breeze.
I stood alone in the clearing, my `[Silverwind Rapier]` feeling heavy in my seven-year-old hand.
Iris. I had to get back to Iris.
I dematerialized the rapier, the B-Rank weapon vanishing back into my `[Inventory]`. My hands were shaking. My `[HP: 210/220]` bar was a stark reminder of the tree root that had cracked my head. That single hit had taken more HP than ten of Gideon's kicks.
That thing was real. And it was sent for me.
'Stay out of my way.'
The boy's cold voice echoed in my head. He knew about the Script. He was an anomaly, like me, but he wasn't an ally. He was a hostile third party, a new predator on the board.
