We arrived at a place where three houses, each of a different style, stood in ruins: one made of straw, another of wood, and the last of bricks. The walls were cracked, the roofs collapsed, and the remains of wood and stone mixed with dust and shadows. No one knew how or why they had been destroyed, but the air felt heavy, as if something terrible had happened there.
The wind blew softly, dragging dry leaves and an old iron smell, as if blood had once soaked the ground. There were no birds or crickets. Only the crunch of our steps over the debris.
As we moved forward cautiously, I noticed a slight movement on the roof of the brick house. At first I thought it was an illusion, a trick of the light, but no. Something enormous was up there.
A roar tore through the silence, so loud that the walls shook. From the top of the roof leaped a colossal creature: a werewolf, covered in dark gray fur and with golden eyes glowing with pure hatred. Its breath was thick, hot, like steam mixed with rot.
I barely had time to react.
Leaf immediately got into a guard stance, her hands surrounded by a faint blue glow, preparing to conjure something. I drew my sword, but before I could make a move, the monster roared and lunged at me.
Its kick was brutal. I felt the air leave my lungs before I was sent flying through the air. My body crashed against the shattered wall of the wooden house, and the impact tore a groan of pain from me. The world spun. My helmet cracked, and a line of blood ran down my face.
"Leaf!" I shouted, trying to get back up.
She was already in trouble. With a trembling but firm voice, she began reciting a spell, while the werewolf, with a savage movement, lunged at her at terrifying speed.
Leaf backed away, tripping over a piece of wall. The fear in her eyes pierced me like a spear. She didn't know what to do, so she turned and started running between the destroyed houses, while the beast chased her relentlessly.
I tried to stand. My head was spinning, my vision blurring, but I couldn't stay there on the ground. I couldn't let that monster reach her. Not again. I can't let someone else die because of me.
I took a deep breath. The air tasted of dust and blood. I leaned on my sword to stay upright, staggering, as a red thread fell from my mouth to the ground.
Come on… don't give up…
Gathering my strength, I started running. My legs trembled, but the fire inside me was stronger than the pain. The scene before my eyes was chaotic: Leaf dodging claw swipes, rolling on the ground, throwing small bursts of magical energy that barely grazed the monster.
The werewolf roared, furious, smashing pieces of wood in its path.
In a moment of distraction, when the beast raised its claw for a final blow, I ran as fast as I could and, with all my strength, drove my sword into its side.
The blade pierced flesh and bone. An inhuman scream echoed between the houses.
I took advantage of that instant of pain and, with a second movement, twisted my body, raising the sword toward its left arm. The blade cut with a dry snap. The limb fell to the ground, dripping black blood.
The monster reacted immediately, swinging at me with a claw that I barely managed to block. The impact was so strong that my arms vibrated to the bone, and I had to step back several paces, gasping.
Leaf, seeing the opportunity, closed her eyes and raised both hands. Her energy shifted: the blue light turned into an ethereal glow, almost white. An arrow began to form in the air, made of pure magical essence.
"Soul Arrow!" she shouted, and fired.
The projectile whistled through the air and buried itself right in the werewolf's left eye, piercing its skull. The monster froze for a few seconds, letting out a guttural moan, before collapsing heavily to the ground.
Silence returned.
Only our ragged breathing could be heard.
I dropped to my knees, exhausted. My body felt numb, my heart pounding hard in my chest. Beside me, Leaf also fell, breathing with difficulty, her face covered in sweat and dust.
I took two flasks of healing herbs from my bag. I handed one to Leaf and drank the other in one gulp. The bitter liquid went down my throat like liquid fire, but instantly I began to feel my wounds slowly closing.
"Here…" I said in a hoarse voice. "It'll do you good."
She nodded and drank carefully. In a few minutes, color returned to her face. Her gaze was no longer lost, but calmer.
The werewolf's body began to disintegrate before us. Lights emerged from its corpse—small souls that floated in the air before heading toward me, passing through my body like a warm breeze.
When it was over, only a book remained on the ground. It had a pink cover, just like the one we found before with the two brothers. I picked it up. On its cover it read:
"The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf."
I stared at it in silence. It was as if each of those stories had been twisted by the darkness surrounding us, and if that was true, I didn't want to imagine how many more there were.
Leaf let out a weak giggle.
"Hehe… we almost didn't make it this time, huh?"
"You're right," I replied with a tired half-smile. "But we need to level up. We're still too weak. If that blow had hit me a little harder… or if an attack had reached you… you might have died because of me."
She lowered her gaze, her expression softening.
"Relax. Don't carry the guilt. These things happen… We just have to learn from them and keep going."
"But if… if you had died, Leaf…" my voice broke without meaning to. "What would I have done? I can't imagine it. I can't…"
She slowly approached and placed one of her tiny hands on my shoulder.
"Easy, easy… it's over. Smile, this was just one of many victories. Hehe~"
Her light laughter dispelled some of the tension still hanging in the air. I glanced at her sideways, trying to give her a sincere smile.
The sun began to filter through the gray clouds, tinting the ruins of the three houses golden. The wind blew again, and for the first time in hours, it didn't smell of death.
Leaf stretched and pointed ahead.
"Look, look at that. There's another path further on. Maybe we should follow it."
I followed her finger and saw a narrow path covered in potholes.
I shook my head.
"No… better leave it for later. Let's fulfill Dorothy's request first. We need to get stronger. It'll help us fight better, or… something really bad could happen to us, Leaf."
She looked at me for a few seconds, as if hesitating, then nodded with a calm smile.
"Okay… I'll listen to you, for now."
"Thanks," I replied with a sigh.
We started walking back the way we had come. The ground was covered with fragments of wood and bricks, and the air had become calmer.
As we walked, Leaf went a few steps ahead of me. Sometimes she turned her head, looking again and again toward that path we had decided not to follow yet. Her curiosity was like a spark that never went out.
I, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking about the pink book I kept in my bag.
Maybe the world we were in was a story someone else had written, and we were just characters trapped in it.
I shook my head, trying to erase that thought.
The sun was starting to set, painting the sky in reddish tones. In the distance, the forest whispered, full of echoes and secrets.
Leaf hummed a soft, cheerful melody, trying to lift our spirits.
And I, though the pain still burned in my ribs and the fear refused to fully disappear, allowed myself a breath. After all, we had survived.
Each battle brought us a little closer to the truth of this broken world. And although we still didn't know what awaited us ahead, something inside me told me this was just the beginning of something much bigger… and much darker.
So, without looking back, Leaf and I headed back down the farm path, leaving behind the three houses and the monster that guarded them.