After knocking out Han Ran, Samantha first headed toward the confused and lost villagers.
"Everything's fine. You're safe now. Are you able to find your way back to the village?"
She received a long silence and averted gazes in response.
"Alright... I still have villains to capture, so you'll have to manage getting home on your own," Samantha continued, slightly irritated, before gradually moving away from the group.
"Young lady, wait!!" called a mature man with a brown beard and curly hair. Samantha stopped for a moment to listen to what he had to say.
"Thank you for everything. The others didn't really understand what happened, but I saw it all!! There are also monsters prowling in the forest, you must be very careful."
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm rather sorry I can't escort you to safety. I'll have to count on you, Mr...?"
"Arthur! But they're more terrifying than you imagine. Among those monsters, there's even my ex-wife!! The worst are those men in black robes!!"
"Wait, you said 'those men'?"
"Yes, there were two of them besides the one you knocked out. They were real scum..." Arthur clenched his fist and looked at the ground. "There were about thirty of us kidnapped in total, but the first ones were taken somewhere else one by one. The last one was a young boy from the Count's mansion and it was a few minutes before you arrived."
Samantha glanced behind Arthur, counting a dozen survivors, then watched him bite his lower lip.
"Mr. Arthur, I'll take care of the rest." She gently placed her hand on Arthur's arm, causing him to release his fist. "I'll make sure to find that young boy too."
She then headed toward Han Ran with a vengeful fire in her eyes.
Han Ran was gradually regaining consciousness. Everything was blurry, he had a sharp pain in his stomach, and blood wouldn't stop flowing from his head.
Ghhhk!
Samantha grabbed Han Ran by the neck with her right hand and planted Lagertha's tip on his chest with her left.
"You have three seconds to tell me what you're looking for, or I'll skewer you like a kebab."
Han Ran began to smile.
"The Genesis Stone. We're here to steal it."
Samantha was caught off guard by the information but quickly understood the stakes of their attack. She wanted to rush to the manor as quickly as possible but had no way to detain Han Ran.
(I have no choice. I'll have to execute him first, then go secure the stone as quickly as possible,) she concluded while preparing a lethal blow.
Han Ran, who immediately understood her decision, stopped her momentum with a mocking tone.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Use your karmic vision and try to see the surprise waiting for you if my heart stops."
Samantha, initially hesitant, decided to confirm Han Ran's vague words and activated her karmic vision to scan his heart.
"You're completely insane. You turned your own heart into a bomb..."
Han Ran revealed a smile full of insanity seeing Samantha hesitate.
"It's the accumulation of dozens of years of karmic energy—my greatest masterpiece!! Its power will even rival a hydrogen bomb!!! So what will you do? Kill me here and now and blow everything up?! I bet you can't cancel it either, your protection spell only works on your allies right ?!"
Drip drop
"OH OH!!! Hahaha, I see you don't have much time left!" Han Ran continued to mock.
Blood had started flowing abundantly from Samantha's nose and mouth. While facing her dilemma, she was continuously receiving damage from a battle taking place elsewhere.
A few minutes earlier, Noah, Mai, and Emily continued their relentless assault on the Wendigo under Levi's envious gaze. Then suddenly, the creature that had been swinging its long arms in all directions as if swatting flies stopped dead.
"What's wrong with it?" Levi asked.
"Look! Its body is starting to transform back into black smoke!! Did our attacks finally work?" Noah exclaimed, pointing at the smoke evaporating from the Wendigo's body.
"Who launched the last attack?" Emily asked, turning to her teammates. Mai raised her hand.
They all took attack positions again, ready to face Mai's nightmare once more.
The monstrous figure disappeared completely, leaving in its place an enormous column of black smoke that seemed unable to dissipate.
"What the hell is happening now?" Noah complained.
Tap tap tap
Footsteps echoed from inside the manor.
"... It seems Pitch Black got beaten. Well, at least he bought us some time."
Shock and terror overwhelmed the children hearing the unknown voice coming from the wide-open doors.
"But as long as the Count and the Mandala agent aren't here, it's a walk in the park."
A priest in black robes with his head entirely bandaged emerged, his face covered by a blank white mask with vertical slits revealing red glowing eyes but no mouth. Emily exclaimed first while preparing a volley of water lances.
"Who are you?! Where did you come from?!"
"I suppose it's my turn to clean up now," complained the man who wore the same black orb as Han Ran around his neck.
[You are a nuisance.]
Fwooossh
A wave of evil energy propelled each of the children backward and cancelled Emily's water lances.
Boom baam
Each of them crashed against the walls bordering the residence.
"Oh, you're still alive after that. I'd have fun with you, but I still have work to do inside." Red karmic energy with a dark aura appeared at the priest's fingertips and infused into the column of black smoke.
"Keep playing with this toy in the meantime."
Wooshwooshwoosh
The smoke, turned completely red, it then took the form of the Wendigo again. But it was no longer the same creature.
It had a red, piercing gaze tinged with madness that fixed on its prey, and skin with much more muscle than before. Its posture showed it was ready to pounce at any moment to shred its victims with its claws and jaw while letting its tongue hang like a beast that had been thirsty for days.
Boom
THOOOOM
"Aarrghh"
Before he even had the chance to get up, the Wendigo drove Noah into the ground with the crash of its fist.
THOOOM
Then Levi.
THOOOM
Then Mai.
THOOOM
And finally Emily.
VRAAAAAMM BOOOM
The Wendigo sent the children flying toward the adjacent forest, destroying the residence's outer walls in the process.
The creature had become far too agile and fast to be avoided—it was as if the children had become toys. Samantha's pink karmic energy continued protecting them from damage, nullifying the wendigo's blows, but no one knew how long the protection spell would last. Samantha's protection didn't work on Mai because of her constitution, the Zero Body, but it also lessened the Wendigo's attack on her because the monster was made of karma.
The priest re-entered the manor, leaving the children to be crushed one by one without stopping.
THOOOOM THHOOOM THOOOOM
Despite not taking damage, they were simply incapable of reacting. The incessant blows razed the forest trees, leaving only ruins all around. Bruises started to accumulate on Mai who was slammed on trees and on the ground.
"LEVIIIII!!!!"
It was Noah's cry, lying down and covered in dirt and stone, that rang out as the creature had just struck Mai.
Levi, who was the most powerless of the four because he was facing his greatest nightmare in flesh and blood, had been unable to move since receiving the first blow.
He turned toward Noah, who was trying to reach him.
THOOOOM
The Wendigo struck Noah against the ground, bringing him back down. But through the dust rising after the blow, you could see that Noah had started crawling—he hadn't stopped moving toward Levi.
THOOOOMTHOOOOMTHOOOOM
The Wendigo had started focusing on Noah.
Ftchaaa Tcha tchuu
Three wooden lances pierced the creature's skin.
Emily and Mai had found time to get up and reposition themselves to attack.
GRROOOOOAOAAAAAHHKK
The monster responded to Emily's provocation and lunged at her first. Mai kicked the monster's flank during its charge, but it didn't stop it.
It grabbed Mai by the leg and sent her flying to the other side of the forest.
Vooouuuuuu
Then it did the same with Emily.
When the Wendigo turned around, Noah was no longer in his crater, and neither was Levi.
They had managed to hide behind trees in that short span of time.
Noah was behind Levi and placed his hand on his back.
"Cast whatever spell you want, but finish it in one shot," Noah told him.
"But I'm not allowed to cast spells—"
"It'll be fine this time," Noah assured with a confident smile.
"I'll pay the price with you. Use my karma."
Noah's determined gaze was transmitted to Levi, who didn't feel the need to ask for more than that. He decided to trust him without hesitation because he saw the same feeling in his eyes.
He also felt a connection in his back where Noah was placing his hand. A benevolent, enveloping energy like afternoon sunlight.
(So this is good karma,) Levi thought.
He put both arms forward and remembered one of his grandfather's magic words.
"Actually, my little Levi, fear and courage are two sides of the same coin.
Courage is like a flame, and fear is like a shadow. They coexist together, and the more the light weakens, the more invasive the shadow becomes, swallowing all your thoughts and decisions. The larger the shadow, the more insurmountable obstacles seem to us. But that doesn't mean the flame isn't always there deep inside you. It's an inextinguishable flame that resides in each one of us.
You just have to feed it."
"But Grandpa, normally we feed fire with wood, but what can serve as wood for courage?"
"Mmh, you'll have to find the answer yourself this time."
"Ah, I found it! It's knowledge. If you learn to understand your fears, you'll naturally be braver facing them."
"That's true, you're right. But there's a much better answer."
A voice called to Levi.
"Levi."
He turned to listen to what Noah had to say.
"You can do it. We believe in you!"
Levi turned and met the Wendigo's gaze, then stared intensely into the depths of its red pupils. The words of trust he had just heard set his insides on fire and for a split second, the fear wasn't there anymore.
Only the burning desire to surpass oneself.
The Wendigo charged.
"When you find the answer, you'll feel the flames of courage grow within you. And to invoke them to face your fears, it's very simple.
You just have to recite..."
[ Vanhi ]
BRAAAAOOOUUUMMM
A column of fire blazed with the Wendigo at its center.
GRROOOOOOAAAHKK
The column burst into a thousand fires, rising several meters above the trees and illuminating the entire forest.
Its powerful light illuminating the black night reached everyone's eyes.
Faced with this fire she first found majestic, Emily's first reflex was to join Mai, thinking she might have a traumatic reaction again.
She quickly spotted Mai standing, calmly observing the column of fire.
Emily approached and stayed beside her.
"What a beautiful campfire," Emily said.
Mai turned to her, and her gaze was met with a kind smile.
"Yes... This fire looks warm," Mai replied.
The column of fire served as a beacon for Samantha, who rushed directly toward its source.
The flames didn't last more than ten seconds.
Fssshhh
When the last embers disappeared, there wasn't a single trace of the Wendigo left—not even ashes.
"We did it!!" Levi announced with relief while collapsing. But no one answered him.
"Noah? ... Noah!"
End of Chapter