The octopus-like Netherbeast screamed.
It pressed.
Its massive body hovered above the ground, dark flesh pulsing, glowing veins spreading like cracks of molten light. Thick tentacles slammed down again and again, tearing up the forest floor. Each impact sent heat and pressure through the air.
Volow rolled just in time as a tentacle crushed the spot where his head had been a second ago.
"Move!" he shouted.
Yuki was already moving. He darted to the side, Veil flashing around his legs as he slashed at one of the limbs. The blade barely cut through. The tentacle recoiled, then struck back harder.
Yuki flew and hit the ground, skidding across scorched dirt.
"Marga!" Volow yelled.
No answer.
He glanced back.
Marga was sitting near a tree, arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the Netherbeast. Her body was shaking.
She wasn't fighting.
She couldn't move.
Another tentacle whipped toward Volow. He raised his arms just in time. The impact slammed him into a tree so hard his vision went white.
Suki hissed loudly, fur standing on end.
The beast moved again—faster this time.
Yuki forced himself up, blood running from the corner of his mouth. "This thing's insane!"
Volow pushed through the pain and focused.
The beast was attacking nonstop. Tentacles everywhere. No pattern. No pause.
Then he noticed it.
One tentacle wasn't attacking.
It was wrapped tightly around the beast's core, coiled like it was protecting something.
"Yuki!" Volow shouted. "That one—it's not moving!"
Yuki followed his gaze. "You think that's—"
"It has to be!" Volow said. "Everything else is attacking. That one's guarding!"
Another strike came. Volow barely blocked it, his arms screaming in pain.
"On my mark!" he yelled.
Yuki nodded, grinning through the pain. "Just don't miss."
Volow charged.
He ran straight at the beast.
Tentacles slammed down around him, missing by inches. Heat burned his skin. Pressure crushed his lungs. He pushed through it all.
"NOW!"
Yuki moved.
He leapt high, pouring everything into his Veil, blade aimed straight for the coiled limb.
The beast reacted too late.
The blade cut deep.
The wrapped tentacle snapped loose with a violent recoil. The beast let out a deep, shaking roar as its body convulsed.
Volow jumped, drove his Veil-coated fist straight into the exposed core.
The impact shattered the glowing veins.
The Netherbeast collapsed.
Its body slammed into the ground, twitching once—then went still.
Silence.
Volow dropped to his knees.
Yuki collapsed beside him.
Both of them were breathing hard, bodies covered in burns, cuts, and bruises.
Then everything went dark.
A few moments later.
It was almost dark.
Volow woke slowly.
His head throbbed. His body felt heavy, like it had been beaten into the ground.
He opened his eyes.
They were lying near a tree. The forest was quiet. Too quiet.
Marga sat a short distance away, knees pulled in, arms wrapped around her legs. Her head was lowered.
"You're awake," she said quietly.
Yuki groaned beside him. "Please tell me I'm not dead."
Volow exhaled. "Feels close enough."
Marga didn't laugh.
"This is impossible," she said, her voice shaking. "You can't do this, Volow. You can't fight the King. We almost died. That thing was just one beast."
Volow pushed himself up slowly. "That's why we're here."
She shook her head. "No. This isn't training. This is suicide."
"We survived," Volow said.
"Barely," she snapped. "And next time we won't."
Yuki suddenly sat up. "Hey."
They both looked at him.
He pointed behind them. "At least we got food."
Marga stared. "What?"
Yuki grinned. "That thing was basically a giant octopus."
Her eyes widened in horror. "You're not serious."
Volow swallowed.
His stomach growled loudly.
Marga slowly turned toward him.
He froze, cheeks puffed out, trying not to look desperate.
"…Don't," she said.
Yuki crossed his arms. "Unless you've got another plan for food in this forest?"
Marga opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Looked away.
"…I hate both of you."
They made a fire.
The meat tasted strange. But it was warm. And filling.
They slept in the trees that night, clinging to thick branches, hoping nothing climbed.
Morning came fast.
Too fast.
Volow woke up to heat crawling under his skin. His body felt stiff, sore, and heavy, like he had been crushed and put back together wrong. Every muscle hurt.
He opened his eyes slowly.
They were still in the forest.
Dim orange light filtered through the strange leaves above. The trees looked the same as before—twisted, glowing faintly from inside, quiet in a way that felt dangerous.
Yuki was already awake, sitting on a thick branch, rubbing his neck. "I swear," he muttered, "if one more thing tries to kill us today—"
"Don't," Marga said sharply.
She was sitting a little distance away on another branch, arms wrapped tightly around her legs. She hadn't slept properly. Her eyes were tired. Her face looked pale.
They climbed down carefully, one by one.
The ground felt uneven beneath their feet, warm in some places, soft in others. Volow stretched his shoulders and winced.
"Everyone alive?" Yuki asked.
Volow nodded. "Barely."
Marga didn't answer.
They had just started moving when Suki froze.
His ears flattened. His tail stiffened.
Volow noticed immediately. "Suki?"
The sound came next.
Click.
Click-click.
From the left.
Then the right.
Yuki slowly turned. "Please tell me that's not—"
The ground shifted.
Hard shapes pushed up from beneath the soil.
Big insect-like Netherbeasts crawled out, their bodies covered in dark armor-like shells. Their limbs were long and sharp, joints bending the wrong way. Their eyes glowed faintly, locking onto them.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Marga's breathing quickened. "No… no, no—"
"They're surrounding us," Yuki said quietly.
Volow stepped forward, forcing his Veil to spread despite the pain. "Stay close. Don't let them separate us."
The beasts attacked.
Fast.
One lunged straight at Yuki. He barely rolled out of the way, its limb slamming into the ground where his head had been.
Another leaped at Volow. He blocked with his arm, Veil flaring, but the impact sent him sliding backward.
Marga tried to move.
She couldn't.
Her body locked up.
The clicking sounds echoed in her head. The shapes. The pressure.
Her vision blurred.
"MAR—!" Volow shouted.
A beast slammed into him mid-turn. He crashed hard, the air ripped from his lungs.
Yuki struck one down, but another immediately replaced it, slicing his side. He cried out and stumbled.
They were losing.
One beast pinned Volow's arm. Another knocked him flat onto his back.
He tried to get up.
His body refused.
A shadow loomed over him.
The insect Netherbeast raised its limb high, sharp and heavy, aimed straight at his chest.
Volow stared at it.
So this is it, he thought.
The limb came down—
And the beast exploded.
Its body shattered into pieces mid-air.
A heavy impact shook the ground.
Someone landed between Volow and the beasts.
Asori.
He straightened slowly.
The remaining Netherbeasts didn't even get time to react.
Asori moved.
One punch crushed a shell completely.
A kick snapped another beast in half.
The rest were gone in seconds.
Silence returned to the forest.
Volow lay there, shaking, staring up at him.
Suki jumped onto his chest immediately, rubbing his head against Volow's face, purring loudly, trying to calm him.
Marga collapsed to her knees.
Her hands were shaking. Her breathing was uneven.
"I can't," she said weakly. "I can't do this anymore. I can't—"
Asori turned to her.
"You're breaking," he said plainly.
She looked up at him, eyes wet. "This place… these beasts… it's too much. I keep seeing it again. I keep freezing."
Asori stepped closer.
"You're a Shinimoon," he said. "Your kind doesn't fall apart this easily."
She flinched.
Then he said, cold and direct:
"Or does that mean you're a piece of trash?"
The words hit her harder than any strike.
Her vision shattered.
She was seven years old.
Life was simple then.
Marga lived in a small house near the edge of the settlement. It wasn't big, but it was warm.
Her mother made it feel alive. Every morning, the smell of food filled the room. Every night, her mother told her stories until she fell asleep.
Marga followed her everywhere.
She helped with small things—carrying water, cleaning, laughing when she spilled it. Her mother always smiled, even when things were hard. She brushed Marga's hair with her fingers and told her she was strong, that she would grow into someone special.
Marga believed her.
That day felt no different.
They walked together through the village, hands clasped. Marga talked endlessly, pointing at things, asking questions. Her mother listened to all of it, nodding, laughing softly.
Then an old man approached them.
He looked tired. Serious.
He spoke quietly to Marga's mother. His voice was low, careful.
Marga didn't understand the words, but she felt her mother's grip tighten.
Her mother knelt down in front of her.
"Stay here," she said gently, brushing Marga's cheek. "I'll be back soon."
Marga nodded.
She trusted her.
She waited.
Minutes passed.
Then more.
The sun moved. The village grew quieter.
Fear crept in.
"Mama?" Marga called.
No answer.
She started walking.
She followed voices—low, distant, unfamiliar.
They led her underground, to a place she had never been allowed to go.
That's where she found them.
People were chained. Hurt. Crying.
Her mother was there.
"MAMA!" Marga screamed and ran.
Before she reached her—
A soldier stepped forward.
The blade came down.
And chopped her mother's head off.
Marga stopped running.
Her mind refused to understand what she had just seen.
The soldiers laughed.
They moved on, killing others, joking as they left.
Marga stood there, frozen.
Then the world rushed back in all at once.
She ran to her mother.
She held her.
She screamed until her throat burned.
She dragged her mother's body toward home, sobbing, shaking, refusing to let go.
Something roared behind her.
A Netherbeast attacked.
It ripped her mother's body away.
And swallowed it.
The beast then attacked marga.
It struck her hard.
Pain exploded.
Her arm was gone.
She screamed again—this time in pure terror.
The world blurred.
Then—
Something moved fast.
The beast was cut down instantly.
A man stood there.
He knelt beside her.
She was crying, bleeding, broken.
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
Warmth spread.
The man started healing marga.
Veil flowed.
Her arm grew back.
"I'll take you," the man said quietly. "For now."
The man lifted her into his arms, turning away from the blood-soaked ground.
Behind them, the settlement stayed silent.
The child didn't stop crying as the man carried her away.
She was going through hell.