The Rune Howler backed away.
One step.
Then another.
Its claws scraped across the fractured stone.
The beast's chest heaved violently.
Smoke escaped from its jaws with every breath.
Burns covered its mouth.
Its gums were torn.
Parts of its tongue had blistered black from biting Tamura repeatedly.
Yet it refused to flee.
Predators didn't survive by running.
They survived by killing.
Tamura slowly advanced.
The stone beneath his feet hissed.
Small flames danced between the cracks spreading throughout the floor.
His breathing had changed.
Every inhale sounded sharp.
Every exhale carried heat.
The room felt smaller.
Hotter.
Like it was slowly becoming an oven.
Mugen felt sweat roll down his face.
That shouldn't have been possible.
The chamber was made of enchanted stone specifically designed to withstand Verdance.
Yet the walls were beginning to glow faintly orange.
"...Tamura."
No response.
The boy continued walking.
The Rune Howler lowered itself.
A warning growl escaped its throat.
Tamura growled back.
The beast's ears flattened.
Then both exploded forward.
BOOM!
The chamber shook.
Tamura ducked beneath the first swipe.
The Howler's claws passed over his head.
WHOOOSH!
Several strands of dark hair vanished instantly.
The creature spun.
Its spiked tail came next.
Tamura jumped.
The tail struck a wall.
CRAAASH!
Stone erupted everywhere.
Before the debris settled Tamura landed directly on the creature's back.
The Howler immediately bucked.
Violently.
Trying to throw him.
Tamura grabbed fistfuls of fur.
The beast slammed itself against a pillar.
CRUNCH!
Tamura took the impact directly.
His ribs screamed.
Something broke.
Pain shot through his chest.
His grip loosened.
The Howler threw itself backward again.
This time Tamura was crushed between fur and stone.
WHAM!
Air exploded from his lungs.
His vision blurred.
For a moment he couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
Couldn't think.
The Howler seized the opportunity.
Its jaws snapped shut around Tamura's leg.
CRACK!
Mugen's eyes widened.
"Tamura!"
The beast shook him violently.
Like a wolf tearing apart prey.
Back and forth.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Tamura's body whipped through the air.
Blood sprayed across the chamber walls.
His knee bent the wrong direction.
His ankle twisted unnaturally.
The pain finally broke through the rage.
"AAAGHHH!"
His scream echoed through the room.
The Howler bit harder.
Tamura felt teeth scraping bone.
Then—
Something inside him erupted.
The beast yelped.
Its jaws opened instantly.
Smoke poured from its mouth.
The fur around Tamura's leg had ignited.
The creature stumbled away frantically.
Whining.
Shaking its head.
The smell of burnt flesh filled the chamber.
Tamura collapsed.
His leg looked ruined.
Bone protruded through torn muscle.
Blood pooled beneath him.
Any normal person would've died.
Any normal person would've passed out.
Instead—
The wound moved.
Mugen froze.
Muscle fibers pulled themselves together.
Torn flesh twitched.
Bone slowly shifted back into place.
Not fast.
Not instantly.
But it was happening.
Healing.
Actually healing.
"What..."
The words escaped before Mugen realized it.
His heart pounded.
He knew mutations existed.
He knew strange abilities existed.
But this?
This was wrong.
This was impossible.
The dark elf slowly stood.
His leg shook violently.
Still recovering.
Still damaged.
Yet functional.
Mugen felt a knot form in his stomach.
Not fear of Tamura.
Fear for Tamura.
Because if Vayra ever discovered the full extent of this—
She would never let him leave.
Ever.
Across the room the Rune Howler stared.
The creature was intelligent.
Not human intelligent.
But smart enough.
Smart enough to know something was wrong.
The prey wasn't dying.
No matter what it did.
The prey kept getting back up.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The beast began circling.
Slowly.
Watching.
Waiting.
Looking for weakness.
Mugen noticed it.
The creature wasn't fighting recklessly anymore.
It was adapting.
Learning.
Just like Tamura.
"That's bad..." he muttered.
The Howler suddenly lunged.
Not at Tamura.
At the pendant.
Its red eyes locked onto the crimson sunstone hanging from Tamura's neck.
The creature wanted it.
Needed it.
The beast crashed into Tamura.
Both rolled across the floor.
The chain snapped.
The pendant flew free.
CLINK.
CLINK.
CLINK.
The crimson stone slid across the chamber.
Everything stopped.
Tamura's eyes widened.
The pendant.
His mother's memory.
Levi's gift.
The only thing he had left.
"No."
The word escaped as a whisper.
The Howler moved first.
Tamura moved second.
Both sprinted toward the pendant.
One wanted to consume it.
The other wanted to protect it.
The beast won.
Its jaws closed around the crimson sunstone.
CRUNCH.
The room went silent.
Tamura stopped.
His heart stopped.
For a moment—
Everything stopped.
The Rune Howler swallowed.
Then immediately regretted it.
Its body froze.
Its eyes widened.
The red glow from within the beast intensified.
Brighter.
Brighter.
Brighter.
The creature staggered backward.
Smoke erupted from its nostrils.
Cracks of crimson light appeared beneath its fur.
The entire chamber began shaking.
Mugen stared.
"...What did it just eat?"
The Rune Howler screamed.
Not a growl.
Not a roar.
A scream.
A sound so painful and unnatural that even Tamura felt his blood run cold.
The crimson light continued spreading through the beast's body.
Something was happening.
Something very bad.
And neither boy understood what.
The Howler collapsed.
Convulsing violently.
The stone floor cracked beneath it.
Its scream echoed throughout the estate.
And far above them—
Several members of House Mourncrest suddenly turned their heads toward the sound.
Including Vayra.