Flames erupted from Likath's body like a blazing heartbeat—
BOOM!
The darkness recoiled for a fleeting moment, as if night itself had flinched…
And the battlefield was revealed in full.
Dozens of hyenas surrounded them.
Their bodies were twisted, unnatural—black spikes jutted from their backs like they had been hammered in by some cruel hand. Their eyes burned red with blind hunger, and their long tails swayed slowly behind them… like serpents preparing to strike.
The stench of rot and blood thickened the air.
Rolin's smile widened.
Not because he enjoyed pain—he wasn't that broken.
But because numbers meant growth. And growth… meant survival.
He tightened his grip on the chain—
SHHHHK!
It shot forward again—faster this time.
The black dagger pierced through the throat of a lunging hyena from the right—
CHAAK!
He didn't stop.
The chain wrapped around its body—
Then he pulled.
KRAAAK!
The head tore free.
But—
Before the corpse could even collapse—
Two more leapt from behind.
"Left!" Selen shouted.
Rolin's body moved before thought—
He ducked, slid—
Jaws snapped just above his head.
And at that exact moment—
BOOM!
Likath slammed into one of them like a living fireball. Half its face burned instantly, while he clamped his jaws onto the other's neck—
Then—
A burst of flame.
The two creatures staggered back, shrieking.
But they didn't retreat.
They multiplied.
From every direction—
Grrrrr… grrrrr…
The circle tightened.
Rolin drew his second dagger—
Spun—
A swift horizontal slash—
CHAK! CHAK!
Black blood splattered through the air.
But the bodies… didn't fall back.
They advanced.
—
Selen stepped forward.
The sword Rolin had given her trembled slightly in her grip—
Then steadied.
Her eyes sharpened.
A hyena lunged, its jaw splitting open grotesquely—
She raised the blade instinctively—
CHAAAK!
The steel sank into its upper jaw, halting its momentum.
But—
She lacked the strength to finish it.
"Damn it—!"
She tried to pull the sword free—
The creature twisted, snapping toward her—
And then—
SHHHH!
A black chain shot past her—
Wrapped around the beast—
And yanked it away.
BOOM!
It slammed into the ground.
"Focus!" Rolin snapped without looking.
Then—
He moved.
Not reacting anymore—
Attacking.
A chain in one hand.
A dagger in the other.
Every motion precise.
Wrap—pull—stab the eye—
CHAK!
Kick—crack a jaw—
Spin—bind three together—
Pull—
KRAAASH!
Their skulls collided violently.
But—
Their numbers didn't drop.
If anything…
They were increasing.
Likath roared, incinerating a cluster:
"They're gathering toward the light!"
Rolin inhaled slowly.
Then—
Smiled.
"…Good."
He leapt back suddenly.
"Likath—raise it!"
In an instant—
Flames exploded upward.
A blazing pillar.
The entire battlefield lit up.
Every hyena froze for a fraction of a second—
Drawn in.
As if the fire… was their sun.
"Now!"
Rolin surged forward—
Not toward the edges—
But straight into the center.
Where the density was highest.
Chains erupted—
SHHHHHHH!
They spun around him like a black storm.
Anything that came close—
Was torn.
Shredded.
Broken.
Selen stood still for half a second…
Watching.
Breathing hard.
Heart pounding.
Then—
She tightened her grip.
"…I won't stay behind you."
She dashed forward.
This time—
She didn't hesitate.
First strike—
Shoulder.
Second—
Deeper.
Then—
She learned.
No longer wild swings.
She aimed.
Eyes.
Joints.
Neck.
"I'll repay the debt… just not today!"
she shouted, driving the blade into another.
Likath laughed amid the flames:
"I like this girl!"
The hyenas began to falter.
Not from fear—
But confusion.
The prey…
Was fighting back.
Like monsters.
Then—
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
A deeper sound.
Heavier.
Everything froze for a second.
Then—
The circle split.
And from within—
It emerged.
A hyena.
Twice the size.
Its body covered in longer spikes, its eyes no longer just red—
But burning with something far worse.
Madness.
Rolin stopped.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"…Finally."
He tightened his chain.
"Leader."
Likath dimmed his flames slightly, preparing.
Selen—
Raised her sword.
Her hands steady.
Her gaze cold.
Even as the smaller hyenas pressed harder around her—
She didn't retreat.
She sharpened.
Then—
The massive hyena lowered its body.
Prepared.
And—
Exploded forward.
Not toward Rolin.
But—
Toward Selen.
Her eyes widened.
Her body was tired.
Her shoulder bleeding.
She wasn't ready—
But she raised her sword anyway.
"No!" Rolin shouted.
He sprinted.
Chains fired—
But—
Too far.
Too late.
Selen smiled.
A small, exhausted smile.
"…I won't die twice."
And just as the jaws were about to close—
BOOOOOOM!
The ground beneath the beast exploded.
Fire.
Not from Likath.
From below.
A rising inferno struck its abdomen—
Lifting its body slightly—
Breaking its balance.
And in that instant—
Rolin arrived.
The chain wrapped around its neck—
He pulled with everything he had—
And leapt.
Higher than he should have.
Higher than he ever had.
"Now!" Likath roared.
He vanished—
Into Rolin.
The flames didn't burst outward—
They condensed.
Into his arm.
Into the dagger.
The blade ignited.
Red.
Black.
Like a shard of a living volcano.
"Die."
CHAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!
The dagger plunged straight into the leader's eye.
Pierced deep.
Deeper.
Until—
It reached.
Silence.
Half a second.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
An explosion from within.
Flames erupted out of its eyes, its mouth, between its spikes—
A monstrous scream tore through the forest.
Then—
It fell.
Heavy.
Still.
Silence.
The remaining hyenas…
Froze.
One second.
Two.
Then—
They retreated.
Slowly.
Quietly.
As if they had never existed.
Rolin stood.
Breathing heavily.
The dagger still in his hand.
The flames gone.
He turned.
Looked at Selen.
"…You're still alive."
She looked back.
Exhausted.
In pain.
But—
She smiled faintly.
"…Unfortunately."
Likath laughed.
"I love you two. You're a disaster."