People fear many things. The dark. Insects. Animals. The depths of the ocean. Death, hunger, sickness. But in this age, the thing people feared most could be summed up in a single word: Creatures.
Evening had fallen.
Eren, Dean, Rowan, and Mira stood in the academy's front courtyard. Stone pavement, surrounding plants, the distant lights of the city. The voices of other candidates drifted through the air—conversations, whispers. From the upper floors of the academy, young people in uniforms looked down through the windows.
Eren looked up at the sky.
Through the dark clouds, something gray and massive was descending upon the city. It was large enough to cover the entire city.
Then the ground shook.
The sound of something dragging came from beneath the stones. Eren looked at his feet. The stone slabs he stood upon were changing. The ones on top were sinking below, while new ones rose from the ground. The new ones bore no summer motifs—no sun, no forest, no greenery. In their place were carvings of withered trees, pumpkins, scarecrows, corn, swords, staves, bows.
He looked around. The plants in the garden had vanished. The leaves of the trees had fallen in an instant. The greenery had been replaced by things resembling corn stalks—rising and growing rapidly from the soil. In place of ornamental plants, small red-leaved bushes and pumpkin seedlings had appeared.
He locked eyes with Dean.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Dean looked around. "Once the corn grows, it will turn into a labyrinth—a defense mechanism. Other than that, these plants grow by adapting to the environment, eventually gaining a more realistic appearance."
Eren turned to him. "How do you know all this?"
"I'm a noble. I spent my childhood here." Dean looked up. "Wait. The best part is coming."
The massive crystal above the academy's entrance gate began to glow green.
Then came the sound of shattering.
An orange crystal descended from the sky, floating down to land exactly on that spot. Root-like structures rose from between the stone slabs, lifting the crystal and settling it into its place above the gate. The tension in the roots vanished—they began to hang down. Suddenly, pumpkins began to sprout from the roots.
Then the crystal glowed orange.
A wave of energy radiated outward. Immediately after, a silver-colored mist enveloped everything, slowly settling onto the earth.
Eren paused. This isn't normal.
Someone appeared on the balcony.
There was no one—then there was. A red robe with gold embroidery, long brown hair, a middle-aged man. In his hand, a silver-headed cane. His voice reached every corner of the courtyard without effort.
"Greetings. I am Azrael Solarius, the High Mage of Safe Haven. The entrance examination for the Safe Haven Hunter Academy—the Silver Moon Ambush—hath but now commenced with its descent upon these lands."
Everyone was looking at the balcony.
"Now, if it please you, I shall elucidate unto you, my most invaluable candidates, the manner in which this trial shall be conducted."
The man gripped the cane in the middle and raised it. A massive silver projection appeared in the air. An island in the middle of a lake—forested, with rocky shores.
"These candidates shall be dispatched unto this isle ye behold. They shall strive to survive for one week, aiding one another amongst their teams. Upon the week's conclusion, the isle shall be evacuated by the hunters."
Eren looked at the island.
Then came a sound.
From the entrance of the courtyard. Something was approaching, swaying as it moved. The sound of bone. The sound of joints.
A skeleton—covered in scraps of old leather, arrows lodged in its skull, a greenish light in its eyes. It looked as if it would fall apart with every step. It did not.
Everyone backed away.
The skeleton reached the center of the courtyard. It stopped. It raised its head and looked at the balcony.
"High Mage." Its voice was muffled, broken. "Why didn't you mention the dangers? They already know the exam is dangerous, fine. But you know what will happen this year." It paused. "Is it truly worth putting the candidates at risk? Are you in such desperate need of new soldiers?"
Silence.
Azrael Solarius stood on the balcony. His face remained unchanged. But as his eyes scanned the skeleton, something passed through him—swift, controlled.
"Guards." His voice was flat. "Seize this speaking skeleton. I must needs examine its manner of speech."
The guards moved forward.
The skeleton did not look at them. It only looked at Azrael.
"Umbra nigra."
Azrael froze.
Only for a second. Perhaps less. But Eren saw it.He recognized that word. He definitely recognized it.
Azrael descended from the balcony. He walked swiftly into the courtyard. He raised his hand. He began to speak words in an ancient, archaic language—heavy, rhythmic, the kind where every syllable hung in the air.
Then:
"Hell Ray."
Blood red and black. The beam firing from his palm went directly toward the skeleton. For a moment, everything was painted red.
The skeleton raised the back of its left hand.
A single movement. Effortless.
It deflected the entire beam upward. Into the sky. The dark clouds scattered, blown away. A small hole opened in the sky—about the size of your fist when you hold it out.
In that hole, the full moon was visible.
The skeleton was gone. It had vanished silently.
Everyone was looking up.
The surface of the moon began to darken. Slowly. A shadow was growing. The moon was still there, but something was upon it—a black silhouette. It did not move. It just stood there.
Then a sound came from the city center.
Not a sound—a wave.
A massive, white, dense mist began to spread in every direction from the center of the city. It filled the streets, enveloped the buildings. It was eight meters thick. It allowed no light to pass.
"Within!" Azrael turned. His voice rose for the first time. "All within!"
They ran. All the candidates, with all their strength, toward the interior.
From the courtyard to the corridor. From the corridor inside. Eren looked back—the mist was coming, like a wall.
The doors closed.
Glass shattered.
With a single impact. It scattered everywhere. The thing that entered had no shape—a white, twisting, bending, living mist. It filled the room. It reached out toward everything.
Eren backed away. He reached for his pistol. I don't know what good it will do, but I have nothing else.
Azrael entered the academy through the door.
He raised his hand. His voice was calm, heavy, controlled—as always.
"Carcer Maxima."
A white light spread. The mist creature made a sound between a roar and a scream—it was not a human voice. It shriveled, compressed, and vanished.
Silence.
Glass shards were on the floor. Everyone was breathing—fast, irregular.
Azrael lowered his hand. He looked at the sky.
The silhouette on the moon was still there.
He did not turn. He said nothing.
He just stood there.
And then, the sound of laughter was heard.
After that, nothing else was heard but that thing.