No one answered.
The giant beast did not attack yet.
Even it… felt something different in the air.
Something older than it… and far more terrifying.
Kentru raised his head with difficulty, his crimson eyes trying to focus on that mysterious golden light between the trees.
He could not see its owner clearly, only two glowing eyes… and a faint half-smile disappearing into the darkness.
Then…
Everything vanished.
The sound of rain returned, falling violently, and the armored boar returned to its savage growling, but something had changed.
The beast… had become hesitant.
Kentru seized that moment immediately, darting to the side, avoiding the beast’s tusks that pierced the ground where he had stood moments before.
He rolled through the mud several times, feeling sharp pain tear through his shoulder… but he did not stop.
“I have only one chance…”
This time he stood more firmly, his eyes fixed on one spot.
Below the neck.
The only area not fully covered by armor.
The armored boar roared violently, then charged toward him like a rocket, its massive mouth wide open as if it wanted to swallow him whole.
At the last moment…
Kentru dropped low.
He slid beneath the beast’s body between its massive legs, raising his small knife with all the strength he had left.
A deafening roar shook the forest.
Kentru felt his blade pierce something warm and fleshy at last.
One stab…
But it worked.
Blood exploded from beneath the beast’s neck.
It staggered back, roaring in hysterical rage, then swung its armored tail violently and struck Kentru directly.
His body flew through the air like a broken doll before crashing against a massive rock.
“Gaaah…!”
He fell to the ground, gasping violently.
He felt as if his bones had shattered completely, and he nearly lost consciousness from the sheer pain.
But inside his head…
There was only one voice.
“Get up…”
He clenched his teeth tightly.
“If you give up now… you will die.”
He rose with difficulty on his trembling knees, lifting his gaze toward the beast.
It was bleeding heavily now, retreating slowly, but its eyes still burned with hatred.
Then it charged again.
But this time…
It was slower.
Kentru smiled despite the blood covering his face.
“You’re getting weaker…”
He waited until the beast was close enough, then suddenly leaped over its head with astonishing speed, twisting in the air before landing directly behind it.
He drove his knife into the open wound with all his remaining strength, then dragged it downward violently.
The beast screamed a scream that shook the entire forest.
Its massive body swayed, then collapsed onto its knees.
Kentru did not stop.
He leaped onto the beast’s back, reached its neck, and began stabbing wildly.
One stab.
Two.
Three.
Four…
Five.
Until the beast stopped resisting.
Its massive body finally froze… then went completely still.
Silence fell.
Even the rain seemed quieter for a moment.
Kentru collapsed beside the giant corpse, gasping heavily, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
His entire body was bleeding, his breaths were ragged, and his eyes were tearful without him realizing.
He did not know if he was crying from the pain…
Or from joy.
He stared at the sky for moments, unable to believe he was still alive.
Then he raised his bloodstained hand and whispered in a broken voice:
“I did not die… I am alive.”
Long moments passed before he could stand.
He looked at the beast’s corpse, then toward the depths of the forest where those golden eyes had appeared.
But…
There was no one there.
He whispered in a faint voice:
“Who… was that?”
Only the sound of rain answered him.
He pressed a torn piece of his clothing against his shoulder wound and began walking back toward his abandoned cabin with heavy, unsteady steps.
Every step hurt him.
Every breath burned his chest.
Until he finally arrived.
He opened the cabin door with difficulty, then closed it behind him with a faint sound.
He looked around for a moment, then collapsed onto his old, worn-out bed.
“Enough… for today.”
And he closed his eyes.
The next morning…
Kentru woke to sunlight streaming through the cracks in the wooden cabin.
He sat up slowly, then looked at his body.
His eyes widened slightly.
His shoulder wound, which had been bleeding heavily last night…
Had not completely disappeared.
Yes, it looked much better, but the wound was still there, and some deep bruises remained as well.
He whispered in astonishment:
“This is strange…”
He looked at his hand, opening and closing it slowly.
“Every time I woke up before… I found myself fully healed.”
He paused for a moment.
“But this time… no.”
He felt a faint pain in his shoulder and furrowed his brow.
“Was it because the fight was more intense?”
Then he added in a low voice:
“Or does my ability… have limits?”
He found no answer.
But for the first time, he felt he had taken a step closer to understanding what was happening to his body.
He rose from his place, heading toward the corner of the cabin to look for leftover food.
As he moved some old items…
He suddenly stopped.
There was something buried beneath the dust and dry leaves.
A book.
Very old.
Its cover was completely black, with strange golden symbols carved into it.
He approached it slowly, then picked it up.
The moment he touched it…
He felt a strange warmth seep into his palm.
His eyes widened slightly.
“What is this…?”
He wiped the dust off the cover slowly, trying to read the symbols carved on it.
He did not understand most of them.
But one word was strangely clear.
“Dark.”
Or perhaps…
“Darkness.”
He sat on the ground and carefully opened the first page.
But what he saw made him frown immediately.
The language was not understandable.
Not the language of humans.
Nor demons.
Something older… and stranger.
He whispered as he slowly turned the pages:
“Why is there a book like this… inside an abandoned cabin in the Dark Forest?”
He closed the book for a moment and placed his hand over its black cover.
That strange warmth was still there.
As if…
The book was alive.
Kentru raised his gaze toward the dilapidated cabin, and a strange feeling began to creep inside him.
Perhaps…
This place was never random at all.
“Who lived here before me…?”
He looked at the book again, then whispered in a faint voice:
“Perhaps… I will find the answers between these pages.”
He placed the book beside him, but his eyes kept returning to it.
And far away…
Inside the hidden Fairy Realm…
Two blue eyes gleamed in the darkness.
Then a quiet, faint voice appeared, saying:
“So… the book has finally chosen him.”
A mysterious smile formed among the shadows…
To Be Continued…