Glacia woke up to find Fokusar sitting nearby, his knuckles white as he gripped his bladed revolver.
Noticing the heavy dark bags under his eyes, she asked quietly, “Have you slept at all?”
Fokusar looked over at her, his expression exhausted.
“No.
I’ve been worried, guarding you all night.”
Glacia nodded, glancing down at her stomach.
It was wrapped tightly in bandages, though some of the cloth was stained a deep crimson from the bleeding.
Ignoring the pain, she picked up her metal spear, stood up, and growled, “Let’s go kill that deer bastard.”
“We should check on the village first, make sure it’s still okay,” Fokusar suggested.
Glacia nodded and pulled out her compass.
They began the trek south through the snow.
After ten minutes of tense walking, they finally reached the edge of the village.
But the welcoming sight of pine wood houses was gone.
Instead, an overwhelming wave of dread washed over them.
Everything had been burned to the ground.
Every single home was reduced to smoldering ash.
Fokusar walked over to the charred remains of what used to be the village leader’s house.
His breath hitched.
Lying in the debris was the little girl, her white dress now covered in blood.
Fokusar fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
Glacia walked over to him, her cold demeanor cracking slightly.
“Uhh, friend…
why are you crying?”
“When you were talking to the village leader, I saw his daughter,” Fokusar choked out, wiping his eyes.
“And now she’s dead.
Look how many people had to die just because we didn’t kill that beast.”
Glacia sat down in the snow beside Fokusar, placing a reassuring hand on his back.
“It wasn’t just your fault.
It was mine, too.
I wasn’t watching my back.”
Fokusar stood up, aggressively wiping the remaining tears from his face.
His sadness hardened into rage.
“Then let’s go kill it together.”
They turned back toward the mountains, pushing themselves into a sprint.
After five minutes, they reached the mouth of the cavern just as the Wendigo emerged, ready to hunt for more prey.
The moment the monster spotted Glacia, it let out a roar and charged forward on all fours.
Suddenly, Glacia began to chant, her voice echoing with ancient power: “One hundred and eight suitors.”
As the words left her lips, a mass of shadowy hands erupted from the frozen earth, grabbing the Wendigo’s limbs and pinning it in place.
The beast thrashed and struggled, but the shadows held firm.
“Twelve axes.”
Twelve spectral axes plummeted from the sky, embedding themselves into the ground in a perfect, straight line in front of the beast, each one topped with a hollow metal ring.
“One King of Ithaca.”
A massive, ornate wooden bow materialized in Glacia’s hands.
She drew back the string with all her might, took a deep breath, and let it fly.
The arrow soared cleanly through the center of all twelve axe rings.
With every single ring it passed, the arrow broke the sound barrier, multiplying its speed until it was a blur.
In less than a second, the arrow tore deep into the Wendigo’s neck.
The shadowy hands dissolved, releasing the furious, wounded beast.
A deeply unsettling, dual-toned voice echoed from the monster’s throat: “You dare to shoot me?
I will skin you alive!”
The Wendigo galloped frantically toward Glacia.
Just as its claws were about to shred her, she leapt high into the air, vaulting over its head and driving her spear deep into its back.
The Wendigo screeched, accelerating to a terrifying speed, trying to shake her off, but Glacia only gripped the shaft tighter.
The monster rammed its back violently against a massive pine tree to crush her.
Glacia nearly lost her footing, but she held on.
Suddenly, a loud BANG echoed through the forest.
A bullet struck the Wendigo’s leg, fracturing the bone.
The monster stumbled, turning its horrific gaze toward Fokusar, who stood with his smoking revolver raised.
The Wendigo reared back onto its hind legs, with Glacia still clinging to its spine.
It lashed out at Fokusar with a massive claw.
Fokusar ducked instantly.
As he dropped low, a glowing blue semicircle flashed beneath his eye.
Time slowed to an absolute crawl.
With the world moving in slow motion, Fokusar grabbed hold of the Wendigo’s swiping hand, using the momentum to pull himself up onto its massive arm.
Channeling all his strength, he violently snapped the creature’s fingers backward.
“Aughhh!” the beast shrieked in pure agony.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Glacia pulled herself up to the Wendigo’s neck.
A dangerous smirk crossed her face.
“Let’s see how well you fight when I make you blind!”
She delivered a brutal punch straight into the Wendigo’s eye socket.
Blinded and crazed with pain, the Wendigo blindly thrashed, grabbing Glacia by the leg and hurling her across the clearing, while Fokusar lost his grip and fell from its arm.
Glacia crashed hard into a snowbank, her face buried in the powder.
She scrambled up quickly, brushing the snow off her coat, ready to re-enter the fray.
But as she looked up, the battlefield was gone.
Standing directly in front of her was a woman with long brown hair.
The woman looked down at her with a gentle, familiar smile and said, “My dear, where have you been?”
Glacia stared in absolute shock, her breath catching as she slowly took a step toward the woman.