[Realm: Álfheimr]
[Location: Heart Kingdom Outskirts]
Mikoto had expected something grotesque, perhaps even something absurd, when he imagined the so-called Deseruit Beast. The way Gretel spoke of them, he had assumed they were either a recurring problem or a familiar thorn in her side.
He hadn't been wrong.
The first to emerge slinked from behind a gnarled, half-dead tree. It padded forward. A wolf-like creature, though the comparison felt shallow. It was only slightly larger than a natural wolf—twice the size, maybe—but its presence carried pressure. Its fur was a lustrous, ink-black pelt broken by patches of deep crimson armor, not grown like bone, but layered like hardened chitin. A thick, scaled tail trailed behind it, twitching slightly.
It sniffed once.
Its glowing red eyes snapped instantly to Mikoto.
He didn't flinch. He simply looked past it, unconcerned, letting his gaze drift calmly toward the left.
There stood the second.
