The storm howled like a wounded god.
Snow and ash spun through the clearing, a whirl of white and red — Rin and the Wendigo locked in motion, each strike ringing through the night like the tolling of a bell.
Their blades and claws no longer met cleanly; they tore through trees, bit into frozen earth, split stones. Sparks painted the dark forest in short bursts of light, illuminating blood and frost in equal measure.
Rin ducked under a claw swipe, pivoted, and slashed up the creature's abdomen. Black blood sprayed across his face, steaming against his skin. The Wendigo howled — not in pain, but rage — and slammed its forearm into his guard, sending him tumbling backward.
He rolled, planting his sword to stop himself.
His breath came ragged now, visible in quick, sharp bursts.
"You're one tough bastard…"
The Wendigo hissed, voice warbling — like it was still trying to speak.
"...We…ak…"
That single word made Rin pause — just long enough for it to charge again.
The beast tackled him through a tree, both slamming into the ground. Its claws raked across his shoulder — shredding through his cloak and digging deep. Rin screamed, shoving his blade up into its jaw.
The sword drove halfway through before the Wendigo jerked back, snapping the metal clean in half.
For a heartbeat, Rin just stared at the broken hilt in disbelief.
Then he grinned through the blood.
"Alright. No sword, then."
---
He pulled a small ignition tag from his belt — one of his own designs — and pressed it to his palm. Sparks flared.
"Explosive Burst—Zero Form."
He lunged forward, closing the gap before the Wendigo could adjust. His hand slammed into its chest — the tag igniting on contact. A thunderous blast erupted, hurling both of them apart.
Snow vaporized in a flash, the shockwave flattening the trees.
Rin landed hard, vision spinning, ears ringing with nothing but static. He forced himself up, half-laughing, half-gasping. The creature staggered to its feet too — half its torso scorched, bones visible beneath charred skin.
And still… it stood.
---
Rin spat blood into the snow. "Stubborn thing… fits right in with the rest of us."
He tore a jagged splinter of his broken blade from the snow — its edge dull but solid — and clenched it in his bleeding hand.
The Wendigo lunged again, slower now but still dangerous. Rin sidestepped the first swing, ducked the second, and rammed the shard straight into its throat.
The creature gurgled — black ichor spilling over Rin's wrist — and he kicked its knee out, forcing it to kneel.
It still tried to fight, clawing weakly at him, its remaining hand twitching toward his face.
Rin grabbed its antlers, twisting hard until bone cracked.
He yanked it down to his level, locking eyes with the fading blue glow.
"You shouldn't have said that ."
He drove the broken metal up through its skull.
For a moment, everything went still — then the Wendigo convulsed, body twitching violently before going limp.
Rin released it, breathing hard, his shoulders trembling.
The beast slumped to the side, steam rising off its corpse. The air smelled of burnt iron and blood.
---
Rin fell back onto the snow, eyes on the dull, gray sky.
The silence after the storm was deafening. Only his heartbeat remained — heavy, slow, real.
"Alpha Squad… huh?"
He let out a bitter chuckle. "Guess we're following their trail after all."
He sat up, checking his wound — deep, but not fatal. His right hand still trembled from overuse.
He could already tell Kael would scold him for burning through tags again.
The thought made him smirk.
---
Rin sheathed what was left of his sword and started back toward the rendezvous point. Behind him, the Wendigo's body began to blacken, turning to ash as the curse retreated from the flesh.
By the time Rin reached the edge of the clearing, nothing remained but the antlers — jutting from the snow like a grave marker.
He didn't look back.