Chapter 21 — "The Eastwood Reckoning Begins"
Northern Forests — The First Clash
The moonlight barely pierced the thick pines as X and Zak sprinted across the frozen ground, following the trail of slaughtered livestock and the iron stench of spilled blood. Every step carried a promise:
If werewolves were truly responsible…
X would eliminate every last one.
Zak sniffed the air, his hybrid senses sharpening.
"Alpha… we're close."
X didn't slow.
"Good. I want them to hear me coming."
Leaves stirred.
Branches trembled.
Then—
Five werewolves burst from the darkness, fur bristling, eyes glowing like molten gold. They moved with feral precision, circling X and Zak.
X cracked his neck.
"Five? Pathetic."
The werewolves lunged.
The Fight
X moved first.
His claws extended, and with a single sprint he closed the distance, slashing through the first
wolf's throat, spinning, and beheading another cleanly. Blood sprayed like crimson mist.
Zak fought beside him, catching one wolf by the jaw and slamming him into a boulder.
The fourth wolf sank its teeth into X's shoulder—
But X didn't even flinch.
He grabbed the beast's skull with both hands and ripped it apart.
Only one wolf remained, trembling but snarling.
Zak held him down by the neck, pressing a claw to his throat.
"Talk," Zak growled. "Or I'll finish what he started."
The werewolf spat blood.
"Ronan… he told us… bring X out of hiding."
Zak's grip tightened.
X crouched beside the trembling wolf, eyes burning.
"Why?" he demanded. "What does Ronan gain from provoking me?"
The wolf whimpered.
"He said… while we distract you… he destroys everything you love."
The night seemed to freeze around X.
Zak's eyes widened.
"He's going after Hollowfen—"
"Where is your Alpha?!" X roared.
"With Ronan—"
THUD.
The trees shook.
Zak spun around.
X's eyes narrowed.
Ten massive werewolves emerged from the thick shadows, forming a deadly ring around them.
The captured wolf laughed weakly.
"You're not leaving these woods alive."
X's fangs slid out, slow and deliberate.
His voice was death:
"We'll see."
East Woods — The Trap Springs
Blue, Rito, Kin, and Gus slowed as they entered the heart of the woods.
The deeper they went, the more the world darkened.
The air grew cold.
Silent.
Wrong.
Then—
Kin gasped.
"Blue… look."
Bodies.
Human bodies.
Dozens of them.
Torn apart and scattered like broken dolls, their blood soaking the dirt. The smell hit them like a wall, metallic and suffocating.
Rito covered her mouth in horror.
Gus trembled, shadow energy rippling under his skin.
And then they saw him.
A towering, monstrous silhouette loomed over the corpses — a nightmarish figure with glowing amber eyes and claws dragging across the ground.
And beside him, holding a young girl by the hair—
Ronan.
His grin was savage.
Mocking.
Triumphant.
Blue tried to steady his breath.
"…Ronan. You don't have to do this."
Ronan's smile vanished.
"Shut up."
The monstrous figure behind him growled, shaking the trees.
Ronan pointed at Blue.
"You. All of this—"
he gestured to the corpses
"—is for you. Not your father. You."
Blue froze.
Kin whispered, pale,
"He… he planned this for you?"
Rito stepped closer to him.
"Blue… don't listen. We need to focus on getting her out."
Blue's fists tightened.
"…I know. If we rush him, she dies."
Blue took a shaky step forward.
"What do you want, Ronan?"
Ronan's smile returned — slow, dark, unhinged.
"What I've always wanted…"
his claws rested against the hostage's throat
"…to make X suffer."
He tilted his head.
"And the easiest way to do that…
is to kill his precious little son."
Blue felt his heart drop.
Kin whispered urgently:
"Blue—we have to save her."
Blue nodded, voice cracking.
"I know."
Ronan chuckled.
"Then fight me."
The trees bent with the force of his aura.
"One on one."
He raised his claws.
"No rules."
His eyes glowed crimson.
"To the death."