Chapter 5: Laughter of Blood in the Forest of Silence
Time passed in a haze of classes…and in the evening, deep inside the forest—The forest at the far edge of the city was silent…a silence unlike any other.
The trees trembled without wind,and the ground felt damp, as if holding secrets it refused to speak.
Suddenly—a loud, violent thud.
A tall young man, sharp-featured with eyes glowing like embers,was gripping another man by the collar, lifting him off the ground with ease as if he weighed nothing.
The young man spoke in a low voice…
yet every word dripped with pleasure and madness:
"So entertaining…"
He leaned closer to the trembling man, a twisted smile rising on his lips:
"My little brother…
ran away from me again."
His grip tightened, the man beginning to choke.
"You little wolf…why are you in our old village?"
He paused for a moment, then let out a soft laugh:
"Ah… my apologies.
It isn't a village anymore, is it?"
His eyes wandered around with faint disdain.
"It became a city… and still somehow boring."
He threw the man against a tree trunk with force.
The man collapsed onto the ground, gasping, unable to run.
The young man walked toward him with calm, deliberate steps—the steps of someone who knew exactly how this scene would end.
He leaned over him and said:
"It seems…
my little brother is longing to return home."
Then he extended his hand, placing his fingers on the man's head as if comforting him.
"A small piece of advice… for your next life…"
He moved closer to the man's ear, his voice turning as cold as death itself:
"Be wiser."
And in an instant—a faint crack echoed as the man's head was torn from his body.
Blood scattered everywhere.
The man's body went limp, collapsing without a single movement.
The young man lifted his head toward the dark sky, his eyes beginning to shine with a sharp red glow…
a glow that revealed two truths:
Hunger.
And madness.
He smiled…a wide, wide smile, showing his small, sharp fangs.
Then he spoke in a broken voice, dripping with obsession:
"My little brother…"
He spread his arms as if welcoming a bloody embrace:
"Prepare yourself…
Your big brother is coming to return you to your coffin.
Then he burst into laughter—a loud, deranged laugh that rattled the tree branches around him:
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!"
The laughter rose…stretched…and then faded into the forest, as if the earth swallowed it whole.
Then—the young man vanished into the shadows with a single step.
And as he disappeared, a faint breeze rose…carrying the scent of iron and night.
After his laughter faded into the forest,the young man emerged at the edge of the dirt road, where the trees slowly thinned out,revealing the small town below under the cold morning light.
He stood there…still, like an ancient shadow that did not belong to this era.
The wind tugged at the ends of his long coat,and his face was half-drowned in shadow, half-lit by a pale glow.
He lifted his gaze toward the distant buildings,toward the quiet streets,and toward the school resting at the eastern edge of the town.
From there…he could hear distant laughter, the sound of bells, the movement of students rushing to their classes.
He smiled faintly—a smile without a trace of warmth.
"How long has it been…?"
He whispered it softly, as if speaking only to himself.
He extended his hand forward, as though feeling the air…
or searching for something missing within it.
"This place has changed…He said it with a mocking tone, as if displeased by what he saw.
Then his gaze returned specifically to the school—his eyes glinting with a faint light, though nothing supernatural showed,merely the look of a man planning something.
"My brother…"
He murmured with a tilted smile:
"Do you really think you can hide here?
Among humans…?"
He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply as if trying to catch a scent.
Then slowly opened them:
"How naïve you are."
He turned around,slipped his hands into his pockets,and began walking down the road leading toward the town center—his steps calm, yet carrying the confidence of someone who knew perfectly well
that time was on his side.
And as he walked away, his lips curved into a faint smile:
"No matter…
I'll find you."
He did not look back.
He did not glance at the place he had come from.
The entire town had become an open map before him.
The streets swallowed him slowly,turning him into an ordinary shadow among the morning shadows—but something in his footsteps made it clear that his presence here…
would not pass quietly.
As the mysterious young man approached the center of the village,
the street was nearly empty at that hour…
except for a girl standing in front of a closed shop, holding her school bag, looking as if she were waiting for someone.
She was a very ordinary girl.
Tired eyes, hair tied up carelessly… and features carrying the worry of a student who hadn't finished her homework.
He sensed her presence effortlessly.
He walked toward her with steady steps…until she suddenly stopped on her own, for no clear reason.
She lifted her head toward him, her eyes widening slightly—not out of fear…
but as if something in his presence
made her mind freeze for a moment.
He stood before her, half his face shadowed by the dim streetlight.
"Good morning…"
He said it in a low voice…
calm…
and composed in a way that made the heart slow its beat.
The girl blinked slowly:
"Uh… good morning."
He smiled.
A smile that wasn't gentle…but wasn't frightening either.
It was simply…commanding.
He leaned down slightly until their eyes met directly.
"Are you… going to school?"
She nodded slowly.
Her movement was slower than usual, as if his words entered her ears and paused her thoughts.
He spoke even more softly…a tone that brushed against her consciousness:
"Come with me.
She didn't object.
She didn't ask.
She didn't fear.
Her foot moved one step forward, then another…as if something was pulling her body without her will.
The young man slowly extended his hand—not touching her—just gesturing for her to follow—And she followed.
They crossed the road, passed through narrow alleys, and the old building began to appear before them:
An abandoned mansion… on the edge of the village, embraced by overgrown trees,covered in dust from every side.
The place was silent to the point of madness,and just looking at it stirred memories of stories no one wished to hear.
The young man pushed open the heavy wooden door, which let out a sharp creak…a sound like a groan rising from the past.
He gestured for the girl to enter.
She stepped inside without hesitation, as if her mind no longer asked why.
And the moment he entered behind her…
the door closed with a low thud.
The first room was wide, the lighting dim and yellowish,and the air cold as though the sun had never touched it.
The young man approached the girl with calm steps, his eyes shining with something resembling dark curiosity.
Then he slowly lifted his arm and wrapped it around her waist—not like a warm embrace…but like a steady grip, as if securing something that might escape.
He leaned closer, whispering at her ear with a low voice, cold as the forest night:
"Are… you ready?"
The girl trembled for a moment, then her voice came out faint, hesitant… yet without resistance:
"Yes."
The young man gave a short smile, a smile with no warmth…
no romance…only the calmness of someone who knew exactly what he was about to do.
"Then… let's wait for my brother in the bed."
He said it in a tone closer to a threat than a joke.
He positioned his hand behind her shoulder, placing her at the right angle, then tilted his head toward her neck, and the girl closed her eyes as if surrendering herself.
There was no gentleness…no rush…only a precise, cold, calculated movement.
He parted his lips slightly—just for a brief moment—then sank lightly into her neck, without sound, without a scream, as if the air itself tightened around them.
The girl remained completely still, as though under a heavy dream—
or a magnetic sleep with no escape.
And as he did so, a faint smile flickered across his lips, a smile only the darkness could see:
Just like that… perfect.