Lucion sprinted down the path he had come from.
The search team followed the same route, unaware he was just ahead of them.
Behind them, the wolf was relentless, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
Twigs snapped.
Heavy boots pounded the earth.
Panic bled into their footsteps.
One of the men glanced over his shoulder, eyes wide with terror.
He shouted, breathless, "Boss! Boss, sa—"
CRUNCH!
Before the words could finish, a sickening sound shattered the air.
Lucion halted for a split second. "This is..." he muttered, but the rest caught in his throat.
'The wolf finally caught up to the team.'
His thoughts spiraled as his gaze dropped to the storage ring on his finger.
"Damn."
A howl tore through the air, sharp and raw. The blaze-wolf had finished its first kill.
Lucion clenched his jaw.
'I'm too weak to face that thing…'
He cursed under his breath.
'Idiots. Who told those greedy bastards to torment the wolf so cruelly?'
'I knew it. That blaze-wolf would make sure they died as painfully as its mate did.'
Without another thought, he turned and bolted, cursing under his breath.
The fog twisted around the trees, swallowing the world behind him.
Time dragged, heavy and still, but it couldn't muffle the screams.
A shriek. Then a gurgle.
The rip of muscle.
The crack of bone.
The men were dying. Fast. Messy.
How many? He didn't know.
Lucion didn't care anymore.
With each kill, the wolf howled, a sound like shattered grief given voice.
Not hunger, not fury, but vengeance.
A requiem for its fallen mate, sung in screams and snapping bones.
Only three remained now: Lucion, the muscular man, and the bald one.
As time passed, the fog began to thin, the world slowly emerging from its choking veil.
The muscular man caught a glimpse of Lucion running ahead. He shouted, "Hey! Who are you?!"
Then, pointing at Lucion, he shouted again, "Is this your fault? That's why the wolf is after us!"
But Lucion didn't look back, as if he hadn't heard the voice. He kept moving forward, his heart pounding.
'I need to get out of here. Screw the profession. Life is more important.'
His mind kept repeating those words.
'The way he's killing and howling, I'm sure that wolf won't stop until the last one of us is finished,' he thought.
"Hey, you bastard! Where are you running? Stop that wolf! You've attracted its attention, so take responsibility!"
The muscular man kept shouting behind him.
But suddenly, a voice came from behind, and the muscular man finally glanced back.
Lucion also looked over his shoulder, hearing the familiar sound of the bald man stumbling—he'd caught his leg and fallen onto the path.
"Boss!" the bald man shouted.
But the muscular man never stopped running. He ignored his subordinate and pressed on.
Lucion felt the pain in the bald man's shout, but he didn't stop either.
There was no time to waste. He kept running forward.
The bald man lay on the ground, betrayed.
Tears welled in his eyes, but he said nothing.
GROOOOORRRRR!!!
A low, guttural growl rumbled behind him.
He didn't look back.
The wolf emerged, eyes glowing with cold fury.
With a flick of its paw—swift and merciless—it tore the bald man's head from his body.
The only sound that followed was the crunch of bones.
Now, only Lucion and the muscular man remained.
Finally, Lucion spoke while running, breath ragged.
"What a bastard... Didn't even help his own ally."
The muscular man didn't respond, but he was gaining on Lucion.
'Damn,' Lucion thought. 'I'm too tired. I can't keep up this pace.'
Noticing Lucion slowing down, a smirk curled on the muscular man's face.
He pushed harder, sprinting faster.
Step by step, he closed the gap.
Then came a howl.
A bone-chilling screech tore through the summit, echoing across the windswept peaks.
At last, the blaze-wolf had caught up to them.
Its growl echoed through the trees as it charged, relentless.
It was right behind them now, hunting the last two survivors.
They were both sprinting toward the cave, the only shelter in sight.
Just as they neared the entrance, the muscular man lunged forward and grabbed Lucion's shoulder.
Lucion reacted on instinct. He twisted sharply and slammed his elbow into the man's ribs.
"Urgh!" The man staggered back, coughing up blood.
"Damn it... how are you this strong?" he gasped.
Lucion didn't stop. He bolted forward without looking back.
Still clutching his side, the muscular man stumbled after him, shouting through gritted teeth,
"Hey! Buddy! You're strong, too strong. Why don't we team up and kill that blaze-wolf together?"
But his tone, despite the pain, had shifted. It was calm now, almost respectful.
They kept running, breath ragged, side by side.
The muscular man glanced over. "So, what do you say, buddy?"
Lucion assessed him in a heartbeat.
'I hit him with seventy percent of my strength and he's still matching my pace.'
Out loud he said, "How can I trust you not to betray me? I saw what you did to your subordinate."
"No, no—friend, you've got it wrong," the man panted.
"He was slow from the start. When he tripped I wanted to help, but the situation was urgent, so I had to leave him. Let him go."
Lucion shot him a sidelong stare. 'What a bastard.'
Yet another thought followed, cold and practical.
'Running won't stop that blaze-wolf. Even if we reach town, it'll still chase us there too. Then the townspeople will be in danger. Blaze-wolves are the smartest and most aggressive of their kind.'
Reluctantly, he gave a short nod.
The muscular man managed a grim smile. "Good. Then let's finish this together."
They both reached the cave and stopped at its entrance, their chests heaving with exhaustion.
Heavy deliberate footsteps echoed behind them. The wolf appeared, its mouth dripping with blood, eyes blazing with fury.
A low guttural growl rumbled through the air.
Lucion shouted, "Charge!" and they both surged forward.
But mid-charge, Lucion shifted his footing, swerving sharply and coming to a sudden stop.
The muscular man, caught off guard, kept rushing ahead.
"Bastard!" he cursed, but he couldn't stop himself in time.
Instinctively, he grabbed a knife from his pocket and lunged at the blazing fur.
The moment the blade touched the wolf's coat, it seared with intense heat.
The muscular man screamed, dropping the knife instantly—it hadn't even pierced the fur.
He backed off instinctively, his eyes burning with unspoken rage, locked on Lucion.
"Why?" His voice was a blade in the dark.
The wolf growled but didn't charge, its gaze fixed on the faintly glowing purple ring on Lucion's finger.
Without turning to the man, Lucion smirked and spoke softly to the wolf, "Really, really smart. You know what I'm hiding. That's the only reason you're still standing there, isn't it?"
The wolf let out a long, haunting howl.
Flames surged across its body, flaring brighter.
Lucion's eyes widened in surprise.
'Oh... so it really can understand me,' he thought, then continued aloud,
"I won't help these guy, but you have to let me go. You can smell the blood of your family, but I had nothing to do with it."
The wolf howled again, the sound echoing through the cave.
'Damn, I know he'll still come after me once he's finished with these men, but at least this will buy me some time.'
Lucion glanced at the muscular man, who was trying to slip away amid the chaos.
"You really think we can defeat this wolf?"
Lucion's words seemed to harden something in the man's mind.
He gritted his teeth and dashed off without hesitation.
The wolf didn't chase him but instead fixed its glowing red eyes on Lucion.
Suddenly, flames erupted, engulfing the wolf's entire body.
'Damn, he's going all out on me,' Lucion thought, tension rising.
He spoke aloud, steady and calm, "I said I won't help that guy, so why are you still here? Fine—let's make a deal. I'll stay in these mountains and wait for you to kill him. Satisfied?"
The fire on the wolf's fur flickered uncertainly, as if considering the offer.
'Looks like it's working. I need to get out of here somehow,' Lucion thought.
"If you don't trust me, why didn't you attack me then? Or now?" he added, challenging.
He raised his hand slowly, flashing his middle finger not for insult but to show the ring gleaming on it.
"Isn't it because you know?" he continued, voice low. "If we fight, it won't just be a clash—it'll be life and death. And if we both die..."
His golden eyes narrowed. "That man will be freed."
Slowly, the flames around the wolf's mouth receded, though its body remained wreathed in fire, burning but no longer raging.
It stood still, eyes locked with Lucion's, as if weighing his words... and accepting them.
With a final, fierce howl, the wolf turned and sprinted toward the muscular man.
Lucion let out a breath of relief, his heart pounding as the immediate danger receded.
"I need to reach the second cave and get inside... maybe that's the only way I can survive."
Lucion recalled what the player once said, there was a small passage hidden inside that cave.
He didn't waste a second.
He followed the same trail, climbing toward the upper part of the mountain where the wolf and its cubs had been slain.
It was his third time taking that path: first to explore, then to flee for his life, and now to cling to whatever chance he had left.
After a few minutes, he heard screeches behind him, the pained cries of the muscular man.
'So now it seems I'm the only one left,' he thought, cold sweat dripping down his back.
But he didn't stop.
He finally reached the bloody clearing and glanced briefly at the gruesome scene.
Without hesitation, he sprinted up the slope again.
After some time, he arrived at his destination, the second resting cave.
"Phew… finally made it," he muttered, breathing heavily. "But I can sense the wolf is coming this way. I need to find the entrance to the inheritance, fast."
Lucion briefly scanned the cave but found no trace of a hidden passage. Gritting his teeth, he muttered, "This is my last chance."
He gathered mana at his fingertip until it coalesced into a glowing bead.
Stepping back toward the entrance, he flicked the bead into the cave's center.
It struck the floor and drilled a tiny hole into the stone.
'Please let this work,' he pleaded silently, then whispered in a low voice, "Bloom."
A crimson shockwave burst from the hole, scattering thousands of glowing petals.
Dust billowed, rock crumbled to grit, and when the air cleared a slender opening had appeared in the left-hand wall.
Lucion's breath hitched, and a laugh of joy escaped him at the sight of the narrow passage.
"Finally. A passage that narrow should keep the wolf out."
He peered into the dark corridor. "This is the path—to that hidden dungeon."
A screech echoed behind him. He dove into the gap without a second thought.
Heavy footfalls thundered into the cave, accompanied by the hiss of burning fur.
The blaze wolf skidded to a halt; Lucion was gone, leaving behind only a narrow fissure in the cave wall.
Howl!
With a furious, echoing howl, the flames along its body extinguished and its massive form began to shrink, first to the size of an ordinary wolf, then even smaller, matching the size of its cubs.
Without hesitation, it swiftly entered the narrow passage.
Unaware of the scene unfolding behind him, Lucion pressed forward, deeper into the darkness.