Screek, screek, screeeek!
The strange wolf's front leg struggled to squeeze into the tiny hole.
Aggressively, like a little kid throwing a tantrum after getting their head stuck between narrow bars.
The three idiots looked back without even turning their bodies, calmly watching the wolf's desperate attempt.
The four children tried to move backward, even though there was absolutely no room left.
Their faces were filled with fear, panic, anxiety, and even sweat.
Even Josh, the brave one, was visibly trembling.
Icam turned toward the children, staring at their frightened faces. He touched his chin, thinking.
Were the kids actually scared...
Or were they making more room?
The strange wolf stopped forcing its way inside.
It stuck its head through the opening, mouth wide open, exposing its fangs.
A harsh, intimidating growl.
Its gaze was sharp enough that even Alif, who was standing right in front of it, shifted away.
"W-Wo-wolf... please~," Dave begged, tears streaming down his face.
The wolf continued growling, showing its fangs.
As if it were memorizing every face in front of it.
Josh, still trembling, noticed the axe in Iyas's hand.
He gave Iyas a skeptical look, apparently thinking that the hatchet or light axe might actually be his.
"Hey, use the axe already," he said. "What's the point of holding it for so long?"
Hearing that, Iyas looked at the hatchet in his hand and raised his right eyebrow.
"And then?" he asked. "You want me to chop down a tree or something?"
"The wolf is blocking the way! What are you doing?" Iyas snapped, raising his hands.
Josh just froze.
He stared at Iyas, unable to believe what he'd just heard from the guy holding an axe.
Even Wenry, who had been terrified just moments ago, suddenly stopped.
Like someone slamming on the brakes when a traffic light suddenly turns red.
Icam pointed his right index finger at Sahrelia.
"Why are you!?" Icam shouted.
"W-Why... you...?"
"Uh..."
His voice suddenly became quiet, as if he'd completely forgotten what he was about to say.
Alif yawned while staring at the wolf, which was still growling.
Then, right after his yawn, he suddenly said,
"Hurry up. The bear's still blocking the way."
"Big bro! Use the axe to hit it!" Wenry begged.
Iyas looked up, finally understanding.
"Ohhh!"
He was startled.
"You mean hit it! I didn't know that!"
Iyas turned around.
He slightly raised the small axe in his hand, then swung it.
"HYAAAAAHHH!!!"
Iyas screamed.
CRACK!!
The small axe flew straight toward the wolf's head.
The sound was loud enough to startle the strange wolf, making it jerk its head away.
The wolf's whimpering echoed through the hole.
It was obvious that the small axe had hurt it pretty badly.
The four children finally relaxed a little.
Icam smiled cheerfully, though his gaze remained strangely fixed on the children.
Iyas and Alif fell silent as they listened to the wolf's whimpers.
"Well, at least there's no animal protection law around here yet," Iyas remarked, spinning the little axe around like a windmill.
"Yeah! So—!" Alif replied.
But he immediately forgot what he was going to say next.
The wolf's whimpering stopped.
It began growling loudly again.
With incredible speed, it thrust its head through the opening.
Inside.
Alif immediately turned toward it.
Krek!
The wolf bit down on his clothes.
It dragged Alif rapidly out of the hole.
Iyas fell silent, staring at his axe as if somehow the thing itself was responsible.
The four children immediately toppled over in shock.
Icam, who had been confidently watching the children this entire time, finally turned around, wondering what had just happened.
Alif appeared to have been dragged completely outside.
"H-How are we supposed to deal with this!?" Dave whimpered in terror, lowering his head while both hands held onto it.
Wenry and Sahrelia screamed in fear, shrinking back and turning away.
Even Josh closed his eyes.
Iyas was still staring at his axe, muttering as he blamed it for what had happened.
Icam looked left and right, completely confused about what he had missed.
"Big bro! Big bro! Please! Do something!" Wenry begged, looking downward in fear.
Icam heard her and replied,
"Wait a second!"
He paused.
"Where's Alif?"
"Huh?"
Wenry and Josh looked at him in confusion.
"You guys are freaking out because Alif suddenly disappeared?"
Icam asked, genuinely baffled.
"Well, personally, I'm pretty chill about it."
The four children—and one idiot who was still muttering while blaming his axe—fell completely silent.
Meanwhile, outside...
BANG!
A loud impact slammed against the tree.
Alif's shirt was torn.
He lay flat on his back, then stood up as if nothing had happened.
He brushed himself off.
"I don't know what you guys are doing," he muttered quietly.
Alif raised his head.
His eyes met the strange wolf's.
"Was this your doing?" he asked innocently.
Instead of trembling in fear or wetting himself, Alif walked over to the torn part of his shirt.
He held it up.
"Whoa, this is bad," he muttered.
"My shirt's torn. This is really bad."
Alif tossed the torn piece aside.
His eyebrows lowered.
He was angry.
"WHO DID THIS!?" he yelled.
"ANSWER ME!"
The wolf growled even louder.
Another strange wolf approached.
It was growling too.
"HEY!"
Alif shouted again.
He was apparently more afraid of his torn clothes than the wolves.
"This shirt isn't even fully paid off yet!" he yelled, pointing angrily.
"IT'S STILL ON CREDIT!!!"
"Do you two even have enough money to replace this?"
"You better pay up!"
Suddenly...
"Then just slap it already!"
Iyas shouted.
He had initially been crouching, but now stood up.
In his left hand was the dim lantern.
In his right hand was the small axe.
Alif turned around, showing his back and revealing the torn part of his shirt.
"Yas, look! My shirt's torn!" Alif shouted, rubbing his back.
Iyas couldn't see it clearly because of the darkness.
"What are you even pointing at? I can't see anything," Iyas said, squinting.
Icam pushed Iyas aside.
He was blocking the entrance to the hole.
Icam then stood up.
"Alif! What are you doing?" he asked curiously.
"Why are you even outside!?" he added, confused.
Alif was still showing him his back.
"Look! My clothes are torn!"
The two strange wolves looked around, as if they were listening to the ridiculous conversation between the three idiots.
Since he couldn't see the damage clearly, Icam casually walked toward Alif.
He passed right between the two wolves.
"Jeez, it's basically a thief's old shirt anyway," Icam scoffed.
"And besides, what were you doing? You just... went outside for no reason!"
Alif lowered his head.
His two index fingers touched awkwardly.
"I was dragged out," he said quietly.
Icam waved his hand dismissively, as if slapping the air.
"Yeah, right! Blaming supernatural stuff in the middle of the night."
Icam then glared angrily at the two wolves.
"What is this supposed to be!?" he shouted.
"You think you're here just to spice up the situation? HAAAAAHHH!!"
The wolf that had been growling fell silent in confusion, staring at the two weirdos.
Icam put his hands on his hips without a trace of hesitation.
But the two wolves resumed growling.
They slowly approached Icam.
His confident hands gradually went limp.
He quietly abandoned the hands-on-hips pose.
"HEYYY!!!"
Iyas shouted.
The strange wolves immediately turned their attention toward him.
Iyas pointed his axe at them like a gun.
"If you wanna throw hands, then come at me!"
He challenged them confidently.
One of the wolves changed direction and approached Iyas.
Icam immediately ran behind Alif and hid there.
Alif simply watched.
Completely fearless.
Iyas threw his lantern into the air.
As it came back down, he prepared his axe.
Then swung.
CRAAASH!!
The lantern shattered into pieces.
Glass and metal scattered across the ground.
The already-dim light faded away completely.
The two wolves stopped in confusion.
Icam peeked out from behind Alif.
"What the hell did you do that for!?" he asked, bewildered.
Iyas immediately replied,
"So I can tell Grandma the lantern got destroyed by the wolves!"
Icam stared at him skeptically beneath the dark sky.
"Then you shouldn't destroyed it!" He shout
"OH, RIGHT!!"
Iyas shouted.
He jumped toward the wolf, leaping high into the air.
His axe was ready to split its head open!
Alif stood still, cheering him on.
As if he were watching a superhero movie where the main character was about to fight the main villain.
But—
[Muffled sound]
The wolf bit Iyas.
And threw him.
Straight toward where Alif and Icam were standing.
CRAAASH!!
His body slammed into the tree.
"Uughh..."
Iyas groaned, getting back up while holding his head.
Icam appeared to have passed out, probably because he was the one standing at the farthest end.
Alif quickly stood up and looked at the unconscious Icam.
"Thank you," Alif muttered.
One of the wolves charged toward Iyas.
Behind Iyas were Alif and Icam.
The wolf opened its mouth, ready to pounce.
As it got closer, Iyas immediately jumped to the side.
Icam rubbed his head, finally coming back to his senses.
The wolf lost its footing and crashed into Alif.
Which also sent it straight into Icam behind him.
CRASH!
"UOOOGHH!!"
Icam passed out again.
The wolf didn't seem interested in Alif.
It completely ignored him and corrected its stance.
Alif stood upright.
His expression became serious.
Suddenly—
WHOOSH!!
A swipe cut through the air.
The wolf turned toward him again.
With its left front paw, it immediately slashed at Alif and sent him flying backward.
Alif's butt accidentally landed directly on Icam's head.
Making his injuries even worse.
Iyas glanced to his right.
Another wolf was charging toward him.
As if by some miracle—
SWING!!
Iyas managed to land a precise hit on the strange wolf.
Iyas looked toward the wolf in front of Alif.
He pulled his right leg backward.
His right arm followed.
He prepared to launch the axe.
WHOOSH!!
He threw it.
Not particularly slowly.
The wolf immediately dodged.
Alif was getting back up while checking the scratch marks on his body.
He jumped backward, slightly crouching.
But once again, he made Icam's injuries worse.
He landed on him.
The axe embedded itself into the trunk of the tree.
Iyas clenched his fist as he watched both wolves charge toward him.
Maybe he was just lucky again.
Iyas immediately moved backward, dodging both of their attacks.
CRAAASH!!!
The two wolves collided with each other.
A faint, dog-like whimper could even be heard.
The two wolves now had axe wounds on their heads.
Their injuries became even worse from the collision.
Iyas muttered,
"These wolves aren't ordinary wolves. They're bigger, but their reactions are slower."
Icam, who had been unconscious the entire time, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
He immediately stood straight despite his injuries.
The wolves were still dazed and confused.
"ENOUGH!!!"
Icam grabbed the axe that was embedded in the tree.
Alif gave him some room and quickly moved aside.
Icam spun his body 360 degrees with surprising skill.
He swung the axe.
He intended to throw it at the wolves.
SWISH!
But instead, he accidentally chopped down the tree that had been damaged by Alif's impact and the axe strikes.
Perfectly.
The tree was about to fall.
Icam immediately shook his head, dizzy from spinning around.
Alif quickly pulled him away, allowing the tree to collapse...
Right onto the two wolves.
BUUUUUSHHHH!!!
The impact was deafening.
The wolves' whimpers could still be heard.
Iyas stared blankly at the two wolves trapped underneath the fallen tree.
Alif and Icam approached the wolves, even though it was too dark to see them properly.
They relied mostly on the sound.
"Wow," Alif said.
"So... who was responsible for tearing my shirt?"
Icam and Iyas could only stare at him in confusion.
TO BE CONTINUED!!
WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!!
That strange wolf, almost as big as an elephant, suddenly got absolutely flattened!
So that's why the wolf's attacks were so slow!
It was simply way too big, which made its reactions slower!
So, what happens next?
Will the children make it out safely?
When will the villagers arrive?
Or is something else about to show up and threaten them?
Stay Tuned!