Blood Flows Like a River

"Whose son are you?"

"My daddy's!"

"Is Daddy good?"

"Daddy's the best."

This man, who had spent most of his life treading carefully, left the world with longing for his son, reluctance to part with his wife, and attachment to this life. Blood rapidly poured from the gaping hole in his neck, and he breathed no more.

"Uncle Baki!!!!"

Havent, who was confronting the Blacksmoke Wind Wolf atop the carriage, heard Paimon crying and hurriedly turned to look. The captain who always wore a cheerful smile was lying motionless in a pool of blood.

"Damn."

Looking at Captain Baki lying on the ground, Havent felt some regret. When he had fled back earlier, he should have run through it in advance. Ever since the battle of Baiman City, he had slept for two full days after waking up, and upon waking, his head had hurt terribly. Havent instinctively resisted doing it.

But it was too late for regrets. Looking at the defensive position below, which had already fallen into chaos, he had to quickly deal with the Wind Wolf in front of him and go down to help. Otherwise, the Gale Mercenary Group was finished.

With that thought, the ring on Havent's right hand flashed, and a scroll appeared in his hand. As he infused it with magic power, the scroll rapidly burned away, forming a watermelon-sized fireball.

With a thought, the fireball instantly flew before the Blacksmoke Wind Wolf.

With a violent boom, the Wind Wolf, which had been crouching atop the carriage and preparing to attack, was instantly blown into a heap of bloody flesh.

Without sparing a thought for the Fireball scroll worth three gold coins, Havent jumped straight down from the carriage roof and joined the battle below.

Following a wolf howl that pierced the clouds, the black smoke shrouding Death's Howl exploded outward. The powerful blast sent Wells and the others flying seven or eight meters. When they struggled to their feet and looked over, they were too shocked by the sight before them to speak.

Death's Howl, once covered in snow-white fur, had completely changed. Every hair on its body had fallen away, revealing pitch-black flesh beneath. Countless bone spikes protruded from its back, and its once crimson eyes now resembled two balls of burning magma. Faint black smoke seeped from its body as it stared at them, drooling.

Faced with Death's Howl's sudden transformation, everyone froze, unsure of what to do.

But Death's Howl, whose mind had already been consumed by slaughter, did not care. Its most primal desire to kill drove it to destroy every living thing before it. Its muscles suddenly tensed, and in an instant, it appeared before a mercenary. It bit down, followed by the teeth-grinding sound of bones breaking.

Death's Howl lifted its head, chewed a few times, then swallowed the mercenary's upper body before turning to look at the rest.

Looking at the terrifying giant wolf, Wells felt his throat go painfully dry. After swallowing hard twice, he roared himself hoarse.

"Attack! Everyone, attack together! Otherwise, we'll all die here today!"

Following Wells's roar, the remaining men seemed to snap back to their senses. Roaring with fear written across their faces, they charged at the giant wolf.

As Death's Howl faced the mercenaries rushing toward it, it opened its jaws slightly. A pitch-black energy sphere rapidly formed and shot toward Batila.

Batila only had time to raise his tower shield before the energy sphere reached him.

With a thud, Batila was blasted seven or eight meters away. Several massive cracks appeared on the tower shield that had blocked the black energy sphere. Batila was pinned beneath it, his fate unknown.

Watching Batila get blasted away, Aka gritted his teeth. Knowing he could not escape, he once again ignited his battle aura. Blood flowed from his ears and eyes as the life-draining Berserker's Rage made Aka feel as though he possessed incomparable strength.

After unleashing two sword-aura Cross Slashes at Death's Howl, he took several running steps and leaped high into the air.

On the other side, ignoring the tragic deaths of his men, Wells gathered all his battle aura into his one-handed shield and slammed toward Death's Howl like a speeding freight wagon.

Facing the incoming Cross Slashes, Death's Howl formed another energy sphere and fired it. The two collided and exploded. It then raised its head to look at Aka in midair, swung its wolf claw like it was swatting a fly, and smashed Aka into the ground.

Wells's fully charged charge had no effect when it struck the wolf. He was sent flying by its sweeping tail. Feeling the impact against its side, Death's Howl turned toward Wells, opened its jaws wide, and bit down at him.

"Ah! Fight! Live in the face of death!"

Aka, who had been smashed into the ground by Death's Howl, roared as he stood back up. Berserker's blood made him temporarily forget the pain. Raising his two-handed sword, he stabbed toward the giant wolf's heart. Instantly, a large amount of black, viscous blood sprayed all over Aka.

Death's Howl howled in pain, struck Aka down with one claw and pinned him to the ground, then bit toward the roaring berserker.

"Aka!"

Death's Howl's tail had bent Wells's right leg sideways. Lying on the ground, he watched Aka get bitten in two. Blood rapidly streamed from the wolf's mouth. After swallowing Aka, Death's Howl turned to look at Wells.

As the giant wolf walked toward him, Wells, unable to stand, lay on the ground and calmly awaited death. Looking at Death's Howl closing in, Wells suddenly remembered something an old undertaker had once told him.

"Before a person dies, time slows down. You'll quickly remember everything from your life—the good, the bad, and the things that were neither good nor bad."

Memories came crashing in like a tide. When he was young, little Wells had followed his father herding sheep. One day, he saw a mercenary squad hired by the village to deal with a wolf infestation. Their crisp movements and handsome iron armor showed Wells, who spent every day among sheep, a whole new world.

When the mercenaries requested a guide, Wells, usually exceptionally timid, had volunteered by raising his hand. His father could not talk him out of it no matter how hard he tried. After seeing the mercenaries slaughter dozens of wild wolves, little Wells became determined to become just like them someday.

And so, ignoring his father's objections, little Wells followed the mercenaries away from the village. He killed beasts, killed bandits, killed people. After taking too many lives, the now-aged Wells realized that he had never truly wanted to become that sort of person. Perhaps he should never have left the village. Herding sheep had actually been quite nice.

Paimon, run! Run quickly! Run as far away as you can! Go back to the village and become a shepherd. As long as you live, that's enough!

As the light before him grew brighter and brighter, Wells thought, Is this what death looks like? Would Tampas accept someone like me...?

A thunderous blast rang out.

Death's Howl, which had opened its jaws to kill, was blasted away.