"Mother, are you alright?"
As the lady with silver hair and deep blue eyes glanced over, one could see an expression of relief return to her turbid eyes. Her worries were immediately washed away and she felt a weight off her chest.
Given the scale of the beast tide, she had been worried about Edith the entire time. She couldn't leave Ren behind either, not to mention the other kids her age.
She could only stand there and look after children as she shot arrows towards the beasts. Her heart had been heavy the entire time.
Her blue eyes became teary as a bitter laugh escaped her lips.
"I'm alright, dear Ed. You don't look too good yourself though."
Bathed in blood and covered in bruises, Edith gave a smile which made Ren flinch. His mother, though, gave a reassuring smile of her own filling the boy with confidence. Again.
He still had a lot to do. There were wolves still. Alive and feasting. He had mixed thoughts about this whole beast tide.
On one hand, the mystic beasts that could have left the entire village lifeless had managed to barely wound some of them.
While as on the other hand, the harmless wolves seemed much more capable of inflicting terryfing scars.
He had a nagging feeling that something was wrong about this whole thing, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. The mystic beasts seemed to have let them off too easily. Even dying intentionally.
This bothered him but he cleared his head in preparation for fight against the wolves.
Horus, Carla, Brachus, Astus had all prepared themselves. Even Rinnie, Jenny and Fortis had retreated back with the children. They couldn't use weapons as Stage 1s but they could definitely give some moral support, especially after the scenes the children had witnessed.
Once again, Edith was relieved to see everyone alive. He shifted his gaze towards the wolves and took a deep breath, sharpening his focus.
Then, something strange happened.
The furry, grey beasts that had been feasting around stopped their meal. A glint of madness revealed itself in their unperturbed eyes.
They started howling as if performing a prayer. Filled with devotion and sincerity, their howls echoed throughout the entire hill.
They took slow, measured steps, encircling the people. The smaller of the pack in front, while the larger ones, at the back.
Another round of howling resounded. The smaller wolves laid on the ground, letting go of their former aggresivness.
The already tense villagers had only been becoming more and more alert. Their fears only worsened by the howls and they were put more on the edge by the strange actions of the beasts.
The wolves had divided into four circles— starting with the smallest in the inner circle and ending with larger ones in the last one.
The small beasts rubbed their backs on the bloody grass of the hilltop. The wolves just larger then them, stepped forward midging the young ones with their stout nose.
The next moment though, a silent madness engulfed them. The sounds of flesh being torn and blood being splurted spread around.
Chomp! Chomp!
The younger ones started being eaten up. The didn't scream. They didn't even howl. Just like a child sleeping peacefully, they moved from side to side.
The older ones, meanwhile, weren't any different either. Their was no glee in their actions.
An eerie thing though, was that there was no remorse in them either. They just tore and are. Like some puppets. Devoid of any feelings
The younger ones finally started responding. Not in a screech though. Rather, they started eating their own paws.
Tearing their own flesh and chomping on their own bones seemed like a playful sport to them. Filling them with chilling joy.
The smell of blood and faeces pervaded the air, causing many villagers to vomit. Even the adults became fear-struck at the sight. The howls of the larger wolves were no source of comfort either, only accentuating the intense feelings everyone shared.
Feeding off on their kin, the wolves finished their meals. The stepped forward, only to roll like the previous group had. Covering their fur with the blood of their kin and becoming defenceless just like the group prior.
They too let go of their savagery. And the same thing happened. The next line of beasts started feasting on them.
The beasts being eaten submitted themselves like repenters accepting their punishment.
The beasts eating were like well-wishers, grieving at the loss of loved ones.
The howls of the larger beasts continued the entire time. Tears had been flowing out of their eyes and their ears, bleeding. Blood dripped from their jaws. Their throats having been strained under the constant howling.
The second line of beasts was emptied as well leaving the third encirclement with just one last mouthful of flesh between their jaws.
Their bellies had become bulged and they had all fallen to the ground, unable to even breath.
As they swallowed the last bit of meat, their bellies burst like bubbles in a lake. Everything they had eaten was splattered everywhere, their own blood mixed between.
With no burden to carry anymore, they could finally breath again. Their breaths were numbered though.
Soon, each one of them lost the light in its eyes. Their dying bodies stopped twitching and their breathing stopped.
The howling of the remaining beasts turned more and more louder. It started to resemble more and more like wailing. Soon, their howls came to an abrupt stop as they all fell one by one like leaves of an autumn tree.
Their bodies lost their color and their fur turned white. Their eyes turned dry and their jaws had become tight shut.
The villagers felt their hearts tighten at the scene. Although relieved for no longer being threatened by the wolves' hunt, they couldn't help but feel a deep grief overtake their hearts.
They started bawling their eyes out and fell to their knees. Their entire bodies being washed by their own tears.
Throughout the entire ritual, tlhey had become more and more connected to the wolves. They had started treating them like their own brothers and children. It was unnatural but they felt a grief overtake them at the loss of so many of their "kin".
Looking at the bodies of the dead beasts, with teary eyes, Edith saw the snakes on the periphery of the hilltop. The reptiles opened their mouths and spat a greenish liquid.
The spit soon turned into a stream as the snakes started losing their dark color, turning grey and falling to the ground.
By now, he could tell what it meant.
The snakes had died as well.
Every beast that had come to the hilltop had died. Not a single one remained. The blood and bodies lying around was proof of that.
The villagers were alive and yet they were not happy.
The beasts that had come to attack them had instead left them a grief far beyond any damage they could've caused would have.