In the heart of the thick fog, Leo and Sonia stood like silent birds amid a sea of clouds.
Sonia's breath rose in wisps into the cold air, her hands clutching Leo's shoulders from behind.
Though she was several centimeters taller than him, that detail hardly mattered in this moment.
"Leo…" she whispered, her voice as soft as trickling water.
"What?" he replied, his eyes still scanning the fog for any movement.
"How much longer will we wait here?"
"I don't think it'll be long," he said slowly, exhaling with clear irritation at this forced wait.
After a brief silence, Sonia whispered again, "Leo… why do you seem so angry?"
She turned slightly toward him, trying to read his expression through the misty shadows.
Her pink eyes searched for an explanation behind his anger—a quiet volcano smoldering beneath the surface.
"Because not many showed up to fight," he murmured, as if justifying to himself why his thirst for battle remained unsatisfied.
Sonia tilted her head, puzzled, until her eyes met his silver ones.
"Leo… you defeated eleven fighters—alone—without even moving from your spot."
Leo blinked faintly, as if hearing the number for the first time.
"Eleven? …So that's how many there were?" He frowned, then looked away. "Hmph. Just a bunch of weaklings."
They stood in silence again, the fog swirling around them like a dense curtain sealing off the outside world.
Sonia tried opening a new conversation, this time in an even softer tone:
"Leo, how long have you and Lia known Brother Boris? At least, I'm sure you're not truly his children."
"For a long time," he replied coldly, giving his usual terse answer.
A quiet moment passed before Sonia continued:
"You know… when Brother Boris came and bought us all from the slave market, he seemed like a knight on a white horse… like a dream I thought impossible."
She stared into the fog, as if reliving the scene through a child's eyes, then went on:
"Even when he placed me under Mr. Agnus's care and was about to leave… I wanted to ask him to stay longer, but I was too shy… Luckily, Kepa asked him to stay with us…"
Her voice grew even quieter, laced with a hint of longing and sorrow:
"Even though I was overjoyed that he stayed with us for two whole weeks—even took me to my parents… Now I wonder… if we hadn't delayed him, he wouldn't have gotten tangled in all these troubles—"
Leo cut her off firmly:
"You're wrong. Dad never regretted staying with you or taking you with him—not for a moment. He's always happy about it. He always says: 'Fate is either a blessing you should thank for its presence, or a trial you should endure with patience.'"
A silence hung between them. Then Sonia smiled in the darkness and said,
"Yes, you're right. And in the end, I'm glad we could help the caravan."
But she added with a mischievous grin,
"Though, Little Lio, that example you gave about fate isn't really fitting here… hehe."
"S-Shut up!"
"Little Lio really is adorable."
"Stop it!"
Their playful bickering continued until the fog began to slowly lift—then faster, as if yanked away by an unseen force.
"There!—" Sonia exclaimed eagerly.
"It's Lia," Leo confirmed with certainty.
The fog vanished quicker and quicker, until it felt as if the very air was sweeping everything around them clean.
In an instant—visibility cleared completely.
Everything became visible. The entire caravan stood nearby, crystal clear.
Torchlight illuminated the campsite, and the destruction left by the attack was painfully obvious.
Sonia immediately spotted the women's and children's camp, surrounded by a yellow barrier, and rushed toward them.
When Imenata saw her approaching, she instantly dismantled the barrier and embraced her warmly.
"My dear Sonia, are you alright? You weren't hurt, were you?"
Imenata asked anxiously, scanning her with a motherly gaze full of care.
"I'm fine, really," Sonia reassured her—then her eyes caught sight of someone standing alone in the shadows.
It was Anton, standing like a statue carved from silence and pain, binding three bandits with Koshin seals all by himself.
*The fog's gone?* he wondered, surprised, then quickly looked around as if searching for something lost.
"Mr. Anton, we're here!" Sonia called out to him.
He noticed the stabilized camp and sighed in relief.
He gave her a forced smile and waved, then resumed searching the area intently.
He moved slightly, and his eyes landed on something—
*Impossible!* His pupils widened in shock.
A lifeless body lay beneath a nearby tree.
His expression drained entirely when he recognized the face—
In panic, his lips trembled.
He remembered…
He remembered the start of the battle—what Hao had told him:
*"Take the wolves. I'll handle the masked ones…"*
Hao's partially torn body showed no signs of life.
His friend, his partner on night watch, lay motionless in a pool of his own blood.
***
Kalu and Tamer stood beneath the glittering starlight, frozen in disbelief at the scene revealed by the lifting fog.
Tamer thought carefully: *Why did the fog vanish so suddenly? Was it natural… or was there an unseen hand that removed it?*
But before he could finish his thought, Kalu pointed toward the distant camp, cutting him off:
"Look—the women's and children's camp is still lit and seems safe… but the men's camp is completely dark."
Tamer focused his eyes on the men's camp. Despite the darkness, the starlight let him glimpse several bound figures near the tents.
"It looks like they're tied up!" he said in a low voice.
Kalu immediately sprinted toward them—but slowed when he noticed Anton had already arrived and begun freeing the caravan's captives.
Kalu reached Anton's side and asked, "Anton, are you alright?"
Anton nodded, gesturing toward the three he'd just bound—but remained eerily silent, as if words had died in his throat before they could escape.
"Anton? What happened?" asked Tamer, who had just arrived beside them.
Anton said nothing. He only bowed his head and continued untying the men.
Tamer sensed this wasn't the time for questions, so he patted Anton's shoulder and said,
"Rest and free the men. Kalu and I will check if any bandits remain. Join us when you're done."
Tamer stood and began moving; Kalu gave a silent nod, his eyes scanning the area like a seasoned expert.
*Some men prefer sleeping in their wagons. I hope none of them became victims…*
With the fog gone and visibility wide open, Tamer took in the full tragedy.
Eleven masked figures lay scattered along the road—bandits, clearly. Though not visibly bloodied, they were unquestionably dead.
On the other side were the three captives Anton had just restrained.
And—
Tamer spotted Hao's body—the merchant who'd volunteered to stand guard with them that night.
He paused for a moment, silently praying for Hao's soul, then rose.
Now wasn't the time for mourning.
He scanned the surroundings carefully and murmured,
"Counting the ones Kalu and I fought… that makes eighteen."
But before he could continue, he froze at the sound of a sharp scream echoing from behind the wagons.
It wasn't a scream of fear—but of death, piercing the heart like a dagger.
He clenched his dagger and dashed forward like the wind.
*That was Garin's voice.*
When he reached the wagons, he saw seven masked bandits searching through the merchants' goods.
They looked stunned by the fog's sudden disappearance, frozen in place for a breath.
Tamer gave them no chance.
He leaped among them like a phantom, his long dagger and arm glowing with blue Kona encryption.
He severed one's leg with a decisive cut, then engaged another—his movements precise, swift, like a masterful dancer.
"How exactly did you clear the fog?!" shouted one of the bandits, trying to distract him.
Tamer didn't answer. He kicked his opponent's leg hard—
But the kick rebounded like it had struck stone, nearly breaking his own leg.
He bitterly reminded himself: *Under the full Lunara, I can't match Kora users. My raw strength alone won't be enough.*
He retreated for a split second, then used his enemy's momentum against him.
With a swift sidestep, he opened a gap—and with surgical precision, slit the bandit's neck. The man collapsed with a gurgle.
Meanwhile, Anton and Kalu had arrived and begun fighting the remaining four.
Tamer joined them, and within two minutes, the battle was over.
"So that's it… There were only twenty-five bandits, right?" Kalu said, catching his breath.
"Anton, Mr. Kalu—stay with the others in case anything happens. I'm going to check the rear. I've got a bad feeling."
Tamer didn't wait for a reply. He glanced toward the back and ran without hesitation—toward Garin's wagon.
With every step, dangerous sounds grew louder:
The howling of wolves drawing near, mixed with fragmented screams that turned blood to ice.
His heartbeat accelerated with every stride, until—when he arrived—the nightmare unfolded before his eyes.
Garin's wagon was utterly destroyed.
The barrel of Kora Stones lay shattered into pieces, the stones scattered like sparks everywhere.
Wolves greedily devoured them, crushing the stones with savage force—
The red glow they emitted lit the area with a strange, continuous flash, like perpetual lightning.
Tamer muttered, "This… is really bad."
The wolves hadn't noticed him—entirely consumed by their feast of Kora.
Then he saw it—
A mangled corpse near the wagon.
The face was unrecognizable, but the torn clothes were enough for Tamer to know: it was Garin.
Tamer gritted his teeth.
He hadn't liked Garin much, but he'd never wished for his death—certainly not like this.
He pushed back his hood and desperately searched for any survivors.
He noticed the wolves intensely gathered around one spot, as if surrounding something.
Without hesitation, he charged forward—his dagger flashing, cutting down everything in his path with lethal precision.
Amid the howls, a human scream erupted:
"Aaah! You cursed beasts! Come on! Try me! Aaah! Aaah! Aahhh!"
It was Jon—fighting madly among dozens of wolves.
Blood soaked his body; his single eye blazed with fury.
His straight-headed, angled blade swung without pause.
Even as Tamer reached him and began dragging him away, Jon never stopped fighting—
Swinging his arms, stabbing, kicking, slashing—every movement a desperate battle for survival.
"Aah! Aah!" Jon roared, his Kora aura flaring despite weakening.
Tamer grabbed him, blocking the relentless attacks. Every step outward felt like their last.
The wolves were smart—coordinated, attacking any opening they left.
With excruciating effort, Tamer managed to pull Jon away, leaving the wolves immersed in devouring the Kora Stones.
He stopped to catch his breath and shouted in disbelief,
"What in the Creator's name is happening here?!"
Jon gasped, exhausted:
"Aah… There were barely twenty at first… But the moment the fog lifted… they flooded us by the dozens."
Tamer quickly analyzed:
"So… these ones didn't have Kona bracelets. They couldn't move through the fog. But once it vanished… they overwhelmed us all at once."
He raised his eyes—and saw hundreds of red eyes staring from the darkness.
Every wolf radiated a fierce Kora aura, each more dangerous than the last.
He spoke low, but firm:
"We have to attack first… If we let them consume the rest of the stones, we'll be their next meal."
He took a deep breath, preparing for the next round.
A howl pierced the air—a signal to attack—
And the ground trembled under the pounding feet of hundreds of wolves closing in.
Tamer held his dagger forward; Jon stood beside him, chest heaving, his one eye burning.
"Their number… exceeds 300 wolves," Tamer muttered, bracing to charge.
They crashed into the front line—
Tamer's dagger glowed with blue Kona encryption, slicing through claws with deadly accuracy.
Jon, despite his wounds, fought on—his screams filling the battlefield as he stabbed, pushed, and cut.
But the wolves weren't random—their regenerative ability was catastrophic.
Suddenly, all the wolves froze—then stepped aside, making way.
From behind emerged a massive wolf—four times the size of the others.
Its torso alone stretched over five meters.
Its red eyes gleamed with awareness and intelligence.
It opened its mouth and spoke in a cracked voice, its anatomy untrained for speech:
"Humans… your blood is our food… your stones, our fuel… none of you will survive."
Tamer froze for a split second—and instantly understood.
Boris had been right.
*A sentient wolf. I don't even need Kona sense to know—it holds an overwhelming amount of Kora.*
He glanced at Jon—and saw him frozen, sweating,
His body trembling with fear despite locking eyes with the beast.
*Even Jon knows… his body instinctively refuses to move. The Kora pressure is immense.*
Tamer remained still, watching the alpha wolf—who seemed uninterested in fighting, as if this entire battle was beneath him.
He caught sight of Anton's hollow stare—and sensed something inside him had shattered.
"Anton…?"
Then—a sharp whistle cut through the chaos from behind them.
Imenata stood atop a broken wagon, her bow drawn taut like a musician's string.
Her Kora-tinted arrows rained down like fire—each glowing with Kona energy, piercing wolf chests and halting their charges for precious seconds.
Behind her, the merchant women raised torches, spears, and swords—
Advancing with the resolve of warriors who had chosen to defend their land and families.
The courage gathered here surpassed the earlier assault.
But the wolves didn't relent.
Sensing the chaos, the sentient wolf let out a thunderous roar—
And the packs instantly reorganized.
Their assault grew tighter, fiercer than before.
Men and women fought as one—but it seemed the earth was swallowing them one by one.
One man screamed, "They're endless! We're all going to fall!"
And just as hope began to fade and despair seeped into every heart…
The entire pack froze.
No— not everyone froze.
All the wolves' red eyes turned toward a single point on the road.
From the darkness emerged a young boy.
Leo.
His steps were calm as a night breeze.
His silver eyes shimmered beneath the triple moons like rare gems.
His Kora aura radiated outward, crushing everyone's breath and pressing down on their shoulders.
Silent. Hands in his pockets.
As if he carried the confidence of the entire world.
He stood before the horde without fear—examining them like insects under a microscope.
Tamer, Kalu, Anton, and the others—all froze in place, unable even to turn and look at him.
Tamer thought, sweat dripping, blood gathering in his mouth:
*Wha—What is this?! This crushing Kora pressure… it's tearing every cell in my body apart…*
Leo remained silent—unknown to them all—descending into the heart of the catastrophe.
Like an enraged beast…
Or a savior sent to reignite hope.