The Wolf holo Clan was not a simple beast tribe but a terrifying lineage that walked the thin line between human and monster, for every member possessed the body of a wolf yet carried the ability to stand upright like humans, and their claws and fangs were not mere natural features but weapons sharper than forged steel, tools of survival carved by endless bloodshed, and among the countless clans of the Holo World, they were known as one of the most merciless and savage existences, a clan that hunted without hesitation and devoured without remorse, and Ruby herself belonged to one such clan.
Inside a dark cavern lit only by faint blue reflections, a massive wolf with silver fur covering its body and deep blue markings across its face sat upon a towering stone, its presence suffocating, its gaze cold and commanding, while below it nearly three hundred wolves of varying colors black, brown, and blue knelt on one knee, their heads lowered in absolute submission to the leader of the Wolf holo Clan.
"We have waited for this moment for countless years," the leader spoke, its voice heavy with suppressed hunger and ambition, "and now the time has finally come, the gates to the real world will open, and when they do, our two million strong army will march through without hesitation, we have hidden our true strength, we have multiplied our offspring, all for this single day, so send the command, let every wolf gather here within two hours, because the moment the gate opens… we ride."
A wolf from the crowd hesitated before speaking, its voice trembling, "Leader… we are not strong enough to face the rankers of that world, charging forward like this… it will only lead us to death."
The leader raised its paw slightly, signaling silence, and with a single gesture dismissed the others until only a few remained, its expression twisting into something far darker.
"Do you truly believe I raised offspring for strength?" the leader said, a low laugh escaping its throat, "they are not our future… they are our shield, we will throw them forward as bait, let them draw the attention, let them die, and while the chaos consumes them, we will escape into the wild, and once we survive in the real world… we will breed again, grow again, and even if a single one of us lives, the future of the Wolfholo Clan will exist."
Its tongue slid across its fangs as its eyes gleamed with madness.
"And do you know why I am excited?" it continued, voice dropping into a whisper filled with hunger, "human flesh… soft, rich, dripping with life, in this world we taste it only once in ten or twenty years when a gate opens and children wander in, I still remember the taste of a boy… thirteen years old… tender… exquisite… this time, I will feast until nothing remains."
A twisted laugh echoed through the cave as drool slipped from its mouth.
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In the suffocating silence of the forest, a single sound echoed endlessly dab… dab… dab… a heartbeat that did not belong to any living creature, yet spread across the entire land like a warning of death itself, and before the seven towering pillars, Dev's unconscious body lay motionless, while Kai, Chiru, Vaal, Karn, Sethr, and Rehx stood frozen, their bodies refusing to move under the weight of that terrifying rhythm.
The old man swallowed, his throat tightening as if preparing for something irreversible.
Then
He moved.
Not with hesitation, but with sudden, explosive intent, rushing toward Dev's unconscious body while gripping a thin wire in one hand and a short sword in the other.
"Kai—!" Chiru reacted instantly.
Both of them charged forward.
Too late.
The old man slid across the ground with unnatural speed, reaching Dev in a single motion, dropping low as he looped the wire tightly around Dev's throat while pressing the sharp edge of his short sword directly against it, the blade biting just enough to draw blood.
"Stop."
His voice cut through the air like a blade.
"If you take one more step," he said coldly, tightening the wire slightly, "this knife will go through your king's throat… and he will die before you can blink."
Kai froze mid-motion.
Chiru's body stiffened.
Behind them, Karn and Vaal exchanged a glance before silently retreating into the forest, their movements careful, deliberate, as they approached a broken pillar lying in ruin.
They activated it.
A sudden burst of sound erupted from the shattered structure.
The noise echoed sharply across the forest.
For a fraction of a second
The old man's attention shifted.
Kai moved.
His body exploded forward, his leg cutting through the air as he aimed a precise kick toward the old man's side, intending to knock him away from Dev.
But
The old man did not move.
Not even a single centimeter.
The impact landed.
Yet it felt like striking an immovable wall.
Kai's eyes widened.
A flicker of unease spread through the group.
Then
The heartbeat grew louder.
Dab… dab… DAB…
A thunderbolt crashed down.
Blinding light tore through the sky, striking the ground near Dev and the old man, the explosion shaking the earth itself, the sound violent enough to instill fear into anyone who heard it.
But the old man remained untouched.
Unshaken.
He slowly lifted his head.
"Seventh Pillar…" he said, his voice calm, yet filled with demand, "give me your inheritance… or your grandson dies here by my hand."
Another thunderstrike answered him.
This time
A message formed within the lightning itself.
"Leave him… or face a miserable death."
The old man smiled.
A dark, fearless smile.
"Even if I die today…" he said softly, tightening both the wire and blade against Dev's throat, "…I will take your grandson with me."
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Decisive.
Then
The Seventh Pillar responded.
"…I will grant it."
From the pillar, a crimson fragment emerged, glowing with a heartbeat like pulse, marked with a symbol resembling a heart itself, as it drifted forward and descended beside Dev's head.
The old man's eyes gleamed.
He reached out.
Grabbed it.
Crushed it.
The fragment shattered instantly.
And in that same moment
A sword manifested from within the broken light.
It did not give him time.
It did not allow reaction.
It pierced straight through his head.
Instantly.
Silence.
His body went limp.
The wire loosened.
The blade slipped.
And his lifeless corpse collapsed onto the ground.
For a moment
No one moved.
Then
"Kai!" Chiru shouted.
All of them rushed forward, tearing the wire away from Dev's throat, but blood still flowed from his empty eye sockets, the result of the brutal ritual he had endured earlier.
Then
The pillar spoke again.
"Send him inside." , "I will heal him."
"He will inherit my power."
There was no time to question.
No room to doubt.
Kai clenched his fists unable to say anything before nodding.
Together, they lifted Dev's unconscious body and carried him toward the Seventh Pillar.
Step by step.
Heavy.
Uncertain.
Then
They sent him inside.
The moment his body crossed into the pillar, it began to float, suspended in an unseen force, rising slowly before stopping at a fixed point
And then
The world changed.
A vast domain unfolded.
An endless library.
Books stretched in every direction, covering walls, floors, and space itself, forming a suffocating world of knowledge and madness intertwined.
At its center
A laboratory.
Cold.
Unnatural.
And there
Sat a figure.
An old man.
The same face who was killed outside of the pillar
The same presence.
But clearer.
More real.
More terrifying.
He looked at Dev's unconscious body lying before him
And smiled.
"Finally…" he whispered, his voice trembling with twisted satisfaction, "…after all these years…"
"My plan… has succeeded."
A low laugh escaped him.
Then grew.
Then echoed.
"HAHAHAHA…"
A plan designed to shatter the world itself, drag it into endless chaos,
"The rebirth of a disaster pillar that history would never forget."
"HAHAHAHAA....."