We ran through the forest, weaving between roots, shadows, and the thick scent of damp earth that clung to the air. Elna and I moved side by side, our footsteps striking the soft ground in uneven rhythm as we pushed ourselves forward.
My breathing was already falling apart. Each breath tore painfully through my chest, too fast and too sharp, while branches lashed across our arms and shoulders. The cold air flooded my lungs like shattered glass.
Elna glanced at me while still running.
"Hey," she said between breaths, "you're a guy. Why are you running at the same speed as me?"
"Shut up," I shot back. "I'm angry."
That was a lie.
I was dying.
In my previous world, I barely ran and barely moved. This body had never been pushed like this before. Every breath felt like a spark igniting inside my lungs, and every step burned as if my muscles were being torn apart.
Then suddenly a powerful gust of wind slammed into us from the side.
"UGH—!"
The force lifted me completely off my feet. My back hit the ground hard, knocking the air from my lungs as the world flashed white for a moment.
A few meters away, Elna crashed down just as violently.
"Damn it…" she groaned.
I forced myself upright, though my knees trembled the moment they touched the ground.
"That's Sylva's magic," Elna said quickly as she pushed herself up. "She's fighting."
We didn't wait.
We didn't count.
We didn't hesitate.
We ran again, pushing deeper into the forest. Branches clawed at our sleeves while roots rose like traps beneath our feet. My breathing collapsed entirely as exhaustion tightened around my chest.
Then the sound came.
DUUUM—
A heavy, violent impact tore through the forest air. The ground trembled beneath our feet.
I stopped instinctively.
"What was that…?"
Elna swallowed hard. Her face had gone pale.
"I don't know," she whispered. "But if Sylva's pushing that hard…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
She didn't have to.
That wasn't good.
Not at all.
My hands clenched tightly at my sides as Rosa's face flashed through my mind. Johan. Sylva. And Elna—still beside me, still running despite the fear written clearly across her face.
I couldn't fight like Sylva.
I couldn't stand like Johan.
I couldn't protect anyone the way I wanted to.
I had no power to change whatever was happening ahead of us.
All I could do was keep moving.
Keep breathing.
Keep hoping.
Please… just this once.
Let it end.
Let it end with everyone alive.
Let it end happily.
—
We finally reached the source of the sound.
The moment I saw it, my chest tightened.
Sylva lay motionless on the forest floor. Her silver hair was disheveled, strands clinging to her face as she lay there without moving. Her breathing was faint—so faint I could barely see her chest rise.
A few steps ahead of her stood Johan.
He was swaying slightly on his feet, his aging body the only thing standing between Sylva and the enemy.
And in front of him stood a man.
No.
Not just a thug.
He was massive.
Twice the size of the brute I had fought at the market, the man stood like a wall of muscle in front of Johan. His body was grotesquely massive, thick veins coiling across his arms and neck as if they might burst through his skin at any moment.
Then his fist rose.
And came crashing down.
DUUUM—
The impact shook the ground as his fist slammed into the earth, soil fracturing outward while leaves and dust burst into the air.
"That all you've got, old man?" he mocked with a crooked grin.
Johan didn't answer. Instead, he stepped forward and thrust his spear toward the brute's chest with everything he had left.
But the man moved faster.
With a sudden roar, the brute raised both arms high above his head and brought them crashing down in a brutal overhead strike.
Johan reacted instantly. He lifted his spear horizontally above him, bracing the shaft with both hands in an attempt to block the incoming blow.
For a single heartbeat, the forest seemed to freeze.
Then—
DUUUM.
The strike landed.
The force was overwhelming.
The spear shattered instantly, the wooden shaft splintering apart like dry branches under a falling boulder. Fragments of wood exploded outward as the brute's fists continued downward, crashing directly into Johan's guard.
The blow slammed into him.
Johan's body buckled beneath the impact as he was driven hard into the ground. The air burst from his lungs, and a spray of blood escaped his mouth as the shock of the strike tore through his aging body.
He dropped to one knee.
For a brief moment, he didn't move.
Then his hand slowly lifted.
A faint glow began to form around his fingers, light gathering weakly as if he were trying to summon magic despite the damage his body had taken.
But before the spell could form—
"HEY, YOU COWARD!"
My voice tore through the forest.
The man paused and slowly turned his head toward me.
"Oh?" he said.
A grin stretched across his face.
"Well, look who finally showed up."
I stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
"You're pretty proud of yourself," I said coldly. "Using strength magic."
He chuckled.
"Look at yourself," I continued. "You feel great for hitting an old man and a woman."
Behind me, Johan tried to rise again.
"Vein—"
"Mr. Johan," I interrupted sharply, "find Rosa."
The brute snorted and grabbed Johan by the collar, lifting him effortlessly off the ground like a sack of grain.
"You think I'll let him leave?" he asked casually.
"Of course not," I replied.
"But if you've got any pride… fight me."
He looked me up and down.
"For what?" he said. "I've already won."
I smirked slightly.
"So you admit it."
His brow twitched.
"You're weak," I continued deliberately. "That's why you attack an old man and a woman instead of someone your size."
"Vein, stop—" Elna whispered urgently. "You'll make him angry."
"Relax," I murmured. "I have an idea."
The brute growled.
Then he hurled Johan aside like discarded trash.
"Fine."
His fist rose again.
DUUUM—
The ground exploded beneath the impact. Shockwaves rippled through the soil as dust surged into the air.
My knees nearly buckled.
"Monstrous strength…" I muttered.
"NOW, MR. JOHAN!" I shouted.
He didn't hesitate.
"Understood."
He ran, disappearing between the trees.
Now it was just the two of us.
I raised my hands, preparing myself.
And then something flooded into my body.
Warm.
Heavy.
Unnatural.
The same sensation I had felt before.
I turned.
Elna stood behind me with one hand extended, her face pale with strain.
"It's not as strong as Sylva's," she said quickly, "but it'll help."
I clenched my fists as power surged through my limbs. It felt unstable and uncomfortable, as if my muscles were being forced beyond their natural limits.
But it was enough.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
Elna immediately ran to Sylva's side and dropped to her knees beside her.
I turned back toward the brute.
"Alright," I said softly.
"Let's begin."
He grinned widely.
And in the shattered silence of the forest, the duel between a reckless weakling and a monster wearing human skin finally began.
—
The brute moved first.
There was no warning. The ground cracked beneath his feet as his massive body launched forward with terrifying speed, and a huge fist shot straight toward my face.
I barely had time to react.
I twisted my body and dodged at the last possible moment.
The punch cut through the air beside my head with a violent WHAM, and the shockwave alone rang inside my ears. The tree behind me exploded from the force of the strike that missed by mere inches, bark and splinters bursting outward as the trunk shattered.
"Slow," he sneered.
I stepped in and countered instinctively, driving my right fist straight into his stomach.
It felt like punching a stone wall.
"UGH—!"
Numbness shot through my knuckles and raced up my arm to my elbow. The impact barely moved him.
The brute laughed.
"That's it?"
His elbow swung toward my head before I could recover. I tried to block, but I was too slow.
The blow struck hard, and the force hurled me backward. My body slammed into the dirt, and the air burst violently from my lungs.
"Ngh—!"
Pain exploded across my back as I rolled instinctively just before his heel crashed down into the spot where my head had been.
BUUM—
The ground erupted beneath the stomp, soil exploding outward.
I staggered to my feet.
Not yet.
I can't fall yet.
The brute came at me again, his attacks raining down in brutal succession. His fists, kicks, and hammering blows tore through the air with overwhelming force.
I didn't fight back.
I dodged.
A sidestep.
A desperate roll.
My breathing locked tight inside my chest as I slipped away from each strike by the smallest possible margin.
One mistake…
and I knew I would die here.
"Stop running!" he roared.
"Afraid of dying?!"
Afraid?
Yes.
I was terrified.
But inside that fear, I noticed something.
His breathing.
It had changed.
It was still fast and still powerful, but it was no longer sharp. No longer controlled.
"What…?" he muttered.
Sweat ran down his temple.
I stepped back slowly.
One step.
Then another.
Drawing him forward.
He growled and lunged again, but his movements had changed. They were wilder now, less precise.
Good.
Burn it all.
I raised my arm and blocked one of his punches.
DUK—
Agony shot through my shoulder as the force traveled through my bones. My knees nearly buckled beneath the impact, but somehow I managed to stay standing.
Seconds stretched into something heavy and fragile.
Then I saw it.
His shoulders began rising unevenly as he struggled to breathe.
"Hah… hah…"
His next punch missed completely.
His footing faltered.
"What… is happening…?" he rasped.
The massive frame that had seemed unstoppable moments earlier now trembled. The bulging muscles along his arms began to shrink slightly, and the thick veins that had swollen beneath his skin slowly faded.
Then something fell from inside his coat.
Ting.
A small glass vial rolled across the ground.
Empty.
Another dropped.
Then another.
Potions.
I stared at them.
So that was it.
"Not… yet…!" he snarled as he forced himself forward again.
But his own legs betrayed him. His balance faltered, and he staggered.
Now.
This was it.
I stepped forward.
My legs felt like they were made of sand. Elna's magic flickered weakly inside my veins, thin and unstable. The borrowed strength was fading just as quickly as his.
He took one final step toward me.
"Not… yet…" he growled.
His hand reached out.
Slow.
Too slow.
Rosa's face flashed through my mind.
Her small hands gripping my shirt.
Brother Vein never lies.
Johan standing alone in the field.
Sylva collapsing in the dirt.
Elna bleeding.
My fist tightened.
Not for pride.
Not for revenge.
But because I refused to let this end the same way it always had.
No more running.
No more arriving too late.
I stepped in close, twisted my hips, and drove every remaining ounce of strength I had—both mine and borrowed—into a single punch.
There was no scream.
No dramatic leap.
Only the impact.
DUK.
The sound was dull.
Heavy.
Final.
For a moment, the entire forest seemed to forget how to breathe.
His eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
Then the strength drained from his body like water leaking from a cracked vessel. His knees buckled, his massive frame tilted forward, and he crashed into the ground.
BRUAAK.
The earth trembled once.
Then fell still.
He didn't move again.
I stood there shaking, breathing as if I had swallowed fire. My fist throbbed painfully, and the world around me blurred at the edges.
I won.
Not because I was stronger.
Not because I was braver.
But because I chose to remain standing one second longer than the power he had borrowed.
My eyes drifted down to the scattered empty vials lying between the roots, their glass surfaces catching faint traces of light.
And in that moment, I understood something.
The real monster had never been the Nightbound Beasts.
Beasts follow instinct.
Humans follow desire.
And desire, when fed with shortcuts, can turn people into something far worse.