Rosa woke to the chill of cold stone beneath her body. The smell of damp earth filled her lungs as her eyes slowly opened. She was inside a cave—dark, wet, and echoing with the faint drip of water somewhere in the distance. For a moment she didn't understand where she was. Then the ropes tightened around her wrists and ankles as she tried to move. Her hands were tied behind her back, her ankles bound together, and a rough piece of rope had been stuffed into her mouth as a gag.
Panic surged through her small body. Rosa twisted and struggled desperately against the restraints, trying to free herself, but the ropes held firm. Not far from her, the brute sat with his back turned, rummaging through a bag as if nothing in the world concerned him.
"Ugh. What a hassle," he muttered irritably. "What am I supposed to do with this kid…"
He glanced over his shoulder at her and shrugged lazily. "Maybe sell her in pieces. Bet that'd make me rich."
Rosa screamed behind the gag. "Mmmph! Mmmph—!"
"SHUT UP!" he barked. He stood up and kicked the dirt beside her head. Dust scattered across her cheek as the impact shook the ground. "No one's coming for you."
Rosa froze. Tears filled her eyes and slipped silently down her face. For a few moments she trembled helplessly on the cave floor. But slowly, something inside her changed. Her crying stopped. The fear in her eyes faded into something quieter… something stubborn. She lifted her gaze and looked straight at the brute. She didn't struggle. She didn't make a sound. She simply stared at him with silent defiance.
"Huh?" The brute frowned. "What's with that look?"
He walked closer and crouched in front of her. Pulling out a knife, he shrugged. "Fine. I'll listen. What do you want to say?"
With a quick slice he cut the rope from her mouth.
The moment the gag loosened—
CRACK.
Rosa bit down on his hand with every bit of strength she had.
"AAARGH!" the brute screamed as the knife clattered to the ground. "You little—!"
His fist slammed into her head. Rosa's small body hit the cave floor hard as pain exploded behind her eyes. Yet even as she lay there, dizzy and shaking, she lifted her head and stared at him again.
"They're coming," she said, her voice trembling but firm. "All of them… will come save me."
The brute blinked, then burst into laughter. "Really?" He spread his arms wide, gesturing at the empty cave. "Go on. Call them."
Rosa inhaled deeply.
"Sister Elna!"
"Sister Sylva!"
"Brother Vein!"
"FATHER!"
Her voice echoed loudly through the cave walls, desperate and hopeful all at once. But the only response was the hollow echo of her own voice returning from the darkness.
The brute threw his head back and laughed. "Hahaha! No one's coming, brat."
He turned away, bragging to himself. "I'm the strongest in this village—"
Rosa lowered her eyes.
Something glinted faintly in the dirt beside her.
The knife.
Slowly, carefully, her trembling fingers reached for it. She pulled the blade closer and pressed it against the rope binding her wrists. She rubbed the sharp edge back and forth.
Once.
Twice.
The fibers snapped.
She quickly cut the rope around her ankles as well.
Behind her, the brute was still boasting to himself. "I'm the strongest—"
"Are you?"
Her voice cut through the cave.
He turned around.
Rosa stood there unsteadily, gripping the knife with both hands. Her small arms trembled, but her eyes remained steady.
"I… I can hurt you," she said.
The brute smirked and stepped toward her. "You? With that?"
He reached out to grab her wrist.
SRET—
The knife slashed across his face. Blood sprayed across the cave floor.
"BASTARD!" he roared.
He kicked her hard. Rosa's small body flew backward and the knife slipped from her hands as she crashed to the ground, gasping for air. The brute picked the knife up again and glared down at her.
"I should've killed you first."
He raised the blade.
Then suddenly his hand went numb.
"…Huh?"
He looked down in confusion.
Where his hand had been—there was nothing.
Blood erupted from the severed wrist.
"AAAAAAARGH—!"
Before his scream could finish—
BRUK.
Something slammed into him from behind. His body collapsed onto the cave floor and didn't move again.
A man stood there, breathing heavily, weapon still in his grasp.
"Rosa."
The voice was unmistakable.
Rosa's eyes widened.
"FATHER!"
She scrambled to her feet and ran forward, stumbling straight into Johan's arms.
"Father… Father…"
"I was scared…"
Johan knelt down and held her tightly. "I'm here," he whispered gently. "It's over."
Rosa buried her face in his chest and began sobbing. "I was so scared…"
Johan stroked her hair softly. "You were brave," he said.
Inside the dark cave, at last, Rosa was no longer alone.
—
I rushed to Elna and Sylva and dropped to my knees beside them.
"Sylva—wake up," I said urgently. "Can you hear me?"
Her eyelids trembled slightly before slowly opening.
"…What happened?" she whispered weakly.
"It's a long story," I replied quickly.
She tried to push herself up, but the moment she did, her body swayed dangerously.
Elna caught her immediately.
"Don't," Elna said firmly. "You're completely drained."
For once, Sylva didn't argue.
For a brief moment, my chest felt light.
We made it.
I hadn't seen Rosa with my own eyes yet, but if Johan had reached her… then she had to be safe.
It should have been over.
It should have.
But something about the air felt wrong.
Heavy.
Still.
Slowly, I turned my head toward the forest.
At the edge of the trees, a Nightbound Beast stood.
It was larger than the others we had fought before. Its chest rose and fell slowly as it lowered its head toward the small, motionless cub lying on the ground nearby.
The creature nudged it once.
Then again.
I froze.
And then I saw them.
More shadows moving between the trunks of the trees.
One.
Three.
Five.
A full pack.
Pairs of red eyes ignited in the shade as they stared at us.
They didn't charge.
They didn't growl.
They simply watched.
"…You've got to be kidding me," I muttered under my breath.
"Elna!" I shouted.
She didn't hesitate.
Without a single question, she lifted Sylva into her arms. Even exhausted, Sylva seemed almost weightless in her grip.
Then Elna ran.
Fast.
Faster than I could ever hope to match.
I turned back toward the forest floor.
The brute still lay unconscious where he had fallen.
My teeth clenched.
I bent down and hoisted him over my shoulder. His body was heavy—dead weight pressing down on me—but I couldn't leave him here.
Not like this.
Not to be torn apart.
So I ran.
My lungs burned instantly.
My legs screamed in protest.
Elna was already far ahead.
Then she disappeared completely, swallowed by the forest.
I stumbled.
My foot caught on a root and I crashed hard onto the ground. The brute nearly slipped from my shoulder as I rolled onto my back.
I looked behind me.
They were closer now.
Too close.
A roar shattered the air.
The sound ran straight down my spine like ice.
For a heartbeat, everything slowed.
The farm.
The market.
Rosa's laughter.
Sylva standing beneath the sunlight.
Elna teasing me while we ran.
If I die here—
No.
Not again.
I forced myself up.
Grabbed the brute.
And ran.
Branches snapped behind me as heavy paws thundered across the earth. Two beasts flanked me on either side, close enough that I could hear their breathing.
I turned right.
The largest one.
The parent.
Its burning eyes locked onto me.
There was no wild hunger in that gaze.
Something colder.
Something personal.
I turned left—
And froze.
That wasn't a beast.
It was Sylva.
"What—"
WOOSH—
Wind exploded around me.
The ground vanished beneath my feet as my body was suddenly yanked forward with violent force. I tightened my grip on the brute as we were dragged through the air.
Trees blurred into streaks of green.
Branches tore at my clothes.
A roar erupted right behind us.
Claws slashed through the air—
Missing my leg by inches.
Closer.
Closer—
Then suddenly light burst through the trees.
We were thrown out of the forest.
I hit the ground hard and rolled across the grass as pain flared through my shoulder. The brute tumbled away from me while Sylva crashed a few meters to my side.
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't move.
I forced my head to turn.
The Nightbound Beasts stood at the treeline.
Growling.
Muscles tense.
But they did not step into the field.
The last rays of sunlight stretched across the grass.
Golden.
Fading.
But still there.
The largest beast stared at us for a long moment.
Unmoving.
Then slowly, it turned.
One by one, the others followed.
Their red eyes disappeared into the darkness of the trees.
Silence returned.
Not peaceful.
Not gentle.
Just empty.
I lay on my back, staring at the darkening sky as my body shook uncontrollably.
Around me stood the people who had somehow become my world.
Sylva.
Elna.
Rosa.
Johan.
And two unconscious men who had nearly destroyed everything.
The sun dipped lower toward the horizon.
Night was coming.
But for now—
we were still alive.
I closed my eyes.
And for the first time since this nightmare began, I allowed myself to breathe.
For once—truly—I felt grateful.
We survived.
And in this world…
sometimes
that was the only victory you were allowed.