Morning sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of leaves, scattering soft golden patterns across the forest floor.
Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes.
For a moment, he didn't remember where he was.
Then the cold air, the smell of blood, and the rough ground beneath him brought everything rushing back.
His head still ached, though the sharp pain from the night before had faded. His body, however, felt heavy and weak, as if every bit of strength had been drained away.
He slowly pushed himself up.
And the first thing he saw… was the corpse.
The Shadow Wolf.
Its massive body lay sprawled across the ground, motionless. The once-ferocious creature now looked like a fallen beast of stone. Dark black blood had dried around the wound, staining the earth beneath it.
Lin Ye stared at it in silence.
For a long time, he didn't move.
"Did I really… kill it?" he whispered to himself.
Fragments of last night flashed through his mind like broken pieces of a dream.
The darkness.
The sudden surge of power.
The living shadow that had pierced through the wolf.
And most of all—
That book.
The forbidden book.
Lin Ye lowered his gaze and looked at the ground beside him.
His shadow stretched quietly across the forest floor, thin and ordinary in the morning light.
It looked completely normal.
Calm.
Still.
As if nothing unusual had ever happened.
But Lin Ye knew better.
He could still feel a faint, strange connection deep within himself, something cold and silent resting in the darkness of his mind.
Something that had awakened last night.
He took a slow breath and stood up.
"I should leave… before someone finds this place," he murmured.
If the villagers saw a Shadow Wolf corpse here, there would be questions.
Too many questions.
Lin Ye turned and began walking toward the entrance of the ruined shrine.
But just as he reached the edge of the clearing—
He froze.
Voices drifted through the trees.
"Look here… there are tracks."
"Blood trails leading this way."
"Could be a monster."
Lin Ye's face instantly paled.
Those voices were familiar.
Hunters from the village.
His heart began to pound faster.
A moment later, several figures appeared between the trees, pushing aside branches as they approached the clearing.
At the front of the group was Zhao Hu.
The large, broad-shouldered boy stepped forward confidently, a hunting spear in his hand. But the moment he saw Lin Ye standing there, his expression froze.
"Lin Ye?" he said in disbelief.
"You're still alive?"
Lin Ye nodded slowly.
But before he could say anything else, Zhao Hu's eyes suddenly shifted past him—
And landed on the corpse behind him.
For a second, Zhao Hu didn't move.
Then his eyes widened in shock.
"W–What…?"
He took two steps forward, staring at the massive body lying on the ground.
"This… this is a Shadow Wolf?!"
The other hunters rushed over and immediately sucked in sharp breaths.
"No way…"
"How could a Shadow Wolf appear this close to the village?"
"That's a high-level monster!"
The men circled the corpse, their faces filled with disbelief.
Zhao Hu crouched down near the body and examined the wound carefully.
The more he looked, the darker his expression became.
"It was pierced straight through…" he muttered.
"One strike."
He slowly stood up and looked around.
"Who killed it?"
Lin Ye felt his heartbeat quicken.
Cold sweat formed on his back.
Just as the hunters were still arguing among themselves—
Another set of footsteps echoed through the forest.
These footsteps were different.
Slower.
Heavier.
More controlled.
Every step sounded steady, calm, and deliberate.
The hunters immediately turned their heads.
From the other side of the forest, several figures emerged.
They wore long black cloaks that moved gently with the wind.
On their chests hung silver badges.
The symbol on the badge was unmistakable:
A sword… piercing through the skull of a monster.
The moment the hunters saw the emblem, their expressions changed instantly.
They straightened their posture and lowered their heads respectfully.
"Demon Hunters, sir."
Lin Ye's heart sank.
He had heard of them before.
The Demon Hunters.
A powerful organization that traveled across the continent.
Their duty was simple.
Hunt monsters.
Destroy forbidden magic.
And execute anyone who dared to use it.
The man leading the group stepped forward.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, with short dark hair and a long scar running across his cheek. The scar made his expression look permanently cold.
His sharp eyes swept across the clearing.
First the Shadow Wolf.
Then the surrounding trees.
Finally—
His gaze stopped on Lin Ye.
The look in his eyes was like a blade.
Sharp enough to cut through lies.
"Last night," the man said slowly, his voice deep and calm, "a forbidden energy fluctuation appeared in this area."
The forest suddenly felt very quiet.
No one spoke.
Lin Ye felt a drop of cold sweat slide down his back.
The Demon Hunter continued.
"Anyone capable of killing a Shadow Wolf…"
"…is not an ordinary hunter."
He began walking forward.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each footstep echoed clearly across the silent clearing.
Lin Ye felt as if the sound was pounding directly against his chest.
The man stopped in front of him.
He looked down at the thin, pale boy standing there.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, the entire forest seemed to hold its breath.
Then the Demon Hunter spoke.
"Tell me," he said quietly.
"What happened here last night?"
Lin Ye's throat felt dry.
He knew one thing with terrifying clarity.
If they discovered the truth—
If they realized he had used forbidden power—
He might be executed on the spot.
Because in this world, there was only one fate for those who used forbidden magic.
Death.