[An hour ago…]
"I'm out of ammo!" Rico shouted, his voice strained with panic.
"This is my last round," Milo muttered, gripping his weapon tightly.
"There's too many of them... At this rate, we're gonna be dinner," Theo groaned as the Shadowfangs inched closer, surrounding them from three directions.
"Someone, please! Help us!" Gareth cried out, falling to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "Please, just spare us!" he begged, voice trembling.
Milo shot him a scathing look, "Are you really a soldier?"
The fangs closed in on the group of cadets, sharp teeth gleaming in the dim light. Just as all hope seemed lost, a glass bottle fell from the sky, crashing to the ground in front of them. The bottle shattered, releasing a strange scent into the air—the smell of antibiotics
As soon as the Shadowfangs caught a whiff of it, they recoiled, yelping and fleeing as fast as their limbs would carry them.
"That… stuff sure scared them off," Theo said, breathing heavily.
Above them, perched on a tree branch, a young boy with a mischievous grin stared down at the cadets. "For saving your sorry lives, you owe me a lifetime of service," the boy declared. His voice was cocky, almost playful.
"What the—?" Milo blinked. "Who the hell are you?"
The boy jumped from the branch, landing gracefully despite the height. As he stood before them, the cadets couldn't help but wonder. "Are you even human?"
Before the boy could answer, Gareth lunged forward, grabbing his foot and crying out, "Thank you o great savior. You saved us!" He sobbed, clutching onto the boy's leg like his life depended on it.
"Okay, okay, I'm not that great," the boy said, ruffling his own hair, clearly enjoying the attention.
"Stop that, Mihon," a deep voice rumbled from behind the cadets.
They jumped, spinning around to see a tall, muscular figure emerge from the shadows. He seemed to appear out of nowhere, his presence sending a chill down their spines. "When did you get there?" Theo stammered.
"I've been here the whole time," the muscular boy—Kael—responded nonchalantly, his voice low and calm.
"I swear I didn't see him…" Milo whispered to Rico, who nodded in agreement.
"Did you find anything, Kael?" Mihon asked, eyes narrowing.
Kael gave a firm nod. "I saw that boy leading six others—four boys and two girls—to that exact spot. One of them was injured though. That's the second time he's done it. He's planning something."
Mihon's brow furrowed in thought. "Then we should go check it out."
"Do we really have to?" Gareth whimpered, still shaken.
Mihon grinned wickedly. "You owe me, remember? Better stick to your word."
"Wait, when did we even agree to that?" Rico protested.
"Do you want to get eaten by the fangs again?" Mihon retorted.
"He's got a point," Theo admitted, sighing in defeat. "I guess we're following him."
Mihon playfully patted Theo on the head. "Who's a Good boy," he teased.
"Hey! Cut it out!" Theo growled, brushing Milo's hand away.
"Focus, Milo," Kael ordered, his voice stern. "We've got an objective to clear."
"You take everything so seriously…" Milo muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Let's move," Kael said, ignoring the banter. He turned and led the group forward, Mihon trailing behind with an ever-present grin on his face.
[Present Time]
Aeron struggled to open his eyes, his head pounding. As his vision cleared, he realized his hands were tied tightly with ropes. He scanned his surroundings frantically—Emma, along with two other cadets, was also bound to poles.
"What the hell is going on?" Aeron muttered to himself, tugging at his restraints.
"You can't escape," a boy's voice echoed eerily from behind him. "No matter how hard you try."
Aeron craned his neck to see the boy standing there, his back turned. "What are you talking about?" Aeron demanded, confused and disoriented.
The boy didn't turn around. "No matter how much you struggle, you won't escape," he repeated, his voice growing more unsettling by the second.
Aeron's hands brushed against the boy as he shifted in place. His skin was cold—unnaturally cold. "Hey, what's wrong with you?" Aeron asked, but as soon as he touched him, the boy's head twisted sharply, turning 180 degrees with a grotesque crack.
Aeron recoiled in horror. The boy was no longer in front of him. He was standing beside a cultist now.
"You woke up sooner than I expected," the cultist said, his voice rasping as he moved toward Aeron. The cultist was young, but his face was riddled with scars.
"Who are you? And what do you want?" Aeron asked, trying to make sense of the situation.
"To bring peace to this world, I must kill all who come from the other world," the cultist replied, his expression unreadable.
Without warning, the cultist and the boy began tying up the other cadets.
"Stop it!" Aeron shouted, struggling to free himself. He finally managed to loosen his ropes, leaping to his feet and pulling a pistol from his side pocket as his original gun was missing. He pointed it at them, his hands trembling.
Before he could react, two shadowy figures emerged behind him, their movements swift and silent. Aeron barely had time to notice before one of them swung at him with a heavy stick. Instinctively, his powers activated, slowing time. He dodged the blow but immediately felt the strain.
His ability to slow time wasn't under his full control yet. His body couldn't handle the energy drain. The second figure lunged at him, and Aeron barely managed to block with his knife, slashing at the figure only to find… fog.
The shadowy figure grinned menacingly as Aeron realized he was surrounded. "Kill him," the cultist ordered, his voice cold and detached.
As the shadow figures closed in, Aeron's body gave out, exhaustion from overusing his powers setting in. Just as the final blow was about to land, a smoke bomb exploded between him and the cultist, enveloping the area.
Out of the smoke, Kael charged in, grabbing Aeron and tossing him over his shoulder. "Hang on!" Kael yelled as he sprinted away.
Once they were clear, Mihon appeared, crouching down next to Aeron. "You alright?" Mihon asked, his tone unusually soft.
"Thanks for saving me," Aeron muttered, trying to sit up but failing as his body gave out beneath him.
"Don't try to move," Mihon advised, his voice steady but concerned. "You've passed out twice in just a few hours, not to mention all that fighting. Your body's reached its limit."
"I need to save my friends," Aeron said, his frustration visible as he fought against his exhaustion.
"We need to save our comrades too," Mihon replied, his expression darkening. "But something's not right... it's been a while, and that cultist still hasn't done anything yet."
"He said he needed to kill everyone from our world to make this place 'peaceful,' but I don't think that's his real motive or something is hidden beneath it," Aeron said, trying to make sense of everything, his brows furrowed in thought.
"That guy's a psychopath," Kael added bluntly, his voice cold and flat.
"If he really wanted to kill us, he could've done it by now. There's got to be something else driving him," Aeron said, still trying to fit the pieces together.
"That's not our only problem," Mihon interrupted, his expression grim.
Aeron looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"
Mihon nodded. "Remember that fog that teleported us here? That wasn't just any ordinary fog. It came from a Queen Shadowfang."
Aeron's eyes widened. "You're serious?"
Mihon nodded. "I sensed something stronger during that patrol attack. I confirmed it. It's nearby, and it's hunting us."
"But Queen Shadowfang doesn't even have the ability to create fog," Aeron said, his voice tinged with confusion.
"That's not the only thing," Mihon replied, frowning. "It can't see either. Something about this whole situation feels... off."
Aeron's brows furrowed in frustration. "None of this makes any sense. Firstly Queen Shadowfangs in this area, secondly it can't see And lastly the fog came from the Queen Shadowfang?... it's like we're missing a piece of the puzzle."
Mihon glanced at him, his face serious. "Exactly. It feels like there's something else going on—something we haven't figured out yet."
"But there's a silver lining," Mihon added, "it hates the smell of antibiotics."
Aeron took a deep breath, trying to process everything. "What about that creepy boy with the twisted head? How did he—"
"He's an imposter," Mihon cut him off, his voice firm.
"How do you know?" Aeron asked, frowning.
"At the training ground assembly, I memorized everyone's faces. I'm certain he wasn't there."
"More mysteries... this is too much," Aeron muttered, frustration boiling over.
"You've got a sharp mind, Aeron," Mihon said with a grin. "I could use your help to deal with that cultist."
A plan began forming in Aeron's head. "Looks like I've got something cooking. You in?"
Mihon's eyes gleamed with interest. "I'm listening."