After helping Orion with the worshiper who tried to attack him from behind, the white haired boy rushed to rescue the other children from the cages.
"Thank you!!"
"Hey! Open ours too!"
"Hide behind the cages until the battle is over!"
One by one, from the first to the third, he freed them all. The kids huddled behind the cages, just like the white-haired boy told them to, waiting for the battle to end. But it was pointless. In just a moment, the Black Knight appeared.
"Th-that! Run!!"
"Aghh! Run!"
Frightened by the monstrous presence, the children scattered, running deeper into the forest right into the heart of the storm that was still protecting the summoning site. Seeing this, the white-haired boy had no choice. He ran after them.
"Wait for me! Don't go!"
He called out in desperation, but they kept running, slipping past the edge of the barrier until they vanished from his sight. With no other option, he plunged into the storm after them.
"H-help!"
"I'm here to help—arghh!"
Inside the storm, visibility was near zero. Leaves whipped through the air. Twigs flew like shrapnel. The boy heard shouts for help from every direction. He figured they were just scared, but then-
"!!!"
He stepped on something.
A body.
A dead one.
"N-no!! Hel—"
Another cry, just a few feet away, cut short by the sound of flesh being torn.
Without thinking, he ran. He didn't stop to help. He didn't even look.
"H-hey, is someone there?!"
A shout from the right but he couldn't see anyone. Only the edges of a cave… and the sound of heavy footsteps behind him. Not human.
Something huge.
He bolted to the side, barely dodging whatever was behind him. When he turned, he saw fur. No form, just fur. The beast was huge.
"Hey! Please respond if you're there!"
A loud crash. More heavy steps. The beast was gone.
The boy pushed forward, trying to find the cage again but the cave entrance was gone. He looked down. His sword. He'd dropped it.
"Poor... guy."
Terrified, he hesitates for some moments, but his mind comes right back at him, picking up his sword and rushing to the other side, remembering where the beast's steps were heard and from where he was coming. It was no guarantee the knights would win against the Black Knight; he needed to survive.
"Move… move!"
The wind howled, pushing harder now. His legs ached from forcing each step. One wrong move, and he'd end up like the others.
"!!!"
A deep creak snapped his head up.
A tree falling.
He tried to lunge forward, but it was too late.
The trunk crashed onto his back, pinning him to the ground.
"N-no!!"
From being kidnapped from his home and trapped in a cage for a demonic summoning, to fighting his way out and almost being killed by a huge beast only to end up pinned under a tree.
"No... NO NO NO NO!!"
Regret. Frustration. A flood of emotions engulfed the boy's soul but even then, he wasn't going to die without fighting, without clawing at death itself.
"... Arghh!!"
He tried to move, and only then realized something he hadn't noticed before maybe because of the adrenaline. The tree hadn't just fallen on him. A broken branch had stabbed straight through his torso.
Ironically, just as the pain became clear, the storm began to quiet. Leaves, stones, and splinters of wood dropped gently to the ground. The chaos faded, and all that was left was the boy's scream echoing through the now still air.
"Help! HELP ME!!"
Desperation cracked his voice. He screamed without thinking, not caring that the beast might still be out there, listening. But if no one came, he was dead anyway.
"...N-no... hel-p..."
Exhaustion flooded his body. The strength left his arms. His face hit the mud. He was tired. Angry. Bitter. He had fought. Freed the other children. And now most of them were likely dead. Devoured by that thing.
"..."
His mind faded into blackness. And then, silence.
But just before death could reach him, something descended something unexpected. It circled above like a shadow, then dropped, enveloping his body in dark energy.
"Krrrgg!"
Through the fog of pain, a sound pierced the quiet. In front of his body now wrapped in the same black aura as the Black Knight stood a wolf.
But not an ordinary wolf.
It was bigger. Towering. A single horn rose from its skull like a blade.
"..."
His eyes snapped open, now dark as the storm had once been. He stood. The massive tree that once crushed him now felt light — weightless.
With one motion, he gripped the branch impaled in his torso — and tore it out.
"KRrrrrgh!"
The horned wolf growled, lunging forward.
But the boy's aura had changed completely. He moved without effort, picked up the sword he'd dropped, and in one swift motion, severed the wolf's head.
He didn't celebrate. Didn't flinch. Just looked back down at his own body the torn flesh, the blood-soaked ground with disgust.
"...Disgusting lower being."
Then, his gaze shifted.
He looked toward the battlefield where the knights had fought the Black Knight. Or where they had fought. He could feel it. Something still lingered there.
But before he could move, another sound shattered the air.
Heavy. Measured. Closer.
"Interesting."
The beast had returned. The huge one. The same that had nearly killed him before.
Its body loomed before him again — massive, black fur rippling. A bear's shape, but not quite. Two horns curved from the sides of its head. It made no sound.
"Come."
The boy's voice was calm and cold. At the invitation, the beast charged. He stepped aside. Effortless. Clean. The beast slid across the mud, turned, ready to attack again.
The boy lifted his sword. The black aura flared.
"Let's see how much this body can take before I face those knights again, shall we?"
The beast lunged.
The fight began.