The forest erupted.
ROAR!
A massive Fanghorn burst through the trees.
Then another.
And another.
Garen's expression hardened.
"Stay behind me!"
He stepped forward.
The first Fanghorn charged.
BOOM!
Garen swung his weapon with all his strength.
The impact knocked the beast sideways, but before he could recover, another Fanghorn came from his flank.
He barely blocked it.
CRACK!
The force pushed him several meters backward.
Garen dug his feet into the ground.
"Damn..."
There were too many.
The Fanghorns were not behaving like ordinary beasts.
They were surrounding them.
Testing them.
Waiting for openings.
One suddenly charged.
Garen moved aside.
Another came immediately after.
He blocked.
Then a third.
Garen was forced backward again.
For the first time, the instructor was struggling.
"Stay alert!"
Lena had already drawn her bow.
An arrow flew.
THWIP!
It struck a Fanghorn in the shoulder.
The beast roared and turned toward her.
Lena immediately fired another.
THWIP!
This one struck its leg.
The creature stumbled.
Lena moved before it could recover.
She wasn't strong enough to overpower the beasts.
But she was fast.
Her arrows found their weak points.
Her movements were precise.
She managed to keep several Fanghorns away from Garen.
Garen glanced at her.
"That girl..."
Lena was far more talented than an ordinary human.
And there was a reason.
A reason she herself didn't know.
Her bloodline was ancient.
Rare.
A bloodline that had survived through generations of humans.
The elves had been searching for traces of it for years.
And Lena was the first person in generations to display signs of inheriting it.
That was why the elves had taken an interest in the settlement.
That was why they occasionally watched from afar.
But Lena knew none of this.
To her, she was simply Lena.
A human girl who happened to be good with a bow.
Another roar shook the forest.
Garen turned.
His eyes landed on Elias.
A massive Fanghorn stood before him.
It was much larger than the others.
Its horns were thick and scarred.
Its muscles bulged beneath its hide.
Its eyes locked onto Elias.
Elias slowly raised his wooden sword.
The Fanghorn lowered its head.
Then—
BOOM!
It charged.
Elias jumped sideways.
The beast tore through the tree behind him.
Wood exploded.
Elias hit the ground and rolled.
Pain shot through his shoulder.
He immediately stood.
The Fanghorn turned.
It charged again.
Elias watched.
The right leg moved first.
Then the shoulder.
Then the head lowered.
He moved.
The horns missed him by inches.
Elias swung.
CRACK!
His wooden sword struck the creature's neck.
Nothing.
The Fanghorn turned violently.
Elias ducked.
A horn passed over his head.
He rolled away.
His breathing became heavier.
It's too strong.
The Fanghorn charged again.
Elias moved.
This time...
Earlier.
He had seen it.
The shift in its weight.
The movement of its leg.
The angle of its head.
He avoided the attack.
His eyes widened.
I knew where it was going.
The Fanghorn attacked again.
Elias moved.
Again.
And again.
His movements were changing.
They were becoming sharper.
Cleaner.
More precise.
He wasn't getting stronger.
He wasn't getting faster.
He was simply...
learning.
Every attack he survived taught him something.
Every mistake disappeared from his next movement.
The Fanghorn swung.
Elias ducked.
It charged.
He stepped aside.
It turned.
He was already moving.
His body seemed to react before his thoughts could catch up.
Garen noticed.
He stopped fighting for a moment.
His eyes remained fixed on Elias.
The boy had changed.
Not physically.
Something else.
Garen's expression became grim.
He remembered the orders.
Weeks earlier.
A sealed report.
A meeting.
Names he was never supposed to repeat.
"Observe the boy."
"Do not interfere."
"Wait for further instructions."
And finally—
"If it is determined that he poses a threat..."
There had been no hesitation in the command.
"Eliminate him before he grows up."
Garen had obeyed.
He had watched Elias for months.
He had watched him train.
Study.
Read.
Learn.
He had watched him refuse to change his race.
At first, Garen had thought the boy was simply stubborn.
Then he saw how quickly Elias learned.
That alone wasn't enough.
But now...
Garen watched him dodge another attack.
Then another.
His expression hardened.
"So this is what they were afraid of."
Elias was adapting.
Right before his eyes.
And Garen had seen enough.
He had made his decision.
Elias had to die.
Now.
Before whatever was growing inside him became impossible to stop.
Garen looked toward Lena.
She was still fighting.
Three Fanghorns surrounded her.
She was tiring.
If Garen attacked Elias now, she would interfere.
He couldn't allow that.
He walked toward her.
Lena didn't notice.
She fired another arrow.
THWIP!
One Fanghorn staggered.
She reached for another arrow.
Then—
THUD!
Garen struck the back of her neck.
Lena's eyes widened.
"Garen...?"
Her body went limp.
Garen caught her before she hit the ground.
He lowered her carefully against a tree.
He looked at her unconscious face.
"I'm sorry."
Then he turned.
His eyes settled on Elias.
The Fanghorn charged.
Elias moved.
Garen watched silently.
The boy's movements were becoming faster.
Not in speed.
In understanding.
His instincts were sharpening with every second.
Garen slowly reached for his weapon.
His face became emotionless.
"Elias."
The boy turned.
For a moment, their eyes met.
Elias saw his instructor standing several meters away.
He didn't notice anything strange.
He didn't know about the reports.
He didn't know about the orders.
He didn't know that the man he trusted had already decided to kill him.
He only saw Garen holding his weapon.
And then Garen spoke.
"Step away from the Fanghorn."
Elias lowered his sword.
"Why?"
Garen didn't answer.
He simply walked forward.
One step.
Then another.
The Fanghorn stood between them.
Elias looked at Garen.
Then at the beast.
Something about the situation felt wrong.
For the first time that day...
His instincts weren't warning him about the Fanghorn.
They were warning him about Garen.