Almost two weeks had passed since their training in the Nightmare Realm began.
The realm was huge—very huge. Nearly a hundred times larger than their original world, Tellus. It held vast villages, countless towns, and gigantic cities, functioning just like a normal world. Yes, there were tainted areas, but it wasn't an apocalypse. Civilization here was stable. For outsiders like them, the real concern was something else entirely.
Politics.
Institutions from Tellus were granted permission to enter the Nightmare Realm, but that didn't mean they received friendly treatment. Outsiders weren't protected well under local laws, and most people simply didn't care to treat them as equals. One wrong step could lead to trouble no one would help them out of.
More importantly, in the Nightmare Realm, there were practically no individuals their age who hadn't already reached Nightborne Rank One. That alone made them stand out far too much. Because of this, Kira didn't allow them to take even a single step outside the school grounds.
She promised she would let them see the village the academy belonged to—but only after they achieved Nightborne Rank One.
Drayen especially was desperate to see more. His curiosity was endless, and he worked hard every day, hoping to finally earn that chance.
Kira also held classes after their physical and combat training. She taught them about the village's culture, its traditions, and the small things they needed to blend in.
In the Nightmare Realm, acting like a native was the safest way to avoid trouble.
Today, they were gathered once again in the Nightmare Realm. This time, they weren't on the school grounds but in a nearby area—the outskirts of the village.
Drayen's eyes were practically shining the moment he stepped outside the academy's boundary. But since the school grounds were already close to the outskirts, he didn't get to see much beyond that.
Beyond the outskirts was a Hounds well forest. In the Nightmare Realm, even though humans dominated most regions, they hadn't conquered everything. Or more accurately—they couldn't. The tainted population was simply too large.
Humans still needed tainted cores to progress, so no one had the motivation to exterminate every last one. Instead, they built villages, towns, and cities inside the vast forests and mountain ranges. They controlled tainted zones, keeping them in check, but never wiped them out completely.
Of course, this applied to most areas. There were still places where humans couldn't do anything except build walls and avoid the danger entirely
There was a wall about five meters high surrounding the entire village. Two checkposts stood near the gate, with a watchtower positioned just above them, facing the forest. The guards wore simple brown leather uniforms, a dagger at their waist, and woolen hats pulled low against the cold.
Kira walked ahead to speak with the gate officers. After a short conversation, they were cleared to leave the village.
As they stepped through the gate, Drayen noticed a large wooden board above the entrance. It read:
"Hounds well Village."
Drayen and the others walked along the forest path, taking in its unexpected beauty. Even though the Nightmare Realm had no true day or night and the sky remained a constant shade of purple, it wasn't dark in the slightest. During what could theoretically be called "day," the forest came alive with light.
The trees—and even the insects—breathed a gentle glow. Their leaves shimmered softly, washing the ground in drifting hues. Some flowers burned with vivid colors, while others glowed like natural street lamps, flooding the forest in an enchanting, otherworldly light.
Their eyes widened with awe as they stared around.
"Wow… I never imagined the Nightmare Realm would be this beautiful," Fedric blurted out.
Drayen felt even more excited. He crouched down, running his hand through the faintly glowing grass before eagerly moving ahead to examine the trees and flowers up close.
Even the triplets were hopping around in pure excitement, unable to contain their joy. Back at the school grounds, there were practically no trees at all—just fire and magic formations used to illuminate the place. Drayen couldn't help but curse under his breath.
"Wow, this is beautiful… Why wouldn't they plant any trees at the school grounds? Fuck them."
The only greenery they'd ever seen there was a tiny plant and a single flower growing in a corner. Everything else they knew about forests came from Kira's classes. But standing inside this vast, verdant forest was completely different.
The real thing felt alive.
Drayen and Fedric finally stood up after a while, still completely absorbed in the beauty around them. "We're ready now, Ma'am!" Fedric announced.
He turned around with a grin. "Instructor? Instructor Kira?"
Silence.
Drayen and Fedric scanned their surroundings, but they were completely alone. "…She left?" Drayen muttered.
Drayen suddenly felt something in his back pocket. He reached in and pulled out a small folded note. "Best of luck."
He blinked. "…Seriously?"
The others checked their pockets as well. Fedric snorted as he unfolded his. "Don't go too deep inside the forest. Use your watches to track your location."
But the triplets' note was… different. "I hope to meet you alive."
The triplets gulped loudly in unison.
Leo muttered, "Alive…?"
He continued under his breath, "Why does she always bully us…?"
Two sharp smacks landed on his head. "It's because of you, idiot," Lia and Lina snapped in unison.
Leo clutched his head and yelled, "What did I do?!"
Meanwhile, hidden within the shadows, Kira watched silently. A faint grin touched her lips as her gaze settled on Drayen. "He truly doesn't feel fear," she murmured. "Last time he was begging for his life."
Drayen let out a small sigh. It's good to be young, he thought as he teased, "You really won't make it out alive if you stay there."
He and Fedric started walking, leaving quietly. The triplets instantly fell silent and hurried after them.
"Wait for us, Gang Leader!" they shouted as they caught up.
It was soon what one would call "night" in the Nightmare Realm.
The trees' glow dimmed, and the faint light from the purple sky was swallowed by the dense canopy. Darkness settled in quickly.
Drayen held the normal torch as they moved forward, its warm flame pushing back the darkness.
Beside him, the others carried Crimson Trace Torches, each sending out a thin red beam into the forest—left, right, and rear.
Lia's fear grew with every step. Two kilometers in, she finally whispered, "Fedric… are Shadow Hounds dangerous?"
Fedric adjusted his spectacles. "No. Shadow Hounds are Rank One tainted. They hide using shadows. Their camouflage isn't the best, but…" He lifted his red-beam torch, the line cutting through the dark. "Their claws are among the strongest of all Rank One tainted."
Drayen stared at him.
Looks like this nerd memorized the whole book again.
The group tightened formation around Drayen's flame. His torch illuminated their path; theirs watched the shadows. For now, all the red beams stayed perfectly straight.
Fedric gave her a small reassuring smile. "Don't worry. This light will warn us if any Shadow Hounds are close.
If the beam distorts, something's there."
Leo's voice trembled as sweat slid down his temple. "L-Like… this?"
Drayen spun around the moment the red beam distorted. He didn't speak—he simply raised his gun and fired without hesitation.
"In formation, now!" he shouted.
The triplets reacted instantly, dropping their Crimson Trace Torches and snapping into formation—Kira had drilled the pattern into them so brutally that their bodies moved before their minds did.
Drayen and Fedric stayed at the center, guns raised, scanning the dark. The forest fell silent again—except for the fading echo of Drayen's shot and the low groan of a wounded hound. Fedric's torch beam flicked wildly as multiple shadows shifted in the distance.
Lia gasped. "There are so many of them…"
Drayen's eyes narrowed. "More than four. Fedric—shoot!"
Drayen and Fedric raised their torches to enhance their sight and fired several rounds into the shifting darkness—all of them missed.
The shadows were moving too fast. Suddenly, Lia froze. A shadow surged toward her side.
"I-It's here! Haaa—!" she screamed, swinging her blade wildly.
By luck—or panic—her strike grazed the creature's leg, leaving it limping. Fedric reacted instantly and landed a clean finishing shot.
Lina wasn't as lucky. Her slash missed entirely as a hound lunged at her. Leo threw himself between them, shoulder-slamming the beast and knocking it off course.
But the second hound was already on top of him—claws wide—ready to tear into Leo's exposed back.
Drayen fired again, the bullet tearing through the hound's leg. The beast whimpered and collapsed, its shadowy form flickering.
The one Leo had slammed into vanished back into the darkness before Drayen could follow up. He aimed again—click.
Empty.
His magazine was already spent. Before the wounded hound could recover, the sister–brother pair moved in.
Lina slashed across its neck, and Leo drove his blade through its head, finishing it cleanly.
Then—silence.
A heavy, suffocating quiet settled over the forest, as if the remaining beasts had suddenly changed their tactics.
All five of them stood close together, chests rising and falling, desperately catching their breath.
Their eyes darted across the darkness, searching for the last three Shadow Hounds. They knew the next attack wouldn't be straightforward.
"Where did they go… so suddenly?" Lia whispered, eyes darting around.Her heartbeat was still racing, her whole body trembling with nerves.
Leo exhaled shakily. "Huff… I-I guess they ran away… huff…"
A cold notification flashed across Drayen's vision:
[Drayen, Shadow Hounds can climb trees.]
His breath froze. In their panic, even Fedric had forgotten to mention that.
A roar ripped through the air above them—
Before Leo could react, a Shadow Hound dropped from the branches and slammed into him. His guard was completely open. His sword flew from his hands as his back hit a tree with a sickening thud.
"Leo!" Lina screamed.
Fedric's hands shook—he was terrible at aim. Instead of firing wildly and risk harming leo, he charged forward, dagger drawn as he threw his gun, desperate to reach Leo before the hound tore him apart.
Fedric barely took a step toward Leo when another Shadow Hound lunged at him, knocking him flat on his back.
Drayen didn't have a second to waste reloading his empty magazine. He grabbed the sword lying on the ground and slashed in one fluid motion, cutting open the hound pinning Fedric down.
The beast recoiled with a furious snarl, raising its claws— but they stopped just inches from Fedric's neck.
Lina had grabbed the creature from behind, straining to hold it in place.
That single moment was all Drayen needed.
He dove for Fedric's gun—the one Fedric had thrown aside earlier—snatched it up, and fired point-blank.
The bullet tore through the hound's skull, dropping it instantly.
But the fight wasn't over.
The gunshots had drawn the attention of another group.
One of the hounds slithered silently through the grass, its body flattened low as it crept toward Lia.
Still trembling, Lia barely managed a whisper before the creature lunged.
"Ah—!"
She froze in terror.
The others were still recovering—
Fedric gasping on the ground,
Leo injured,
Lina struggling to stand after the strain,
and Drayen clicking the gun.
—even Fedric's gun clicked empty.
No one could reach her in time.
Terror filled Leo and Lina's faces as they watched the hound leap at their sister.
And then—
A cold voice cut through the darkness.
"This is why I hate guns."
Lia squeezed her eyes shut, trembling.
A heartbeat later, she opened them just enough to see the hound's head hanging sideways, whimpering weakly—its neck pierced clean through.
Kira stood behind it, her nails long and black, dripping tainted blood as she withdrew them.
Before anyone could react, she vanished again— reappearing beside another hound that was creeping toward Drayen from behind.
Her hand moved once, a blur of black. She raked her claws across the hound's face, splitting it open. Brain matter burst outward, splattering across Drayen's cheek as the beast collapsed at his feet.
Drayen froze. He hadn't even seen her swing—he barely felt the wind. She held back during training… wasn't she?
Kira's claws dripped blood as the second hound fell. The remaining beast froze for a heartbeat—then spun around and vanished into the trees, unwilling to share its pack's fate.
Kira wiped the blood off her nails and looked at the group with open disgust. "Pathetic. Five hounds, and you almost died to every single one of them."
Her gaze swept across them, sharp and merciless. "If this had been a real hunt, all of you would be corpses."
She stepped closer, directing an icy stare at the triplets. "Especially you idiots."
Then she turned to Drayen. "Except maybe him."