Kai couldn't shake the cold knot of fear that twisted in his chest every time he glanced at Tomoya. They had left the vibrant chaos of the carnival behind—its lively music, the tantalizing aromas of food, and the panicked crowd fading into the distance. The two of them moved briskly toward Falmouth, their silence punctuated only by the sound of their boots crunching the dirt path. Tomoya kept his gaze firmly on the sky, where dark, swirling clouds loomed ominously overhead.

When they arrived, Bayu's wards shimmered before them, a brilliant sheet of blue light encasing the area. The glow hummed faintly, pulsing with energy. Kai hesitated briefly before stepping through, the barrier parting like water around him. Tomoya followed, his presence like a shadow at Kai's heels.

At first, the scene seemed deceptively quiet. The thick undergrowth was slick with dew, and the air hung heavy with the damp scent of moss and decay. Towering trees formed an oppressive canopy, their branches twisting like skeletal fingers. Then the stench hit him—a nauseating, metallic tang of blood mingled with the acrid rot of melted monsters. Kai winced, feeling the dragonfire stir restlessly within him, a molten force clawing to be unleashed. He swallowed it down with effort, focusing instead on his surroundings.

"Do you see anything?" Kai asked, adjusting the sharp fold of his uniform as he scanned the shadowed landscape.

Tomoya turned to him with a glare as sharp as a knife but said nothing. His silence was more telling than words.

The stench grew stronger, hotter, almost suffocating. It made Kai's skin prickle with unease. He turned to Tomoya again, noticing the tightness in the other man's posture, the tension coiling in his muscles like a spring about to snap.

"Are you okay?" Kai asked, stepping closer, concern lacing his voice.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Tomoya roared, his voice breaking with raw emotion. He stumbled back, shaking his head furiously.

Kai froze, his hand half-raised in a gesture of reassurance. "Tomoya, I—"

Before he could finish, Tomoya began to change.

The transformation was sudden, violent, yet undeniably beautiful. His body twisted and contorted as his skin shimmered, dissolving into sleek, midnight-black fur. Muscles rippled beneath the surface, his form growing larger, more feral, until he stood as a massive wolf. His golden eyes burned with an almost supernatural intensity, reflecting the faint light of the wards.

Kai found himself rooted to the spot, watching in silent reverence. No matter how many times he saw it, the sight of Tomoya's transformation left him awestruck. There was a raw, primal grace to the way he moved, the sheer power contained in his lupine form.

When the transformation was complete, Tomoya's wolf stood motionless, his broad shoulders rising and falling with each measured breath. He stepped forward cautiously, lowering his head to press his snout against Kai's hand. The gesture was tentative but oddly comforting, and Kai's heart softened. He ran his fingers delicately over the coarse fur, feeling the strength and warmth beneath.

Kai leaned in close, his voice low and steady as he stroked the back of Tomoya's neck. "Can you follow that smell? I'll be right behind you."

Tomoya dipped his head in a silent response, his golden eyes glinting with understanding. Without hesitation, he bounded forward, his powerful legs propelling him through the dense forest with ease.

Kai followed, his own strides pounding against the forest floor. The undergrowth snagged at his boots, the earthy scent of damp soil filling his lungs as he pushed himself to keep up. The trail seemed endless, twisting and turning, as if they were caught in a labyrinth.

Tomoya lifted his snout to the sky and let out a howl that sent shivers down Kai's spine. The piercing sound reverberated through the forest, so sharp and powerful that Kai instinctively covered his ears, certain they might bleed. His feet faltered, and he slowed to a stop, leaning heavily against the rough bark of a nearby tree to catch his breath.

Before him, illuminated by the pale glow of Bayu's wards, were twelve people. They were dressed in resplendent festival attire—emerald greens, sapphire blues, and radiant silks that glistened like moonlight. Their headdresses sparkled with jewels and intricate emblems, a stark contrast to the blood that smeared their faces, hands, and feet. They were bound together with thick, knotted ropes, slumped over one another in eerie silence.

Kai's breath caught in his throat as he pushed off the tree and rushed toward them. A surge of dragonfire flared instinctively in his hand, the faint blue flames licking around his fingers as he sliced through the ropes with precision. The heavy bonds fell away, revealing more blood-soaked flesh and torn fabric beneath.

He dropped to his knees in front of a boy who couldn't have been older than fourteen. The boy's head lolled to one side, his eyes half-closed, unfocused, with a thin trail of drool pooling at the corner of his mouth. Panic surged in Kai's chest as he grabbed the boy's face, his hands trembling.

"Can you hear me?" Kai's voice was urgent, but the boy didn't stir. He shook him gently, then more firmly, but there was no response.

A low whine came from beside him. Kai glanced at Tomoya, who stood close, his sleek black fur brushing against Kai's side. His golden eyes burned with an intensity that made Kai's stomach twist.

"Are they—" Kai's voice cracked, the question barely leaving his lips. "Are they alive?"

Despite the blood smeared across the boy's still form, despite the unnervingly peaceful expressions on the others' faces, Kai pressed his fingers to the boy's chest. A faint, uneven pulse fluttered beneath his touch like a dying ember. Relief washed over him, though it didn't ease the knot of dread in his stomach.

"They're alive," he murmured, his voice barely audible. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to focus. "I'll have to contact Squad 9. They'll need to be taken to an infirmary immediately."

Kai's mind raced as he surveyed the scene, the smell of blood thick in the air, mingling with the rancid tang of melted monsters from earlier. He looked back at Tomoya, his brow furrowing. "But all of this is so strange... Were they attacked by a monster? If so, why aren't there any signs of a fight?"

Talking to Tomoya in his wolf form felt strange, but the way those golden eyes locked onto his own made it impossible not to. There was something unnervingly human in his gaze, a knowingness that sent a chill crawling up Kai's spine. Tomoya didn't blink, didn't move, just stared, his eyes blazing with an unspoken urgency that Kai couldn't decipher.

*****

"It's magic," Lukas stated flatly, his tone clipped and unwavering. He strode through the infirmary with an air of ownership, as though the building and everyone in it were merely extensions of his authority.

Kai glanced up from where he knelt beside a cot, his hands busy dipping a cloth into a basin of warm water. He wrung it out carefully, the faint herbal steam rising to meet his face. The room was thick with the scent of medicinal potions and ground herbs, a scent he'd grown used to in the hours he'd spent helping the nurses.

Lukas's words echoed in his mind as he gently pressed the warm towel to a girl's forehead. Her lashes fluttered as though she might wake, but then her expression slackened, and she drifted back into unconsciousness. Kai exhaled a shaky breath.

"Magic?" he asked, his voice heavy with skepticism and fatigue. He glanced over his shoulder at Lukas, who stood rigidly with his hands clasped behind his back, his posture a portrait of precision.

"Dark magic," Lukas clarified, his tone weighted, as though the words themselves carried a curse. His pale blue eyes didn't waver, but Kai caught the slightest tension in his jaw, the smallest hint that even he wasn't immune to the unease hanging thick in the air.

Kai shook his head, trying to grasp the situation. "I don't understand any of this." He stood, brushing his hands on his trousers, his brow furrowed in frustration. "First, monsters keep appearing every time we step foot in Falmouth. So Bayu places wards to keep them contained. Then, at the festival—miles away in English Harbour—twelve people vanish, only to end up here, in the middle of Falmouth. Why? What does it all mean?"

Lukas remained silent for a moment, his eyes scanning the room, as if answers might be lurking in the sterile corners of the infirmary. His presence was unnerving—too calm, too calculating. When he finally spoke, his voice was steady, yet there was an edge to it.

"What it means is that someone—or something—is pulling the strings. The monsters, the wards, the disappearances... It's all connected. And whoever is orchestrating this knows exactly what they're doing."

Kai's shoulders tightened. The weight of Lukas's words pressed on him like an iron yoke. He clenched his fists, trying to quell the growing storm in his chest. "What are we supposed to do?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lukas turned to him, his expression unreadable. "You're supposed to follow orders. That's what recruits do. Leave the thinking to those of us better equipped for it."

Kai's jaw clenched at the sting of the remark, but he bit back a retort. There was no time to argue, no room for pride when lives were at stake. Instead, he turned back to the girl on the cot, adjusting the towel on her forehead with a gentleness that betrayed the fire burning inside him.