My Point of View

After three hours of marching, we finally arrived at the village.

The mood immediately changed.

The villagers waiting near the entrance looked exhausted.

Some carried spears or hunting bows despite clearly having little experience with either.

Others watched from windows and rooftops.

Everyone looked nervous.

Everyone looked tired.

A wooden barricade had been hastily erected around parts of the settlement, while several buildings showed signs of damage.

Deep claw marks scarred the walls of a barn.

A fence had been completely torn apart.

Whatever had been attacking the village wasn't subtle.

The moment our column appeared, visible relief spread through the crowd.

People began gathering near the road.

Whispers spread through the villagers as knights entered the settlement.

I adjusted the BAR hanging from my shoulder and looked around.

"Aight," I said. "Where's the leader of this village?"

A middle aged man pushed his way through the crowd.

His clothes were simple.

His eyes were bloodshot.

Judging by the bags beneath them, he hadn't slept much recently.

"That would be me." He said.

I offered him a nod.

"Alex."

The man looked at my armor.

Then at my sword.

Then at the rifle slung across my back.

His eyes widened slightly.

"The American Knight."

I winced.

Apparently that title had spread farther than I thought.

"Unfortunately."

The village leader managed a tired chuckle.

"Thank the gods you're here."

The humor quickly vanished from his face.

"People are dying."

The crowd fell silent.

Even the nearby villagers stopped whispering.

The fear in the man's voice was genuine.

And that told me more than any report ever could.

I exchanged a glance with Eleanor and Sir Roland.

Then returned my attention to the village leader.

"Start from the beginning."

The man swallowed.

Then pointed toward the forest beyond the village.

"It comes from there."

Instead of following the hunter toward the forest, I shook my head.

"Later."

The hunter frowned.

"What?"

"I'll look at the tracks."

I pointed toward the village.

"But first, I want to see the last attack site."

Several villagers exchanged glances.

The village leader looked surprised.

"The attack site?"

"Yeah."

I adjusted the BAR hanging from my shoulder.

"Tracks tell me where something went. A crime scene tells me what happened."

Aldric raised an eyebrow.

"Crime scene?"

"The place where the attack happened."

The old mage nodded.

"I see."

The village leader hesitated before motioning for us to follow.

"This way."

We wound our way through the village.

The farther we walked, the quieter people became.

Children disappeared into homes.

Conversations stopped.

The fear hanging over the settlement became impossible to miss.

Eventually we arrived at a small farmhouse near the edge of the village.

Or what was left of it.

I stopped.

"...Well."

The front door was gone.

Not broken.

Gone.

One entire wall had partially collapsed inward.

Deep gouges scarred the wooden beams.

The ground was littered with splintered wood and debris.

Something had hit the house hard.

Very hard.

I slowly walked forward.

"Who lived here?"

The village leader lowered his head.

"The Harrow family."

"How many?"

"Four."

I frowned.

"How many survived?"

The silence answered before he did.

Nobody.

I removed my helmet and knelt near the damaged doorway.

Immediately several things stood out.

The claw marks.

The damage pattern.

The debris field.

Most importantly...

The lack of blood.

That was strange.

Very strange.

I stood and walked farther inside.

The interior was a mess.

Furniture overturned.

A table shattered.

Broken dishes scattered across the floor.

But something felt wrong.

I couldn't put my finger on it.

Not yet.

"Alex?"

I ignored Eleanor and crouched beside one of the gouges.

Slowly, I ran my fingers across the damaged wood.

The cut was deep.

Far deeper than any normal animal should've managed.

Yet the edges weren't crushed.

They were clean.

Almost too clean.

Like a blade.

Not claws.

A blade.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

I stood.

"Nobody touch anything."

Several knights immediately froze.

The village leader looked confused.

"What is it?"

I pointed toward the wall.

"That wasn't made by an animal."

The villagers stared.

Roland stepped forward.

"What do you mean?"

I walked over and placed my hand beside one of the marks.

"The cuts are too clean."

I traced the groove.

"Whatever made these wasn't swiping wildly."

My eyes narrowed.

"It was deliberate."

The room grew quiet.

Aldric stepped beside me.

"You think it was intelligent."

"I know it was."

That immediately got everyone's attention.

I walked across the room.

Then stopped.

There.

Near the remains of the table.

Something glinted.

I knelt and picked it up.

A single strand of silver fur.

The room fell silent.

The village leader swallowed.

"A fox?"

I stared at the fur.

Then at the claw marks.

Then at the destroyed house.

My instincts screamed that something wasn't adding up.

A fox didn't do this.

A wolf didn't do this.

A bear didn't do this.

Something else had.

Something smart.

Something magical.

And judging by the evidence...

Something that wanted us to think it was a fox.

I rolled the silver strand of fur between my fingers.

It was soft.

Unnaturally so.

More like silk than fur.

"Hmmm."

Aldric stepped beside me.

"What is it?"

"I don't know yet."

I held the strand up to the light filtering through the damaged roof.

It shimmered faintly.

Not because of the sun.

Because of magic.

I looked over at Aldric.

"You sensing this?"

The old mage narrowed his eyes before holding a hand near it.

For several seconds he remained silent.

Then his expression hardened.

"...Yes."

"What kind?"

"I cannot tell."

That wasn't the answer I was hoping for.

"You can't?"

He slowly shook his head.

"It doesn't resemble any natural magical signature I've encountered."

Interesting.

Very interesting.

I carefully slipped the strand into a small leather pouch on my belt.

"Might be useful later."

Standing, I continued examining the house.

The claw marks had all been made around waist height.

None reached the ceiling.

None struck randomly.

Each one served a purpose.

Doorway.

Window.

Support beam.

Escape route.

It was almost...

"Tactical."

Sir Roland looked over.

"Tactical?"

I nodded.

"It attacked the exits first."

The knights looked around.

One by one they began noticing it.

The front door.

The windows.

The rear entrance.

Every avenue of escape had been destroyed.

The support beams had been struck next, causing part of the roof to collapse inward.

Anyone inside would've been trapped.

"It cornered them." Eleanor whispered.

"Yeah."

I looked toward the bedrooms.

"It knew exactly what it was doing."

The room fell silent.

That changed things.

A beast lashed out.

A hunter planned.

Whatever had attacked this family had planned.

I moved toward one of the broken windows.

The frame had been ripped completely free.

But something caught my attention.

I crouched.

There.

Pressed into the dirt beneath the window.

A footprint.

Not a fox's.

A human's.

Small.

Bare.

I frowned.

"Eleanor."

She stepped over.

"What?"

I pointed.

"What do you make of that?"

She crouched beside me.

"...It's human."

"So why didn't anyone mention it?"

The princess looked toward the village leader.

The poor man looked completely bewildered.

"I've never seen that before."

I believed him.

Which meant everyone had overlooked it.

Or...

It hadn't been there until now.

I brushed away more dirt.

The print continued for several steps.

Then...

Stopped.

Not faded.

Stopped.

As though whoever made it had simply ceased to exist.

"...Well that's unsettling."

Marcus swallowed.

"People don't disappear."

"No."

I stood.

"They don't."

A cold breeze drifted through the ruined house.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Years of hunting had taught me to trust that feeling.

Someone...

Or something...

Was watching us.

Slowly, my hand settled on the grip of my sword.

"Everyone stop moving."

The room froze.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody breathed.

I slowly scanned the tree line beyond the broken window.

Nothing.

The grass.

Still.

The branches.

Still.

The birds...

I frowned.

"There aren't any birds."

Roland looked around.

"...You're right."

"There should be."

The village had chickens.

Livestock.

Fields.

An entire forest.

Yet the only sound was the wind.

No birds.

No insects.

Nothing.

The forest was...

Silent.

Too silent.

I looked toward the tree line.

Then slowly smiled.

"There you are."

Everyone turned toward me.

"What?" Eleanor asked.

I never took my eyes off the woods.

"It knows we're here."

Silence.

Aldric tightened his grip on his staff.

"You can sense it?"

"No."

"Then how..."

"It's acting like every predator I've ever hunted."

I pointed toward the forest.

"It's waiting."

"For what?" Roland asked.

I smiled a little wider.

"For us to make the first mistake."

I slipped my helmet back on.

The chin strap clicked into place.

Then I looked at the gathered knights.

"Nobody enters those woods alone."

My gaze lingered on each of them.

"If it wanted easy prey before..."

I rested my hand on the hilt of my dragon forged sword.

"...it's about to realize it picked the wrong village."

I looked over at the village leader.

"Do you have somewhere we can stay?"

The man nodded.

"The village hall should have enough room for everyone."

"Good."

I glanced back toward the forest.

The shadows beneath the trees hadn't changed.

If anything, they seemed even more watchful.

"Whatever we're dealing with isn't going to attack now."

Sir Roland looked over.

"You sound certain."

"I am."

I folded my arms.

"As I said, it knows we're here."

"The creature is intelligent." Aldric said.

"Exactly."

I nodded.

"It spent three months hunting villagers who had little means of defending themselves. Then an entire company of knights, a royal mage, and the kingdom's best monster hunter show up."

I shook my head.

"If it's as smart as I think it is, it'll stay hidden."

Eleanor tilted her head.

"So what now?"

"Now we wait."

Several knights exchanged uneasy looks.

"Waiting?" Marcus asked.

"Waiting."

I looked toward the village.

"It's going to observe us, watch our patrols, learn our routines, and look for weaknesses."

I looked back toward the forest.

"And while it thinks it's studying us..."

A grin spread across my face.

"...I'll be studying it."

"How will you be able to see it at night?" The village leader asked. "Half the village is swallowed by darkness after sunset."

A small smirk crossed my face.

"I've got night vision goggles." I replied, tapping the side of my helmet. "They let me see in the dark almost as well as I can during the day."

I gave the helmet a light pat.

"And if that isn't enough, I've got a flashlight mounted up here. It can light up the area far better than any torch."

The villagers looked at one another in quiet amazement.

To them, it probably sounded like magic.

A small voice broke the silence.

"Are you a mage, American Knight?"

I looked down to find a young boy, no older than eight, staring up at me with wide, curious eyes.

I smiled.

"In a sense."

The boy tilted his head.

"In what sense?"

I thought about it for a moment before answering.

"I use magic."

I rested a hand on the dragon-scale plate of my carrier.

"I build things with magic."

Then I tapped the side of my helmet.

"And sometimes I use things that look like magic, but are really just inventions from my homeland."

The boy's eyes widened.

"So... you're both?"

I chuckled.

"Something like that."

Aldric folded his arms beside me.

"I told him once that he might belong to a class all his own."

I glanced over at the old mage.

"You know... I think we've finally figured out what that class is."

"Oh?" Aldric asked.

I smiled.

"American Knight."

The old mage was silent for a moment.

Then, to my surprise, he slowly nodded.

"I believe... that is a most fitting name."

A faint smile tugged at the village leader's lips.

"I suppose the stories weren't exaggerating after all."

"I hope they weren't." I replied. "Usually the stories make me sound cooler than I actually am."

Marcus laughed.

"They absolutely do."

"I figured."

The boy's eyes never left me.

"Can I see them?"

"The goggles?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

I looked over at the village leader.

"You mind?"

The man smiled.

"I don't see why not."

Kneeling down, I unbuckled the helmet and carefully lifted it off.

The child gasped.

"So many things..."

"Careful." I chuckled. "It's a bit heavier than it looks."

He nodded rapidly.

I pointed to the bracket on the front.

"These are the night vision goggles."

Then to the small cylindrical device mounted on the side.

"And that's the flashlight."

"What do they run on?" Aldric asked, stepping closer.

"Electricity."

The old mage frowned.

"The same force as your Lightning Shock spell?"

"In a way."

I nodded.

"Think of Lightning Shock as creating electricity."

Aldric nodded thoughtfully.

"And your helmet stores it?"

"Exactly."

I tapped the side of the helmet.

"The enchantment charges a battery inside. That battery powers the flashlight, the camera, and the night vision."

The old mage's eyebrows rose.

"So it stores lightning..."

"It stores the energy from it."

"Hmm..."

I knew that look.

Aldric was thinking.

Probably redesigning half the kingdom's magical infrastructure in his head.

"I'll have to study that."

"I figured you would."

The little boy looked between us.

"So... you trapped lightning?"

I smiled.

"When you put it like that, it does sound pretty cool."

The child's eyes sparkled.

"I want to be an American Knight when I grow up!"

The village immediately fell quiet.

Even Marcus stopped smiling.

I looked at the boy for a moment.

Then crouched so we were eye level.

"It's not an easy path."

"I know."

"You'll have to work harder than everyone around you."

He nodded.

"You'll fail."

Another nod.

"Probably a lot."

"I know."

"You'll have to learn things people tell you are impossible."

His smile only grew wider.

"I like impossible."

I couldn't help but grin.

"Good."

I reached over and ruffled his hair.

"Then don't try to become me."

His smile faltered.

"Huh?"

"Become better."

The boy blinked.

"If all you ever do is copy someone else..."

I gestured toward the helmet in my hands.

"...you'll always be one step behind."

I stood back up.

"Learn from the people who came before you."

I looked toward Aldric.

"Question them."

Then toward Sir Roland.

"Improve their ideas."

Finally, I looked back down at the child.

"And when someone tells you something can't be done..."

A smile crept across my face.

"...prove them wrong."

The boy nodded so hard I thought his head might come off.

"I will!"

I laughed as I slipped the helmet back on.

The familiar weight settled over my head before I fastened the chin strap.

Behind me, Aldric smiled quietly.

"You truly have become a teacher, haven't you?"

I paused.

Had I?

I hadn't really thought about it.

"I guess..."

I looked toward the dark forest looming beyond the village.

"...I had some pretty good teachers."

Aldric didn't say anything.

He didn't need to.

The faint smile on his face said enough.

Then Sir Roland stepped forward, his expression becoming serious once more.

"The sun will be setting in a few hours."

I nodded.

"Then let's get to work."

My gaze drifted back to the forest, before following to the village hall.

The village hall wasn't anything extravagant.

It was a sturdy timber building near the center of the village, large enough to hold community gatherings and celebrations. Long tables had been pushed against the walls to make room for rows of bedrolls the villagers had laid out for us.

"They've done what they can on such short notice." The village leader said.

"It's more than enough." Sir Roland replied with a respectful nod.

The man visibly relaxed.

The knights began settling in, removing packs, checking weapons, and preparing for the night ahead.

I didn't.

Instead, I walked over to one of the windows overlooking the forest.

The sun had already begun its slow descent.

Orange light spilled across the rooftops, while the shadows beneath the trees grew darker by the minute.

"Eerie..." I muttered.

Eleanor stepped beside me.

"You've gone quiet."

"Hmm?"

"That's unlike you."

I gave a small shrug.

"I'm thinking."

"About the creature?"

I nodded.

"Nothing about this makes sense."

She folded her arms.

"Because of the fox tracks?"

"That's one reason."

I looked back toward the forest.

"The attacks are organized."

I raised a finger.

"It attacks isolated targets."

A second.

"It cuts off escape routes."

A third.

"It leaves almost no evidence."

A fourth.

"And now it knows we're here."

Eleanor listened without interrupting.

I continued.

"If it wanted to kill us..."

I looked around the village.

"...it would've attacked while we were marching."

"You think it saw us?"

"I'd bet money on it."

The princess frowned.

"So why didn't it?"

"Because predators don't pick fights they might lose."

I leaned against the window frame.

"It watched us. It counted us. It probably even saw my weapons. And now..."

I looked toward the tree line again.

"...it's trying to figure out whether we're worth the risk."

Aldric walked over, having apparently overheard the conversation.

"You continue referring to it as a predator."

"Because that's what it is."

"You no longer believe it to be merely a beast?"

I shook my head.

"No."

"What changed your mind?"

I thought back to the farmhouse.

"The attack. The support beams. The blocked exits. The lack of unnecessary damage."

I crossed my arms.

"Everything about it says planning."

Aldric slowly nodded.

"I reached a similar conclusion."

"There was something else."

Both Aldric and Eleanor looked at me.

"The house."

"What about it?" Eleanor asked.

I frowned.

"It felt..."

I searched for the word.

"...wrong."

"Wrong how?"

"I don't know."

I hated that answer.

Because usually I knew.

"There should've been more blood."

Aldric tilted his head.

"Explain."

"If a predator attacks four people inside a house..."

I pointed toward the floor.

"...there should've been signs of a struggle. Blood. Drag marks. Broken furniture from people trying to escape. There wasn't."

The old mage's brow furrowed.

"You believe they left willingly?"

"I think they were made to."

Silence.

Eleanor slowly turned toward the forest.

"...Mind magic."

"I hope not."

"Why?"

"Because if it can influence people's minds..."

I rested a hand on the buttstock of my BAR.

"...then every witness statement we've heard becomes questionable."

The room fell silent.

Even Marcus, who had been chatting with several knights nearby, looked over.

Nobody liked where the conversation was heading.

I looked around the hall.

"Roland."

The knight stepped forward.

"Yes?"

"I want guards posted on every approach into the village."

He nodded.

"They're already being organized."

"Good."

I looked toward Marcus.

"Nobody goes anywhere alone."

Marcus gave a quick salute.

"You got it."

Then I turned back toward the forest.

The sun had almost disappeared.

Darkness crept steadily between the trees.

And for the briefest moment...

I could've sworn I saw something move.

Not a wolf.

Not a bear.

Not a man.

Just...

A pair of golden eyes.

Watching.

The instant I focused on them...

They vanished.

I smiled.

"There you are..."

"What is it?" Eleanor asked, immediately reaching for her sword.

I never took my eyes off the forest.

"Nothing."

I paused.

"Yet."

Because whatever was out there...

It had just made one very important mistake.

It had let me know I wasn't imagining things.

And that meant the hunt...

Had officially begun.

Night settled over the village with surprising speed.

The last traces of sunlight disappeared behind the mountains, leaving only the faint orange glow of torches scattered throughout the settlement.

Unlike the rest of the village, I kept my helmet on.

A quiet click echoed inside it as I lowered the night vision goggles over my eyes.

The world instantly shifted.

Darkness gave way to shades of green.

Every building.

Every fence.

Every person.

Perfectly visible.

I gave an approving nod.

"Still weird." Marcus muttered, watching me.

"What is?"

"You look like an insect."

I slowly turned toward him.

"...Really?"

"The glowing eyes don't help."

"They're not glowing."

"They are from where I'm standing."

I sighed.

"Fair enough."

Sir Roland approached, his sword resting at his side.

"We've posted sentries around the perimeter."

"Any reports?"

He shook his head.

"Nothing."

"Keep it that way."

The veteran knight frowned.

"You say that as though something will happen."

"It might."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then everyone gets a peaceful night's sleep."

Roland nodded.

"I would much prefer that outcome."

"So would I."

I stepped away from the village hall.

"Where are you going?" Eleanor asked.

"Patrol."

"Alone?"

I nodded.

She immediately frowned.

"You literally just ordered everyone not to go anywhere alone."

"I did."

"And now you're ignoring your own rule."

"I'm the exception."

"No, you're not."

"I kind of am."

Eleanor crossed her arms.

"Explain."

I pointed toward the forest.

"If this thing is intelligent..."

"It is."

"It already knows where all of you are."

She remained silent.

"It doesn't know what I'm going to do."

"So?"

"So I'm going to make myself look like an opportunity."

Marcus blinked.

"...You're using yourself as bait."

"Bingo."

"I don't like this plan."

"You don't have to."

"I still don't."

I smiled.

"Good."

Aldric walked over, staff in hand.

"I assume there is more to this plan than simply wandering into the darkness."

"There is."

The old mage folded his arms.

"I'm listening."

"I won't actually be alone."

Roland looked around.

"I don't see anyone else."

"You won't."

Reaching into one of my pouches, I pulled out a length of thin cord.

Then another.

And another.

Marcus tilted his head.

"...String?"

"Fishing line."

"What are you going to catch?"

I grinned.

"A fox."

The knights looked confused.

I walked toward the edge of the village, tying the nearly invisible line between fences, trees, and fence posts.

Every few yards I attached a tiny brass bell.

Not enough to make noise in the wind.

Just enough to ring if something brushed against the line.

Marcus watched me work.

"...What are you doing?"

"Early warning system."

"You made that up."

"Nope."

I tied another line.

"If I can't see it..."

I secured another bell.

"...I'll hear it."

Aldric crouched beside one of the lines.

"Remarkably simple."

"The best ideas usually are."

The old mage smiled faintly.

"You truly are unlike any mage I've ever met."

"I've been told."

Within twenty minutes, nearly half the village perimeter had been laced with the nearly invisible lines.

No magic.

No enchantments.

Just simple engineering.

Marcus looked around.

"...I can't even see them."

"Exactly."

I gave one of the lines a gentle flick.

A faint ting.

The tiny bell chimed softly.

Everyone within earshot turned toward the sound.

"That'll wake me."

Roland slowly nodded.

"...Ingenious."

"It's also cheap."

Aldric looked thoughtful.

"No mana required."

"Nope."

"No magical components."

"Nope."

The old mage chuckled.

"I've spent sixty years studying magic..."

He looked at the line stretching between two posts.

"...and you've just reminded me that sometimes a piece of string is all that's needed."

I shrugged.

"My grandma always told me to work smarter, not harder."

As the last bell was secured, I stepped back to inspect the perimeter.

Satisfied, I rested my hand on my rifle.

"Now..."

I looked toward the forest.

"...let's see who's hunting who."

Hours passed.

The village slowly settled into an uneasy silence.

Torches crackled softly along the streets.

Every so often, one of the sentries shifted his weight or quietly exchanged words with another guard.

Otherwise...

Nothing.

I sat atop the roof of the village hall, my back resting against the chimney.

The night vision goggles painted the world in varying shades of green.

I had a clear view of nearly the entire village.

Marcus climbed up beside me with considerably less grace than he probably intended.

"You know..." He whispered. "...I don't think it's coming."

I never looked away from the forest.

"I know."

"You... know?"

"It would've attacked already."

Marcus frowned.

"Then why are we still waiting?"

"Because it isn't hunting anymore."

That confused him.

"What do you mean?"

"It's observing."

Marcus looked toward the forest.

"I don't see anything."

"Neither do I."

"And that's somehow worse."

I nodded.

"Exactly."

Silence returned.

A cool breeze drifted through the village, rustling leaves and gently swaying the branches beyond the fields.

Then...

One of the bells chimed.

Softly.

Barely audible.

Marcus immediately reached for his sword.

"There!"

I raised a hand.

"Wait."

Nothing.

The bell didn't ring again.

A rabbit?

The wind?

No.

The breeze had already died.

I kept watching.

Several long seconds passed.

Then...

A different bell.

Farther east.

I smiled.

"There you are."

Marcus looked between me and the forest.

"What?"

"It isn't crossing the line."

Another pause.

"It's touching them."

Almost as if to prove my point...

A third bell.

Not in a straight line.

Not randomly.

One after another.

It was following the perimeter.

Clockwise.

My smile faded.

"Huh."

Marcus blinked.

"Huh?"

"It's mapping the village."

The words left my mouth before I even realized I'd reached the conclusion.

"It isn't looking for food. It isn't looking for a way in. It's looking for weaknesses."

Marcus swallowed.

"How can you tell?"

"Because it's checking every entrance."

I quietly lifted the BAR from where it rested beside me.

The metal felt reassuringly familiar in my hands.

"Wake Roland."

Marcus nodded once.

Then disappeared over the edge of the roof.

I remained perfectly still.

Another bell chimed.

Closer.

Then another.

Closer still.

Whatever it was...

It wasn't afraid anymore.

It was curious.

That made it dangerous.

A minute later Sir Roland, Eleanor, and Aldric joined me atop the roof.

Roland crouched beside me.

"Report."

I pointed toward the bells.

"It's circling."

"I heard."

"No."

I shook my head.

"It's thinking."

The veteran knight followed my gaze.

For several seconds he remained silent.

Then...

Another bell.

This one was less than fifty yards away.

Eleanor slowly drew her sword.

"I still don't see anything."

"You won't."

Aldric narrowed his eyes.

"I can feel... something."

"So can I."

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

That was becoming an answer I hated.

Then every hair on my arms stood up.

Not from fear.

Instinct.

The same instinct that had kept me alive while hunting back home.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Without thinking, I slowly looked upward.

The others noticed immediately.

"What is it?" Eleanor whispered.

I didn't answer.

Instead, I reached up and slowly switched the night vision goggles off.

The world became dark again.

Almost completely.

Almost.

High above the village...

Barely visible against the starlit sky...

Something moved.

Not through the trees.

Over them.

Silent.

Graceful.

Watching.

A shape leapt effortlessly from one towering pine to another.

Too light to disturb the branches.

Too fast for the naked eye to follow.

I lowered the goggles again.

The green image returned.

Nothing.

Whatever it was...

It had already moved.

"...Well."

Roland looked at me.

"What?"

I slowly stood.

"I think we've all been looking in the wrong direction."

Everyone instinctively looked toward the forest.

I pointed upward.

"It's not stalking us from the ground."

The realization hit them one by one.

Aldric's eyes widened.

"The canopy..."

I nodded.

"The entire time."

Another bell rang.

This time directly beneath the trees.

Not because it had walked into it.

Because something had reached down...

And gently flicked it.

Almost like it knew we were listening.

A grin spread across my face.

"Now that's interesting."

Eleanor looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

"You think this is interesting?"

"Oh, absolutely."

I rested the BAR against my shoulder.

"For the first time tonight..."

I looked toward the dark canopy.

"...it just acknowledged me."

I saw a set of golden eyes.

The hunt had just become a conversation.

Neither of us moved.

Neither of us needed to.

Whatever was out there...

Knew I was looking for it.

And now it knew...

I knew it was looking back.

I slowly lowered the BAR.

"No shot?"

Roland whispered.

I shook my head.

"I don't have one."

"It revealed itself."

"No."

I kept my eyes fixed on the canopy.

"It revealed exactly what it wanted me to see."

Aldric frowned.

"You believe it's testing you."

"I'm certain of it."

The old mage was quiet for a moment.

"Why?"

I smirked.

"Because I'd do the same thing."

That answer didn't comfort anyone.

Another breeze swept through the trees.

The branches swayed.

The golden eyes disappeared.

I waited.

Five seconds.

Ten.

Thirty.

Nothing.

Then...

A twig broke.

Not in the forest.

Behind us.

Every knight on the roof spun around.

Weapons drawn.

I didn't.

Instead, I closed my eyes.

"...Too obvious."

Marcus blinked.

"What?"

"Distraction."

The moment the words left my mouth, three bells rang in rapid succession on the western side of the village.

Every sentry turned toward the sound.

I immediately looked east.

Nothing.

Then...

A single bell.

North.

My smile vanished.

"Clever."

Roland looked between the bells.

"It's making us chase noise."

I nodded.

"It's probing our response time."

Marcus looked horrified.

"You mean..."

"It wants to know how quickly we react."

Another bell chimed.

This one farther away.

Then silence.

Complete silence.

I looked toward Aldric.

"Can illusion magic create sound?"

"It can."

"Can it make someone hear something that isn't there?"

"With enough skill... yes."

That complicated things.

A lot.

I reached up and pushed the night vision goggles back onto my helmet.

Green disappeared.

Natural darkness returned.

Then I did something that made everyone stare.

I closed my eyes.

"Alex?" Eleanor whispered.

I raised a finger.

"Shh."

Silence.

No sight.

Only sound.

The wind.

The torches.

Someone shifting their footing.

A horse snorting in the stable.

Then...

Leaves.

Not rustling.

Compressing.

Weight.

Light.

Very light.

High above us.

I slowly opened my eyes.

"There."

I pointed toward a massive oak just outside the village.

Every head turned.

Nobody saw anything.

I smiled.

"You almost had me."

Silence.

Nothing moved.

Marcus squinted.

"I don't..."

A single leaf drifted from the canopy.

Then another.

Then another.

Not because of the wind.

Because something had just changed its footing.

Barely.

Just enough.

I raised the BAR.

Not at the tree.

Above it.

Into empty space.

My finger rested alongside the trigger.

Not on it.

"I know you're there."

The forest remained silent.

"I'm not going to shoot."

Still nothing.

"I don't even know if you're the one killing these people."

A long pause followed.

Then...

A fox cried out somewhere deep in the woods.

One sharp bark.

Another answered.

Then another.

Marcus frowned.

"Foxes?"

I slowly lowered the rifle.

"No."

"What?"

"They're warning each other."

Roland looked toward the forest.

"You understand foxes?"

I chuckled.

"No."

I kept watching the trees.

"But predators communicate."

Silence returned once more.

Then...

For just a fraction of a second...

A tail.

Large.

White.

The tip of it disappeared behind the trunk before anyone else could see it.

I froze.

Not because I'd finally seen the creature.

Because of what I'd seen.

White.

Not red.

Not brown.

White.

My thoughts immediately returned to the strand of silver fur resting safely in my pouch.

"...Interesting."

Eleanor looked over.

"What?"

I slowly smiled.

"I think we just eliminated one possibility."

"What possibility?"

I looked toward the silent forest.

"...Whatever we're hunting..."

I rested a hand on the pouch containing the silver fur.

"...it isn't an ordinary fox."

"Then what is it?" Eleanor asked.

"I've got a theory."

Every eye turned toward me.

"It fits the evidence."

Roland folded his arms.

"We're listening."

I looked back toward the dark forest.

"Foxes. The illusion magic. The intelligence. The stealth. The silver fur. They all point to one creature."

I took a slow breath.

"A Kitsune."

Silence.

Roland frowned.

"I've never heard of such a beast."

"I'm not surprised."

I rested the BAR against my shoulder.

"It's from Japanese mythology. Kitsune is simply the Japanese word for fox. But a Kitsune isn't an ordinary fox. It's a fox spirit. An incredibly intelligent magical creature that grows stronger the older it becomes. It can wield powerful illusion magic, manipulate fire, and most importantly..."

I looked toward the canopy.

"...it can take human form."

Marcus blinked.

"It can become a person?"

I nodded.

"A convincing one."

Aldric's expression immediately darkened.

"That... would explain the conflicting witness reports."

"It would."

I continued.

"As a Kitsune ages, it grows additional tails. Each new tail represents a dramatic increase in magical ability and wisdom. The oldest are said to possess nine tails. And when they reach that point..."

I thought back to the silver fur.

"...their fur changes."

"What color?" Eleanor asked.

"White."

The group fell silent.

I reached into my pouch and pulled out the silver strand of fur we'd found earlier.

Holding it between two fingers, I let everyone see it.

"When I found this, the thought crossed my mind. But I dismissed it."

"Why?" Roland asked.

"Because Kitsune are supposed to be legends."

I looked around at the group.

"Then again..."

I gestured toward Aldric.

"I also thought dragons were legends."

Nobody argued with that.

"So there are different kinds?" Eleanor asked.

I nodded.

"From what I remember, there are two main paths. The first are called Zenko. They're considered benevolent fox spirits. They serve the deity Inari and are viewed as guardians, protectors, and messengers. They're associated with prosperity, agriculture, and driving away evil."

"And the second?"

"Yako... sometimes called Nogitsune."

My tone grew more serious.

"They're wild. Independent. Tricksters. Some are merely mischievous. Others..."

I looked toward the silent forest.

"...are genuinely malicious."

I paused for a few seconds

"They delight in deceiving people. They lure travelers off safe paths. They possess humans. They create illusions. And if the stories are true, they're exceptionally patient hunters."

Silence settled over the rooftop.

Finally Marcus spoke.

"So, which one do you think we're dealing with?"

I looked toward the pair of golden eyes that had vanished only moments ago.

"If I'm right, neither."

Everyone looked at me.

"The damage we've seen. The killings. The disappearances."

I slowly shook my head.

"That's beyond simple mischief."

Aldric's brow furrowed.

"You believe it's corrupted."

"I do."

The old mage was quiet for several moments.

"Can such a thing happen?" He then asked.

"I don't know."

I gave an uneasy shrug.

"My knowledge comes from old stories, not firsthand experience."

I looked back toward the forest.

"But if one thing has remained consistent throughout every culture I've ever studied..."

I rested my hand on the hilt of my sword.

"...it's that corrupted spirits are usually far more dangerous than the originals."

Eleanor studied the forest for a long moment.

"Anything else we should know?"

I thought for a few seconds.

Then slowly shook my head.

"Not off the top of my head."

I gave a dry chuckle.

"Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure we're about to learn the rest firsthand."

Silence settled over the rooftop.

The forest remained perfectly still.

Almost...

Too still.

Sir Roland rested a hand on the pommel of his sword.

"If your theory is correct..."

He looked toward the dark canopy.

"...how do we kill it?"

I thought about that for a moment.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Whether the stories are accurate."

Aldric looked over.

"And if they are?"

"Silver."

The old mage blinked.

"Silver?"

I nodded.

"Silver has a habit of appearing in folklore whenever supernatural creatures are involved. Werewolves. Vampires. Certain spirits. Kitsune aren't always included, but silver is generally regarded as magically pure."

I shrugged.

"It couldn't hurt."

Aldric rubbed his beard thoughtfully.

"We have silver."

That surprised me.

"You do?"

He nodded.

"Mostly ceremonial weapons and holy relics."

"Hmm..."

I filed that information away.

Might come in handy later.

"If it's a corrupted spirit..." I continued. "...then Holy Magic would probably be even more effective."

The old mage sighed.

"Our kingdom possesses very few practitioners."

"I figured."

Holy Magic always seemed to be rare in fantasy.

My thoughts drifted for a moment.

Maybe that's something I'll have to learn.

The thought disappeared as quickly as it had come.

One problem at a time.

A faint breeze brushed across the rooftop.

Then...

A scent.

I frowned.

"...Flowers?"

Eleanor sniffed the air.

"I smell them too."

Marcus looked confused.

"There aren't any flowers up here."

"No." I murmured. "There aren't."

The scent grew stronger.

Sweet.

Almost comforting.

Too comforting.

Every instinct I'd developed from years of hunting screamed at me.

Wrong.

Something was wrong.

I slowly looked toward Aldric.

"You smell it?"

The old mage nodded once.

"...Yes."

His expression immediately changed.

"Everyone..."

His voice became sharp.

"...don't breathe."

Without another word he thrust his staff into the rooftop.

A pale blue barrier expanded around us.

The sweet smell vanished instantly.

Aldric let out a slow breath.

"I should have realized sooner."

"What was it?" Roland asked.

The old mage's grip tightened around his staff.

"A sleeping enchantment."

Every knight on the roof stiffened.

"It was trying to put the entire village to sleep."

I slowly looked toward the forest.

"...Not just trying."

Everyone followed my gaze.

The village below us had grown quiet.

Too quiet.

A sentry leaning against a fence slowly slid to the ground.

Another knight stumbled before collapsing where he stood.

One by one...

Lights throughout the village began going out.

Doors remained open.

Torches continued burning.

But people...

Stopped moving.

Marcus's eyes widened.

"Oh, that's bad."

"No..."

I said quietly, watching another guard crumple to the ground.

"...that's intelligent."

It hadn't attacked.

It hadn't charged.

It hadn't roared.

It had simply waited...

Until the wind favored it.

Then it tried to put an entire village to sleep.

Aldric's barrier flickered.

"I cannot protect everyone!"

"I know."

I reached for my radio out of habit before remembering...

I'm alone.

"Damn."

I turned toward Roland.

"Wake everyone you can."

He nodded immediately.

"Move!"

The veteran knight disappeared down the stairs with Marcus close behind.

Eleanor remained beside me.

"What are you going to do?"

I looked toward the forest.

Golden eyes stared back from the darkness.

For the first time...

They weren't watching.

They were inviting.

As if daring me to follow.

A grin slowly spread across my face.

"...It wants me."

Eleanor grabbed my arm.

"Alex."

"I know."

"No."

Her grip tightened.

"I know that look."

I glanced down at her.

"What look?"

"The one that says you've just had a terrible idea."

"...That's fair."

"You are not going into that forest alone."

I looked back toward the waiting eyes.

"No."

I rested my hand on the hilt of my sword.

"I'm going hunting."

The golden eyes never left mine.

And for the first time that night...

They narrowed.

Almost...

As if the Kitsune had smiled.

Then it vanished.

Not by running.

Not by leaping.

It was simply...

Gone.

I exhaled slowly.

"Well, that's unsettling."

Eleanor still hadn't released my arm.

"You're not seriously considering chasing it, are you?"

"No."

She blinked.

"...Really?"

"I'm considering something much dumber."

She sighed.

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

I smiled.

"I need to confirm something."

"And that requires walking into a haunted forest?"

"Pretty much."

Aldric lowered the magical barrier, its pale blue glow fading into the night.

"The sleeping enchantment has dispersed."

"What about everyone else?" I asked.

"The barrier prevented it from reaching us."

He looked toward the village.

"But many villagers are already asleep."

I nodded.

"As expected."

Aldric looked at me curiously.

"You expected this?"

"I expected it to test us."

I looked toward the forest.

"I just didn't know how."

Roland returned several moments later.

"The guards have been awakened."

"Any casualties?"

The veteran knight shook his head.

"None."

"Good."

"Most simply collapsed where they stood."

I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

That meant one thing.

"It wasn't trying to kill."

Eleanor frowned.

"What?"

"If it wanted bodies..."

I gestured toward the sleeping villagers.

"...it had them."

Nobody argued.

Because nobody could.

The Kitsune had just incapacitated nearly an entire village without spilling a single drop of blood.

That wasn't slaughter.

That was restraint.

Or...

Preparation.

I didn't know which possibility I disliked more.

Then another thought occurred to me.

"Aldric."

"Yes?"

"Can you identify where the spell originated?"

The old mage closed his eyes.

Mana gathered around his staff.

For nearly half a minute, nobody spoke.

Finally he opened them.

"...Yes."

Every head turned toward him.

He slowly raised his staff.

Not toward the village.

Not toward the road.

Toward the deepest part of the forest.

"There."

I followed the line of his staff.

The trees seemed thicker there.

Older.

The darkness beneath them almost looked...

Wrong.

As if the moonlight itself refused to enter.

I committed the location to memory.

Roland rested a hand on his sword.

"We attack at first light."

I shook my head.

"No."

The knight looked over.

"No?"

"It expects that."

"You know this how?"

"Because it's what I'd expect."

I crossed my arms.

"If it's intelligent, it'll spend the rest of the night preparing. Setting traps. Changing positions. Watching us."

Roland frowned.

"Then what do you suggest?"

I looked around at everyone gathered on the rooftop.

Then toward the silent forest.

"We don't give it time."

Eleanor's eyes widened.

"You mean..."

I nodded.

"We go now."

Marcus looked like he'd swallowed a lemon.

"Now?"

"It's already awake. It's already watching. And if this thing really is a corrupted Kitsune..."

I rested my hand on the grip of my sword.

"...then every hour we wait is another hour for it to disappear."

Silence.

Finally Aldric spoke.

"I agree."

Everyone looked at him.

The old mage leaned heavily on his staff.

"If it truly possesses illusion magic, daylight may actually work in its favor."

Roland frowned.

"How?"

"More shadows. More distractions. More opportunities to deceive."

I couldn't help but smile.

"I like the way you think."

The veteran knight sighed.

"I appear to be outnumbered."

Eleanor looked between us before finally nodding.

"If we're doing this..."

She drew her sword.

"...then we're doing it together."

Marcus groaned dramatically.

"I knew today was going too well."

That earned him a chuckle from several nearby knights.

The tension eased.

Just a little.

I looked over the group.

"Roland."

"Yes?"

"I want ten volunteers."

"Only ten?"

I nodded.

"The fewer people we bring, the fewer minds it has to manipulate."

Roland didn't argue.

Instead, he turned toward the gathered knights.

"I need ten."

Before he'd even finished speaking...

Hands went up.

Not one.

Not two.

Nearly every knight volunteered.

I smiled beneath my helmet.

Guess I wasn't the only one tired of waiting.

I looked back toward the forest.

The darkness seemed almost inviting now.

As if daring us to enter.

I tightened the sling on my BAR.

Checked my sword.

Adjusted my helmet.

Then smiled.

"Alright..."

I looked at the volunteers.

"Let's go see if the legends got anything else right."

The knights gave determined nods.

Roland quickly picked ten of the most experienced among them.

No protests.

No complaints.

The others understood.

This wasn't about glory.

It was about coming home.

I checked my rifle one last time.

Aldric stepped beside me.

"I'll remain in the center of the formation."

"Good."

"If this creature attempts another illusion, I should be able to sense the disturbance."

I nodded.

"Eleanor, you're with me."

The princess looked surprised.

"Me?"

"You're one of the better swordsmen here."

"Swordswomen." She corrected.

I smirked beneath my helmet.

"My apologies."

She rolled her eyes.

"I'll forgive you this once."

Marcus stepped up beside us.

"And me?"

I looked him over.

"You're watching our rear."

His grin faded.

"Ah."

"If this thing's smart, it'll circle around us."

"I got it."

Roland drew his sword.

"Formation!"

The knights immediately fell into place.

Roland took point.

Two scouts followed several yards ahead.

Aldric remained near the center.

Marcus guarded the rear.

Eleanor walked just behind my left shoulder.

I took the right.

The village leader watched us from the edge of the road.

"You'll bring everyone home..."

He paused.

"...won't you?"

I looked at the worried faces gathering behind him.

Parents.

Children.

Neighbors.

People who had spent months living in fear.

"I'll do everything in my power."

It wasn't a promise.

It was the truth.

Promises implied certainty.

There was none tonight.

Only determination.

The village leader nodded.

"That's enough."

Without another word, we crossed the final stretch of open ground.

The forest swallowed us almost immediately.

The sounds of the village disappeared behind us.

The air changed.

It became cooler.

Damp.

Heavy.

Every footstep seemed louder beneath the towering trees.

Nobody spoke.

The only sounds were the crunch of leaves beneath our boots and the occasional creak of branches overhead.

I scanned constantly through my night vision.

The forest glowed green.

Every tree.

Every bush.

Every fallen log.

Nothing moved.

Which somehow bothered me more than if something had.

"How far?" I whispered.

Aldric closed his eyes.

"The magical residue grows stronger."

He pointed deeper into the woods.

"This way."

We continued.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Fifteen.

The deeper we went, the stranger the forest became.

No birds.

No insects.

No small animals darting through the underbrush.

Nothing.

It was as though every living creature had abandoned this place.

Then...

I stopped.

Everyone behind me halted instantly.

Roland leaned forward.

"What is it?"

I slowly knelt beside the trail.

"There."

Pressed into the damp earth was a fresh footprint.

Not a fox.

Not human.

Both.

The front half resembled a fox's paw.

The heel...

Almost human.

I studied it carefully.

"It changed."

Roland frowned.

"What?"

"It transformed."

I pointed farther ahead.

A second print.

Entirely fox.

Then another.

Human.

Then fox again.

Back and forth.

As though whatever made them couldn't decide what it wanted to be.

Aldric's expression darkened.

"...Shapeshifting."

I nodded.

"Looks that way."

The old mage knelt beside me.

"Can you tell how old the tracks are?"

I pressed two fingers into the disturbed soil.

Still moist.

Edges still crisp.

"Less than an hour."

Marcus swallowed.

"So..."

I stood slowly.

"...we're following it."

A branch cracked somewhere ahead.

Not loud.

Just enough.

Every weapon came up.

My finger rested alongside the trigger.

Not on it.

Silence.

Then...

A laugh.

Soft.

Gentle.

Feminine.

It drifted through the trees like a breeze.

Not mocking.

Not threatening.

Almost...

Curious.

Every knight froze.

Marcus looked around wildly.

"Did... did anyone else hear that?"

No one answered.

Because they had.

The laugh came again.

Farther away this time.

Followed by the faint swish of something brushing against leaves.

A tail.

I caught it for only a heartbeat.

White.

Then it disappeared behind a tree.

I smiled beneath my helmet.

"There you are."

The forest fell silent once more.

Then, from somewhere in the darkness, a young woman's voice echoed between the trees.

"...You aren't like the others."

Every knight turned toward the sound.

I didn't.

Because the voice...

Was behind us.

And in front of us.

And somewhere above us.

Everywhere.

The Kitsune wasn't just watching anymore.

She had decided to speak.

Every knight instinctively formed a tighter circle.

Swords left their sheaths.

Spears lowered.

Aldric's staff glowed with pale blue mana.

I didn't move.

Slowly, I scanned the canopy through my night vision.

Nothing.

Not a single heat signature.

Not a single movement.

"...Interesting."

The voice laughed softly.

"You cannot find me."

"No." I admitted.

"But you wanted me to hear you."

Silence.

"You're smarter than the shiny ones."

Marcus looked around nervously.

"...Shiny ones?"

"The knights."

The voice carried an almost childlike innocence.

Curious.

Playful.

As though she were trying to understand us.

Not frighten us.

That immediately bothered me.

Children didn't massacre villages.

Something wasn't adding up.

"You've been watching us." I said.

"I have."

"For how long?"

A pause.

"...Since you arrived."

"Did you watch us march here?"

"Yes."

"Were you the one ringing the bells?"

A giggle drifted through the trees.

"They made pretty sounds."

Several of the knights shifted uneasily.

I noticed something.

Every answer she gave...

Was honest.

She wasn't avoiding my questions.

She was answering exactly what I asked.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

"What should we call you?"

Silence.

Longer this time.

"...I don't remember."

That caught me off guard.

"You don't remember your name?"

"...No."

The childlike voice sounded... disappointed.

"I had one. I think. I forgot."

A knot formed in my stomach.

Memory loss.

Corruption.

Or both.

I looked toward Aldric.

The old mage's expression had become grim.

He'd reached the same conclusion.

"Can you come down?" I asked gently.

Another laugh.

"No."

"Why not?"

"...Mother said strangers are dangerous."

The words echoed through the forest.

Then...

Nothing.

Every knight looked confused.

Eleanor slowly frowned.

"...Mother?"

I nodded almost imperceptibly.

The corrupted adult.

The realization hit me like a freight train.

The creature attacking the villages...

Wasn't this one.

My grip tightened on the BAR.

"Is your mother nearby?"

Silence.

For so long I thought she had disappeared.

"...She's sleeping."

Sleeping?

That didn't make sense.

"Where?"

The answer came immediately.

"...Home."

"Can you show us?"

"No."

"Why?"

The voice became noticeably quieter.

"...She gets angry."

"Why?"

Another pause.

"...Because she says humans always hurt us."

Silence.

The forest itself seemed to hold its breath.

I closed my eyes for a moment.

Damn.

It was exactly what I'd feared.

There were two Kitsune.

Not one.

The child.

And the mother.

One curious.

One dangerous.

One speaking to us.

The other...

Watching.

I slowly opened my eyes.

"Little one..."

The voice answered almost immediately.

"...Yes?"

"I'm not here to hurt you."

No response.

"I promise."

The silence stretched for nearly half a minute.

"...Mother says humans lie."

My heart sank.

"I know."

"...Do you?"

"I do."

Another pause.

Then, for the first time...

A small figure emerged from behind one of the ancient oaks.

She couldn't have been older than eight or nine.

Long white hair spilled over a simple white dress, almost glowing beneath the moonlight.

Large fox ears twitched atop her head, listening to every sound in the forest.

Golden eyes regarded us with innocent curiosity.

Behind her...

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

Five fluffy white tails swayed gently from side to side.

She wasn't smiling.

She wasn't afraid.

She was simply...

Curious.

Like a child seeing something new for the very first time.

Then her gaze settled on me.

Not my rifle.

Not my armor.

Not the sword.

Me.

Her ears perked forward.

Her head tilted slightly.

"...You're different."

Before I could answer...

Every instinct in my body screamed.

MOVE.

I lunged forward, throwing the little Kitsune to the ground just as a massive sphere of black fire tore through the space where she'd been standing.

The explosion ripped through the forest with a deafening roar.

Trees splintered.

Branches ignited.

The shockwave nearly knocked every knight off their feet.

Smoke billowed into the night sky.

The little Kitsune trembled beneath me, her golden eyes wide with fear.

Then...

A voice unlike the child's echoed through the burning forest.

Cold.

Ancient.

Filled with hatred.

"...I told you..."

The trees themselves seemed to shudder.

"...to stay away from humans."

A pair of crimson eyes slowly opened within the darkness.

Much higher than any person should have been able to stand.

Watching us all.

The mother...

Had finally arrived.

Every instinct in my body suddenly screamed that something dangerous had entered the area.

The little Kitsune beneath me trembled.

"...Mother..."

A figure stepped from behind one of the ancient oaks.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

She made no attempt to hide herself.

Long crimson hair flowed almost to her knees, moving gently despite the complete lack of wind.

Large fox ears rested atop her head, twitching independently as they listened to every heartbeat in the clearing.

Nine enormous tails fanned out behind her like a crimson halo, their white tips slowly swaying from side to side.

Each movement looked almost hypnotic.

Crimson eyes swept across our group.

Not with curiosity.

With calculation.

She wasn't looking at people.

She was evaluating threats.

Dark armor, woven with blackened scales and crimson cloth, covered her body.

It looked ancient.

Scarred.

As though it had survived countless battles.

A longsword rested loosely in her right hand.

The blade itself wasn't remarkable.

The woman carrying it was.

She couldn't have looked older than twenty five.

Yet the weight behind her eyes...

Made Aldric look young.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

The corrupted Kitsune's gaze eventually settled on me.

Not my rifle.

Not my armor.

Me.

"...So."

Her voice was calm.

Cold.

"You are the one they call..."

She tilted her head slightly.

"...the American Knight."

I slowly stood, placing myself between her and the young Kitsune.

"I am."

Her eyes shifted briefly toward the child hiding behind me.

Then back to me.

"...Move."

"No."

Silence.

One of her ears flicked.

"You misunderstand."

"No."

I rested my hand on the hilt of my dragon forged sword.

"I understand perfectly."

Another long silence followed.

The little Kitsune peeked around my leg.

"...Mother..."

The older Kitsune never looked away from me.

"...Come here."

The child hesitated.

For the first time since we'd met...

She didn't obey.

The older Kitsune noticed.

Something changed in her expression.

Not anger.

Pain.

Just for a heartbeat.

Then it disappeared beneath a mask of indifference.

"...Humans have already begun poisoning your mind."

"I haven't poisoned anyone." I replied evenly.

"You exist."

I frowned.

"That's enough."

She took one step forward.

Leaves crunched softly beneath her boots.

Instantly, every knight drew steel.

Roland raised his shield.

Marcus shouldered his crossbow.

Aldric's staff erupted with pale blue mana.

The forest itself seemed to tense.

The Kitsune looked around.

Then...

She laughed.

Quietly.

"...One child."

Her eyes returned to me.

"...And you bring an army."

I met her stare.

"No."

I slowly unslung the BAR from my shoulder.

The metallic click echoed through the silent woods.

"I brought witnesses."

For the first time...

The Kitsune's confident smile faltered.

Just slightly.

Suddenly...

The sweet scent returned.

Only this time...

It was overwhelming.

The fragrance flooded the clearing in an instant, carried effortlessly on the night breeze.

Flowers.

Honey.

Fresh rain.

It was almost pleasant.

Almost.

Three knights collapsed before anyone realized what was happening.

One moment they stood with swords drawn.

The next, their knees buckled.

They hit the forest floor with dull thuds.

"Everyone, hold your..."

Another two dropped.

Marcus stumbled, trying to cover his mouth, before his eyes rolled back and he crumpled into the leaves.

"Marcus!"

Roland barely managed to take a single step before he too lost his footing.

His sword slipped from his grasp as he crashed to one knee.

"Aldric!"

The old mage slammed the butt of his staff into the earth, desperately trying to summon another barrier.

Blue mana flared.

Then flickered.

His vision blurred.

"...No..."

He swayed.

"...Too... fast..."

The staff slipped from his fingers.

A heartbeat later, he collapsed beside it.

One after another...

The knights fell.

The clearing became eerily quiet.

Without hesitation, I reached to the pouch mounted on my vest.

My fingers closed around a compact half-mask respirator.

I pulled it free, snapped it over my nose and mouth, and tightened the straps behind my head in one practiced motion.

The filters clicked into place with a reassuring snap.

I took a cautious breath.

Clean air.

I exhaled slowly.

"...Thank God."

The sweet fragrance still lingered in the forest...

But no longer reached my lungs.

Silence settled over the clearing.

Around me, every knight lay unconscious.

Roland.

Marcus.

Aldric.

Even Eleanor had collapsed against the base of a tree, still clutching the hilt of her sword.

Only two figures remained standing.

Me.

And the crimson Kitsune.

She regarded me with quiet curiosity.

One crimson ear flicked.

Nine tails swayed lazily behind her.

"...Interesting."

There was no anger in her voice.

No hatred.

Only fascination.

"You prepared for poison."

I adjusted the seal of the respirator.

"Unknown airborne hazards."

Her head tilted.

"...You expected me."

"I expected something."

A faint smile touched her lips.

"...You're unlike the others."

"So I've been told."

For several long seconds, neither of us moved.

The forest had become unnaturally still.

No birds.

No insects.

No wind.

Only the American Knight...

And the corrupted Kitsune.

Finally, she took a single step forward.

"Now..."

A faint crimson flame drifted lazily from the tip of one of her tails.

"...we may speak without interruption."

She wasn't preparing to attack.

She was... relaxing.

That alone told me something.

If she'd wanted me dead...

I'd already be dead.

I rested the butt of my BAR against the forest floor, keeping one hand on the grip.

Not lowering my guard.

Not threatening her either.

"You've been watching me."

"I have."

"For how long?"

"Since the dragon."

That caught me off guard.

"You saw that?"

Her crimson eyes never left mine.

"I watched from the mountains."

A brief silence settled between us.

"I thought you were another hunter. You stayed. You mourned it."

I frowned.

"It was trying to kill me."

"I know. Yet you still mourned it."

She looked away toward the treetops.

"So few humans do."

The little Kitsune slowly peeked out from behind me before quietly padding over to her mother.

The older Kitsune gently rested a hand atop the child's head.

The movement was surprisingly... tender.

Protective.

She wasn't pretending.

She genuinely loved her daughter.

"I know what you're wondering."

I looked back at her.

"Do you?"

"You wonder why."

She slowly closed her eyes.

"Why the villages. Why the disappearances. Why I became this."

Her hand slowly clenched.

"...I ask myself the same question every morning."

The words were barely above a whisper.

When she opened her eyes again...

There was pain there.

Old pain.

The kind that never truly healed.

"I know I'm corrupted."

The admission hung in the air.

"I feel it. Every. Single. Day."

Her fingers trembled.

"I remember what I was."

The little Kitsune reached up and quietly held her mother's hand.

The older Kitsune smiled sadly.

"...Some days."

She looked back at me.

"Other days, I remember nothing."

The forest seemed to grow quieter.

"The corruption whispers. It twists. It convinces. It tells me every kindness is a trap. Every smile a lie. Every human..."

Her voice cracked.

"...another murderer."

I remained silent.

Because there wasn't anything I could say.

She wasn't making excuses.

She was confessing.

"I fight it."

She laughed bitterly.

"A thousand years of wisdom, reduced to arguing with my own thoughts."

The laugh disappeared.

"Sometimes I win."

Her crimson eyes drifted toward the unconscious knights.

"...Sometimes... I don't."

I looked around the clearing.

"You could've killed them."

"I know."

"But you didn't."

"No."

"Why?"

She looked down at the child beside her.

"...Because she was watching."

The little Kitsune lowered her head.

"I don't want..."

The older Kitsune's voice became almost inaudible.

"...to teach her to become me."

Silence.

I slowly removed my hand from the rifle.

Not because I trusted her.

Because I trusted what I was hearing.

"You hate humanity."

It wasn't a question.

"...Yes."

She answered without hesitation.

"I do."

Then...

She surprised me.

"...Most of them."

I raised an eyebrow.

She looked directly into my eyes.

"I have watched you. You should have abandoned villages that weren't yours. You stayed. You should have demanded gold. You refused. You should have celebrated killing the dragon. You honored it. You should have run when you realized what I was, yet here you stand."

Her ears twitched.

"You are human."

She spoke the word almost reluctantly.

"But..."

She studied me for several long seconds.

"...you don't carry yourself like the humans I remember."

I gave a small, tired smile.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't."

She paused.

"...Entirely."

I chuckled.

"I'll take what I can get."

To my surprise...

One corner of her mouth twitched upward.

Not a smile.

Almost one.

Then it vanished.

"I still do not trust you."

"I wouldn't expect you to."

"I still hate your kind."

"I figured."

"I still believe humans will destroy everything they touch."

I nodded once.

"Some will."

That answer caught her off guard.

"You agree?"

"I've seen what humans can do."

Images flashed through my mind.

Cities burning.

Wars.

Nuclear fire.

People hurting people for reasons they'd forgotten generations ago.

"I've also seen what they're capable of when they choose to protect instead of destroy."

She watched me carefully.

As if weighing every word.

Then she asked the question I'd been expecting since she'd revealed herself.

"...Tell me, American Knight."

Her crimson eyes locked onto mine.

"If humanity has wounded me so deeply, why are you still trying to save me?"

"I'm not." I admitted.

For the first time since she'd revealed herself...

The Kitsune looked genuinely surprised.

She blinked.

"...You're not?"

I slowly shook my head.

"No. I came here prepared to fight you."

My hand rested on the hilt of my sword.

"And if that's what this comes to..."

I met her crimson gaze without flinching.

"...I'm still prepared to."

Silence.

She studied me for several long moments.

"...I see."

There was no anger in her voice.

Only understanding.

"I didn't come into these woods to save you."

I glanced toward the unconscious knights lying around the clearing.

"I came to protect them. My life..."

I gave a small, almost amused smile.

"...doesn't mean all that much to me."

"But theirs does."

I looked back at her.

"If putting myself between innocent people and danger is the price..."

I paused.

"I'll pay it. Every time."

The forest fell silent.

"If I have to die so someone else gets to go home to their family..."

I shrugged.

"...that's a trade I'll make."

The little Kitsune stared at me with wide golden eyes.

The older Kitsune remained motionless.

"You speak of your own life..."

Her voice was quieter now.

"...as though it has no value."

"It has value."

I corrected gently.

"Just not more than theirs."

She searched my face.

Looking for deception.

Finding none.

"...You truly believe that."

"I do."

Another long silence passed.

Then, almost to herself, she whispered,

"...No wonder she chose you."

I frowned.

"She?"

The Kitsune's eyes widened ever so slightly.

As though she hadn't meant to say it.

For the first time that night...

She looked away.

"...Forget I spoke."

My instincts immediately told me otherwise.

Whoever "she" was...

The corrupted Kitsune hadn't just let something slip.

She'd revealed there was another piece to this story.

"You know this is probably going to end in a fight."

It wasn't a threat.

Just the truth.

The Kitsune closed her eyes for a moment before giving a single, slow nod.

"...I know."

She looked down at the little white-haired Kitsune standing beside her.

For the first time since we'd met...

The hatred disappeared from her face.

She looked like nothing more than a mother.

"If fate is kind..."

She gave a hollow laugh.

"...perhaps neither of us will have to die."

Her eyes met mine again.

"But fate has never been particularly kind to me."

The forest fell silent.

Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she asked,

"If... by some miracle... you defeat me..."

She gently rested a hand on her daughter's head.

"...look after her."

The little Kitsune immediately looked up.

"Mother?"

The older Kitsune didn't look away from me.

"Please."

There was no pride in that word.

No arrogance.

Only desperation.

A mother making one final request.

I didn't answer immediately.

Because promises like that...

Should never be made lightly.

Finally, I gave a single nod.

"If I win..."

I met her crimson eyes.

"...I'll protect her as if she were my own."

The Kitsune stared at me.

Searching.

Testing.

Looking for even the smallest hint of a lie.

She found none.

"...Thank you."

The words were almost inaudible.

I glanced toward the little Kitsune.

She looked confused.

Scared.

Too young to understand the conversation happening around her.

I looked back at her mother.

"If we fight..."

My hand settled on the hilt of my dragon-forged sword.

"...I'm not going to underestimate you."

"You shouldn't."

A faint smile crossed her lips.

"I have lived for centuries. I've mastered magic that your kingdom has forgotten. My body is stronger. My senses are sharper. My experience far exceeds yours."

She paused.

"And yet... I am afraid."

That admission caught me off guard.

"Afraid?"

She nodded.

"Not of dying."

She looked down at her daughter.

"...Of leaving her alone."

Silence settled over the clearing.

I slowly exhaled.

This was going to be one hell of a fight.

She was older than me by centuries.

She possessed far greater magical knowledge.

She knew these forests like the back of her hand.

Every illusion.

Every trick.

Every spell.

Against that...

I had modern equipment.

A rifle.

A sword.

Armor I'd forged from dragon scales.

And whatever magic I'd managed to learn since arriving here.

On paper...

The odds weren't in my favor.

Not even close.

But I'd learned something a long time ago.

Fights weren't won on paper.

They were won by the people still standing when the dust settled.

And I intended to be one of them.

Slowly...

I brought the BAR to my shoulder.

The familiar weight settled against me.

Not as a weapon of hatred.

But as a necessity.

The Kitsune watched the motion without flinching.

Then, with calm deliberation, she lowered her hand to the hilt of her sword.

The forest fell silent.

Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

I met her crimson eyes.

"...Shall we?"

There was no malice in my voice.

No challenge.

Just acceptance.

She held my gaze for a long moment.

Then gave a single, solemn nod.

"...We shall."

She looked down at the little white-haired Kitsune standing beside her.

The hardness in her expression melted away.

For just a moment...

She wasn't a corrupted spirit.

She was simply a mother.

"My little one..."

The child looked up.

"Yes, Mother?"

"I need you to leave."

The little Kitsune's ears drooped.

"But..."

The older Kitsune gently cupped her daughter's cheek.

"No."

Her voice was soft.

"I don't want you caught in what's about to happen."

The child looked between the two of us, her golden eyes beginning to water.

"I don't want either of you to fight."

Neither of us answered.

Because there wasn't an answer to give.

The Kitsune leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss against her daughter's forehead.

"Go. Please."

Tears welled in the little Kitsune's eyes.

"But you'll come home... won't you?"

The question struck the clearing like a blade.

The older Kitsune closed her eyes.

For the briefest moment...

Pain crossed her face.

Then she smiled.

A warm, reassuring smile.

The kind only a parent could give.

"I'll always be with you."

The little Kitsune threw her arms around her mother.

The older Kitsune embraced her tightly.

Perhaps...

For the last time.

After several long seconds, the child reluctantly stepped back.

She looked at me.

"You promised."

I nodded once.

"I did."

She searched my face, then slowly turned and disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

Neither of us moved until the sound of her footsteps had completely faded.

Only then...

The Kitsune drew her sword.

The steel sang as it left the scabbard.

She settled into a practiced stance, centuries of experience evident in every movement.

I clicked the safety off my rifle.

The sharp metallic sound echoed through the silent forest.

For a heartbeat...

Neither of us attacked.

Two warriors.

Two protectors.

Standing on opposite sides of an impossible choice.

Then the Kitsune spoke one last time.

"...Show me, American Knight..."

A faint crimson glow gathered around her nine tails.

"...why she believed in you."

The forest erupted into motion.

I squeezed the trigger.

The BAR roared to life.

Brilliant muzzle flashes lit the forest as .30-06 rounds tore through the night.

The Kitsune moved.

Not like a person.

Like flowing water.

One moment she stood before me.

The next, she was somewhere else.

The first rounds splintered ancient trees behind her.

The second burst struck nothing but empty air.

A crimson afterimage shimmered where she'd been standing only a heartbeat earlier.

"Illusions..."

I muttered.

She was using them to disrupt my aim.

Not to become invisible.

Just enough to make me hesitate.

Then her sword flashed.

One round that would've struck her shoulder ricocheted harmlessly into the darkness.

Another sparked against the flat of her blade.

She wasn't trying to stop every bullet.

Only the ones she couldn't avoid.

The realization hit me instantly.

She's reading my shots.

She wasn't faster than the bullets.

She was faster than me.

She watched the barrel.

Read my stance.

Predicted where I would fire.

And moved before I ever pulled the trigger.

"Damn..."

She closed the distance with frightening speed.

Twenty yards.

Fifteen.

Ten.

The BAR suddenly felt too long.

Too cumbersome.

This had become her fight.

Without hesitation, I released the rifle.

The sling caught it against my chest as my right hand shot to the hilt of my sword.

Steel hissed from the scabbard.

Just in time.

The impact rang through the forest.

Sparks exploded between our blades.

The force of the strike drove my boots several inches through the forest floor.

She didn't overpower me.

She didn't need to.

She simply redirected my strength with centuries of practiced precision.

Crimson eyes met mine from only a few feet away.

"...Good."

She wasn't smiling.

She was evaluating.

"...Most would've died already."

I pushed against her blade, forcing us apart.

"I've never been most people."

For the first time...

The corner of her mouth twitched.

"...No."

She shifted her footing.

Sword lowering into another stance.

"...You are not."

The duel...

Had truly begun.

She vanished.

Not with a burst of speed.

Not with a leap.

One heartbeat she stood before me.

The next...

She simply wasn't there.

Years of hunting screamed at me.

Left!

I twisted.

Steel collided with steel again as her blade came screaming toward my ribs.

The impact rattled my arms.

She's strong...

Far stronger than any human.

I slid backward through the leaves before planting my feet.

Without giving me a second to recover, she flowed into another strike.

There was no wasted movement.

No flourish.

No unnecessary spins.

Every swing had purpose.

Every cut was aimed to kill.

High.

Low.

Thrust.

Horizontal slash.

She chained them together with frightening precision.

Sparks showered across the forest floor.

I barely managed to keep pace.

She wasn't testing my strength anymore.

She was testing my fundamentals.

Every mistake I made...

She punished.

Every opening...

She exploited.

She drove me backward between the ancient trees.

My boots dug trenches through the dirt as I absorbed another crushing strike.

"Damn..."

The Kitsune didn't answer.

Her crimson eyes never left mine.

Watching.

Calculating.

Waiting.

Then she changed.

Her sword suddenly stopped attacking me.

Instead...

It attacked my weapon.

She struck the flat of my blade.

Not hard enough to break my guard.

Just enough to shift it.

Immediately her next strike came from a completely different angle.

I barely caught it.

She was manipulating my defense.

Forcing my sword exactly where she wanted it.

Centuries...

This was centuries of experience.

I couldn't match that.

So I stopped trying.

Her next strike came low.

Instead of parrying...

I stepped into it.

Her eyes widened.

I drove my shoulder into her chest.

The impact knocked us both apart.

She slid backward several feet before gracefully catching herself.

Interesting.

She looked almost...

Surprised.

I grinned.

"My turn."

Before she could recover, I charged.

Unlike her elegant swordsmanship...

Mine was brutal.

Direct.

Every strike carried the intent of ending the fight as quickly as possible.

No wasted movement.

No dramatic flourishes.

Just efficient violence.

I swung downward.

She caught it.

I immediately twisted the blade, sliding it along hers before driving my elbow toward her face.

She leaned back just enough for it to miss.

Her tails exploded outward.

Nine crimson blurs swept toward me from different directions.

Instinct took over.

I ducked beneath the first.

Cut through the second.

The third wrapped around my wrist.

"What..."

The tail tightened.

Not painfully.

Just enough to hold me.

Her sword flashed.

I barely raised mine in time.

The impact echoed through the clearing.

She wasn't trying to cut me.

She was using the tails to create openings.

Clever...

Really clever.

I ripped my arm free before another tail wrapped around my ankle.

Without thinking, I dropped into a roll.

The tail swept harmlessly over my head.

I came back to my feet several yards away.

Breathing harder now.

She wasn't even winded.

She calmly brushed a loose strand of crimson hair behind one ear.

"...Good."

I rolled my shoulders.

"That's twice you've complimented me."

"You've earned it."

Coming from someone centuries older...

That actually meant something.

Then she moved again.

This time I watched her feet.

Not her sword.

Her hips shifted first.

Weight transferred.

Shoulders rotated.

She wasn't impossible to read.

She was just incredibly efficient.

I smiled beneath my helmet.

"There you are."

Her eyes narrowed.

She realized what I'd done.

I'd stopped watching the weapon.

Started watching the body.

Her next thrust came.

I sidestepped.

Barely.

Close enough for the blade to scrape across the dragon scales covering my vest.

Sparks erupted as enchanted steel scraped enchanted scales.

The strike should've carved through my torso.

Instead...

It left only a faint silver line across the scales.

She looked down at it.

"...Dragon."

I nodded.

"Fresh."

For the first time...

The Kitsune looked genuinely impressed.

"You made armor from its scales."

"And spider silk."

"...Resourceful."

"I get that a lot."

She disappeared again.

Only this time...

I caught it.

Not her.

The illusion.

There.

A faint shimmer to my right.

I ignored it.

Instead I spun left.

Our blades collided.

The Kitsune's eyes widened.

"You saw through it."

"No."

I pushed her blade away.

"I guessed."

She laughed.

Actually laughed.

The sound echoed softly through the trees.

"I like you, American Knight."

"I was afraid of that."

"You adapt."

"I have to."

"You learn."

"I try."

"You survive."

"So far."

The smile disappeared from her face.

"...That is why you are dangerous."

Her free hand slowly rose.

Mana gathered around her fingertips.

Crimson.

Gold.

Black.

The air itself began to distort.

Aldric had once told me that powerful spells could be felt before they were cast.

Now...

I understood what he meant.

The forest trembled.

Leaves lifted from the ground.

The temperature plummeted.

Even my instincts screamed.

Move.

I threw myself sideways.

The spell struck where I'd been standing.

There wasn't an explosion.

There wasn't fire.

Reality...

Bent.

The tree behind me twisted impossibly before shattering into hundreds of glowing fragments.

Not burned.

Not cut.

Simply...

Unmade.

I stared.

"...Okay."

The Kitsune lowered her hand.

"I warned you."

"No kidding."

I slowly rose to my feet.

The BAR still hung from its sling across my chest.

My sword remained firmly in my grip.

Across from me stood a thousand year old corrupted Kitsune who was beginning to remember why humans had once feared her kind.

And standing before her...

Was one stubborn American who refused to stay down.

I smiled.

Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

"...Now we're getting somewhere."

For the first time since our duel began...

The Kitsune smiled back.

Not with hatred.

Not with malice.

But with the quiet excitement of a warrior who had finally found someone capable of pushing her.

"...Show me."

The words were barely above a whisper.

"Show me what makes you different."

I took a slow breath.

"You asked for it."

Mana flowed through my body.

It still felt strange.

Unlike technology, magic wasn't something you operated.

It was something you felt.

Something you guided.

I extended my left hand.

A familiar circle of blue-white runes blossomed into existence around my wrist.

The Kitsune immediately recognized it.

"...Artificer magic?"

"Close."

I smiled.

"I'm still figuring out what I am."

The runes expanded.

Another circle appeared.

Then another.

Three interlocking rings of arcane script rotated around my arm.

The mana around us stirred.

Leaves began circling my boots.

Aldric would've probably scolded me for improvising.

Too bad he was unconscious.

"Gravity."

The runes flashed.

The earth beneath the Kitsune suddenly groaned.

She reacted instantly.

Leaping backward.

The ground where she'd been standing cratered inward with a deafening crack.

Roots snapped.

Stone fractured.

A depression nearly six feet deep appeared in the forest floor.

She landed lightly on a nearby boulder.

Golden eyes widened.

"...Interesting."

"I thought so."

I clenched my fist.

The spell followed her.

The boulder beneath her feet suddenly weighed several times more than before.

It shattered under its own mass.

She sprang free just before it collapsed into rubble.

"...You're increasing the weight of objects."

I nodded.

"Not just objects."

I flicked my wrist.

The spell shifted.

Suddenly, the pressure vanished.

Instead...

Everything around me became lighter.

I launched forward.

The world blurred.

Not because I'd become faster.

Because gravity had become weaker.

I crossed the distance between us in an instant.

Our swords collided.

Her eyes widened.

"You altered your own weight."

"I've been experimenting."

She pushed me away.

"...Ingenious."

I landed almost effortlessly before restoring normal gravity.

The runes around my arm dissolved.

No point wasting mana.

She was already adapting.

Of course she was.

She'd lived for centuries.

One trick wouldn't fool her twice.

Her tails flared.

Nine crimson foxfire orbs slowly emerged from behind her.

Each floated lazily through the air.

They looked beautiful.

Until one shot toward me.

I raised my hand.

"Barrier."

A translucent wall of shimmering mana materialized in front of me.

The foxfire slammed into it.

The barrier rippled violently.

Cracks spread across its surface.

Then it shattered.

The remaining flames shot toward me.

I rolled beneath the first.

The second scorched my shoulder plate.

The third struck a tree behind me.

It exploded into emerald fire.

"...Those aren't normal flames."

The Kitsune tilted her head.

"No. They burn magic."

Wonderful.

Because why wouldn't they?

I thrust my hand toward the burning tree.

"Water."

A blue magic circle appeared beneath my palm.

A torrent of water erupted forward.

The enchanted flames hissed violently before finally disappearing beneath the deluge.

Steam filled the clearing.

The Kitsune's ears perked.

"You know elemental magic."

"I know enough."

"Enough isn't mastery."

"No."

I laughed.

"But it's gotten me this far."

The steam drifted between us.

Then...

An idea.

I smiled.

The Kitsune noticed immediately.

"...What?"

Instead of answering...

I slammed my palm against the ground.

"Earth."

Mana surged.

The forest floor erupted.

Stone pillars burst upward all around her.

Not to crush her.

To block her vision.

She vanished.

Exactly as I'd expected.

Illusion.

I ignored it.

Instead, I closed my eyes.

Magic wasn't the only thing I'd learned.

Hunting had taught me something equally valuable.

Listen.

Her footsteps were silent.

Her breathing wasn't.

Tiny.

Controlled.

But there.

Behind me.

I spun.

Our blades met.

She blinked.

"You didn't see me."

"I heard you."

She stared.

"...Humans don't hear that well."

I grinned.

"I've never claimed to be average."

She laughed again.

A genuine laugh this time.

"You're remarkable."

"Thanks."

"It wasn't praise."

"I figured."

She twisted her sword.

Our blades locked.

Faces only inches apart.

"You rely on instinct."

"I do."

"You invent spells while fighting."

"I do that too."

"You blend magic with engineering."

"Pretty much."

She searched my eyes.

"...Why?" She then quietly asked.

I pushed her backward.

"Because magic isn't supposed to replace thinking."

She landed gracefully several yards away.

I continued.

"My rifle. My Pistol. My sword. My armor. My spells. They're all tools. No different than a hammer. No different than a plow. No different than your sword."

I slowly raised my free hand.

Blue runes gathered around my fingers once more.

"They're only as useful as the person using them."

The Kitsune stood perfectly still.

For the first time...

She wasn't analyzing my movements.

She was listening.

"I've met mages who rely entirely on magic."

I shrugged.

"Take their mana away and they're helpless. So I learned to fight first. Magic came second."

Silence.

The Kitsune slowly lowered her sword.

"...You fight..."

She looked almost lost in thought.

"...like someone who expects to lose everything."

The words hit harder than any spell she'd cast.

Because...

She wasn't wrong.

I slowly lowered my own blade.

"...Maybe I do."

For a long moment, neither of us moved.

The forest watched in silence.

Two warriors.

Separated by centuries.

One shaped by corruption.

The other by hardship.

Both carrying scars the other couldn't see.

Then the Kitsune spoke again.

"...If we'd met a thousand years ago..."

She smiled sadly.

"...I think we would've been friends."

Before I could answer...

The corruption flared.

Black veins spread across her neck.

Her crimson eyes flickered.

She stumbled, clutching her head.

"No..."

Her voice changed.

Became harsher.

More feral.

"Not..."

She dropped to one knee.

"...Again..."

Dark mana exploded outward.

The trees bent away from her.

The ground cracked beneath her feet.

I instinctively raised a barrier.

The shockwave slammed into it like a battering ram.

Behind the wall of shimmering mana...

I watched in horror.

She wasn't casting a spell.

She was fighting herself.

And she was losing.

"No..."

The Kitsune's voice became two.

One was the woman I'd been speaking with.

The other...

Was something else.

Something ancient.

Something hateful.

Black mana erupted from her body.

Not in a wave.

In a storm.

The forest screamed.

Trees withered as the darkness passed over them.

Leaves blackened.

Grass died where the mana touched it.

Ancient oaks that had stood for centuries cracked with sounds like gunfire before collapsing into rotten husks.

The very earth split apart.

I felt my stomach drop.

"...Barrier!"

Blue mana surged from my outstretched hand.

A shimmering wall materialized between us.

The darkness struck it.

For one glorious second...

It held.

Then a spiderweb of fractures raced across the barrier.

Another second.

Then it shattered.

Not exploded.

Not broke.

It simply...

Came apart.

Like glass dissolving into ash.

"Oh, hell!"

I threw myself backward.

The black tide caught me anyway.

Agony.

Pure.

Blinding.

Agony.

It wasn't heat.

It wasn't cold.

It felt as though something had reached inside my body and grabbed hold of my very soul.

I hit the ground hard, rolling across dead leaves as black wisps clung stubbornly to my armor.

The dragon scales hissed.

Runes I'd carved into the armor months ago flared brilliantly.

One after another...

They burned out.

The enchantments weren't resisting the darkness.

They were sacrificing themselves.

"No..."

I watched in disbelief as protective rune after protective rune dimmed and crumbled away.

My gravity enchantment flickered.

Gone.

My self-repair enchantment failed.

Gone.

The lightning enchantment sputtered before dying completely.

Gone.

A month of work...

Destroyed in seconds.

I forced myself onto one knee.

Every breath hurt.

My lungs felt like they were full of broken glass.

I coughed.

Dark blood splattered across the forest floor.

"...Alex!"

Someone shouted.

It sounded distant.

Very distant.

My vision blurred.

The edges darkened.

Then I noticed it.

My left hand.

Black veins.

Thin as strands of thread.

Crawling slowly beneath my skin.

"What..."

The veins pulsed once.

Pain exploded through my arm.

I bit back a scream.

The sensation wasn't physical.

It was...

Hungry.

The darkness wasn't trying to kill me.

It was trying to become part of me.

The realization chilled me more than the pain ever could.

Across the clearing, the Kitsune collapsed onto both knees.

She stared at my arm.

Her crimson eyes widened in horror.

"No..."

She reached toward me.

"Get..."

She struggled against whatever was consuming her.

"...Away..."

The darker voice laughed through her mouth.

A sound that didn't belong in any living creature.

"Another..."

The words echoed inside my skull rather than my ears.

"...Vessel."

I grabbed my arm with my other hand.

Trying to stop the spreading veins.

It didn't help.

The corruption continued climbing toward my shoulder.

My heart hammered in my chest.

Every pulse pushed it farther.

The Kitsune slammed her fist into the ground.

"No!"

Golden foxfire erupted around her.

For a brief moment...

The darkness recoiled.

She looked at me.

Not as an enemy.

Not even as a warrior.

But with desperate fear.

"You have to cut it out!"

I stared.

"What?"

"My mana!"

She pointed toward my arm.

"It touched your mana pathways!"

Another pulse.

The black veins spread farther.

"It'll consume your magic! It'll consume your soul!"

I looked down.

The corruption had already reached my elbow.

"...Wonderful."

The darker voice laughed again.

"He...Belongs...To us..."

Something inside me answered.

Not willingly.

Instinctively.

For the briefest heartbeat...

A flicker of black mana sparked around my clenched fist before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

The Kitsune saw it.

Her expression fell.

"...Too late."

I slowly looked up.

"...What do you mean..."

Her voice was barely a whisper.

"The corruption..."

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"...It never lets go."

The clearing fell silent.

The black veins stopped spreading.

Not because they were gone.

Because they had settled.

Waiting.

Dormant.

Like embers beneath ash.

I looked at my trembling hand.

Somewhere deep inside...

I could feel it.

Not with my skin.

Not with my senses.

With my soul.

Something had changed.

Something that wasn't supposed to be there.

"...Alex."

The Kitsune's voice sounded distant.

Almost muffled.

My breathing became ragged.

Each breath sent another spike of pain through my chest.

The black veins stopped at my shoulder.

They no longer spread.

They simply...

Existed.

Like roots waiting beneath the surface.

I slowly looked up.

"You..."

I coughed violently.

Dark blood splattered across the dead leaves.

"...You okay?"

The Kitsune stared.

Then...

To my complete surprise...

She laughed.

Not cruelly.

Not mockingly.

Just...

In utter disbelief.

"You ask me..."

Another laugh escaped her.

"...if I'm alright?"

She looked down at her own hands.

Black mana seeped from the cracks between her fingers like smoke.

"My own magic fights me. It whispers. It twists. It tears pieces from my mind every day."

She looked back at me.

"And you..."

She managed a sad smile.

"...are worried about me."

I shrugged weakly.

"It seemed polite."

She shook her head.

"...You're impossible."

I'd heard that before.

From Eleanor.

From Marcus.

From Aldric.

Apparently it was becoming a trend.

Then the smile vanished.

"Listen carefully."

Her voice became firm.

"There isn't much time."

I frowned.

"For what?"

"The corruption."

She knelt several yards away.

Not because she feared me.

Because she feared getting closer.

"If it recognizes you..."

She swallowed.

"...it'll begin tempting you."

I laughed.

"It can try."

"You don't understand."

"No."

She nodded.

"You don't."

The black smoke around her thickened.

"It doesn't begin with power. It begins with reason."

My smile faded.

"What?"

"It convinces. It bargains. It tells you exactly what you want to hear. It waits until you're exhausted...until you're desperate...until someone you love is dying..."

She looked me directly in the eyes.

"...Then it offers to help."

Silence.

"Just once."

"It always starts with..."

Her voice cracked.

"...just once."

The little Kitsune quietly clung to her mother's sleeve.

Clearly she'd heard this before.

"Don't accept."

The older Kitsune continued.

"No matter what. I don't care if your arm is missing. I don't care if you're dying. I don't care if the world is ending. Never. Accept. Its. Help."

I stared at her.

She wasn't warning me as an enemy.

She was warning me as someone who had already lost.

"I didn't."

Her expression softened.

"I know."

She pointed toward my arm.

"It accepted you."

I looked down.

The veins pulsed once.

Then stopped.

"...Wonderful."

The Kitsune slowly stood.

"There may still be hope."

My eyebrows rose.

"There is?"

"I don't know."

She laughed bitterly.

"I've been searching for nearly three centuries."

Three hundred years.

Trying to cure herself.

And she'd failed.

The weight of that realization settled heavily on my shoulders.

She wasn't simply corrupted.

She was imprisoned.

Suddenly...

The black mana surrounding her exploded.

She doubled over.

"No..."

Her fingernails dug into the earth.

Roots snapped beneath her grip.

The darker voice returned.

Louder this time.

More coherent.

"Weak..."

Her body trembled violently.

"I..."

"Mercy..."

She slammed both hands over her ears.

"...Leave..."

"Kill..."

Golden foxfire erupted around her.

The darkness hissed.

Recoiled.

Then surged back stronger.

The battle wasn't physical.

It was inside her own mind.

Every second...

She was losing another piece of herself.

She screamed.

Not in rage.

In agony.

I couldn't just stand there.

Without thinking...

I raised my hand.

Blue mana gathered around my palm.

"Healing."

A familiar spell.

Simple.

Reliable.

Warm light crossed the clearing toward her.

The moment it touched the black corruption...

Everything stopped.

For one heartbeat...

The darkness withdrew.

The Kitsune gasped.

"...Warm..."

Tears welled in her eyes.

"I..."

The black mana shrieked.

Not metaphorically.

Actually shrieked.

The sound tore through the forest.

Every unconscious knight winced in their sleep.

The healing spell shattered.

Not because it failed.

Because something rejected it.

The corruption exploded outward again.

I staggered backward.

The backlash hit me like a hammer.

My own black veins flared.

Pain lanced through my left arm.

I dropped to one knee.

"Damn it..."

The Kitsune looked horrified.

"No!"

She forced herself upright.

"Don't use healing magic on me!"

"Why?"

"It feeds on it!"

That...

Was not the answer I expected.

"What?"

"It consumes pure mana. It twists it. It grows."

Her breathing became uneven.

"My corruption..."

She looked at her own hands.

"...learned how."

The implications hit me immediately.

Every healer.

Every priest.

Every holy mage.

They hadn't been helping.

They'd been making it stronger.

The realization turned my stomach.

Three hundred years.

How many people had unknowingly done exactly that?

The Kitsune looked at me with exhausted eyes.

"I told you... I'm beyond saving."

I slowly pushed myself back to my feet.

Blood still dripped from the corner of my mouth.

My arm still burned.

The black veins remained.

But I looked her straight in the eye.

"I don't believe that."

She smiled sadly.

"I know. You'll keep trying."

"I probably will."

She laughed softly.

"...American Knight."

"Yeah?"

"...You're incredibly stubborn."

I grinned.

"I've been told."

Then my expression hardened.

"And I don't quit on people."

For a moment...

Just a moment...

The corruption around her weakened.

Not because of magic.

Not because of a spell.

But because...

For the first time in centuries...

Someone had looked at the monster she had become...

And still spoken to the woman underneath.

Her eyes slowly closed.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"...That's..."

She whispered.

"...why you're dangerous."

The was silence for a second.

"...American Knight."

Her voice had become weak.

Every word seemed to cost her.

The corruption surged again.

Black veins spread across her neck.

Her crimson eyes flickered between gold...

...and pitch black.

She looked down at her trembling hands.

Then slowly closed them.

When she looked back at me...

She was crying.

"I..."

She swallowed.

"...can't hold it anymore."

The darkness answered.

A horrible grin spread across her face.

Not hers.

Its.

"Finally..."

She screamed.

The sound echoed through the forest.

Golden foxfire erupted around her body.

The corruption answered with black flame.

The two magics collided violently.

The earth split beneath her feet.

Trees toppled.

The very air screamed.

She forced one eye open.

The golden one.

The other had already turned completely black.

"...Please..."

Her voice barely reached me.

"...End this."

I froze.

"No."

She smiled sadly.

"...Don't make me become..."

She looked toward the unconscious child curled beside a nearby tree.

"...her nightmare."

The corruption laughed through her mouth.

"Too late..."

She drove her own sword into the earth.

Using it to hold herself upright.

"I've..."

Another cough.

Dark blood stained her lips.

"...already lost."

"No."

"I have."

She looked at me.

Not as a warrior.

Not as a monster.

As a mother.

"As long as I live... it will always chase her."

The words struck me harder than any blade.

"It wants another vessel."

Her eyes drifted toward my left arm.

"...It already found one."

I looked down at the black veins beneath my skin.

They pulsed once.

As if agreeing.

The Kitsune nodded.

"It won't stop. It never stops."

She reached toward me.

Her hand trembled violently.

"I can still..."

She gasped.

"...do one thing."

I slowly walked toward her.

Every instinct screamed not to.

Every lesson I'd ever learned told me this was a trap.

But my heart...

Told me otherwise.

I stopped only a step away.

She smiled.

"...Thank you."

I slowly drew my sword.

The dragon forged blade reflected the golden light of her foxfire.

She looked at it.

"...Beautiful."

"It was made from a dragon that deserved better."

She chuckled weakly.

"...So are you."

The corruption suddenly seized control again.

Her body jerked violently.

Her voice became layered.

"Kill them!"

Golden tears rolled down her cheeks.

"...Please..."

"Make him hate!"

"...Before..."

"He will be ours!"

She looked directly into my eyes.

For the first time...

There was peace there.

"...Promise me...protect..."

Her gaze drifted toward the sleeping little Kitsune.

"...my daughter."

"I already did."

She nodded.

"I know."

I tightened my grip on the sword.

"...Tell me something."

She looked at me curiously.

"What?"

"If I'm going to remember you..."

I slowly raised the blade.

"...I want your name."

Silence.

The corruption snarled.

She smiled through it.

A genuine smile.

"My name..."

She took one slow breath.

"...is Akiko."

She laughed softly.

"It means... Autumn Child."

"It's a beautiful name."

"My mother..."

She smiled faintly.

"...thought so too."

The corruption surged.

Her body arched backward.

Black mana exploded around her.

The golden light disappeared from one eye.

Then the other.

She screamed.

Not in pain.

In fear.

"...Now!"

I moved.

The dragon-forged blade pierced straight through her chest.

There was no hesitation.

No flourish.

Just one clean thrust.

The sword emerged from her back.

For one terrible heartbeat...

Everything stopped.

The corruption froze.

The forest froze.

Even the wind stopped.

Akiko looked down at the blade.

Then back at me.

"...Thank you..."

Her body began glowing.

Not black.

Gold.

The corruption shrieked.

A sound unlike anything I'd ever heard.

Black smoke erupted from the wound.

It tried to flee.

The dragon forged blade blazed with every enchantment I'd ever carved into it.

The dragon scales embedded within the steel answered.

The corruption ignited.

It didn't burn.

It unraveled.

Screaming.

Until nothing remained.

Silence.

Akiko smiled.

The years seemed to melt away.

For the first time...

She looked exactly like the woman she had once been.

Free.

"...One last gift..."

She reached toward my chest.

"I can't let it face you alone."

"What?"

Her glowing hand rested over my heart.

Warm.

Gentle.

"I've fought it..."

She whispered.

"...for centuries."

Golden light flowed from her body.

Not violently.

Like leaves drifting upon the wind.

It entered me through my chest.

I gasped.

Not from pain.

From memory.

Laughter.

Cherry blossoms.

A shrine.

A little white haired girl chasing butterflies.

A mother smiling.

Nine tails swaying beneath an autumn sunset.

Hundreds of years.

Joy.

Sorrow.

Love.

Loss.

Not all of her.

Only...

Fragments.

The pieces she chose to leave behind.

The black veins beneath my skin recoiled.

For the first time since they'd appeared...

They retreated.

Not disappearing.

Holding still.

As though something inside me now stood between them...

And my soul.

Akiko smiled one final time.

"...Now..."

She looked toward her sleeping daughter.

"...she won't be alone."

Golden light surrounded her completely.

Her body dissolved into thousands of glowing foxfire motes.

They drifted upward through the trees.

Into the night sky.

Gone.

I remained kneeling there.

My sword still planted in the earth.

My hand pressed against my chest.

Somewhere deep within...

Beyond my own thoughts...

Beyond the darkness waiting patiently in my soul...

A calm, gentle voice whispered.

"Do not fear it. We will face it together."

I slowly closed my eyes.

For reasons I couldn't explain...

I knew that voice.

Akiko hadn't survived.

But neither had she truly left.

Some small part of the woman she'd been...

Now walked beside me.

Not as a weapon.

Not as power.

But as a guardian against the darkness we'd both shared.
--------------------
A/N: And done. kuwebby2, what do you think?