The Wolf

Deep in the Black Forest, a tiny white bird preened its feathers. The crimson red oval on its stomach shifted as it vibrated with contentment.

Finally, it raised its head.

The bird looked down from the branch it was perched on, giving a long, beady stare at the creature below it.

The lupine monster snarled with amusement as a distinct metallic screech echoed through the forest in response to its provocative howls.

Glancing up, the Wolf noticed the bird perched above it.

As they stared at each other, the bird's voice echoed through the Wolf's mind.

"You know, I never understood why you rile her up so much every time. It only makes your job harder, after all." The bird's voice was droll and monotone, yet also contained a hint of hidden mischief.

The Wolf growled, half humorous.

"Makes it more fun, too. Imagine her face when I rip through her flesh, tear through her hope…" The Wolf narrowed its eyes, shivering in ecstasy.

The angelic bird twitched its beak in distaste. The higher power above commanded that it remained impassive, yet the bird could never see itself being impassive to this… thing.

"Suit yourself." With a few terse words, the bird popped out of existence, vanishing before the Wolf's eyes.

The Wolf spat on the ground, raising its head for another shattering howl.

The leaves of the surrounding trees trembled, withering into balls and fragments as another wave of glowing cyan sliced them to pieces.

Its anticipation rose as the last straw of Red's sanity broke. This time, not a screech of sharpening metal but a coarse scream of rage responded to it.

The sky quickly darkened, blanketed by murky, oppressive crimson. The bloodshot moon vibrated as it locked onto its target.

Crimson vapor hung heavy in the air, as the sky imprinted the earth with a seal of blood.

"What a beautiful day to hunt…" Even though the wolf's voice was languid and relaxed, its stance showed a different story.

Lowered and poised, the wolf raised its hackles in anticipation.

It shot a glance at the bloodshot moon, its grin growing as the spherical ball vibrated with rage.

…

Little Red viciously tore through the forest, each of her steps producing tremors in the earth and crackles in the air.

As they approached the blue glow in the dense weave of trees, Asher felt an increasingly ominous pressure in his blood.

The palpable malice in the atmosphere caused the boy's cloak to stick and wrap around his skin.

Even the air tensed with nervousness, becoming near gelatinous in texture.

Asher felt a glue-like sensation on his skin as he pressed deeper toward the Wolf. Although he had only met the thing once before, a primal fear wormed its way into his body, crippling any sense of confidence he had.

And this was merely the effect of the Wolf's aura alone. Just what would he feel when they met face-to-face once again?

As the cyan glow clashed with Red's aura, time began to dilate.

Adrenaline preemptively coursed through Asher's veins.

The world seemed to slow down.

[Congealed Corpse has been digested. +30 Insight. +30 Temperance. Duration: Sixty minutes.]

[A roaring warmth courses through your skin.]

Asher's breath hitched as his stats suddenly spiked. His confidence increased slightly as a chemical warmth burned in his veins, melting a bit of the sticky, unnatural feeling on his skin.

The world sharpened in clarity.

Asher's Insight, now doubled in value, forced his mind to process his surroundings at double the rate of before.

Short, labored breaths disrupted his mind as he found himself focusing on each water droplet on a patch of grass, or each strand of fabric on Little Red's cloak.

Little Red glanced behind her as Asher's breaths became noticeably erratic.

He was hyperventilating.

"I-I-I'm fine!" Asher's teeth chattered as he motioned for Little Red to continue.

'Ignore me', his eyes seemed to tell her. Through his shivering form, only his eyes held a bonfire of resolve.

He wanted to go home.

So she ignored him. Trudging forward, she ignored the quivering body on her back as best she could. The woman's grip on his thighs tightened, keeping Asher steady on her back as the boy began to convulse.

Asher's Insight had doubled, far too sudden for his mind to acclimate properly.

His brain was overloaded with details that he previously would never care enough to notice. A blade of grass in the soil. Two strands of frayed fibers on Little Red's cloak.

Asher shut his eyes, burying his head into Little Red's shoulder.

Since there was nothing to direct Asher's increased mental capability, he felt his mind begin to wander.

Suddenly, Little Red set him down.

"Breathe. Focus."

She kneeled down, clenching his shoulders as she stared into his eyes.

*Gasp - Cough*

Asher sputtered, retching on the floor. The bloated warmth in his stomach subsided. He put the back of his hand to his forehead. It was feverishly warm.

"Ready?"

Asher nodded his head with some difficulty. Only now did he notice that they had reached the boundary of the wolf's territory. Crimson and blue mixed to create a murky purple, the line between Little Red and the Wolf.

This was why the woman had stopped. They were here.

"Keep your guard up. I won't spare any effort to protect you."

The woman's matter-of-fact tone jolted Asher's mind to a semblance of clarity. He nodded, ignoring his trembling skin as he switched to [Fairy Queen].

That way, if he was suddenly attacked or dismembered, [Frenzy] would activate.

He tucked the Warmweed deeper into his cloak, while also bringing the three 'Last Chances' to his lips. The thin skin of the three pulsing berries rested between his teeth, ready to be broken at a moment's notice.

Finally he took out a long steel knife from his cloak, a kitchen knife that Little Red lent him a few days prior.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"I'm ready."

Asher took the first step forward, into the dark blue abyss.

Immediately, his skin was pierced by an icy chill.

After three steps, he noticed the aura that came from Little Red was remarkably similar to the Wolf.

Hers was a more raw, vengeance driven wrath, whereas the wolf's was a more calculative, cold hate.

Crimson fire, midnight ice. Both equally filled with passionate, intense hatred.

Without his notice, Little Red took the lead, desperate to confront the Wolf and obtain her freedom. Judging from her labored breaths, she could already make out the Wolf's form through the trees.

Yet she conserved her strength, stalking forward silently.

Asher subconsciously copied her, lowering his own stance to a more prone position.

The blue glow increased in intensity, leading them deeper into the forest. It was so bright, like a miniature cyan sun.

Asher focused his vision onto Little Red.

A thin veneer of crimson shielded her, deflecting the Wolf's aura with her own.

For some reason unknown to him, Asher pressed closer to Little Red, nearly touching her sleeve. Although he was scared of Little Red at first, he had grown to become accustomed to her aura.

Suddenly, Little Red shoved him away.

As he stumbled to the ground, she glared at him with a gaze unlike any he had seen from her before.

Cold. Murderous.

"Don't take my kill. I'll be the one that slaughters that wolf."

Asher nodded his head with some difficulty as Little Red stared down at him, her eye devoid of any speck of warmth.

He wouldn't describe Little Red as warm through any stretch of the imagination, but when those small emotions were snuffed out completely, he realized just how caring she had become toward him over these few days.

Now even those embers had disappeared.

She stared at him as if he was nothing, a mere trash beneath her.

Asher instinctively knew, if he angered her today-

He would die.

She would strangle him without hesitation.

Asher brought his hand to his throat, shivering as he felt a phantom sensation wrapping around his neck, crushing his windpipe.

Little Red scoffed, turning back to the thick weave of trees in front of them.

Asher gasped as the glow faded to a fraction of its original intensity, returning darkness back to the night.

Through the trees, the Wolf awaited them. It padded out into the moonlight, and its glowing cobalt eyes sliced through the night air. "My, my. You two look so delicious. But I have to say, Little Red, your filthy hood might give me a stomachache. Couldn't you have cleaned it for me?"

Asher couldn't move, crushed between the aura of two WAW class Abnormalities. He was completely out of his depth.

[The Wolf of Inverted Heaven (WAW)]

A prompt helpfully notified him of the Wolf's full title.