Dispose of the Unworthy

The air inside the burning building was different from ordinary smoke. Wren covered her mouth from the smoke that reeked of the burnt smell of plants. By the strength of the traces of the warding powder, Wren figured this was indeed the place where the Stag fought one of those troublesome things.

"To think that the Horses are the ones behind the attacks…" Wren huffed as she walked in and looked around despite the flames' blinding light. She then found dried liquid under her thin-soled slippers. With just a glance, she saw a trail of blood leading to another room. "Did it run somewhere?"

"…eat… I must eat to survive…"

Wren heard something chanting from the next room. She stood in front of the wrecked door, just to stare down at the two bodies in front of her. One was undeniably a dead body burned by the fire, but the other looked the same—only that it was moving. The moving burned corpse continued to bite and chew mouthfuls of the cooked meat again and again.

It even continued to chant, "I must eat to survive… I must eat to survive… I have to kill the Stag and the unworthy… Princess, Princess… I will come save you…"

"…she doesn't need saving anymore," Wren spoke, making the thing stop chewing. It lifted its head all the way back just to look at Wren's inverted figure. The madam spoke again, "Did the Stag attack you? I can help you look for him if you give me names."

"The Wren continues to live…" The thing reached its arms back as well, looking like an extreme contortionist trying to face Wren without getting up properly. "You have failed your mission."

"My mission is not the same as yours." Wren saw how patches of black goo wriggled in the shadows. "However, if you wish to declare that on my stead, then I have the right to disagree… especially when you think of hindering me yourself."

The thing rose from the ground in an instant. The black goo shaped into spikes and flew to hit Wren from all sides. It was just that Wren only made her red eyes shine before jumping up to the ceiling. She attached herself there for a second before launching an attack. Her speed was comparable to a bullet that the enemy couldn't evade.

Boom! Instead of just a cut, the thing's right shoulder exploded from her hit. The thing cried and decided to bolt. The other lady was too powerful for her; her flesh couldn't even handle a touch of the ever-watchful Wren. No one knew how strong this woman really was, as she never lifted a finger or fought with anyone who survived her attacks. 

Wren landed on the floor and stalked behind the thing that crawled on the floor. Every step she made resounded in the soul of the creature escaping from her. When the thing looked back, all she could see was the glinting red eyes of the Wren.

"Mercy! I came to dispose of the unworthy! I came to dispose of the unworthy!" The thing crawled away, but Wren jumped to land heavily on its back. Even if Wren was wearing slippers, the impact of her feet was sharp enough to punch holes into the thing.

"Let your death bring the words on my lips to your master." Wren struck down and pulverized the thing's head and chest. With that, the body turned into black ash. 

Wren scooped some of it with her clawed hand and spread it as if she were letting it loose into the wind. "The darkest of nights forgives you. Let your soul reform and join the mortal men in the heavens…"

She then clapped the remaining of it off her hand. Her claws receded into her fingers, the nails growing back into their eternally manicured state. Wren looked around to find the burnt body on the floor. Instead of a sad expression, her brows frowned in disdain. "This is a woman's body. I don't think there's another one in here. Did he escape?"

Her gaze grew sharper. "Did the Stag take him? No. Once it believes that Elijah Jenkins is unworthy, the Stag should have disposed of him as well. I'd have to look for his body somewhere else. For now, I have to return to Keagan's side."

"Doesn't it make you wonder?" 

A voice came from behind Wren, and she quickly spun and regrew her claws. When she saw the figure behind her, it was a man hanging from the ceiling. He had taken a handful of the black ash and let it rain down as if playing with it. "After all these years, they suddenly caught up with the princess's location?"

"…Haukur, you woke up." Wren straightened her posture, but she still had her claws out. She couldn't mistake that man for anyone else, especially with those slanted eyes and deep-set ears. "Sleep again. There's no need for you to meddle in the current state of things. Soon enough, I will wake you up."

"No." Haukur dropped on the black ash, dispersing it under his feet. He was guised in a modern black suit, but his suit jacket was only resting on his shoulders. The edges were also longer than regular as if they were folded wings behind him instead. "It was Lev who woke me up. He's worried about the current state of things, as you call it."

"Lev did?" At the mention of that name, Wren grew more suspicious. However, before she could say something more, Haukur snapped his finger. The flames all over died as if every surface was devoid of oxygen that kept the flames going.

A smile then appeared on the scrawny face of an overworked employee. "Alas, let's talk longer soon. I extinguished the fire now, so the humans would come up to this place. Should we cover up what happened here? If the Bulls catch a whiff, they will give you a lot of headaches."

Wren watched him carefully, soon glancing at the dead body and the black ash on the floor. "Let's get away with what we can. I just hope humans won't discover the Stag's trail. That descendant looks so reckless and cares too little about being seen."

"But that's the Stag. I guess they don't have to care if they can just kill whoever saw them." Haukur stroked his chin. "I'll look for him and see what he does for now."

"Oh, let me know if he brings around a male human. His scent should be buried under all this smoke. No matter, just let me know if it looks strange to you." Wren kept her claws. "Let's get out of here."

Even if the man didn't agree verbally, he vanished into the floor. Wren quickly moved to get back to the broken window and looked down to find Keagan and Gephardt. However, they were no longer there. She just jumped out, nonetheless. She'd just look for them later.