Devour

The village was silent.

Not the peaceful silence of a town settling in for the night, but the kind that came when something unnatural lurked in the dark, watching, waiting.

Viole's grip on Noctis tightened. The night air was thick with the scent of damp earth and something rotting.

Azael's voice was calm but firm. "It's here."

Then, the darkness moved.

A shape burst from the shadows, too fast to track.

Viole barely had time to raise his blade before impact—

A blur of pale flesh and jagged claws slammed into him, sending him skidding backward across the dirt. He twisted his feet beneath him, barely managing to stay upright.

Kairos cursed. "Fast little bastard!"

The Hunger crouched at the edge of the torchlight, its body inhumanly thin, as if it had been stretched beyond what nature allowed. Its ribs pressed against sickly pale skin, its limbs too long, its hollow eyes locked onto them with something beyond hunger.

Pure, endless starvation.

It grinned, revealing a mouth full of jagged, uneven teeth.

Then it moved.

It didn't run—it flickered, vanishing from sight only to reappear behind Kairos.

Kairos barely dodged as claws slashed through the air, shredding the fabric of his coat. He twisted, his daggers flashing out, but the Hunger bent unnaturally, dodging with ease.

Ha-eun lunged in, her blade cutting low, aiming for its legs—

The Hunger leapt.

It landed on the side of a building, its body twisting unnaturally before springing off like a beast untethered by gravity.

Viole tracked it, waiting, watching.

It went for Ha-eun.

He moved on instinct.

Viole intercepted, his katana flashing upward. The blade connected, slicing across the creature's torso—

Only for the wound to vanish instantly.

Viole's eyes widened. "What—"

The Hunger retaliated.

A clawed hand lashed out, and before Viole could react—

PAIN.

A sickening tearing sensation exploded in his side.

His body jerked backward as three deep gashes ripped through his torso, his blood splattering onto the dirt.

A heartbeat later, the Hunger was on him, its weight crushing, its jagged teeth lunging for his throat—

Viole rolled, kicking the monster off with a desperate surge of strength. He hit the ground hard, vision tilting, body screaming in pain.

Ha-eun darted in, her sword a silver blur—

The Hunger twisted mid-air, catching the blade with its bare hand.

SNAP.

Ha-eun's eyes widened as the creature crushed the metal like dry wood.

Then it slammed her into the dirt, claws aiming for her throat—

Azael raised a hand.

Light.

A searing silver glow flared through the air, sending the creature reeling back, its hollow shriek echoing through the village.

Viole gasped for breath, his body trembling, his wound burning.

The Hunger stalked forward, slower now, its eyeless gaze locked onto him.

It could smell his weakness.

His blood.

He tried to stand, but his legs buckled.

The Hunger pounced.

And something inside Viole broke.

---

A pulse.

A deep, unnatural thrum in his chest.

Then—

Silence.

The world darkened, but Viole did not fall.

Because something else was moving his body now.

Something ancient.

Something hungry.

The Hunger's claws should have torn through his flesh—

But they stopped midair.

No—he caught them.

Viole's hand was locked around the creature's wrist. But it wasn't his hand anymore.

His claws dug deep into the Hunger's pale skin, crushing bone with monstrous strength.

The Hunger let out a snarl, jerking back—

Viole didn't let go.

His head tilted slightly, red eyes glowing, his breath slow, steady—unnatural.

His voice came out in a whisper.

"My turn."

Then he ripped the creature's arm off.

The Hunger screeched, staggering back, black ichor pouring from the wound.

But Viole was already moving.

Faster.

Stronger.

His body blurred, inhumanly quick, and before the creature could recover—

His fangs sank into its throat.

The Hunger convulsed.

A violent, sickening pulse surged through Viole's body as something raw, something dark, something powerful flooded into him.

The Hunger withered in his grasp, its body breaking apart, consumed from the inside out.

Viole drank deep.

And for the first time—

He understood.

This wasn't just blood.

This was essence.

Life.

Power.

Hunger.

Then—

A hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Viole!"

The voice was distant, but something about it cut through the fog in his mind.

His breath caught.

The Hunger's body crumbled into dust in his grasp.

His claws were still extended.

His fangs still bared.

He turned slowly.

Ha-eun stood there, sword still drawn—but she wasn't pointing it at an enemy.

She was pointing it at him.

Kairos had taken a step back, daggers still in hand.

The villagers watched from a distance, their faces filled with terror.

Azael remained silent, gaze unreadable.

Viole exhaled, trying to steady himself, trying to push the hunger back down.

The shadows at his feet still writhed unnaturally.

The power still clung to him, whispering, wanting more.

His hands trembled.

He had won.

But at what cost?

He forced himself to stand.

Forced his breathing to slow.

Forced the instincts down, back into the abyss where they belonged.

But deep inside, he knew—

This wasn't over.

Because tonight, for the first time—

He wasn't sure if he had been hunting the Hunger.

Or if the Hunger had been hunting him.