Kiren moved quickly through the Red Forest, a small pouch of beast cores tied securely at his side. Each step brought him closer to the Red Tree—and to the uneasy pressure that had been crawling up his spine for the last several minutes.
Something was wrong.
The forest had gone quiet.
Too quiet.
No insects. No distant beasts. Even the hum of mana felt muted, like it was being swallowed.
Kiren slowed, instincts screaming.
Then he saw it.
It stood in a clearing ahead, tall and motionless, its silhouette unmistakably wrong. Humanoid—almost—but twisted. Its body was black as pitch, patches of scaled skin catching faint light. Ram-like horns curved back along its skull, framing a disturbingly human face.
Its eyes were solid white.
Its mouth was human.
Its hands sported claws so long they dragged through the dirt, carving shallow grooves as it shifted its weight.
Kiren's breath hitched.
"That's not a beast," he muttered.
The creature tilted its head.
Slow. Curious.
It sniffed.
And smiled.
Kiren didn't wait. The beast gave even him the chills.
He lunged.
The clash was immediate—violent. Kiren's claws met the creature's arm, sparks flying as they scraped against hardened scales. The force sent both of them skidding backward.
Fast. Too fast.
The thing moved with a warped imitation of human motion, its joints bending just a fraction too much. It slashed, claws whistling through the air. Kiren barely twisted aside, the tips grazing his ribs.
Blood bloomed. Kiren's eye widened, even not transformed, werewolves had hard skin. But the beasts claws moved through them like a hot knife through paper.
The creature inhaled sharply.
Its smile widened.
Realization struck Kiren like a blade.
"...You've been eating students."
The beast screeched—not in rage, but delight. It's mouth moved but a warbled sound came out, as if it was trying to form word.
Kiren bared his teeth. "And you're changing because of it."
They collided again.
The fight dragged on, brutal and relentless. Kiren tore chunks of black flesh free, shattered bone, crushed joints—but every time he landed what should've been a killing blow, the wounds knitted back together.
Regeneration.
No—adaptation.
The beast grew smarter as it fought. Faster. More precise. It has begun to predict Kiren's movements.
Kiren was slammed into a tree hard enough to crack the trunk. He staggered, coughing blood, the creature swung a claw out but a blade of compressed mana sliced between them.
The creature shrieked.
Vane stepped out of the shadows, eyes glowing like burning stars.
"Get away from him," Vane said coldly.
The beast recoiled, hissing.
Kiren forced himself upright. "Be careful. It evolves based on what it eats. It's been feeding on students—turning human."
Vane's jaw tightened. "Then it's learned too much."
They attacked together.
Steel claws and sculpted mana tore into the creature, their movements blurred as they both moved with inhuman speed. shredding it again and again—but still it regenerated, black flesh crawling back into place as crimson light pulsed through the ground beneath it. The beast lifted a claw and blocked Vane's next strike. Kiren slashed at it but this times his claws only sparked against the creatures scales.
Kiren's eyes widened, the creature slammed Vane through a tree and its claws retracted as it punched Kiren hard enough to crush his ribs, but Kiren stood. He threw out a punch but the beast hardly flinched. It responded in kind and Kiren coughed up more blood but he again threw another punch. Kiren heard the faint crackle of thunder and knew what was about to happen.
Kiren grabbed the creature in a bear hug and gritted his teeth as a bolt of lightning hit the both of them. The creature was reduced to a steaming pile of flesh and Kiren layer smoking on the ground.
Vane stretched out a hand and helped Kiren up, "Smart move."
Kiren shrugged, "it would have dodged if it didn't hold it in place."
Kiren's eyes narrowed and Vane turned to see the creature was standing, it's wounds pulsing with red energy. It's mouth clicked a few times then it smiled.
"Is this...pain?" it asked.
Vane didn't answer.
"What are you?" Kiren asks.
"I was once a... what was I? I can't remember, but I was a normal beast once, long ago I dug into the Red Tree to escape the bitter cold of winter. I came in contact with its core and then, I started to change. I drew power from the tree and got stronger. The tree spoke in my head and I followed its voice and ate, I evolved and now the tree is telling me to kill you..."
The beast pointed at Vane.
"So the dead students were just bait?" Kiren asked.
The beast nodded, "Nothing but fodder but their deaths served their purpose."
Vane froze.
"The Red Tree," he said slowly. "It's feeding it mana."
The beast smiled as if in agreement.
"I'll keep it busy," Kiren growled. "End this."
Vane hesitated only a second before nodding. "Don't die."
"No promises."
Vane turned and dug his foot in the ground, kicking off with explosive speed.
The beast jumped after him but Kiren was there. He grabbed it by the peg and hurled it, he looked around.
"Because of you innocent people are dead, you don't kill because you had to, you kill because you enjoy it." Kiren said, his voice going dangerously low.
"No rules" he murmured, "no holding back. I guess since you've killed everyone in the area, I can go all out"
Kiren's body swelled as fur sprouted all over, his eyes went blank and soon the beast had to look up to meet them. It frowned and wasn't given time to react as claws tore into its face.
---
Vane reached the Red Tree in seconds—and stopped.
The instructors were there.
Trapped.
Crimson roots wrapped around their bodies, pinning them upright like offerings. The tree pulsed violently, drinking in their mana.
Rourke was barely conscious.
"So this is what happened to the instructors," Vane whispered.
The Red Tree responded.
Roots surged toward him.
Vane planted his palms on the ground.
Mana answered.
He didn't shape it gently.
He ripped it apart.
The air screamed as Vane tore the mana flow from the tree, unraveling the ancient structure piece by piece. The Red Tree shuddered, its glow flaring wildly—
—then collapsing inward.
With a sound like the world breaking, the Red Tree fell.
---
The beast laid torn in pieces, red energy faintly trying to attach its body back together. It's hand was hanging from a tree, the bottom half of its body in Kiren's claws.
The sound of the tree crumbling reverberated all over the forest and the beast shuddered as its regeneration faltered.
Kiren didn't hesitate.
He drove both claws into its chest and ripped it in two.
The creature collapsed, its form finally crumbling into ash. At its center, a massive, warped beast crystal pulsed weakly.
Kiren yanked it free.
Silence fell as Kiren reverted back to his orginal form.
Then—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Kiren turned.
A figure stood at the edge of the clearing, cloaked in black and a silver wolf mask.
"The Wolf King never receive a reply to his last message," the figure said calmly.
Kiren's blood ran cold.
---
Vane freed the instructors, his chest heaving.
Then he heard it.
A wolf's howl—long, furious, and close.
"Kiren," he breathed.
Vane vanished in a flash of mana.
He arrived to see a stranger standing over Kiren.
Kiren was on one knee, bleeding, battered—but alive.
Barely.
The figure turned, eyes glowing gold.
And smiled.
---