Episode 161: The Pack (1)
It was the moment when Damian burst outside.
Fenrir rammed into the fortress wall again, causing it to cave in and shift backward.
“Ahhh!”
“This is bad!”
One more hit, and the wall would surely crumble completely.
To stop Fenrir, Damian summoned his magic. Power surged through his body, and his speed increased dramatically.
Sensing Damian’s magic, Fenrir paused in its assault on the wall and turned its head.
Its cloudy eyes stared blankly at Damian.
Under the bright sunlight, the wolf’s decaying flesh was a grotesque and chilling sight. Perhaps it was because this undead creature was Fenrir that Damian felt this way.
In its past life, that beast was known as the Beast of Destruction, drenching the world in blood.
“Athena, I’ll cut through that thing’s body. You plant your lightning there.”
But the tale of the Beast of Destruction belonged to the future.
For now, Fenrir had yet to be modified by Dolgo and was still newly born.
Damian could handle it alone, but he wasn’t about to let his guard down. He wanted to ensure it was completely finished.
“Are you… giving me orders now?”
“Why? Don’t like it?”
Damian glanced back at Athena, startled.
She was grinning widely.
“You need me, don’t you?”
”…You could say that.”
“Just trust me.”
Athena summoned her lightning power.
The sudden burst of energy was overwhelming. Wasn’t she overdoing it a bit?
-Grrrr…
At that moment, Fenrir bared its teeth and growled, lowering its head and raising its haunches, ready to pounce.
-Roar!
Fenrir let out a loud cry.
Simultaneously, it pushed off the ground with all four legs and charged.
…In the opposite direction of Damian.
“Huh?”
Damian was taken aback as he watched Fenrir flee.
An undead of that size, running away with prey right in front of it?
And it wasn’t just running—it was fleeing with all its might.
Then, suddenly, it melted into the shadows and vanished.
‘Shadow Meld.’
A unique ability only Fenrir possessed.
In its past life, Fenrir used this ability to hide or create clones, employing various combat strategies.
“Even using its unique ability just to escape?”
Damian muttered incredulously, coming to a halt. Athena wore a similar expression.
As the two stood there, bewildered, the castle gates opened, and people poured out.
They surrounded Damian and Athena, cheering.
“Thank you so much!”
“Thanks to you both, we survived!”
A middle-aged man stepped forward from the crowd, dressed in fine silk, likely the lord of the castle.
“I can’t thank you enough… If it’s not too much trouble, may I know where you hail from?”
“We’re from the Fafnir Mercenary Company. We came to deal with that undead.”
“Ah…! There’s been a decree across the region! We were told to treat the warriors from the Fafnir Mercenary Company with the utmost respect!”
The lord’s face lit up with relief.
“Please, come inside! We’ve prepared a place for you to rest!”
“I’m sorry, but we need to pursue Fenrir…”
At that, the lord grasped Damian’s hand tightly.
“Please, I beg you. If you leave and that monster returns…”
The lord’s face was filled with fear.
Having witnessed Fenrir’s threat firsthand, his terror was understandable.
Damian looked at Athena. It wasn’t a decision he could make alone.
“I think we should rest for now. We need to unpack and understand the situation here.”
Athena’s reasoning made sense. Damian decided to accept the lord’s invitation for the time being.
“Please, this way!”
The lord eagerly led them inside. As they followed, Damian asked,
“I only see soldiers. Are there no knights?”
“Regrettably, no. We can’t afford to hire knights.”
The lord replied with an embarrassed expression.
“Then you must have suffered greatly from the undead attack.”
“Fortunately, no one died. There are a few injuries, but none are severe. We’re truly lucky.”
The lord’s response left Damian puzzled.
“An undead like Fenrir attacked, and no one was hurt?”
It was something Damian couldn’t comprehend based on what he knew.
“Now that I think about it, it’s strange the castle was intact until we arrived. Fenrir, even in its current state, should have been able to overrun this place easily.”
Though weaker than in its past life, Fenrir was still a formidable monster.
It had even held its own against two high-class warriors from the Kingdom of Grape.
With that kind of power, it should have been able to take down a small castle like this in no time.
“And when it met my eyes, it didn’t show any intent to kill.”
The Fenrir Damian remembered was a manifestation of violence.
It sought to destroy everything in sight. It was so uncontrollable that it even devoured several allied dark mages.
In contrast, the current Fenrir was significantly less aggressive. It was almost docile.
“This Fenrir is nothing like the one I know.”
It must have changed after being used by the dark mages.
What could have happened to make it so vicious?
Damian pondered deeply.
It was a strange sight.
Despite nothing blocking the light, a large shadow glided across the ground.
The shadow moved toward a vast forest. As soon as it entered the forest’s shadows, something emerged from within.
A massive figure began to race through the forest, as if fleeing from something.
Scary!
The creature, known as Mungchi, ran through the forest, its mind filled with the need to escape as far as possible.
What occupied Mungchi’s thoughts was the image of the human male who had charged at it moments ago.
The intimidation from that human was more terrifying than any enemy the wolf had ever faced.
Humans are scary! So scary!
Thinking back, it had always been that way.
Humans would call it dirty, ugly, and torment it.
They kicked its belly, stomped on its head. Blood dripped from its mouth, but no one stopped.
Its whole body hurt too much to move. Yet, driven by the will to live, it crawled on the ground, searching for food.
At least back then, no human truly tried to kill it.
Humans are bad!
Since it had grown larger, every human it encountered tried to kill it.
Last time, two terrifying humans had even hacked at its body.
Mungchi had struggled to survive and barely managed to escape.
After running for a long time, Mungchi finally stopped deep in the forest.
It gathered fallen leaves and curled up on them.
Master… I couldn’t find you again…
Mungchi had been wandering, following a familiar scent.
It attacked the castle for that reason. The scent of its master had wafted from the castle.
It had rushed there in joy, but the humans wouldn’t open the gates. It had rammed the walls to demand entry.
Master… where are you…
Mungchi closed its eyes. Slowly, the image of its master came to mind.
A small human.
A human as skinny as itself.
The only human who didn’t torment it.
-Mungchi~ Guess what I brought today? I brought bread for you!
As it focused more on the memory, its master’s voice echoed.
-Ahahaha, don’t lick me. It tickles.
-Are you worried about this wound? It’s okay… Dad was just a bit drunk last night.
-Oh, what should I do… Ah, Dad’s calling… I’ll come back later.
After those words, it never saw its master again.
Mungchi wandered everywhere, searching for the boy. Its body ached, and it was hungry, but the desire to see its master was stronger.
But before it could find its master, blood poured from its mouth. Its body felt heavy, as if soaked in water. Darkness covered its eyes.
When it regained consciousness, its body had grown this large.
Strangely, it no longer felt pain. No matter how much it ran, it wasn’t hungry.
But it still couldn’t find its master.
Master, I want to see you again.
With that desperate wish, Mungchi drifted into sleep.
“A sleeping undead? It seems that creature still thinks it’s alive.”
Far from where the undead lay, a young man observed it through binoculars.
“It’s a common phenomenon when animals turn undead. Unlike humans, they don’t quickly realize their situation.”
The young man lowered the binoculars and began jotting notes in a small notebook.
Kardak watched him with a disapproving look.
His entire body, including his face, was wrapped in black bandages, making it impossible to read his expression.
But his eyes were filled with reproach.
“Garot. I don’t have time for your nonsense. Just answer me.”
“Answer? Oh, you mean Rubia’s request? To capture… what was his name again?”
“Damian Haxen.”
“Right, to capture that guy?”
The young man, Garot, wore an expression of boredom.
“Well… I’m not really interested in humans… Can’t you just handle it?”
“I need to get back and assist Rubia as soon as possible.”
“Ahaha, let’s be honest. You’re not trying to help Rubia; you’re trying to keep an eye on her, aren’t you? Who knows, she might get involved with another man while you’re away.”
A smirk played on Garot’s lips.
“Who would’ve thought that someone once hailed as the future of the Mandok School would fall so hard over a woman? It just goes to show, you never know how things will turn out.”
Creak.
Kardak ground his teeth, his eyes filled with a murderous glint.
“So, you’re saying you won’t grant Rubia’s request?”
“Whoa, no need to get angry. Of course, I’ll help. I owe you, if not Rubia.”
Garot shrugged his shoulders.
“Thanks to the plague you handed over, such a magnificent undead was born.”
The plague sweeping through the eastern region of the Grape Kingdom was none other than Kardak’s creation.
“But first, I need to take care of my own business.”
With that, Garot raised a telescope to his face.
“I want to witness that creature’s transformation into a true undead.”