The mutated grizzly bear lunged forward with terrifying speed, its enormous body tearing through the undergrowth as if the forest itself were nothing more than brittle twigs. Each thunderous step shook the ground beneath it, scattering dirt and broken branches in every direction. Beneath its matted fur, veins of glowing blue light pulsed violently—Aetherglass corruption spreading through its body like molten crystal beneath skin.

  For a brief moment, chaos swallowed the battlefield whole.

  Several of the new recruits panicked instantly. Their discipline collapsed under the sheer terror of the creature before them, and within seconds some dropped their weapons entirely as they stumbled backward through the trees.

  “Fall back!” one of them shouted, his voice cracking with fear as he turned and ran.

  Others followed immediately.

  Whatever training they had received during the past months meant little when faced with a monster capable of tearing them apart with a single swipe.

  Not everyone ran.

  Tanker planted his boots firmly against the forest floor, his sword already drawn as he stepped beside me. His expression was tense, but there was a stubborn determination behind his eyes.

  “Well,” he muttered while rolling his shoulders, “looks like training just got interesting.”

  Across from us, Damian raised his blade and positioned himself squarely between the creature and the fleeing recruits. His posture was steady and disciplined, though the tension in his shoulders betrayed how seriously he took the threat.

  His eyes flickered toward me.

  “Lady Amethyst,” he said sharply, “fall back with the others.”

  The bear roared again, opening its jaws wide enough to reveal rows of jagged teeth slick with saliva.

  I did not move.

  Damian frowned.

  “That wasn’t a suggestion.”

  “I heard you the first time,” I replied calmly while adjusting my grip on my dagger.

  “Then start running.”

  “I’d rather not.”

  His jaw tightened.

  “This isn’t a sparring match,” he said firmly. “That creature is an Aetherglass mutation. Even trained knights struggle to deal with those.”

  “Exactly,” I answered.

  Because that was precisely the problem.

  If the creature chased the recruits back toward the estate, the casualties would be far worse than a handful of soldiers wounded in the forest.

  Damian understood that as well—I could see it in the brief hesitation in his eyes—but his responsibility as an officer forced him to push the argument anyway.

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  “You’re still a recruit,” he insisted. “And more importantly, you’re the young lady of this estate. If something happens to you—”

  “It won’t.”

  He blinked in annoyance.

  “You sound awfully confident.”

  “I’m not confident,” I replied with a small shrug.

  “I’m practical.”

  The bear suddenly slammed one of its massive paws into the ground, sending chunks of dirt flying into the air.

  Tanker cursed under his breath.

  “We can debate philosophy later!”

  I stepped forward.

  “Damian,” I said steadily, “if we fight it together, we increase our chances of bringing it down quickly. If you send me away, you lose another pair of eyes and another blade.”

  The creature circled us slowly, its glowing veins pulsing brighter with every breath.

  Damian studied me for several seconds.

  Then he exhaled.

  “…Fine.”

  Relief flickered across Tanker’s face.

  “But you stay behind me,” Damian added immediately. “You assist. Nothing reckless.”

  “Understood.”

  The bear roared and charged.

  The ground trembled violently as the monster barreled toward us, claws raised high enough to tear through armor like paper.

  Damian met the attack head-on.

  Steel collided with claw in a violent crash that echoed through the forest. The impact forced him backward several steps, his boots digging trenches into the soil as he struggled to hold the creature at bay.

  Tanker rushed in from the side, swinging his blade toward the beast’s hind leg.

  The sword struck the bear’s thick hide with a dull clang.

  “Damn thing’s tougher than stone!” he shouted.

  I moved behind the creature, watching carefully for an opening while its attention remained focused on Damian.

  The bear swiped again.

  Damian ducked beneath the massive claw and slashed across its shoulder, drawing a line of dark blood that hissed faintly where it touched the ground.

  The creature roared in fury.

  Then its body twisted violently.

  Something long and scaled snapped outward from its spine like a whip.

  A snake.

  No.

  A tail shaped like a serpent.

  Its fangs glistened with venom as it lashed forward with horrifying speed.

  Damian barely had time to react.

  The serpent struck his right arm.

  Its fangs sank deep into his upper bicep.

  “Damian!” Tanker shouted.

  Damian’s sword slipped from his grasp as the snake tail recoiled.

  Blood began pouring from the wound immediately, and within seconds thin violet veins started spreading outward beneath his skin.

  Poison.

  He staggered.

  Then collapsed.

  I rushed forward and dropped beside him.

  His breathing had already become uneven.

  “…Snake tail,” he muttered weakly, his vision beginning to blur.

  Several recruits who had not fled rushed toward us in panic.

  “Get him back to camp,” I ordered sharply.

  “But the monster—”

  “That poison will reach his heart if you waste time arguing.”

  The soldiers hesitated for only a moment before lifting Damian onto their shoulders.

  As they began retreating toward the estate, the mutated bear roared again, enraged by the chaos.

  That left only two of us standing in the clearing.

  Tanker spat into the dirt and tightened his grip on his sword.

  “Well,” he said grimly, “looks like it’s just you and me now.”

  I rolled my shoulders.

  “Try not to die.”

  “No promises.”

  The bear charged again.

  ?

  Not far from the battlefield, Einku Greaves immediately noticed the commotion.

  A group of recruits burst out of the forest, sprinting toward the camp in complete disarray.

  “There’s a monster!”

  “A mutated grizzly bear!”

  “It has a snake tail!”

  Einku grabbed one of them by the collar.

  “What happened to Damian?”

  “He—he was bitten!”

  Her heart skipped.

  Without another word she sprinted toward the forest.

  Moments later she encountered a second group of soldiers carrying Damian between them. His face had gone pale, and the veins around his wound had darkened into an ugly shade of violet.

  Einku’s expression hardened instantly.

  “Take him to the healers,” she ordered.

  “And be careful. That poison spreads fast.”

  The soldiers nodded nervously and hurried toward the estate.

  Einku turned back toward the forest.

  Then she ran.

  ?

  When she reached the clearing, the sight before her made her stop.

  The mutated bear towered over two figures locked in combat.

  Tanker.

  And Amethyst.

  The creature roared as Tanker slashed across its flank, drawing its attention just long enough for Amethyst to dart forward and drive her dagger into the softer flesh beneath its ribs.

  The bear swung wildly.

  Amethyst slipped beneath the attack with fluid precision, moving with calm efficiency despite the monstrous size difference between them.

  Einku simply watched.

  Something stirred inside her chest.

  Growing up in the Walter Kingdom had never been easy for a woman who wished to fight.

  Even as Damian’s sister, she had spent years proving that she belonged among the soldiers.

  Every training session had been harder.

  Every mistake mocked twice as loudly.

  Every victory dismissed as luck.

  The men respected her now.

  But the journey had been lonely.

  Until today.

  Because standing before that monster was another woman who refused to bend beneath the same expectations.

  Amethyst moved with frightening confidence, even smiling slightly as she dodged the creature’s claws and called out instructions.

  “Left!”

  Tanker reacted instantly, cutting into the bear’s leg.

  “Now!”

  Amethyst lunged forward and drove her dagger deep into the creature’s throat.

  The bear roared violently before collapsing with a thunderous crash that shook the clearing.

  Silence followed.

  For several seconds neither of them moved.

  Then Tanker dropped his sword and laughed breathlessly.

  “…We actually killed it.”

  Amethyst wiped the blood from her dagger.

  “Skill,” she replied calmly.

  A few meters away, Einku found herself smiling.

  Maybe she had never been alone after all.

  Because somewhere in this kingdom filled with stubborn men and outdated traditions…

  There was another fool brave enough to stand beside her.