“It can’t be” was the first thought that came to Reid’s mind.

  Reid and Arttu stared at the corpse of the human-faced hound. Neither of them spoke. They hadn’t seen anything like this, nor had they even heard of it.

  “Did I just kill someone?” Reid thought. He dropped to his knees, clutching his head.

  Arttu was as shocked as Reid. He didn’t know what was happening. What does that mean, a human-faced hound? He turned back and saw Reid, and for some reason, Arttu felt strangely clear-headed.”

  “We need to go, brother,” he pointed the path.

  Reid’s anxiety began to fade, only to be replaced by another thought: “How is he this calm?”

  Reid straightened himself and said,

  “Let’s go.”

  They walked on until a strange headache struck Arttu.

  Aw, my head,” he said, clutching his head.

  Reid looked at Arttu.

  “Arttu… Are you okay?”

  Arttu backed a little bit.

  “Yes, but my head hurts a little.”

  Then, they heard a noise…

  …distant.

  “Why don’t you listen to me?”

  They started to approach the source of the sound. They hid behind some bushes and began watching what was happening.

  There was a man in his late twenties, with dark green hair and a medium build. One of his eyes seemed normal, dark. The other looked like a void trying to weave into existence. Black and white devouring one another.

  There were other people, too. But they were tied with a rope. Reid counted thirty-two people. There were various animals surrounding the man. They had…

  …human faces.

  The man shuddered. He held his head like he was going to tear it apart. He spoke fast.

  “Why don’t you listen to me. I am trying to speak to you.”

  A man spoke. Angered.

  “We are not speaking. What do you expect us to do?!?”

  The dark green-haired madman approached the man. He spoke, almost crying, now slower.

  “No, you don’t. YOU DON’T LISTEN TO ME.”

  The madman touched the man's face. His figure twisted. He fell to all fours as his spine arched toward the moon. His shirt shredded as his shoulders suddenly, violently expanded. By the time his palms hit the dirt, they were no longer hands—they were heavy, furred weights tipped with hooks of bone. The man turned into a…

  …bear.

  Arttu hissed because of another headache. The bushes rustled.

  The madman heard it. He turned his neck towards the bushes, his eyes open and wide. Reid signaled Arttu to wait in the bushes and started to walk toward the madman.

  After seeing Reid, the madman opened his mouth in a strange, unnatural way. Without saying anything, he just looked at Reid—curious.

  Reid spoke with anger in his voice.

  “Who are you and…” he gulped.

  “…what are you doing with all of these people?”

  The madman's mouth twitched.

  “I am Pest. Yes… I am Pest.”

  He let out a scream.

  “I AM REALLY PEST.”

  Reid backed up two steps.

  “Okay, Pest. Nice to meet you. Could you—”

  Pest interrupted Reid and continued speaking fast.

  “Nice to meet you, too. Are you a knight? Oh, yes, you MUST BE! Are you here to stop me? Are you here to beat me?”

  Reid tried to answer, but Pest interrupted once again.

  “YOU ARE HERE TO BEAT ME! But wait…”

  He paused, delving into a deep thought cycle mid-sentence. He pointed Reid.

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  “Brown-red hair, a beast eye, Aquilonis sigil… YOU ARE REID, AREN’T YOU?”

  Reid startled and thought, “How does he know me?”

  Pest continued.

  “Lucius, no, Lord Lucius told us. Told me…”

  His face twisted into a scary, dark, curious expression.

  “Where is your brother?”

  Reid’s eyebrows knit into a heavy frown.

  “Why?”

  Pest’s face brightened up with an unnaturally wide smile.

  “I’ll capture him and bring him to Lord Lucius. Or maybe I’ll turn him into a friend,”

  “…a fox.”

  Reid assumed a fighting stance.

  Pest put his index finger on the corner of his mouth, thinking.

  “Maybe I’ll turn you into a friend too. What would you be? A fox like your brother? A hound? A bear? No, no, no… I’ve found it.”

  His grin grew.

  “A WORM.”

  Reid tried to control his anger.

  “Why does Lucius want my brother?”

  Pest looked angry; he screamed.

  “WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT?”

  He put his hands on his head, rocking back and forth.

  “DON’T YOU LISTEN TO ME? WHY DON’T YOU LISTEN TO ME?”

  Pest pointed his finger toward Reid. The silent creatures near Pest started growling.

  Reid dashed toward Pest with his Genusrosa, his beast eye glaring. Genusrosa flew out of his hand, its blade flying toward Pest.

  Pest just watched the blade coming toward him with hollow eyes, doing nothing. The blade flew close, reaching Pest. Three centimeters from the eye.

  Two.

  One…

  And it stopped.

  A bear caught the nunchaku before it reached Pest. The same bear that was once human.

  Pest hugged the bear from behind.

  “Thank you, Fluffy. I can call you Fluffy, right?”

  The bear didn’t answer; only breath came from its mouth.

  Pest put a hand on the bear’s fur.

  “But I wouldn’t like you to hurt yourself, Fluffy. I will take care of him.”

  He rolled up his sleeves and twisted his neck, glancing sideways at Reid.

  “I will make you listen to me.”

  Pest’s hands started glowing—green. He started running, slightly bent toward the right.

  Reid tried to take back his Genusrosa, but the bear refused to let go of it.

  He had to choose: take back his Genusrosa, or fight barehanded.

  He chose…

  …the latter.

  Reid squeezed his hands tightly. A white-red glow coated his fists.

  With that, the fight started.

  Reid ran toward Pest, aiming for a clear uppercut to finish him off, but for that, he needed to get close enough, not too close.

  A step.

  Another.

  Another.

  That’s it. He placed his leg to the side. His uppercut surged upward, strength rooted in his stance.

  It missed.

  Pest twisted his body, evading the blow by less than a centimeter.

  He rolled through the air and shot a straight punch that flew toward Reid’s abdomen.

  A hit.

  Reid skidded through the dirt, coughing.

  Pest’s eyes started to tear up.

  “Why won’t you listen to me? WHY? WHY?”

  Reid’s angry eyes calmed. He straightened himself. His beast eye awakened once again. His aura changed. The red aura even affected the madman.

  Pest charged, now bent toward the left.

  Reid closed his eyes. He listened…

  “A caw from a crow… No.”

  “The breath of the bear… No.”

  “The sound of running… Yes.”

  He listened to every bit of sound that came from that run. The unstable rhythm of Pest’s steps transformed into a clear melody in Reid’s mind.

  A musician can predict how a song continues from the given melody.

  In that moment, Reid was a musician.

  “Left,”

  Reid turned. His fist was already moving. Alternating red and white energy that came out of his fist, combined with the black and green of Pest’s chest.

  It…

  …hit.

  Pest left the ground and crashed into the tree.

  He didn’t cough.

  He didn’t spit blood.

  He… cried.

  He clutched his head, rocking back and forth beneath the tree. Tears streamed down his face, washing his makeup away and leaving black stains beneath his eyes.

  “No, no, no. Don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me. DON’T HURT ME.”

  Reid turned away from him.

  One punch.

  The bear collapsed, unconscious. Reid retrieved his Genusrosa.

  He approached Pest slowly, spinning the nunchaku in his hand. Each step felt heavy, as though the earth itself cracked beneath his feet.

  Pest’s movements grew frantic. He clawed at his own head, gripping so tightly that blood seeped between his fingers.

  “Don’t hurt me… don’t hurt me… I just wanted you to listen to me. Just… listen…”

  He went quiet.

  Reid stopped in front of him. Curious.

  And then—

  “LISTEN TOOOOO MEEEEEEE!”

  Reid tensed, ready to strike.

  A snarl cut through the air.

  Something massive burst from the forest. A wide mouth opened, teeth stretching far too deep, and it lunged. Reid reacted without thinking. Genusrosa snapped into place, blocking the jaws inches from his face.

  Another presence.

  A second monster emerged behind him.

  They were similar—bat-like ears, hollow eyes, mouths carved too wide.

  Warm saliva dripped onto Reid’s hand. He swallowed his disgust and twisted, driving a spinning kick into the creature’s jaw. Its mouth snapped open as Reid fully armed Genusrosa.

  Two against one.

  Reid closed his eyes.

  He listened.

  Footsteps. Weight. Rhythm.

  The monster charged.

  Three seconds.

  Two.

  One.

  Reid jumped.

  The monsters collided headfirst—but it wasn’t enough.

  Behind them, Pest rocked back and forth, whispering with every breath.

  “Listen to me. Why won’t you listen to me? Listen to me.”

  Genusrosa carved circles through the air—deflecting, redirecting. Reid sprinted, rolled, dashed, sprang. Steel rang against flesh.

  The fight dragged on.

  Then—

  One of the monsters screamed.

  A long, broken sound. Like a dying boar.

  But that wasn’t what Reid heard.

  “HELP ME.”

  His chest tightened.

  The hounds. Their faces.

  These monsters were the same.

  Human.

  Tears welled in his eyes. He had already killed some. Innocent lives. He knew it now. These two were no different.

  Was it worth it?

  Sacrificing some to save more?

  No.

  There had to be another way.

  The monster charged again.

  Reid didn’t move.

  One meter.

  Fifty centimeters.

  Ten.

  One.

  The creature slammed into his chest.

  It didn’t hurt.

  It was soft.

  Calm.

  Reid was thrown back, his head striking the dirt. The world spun, fading at the edges.

  He did enough… right?

  Reid collapsed.

  A rustle from the bushes.

  No.

  Reid forced himself up. Blood stained his chest.

  Pest pointed at him, still murmuring.

  Every monster lunged at once.

  Reid let Genusrosa fall.

  He laughed.

  “If you want me to fight this way… I’ll give ya.”

  He couldn’t kill them.

  But he could knock them out.

  An uppercut.

  An air punch.

  A spinning kick.

  With every monster that fell, Pest’s voice grew louder.

  Reid grew steadier. Sharper. Stronger.

  Pest tore at his hair, crawling toward the captives. One by one, he transformed them.

  Wings.

  Horns.

  Claws.

  They attacked.

  Reid’s anger surged—but he forced it down.

  Another jab.

  An elbow.

  A stomp.

  Pest shrieked.

  “NO! LISTEN TO ME! LISTEN TO ME!”

  Reid didn’t.

  Chop.

  Kick.

  Pest slammed his hands into the soil. Black aura surged through the beasts, twisting them into towering, grotesque forms.

  His voice cracked.

  “WHY WON’T ANYONE LISTEN TO ME?”

  Then—

  Something ran from the bushes.

  Small.

  Steady.

  Everything froze.

  It was Arttu.

  He screamed—

  “I’LL LISTEN TO YOU!”

  Pest froze.

  For the first time, he stopped shaking.