The soldier knew that their victory was sure. The forces of the enemy were weak, they had little gear, and their war machines were not even at the same level as theirs. The Alician Family has ruled the air, and they had been rolling flat every enemy they can be found. He thought that the only thing to left forward to was the fight between the Half-Dragon, and the Undefeated War Maiden.

The Soldier thought that they were good at were hardening their hearts at the face of overwhelming power. He didn’t hate the enemy for it, though he’d wished that they would surrender. It was a fairly quiet night, the wind was blowing from the east, and the soldiers of the Alician were on standby, ready to fight any moment’s notice.

So, how could he have predicted that the enemy would soon appear like a ghost hiding in the flames? The enemy was smoky black and translucent, his eyes hollow, and he seems to be flickering as he appears, disappears, and kills while he passes. The Alician engaged the enemy, they fired their bullets, spells, and even their anti-supernatural talismans. They were ready at anything that the world throws them. They were trained from birth on how to handle the strongest of the enemies. However, despite all of this, the enemy moved like Wolf cornered, his movements made no noise, his strikes were silent, and he was able to take down every single person in the camp one at a time.

They weren’t able to call reinforcements immediately, and when they did, the enemy had wiped out the outpost that they were holding. The enemy also made use of their gear, forcing them to fall back, and yet never being able to regroup. The way the enemy killed resembled that of a monster, his hands were agile, and his use of a short sword was effectively brutal.

The Alicians know no fear, and yet the way the witness their friends eviscerated gruesomely had turned their hearts meek, their body shivers at the thought of fighting such enemy.

The Soldier had been able to stay alive. The airships of the Alician Family were laying fire behind him, and he was suppressing the enemy who was using cover, and not once did this enemy was put into a dire situation. The enemy was using their guns skillfully, their deployed artillery was used to bring down their airships, their machine guns tearing every soldier a part.

The bullets would pass through, and the way the enemy dashes towards them, bullets ricocheting, had allowed fear to creep inside the hearts of the men who were fighting without fear. No, the eyes of the Ghostly Wolf, which was empty, had the power to bring forth the greatest fear of them all, and even the Alicians could only shiver at the despair of a Wraith who had been through hell and back.

He didn’t want to run but he was ordered to do so. So he made his way through the landscape, making use of his training to skillfully navigate through the shrubs, bushes, and thick grasses. The enemy was chasing after him, he was looking from far, his eyes always on the Soldier’s back. The Soldier didn’t falter, his fist clenched, he continued traversing the landscape until he found himself on rows of hills. He eyed the horizon, the orange tint of the sun illuminating him.

“Dead end,” a hoarse voice said. “Do not run, Soldier. Tell me, will you betray your Matriarch?”

“You had to make me say it?” The Soldier said. “Of course I will not!”

The Ghostly Wolf appeared before the soldier, his left hand lifting the soldier easily with his left. The soldier’s legs flailed, his hands held the left arm of the Ghostly Wolf.

“What are you?” The Soldier asked.

“We have many names, and I like to call us Garm. Isn’t that right wolf?”

“I’ve no words to speak,” a different voice came out of the Ghostly Wolf.

The Soldier was confused, at the same time he saw another face flicker beyond that smoky black translucent skull. The Soldier saw two faces, the face of a young man, and that of a gritty man in his forties.

“Then that’s that, tell me, Soldier. I know that you have a lot of pride for your War Maiden, and you know that she has been undefeated ever since. So, tell me, where can I find your Matriarch, I don’t’ want the lies that you have spread, the truth, tell me, where is your Master?”

“Do you honestly think I’ll tell you?”

“Ah, you have no faith in the War Maiden? Is that what you are saying?”

The eyes of the soldier swirled as nightmares enter his heart. The hollow eyes gave him a feeling of dread unimaginable to him before. It was the feeling of having your heart broken for a thousand times.

“Tell me, do you think that Nameless can do anything to the War Maiden who fought the Time Wraiths?”

“No.”

“Then have no fear, for I’ve come here to die.”

“The Lady is at Tusk-hand, she will be attacking the rest of the Cascade, and you won’t be able to reach with the rest of the Alicians by her side. She’s planning to take on the last of this nation, and sooner or later, we will capture this island nation and destroy our enemies. You have no chance of even denting her, monster.”

“That will do, now, please rest, Soldier. You have fought hard, you lose, and now you can die.”

The left arm of Garm phased inside the Soldier’s neck, his fingers on the spine, he pulled his left arm backward. The neck of the Soldier broke, and his eyes rolled white. He limped down, his body unmoving, his drool along with his blood pouring out. The face of Garm flickered, his eyes showed no emotions, and yet the other faces they had expressed many.

“Are we going to attack the enemy now?”

“Are you dumb? No, we’ll observe from the sidelines, I will scout, while you take your time to know the lay of the land.”