---

---

—————

A ghoul peered through the bushes with his blood eyes. His mouth drooled as he saw 4 preys, struggling in the jungle.

Two male, two female. The females both held canes with a golden gem embed on top. One male carried a sword around his waist. Another male had a long blade attached behind his back.

“Protect the Artifacts, Kill the Humans”, The ghoul whispered to himself. He flinched as he saw the males draw their swords. One female created a transparent golden dome around the four of them.

“Did they notice me? No matter,” The ghoul could see the humans sweating. He could tell the males tried to keep a brave face, but the quivering of the male’s legs could not escape the ghoul senses.

He gazed upon the clear blue sky. “No matter”, Pores opened up on the ghoul’s broad back.

[Skill: Fog Entrapment(Active)]

Grey fog effused and spread from his pores. The fog engulfed the entire forest and did not let the sunlight enter.

The ghoul observed the distress in its prey’s faces.

A hush descended upon the forest as the ghoul noiselessly climbed atop a tree. He reckoned his preys did not know his exact location as all of his preys faced different directions and guarded each other’s backs.

“Test Speed”

Screen boxes emerged atop all his prey’s heads.

[Speed: 259]

[Speed: 300]

[Speed: 54]

[Speed: 61]

The females appeared the slowest.

His preys seemed confused because of the fog. They were already surrounded by trees and now lost their vision.

The ghoul also noticed his preys mumbling to each other. Their shivering voices enticed more excitement within the ghoul to hunt.

On his palm, surrounded by five ghastly fingers, was a stone. The ghoul stretched back his arm and threw the stone towards the west.

Swoosh!

Thwack!

The stone struck a tree branch towards the east. The branch crashed into the ground and yielded a sharp noise.

The ghoul’s leg muscles clenched as he noticed all four distracted by the noise. All of the ghoul’s preys were looking towards the east.

Swoosh!

The ghoul jumped.

—————

The humans flinched, sensing intense bloodlust.

Shatter!

The golden dome shattered like glass.

“Shit!” The one with the long sword exclaimed. “W..w.whe.. re’s Kyra?”, Another male asked while shuttering.

One of the females disappeared. They could barely see anything because of the fog.

“NO!” The remaining female screamed.

“Calm down” The male grabbed her shoulder while quivering himself.

Huss!

The bulky male’s long sword engulfed itself in the fire. He took his sword and stabbed the ground.

From the point where the sword was impaled, a ring of fire emerged, surrounding the three.

“The r-rumors were true,” She murmured. “W-we should…have never come here..” She cried.

——————

The ghoul clutch to the tree like an owl. “Mm…mm,” His broad palm covered the girl’s mouth. His other arm pressed tightly against the girl’s stomach. The girl struggled, constantly rocking her legs.

The ghoul could feel the woman’s clothing fabric through his bare chest. The scent from her hair and body agitated his nose. He opened its mouth, revealing a line of sharp black teeth.

The teeth sunk through the girl’s head and tore out a chunk of flesh, skull, blonde hair, and brain. Then, the girl’s legs stopped moving.

As the ghoul vigorously chewed, he looked and noticed the other three had started to regain their composure. A ring of fire surrounded the two males and one female, and the female seemed to be enchanting something.

The ghoul jumped down—the girl’s corpse still held tightly between his arms. He took another bite and engulfed the girl’s entire head, then threw his body by the side.

His black fingers sharpened, the muscles in his fingers tightened. The ghoul started to dig.

———————

The cane in the female’s arm glowed. “By the gift of thee, I evoke ‘Nullification’”

Suddenly, the fog around them vanished. Under the clear sky, their vision became perspicuous.

The female tapped both of the males back. Then, a layer of transparent golden aura surrounded them.

“Stay on guard. The ring of fire cannot kill it, only hold it back.” The bulky man said as he clenched his fist. As long as his sword was impaled on the ground, the only thing he could use was his fist.

The other male took a long breath. The runes on his sword started to emanate bright light.

The female kept chanting.

The two males kept strict watch of their surroundings, observing the tree branches, the bushes, everything as far as their eyes could see.

Tremble!

The ground shook.

Thud!

Pieces of the soil broke as a hand emerged from underground and grabbed the male’s leg. The bulky male winced as he felt his right leg being pulled underground.

The other male swung his sword towards the arms, but…

Slam!

Splosh!

Pieces of flesh and bones splattered through the air. The bulky man’s one leg and half side had been pulled underground. However, the other half remained over the surface. The man was mutilated into two.

Seeing such a horrendous sight, the woman wailed. The ring of fire dissipated since the caster died.

The remaining male gritted his teeth, grabbed the female’s arm, and started to run. The two ran across the forest.

“No matter what”, The male spoke, while desperately gasping for breath, “I’ll protect you.”

Hearing such words, the female’s eyes further teared up, “Yes”, Her voice quivered, “yes, you…will”

Thud!

The female fell, stumbling upon a tree root. The male halted. He turned back, crouched, and gave her a hand. “Are you alright?”, he asked.

“Yes,” The female said as she looked at his gentle face. But then her eyes dilated in horror as she noticed the monstrosity standing behind him.

Under the clear sky, she noticed the 9-foot humanoid being. Its skin was like a red orc’s. Head like a human’s. Eyes blood red along with long black frowzy hair. And 2 horns overhead.

The male tightened his grip around his sword, as reflected in the female’s eyes was the monster’s figure.

“It’s all right,” He said for the last time, as he whirled and winged his sword.

Spat!

The girl could neither move nor speak. She could only look as she saw the man getting squished into the ground by the palm of the monster.

“ha..” The despair caused her to let out a peal of twisted laughter. The laughter stopped when she noticed the monster’s red eyes looming over her.

The monster opened its mouth, “You have nice eyes.” It said in a low husky voice.

The girl felt her thighs getting wet as she realized such a being could speak.

—————

The ghoul grabbed her head using one hand and brought her close to his head. He used his fingers from the other arm to plunge into one of her blue eyes.

The girl screamed in pain.

He took out one of her eyes, along with some flesh. But alas, his fingers were too broad. Her skull shattered, and the eye itself got squashed.

[You Have Slain 4 Humans]

[Max Level Already Reached]

[No Additional Exp Added]

The ghoul dragged all of the bodies in one place and feasted upon their flesh. It grabbed the cane, then extracted the gem on top with brute force. It also collected other human tools such as the long sword and the inscribed sword.

Carrying all those things in his arms, the ghoul started to walk deeper into the forest. The number of humans entering this forest had plummeted.

‘Are they too scared? Maybe I should pretend to get injured and let few preys escape. That should entice more to come.’

The forest was dense. After a while, it arrived in front of a small cave. The entrance of the cave was too thin, so the ghoul crouched and entered.

Thump! Thump!

The sound of a heartbeat echoed through the cave. The cave served as an entrance to a room—a massive room made from stone walls. At the center was a scorching pit.

The ghoul threw the gem and the swords down the pit. Red, blue, green—there were many countless gems at the bottom.

The swords melted like ice when they reached the bottom. The molten blades turned into a fiery vapor and whirled above.

Above the pit were three black eggs entangled in white webs attached atop the room. The fiery vapor met the webs, causing the web to turn red.

[Temperature raised by 810 Kelvin]

[Required Temperature: 142 nonillion (1.42 x 10^32) Kelvin (K)]

[Present Temperature: 10,000 Kelvin]

The ghoul scratched its head. At this rate, there was no chance that the eggs would hatch. The number of humans entering the mountain was also decreasing.

If things continued as they were now, he would never be able to fulfill his purpose. He would fail—the eggs would never hatch.

——————

Ten years later

——————

The ground shook vigorously. One of the trees went flying due to a punch.

In the night, the ghoul’s eyes shone brightly as the sun. He was furious. For the last ten years, not a single human had entered the forest.

The pit’s temperature had plummeted.

At this rate….the eggs would die.

Bam!

The ground shook, unable to handle his punch.

No! The ghoul would never let eggs die. He was its guardian. The ghoul had sworn a vow.

——————

Two days later

——————

The ghoul loomed over a corpse. A human had entered the forest for the first time in 10 years. But….

From what the ghoul could see, a small dagger was impaled onto the corpse’s heart. The corpse was of a boy, who wore a black coat, and had black hair. He looked young.

The ghoul did not kill him. By the time he’d reached here, the boy had already died. The boy had killed himself.

‘To come here, just to kill yourself. How foolish’

The ghoul crouched down and grabbed the boy’s head.

[Skill: Dead Catechization(Active)]

The boy opened his eyes. The ghoul flinched as he noticed the boy had the same blood-red eyes like his.

“Why has no one enter the forest?” The ghoul asked. It had been living and hunting in the woods for thousands of years. It did not make sense that the humans would suddenly give up trying to obtain the dragon eggs. After all, to them, the eggs were the only way to obtain immortality.

“The emperor,” The corpse started to talk. “Gregory Rothschild declared the demonic woods as a forbidden place to enter.”

“Why?”

“10 years ago, the princess refused to believe her father’s words. She sneaked into the demonic woods with three guards and never returned. The emperor believed she died because of her own foolishness. He never sent any reinforcements because he reckoned it would be a waste of manpower. The prince enraged by this decision started a rebellion. But the prince got used as a puppet by a warlock. With the help of the prince, the warlock stole the ancient arts from the Emperor’s treasury. The prince got behead, but the warlock escaped. The warlock used the art to enslave the demons and declared war on the Vriweth Empire. The war has not ended since. The Emperor was unwilling to waste crucial manpower, in times of war. Thus, declared the Demonic Woods as a fruitless endeavor and deemed it forbidden.”

The ghoul let go of the corpse’s head. He wondered, if it was forbidden, then why did the boy enter? But didn’t ask the question, as he felt no interest in knowing the affairs of a human.

It seems things had changed a lot. He thought he’d slaughtered all of the demons ages ago. They must have reemerged.

But getting enslaved by a human? How pathetic!

How many years had it been since the great one walked in the lands of humans?

He recalled the glory days when he roamed the Deviel Continent, plundered lands, enslaved women, caused extinctions. But that was the past.

Should he leave this forest, he would grow vulnerable—that was his curse.

The ghoul walked into the cave.

Thump! Thump!

The sound of a heartbeat echoed strongly through the room. The once scorching pit now looked like a plain pit.

The ghoul extended its arms. The webs shifted and handed the three small eggs onto his arms. He clung to the eggs tightly to his chest. The eggs felt warm. But they would die if not placed in a suitable environment for a long time.

The ghoul had no choice. He’d to leave the forest.

——————

He returned near the boy’s corpse, still carrying the three eggs. Then, gently placed the eggs on the ground and grabbed the boy’s head.

[Skill: Plunderer(Active)]

[Initiating Face Plunder]

[Initiating Bone-Structure Plunder]

[Initiating Muscle-Frame Plunder]

[Initiating Skin Plunder]

[Initiating Skills Plunder]

[Initiating Talents Plunder]

The boy’s corpse turned leaner and leaner until not even bones remained.

[Skill: Plunderer(Successful)]

[Skill: Metamorphosis(Active)]

The ghoul’s skin had started to morph. His muscles trembled as they started to shrink. Intense pain passed through his body. In agony, the ghoul punched the ground.

Boom!

An earthquake engulfed the entire forest.

The ghoul breathed heavily. His entire frame had changed. He stood naked with milky white skin. Shining black hair. And red eyes.

[Skill: Metamorphosis(Successful)]

He’d shapeshifted into the figure of the dead boy. He’d to leave the forest and find a way to save the eggs. But no one could ever know who he truly was. He couldn’t leave the forest in his original form. If he did, he would sow the seeds of war. He didn’t fear for himself, but in no way could he take any action that could endanger the dragon eggs.

He only had one purpose—to protect the eggs. And raise the dragons. For this purpose, even if he had to sink so low as to take an identity of a human, then be it!