I pushed forward.

 

I wanted nothing more than to leave the scene of carnage far behind, escape the gut-wrenching stench still hanging in the air.

 

“Burn the bodies,” I ordered. It was the first time I gave a direct command to the monsters and was surprised it was carried out at all. No matter how strange and cruel they were, monsters had their own minds.

 

“Yes, Master,” Tama replied in her pleasant, feminine voice.

 

I happily left them behind to carry out the deed and leave them behind.

 

I continued down the road, determined to put distance between myself and the scene. I didn’t know if I was inadvertently destroying the evidence of some crime - a mass murder, caravan ambush, whatever it was that transpired here - I just wanted it gone. Even if I didn’t know if it was doable, if fire blasts from magical ‘Purifiers’ were enough to cremate a human body, they seemed enthusiastic about setting something on fire, whether it was living or dead. Blasts echoed around, and the air filled with a new smell - one of burning flesh.

 

One curve of the road ahead, I found myself staring at the gateway that undoubtedly led to that pagoda-like structure we have seen towering above the trees.

 

There wasn’t any wall per see, only an entrance - a gate and the cobbled stairway rising up behind it, leading somewhere behind the barrier of greenery where the tower stood. With a hip-and-gable roof hanging on the pillars of carved stone, and while undoubtedly Eastern Asian in its style, even though I couldn’t quite place it as it seems to be rather an amalgamation of several styles fused together rather than a direct counterpart of anything on Earth. Chinese or Korean people would point out the differences between their cultures with relative ease, but I was hardly knowledgeable on the matter.

 

Most important right now was, however, the gate was guarded. Two startled guards looked around, evidently unsettled by the noise, and fumes left by the burning I, perhaps unwisely, ordered.

 

They didn’t look quite like the soldiers I encountered before, and not quite the bandits either, as they did have armour, though it was mostly an uncomplicated, ragged chest piece made of leather worn over the dull grey cotton clothes, completed with the typically Asian straw hats.

 

Sounds, muffled by the trees, came from the direction of the pagoda, suggesting a bigger crowd out there. Perhaps some form of the gathering was held at the base of the tower, or perhaps there was a camp or even a small hamlet I couldn’t see from the direction I approached. I had a feeling there was something important there, but I couldn’t quite explain it.

 

Whatever was the case, it could be my chance to speak with natives before it comes down to even more violence and death.

 

I looked around. I was alone. Monsters were nowhere to be seen, probably too consumed by their pyromania and had taken the opportunity to torch something down with gusto. So-called ‘Purifiers’ enjoyed using their fire-based powers. Even Miwah and her two lesser kin were nowhere to be seen.

 

The only thing that remained was a shifting, glittering haze. It was like a trick of light usually played on one’s eyes in steaming hot climates like the desert, blurring the object farther away from the observer. Except it was much closer, and the surrounding temperature didn’t match such a phenomenon. I banished the thoughts, as I had a more pressing matter to attempt.

 

The time to attempt diplomacy was there.

 

“Hello!” I tried as I came to their view.

 

Guards adopted a defensive stance and readied their spears. They were already tense and my sudden appearance didn’t make it any better.

 

In an attempt to defuse the situation, I raised my hands in what I thought was a non-threatening gesture, to show I had no weapon, though I didn’t have any good idea what I should do in such a situation.

 

“I come in peace!” was the first thing I came up with, and I regretted it immediately, as it would probably sound more cheesy than actually diplomatic, and that was assuming they did understand what I was saying.

 

“Do you speak… English, perhaps?” I asked, still shouting, so they can hear me, “I just want to talk?”

 

They had to hear me, but no response came. None at all, not even in their native tongue I didn’t understand anyway, let alone in the one I did. They only stared for several long seconds.

 

Then the guards, both with their spears levelled and pointed at me, started approaching cautiously.

 

I tried to step back. That weird haze of shifting air moved in front of me, and around both spearmen. As suspicious as it was to me, they didn’t seem to notice and kept their gaze locked on me.

 

“I don’t want a fight. I just want to talk…” was the last thing I managed to let out in the final desperate attempt to diffuse the situation, but to no avail.

 

Both humans charged at me with their spears, yelling a warcry I didn’t understand. I stumbled and fell back in surprise.

 

They didn’t run their pikes through me. Instead, they pierced through one of the mini-werewolves that appeared out of nowhere, or rather what was once that out-of-place mirage that stalked around.

 

The creature convulsed in pain, blood spattering the ground, but still, she chuckled as it died.

 

As two humans tried to yank their weapons free from the dying creature, it was futile, as Miwah materialized behind them, emerging out from the ever-shifting mirage that hid the werewolf from sight. And with a single slash, she tore one of the men’s throats, nearly decapitating him in the process.

 

The second human screamed in terror. Before he could do anything, a huge werewolf grabbed him by the throat, nearly lifting him off the ground.

 

“My Master wants to speak with you. Cooperate and you will live.” Werewolf growled.

 

The human struggled, helplessly gurgling for air.

 

I would never find out if he understood the words.

 

The man tried to grab the dirk at his belt in a futile attempt to resist, but Miwah snapped his neck with terrifying ease, then ripped it just for good measure with her scythe-like claws.

 

She cast the gored body away like a broken doll.

 

“We will find you a better human to play with, Master,” Miwah said decisively, just as her fallen little wolf-kin disintegrated into the bloody mist only to be spawned anew, alive and whole, as a cruel reminder of how little life was worth here.

 

It horrified me. Looking at the scene of yet another murder, I wanted to scream, to yell at the monster about the value of human life. I wanted to yell at her about how she couldn’t just murder people. I wanted all that, but what I did say was:

 

“Thank you for saving my life.”

 

My own response shocked me perhaps more than another gruesome death - however, I was forced to admit to myself that I would be dead without their protection. Without any fighting skills of my own, they were the only thing that stood between me and danger, and even the most hapless bandit lurking in those woods could be an end for me.

 

Whether the two spearmen that had to die were bandits themselves, it was hard to say. The ravaged caravan, or whatever it was, wasn’t that far away from here.

 

“I’ll protect you, Master,” Miwah said. The feminine voice behind the furry body sounded quite determined.

 

There wasn’t much time left to consider how I felt about this situation.

 

Down the stairs, another guy came, saw us and tried hollering in alarm. He didn’t last long either.

 

Another of Miwah wolf-kins pounced on him from the shadows, clawing him down mercilessly, only to be killed herself by the swarming reinforcement that came to answer the call for help.

 

By going here, to the place under the towering pagoda, I disturbed something akin to the military or a bandit encampment, rather than the place of worship or some fancy residence. Far too many armed people poured into the road.

 

More than a dozen humans mobbing up on the smaller wolf-kin was enough to take her down, yet it didn’t mean anything.

 

As a confused host of soldiers spread to surround me and Miwah, wary of the wolf-like monstrosity, there was another of those lesser canines that managed to slash the throat of the soldier that strayed away from the group before disappearing again into its chameleon cloak.

 

The death of the man only fuelled the system that was thirsting for more killing.

 

 

A bloody cloud erupting from the ground spat out a replacement for the downed canine, along with another two of their lookalikes, and the cycle of violence began to span anew as humans were too surprised to expect enemies to appear out of nowhere.

 

Not knowing what I was doing and without any plan of my own, I got back on my feet and stumbled forward, to the gate, and stairs rising behind it drawn in by something I couldn’t quite explain. As something drew me there. Even if it meant walking toward enemies.

 

Miwah too joined the fray to keep them out of me, as more armed people crowded the area drawn in by the cries for help - they didn’t expect werewolves able to go invisible, and everything turned into a bloodbath.

 

 

The red mist spat another batch. I made it through the gate and ended up somewhere on the cobblestone path in the middle of greenery that rose towards the tower.

 

A sudden wave of heat swept the area somewhere behind me as the fire-throwing monsters caught up with the rest, hitting the crowd with their flaming bursts of magic.

 

 

The system, or whatever stood behind this spawning power and its game-like floating windows invading my vision, was evidently pleased by the killing, throwing yet more monsters into the fray.

 

A handful of scared horses trying to escape all that noise and flames stomped the few soldiers and monsters alike. It was total chaos and I stood in the middle of it.

 

This was however interrupted when a hulking giant of man took to the battlefield.

 

Compared to both the monsters and spindly human fighters, he was a muscular brute towering over others, dressed in nothing more than baggy pantaloons. He wielded the oversized wooden club covered with spiked metal bands, and he did so with deadly precision.

 

He was more than a match for monsters that tried the same ambush trick on him. Where lesser men fell with torn throats, he prevailed, shaking away or crushing the ambushers.

 

Monsters focused on him, especially the canine-like ones, but he brutally dispatched them. Even if not completely invulnerable, he was a formidable foe that clearly exceeded human limits - previously deadly claws of the werewolf-like monsters didn’t penetrate his skin deeply enough, failing to inflict serious damage. It seems his wounds were closing on their own.

 

Several lesser canine monsters lay dead on the cobbled flood, their bodies broken and blood splattered around, and goliath didn’t look even winded from the fight.

 

A ruby mist started to reclaim the bodies, soon the cycle would begin anew, with another wave of monsters.

 

However, the hulking fighter wasn’t going to wait for anything. He closed on me, and the shadow of Miwah leapt over me and on the giant, roaring the challenge forcing him to defend himself against the attack.

 

When forced to let loose of this massive weapon when there was no room to swing it properly, he didn’t fall even under the frenzied flurry of blows. It came down to a short, brutal brawl and even as sharp claws tore the deep, bloody cuts at this skin, he kept going. In the end, he shook the werewolf down throwing her down on the cold stone ground. Heavily battered from the entire exchange, Miwah still charged him with all her remaining strength, only to be slammed to the ground once more by the raging brute.

 

With her second charge at him, she was slower, giving him space to recover his weapon, even smashing down her lesser kin attempting to use the opening. He swung his club at her like one would swing a baseball bat with such force it easily smashed the werewolf’s head in mid-flight. Blood sprayed the forest path’s floor.

 

A ruby fog claimed the corpse.

 

With the challenger gone, he focused his attention on me. While his injuries were healing with clearly supernatural speed, closing right before my eyes, the brute still looked exhausted, pausing briefly almost like he tried to force his body to fix itself before raising his club against me.

 

However, before he could strike me down, a bolt of fire exploded right into his face. He staggered backwards, roaring in pain. His skin, so resistant to cuts and slashes, blistered with heavy burns. For a moment, he let his weapon go, instinctively trying to cover his face but gathered himself with the shocking speed, ready to continue the brawl.

 

“Master!” I heard the scratching voices of the monsters, but they were too late to intervene.

 

Muscled hulk was faster, despite the pain, or perhaps even because of it.

 

Enraged, he swiped his arm and threw me aside with ease. Pain exploded in my chest under the punch and I blanked out for a short moment. I came back to my senses lying on the dirt off the stone path. My ears rang and I felt like I was about to vomit. I struggled to catch my breath, almost like there was a brick weighing my chest down.

 

With my entire body still convulsing in agony, and blurry vision slowly regaining its sharpness once more, I rolled around only to see the goliath fall as all the remaining monsters descended on him with fiery rage.

 

“For Master! Master! Master!”

 

The hulking fighter raged and I saw him breaking one of the smaller monsters with his bare arm, but it was too late for him. With me no longer standing in the way, fox-like monsters surrounded him and released their pyrokinetic powers, drowning the small area with the scorching heat.

 

The man screamed as he burned.

 

 

The window announced, but I paid no attention to it. I wasn’t able to pay attention to anything anymore.

 

Unable to stand up, I collapsed on my back once more, and everything went black.