Danger

In front of it was a cave that seemed to have naturally been carved into a large rocky hill. The hill stood in a clearing as the surrounding trees cast their shadows on the grassy ground, swaying to the gentle breeze of the night.

Silhouettes of wolves could be seen in the darkness of the cave, as their pelts were darker than the darkness they were in.

Sensing a presence outside of the cave, one of the two shadow wolves walked out, the light disappearing as it touched its pelt.

The creature stood at a height of 32 inches at the shoulder and had a length of 6.5 feet from nose to tail.

"Is that your mom, or dad... Wow, its pelt is so dark, I feel like I am looking into the abyss," Bel exclaimed as she looked at the creature, mesmerized by its dark pelt.

"WOLF!!" The pup wagged its tail in excitement, turning toward Bel and then the Wolf, which stood there, its guard up as it stared intently at the strange guests.

"It is!!" Bel said as she believed the pup was confirming her thoughts.

The pup, still excited, rushed towards its parent, happy to finally be reunited with it.

The adult shadow wolf, happy to be reunited with its pup, rubbed its head against that of the pup, which was less than half its size.

"Wow, isn't that beautiful," Bel exclaimed, tugging at Ossa's pelvis.

Ossa turned towards her, confusion vivid in his eyes as It could understand her but could not see the beauty in the dark creature that oozed murderous intent.

Ossa, a skeleton warrior, was sensitive to any form of hostility, something that was engraved in his skeletal body.

Its childish mind could not appreciate the beauty of the creature before it as it felt uncomfortable and on edge staring at it.

The creature, after snuggling with its child, raised its head, its pitch-black eyes gazing at the undead skeleton and the human girl.

"WOLF!!" The pup wagged its tail. "WOLF!!! WOLF!!!"

It barked excitedly to its parent, telling it about the events that transpired during his little adventure and how those two had helped him.

Silent, the adult wolf listened, pondering the truth of the matter.

As assassins, they were cautious and untrusting of others, as they believed that anyone and anything who was not part of the pack was a threat.

While Ossa and Bel were distracted by the scene before them, the other parent who was still in the cave melted into the shadow.

Swiftly, it crept through the shadow, arriving behind the two.

Positioning itself for a one-shot kill, it jumped up, its jaws open and ready to snap Bel's neck in two.

In a matter of a millisecond, Ossa disappeared from where he stood, appearing behind Bel and in front of the shadow wolf, which had its jaw opened and ready to attack.

Its speed was too much for Ossa, who was a basic skeletal warrior and thus before he could attack, the shadow wolf's jaws closed on contact with Ossa's rib, breaking it upon impact.

By instinct, Ossa swung its arm, trying to hit the shadow wolf but missed as the wolf turned into wisps of black smoke, dissipating into the shadows cast by the trees in the starlit night.

All of this happened in a matter of seconds; the only sound produced was the sound of Ossa's ribs shattering.

Startled by the sound, Bel, who knew nothing about the short battle that just occurred, turned, "What was that?!"

"Ossa, what happened?!" Bel exclaimed as she immediately noticed Ossa's shattered rib cage.

Worried, she did not even realize that Ossa had not been standing behind her but beside her.

"How?!!"

"..."

"When?!!!"

"..."

"Who?!!!"

"..."

Bel's mind raced, trying to figure out how this had happened. She, a child who had decided to take another under her wing, felt guilty for not being able to help him out.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to apologize, her eyes closed as tears twinkled by the side.

She reached out her hand to touch Ossa, expecting to feel the cold of his body, but to her dismay, she touched nothing but air, almost stumbling.

She turned her head in confusion, looking for Ossa, only to find him behind her yet again, this time uninjured, with the only injury being his broken ribs.

He stood there, seemingly on guard. Bel, who was confused, looked in front of him, a shadow wolf other than the pup and its parent, baring its fangs at Ossa.

"Who is that?" she thought, curious about the new shadow wolf.

The pup, noticing the new shadow wolf which was slightly smaller than the first one, rushed towards it, its tail wagging proof that it knew it.

"That should be its mom, as it is smaller than the first one," she thought, as male shadow wolves were generally larger than females.

The female wolf relaxed as its pup rushed towards it, rubbing its fur against hers.

Taking that as an opportunity, the male melted into the shadow, and like its mate, went for the kill, targeting Bel, as to them, a skeleton warrior was practically a weak immortal that was a nuisance to deal with.

It appeared behind her, its jaws opened. Just like the last time, Ossa appeared between it and its target.

The female wolf noticed that Ossa was no longer in front of it and thus rushed forward for the kill.

"WOLF!!" The pup, who finally noticed what was going on, exclaimed, trying to stop its parents.

Oblivious of their pup's cries, they ventured forward, eager to kill the creature who had ventured into their territory.

Bel found herself sandwiched between two wolves, both aiming for her neck. Ossa, attempting to rescue her, started glitching as the automatic teleportation system struggled to respond to threats from different directions. If he teleported to intercept one, the other could potentially attack, putting Bel at risk.

The protective system, designed to safeguard Bel after she unintentionally formed a blood contract with Ossa, now faltered, uncertain about the appropriate course of action.

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