6 First encounter

Loki had slept like a baby the entire night. It was the first time she managed to do so since she was a child. It could have been because of her stressed personality. Nightmares had always been a part of her upbringing. After being haunted by them for such a long time, she accepted them as if a part of herself.

She didn't know why she was able to sleep so well. But she was sure that it was thanks to this perfect rest that she felt so refreshed after waking up.

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and rolled out of bed. Took a quick shower before dressing up in a hoodie and sweatpants.

She then started making her way towards where the breakfast would be.

Breakfast was already ready by the time she arrived. Different foods and slices of bread stood aligned neatly on the table.

She seemed to be the first one to arrive. Thankful for the fact that she could dine alone, she grabbed a couple of dishes and ate in silence.

Yesterday's dinner was enough for her. The kind of information her new adoptive parents had dumped on her was a little bit overwhelming.

She went over the information again in her head.

*They have a vendetta against the government after making them lose both of their children. The government also rebuked their resources after the loss of their children. Therefore, they want revenge. They need my help for that. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here.*

Her theory had already been confirmed by them both. She also agreed to play along with their plan. She hoped that their struggle against the government would be at least entertaining.

She wanted to see new things, experience hardships, and fight fierce battles. She didn't care whether she was the hero or not. She was sick of being bored.

Playing along with her parent's plan was something that would give her more benefits than not. And today, she would be able to earn the first of those.

Loki finished her breakfast and thanked Benjamin before heading back to her room.

She was waiting for Clara. Clara had promised her to teach her about mana this morning. Feeling uneasy just sitting still, Loki decided to go out to the back of the mansion.

The mansion's location was at the edge of a forest. Green trees spread out over a large area. It would take ordinary human several days to travel through it. Loki switched out her hoodie and instead put on a white t-shirt which she found in the wardrobe.

Finding her way out of the mansion proved to be quite the challenge. The long hallways and all of the doors were similar to each other. And there were no signs to help her either. She found the backdoor after quite some time.

Loki walked into the forest out of sheer boredom. She had to wait for Clara to wake up, and there were few things that she could do to pass the time in this world.

Hoping that she wouldn't encounter a magical beast in the forest, she started walking.

She walked for quite sometime before she found any wildlife. There were deers, squirrels, and birds at almost every corner after a certain point.

She continued her walk. Before she knew it, the forest was empty.

No birds whistled, the wind was quiet, and the shadows from the trees were crawling towards her feet. It felt like the sun was falling towards the ground. Every second that passed was getting darker.

Loki had always feared horror movies, and she felt a chill run down her spine. She was scared. She was standing in a horror movie. She was the protagonist, and something was going to jump out of the shadow at any given moment.

She knew it. And she hated it.

Yet she was strangely calm. Despite the fear that she felt enveloping her heart. Her thoughts were clear as day, despite the darkness that now surrounded her.

A feeling.

She quickly rolled on the ground towards her left and looked up as soon as she regained her foothold.

She had felt the same type of feeling as that time Benjamin was about to knock on her room, yet this time it was something far eviler.

Before her now stood a massive wolf. A height of around 1,5 meters and a length of almost 2,5.

Its grey fur was enveloped in purple veins, leaking out of several deep wounds that covered its body.

The wolf appeared to be in deep pain, yet no thoughts of mercy crossed Loki's mind. She hated this situation. She wanted to test out her abilities. But she, first of all, wanted to survive.

She bent her knees lightly and focused her gaze on the wolf standing before her, facing her entire body in its direction.

The wolf bared its fangs, growling as it stared back while it circled Loki.

The standstill quickly reached an end as the wolf charged towards her.

*What?*

Loki had pushed her focus to its limit. She was more than ready for the wolf's charge. Yet, once its assault began, it moved in at what seemed like walking speed. Loki had, in fact, more than enough time to react. Therefore, she easily dodged the wolf.

She forced the wolf to turn around once again after a second failure. However, this time, Loki was the first one to attack.

She kicked the ground with both her feet, forming a crater where she previously stood. The wolf in front of her had no time to react at all. Before it knew what was going on, a fist slammed into the side of its face. Several teeth fell out of its mouth, and it felt like its brain was bouncing around in its head.

Loki didn't stop. After punching the face of the wolf with her right hand, she followed through with a kick. She spun around, using the speed of her twisting body to kick the same spot where she had hit.

This time, a deep indentation formed in the face of the wolf.

It stumbled around in agony. Blood seeped out from its ears, and its right eye was almost falling out of its head.

Being beaten half-blind and almost deaf had shaken the wolf's pride to its core. It tried to run away, but its legs gave up after only a couple of steps.

Loki watched the scene with a disgusted look in her face.

She walked up beside it, making sure that she stood on its blinds side. She straightened her hand and jammed it into its head. Using all of the strength she could gather up at this moment, she was able to pierce its skin and skull, reaching all the way deep into its brain.

The gooey mess inside its brain triggered her gag reflex. She puked up a bit of her breakfast inside her mouth and barely managed to contain it.

She backed up from the corpse and fell to her knees. Her adrenaline rush faded away.

She stared down at her hands. Her right was covered in mucus and blood.

Her feelings returned to her. She remembered how she had turned into a cold-blooded killer machine just recently.

That wasn't her. She wasn't as mercy less as that. But damn. That felt good.

A smile formed on her lips as she silently cried.