2 One Step Forward, Two Step Back

Haaah… haaaah…

After what seems like an eternity of running, my body could no longer keep up with the strains of running for too long.

Just what was that girl..

I opened my eyes after resting for a minute and what I witnessed afterwards made me shrink back.

A large wolf nearly three meters tall slowly walked towards me sizing me up as if i'm a trapped rabbit.

The fur on the wolf appeared to be jet black and seemed that it could absorb all the light wherever it appeared. The body has reached the apex of the food chain naturally as if it had the strength of a thousand moons. Whenever it took a step, the claws easily dug into the ground as if it was tofu. The most terrifying aspect about this existence is that I can feel the bloodlust seeping out of it's bloody fangs.

Simply put, it was a terrifying beast only to be found in stories.

My entire body stood still listlessly from the fear instilled within my heart.

Each step it took, my heart felt like it was suffocating to the point of exploding.

I slowly step back to try and get away from the beast in front of me but I lost my balance and tripped.

Guuu

The wolf came to a halt and started breathing rapidly.

Whoosh

It suddenly pounced at a terrifying speed.

Boom!

The ground cracked and a small shockwave erupted.

Luckily, I managed to get up and dodge at the very last moment but as I was landing, I got blown away from the shockwave.

I quickly get up and started running away as fast as I can.

After running for some time, I hide behind a tree and catch my breath.

Crssshk

Without even being able to take 3 breaths, the tree snapped and flew away in a far off distance.

Damn it the wolf appeared already!

Before I could even run, I suddenly felt the weight of a mountain smash my sides.

Pfff

I get sent flying while spraying a mouthful of blood.

Guooo

My body lands at a tree hard before I sprayed another mouthful of blood.

Not good..

At Least 3 of my ribs broke and had pierced through my lungs.

I can barely breath.

My vision became blurry to the point of not knowing what's in front of me.

Even though my mind is in a daze, there's one thing I'm certain of.

The wolf is just toying around with me and can simply end me whenever it wanted to.

I can feel it.

The foul stench of the wolf breathing on my neck.

This is it huh.

I guess this is how I die.

Even if try to get away, the wolf will be able to catch up to me. My mind can barely keep up with my consciousness. I feel like I'll pass out from the pain at any given moment.

Should I stand up and run..?

...

What's the point..

There's no escape. Who knows? Maybe this is just a dream after all.

I'll wake up, go brush my teeth and get ready to go to school.

After walking for some time, my friends can be seen walking beside me. I greet them just like how I always do.

I go to class and pretend like i'm listening then spend the rest of the day playing around.

Heh..

Now that I think about it, this is no different from my life. I get put into a difficult position yet I always somehow find an excuse to walk away from it. After all, who isn't afraid of commitment.

…

I've lived my life with regrets.

So what's the difference if I add one more?

It's not going to make a difference either way.

...

No..

That's not right.

I know that there's no saving me. I know that even if I try to change now, it's not going to make any difference.

Even though I already know all of this, If I'm dying anyways then i might as well not give up.

Call me stupid but at the very least, there was a moment in my life when I actually tried.

"Haha.. ahahaha. You damn beast you think you can kill me so easily?"

I'm losing my damn mind but fuck it!

If this is how it ends then so be it!

GRUOOOOOO!

The wolf howled and started to slam it's claws at me.

Uoooooo!

I charge straight at it with all my might.

Heh.

At Least I can say that when facing death, I chose not to give up.

My dear iced coffee, i'll join you soon so just wait a bit ok?

Shriiiik

Just when I thought my life had finally come to an end, the sound of flesh being sliced could be heard.

It wasn't my flesh.

A few seconds later, the wolf in front of me who was supposed to end my life suddenly started crying in pain and turned around swiftly.

When it turned around, I noticed that it's tail was severed and quite apparent that the blood is gushing out without any signs of stopping.

I try to open my eyes to the best of my capabilities and see a woman standing there while holding a long sword.

GUOOO!

The wolf howled so loudly that I could feel my ears ringing.

"Scram!"

The woman swung her sword incredibly swift that my eyes could barely follow.

A crescent light suddenly shot out of the long sword and knocked the wolf away.

The wolf knew that it was facing a dangerous opponent so it fled instantly.

A light beam? At this point, nothing could surprise me but this is just too ridiculous.. A girl covered in blood while holding a long sword suddenly shot out a beam..

Before I could regain my senses, the woman instantly appeared in front of me without making a single noise.

Wha-

How?!

"Are you ok?"

Hu- Huh?

It took me a while before I could recompose myself.

Upon closer inspection, it's quite apparent that her face does not match her actions. She's smiling as if nothing happened.

Her demeanor is that of any random girl but she has this terrifying air to her. I have this feeling that if i'm not careful, i'll turn to cubed tofu.

"Ya I'm ok now. Thank you"

I stand up albeit in pain but nonetheless, she saved my life so this is the least I could do.

"No need to stand up. Here, I'll heal you so just stay still"

I listen to her and sit still. She's surprisingly gentle and attentive. If she wasn't covered in blood while fighting a gigantic wolf, I would have thought that she's just a random harmless girl.

"Which squadron are you from?"

"Huh?"

Squadron? What is she talking about?

"Hmm, so you're also stationed in the outer gates?"

After pondering for a while, she suddenly asked me another question.

I don't know how to answer.. She's not making any sense at all.

I simply stay quiet.

Some time passed when all of the sudden her eyes became cold.

"You, show me your tribal mark"

...

I can feel her bloodlust seeping out of her tiny body. I don't know what she's talking about but she's definitely thinking i'm up to something.

"I'll take your silence as your answer then. You're pathetically weak but that doesn't change the fact that a rat suddenly crawled in our territory. You can only blame your own weakness and being one of them for this. Don't worry. At the very least, I'll end it swiftly"

She's walking to me slowly while holding her long sword. My impending doom is coming straight at me.

"Wait! You've got it wrong! I have no idea what you're talking about.. I don't even know where I am!"

I quickly try to fix the mistake I didn't even know I did.

"You wretched human! Don't think I don't know how you bastard do things! I'm not falling for this trick again so die!"

"Anything!"

I stood firmly and yelled my conviction.

I'll do anything to prove that I'm harmless so please let's talk it out!"

The sword came down to slice my neck but it stopped right before it could behead me.

Even though she just attempted to kill me, I could at least reason with her.

"I don't know why you're attacking me but I seriously don't know what's going on"

"Just because I didn't kill you now doesn't mean I can't. Strip naked"

"Huh?"

Eh..?

"You have 3 seconds before I kill you"

"Ok ok! I'll do it!"

"1"

"I said I'm doing it!!!"

"2"

Shit why am I still trying to argue?!

I swiftly remove all of my clothes in a hurry.

"Ah you idiot- I didn't mean your trousers!!"

…

This girl is a pain..

But well, I guess even though she's more terrifying than the wolf, she's just a girl in the end. She can't be much older than me.

"Turn around"

I quickly adhere to her commands.

After staring at my naked body, it seems like she's contemplating something.

"Uhm.. Is it ok if I put on my shirt now?"

I meekly ask her for permission to put my clothes back on.

This is pretty uncomfortable after all.

"Huh? Oh ya go ahead"

Phew.

Any longer and I would have died out of embarrassment.

I just noticed this but my body feels better now. It still hurts but I can breath more comfortably now. Did she do something to me earlier?

"Even though you don't have the immortal seal nor do you have any cursed marks, I still can't trust you"

Immortal seal? Cursed mark? Ugh there's just too many confusing things going on today.

"Uhh.. is there anything I can do then?"

"Don't move. After my brother delves into your memories then I'll find out"

Eh… my memories?

Whatever.. too many things already happened so there's no point of getting freaked out now.

Whoosh

Leaves on the floor started dancing into a storm and suddenly a man appeared out of thin air.

He was tall and muscular. He's wearing leather armor while two swords are hanging on his waist. He looked more intimidating than the girl but he's not emitting the same kind of bloodlust like her.

"Leiya, what's going on"

"Brother.. There's a human here.."

"And? Why haven't you killed him yet?"

Thump

My heart sank after he said those words. It was a very casual remark but he was dead serious.

Never mind. He's quite terrifying as well.

"He doesn't have any signs of incubating the cursed infection"

"How many times do I have to scold you?! These vile humans are always scheming something! Just because he seems harmless doesn't mean he is! This is exactly what they're hoping for! When our brethren died because you trusted a human, did you not learn from it?!"

After being scolded by this man, she suddenly hung her head with a bitter look.

"Never mind. I'll do it myself"

The man pulled out the two swords and swiftly appeared in front of me similar to how the girl appeared in front of me before. Before I could even think, the sword was about to slash me.

Clank!

The woman from earlier came in similar fashion and blocked the two swords.

"Brother please wait. I know not to trust humans but.. I simply have this feeling. It doesn't mean that I trust him but let's give him a chance. That's why I waited for you to read his memories"

While trying to persuade the man on my behalf, the girl closed her eyes and held something with her hands.

A necklace?

"Hmmph"

He snorted coldly and put away his sword.

"Fine but the second I see his affiliation with them, I'll pull his spine out and feed it to the treants!"

"Mn"

The woman let out a sigh and stood back.

"Human, will you let me read your memories or should I just end you here"

"Go ahead"

He paused and looked at me as if I was an alien..

"...You do know that reading your memories will reveal your wretched truth right? No matter how powerful a seal is, I can still reveal everything!"

Ehh..

"I mean it's going to be embarrassing to have my memories read but if you're willing to let me go then this much is nothing. Ok I'm prepared"

"...What a weird human"

He closed his eyes and placed his palms on my head.

Time went by.

An hour.

Two hours.

After three hours, he suddenly opened his eyes.

Tears started to fall down from his face.

"Uoooo!!!"

He suddenly hugged me while bawling.

Ehh… what the hell is going on..

It's pretty difficult to breath when a tall muscular man hugs you.

"Haruto right? Uooo you had it so rough.. After all that you've done, it was pointless in the end. Don't worry! I'm sure with time, you'll be able to forget!"

Oy oy oy!

Just what the hell did you see in my memories!!!

"Eh? Brother? What's wrong.. What did you see? Is he harmless?"

"Shut up! All women are evil!"

Damn it why did you read that part of my memory!!!

Oh my god this is beyond embarrassing.

"Uhmm.. I'm not sure what memory of mine you saw but can we please not talk about it. It's quite embarrassing"

Cough cough

"My apologies. I'm not sure where you came from but you're harmless. Oy Leiya, I'm going to report this to the higher ups. Stay here with him for now"

"I got it"

The woman smiled and finally took back her bloodlust.

"Shiro, I'm sorry but I'm not sure how to send you back. That door that you entered earlier was a deep and complex arcana. Worst case scenario, I'll take you in so you don't have to worry about a thing. Leiya, I'll leave things here to you. Make sure he doesn't get hurt"

After he said those words, he suddenly vanished.