The Mighty Beast

"What's that sound?" Maden looked around, trying to pinpoint the source amidst the inky blackness of the night.

"Obviously, it's dogs barking, what else could it be?" Duven replied with a tone used for addressing an idiot.

"I damn well know that, but since when do dogs bark so viciously? So terrifyingly?" Maden retorted irritably.

"Regardless, they're just dogs," Ines dismissed it.

Noah recalled the dogs he'd seen before, obviously tainted by demonic forces, with size, strength, and speed far exceeding any ordinary animal. Could the power of demons also be used to enhance common creatures?

Like half-demons, Noah pondered upon his observations. Demons first influence an animal's soul, twisting it to form demonic sediment, a substance that can be used to create corrupted objects—swords, armor, spikes... affecting the creature's very essence.

Those abnormally large dogs must be undergoing demonization, the effects just not significantly apparent yet—currently only exhibiting swelling muscles and an increasingly ferocious temperament. Perhaps the demonic beast had been hiding in the temple, continuously exerting its influence on the animals.

If this process of demonization continued, what could be the result?

Ordinary dogs becoming increasingly savage, evolving by devouring souls much like demons themselves, eventually turning into new demonic beasts. One after another, packs of these fierce, clawed monsters would tear everything apart.

At this rate, humanity would become mere sustenance, cities their larders.

Noah felt an intense unease. He had to find the source of this demonization, to kill that huge hound with eight bloody eyes.

Households woke to the barking, dim lights flickering from street-side windows. Silhouettes leaned against the glass. Noah could guess the residents' worries—an unexpected disaster, as they whispered speculations among themselves about what might happen.

They deserved a night of peace, but the situation was becoming dire.

Someone had infiltrated the chapel while the hunters were away, releasing the winged demon and that hound. Who could be so depraved as to serve demons? Noah was baffled.

"Every person," Gladius said softly.

They spotted several guards on the street, tending to a fallen comrade by the wall.

"Halt," the guards commanded, "who are you?"

"We are demon hunters," Noah explained. "Have you been attacked?"

"Damn it all," the guard frowned. "Come and see for yourself."

Noah approached the injured man, whose pale lips twisted in pain, his body bloody and filthy. His belly was ripped open, intestines spilling out as another tried clumsily to push them back in, failing to arrange them neatly inside.

He was not long for this world.

"Is this the work of a dog?" Noah asked.

"If you consider something as big as a cow, bristling with sharp teeth and covered in fur, a dog—then yes," the guard replied with disdain.

Worried the man's soul would be devoured by Gladius once he died, Noah stepped away.

"What?" Gladius cried out in shock. "What!"

"What are you doing, he was a man who bravely fought to protect others; you can't let his soul end up in your belly."

"The idiot, I consume souls to strengthen you with my power."

"You are a demon, I am not. I don't need you," Noah dismissed.

"Think about it. He's just a corrupt, vicious guard. He extorted vendors, chased away the poor, framed his decent colleagues for promotion, and beat his family when drunk. And just because he happened to get bitten by a dog tonight, you call it 'bravely wounded'? Even good deeds have limits!"

"First of all, you made all that up."

"Indeed, I did. But it's likely true! Mortals are always so selfish."

Noah looked back at the guards; they appeared tense, fearful, and weary, most barely awake.

"On a night like this, they were willing to leave their beds and fight an unknown monster—that speaks of their courage. And to be wounded in battle... you won't get a taste of their souls."

"I'm fed up with your stingy sense of justice; keep away from me," Gladius retreated deep into Noah's soul, quieting down.

Noah asked them, "Where are the monsters now?"

"At the Earl's residence," the guards looked nervously towards the path leading up to the hilltop castle, "We followed the barking here. The castle has guards, but they're involved too; the monsters must have broken in... but we... we can't do anything. You'll see if you go further; we simply can't..."

Impossible to enter... Noah pursed his lips, the situation more difficult than imagined.

"Is it a monster?" Noah asked.

"That thing... that thing is unstoppable," the guard's voice trembled with fear. "You'll know if you go. I've never seen anything like it—it's like something from a nightmare."

"Many have been killed," others admitted, clearly frightened.

He looked at them—Duven had moved to the other end of the street as if not wanting the guards to see him. What did he have to hide?

"Shall we go?" Maden asked anxiously, avoiding the injured guard's gaze.

"Don't avoid his eyes; you need to get used to death," Noah said.

Maden nervously observed the dying man, his spirit fading from his eyes. The ordeal clearly weighed heavily on him.

"We have to find out who's behind this and then avenge him," Maden whispered.

"You're right."

They ascended the paved route to the earl's castle, nestled on the hill with towering turrets and lofty stone walls, a good three to five meters high, built of giant stone bricks, topped with battlements. Beyond the walls, the silhouettes of grand buildings loomed, the main tower still majestic despite the night's events and the intrusion of the beast.

The guards stood at a distance from the entrance, clearly shaken. Noah glanced at the open gate and was taken aback.

"Strange..." Ines's eyes widened.

"Do we have to fight that thing? Sir Noah? Just give the order and I'll throw my spear at it," Maden said nervously.

The castle gate lay open, unabated, but a massive dog stood at the entrance. Its body was cloaked in such dense black fur that it resembled a lion's mane. Its jaws and teeth were blood-stained, the blood turning its head a dark red. Such a mighty beast was indeed a far cry from simply being "a dog."

It crouched, ready to pounce, baring its teeth at Noah's approach with a sinister growl that instilled fear, the worst being the sight of mutated, aberrant horns sprouting from its head, covered in demonic chitin, indicating it was in the latter stages of demonization.

Around the huge dog, the bodies of four guards lay scattered, their chainmail and leather robes unable to withstand its might, their blood seeping from breaks in their armor, swords and spears fallen beside them, shields dented with massive gouges.

No wonder the castle was said to be inaccessible; such a creature was not within human means to combat.

"What are you doing here?" approached a guard with dark red hair and a grave expression, draped in a golden-edged cloak, the earl's green hyacinth shield emblem sewn on top, his equipment superior to the others, donning a sturdy iron breastplate, clearly the leader among the guards.

"Here to resolve the crisis," Noah said, looking at the dog. "I am a demon hunter, Noah."

"I remember you," he frowned. "I was on horseback following you when you took Gina away."

"Oh," Noah tried to recall, but the memory was hazy; he seemed to be one of the leading guards.

"I am the captain of the guard, Reese," he said, irritated that Noah didn't remember him. "I've got a lot of your fellow hunters' misdemeanors on record."

"Those before me are dead, you can clear all those criminal records."

"Dead? Even men like Master Frederick?"

"I regret it, but we are the successors." Noah drew his gray blade. "Let us handle it."

"It's impossible," Reese shook his head. "That monster is too strong."

"Fear," a terrifying voice rumbled. "Fear..."

Everyone was astounded, turning to the source—the dog that was producing near-human sounds.

Could demonization grant creatures the ability to speak human words? This was too peculiar. Noah watched the dog closely for any other changes.

"Let me devour you... demon hunter..." The creature's dual eyes locked on Noah, shifting its attack stance, eager, its alien voice creeping into his mind, unsettling echoes lingering, "Let me devour your soul... you... are weak... so very weak... your soul... twisted and lowly..."

Noah twirled the gray blade in his hand, lifting it in a ready sword stance.

"What are you doing?" Reese hurried to intercede. "Don't go! Several of us together couldn't kill it."

"Are you the commander of the guards?" Noah asked.

"...What kind of attitude is that?" Reese furrowed his brow. "Do I have to repeat myself? I am Reese, the captain of Greywood Hall's guard tower."

"Gather your men, but only the well-disciplined and brave. Those who appear hesitant or cowardly in daily life, don't let them join. We're facing a formidable enemy," Noah advised.

"Now you want to command me? What do you plan to do, get yourself killed? Don't think just because you're a hunter you can underestimate your opponent!" Reese raised his voice.

"I will kill it, or you won't be able to enter," Noah watched the dog.

"Just you?" Reese questioned. "Didn't you hear what that thing said? It thinks you're weak."

"Don't be reckless! Wait for reinforcements; are you mad?"

"You don't really think you can, do you?"

"Don't get yourself killed!" others shouted.

"It thinks I'm weak, but that doesn't mean I am." Noah trusted only in the blade in his hand, the muscles in his arms.

"We can help you!" Maden called out. "Let me! I can hit it!"

Ines too readied her magic rope, eager to assist.

"Conserve your energy. This creature is just the appetizer of tonight's attack; you need to help me with the real threat—the one with eight eyes," Noah needed to conserve their resources and capabilities to improve the odds against the final beast.

"Dismiss me... good... a beginning..." The monster's body lowered even further, ready for a lethal strike.

"You want to go alone? Fine, let me witness a demon hunter's battle," Ines watched Noah's actions intently.

Noah walked forward, two steps, three.

"Awooo!" The beast roared, its muscles unleashing tremendous power as its massive body pressed towards Noah.

"Isn't he going to dodge?"

"Ah!"

"He's definitely dead!" The onlookers couldn't help but exclaim.

Noah remained calm, his body still aching from the previous assault by the huge dog. Clashing head-on was out of the question—the key was...

"Flowing Shadow!" His body swiftly sank into darkness, slipping into the shadows as the world before him compressed, folded. Light and darkness lost their axis, stretching in all directions. Everything he saw strangely flattened, losing all dimensions.

The dog's attack found only empty ground, leaving it confusedly scratching at the dirt, while Noah's shadow slid away like water and reformed behind it.

He struck cleanly from behind, slicing through the dog's belly. Caught unawares by the sudden blow, the beast instinctively tried to flee, but Noah didn't give it the chance, continuing his assault, his blade cutting bone, slicing flesh.

And so the ferocious barking turned into a series of pitiful howls.

"Wonderful," Gladius praised bluntly.

The onlookers gaped in awe, watching as the dog was butchered under Noah's blade. It desperately tried to escape but in a moment was hewn limb from limb, black blood gushing, its twisted body collapsing to the ground, left only to suffer and die.

"You, how did you..." Reese swallowed hard. "Such a terrifying creature..."

Noah wiped the blood from his blade, breathing heavily, pressing on aching muscles.

"How could a monster ever best me?" He shook his head.