Kieran's breath came shallow and quick. The injured hunter lay at his feet, its glowing eyes flickering with something wrong. Not just fear—recognition.
"Mercy…" it rasped again. "Like you… wanted once."
Kieran's fingers twitched. His instincts screamed at him to end it. But the creature wasn't attacking. It was… pleading.
Behind him, Elias exhaled impatiently.
"Kill it."
Kieran turned slightly, just enough to see Elias's unreadable gaze. "It's not a mindless beast," he argued, his voice hoarse. "It—"
"—wouldn't hesitate if you were the one on the ground," Elias cut in, stepping forward. His blade gleamed under the cavern's dim light. "Spare it, and you teach it weakness. Worse, you teach yourself weakness."
The hunter twitched, its breathing shallow. It didn't run. It didn't attack. It simply watched.
Kieran clenched his teeth. His hands curled into fists.
He couldn't do it.
Elias sighed. "Tch."
The next second, he moved.
Steel flashed.
Kieran reacted before he even thought—his body shifting between Elias and the wounded creature.
CLANG!
Sparks flew as Kieran's blade met Elias's.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then, Elias smiled.
It wasn't amusement. It wasn't approval. It was something darker.
"You're not ready," he murmured.
Before Kieran could process those words, Elias moved again—fast. A sharp twist, a flick of his wrist—
Pain exploded in Kieran's arm. His blade flew from his grip, clattering against the stone.
Then, with a single, effortless strike—
SHINK.
The hunter's body hit the ground. Lifeless.
Kieran staggered, his mind blank. He barely registered Elias stepping past him, yanking his blade free.
"You hesitated." Elias flicked the blood off his sword. "And in the Abyss, hesitation gets you killed."
Kieran clenched his fists. His heart pounded—anger, frustration, something deeper twisting in his chest.
Elias sheathed his weapon. "This wasn't a lesson about mercy." He turned, eyes cold. "It was a lesson about control."
Then he started walking.
Kieran stayed rooted in place. His breath was uneven. His fingers still tingled where they had gripped his blade.
The hunter's body lay still.
The choice had been taken from him.
And yet… he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd lost something tonight.
Something important.
But he didn't have time to dwell on it.
Because, in the distance, another howl echoed.
Deeper. Louder.
And this time, it wasn't a warning.
It was a hunt.