The girl lunged toward the "Silver Fang," fighting with ferocity, but the beast blocked her strikes with alarming speed, as if he anticipated every move. Damian watched from behind, frozen in place, his body refusing to move… fear weighed down his limbs.
Suddenly, his head jolted with a rush of memories—fast, distorted, but enough to unlock something inside him:
[Damian, the Bloodbound. A swordsman using blood magic. From Incrad Academy of Monster Hunting.]
He looked at his hand, eyes widening as if seeing for the first time. He saw the blood flowing through his veins like a steam train tearing through the oceans.
[Lady Miraka.every Morning . A swordswoman wielding blue flame magic. Also from Incrad Academy.]
The memories dragged him from the present toward an identity he hadn't known. His eyes remained fixed on the girl fighting before him—he now realized she was Lady Miraka.
He wanted to attack… but hesitated. Cowardice pinned him in place.
Then a voice cracked inside his mind:
[Why are you standing like a hostage waiting to flee? Kill him before every drop of blood in your body turns to poison.]
He placed his hand on his face—angry… At what? Likely himself. His cowardice. His ignorance.
But the memories had been the key. The spark. They helped him remember. When he pulled his hand away, Lady Miraka was still fighting, her movements sharp and fluid, like dancing with death.
Damian gripped his blood-forged sword, and his other hand lit up with blood magic. He smiled. He understood now—this glow meant the blood was responding to his will.
He suddenly dashed toward the Silver Fang and slashed a small part of its body. But the beast swung its claws violently, striking Damian and sending him crashing into a tree trunk.
He coughed up blood. Lady Miraka shouted toward him:
"Damiaaan! Are you alright?!"
He lifted his tired eyes toward her and rose slowly, speaking in a deep tone:
"Don't worry… just a few scratches."
Lady Miraka was still locked in combat, landing visible hits on the beast's body. But when she attempted to sever his arm from behind, the beast spun around and struck her in the abdomen, knocking her down.
Damian stood, teeth grinding against his lip, his grip on the sword tightening. He charged in anger. The beast noticed him at the last second and tried to strike, but Damian leapt and slashed its eye.
The beast roared, clutching his wounded eye. Damian rushed to Lady Miraka and helped her to her feet:
"Are you alright, my lady?"
She looked at him with her stunning white eyes and rose quickly, breathing heavily. She replied with a sharp, fast tone:
"I'm fine… This beast isn't easy. The weather works in his favor."
Then, her eyes locked onto Damian:
"We need a coordinated strike to deal real damage."
Damian nodded. Miraka charged at the beast again, and it blocked her attacks with claws as sharp as blades. In that moment, Damian dove from above, but the beast turned swiftly and slammed him with a heavy right-hand blow.
Damian partially blocked it with his sword but still winced in pain. Regardless, he steadied his footing, clenched his right hand—and it lit up again. Bloody fire erupted from it.
He extended his arm and released the flames, scoring a deep burn into the beast's back. Miraka seized the chance and sliced off the beast's hand with a decisive strike.
The beast screamed, gripping his severed limb, eyes blazing with murderous intent. He looked at Damian with pure malice, then charged, claws ready to kill.
Damian dodged the blow and fired another blast of blood fire, hitting the beast's stomach, but it kept moving. It summoned ice and flung it at Damian's eyes, trying to blind him.
But Lady Miraka was faster—she blasted the beast's head with blue flame magic, sending it flying into a tree with a loud crash.
She approached Damian and took his hand, speaking in a warm tone:
"Are you okay? This bastard just won't quit."
He held her hand and stood up. Then looked at her and replied with a nod:
"Stubborn as hell… Especially for something that's supposed to be low-level."
Damian looked at his sword and whispered:
"A while ago I was terrified… but now something's changed. In battle, it feels like my body moves on its own…"
He raised his head and spoke in a quiet, deep tone:
"Yes, I'm fine… This creature doesn't feel like a tier-nine. Closer to tier-seven, maybe even six."
The ground suddenly shook violently. The beast shoved the tree branch off its body. Its eyes glowed with terrifying, dark rage.
The severed stump of its hand transformed into sharp claws. Damian's eyes widened in shock… He had assumed the Silver Fang was finished—but…
"Tch, this bastard really doesn't know when to die," Lady Miraka growled in fury.
She gripped her sword handle tightly and rushed at him. She swung to sever his other hand, but he parried effortlessly and landed a deep cut on her arm.
Damian attacked quickly, stabbing the Silver Fang's hand. But the beast swung his claws to shred him apart—Lady Miraka unleashed a torrent of blue flames to drive it back.
Damian rushed to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder, speaking with a worried tone:
"Your wound is deep—why don't you let me handle this?"
These were words from someone who, moments ago, had feared fighting. But now… he seemed to have adapted.
'At first, I was scared. Like someone hoping for a magical door to escape through. But now I'm doing everything to survive—with the one who saved me,' Damian murmured quietly to himself.
She stood, despite the deep wound. Her entire body transformed into blue armor streaked with black. Her eyes lit with a glowing blue flame.
She looked at Damian with eyes both beautiful and fearsome, and spoke in a calm voice:
"Leave this freak to me. Rest for a bit—you're tired from everything that happened earlier."
Damian wanted to argue, but her glowing eyes radiated fury, eager to tear the monster apart. He smiled softly and replied:
"Do as you wish. I'll be right here. But if things escalate—I'm stepping in."
She smiled back, then charged at the beast with insane speed, her attacks brutal and terrifying, forcing him to retreat rapidly.
Damian leaned against the tree, analyzing the situation. He spoke quietly to himself:
'When she transformed into that form, she became stronger… more savage. That title, "every morning ," must be tied to her transformation. Do I have a form like that?'
He continued in the same tone:
'Nothing has triggered in my mind urging me to fight—probably because Lady Miraka told me to stand down…'
The Silver Fang tried to slow her down, but she stood firm and unleashed a wave of blue flames that severely injured his head.
She leapt high, aiming to decapitate him, but he dodged and hurled a massive branch at her. She calmly sliced it in half mid-air.
Then she sprinted toward him, severing the clawed arm completely. Blood sprayed like a fountain as he screamed in agony.
Lady Miraka spoke in a deep, sharp voice:
"This is your end, Silver Fang… you won't last much longer. The signs of exhaustion are written all over your face."
She advanced toward him slowly, but the Silver Fang made a deceptive move—he grabbed a part of the ground and lifted it. Lady Miraka lost her balance, but she leapt high toward a tree, launched herself from it, and stabbed him in the abdomen.
The Silver Fang screamed in pain and swung his sharp claws in an attempt to stab her, but she quickly retreated backward.
Meanwhile, Damian was watching the fight, stunned. He spoke in a calm tone:
"Her movements are fast… completely unpredictable. She's strong and fierce too."
Then he added in the same tone:
"But getting out of this forest… that's going to be extremely difficult. We also have to find our companions—we don't even know where they are."
Lady Miraka unleashed a magical blue flame that left the Silver Fang immobilized… due to the wounds he had sustained.
With a final desperate move, he cut off one of the branches and launched it with great force toward Lady Miraka. But she dodged it quickly and wasn't hit.
She jumped high and threw her sword at his hand, cutting it off. He fell to the ground, bleeding from every part of his body.
She stood over his head, her hand glowing with a blue fire brimming with powerful energy. She spoke in a cold tone:
"This is your end, monster."
She unleashed the blue fire, completely blowing his body apart. Lady Miraka took a deep breath, then returned to her normal state.
Damian approached her, holding his shoulder. He spoke in a cheerful tone:
"Well done. He was a monster that didn't know how to surrender. Who knows what other terrifying creatures this forest is hiding?"
Lady Miraka looked at Damian and gave a sweet smile. She replied in a calm tone:
"That's true. And it was all thanks to you. But because of your previous injuries, you couldn't fight him with your full strength."
Damian smiled back at her—but inside, he felt something entirely different.
'It wasn't the injury that made me unsure how to fight… it was my thoughts. They made me lose control over so many things.'
The voice echoed again inside Damian's mind, speaking in its mysterious, distorted tone:
[The Silver Fang, Level 7 disguised as Level 9, has been slain. Your reward is a small sip of blood that will slowly flow through your body.]
'Even though I didn't kill him… this strange system still gave me a bit of blood, at least for the effort I put in.' Damian spoke quietly to himself.
The Silver Fang's blood flowed through Damian's veins… it felt like water accidentally entering your nose.
'It's a strange sensation… but my energy is noticeably increasing.' Damian muttered to himself.
Lady Miraka walked slowly and spoke in a quiet voice:
"We should leave before more beasts—"
She didn't finish her sentence—an intense rumble shook the ground. It was an avalanche. Damian looked on in panic and spoke with a horrified tone:
"That's just what we needed right now…"
Lady Miraka shouted at Damian:
"Hey! Hurry, before the avalanche reaches us!"
They both ran as fast as they could—but it was no use. The snow was faster. It slammed into them and swept them away to an unknown location.
About an hour later, Damian opened his eyes slowly. He looked up at the ceiling and found a horrifying sight—a group of corpses hanging upside down by their heads.
His eyes widened, and he spoke in a terrified voice:
"Where the hell am I…?"