Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 77: Rising Tide

Chapter 77: Rising Tide

Immediately, Klaus realized his mistake. Naturally, if someone suddenly found a towering Hollow appearing out of nowhere — especially at such close range — they would panic.

The Blackmane Stalker was an Awakened Ghoul, far superior in strength to the Chitinous Scavenger, which was merely a Shrouded Fiend. Not only did it possess immense muscle mass, granting it incredible strength and speed, but it was also unnervingly stealthy. Logically, a creature of its size shouldn’t be able to move undetected. Then again, Hollows were beings that couldn’t be explained with logic or reason. Simply put, the beast could stalk right behind you, and unless you turned your head at the right moment, you’d never know it was there. By the time they usually did, when the creature had already settled into its killing comfort, it would be far too late for resistance.

Thinking back, it was suspicious how Briar had managed to defeat the monstrosity in a one-on-one battle before taming it with her demon blood. He didn’t know the exact method she used, but she must have barely survived, with her victory being nothing short of a miracle.

’Shit! Not good!’

Realizing the two Striders were seconds away from launching an attack, Klaus sprang forward, positioning himself between them and the creature.

"You guys, calm down! Everything’s fine! That thing has already been tamed by Morgan, so there’s no need for violence. Lower your weapons!"

Still unconvinced, Adrian demanded anxiously,

"Are you seriously saying that thing is tamed?"

Klaus nodded.

"Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Look."

To prove his point, he stepped closer and placed a hand on the Stalker. The massive creature remained motionless, utterly unfazed by his touch, as if it hadn’t even noticed him at all.

Witnessing the absurd scene, both Adrian and Seraphim were stunned. Well, in Seraphim’s case, she only appeared mildly surprised. Given her usual unreadable poker face, the slight raise of her eyebrows and the subtle widening of her eyes were enough to reveal that she, too, shared his shock at the very least.

The two exchanged a glance with each other. A silent conversation seemed to pass between them.

A few seconds later, Adrian let out a breath of relief and lowered his spear, followed by Seraphim, who calmly lowered her silver blade.

Scratching his head, Adrian turned to Klaus and grumbled,

"Hey man, please don’t do something like that again. Do you know I almost died of fright?"

"Sorry about that."

"So... that thing is really tamed, huh?"

"Yeah."

"And Morgan’s the one who tamed it?"

"Uh-huh."

"How the hell did she manage that? If I remember correctly, isn’t that thing an Awakened Ghoul?"

That’s what I’ve been saying! Even I don’t know since I was unconscious during the whole thing! Klaus screamed inwardly.

With a single glance, he noticed Seraphim narrowing her eyes and studying Briar with great intensity. It was as if she were trying to see beyond the surface, scrutinizing her for something within the depths. The demoness noticeably tensed under the weight of her gaze.

Was she trying to read her mind or something? He didn’t know if she was truly a Psychic or not, but staring that hard would only give her a headache.

Maintaining his composed expression, Klaus refocused on Adrian and answered with a shrug,

"I don’t know. By the time I met her, she had already tamed that Ghoul."

"Hmm. How interesting."

Muttering to himself, Adrian briefly glanced at Briar, with his brows furrowing slightly. It was as if he were trying to recall whether he had seen her somewhere in the academy before. But with so many Striders of potential — regardless of rank — remembering every single one was impossible.

In Briar’s case, however, there was nothing to recall. She wasn’t a Strider. She wasn’t even part of the academy.

If Adrian somehow knew her true identity, Klaus would have been shocked... no, terrified. In such a situation, he would be forced to kill him to bury his secrets in the soil. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Deciding to change the subject matter, Klaus coughed to draw both Seraphim’s and Adrian’s attention.

"Now that I think about it, where did you guys even stay?"

Muttering an indifferent "Oh" in response, Adrian turned and gestured toward a distant hill. Coincidentally, it was the same one where Briar had spotted the orange flare a few days ago.

"Actually, we spent the last few days up there. After taking down the scavenger, we planned to head back before nightfall."

Seraphim didn’t say anything, still shifting her gaze between Briar and the Stalker with interest.

Klaus smiled.

"That’s great! We also stayed on a similar hill not too far from here, but that spot’s already been compromised. Would you mind if we joined you?"

Adrian matched his smile.

"Not at all. Actually, we shot that flare hoping to draw in any nearby Striders. But now that I think about it, that was kind of a dumb move. Who in their right mind would leave their comfort zone to risk their neck exploring unknown territory?"

He let out a sigh, then turned to Seraphim, silently seeking her approval.

Seraphim merely shrugged.

"I don’t mind. Besides, an extra set of hands would be appreciated."

Look at you, already speaking like a noblewoman. Wait... isn’t this the first time I’ve heard her speak?

For a fleeting second, Klaus found his mind wandering across the grey fog. She certainly carried herself with the grace of a princess, and her manner of speech only reinforced that impression.

A sudden clap jolted Klaus back to reality. Instinctively, everyone turned toward the source — Adrian — who stood there with a happy grin.

"Alright. Now that everything’s settled, it’s time to get moving. You saw those scavengers feasting on that giant carcass, right? I’d rather not be here when they start looking for their next meal."

"Agreed. Morgan, would you be a dear and help us with the scavenger’s carcass?"

Klaus was met with silence. Briar merely shot him a quick glare before turning away. Without a word, she commanded the Stalker to carry the carcass, pointedly adding, "Don’t eat it."

Following that, the Stalker obediently nodded before moving toward the carcass. Its towering frame cast a long shadow over the corpse as it crouched down, hooking its claws easily beneath the scavenger’s limp body. Then, with terrifying ease, it hoisted the carcass onto its back.

Staring absentmindedly as if impressed or perhaps shocked, Adrian muttered under his breath:

"That’s one strong monster, huh? How long does the dominance over this Ghoul last exactly?"

That’s certainly a way of addressing mind control...

Holding his chin, Klaus replied with a casual voice:

"Hmm. I can’t say exactly, but I believe it’s long enough not to warrant worry. Isn’t that right, Morgan~?"

The demoness, now being teased by her fake human name, scoffed but said nothing in response.

Seraphim, who had been staring the grey sky quietly, finally spoke:

"We should get moving. The longer we stand around, the more likely we’ll attract unwanted attention."

"Agreed."

Stretching slightly, Adrian gestured toward the hill and continued:

"It’s not far from here, just a short hike ahead. Stay close."

With that, the group set off, moving quickly but cautiously through the rugged terrain. The wind carried the distant howls of unseen creatures, reminding them of the danger. Fortunately, they had nothing to fear. At least, not yet. With Adrian leading the way, navigating every right twist and turns, there was no need for aimless wandering or backtracking from dead ends. They could avoid unnecessary encounters, particularly with scavengers seeking revenge for their fallen kin.

Not that it mattered. If such a confrontation did occur, the scavengers would be slain and join the remains of their already fallen brethren. Worst case scenario, they would be the ones slain, ripped apart and eaten along with the slain scavenger.

Ugh. No point dwelling on grim thoughts.

Swallowing those pointless worries into the depths of his mind, Klaus focused on the path ahead.

Ahead of him, the tall and lithe Seraphim walked forward with her silver sword hanging at her side like a Western pistol. Every now and then, she would glance back at Briar, who trailed behind him alongside the Stalker, with the slain scavenger’s carcass slung over its back casually and held in one hand. It was as if she knew something, or was trying to find something out, but her unreadable poker face made it impossible to discern her true thoughts.

Klaus frowned.

What exactly was she trying to do? His fingers instinctively inched toward the hilt of his half-broken cybernetic katana.

Without saying, he already knew that Briar’s identity wouldn’t remain hidden forever. At the very least, he had to ensure her secret remained safe until he had the strength to protect both her and himself. Any obstacle to that objective would have to be removed promptly.

But could he really kill the girl in front of him if she were to uncover Briar’s true nature?

That thought gave him pause.

For some reason, he felt as though it wasn’t a matter of whether he could, but whether he would. Something within him resisted the idea. Perhaps it was because of Yuki, her sister. If Seraphim were to die, Yuki would be the last remaining member of the Luminous Clan.

A fate of such utter loneliness... even he couldn’t fathom the weight of that existence.

’Stop thinking about it. You’re worrying over nothing.’

The possibility of that happening was probably slim, but considering his awful luck so far, it was just wishing thinking.

He sighed.

Just as his thoughts began to drift absentmindedly...

"...!?"

Klaus abruptly halted.

Something small and wet had landed on his head. Frowning, he reached up, fingers brushing against the damp spot before lowering his hand to inspect it.

The sensation wasn’t that of water. It was thick, warm... and red. A sharp metallic scent filled his nostrils.

Blood.

’W-What...? What the hell is this—?!’

At first, he thought he was the one bleeding, perhaps he had unknowingly injured himself at somewhere and some point. But the moment he felt something drip onto his skin, realization struck.

Looking up, Klaus noticed that the gray sky had darkened considerably. The absence of the sun already made visibility difficult, but now, a mass of black clouds loomed overhead, swallowing what little light remained.

What’s going on? He wondered worriedly. Moments later, several small droplets began to flow from the blackened sky. Normally, one would automatically assume it was raining. Yes, it was raining, but instead of a ’rain of water’, droplets of blood were dropping above.

"?!"

Naturally, the group noticed the situation and stopped moving, glancing above in confusion.

A chilling silence fell over the group as they watched the crimson droplets descend from the sky, splattering against the ground like ink bleeding into parchment. A metallic tang saturated the air.

Adrian took a cautious step back, with his brows furrowing as he wiped a droplet from his cheek.

"The hell is this...? It’s raining blood."

Seraphim, unfazed as ever, extended her gloved hand, letting the blood pool in her palm before rubbing it between her fingers.

"It’s fresh," she stated matter-of-factly. "Still warm."

Looking at her, Adrian said with a slightly high voice:

"Is that really important right now? It’s literally raining blood! Don’t you think that’s strange?!"

I don’t know about her, but that’s certainly strange!

Suddenly, Klaus felt a rather thick and heavy wave of foreboding washing all over his body.

Thinking about it, weren’t Hollows highly sensitive to the scent of blood? Whether organic or not, it made no difference. If they were drenched in it, they would undoubtedly attract attention, the worst kind possible. It would be no different from walking straight into a den of starving wolves.

And shockingly, that wasn’t even the strangest part.

A deep, guttural rumbling echoed from somewhere in the distance, vibrating through the very air. Moments later, the first trickles of crimson seeped into the labyrinth, sluggish at first, but then, the volume swelled. Within minutes, an apocalyptic flood of blood surged forward, consuming everything in its path with terrifying inevitability.

His vision shook.

Something inside his mind twisted, recoiling at the sheer wrongness of what he was witnessing. Overwhelmed by the suffocating dread clawing at his senses, Nikolaus screamed from the deepest depths of his soul:

"EVERYONE RUN! IT’S A FLOOD!!"

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