First QuarterChapter Seventy: Winner of the HuntSeventh day.When the sun rose, the pack's entrance filled slowly with exhausted people carrying their worn-out bodies and dragging a load of animal carcasses. Some brought a sack worth of animals, while the others sadly only brought one small dead animal. Sadness was etched on their faces whenever they saw someone who brought bigger or more quantity than theirs, knowing fully well that they had lost and didn’t have the chance to win the competition at all.Trevon, who was standing on a platform not too far away from the entrance, observed them with the other instructors. He looked at them calmly, while nodding his head.He had expected that many would be back with nothing in their hands, but this batch of examinees was competent.The instructors behind him were equally satisfied, and they couldn't help but comment. “Good! It seems like we have promising children!”“Almost everyone caught something. That’s commendable, considering they
First QuarterChapter Seventy-One: Healing“Congratulations, Luna!” Cyril grinned widely as she entered her tent. He immediately offered a hand to get her things and giddily showed her inside. “You’ve won the hunt, and it has the biggest margin too! Who could have thought that you would find such a beast here? It must be fate!”‘Fate…’ Mallory almost laughed. ‘It probably is, but I would appreciate it if fate won’t jump-scare me next time.’“Thank you, Cyril.” She handed him the bag she had been carrying for days. “Is the water ready? I want to take a bath.”“It is, Luna,” Cyril answered without missing a beat. “I wouldn’t be able to assist you with the bath, and no one is available at the moment. Should I call for Oddny?”“No.” Mallory shook her head and walked towards the bath area, specially made just for her. “Let her rest. These three days must be hard on her. What’s for tomorrow again?”Cyril was well informed, he said methodically. "Tomorrow, everyone gets to relax and have fre
First Quarter Chapter Seventy-Two: Last Day That discovery made her sit throughout the camp. She sat next to the instructors, watching the others engage in the predetermined activities. On the twelfth day, the mock battle begins. Mallory sat in a comfortable seat with Cyril and Oddny standing behind her. Unblessed were not allowed to join the battle as they had no Blessing yet. The three of them watched as the ongoing team battle happened in front of them, marveling at the potential of others, while also laughing at someone’s mistake. “Are you enjoying yourself, Luna?” Trevon asked, slightly obstructing the view. Mallory looked up at him, not even showing a slight annoyance from his disturbance. “Yes, Trevon. It’s quite fun to watch from the sidelines.” Trevon sounds satisfied with her answer. He stepped aside to let her watch, then silence descended upon the four. They stayed there until the afternoon, just taking breaks whenever a match stopped. Mallory, of course, didn’t jus
First Quarter Chapter Seventy-Three: Attack “Hello,” Mallory greeted her group, the very one she grouped with when they were exploring the area. “I’ll be in your care.” “… Likewise.” “Hello, Luna.” Mallory almost spread her lips widely after hearing their response. It was refreshing to hear them greeting her back. Since the day it was revealed that she could heal people, everyone significantly opened up to her. “Luna,” Ada, the female instructor who guided them through the exploration, called out to her. “We will be traveling with the fourth carriage. And we will be at the left flank.” “I know,” Mallory said truthfully. “Cyril had told me.” Cyril, who was acting as if he didn't exist, was riding a horse next to her. Oddny was riding in the carriage. “… Hm.” Ada nodded her head and steered her horse to the very front of their unit. She stood there in silence, and so did they. She knew that she was counting seconds, waiting for the first unit and their unit to have a huge dista
First QuarterChapter Seventy-Four: Separated“Let’s go!” Ada said, urgency lacing her voice.“G-go?” Someone in their unit broke his voice. “How about them? We should hurry and get to them!”Mallory sharply turned to glare at him, feeling the rise of incredulity in her throat. It was funny how ignorant and stupid werewolves were when they hadn’t had the taste of terror from the vampires.“No,” she said sternly, clearly having no more room for discussion.“No?” The man looked at her in terror. “What do you mean, no? They’re in danger!”“We’re in danger ourselves,” Mallory said, almost gritting her teeth. “And did you forget about the captain's words? If mishaps happen, let’s run for our lives!”“But that’s cowardly!”“As cowardly as it is, that’s how we managed to preserve our race for years.” Mallory wanted to sound patient, but the pressing situation almost made her dig his brain out and ask how his heroic tendency would make him live.“B-but if we all attack together—”“We might di
First QuarterChapter Seventy-Five: Fighting Back“Oddny, Oddny!” Mallory struggled to get up, then struggled towards Oddny’s side. She kneeled, not caring if the pebbles were digging on her knees. She couldn’t feel them, anyway. Cupping her face with her hands, Mallory leaned in to hear If she was still breathing and sighed in relief when she felt the warm air coming out from her nostrils. Before she could sigh in relief, a harsh rustle made her head twist towards the source of the noise.The vampire stood slowly, his eyes staring at her without blinking. He raised his hands, showing the elongated nails. Mallory followed them, gritting her teeth. Without a second thought, she took the dagger from its sheath and pointed the sharp point towards him.“Approach us and lose your life!” Mallory threatened, hiding the trembling of her voice. She shifted, obscuring the view of Oddny’s body from his eyes.The vampire looked at the dagger, and a mocking laugh escaped from his lips. “Silly gi
First QuarterChapter Seventy-Six: Back to the Present“But that means you’ll be killing yourself!” Mallory said in alarm, remembering that their consciousness is equal to their life. The reason they were alive was simply because they had developed consciousness.Rather than responding to her directly, the plant chose to narrate a story. “I had lived for thousands of years in seclusion, never wanting to go out as I find the outside world unappealing. I do have companions with me, but they wither and die, trying to save everyone they fancy outside. I couldn’t understand why until I lived in my own company for a very long while.]The plant paused, then continued. [I used to think that living in solitude is the ultimate goal in our long life, yet as time passed, I then knew what it was to live alone…][It’s unbearable.]Mallory remained silent, not quite knowing how to respond to that. But with all her rambling, Mallory already has an idea of what she wants to say.Then she remembered th
First QuarterChapter Seventy-Seven: SearchThat led to them here.Now, aside from looking for the Luna, they were retrieving the intact corpses of their people.Trevon followed Leofric towards where he found the corpses of Mallory’s squad.Near a tree, they saw a female corpse together with a pile of ash. Trevon looked at Ada’s corpse with a complicated expression. She killed the vampire, but at what cost?Trevon and the others looked around and found more and more corpses. The atmosphere became graver as time went by, making them feel suffocated. They silently collected the corpses and loaded them into the wagons, then murmured a brief prayer.Trevon helped, his guilt eating him up from the insides. He could feel the glares behind him and knew that even without asking, they blame him. He understands. Trevon blamed himself, too.“Damn it,” a whisper broke the silence. Everyone shot an eye towards the man, yet he ignored them all. He gritted his teeth, looking at the corpse of a young