Naela and Luna were full of fear. The monster was coming straight at them.
They could fight, but the fear was stronger.
Most people don't lose because they are weak — they lose because they are scared.
Imagine a person in a cage with a gorilla. 99 people will cheer, not for victory, but so the person does not feel fear.
First, fight the fear. Then comes the win.
Naela and Luna were facing something scarier than a gorilla.
The monster raised the leg on its face to see. It kept doing that like it was having trouble lifting it.
When the monster got close, Luna lost her calm.
She screamed and ran toward the monster with her sword.
She was a coward — the type who goes crazy under pressure. Any bully would stay away from someone like her.
"Luna!" Naela called, but Luna had already cut part of the monster's leg.
"Aaaargh!"
The monster screamed in pain. It quickly hit Luna with one of its legs.
Luna tried to block with her sword. She clenched her teeth from the pain, but she blocked it. Then she attacked again before the monster could pull back and cut another part.
Naela was shocked. Luna's face was full of fear, tears, and a strong will to live.
And somehow, she was winning.
Naela took a deep breath and ran to attack the monster's back. The monster was now focused on Luna.
Naela tried to use the skills she trained for many years.
This monster was called The Blind Walker. When it walks, it can't see. It uses its hearing to hunt.
It was not strong for cultivators, but its scary look was a problem for beginners like Luna and Naela.
Without wasting time, Naela jumped on its back — its weak point.
She stabbed it. Blood exploded and covered her face with the warm, dirty liquid.
The monster screamed and bent backward in a strange way. Then it used its head to hit Naela and threw her off.
Luna saw its neck wide open. She ran and gave it a strong slash with her sword, almost cutting its head.
The monster got angry. Then it stopped moving.
Its mouth, which was under its neck, got filled with blood.
The monster started licking and drinking its own blood.
This was the difference between a monster and an animal.
A monster has no normal shape — and no normal instincts.
Everything about it is wrong, from start to end.
That is a monster.
Luna stared at it in horror.
The monster's head dropped forward, but its mouth kept sucking blood.
Then it started eating its own open neck.
It made angry sounds and kicked the ground with its legs.
But it did not stop biting itself, until it died from blood loss.
When Luna saw the monster was dead, she fell to the ground. Her legs couldn't hold her anymore, and she started vomiting.
After a while, she noticed Naela was missing.
She ran back to the hiding place — but Naela wasn't there. She turned and saw Naela unconscious behind the monster.
Naela had bruises and cuts, but she was okay. Luna felt relief after checking her.
Then she looked at the monster's back and the sword in it. She understood now why the monster exposed its neck like that.
A few minutes later, Naela woke up.
"Luna? What happened? Where is the monster?"
"Look there." Luna pointed behind her.
"That— Is that the monster? Is it dead? Did you kill it?"
"Correction. We killed it." Luna smiled.
"Really? We did it?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what time it is now?"
"Yes."
A few minutes later...
"Move to the left, the light is not good!"
"Like this?"
"Yes, perfect!"
"Now take a picture of me. Show the bruises! I'll climb the monster and pretend to stab it again!"
"Wow! It looks awesome!"
"My phone storage is full, use your phone!"
"No! My camera is bad! Delete your makeup games, you're not a kid anymore!"
"What? No way! How will I have fun in a place with no signal!"
"We should stay alert, no time for playing!"
"No! Wait, I'll delete some bad photos."
"Hey! Why did you delete this one? It was good!"
"I look ugly in it."
"I don't care. I look good. Just crop it."
Naela tried to take the phone, and a fight started between her and Luna.
---
Meanwhile, in another place, Leo and Luke were having a serious discussion.
"So how do you explain the flat land?"
"Because the planet is very big. So the land we walk on looks flat."
"Big? Have you seen it?"
"No need. We have ways to measure it. Just study them."
"I will only believe if someone walks all the way around the planet and comes back to the same place!"
"Nonsense! How? Most of the planet is dangerous. 90% is full of deadly places."
"That's your problem."
"Hey! You're using the 'burden of proof' fallacy!"
"Never heard of it."
"You—!" Leo clenched his teeth. This was their third useless argument. Talking with Luke was a waste of time.
"How far do we have to go?" Luke asked.
"Well, we still have many miles. But don't worry. On one of my old exploration trips, I found a cave. We'll stay there and use it as our base."
"Oh, what team are you in?"
"I don't work in a team. I take contracts from the border castles."
"Oh, you work a lot. What's your job?"
"Same thing we're doing now — map making and environment study. You?"
"Me? I worked as a mercenary. I know a lot about the western forest. I also helped search for Prince Raen."
"Really?"
"Yes! I'm the one who found the wolves!"
Luke looked proud.
But Leo looked at him without trust.
"What's with that look? I'm telling the truth. Okay, I didn't find the wolves first, but I came right after. Raen, from the Stoneheart family, was dead. His family tried to hide the story. Want to hear something crazy?"
"What?"
"Prince Raen was chasing a hunter to kill him. But he ended up eaten by wolves, with the hunter!"
"Wait, wait... That doesn't make sense. If true, why are they ordering to catch anyone in this area?"
Luke looked around, then whispered in Leo's ear.
"I don't know. But I heard some people found a help-request paper. A servant from the Stoneheart family gave it to Raen before he left."
"And according to my sources, that paper was found first. Raen's body was second."
"Okay, so?"
"It's not normal."
"When we study a crime scene, we know Raen should've died without the wolves noticing. For three reasons: First, no signs of fighting on the wolves. Second, wolves are known to sneak well. Third, Raen had a sword and he wasn't weak. He shouldn't die so easily."
"But the paper breaks that. Raen knew he was in danger and used the paper."
"The question is — if he knew, why didn't the wolves have any wounds? The answer: He was already dead when they came. Or someone lured them using meat they love, and brought them near the wooden bridge between the two rivers — so they could leave their area after eating."
"Isn't that overthinking?"
"These are just theories. But Raen's older brother will not let this go. That's why he is careful."
"Conspiracy lovers always make people doubt everything."
"You—!"
Luke and Leo returned to their pointless argument — not knowing they were actually close to the truth.
...
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