Imperial Year 4004,

1st day of The Month Of The Holy God's Ascension.

Let's turn the clock back a bit to when the sun had just begun to set, its miraculous light dyeing the sky in a beautiful and wondrous hue of orange. A group of sailors from Captain Okoto's ship were carrying a large wooden box from the port of Osukese to the town proper.

"Man this thing's heavy! Why do we have to move it now?"

The World's End and its crew had arrived in Osukese with quite a lot of cargo and just like all their other voyages, they quickly set forth to deliver the cargo to their rightful owners. Except for one. The box these sailors were carrying had been purposefully left for last. One could surmise that this was done because of how heavy the box was but if that was the case, why not just leave the delivery for the next day? They had made impressive time by sailing across the Kharybdian and considering how late it was, not even their employer or the owner could complain about receiving the package a day later. So why were they delivering it so late?

"Customer's orders."

"They specifically requested for it to be delivered at this time? What a weirdo."

"If ya knew who it belonged to, ya wouldn't be talkin' out of ya ass like that."

"Oh I'm so scared...please."

The leader of the current group of sailors knew who the package belonged to but he hesitated to speak about it for he was never meant to obtain that knowledge. That didn't stop his crew mates from pestering him about it though.

"Come on, tell us who it belongs to. Or are ya too scared to tell us?"

The pestering didn't stop there. Even with the heavy load on their shoulders, they continually pressed and poked him until he finally gave in.

"Fine, fine...but ya didn't hear it from me...I overheard the capn' talking about it back in Asafua...this box belongs to...Skinner."

After that reply, nobody spoke up again and they all continued to walk in silence as many questions flowed through their minds. They all wondered why the captain would be in contact with a man like Skinner and what could possibly be in the box. All the sailors present had all made frequent voyages to Osukese over the years and as a consequence, were all very aware of Skinner's reputation as both the mayor of Osukese and as a member of the criminal underworld.

The allure of what could be in the heavy package they carried over their shoulders continued to hound them but they ignored it for they all knew how foolish it would be to be involved in Skinner's affairs. As they walked, the sun finally took his rest and the moon, full and beautiful, took her rightful place as queen of the night sky.

The sailors stopped in their tracks and looked up to that moon as though they were entranced by it. Though she was as gorgeous as every other night, there seemed to be something sinister about the moon tonight.

Suddenly, they all heard a quiet, low rumbling. The box shook and they all dropped it out of fear. Bursting out of the box was a peculiar black wolf. What was peculiar about it? It had a humanoid shape, almost as if it was a beastfolk. Even more peculiar was that there were chains around it. The chains extended from the collar around its neck and bound all of its paws.

The sailors would have run the moment they saw it but they hesitated to do so as they heard a quiet and weak voice come from the wolf.

"H...elp...me..."

After hearing that sad, pitiful cry for help, one of the sailors walked closer to the creature and as he did so, he noticed how thin it was. He couldn't help but pity the poor creature and he desired to help it. He reached closer to see if there was something he could do about its bindings.The wolf felt cold to the touch and its pulse felt weak, like there was barely any life left in the creature's body.

"It’s going to be okay. Hey, guys I need your help."

"Are you crazy?! That thing belongs to Skinner. I don't want anything to do with it!"

"But it was crying for help. We have to do someth-"

It is worth noting that the sky above where the box and wolf had fallen was obscured by a large cloud and soon that cloud would drift away, allowing the sailors and the wolf to bask in the wondrous light of the moon.

The sailor touching the wolf felt its heat slowly rise and its pulse become more steady. He saw it gradually grow larger and larger until it towered over them. He also observed how it lost its humanoid shape and became more feral and beastlike. As the beast looked upon the sailors, its yellow eyes kept on switching to purple then back to yellow again, until they finally settled on purple. It took one last look at them before darting off into the town.

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Fionn was ready to finally get some sleep that night when she sensed the presence of three people behind her. She knew who they were and as such she was not frightened by them at all. She pretended to sleep and the three people moved even closer. They were close enough to touch her and as they reached to do so, Fionn quickly stood up.

"Boo!"

"Aaah!"

The three children fell to the ground out of surprise and fear.

"You kids are a hundred years too early if you think you can get the drop on a death knight like me!"

As she said this, Fionn proudly puffed out her chest.

About a week ago, Fionn had promised the children that she would allow them to keep her sword if they were able to sneak up on her and steal it themselves. After nearly a week of repeated failures, the kids were naturally upset.

"We're going to get that sword one day!"

"Yeah, what she said!"

"Sure, in your dreams maybe."

"..."

All the children expressed their conviction in obtaining her sword, except for one, a little girl that hadn't spoken up at all during this encounter. She was usually very talkative so it made Fionn very curious as to why she was being so quiet.

"Is there something wrong, Alice?"

"N-no, there's nothing wrong! It's just that there's something I've been meaning to ask."

"Well, spit it out already. I promise not to get angry."

With the assurance from Fionn herself that she wouldn't get mad, Alice finally asked the question that had been on her mind since meeting Fionn.

"Ms. Fionn, why do you sleep outside, is it because you're poor?"

The question shocked Fionn to her core. She had spent days building herself up as this cool death knight, just for it to come crashing down with one simple question.

"Huh? W-what gave you that idea? I'm-I'm only staying outside because, because uh, because it's part of my training!"

It was a lie. Even just the way she answered the question would have made it incredibly obvious that she was lying. Fortunately for Fionn, the children right in front of her were very impressionable and believed she could do no wrong. Although lying to them like that did make her feel a tad bit guilty.

"W-well, we should probably get you kids home."

"Fine, but we'll get that sword tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Yep!"

With her lie successful and her image saved, Fionn walked the kids back home. Their homes weren't too far from the town square and the town itself was relatively safe but she still felt that it would be better to watch over them, especially when it was this late. As luck would have it, Fionn's decision proved to be right as they would encounter a fearsome beast on their way home.

**************************************************

While Nyameye and Fionn were thinking of how best to approach this fight, the wolf, relying on its natural instincts, made the first move.

Faster than Nyameye could blink, the wolf quickly closed the distance between them.

'Huh?!'

It swiped down at him with its massive paw. The beast intended to crush Nyameye with all of its strength.

Nyameye raised his arms above his head to protect himself. He knew that this alone would not be able to shield him from the wolf's might, so he hardened the bones within his arms and expanded the muscle fibers surrounding the bones and braced for the attack.The wolf's immense strength brought him to his knees but it could not crush him as his strengthened arms were able to hold it off.

Not wanting to waste this chance, Fionn launched an attack of her own. She hopped from wall to wall, launching herself right next to Nyameye. Then with her sword still in its sheath, she swung it upwards, hitting the wolf beneath its chin.

This staggered the beast, allowing Nyameye to send the beast flying with a jab from his enhanced right fist.

Seemingly angered by this, the beast's growls became even more erratic. Its whole demeanor changed and soon, its body would change too.

It grew an extra pair of eyes and its mouth split in two. The beast grew more feral and its two opponents could feel the bloodlust oozing from its body. Just from looking at it, it was clear that any form of intelligence it once had, was now gone.

By now, the three children had already run back home. This would allow Nyameye and Fionn to fight with everything they had, as it would take at least that much for them to win this fight.

The first to spring into action was Nyameye. He liquefied the bone in his right hand and let it pierce through the back of his hand, before hardening it into a sharp, knife-like form. Following that, he crouched and focused his strength into his legs. His leg muscles grew twice their size and most of the blood flowing through his body moved to further empower his strengthened legs. This entire process took five seconds.

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Taking off with an explosive start, Nyameye readied his blade. He hoped to quickly end the beast's life before it had the chance to attack again. Nyameye was inches away from doing so when the beast howled. The howl was oppressive and filled with wild strength. It gave off the presence of an all powerful predator hunting its prey.

'I can't move?!'

After the beast howled, Nyameye found it impossible to move. With its prey immobilized, the beast bit into Nyameye's outstretched right arm and repeatedly slammed him into the walls of the nearby houses, before finally throwing him past Fionn.

Fionn didn't know what to make of what just happened. From her perspective, Nyameye had just charged in and stopped in place for no reason. She couldn't tell if what was the beast's own ability or just a mistake from Nyameye but she did know it would be reckless to just charge in like he did. Fionn jumped and climbed a nearby wall to reach the roof of one of the buildings. She hoped the beast would follow and thankfully it did. It clumsily tried to follow her and soon its head and two front paws would be on top of the roof.

With her enemy right where she wanted it, she grabbed the hilt of her sheathed sword with both of her hands. Using a short dash, she closed the distance between them and slammed her sword into the side of its head. While its head was still in contact with her sword, she spun around and jumped, dragging the wolf with her all the way.

'Soaring Tempest!'

Fionn wasn't finished with the beast yet. She prepared to unleash another of her arts when the beast howled again.

'Hmm, I can't move!'

Unable to move, Fionn crashed into the roof of a house below her and the beast landed a few feet away from her.

After getting tossed around like a ragdoll, Nyameye was in pretty bad shape. Which was why he was so thankful that his wounds were already starting to heal. He stood up and noticed that his right arm was bent and twisted in a way that should not have been possible for a regular human. Nyameye sighed and watched as his arm slowly returned to its original shape and position, loudly cracking all the way.

With his body back to fighting shape, Nyameye was eager to continue the fight. He saw Fionn hurling the beast into the air and jumped up onto the rooftop to join her. He made it just in time to see Fionn crash back into the roof.

The beast began to approach Fionn but she didn't even try to get up. Nyameye surmised that the beast was responsible for this and launched an attack to draw its attention from Fionn. With his right foot, he launched one of the roof tiles and kicked it with his left foot at the wolf. The tile collided into its face and shattered into dust. Instantly, the beast's attention shifted to him and it broke into a mad dash for Nyameye.

As it was running, Nyameye shot four bone bullets at each of the beast's eyes. It made no attempt to dodge so each attack hit its mark. Nyameye was sure that would slow it down a bit but to his shock, four other eyes sprouted on the sides of its head. He was not amused to see the beast regrow its eyes. Even though Nyameye himself had regenerative abilities, it always annoyed him when he had to face someone with those same abilities.

In anticipation of the beast's next attack, Nyameye's right arm began to squirm and morph. The muscles fibers and tissues that made up the arm expanded and tore through the sleeve. His right arm became a squirming mass of flesh that he could shape as he desired.

'Fascicle Wall!'

Nyameye commanded the mass of flesh to form a protective wall against the wolf's attacks. He hoped to come up with a plan of action while it was busy chewing through it. Unfortunately, he underestimated the wolf's strength and it easily tore through the flesh wall he had built. Though it tore through much faster than he anticipated, he was still able to distance himself from the wolf as it was preoccupied with eating the remains of his flesh wall.

'Usually I'm ecstatic when I get to see people eat so happily but this just pisses me off.'

Nyameye turned to the stump that was his right hand and sighed.

'I've barely eaten today so healing an entire arm just isn't going to be possible...guess I'll just have to work with what I have.'

In mere seconds, the wolf finished its meal and set its sights on Nyameye when a familiar face entered the fray. Fionn cautiously approached from behind to attack the beast. She was in a perfect position to attack the beast but she hesitated as more eyes sprouted across the wolf's back. Though it was only for a moment, her hesitation allowed the beast to attack her, forcing her to focus on defense. She expertly parried its incoming paws and even managed to get a few smacks in but it was clear she wasn't beating it alone.

'Radius Ulna Sword.'

Racing across the rooftop, Nyameye morphed the bone of his remaining forearm into a sword and jumped. The wolf's eyes saw through his attack and shifted its body to face him. Nyameye's makeshift sword collided with the wolf's paw and it sent him tumbling across the roof. He quickly stood up and continued to press the attack by circling the beast and dodging and parrying any attacks that came his way. Fionn observed his actions and followed suit.

They were finally working in sync, covering for each other's missteps. This was a battle where they could easily lose their lives at any point and yet Nyameye decided to strike up a conversation.

"You know, I've been wondering, why are you fighting with your sword sheathed?"

Fionn didn't wonder why he was asking such a question and answered him as straightforwardly as possible.

"There is no sword."

"Huh?"

"I was practicing and I accidentally shattered the blade."

Fionn was incredibly thankful that she was wearing her helm as she was not sure she could concentrate on the fight if Nyameye could see how embarrassed she was. Nyameye, on the other hand, could sense the awkward atmosphere his question had created and quickly thought of a way to change the topic. He was so engrossed in thought that he failed to completely dodge out of the way of the wolf's attacks and its large paws struck his makeshift sword. The collision between his sword and the beast's claws formed sparks that flew around the two.

Fionn saw their deadlock and realized that this was a perfect opportunity to attack. The moment that she made an attempt to attack the beast, it shifted its head a hundred and eighty degrees and howled at her. Instantly, she was frozen in place, again.Then the beast shifted its attention back to Nyameye, its eyes glistening with wild glee.

Nyameye pondered the idea of returning his sword-arm back to normal. This would momentarily allow him to break free from their deadlock. He had barely had time to think it over when another leg sprouted from the side of the beast. The new leg grabbed Nyameye and dragged him across the roof, before finally throwing him up in the air.

In eager anticipation of its prey falling back onto the ground, the beast's foul maw grew three times its size. This was all for the purpose of eating him better. In the split second before Nyameye fell into its mouth, he thought of enlarging his right arm and filling its mouth with it. This would allow him to escape being eaten by it and it also had the slight chance of choking it. Before he could enact this plan, Fionn tackled the beast and sent it sliding across the roof.

"Its petrifying howl seemed to last much shorter this time."

"I think the time it lasts for might be random."

"That’s so annoying!"

Scratching his head with his left arm, Nyameye expressed just how fed up he was with the beast. Its regeneration and body growths were already infuriating enough but now with the knowledge that the time limit on its petrifying howl was completely random, Nyameye had just about enough of this fight.

"Fionn, you’ll probably be able to fight better like this, right?"

"Hmm?"

Nyameye turned his left hand towards Fionn and as he did so, it began to morph and shift.

"Here, take it."

Nyameye handed Fionn a claymore created from the transformation of the bone and flesh of his left arm. Unlike the makeshift swords Nyameye had been using, the design of this claymore was far more elaborate. The hilt of the ivory blade consisted of a single solid bone infused with coiling flesh and its edges were jagged and sawlike.

"Are you sure about this?"

Naturally, Fionn was concerned about Nyameye just handing over his entire arm. She was worried that he wouldn't be able to keep up in the state that he was in but his next words helped to reassure her.

"It’s fine, I've still got my legs and besides, swordsmanship just isn't my thing."

Nyameye could not see it but a large smile had formed over Fionn's face. After all, what better weapon for a death knight to use than one made from flesh and bone. Her blood boiled from the excitement of finally being able to use a weapon that she personally believed to be 'cool'.

"I'll keep its attention on me while you deal the final strike, okay?"

"Understood."

Nyameye sprang into action. With the loss of his arms, he focused all of his remaining strength into his legs. This led to a burst of speed that surprised both the wolf and Fionn. In response to his daring charge, more legs sprouted from the back of the wolf. They stretched forwards with the intention of finally ending Nyameye's life.

As three of the legs closed in on him, Nyameye jumped high above them. It was a rather bold but foolish move as he was now unable to dodge in midair as more claws shot forth and closed in on him.

Even with the incoming danger that the claws presented, there was not a hint of fear on his face. While gravity brought him back to the ground, he patiently waited for the claws to get even closer to him. Once they were close enough, he swatted them away with one strong kick and used another claw approaching from behind as a launchpad. He shot towards the wolf and delivered a devastating kick to its head.

Disoriented, the wolf was unable to notice Fionn close in. As Fionn prepared to unleash her attack upon the beast, it sensed a strength much greater than what she had displayed throughout the fight. Although Fionn was a formidable fighter, she had a rather bad habit. She was unable to give it her all in a fight unless she was able to live out her fantasies of being a death knight. Which is why she would often use swords made out of impractical but cool-looking material. This was the reason why the sword she had been using before broke so easily. Now, equipped with a sword made out of flesh and bone, she was able to exhibit her full strength.

'Triple Flash.'

Fionn squatted and held the ivory sword next to her neck with both of her hands. She held her position for a few seconds, then she swung the sword three times. The first swing targeted the claws growing out of the beast's back. The second targeted its neck and the last swing targeted its lower body. Although each sword slash occurred at a different time, the damage they each dealt only became visible after the third and final slash. That was the 'Triple Flash' technique.

The beast's lifeless body slumped onto the rooftop. Fionn and Nyameye both took heavy breaths as the adrenaline wore off and the fatigue from the fight began to set in. While they were doing so, they observed a crowd of people gathering close to the building they were standing on. This didn't come as a surprise as the commotion from their fight was impossible to ignore.

"I suppose we should do something about its body, we can't just leave it lying there like that."

Fionn nodded and moved closer to gather the remains of the beast after placing the ivory sword in the sheath she had been using. She reached out her hand to the still head of the wolf but stopped as a large shadow fell upon her. Fionn looked up and saw that a cloud had obscured the moon from her sight.

"Pl...ease....he..l..p...me.."

A voice, frail and soft to the ears, could be heard coming from the lifeless corpse of the beast. Immediately upon hearing that voice, both Fionn and Nyameye hopped away from it. They looked at the beast's head and noticed that its violent purple eyes were now a calming and meek yellow. Drops of water leaked out of the beast's eyes and they could now sense that the intelligence that it had lost throughout their fight, had now returned to it. As they continued to stare into those sorrowful eyes, they bore witness to the humanity that lingered beneath them.

'Something's wrong!'

The wolf had spoken to them and it seemed to be crying out for help but what if that was a ploy by the beast to make them lower their guard? They lacked enough information to properly make a decision on what they should do next. One thing they were absolutely sure of was that the beast was not to be underestimated. Its head had been cut off but it was still alive. The thought had crossed their minds throughout the fight but now it was all but confirmed. This wolf was borderline immortal.

While they stood away from it, the cloud covering up the queen of the night eventually drifted away and in doing so, allowed her wondrous light to wash over them. Immediately, a strange change took place within the beast's body. Its left eye returned to that original purple color and tendrils extended from its torso, connecting its butchered body back together.

Nyameye and Fionn, utterly exhausted from the fight, readied themselves for what would come next but what followed shocked them to their core. All throughout this fight, the wolf had demonstrated a mindless ferocity towards its opponents but now that its adversaries were worn down, it chose to run away. Naturally, Fionn and Nyameye gave chase to the beast.

While they did so, they observed how clumsily it moved through the streets. It was faster than before but the agility and instinctive deftness it should have had were all gone. It constantly bumped into walls and tripped over itself as it continued to run. Even with the wolf's constant mistakes, it took everything Nyameye and Fionn had to keep up with it.

Emerging from the town streets, they found themselves in the town square. The wolf, seeing the crowd of people that had gathered in response to all the noise it had made, tripped and collided into the fountain in the middle square. The impact barely fazed it and it was soon standing on all fours again.

The beast looked around its surroundings. Its eyes fell on the pair that had fought so desperately to kill it. Then they fell on all the children that had left their homes to see it and finally the adults that had come out to protect the children. With so many people there, there was a part of the beast that felt hopeful. It thought of everything that had transpired before it had even arrived in this town and realized that the people before it could potentially prove to be very helpful. Unfortunately, there was another part of it that seemed to drown out its hopeful side. This part was much louder. It was a primal desire to hunt and eat.

The wolf howled. It drowned out all the sound in the immediate area and brought fear into the hearts of everyone except Nyameye and Fionn for they could sense the anger, hatred, fear and sorrow that existed in that loud howl.

Chapter 3:Moon Devourer