Keisuke was crouched down, leaning his back against a thick oak tree. Beside him was Fumiko, who was clinging tightly to her staff, bracing herself. There was an edgy suspense hanging in the air tonight. You could almost taste it: a nervous tension that came perilous close to fear.

Not too far across from Keisuke and Fumiko, crouching behind a fallen log, was Mahiro. He was slowly peeking his head from above the log, watching, waiting.

It was dusk of what was their fourth day as scouting legion trainees, and they had returned to the location of their first quest.

Mahiro’s plan was simple: they would lure the wolf in instead of trying to find it themselves. According to Joseph, the wolf lurking near his farm was preying on his animals. For whatever reason, it was away from its pack and it was relying on the farm to keep itself fed. Mahiro’s plan was to use that to their advantage.

Since they hadn’t killed the wolf, Mahiro was sure that it would return to the farm at some point when it grew hungry. If the farm was its only source of food, then that was almost certain. With Joseph’s permission, they had a good plan in motion for that instance.

The sound of an animal crying echoed throughout the moonlit forest. The noise came just north of Keisuke, from a clearing in the woods where a goat was tied against a tree.

This was the crux of Mahiro’s plan: live bait. They were going to use an animal to lure the wolf in. Granted, the plan needed them to have an animal, if they didn’t then it would’ve been a bust. Luckily, Joseph saw the brilliance in Mahiro’s idea and allowed the party to use one of his goats.

It was a decent plan. An innovative one, at that, but it was not without its faults.

The biggest issue was that they really had no way of knowing whether the wolf would return or not. Realistically, the plan was based on speculation that it would, and thus fall for the bait. But that wasn’t guaranteed. They realised this the day after they first came here, when they first tried to enact the plan. The wolf hadn’t shown up that night. They were devastated because their livelihood was reliant on that plan working. Since they hadn’t yet killed the wolf, Keisuke confirmed with Lucy that the quest was still active and they could still get paid if they completed it. When it became obvious that the wolf would not show up that night, they realised that they would have to go to bed that night with no food.

It was Joseph who had come to their aid when he heard of their predicament. The man offered them a dozen eggs from the chickens in his farm so they could at least feed themselves until the business with the wolf had been dealt with. So they didn’t end up going to bed on empty stomachs after all. They were eating but they were still penniless.

The second and third days ended the same, with the wolf not showing up. Keisuke would’ve been lying if he said he wasn’t beginning to panic. They were four days into their time as rookies and they’d made zero progress. Everyone else had completed one or two quests by now, and they were still stuck on this one.

Mahiro was determined to kill this wolf. If we can’t even finish this, then how do we expect to complete other quests? he expressed to them on the night of the third day when they had looked down and dejected.

Keisuke felt the same, but he understood that this was not ideal. As things stood, they weren’t moving forward at all. They were currently living on other people’s charity: Noburu, Joseph, and the stablehand. That could not last forever. They had to start moving soon and fast, and Keisuke hoped that today would be the day they took their first step.

It was the third day of their plan and the fourth of their time as rookies. If the wolf did not show today, then they would be in trouble. Keisuke understood that. He was sure they all did, because the atmosphere between the three had been uneasy tonight.

Beside him, Keisuke wasn’t sure, but it looked like Fumiko was saying a silent prayer. Her eyes were closed and she was still clutching onto the staff. Keisuke noticed her shoulders trembling.

“Everything will be o—” Keisuke stopped himself. What was he going to say? That everything was going to be okay? How did he know that for certain? He was just as frightened as her, if not more.

Keisuke wanted to try and comfort Fumiko, though, but just didn’t know how.

“Huh?” Most likely hearing him, Fumiko turned her head to the side to look at Keisuke. Did you say something?"

“I-it’s nothing… Sorry.”

Fumiko looked away, silent. Keisuke wondered if he should’ve said something after all.

On the other side, Mahiro peeked once more, and then quickly lowered his head again. It took one look at Mahiro’s serious face for Keisuke to understand, and the frantic hand gestures all but confirmed it.

It was there.

The wolfswood was old and thick, allowing only the faintest beams of moonlight through its dense canopy. Tall oaks and evergreen and ash trees stood in the dark like sentinels, surrounded by dense bushes and shrubs so dark they seemed like shadows and silhouettes in the distance.

It was just ahead where it appeared, in a clearing where a sliver of silver light from the moon pierced the brightest. When the wolf didn’t show the first day, Mahiro decided to venture deeper into the wolfswood on the second to try and lure it in from there. True to its name, the forest had come alive with the howling of distant packs that night. They’d left early when those howls began to sound not-so distant.

It was finally there now. Keisuke carefully poked his head to look and he saw it step out into the canopy and slowly appraise the bait. The goat’s bleats were more frantic now, perhaps aware of its predicament. Fumiko’s body cringed at the sound, and she pulled her staff closer to herself.

Keisuke looked over at Mahiro for their course of action. He was holding his right hand up. “Hold” or “Wait”, it probably meant. Keisuke nodded his understanding.

The three of them waited, watching, nervous with anxiety. Keisuke took a deep breath and gulped so loudly for a second he was afraid that the wolf had heard him. It was now or never. Keisuke understood that. If they couldn’t complete the quest now, then they would have to give up. He just had to make his body understand, too.

By now, the wolf had drawn closer to the lamb, sniffing it. Mahiro still had his hand up.

Wait…is he waiting until the wolf actually starts eating the lamb? It’s not a bad idea, it could get it to drop its guard, but…

“No…” Fumiko muttered, shaking her head.

Keisuke could very well sense her agitation, but he couldn’t do anything about it. Everything will be okay, he had tried to say earlier. Mahiro still had his hand raised, his eyes fixed on the wolf.

Is this really okay…? Keisuke looked at Fumiko once more. It was no sooner he thought that, and the wolf bared its fangs, that the girl beside him rushed into the clearing.

“Fumiko?!” Keisuke shouted. Before he even realised it, he was on his feet as well and chasing after her.

They stepped out into the silver light. The wolf seemed startled by Fumiko’s sudden emergence. It quickly spun around to face them.

Fumiko was just ahead of Keisuke. Her back was facing him, but he could see how frightened she was. She was trembling.

The wolf barked at them.

“Fumiko, stay back!” Keisuke called to her.

Though, it seemed like the wolf wasn’t trying to advance. It pedalled backwards slowly, towards the edge of the clearing.

Is it trying to escape…? Keisuke noticed. It seemed unusual for it to edge backwards.

But it couldn’t go any further because Mahiro had appeared behind it. “Not so fast!” he said, sword and shield in hand. “Keisuke, cover its right side!” Mahiro barked an order at him.

“Right!” Keisuke drew his longsword and quickly went to cover.

They had surrounded it now. Fumiko was to its right and Keisuke was to its left. Mahiro had appeared behind it, so the wolf was forced to centre itself, thus making it face Keisuke head-on. Behind it there was a large oak tree, thick and old. Any immediate escape routes were cut off. If it wanted to run away, it would have to plunge through one of them.

“I’ll attack!” Mahiro announced and charged at the wolf with his sword. He swung down, but the wolf nimbly jumped backwards. “Keisuke!”

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He made his move as well, rushing at the wolf and slicing. There was a whoosh as Keisuke’s sword sliced through air. He’d also missed.

But through its efforts to avoid their attacks, the wolf had positioned itself closer to the tree, further cornering itself. Mahiro took a step forward, realising this, and attempting to close in on it. “Apply pressure! Make sure it can’t run away!”

It was almost as if the wolf heard and understood his call, because it growled and snapped at Mahiro fiercely.

This is it. It can’t run away. Even if it tries, it will leave its back open and we can attack it for free. This is it. We have it cornered.

Keisuke tried to get his breath under control. He took another step forward, and when the wolf snapped its teeth at him he had to fight the urge to step back.

“S-Sacred Fla…” Fumiko was muttering something under her breath, but stopped halfway. It looked like she was trying to fire one of her spells but was struggling to calm her nerves

The wolf must’ve realised its predicament right now because it was growling and snapping manically. A cornered beast is dangerous, Keisuke remembered Koto-sensei telling him. No living creature wants to die, he heard her voice saying, loud and close now. If you trap any beast with the threat of taking its life, you will be in for a rude awakening. Those words echoed in Keisuke’s words when he watched the wolf suddenly lunge at Mahiro with ruthless aggression.

“Wh-whaa?!” Mahiro was taken by surprise. The attack was so sudden and desperate that it was difficult to predict. Mahiro managed to get his shield up in time and the wolf bounced off it.

No living creature wants to die, Keisuke repeated to himself. Not it and not them. But this was a do-or-die situation. If they could not kill this wolf here and now, then they would not be able to survive in this world.

So, they had to. Whether they liked it or not, they had to. Even if it was difficult, they had to. They had to. They had to. They had to. In order to survive, they had to. And in order to live, the wolf had to fight and defend itself as well. That was the current reality of their world.

“S-S-Sacred…” Fumiko kept muttering. Her staff was raised and aimed at the wolf but nothing was happening. “I can’t! I can’t do it!”

It’s cruel, I know, but this is the path we chose. There’s no turning back now. We’ve already done this much.

“You don’t have to force yourself, Fumiko! Do what you can do!” Keisuke shouted at her. There was no point in pushing or expecting her to do something she was clearly struggling to do.

“S-something I can do?” Fumiko repeated, blinking. “I… Do your best! [Bless].” A dim yellow light shone from Fumiko’s staff and that same light seemed to swirl around both Keisuke and Mahiro before disappearing.

What was that just now…? A light? But it’s gone now.

There was no time to be spent thinking, because the wolf looked like it was planning an escape.

“I won’t let you!” Shouting, Keisuke ran and attacked the wolf. He swung once, missed, a second time, missed. The wolf shuffled to the side of his attack, just barely out of range. Keisuke was planning on stepping backwards when he saw an opening, suddenly clear as sunlight. Quickly extending his arm and using the momentum from his second attack to swipe his sword across, Keisuke attacked a third time. It connected. Keisuke felt himself slice through something. The wolf’s side. Blood coated Keisuke’s longsword, glistening as he moved under the gaze of moonlight.

What was that just now? Somehow, I felt like I could attack again after I missed, and I did. Keisuke couldn’t quite explain the feeling, but it was almost as if he was given another chance at attacking. Was that Fumiko’s spell at work?

When he looked over at Fumiko, her eyes were shut tight and she looked like she was trying really hard to concentrate.

Just like Keisuke had thought, the wound Mahiro had given the wolf the other night was still affecting the wolf and hindering its movement. By piling on the pressure, Keisuke was able to land a hit.

The wolf yelped and reeled away in pain. It rose its head and howled, the sound echoing throughout the moonlit forest.

In an anguished attempt to break through, the wolf made a charge at one of them. It ran directly at Fumiko as she was the only one who had her guard down.

“Fumiko!”

“H-huh…?” Her eyes opened, and just as they did, the glowing stopped.

The wolf bolted straight for her, and she stood there like a stump. It would’ve run right past or worse if Keisuke hadn’t used his whole body to tackle the wolf away.

He managed to knock the wolf away.

“Hungh!” Mahiro came charging in when the wolf was disoriented. He brought his sword down and sliced vertically. Another yelp escaped the wolf’s mouth.

It looked like Mahiro had gotten its front leg, because it immediately lost its footing on its right leg after the attack. It looked pretty wounded now. Blood was dripping from the wounds on its body, hanging onto its fur.

But we haven’t dealt any killing blows yet, Keisuke realised. They’d mostly gotten in cuts and slashes, nothing penetrative.

Keisuke was still on the floor from his tackle when the wolf pounced on him.

What the…?! How do you still have this much strength?!

Keisuke brought his longsword in time and was using it to keep the wolf away from his throat.

No living creature wants to die, his teacher had said. Keisuke saw just how truthful those words were. The wolf snapped savagely from on top of him, trying to rip his face off. Keisuke looked into its eyes. It was angry, manic, and mostly…desperate.

No living creature wants to die.

Keisuke was keeping the wolf off him with everything he had. Spittle was dripping onto his face as the fangs got closer and closer. Despite its wounds, the wolf was still fighting. In fact, it somehow felt even stronger now.

“Stop it!” A loud thwack sounded, and Keisuke felt the pressure from the wolf on him ease a little. Apparently, Fumiko had struck the wolf in the head with her staff. “Get off Keisuke! Get off him, get off him, get off him!” She kept hitting the wolf again and again.

It didn’t look like she was doing a ton of damage, but the wolf must’ve been annoyed with getting hit in the head over and over because it snapped its head and grabbed the staff in its mouth.

“Ah!”

The wolf growled at Fumiko, who was frightened stiff. She’d been hitting the wolf but her eyes had been closed the entire time. Now they were open, and she was staring right into the eyes of a very pissed off wolf.

There was a shout, and then the weight of the wolf was off Keisuke. Mahiro had rushed in and thrust his sword right into the beast’s abdomen, pushing it off Keisuke and forcing it onto the ground.

Keisuke blinked.

When he looked around, Mahiro was crouched down, the wolf in front of him. Mahiro’s sword hung from the wolf's side. It looked like he had killed it.

Keisuke was breathing heavily. He looked at the wolf’s body on the ground. It really wasn’t moving.

“Fumiko, are you okay?” Keisuke asked her.

She was sitting down, panting heavily. All she could do was nod at Keisuke.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…,” Mahiro said softly. “It’s still alive.”

Hearing that, Keisuke was in disbelief. There was a sword hanging from its ribs, and it was still alive? Sure enough, it was. Keisuke could see its chest heaving slightly. It was still breathing.

The wolf began whimpering, much softer now. It must’ve been in great pain.

Fumiko let out a sob, almost on the verge of bursting into tears.

“For fuck sakes…,” Mahiro muttered, and that had caught both Keisuke and Fumiko by surprise.

“Mahiro…–” Keisuke said, but his voice grew softer when he looked at the expression on Mahiro’s face. He was staring at the wolf, his face twitching in disbelief at the fact it was still alive.

“Just die, already…” Mahiro muttered again, almost to himself. Keisuke noticed his grip tighten on the hilt of his longsword, his eyes never once leaving the wolf. “Just die!”

Mahiro suddenly raised his sword in the sky and brought it down on the wolf's body. The wet sound of iron slipping into skin and flesh echoed around them.

It was unexpected, especially coming from Mahiro who had always seemed calm and composed. But Keisuke understood that it had to be done, as difficult as it may have been to see through. The wolf needed to be killed and that blow from Mahiro had surely done.

But when Keisuke saw Mahiro raise his sword again, he felt a chill run through him. He brought his longsword down again, and once again that grotesque sound hung in the air. And then Mahiro did it again. And again. And again. And again. And again.

Fumiko had initially been drawn in to watching by the sheer unexpectedness of it, but now had looked away in disgust. Keisuke, however, could not take his eyes off of the scene. Whether it was because he was so shocked that he was rooted in place or interested, he did not know. But he watched every blow pierce the wolf’s carcass. He'd even begun to lose count of how many there were.

Hey, I think it's dead… Keisuke wanted to say, but couldn't find the words. Even if he did, he somehow got a feeling that Mahiro wouldn't be able to hear him.

After what felt like hours, Mahiro had stopped raising his sword. Whether it was because he was tired or decided it was enough, Keisuke did not know. But the damage had been more than done, and the gore that lay before them was enough to turn anybody’s stomach inside-out. Fumiko took a single glance at it and she couldn't stop herself from vomiting.

Keisuke himself had wished that he hadn't looked, because the image would be burned into his mind for as long as he’d remember. The corpse in front of his eyes was so damaged that it could not even be called a corpse anymore. If anybody else had seen it, Keisuke was certain they would not be able to tell that it was a wolf. What laid before them was a lump of mangled meat, riddled with sword holes and blood.

Keisuke looked at Mahiro and waited for him to say something, but he did not. Keisuke watched him wipe the sweat from his brow, and that was it.

Somewhere in the forest maze of the wolfswood, a wolf howled.