It was already five years since the catastrophe which filled the skies with smoke and ash. An event so peculiar that it was clearly visible even tens of kilometers away. An event that was considered as a terrible omen by most of the priests in the city of Verona.

Because of this, the first group of explorers were so slow to investigate. However, under the direct request of Princess Elisa Tarcati, twenty of the city's best fighters had eventually actually managed to embark on the journey.

The mission matched the warnings of the priests. So much so that after less than a month of travel, only five of the twenty warriors had actually reached the entrance to the forest where the catastrophe had occurred in the past.

"We have not even gone too far, and yet the situation has already reached a critical point..." The Expedition Captain, a woman already well advanced in years whose appearance, however, nicely concealed her age, paused to say, speaking into the ear of the second-in-command, her husband Francesco. "Linda," he replied after removing yet another branch from his path. " You should put some effort into hiding your thoughts as much as possible. These boys have suffered enough already," referring to the only three other survivors just a few meters behind them.

Linda tried to open her mouth to reply, but in the end she could not. The expedition's failures were still her responsibility, making her tongue heavy. The loss of fifteen subordinates was a very bitter pill to swallow, even for a veteran warrior like her.

However, it was very difficult to blame her for this. Although they were in fact relatively close to Verona, what they had found on their journey so far had made them think several times that they were in some remote corner of hell. Indeed, it was enough to leave the main road to find themselves in a place very similar to what they imagined hell might be like.

The vegetation proliferated everywhere, making it difficult even to move around. Sick-looking trees full of rotten fruit always spread out in every direction, even before they reached the entrance to the forest itself. To the extent that even the simple prairie with dark earth and skin-burning dust that they had crossed first now looked like an idyllic place.

Nonetheless, it was the wild beasts that caused the majority of their members to die. Creatures different from what they had been accustomed to since childhood. Animals with silent steps and fur as dark as night. Always hidden in the shadows and ready to attack in packs at the first sign of carelessness.

In any case, although they were close to their target, the sun had already begun to set. "Let's stop here for the night," Linda declared indeed as soon as she noticed it. Allowing the entire group to be able to catch their breath. " Vittoria, Diego," she then continued after turning around, calling the attention of two of her subordinates to herself. "Get the tents ready for tonight. It is likely that the temperature will drop again in a few hours."

The two nodded and put their backpacks on the ground, sighing as they remembered how some time ago their chariots had been destroyed. However, stopping to think would not accomplish anything. Which is why they immediately set to work, choosing a narrow place at the foot of two large trees as a base for the camp.

The last subordinate, a little man just twenty-two years younger than the others, on the other hand, approached Linda armed with a compass and map. Immediately telling her, "According to my calculations it will only take us a couple of walking days to reach the epicenter of the catastrophe," rubbing his knuckles over his face at the spot where his superior had pointed out that he had scratched himself.

"We are still relying on the calculations of the Wise Ones, aren't we, little Vincenzo?" Francesco slipped into the discussion, moving his body toward the boy as well. Adding later, "Although I trust their methods, the growth of vegetation has proven to be far too abnormal. Have you taken that into consideration?" Causing, more out of exasperation than fear, a sort of sigh from the young man.

"Certainly, vice captain," he replied shortly after raising his eyes from the map for a last-minute check. "I don't mean to be indiscreet, but you' ve been asking me about this for four days already. I understand that compared to all of you I still lack experience, but if you keep asking me the same question over and over again sooner or later I'll really end up questioning myself…" Vincenzo said once he made eye contact with the other, knowing he could take some small liberties with that superior of his.

"Is that so?" Francesco charged him with a grin wide enough to raise a smile, locking the head of Vincenzo in a lethal grip between his biceps and forearm. "I surrender! I surrender! Vice captain forgive me!" Vincenzo was then forced to say while, even suggesting the words, Francesco was having a little fun in the process.

"That's enough, you look like kids." Linda had to intervene so they could be pulled apart, staring murderously at her own husband both before and after speaking. "Thank you, captain," Vincenzo thanked her in the meantime, only to be told to secure his compass and map and go help his two busy companions putting up the tents.

" Is it possible that you always have to act this way?" Linda then said, turning to her husband, crossing her arms as she did whenever she scolded him. He, however, after sitting on a large root raised off the ground, answered her with a lightness that only a man could afford to possess. "We are at the end of our rope. If we want to make it to the end and get home we need to laugh a little. What else do we have otherwise? Honey, of despair you can die but with laughs no one has ever dropped dead. At least I think so."

Linda pressed her temple, feeling partially exasperated. Finding herself already tired from the journey and debilitated by lack of sleep, she did not have the energy to start a discussion and dropped the subject. Leaving her husband where he was to instead go and check the surroundings, being particularly watchful for fresh footprints or those strange smelling fruits that formed small piles on the ground from time to time.

While in fact remaining inedible by humans, the mutated animals in that area seemed to eagerly seek them out. Even going so far as to attack anyone near enough to devour them. A lesson the woman had learned on the backs of two of her previous subordinates, now claimed by the wild beasts.

In any case, less than an hour later, the entire tent camp had already been set up and dinner had already been distributed as well. Night had not yet fallen completely, but the bonfire's flame managed to compensate for the early lack of light and the rapid drop in temperatures. The only downsides were dinner and water, both of which were at the limits of survival. Bread, fortunately salty, hard as wood and a few sips of water for each. That was the most they could afford with the supplies on hand.

A real drama for Francesco, craving as he was for meat and wine. Somewhat as it must have been for everyone, at the end of the day.

"We will use the same guard shifts as the previous night," Linda declared after finishing her meal, finding her jaw terribly fatigued. "Vincenzo and Vittoria, you will be first. Make sure you keep your eyes wide open. Now that we are here the slightest inattention could be fatal." Finding from the two just called a slight sign of assent from which their fatigue was apparent as well.

From there on, the evening grew quieter and quieter, leaving room only for the sound of leaves and branches being moved by the wind and the chattering of Vincenzo's teeth, put to the test by the cold. Vittoria did not suffer the same fate only because she was smarter than he was, positioning herself well protected from the wind behind a tree a little farther from the fire than the boy. There was no chattering, not even when she risked closing her eyes and falling asleep.

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After all, when one is tired it becomes a struggle to even pass the time, let alone discuss some useless thing.

A couple of hours later there was finally the changing of the guard. Diego and Francesco were awakened from their sweet dreams and dragged out of their tents. In Diego's case, to say that he was dragged is hardly a stretch of the imagination, but that is really irrelevant right now. Even Vincenzo and Vittoria paid no attention, leaving the thankless task to their second-in-command before limping off to their well-earned rest.

"What were you dreaming about, huh? A nice pussy I bet," Francis said shortly afterward to his still half-asleep companion, looking for a way to get his brain working again. Diego, however, seemed to struggle extremely to respond, swinging from side to side with his torso like an idiot. He mumbled something similar to: "If my wife finds out I'm screwing her sister again she'll kill me for sure... this time she'll kill me for sure…"

Teasing Francesco's curiosity to the point of asking for details with some insistence. Pushing him with progressively more and more force until Diego forcibly regained his senses. Only for Francesco to ask one more time, again and with the insistence of a naughty child, "Well? Well? So? What's this about your wife and her sister? Come on I want to know the details." Almost forgetting that he was at the end of both his physical and mental strength.

Diego, however, poor beast, denied everything. He denied having ever laid even a finger on that woman. Running like a coward from his responsibilities as a subordinate. And without the slightest shame among other things.

With the discussion concluded with nothing to say, Francesco got up from where he was sitting and went to release his bladder a few steps further on, aiming for a small bush of dry twigs. The steam that rose not far from his feet only made him feel the bite of the cold more, suddenly making the task he was engaging in even more difficult.

At a certain point, however, just when he had regained the strength to continue, the man saw something move thanks to his peripheral vision. Instinctively, he clenched his fist, even hurting himself but let it be. He also moved his head to that side as fast as he could, keeping his eyes wide open and alert for the slightest movement. However, while standing still and observing for a handful of seconds, he saw nothing more.

The only thing that caught his attention remained the sound of wind and leaves, annoying beyond measure. But of those red dots he had glimpsed for a split second not even a shadow. Am I starting to see spirits now? Am I that messed up? He did his best to joke to himself, seeking some kind of peace of mind.

Still, before he could put the tool back in his pants, a new shadow passed him a few meters away. Circumnavigating the perimeter like a clever hunter, gradually decreasing the distance that separated them. The poor vice captain felt his heart skip a beat, having never before seen such a large quadrupedal animal in his life. A monster with crimson eyes and fangs so white they were glistening, enough to make him question the horrors he had already faced in the dozens of battles he had faced before.

"Wake up! Wake up! Quick!" Concerned for both his life and that of his companions, the man turned his back on the creature. Running like a maniac in the direction of the camp, showing his back to the ferocious beast.

"Vice captain! Vice..." Diego, of course, was the first to respond to his screams, calling him vigorously. At least until he noticed the strange pendulum coming out of his pants. Before he could judge his superior's behavior as a moment of mental instability, however, the big quadruped became more audacious; quickening his pace and moving closer until he became visible to the young man as well.

"Oh God..." The poor Diego, being confronted by that beast was a hard shock. Nevertheless, driven by the force of desperation, he gripped his sword and took a position next to Francesco. "Vice captain!" He said again loudly, trying to follow the creature's movements with his eyes. "What the hell is that thing!?" He then asked, trying to suppress the widespread tremor that was making it difficult to keep the sword straight.

"I have no idea," Francesco answered him, before calling one more time for the rest of his companions to wake up. Fortunately, Linda rushed out of the tent already armed, allowing the two to cover a blind spot in their faltering defense. Vittoria and Vincenzo joined them last, coming out of their respective tents with a mess on their heads.

The creature that was hunting them down, however, seemed interested in an appetizer. A little bite before they could enjoy dinner. Because of that, probably, the animal dashed from beyond the darkness straight in Vittoria's direction. Seeking, at least at first glance, a lethal bite at the height of the throat.

She did not have the reflexes to do anything, too dazed with exhaustion. Her great good fortune, however, was that Vincent, who still remained behind, had already unsheathed his sword and was already in the best possible position to cover her. A small miracle perhaps dictated by the creature's hurry in thinning their lines. That, however, at the cost of a wound to the side, allowed the boy to push the danger away.

"Vincenzo!" Francesco and Diego shouted almost as one, moving as quickly as possible in the direction of their wounded comrade. "Oh! Oh! Don't play games! Stay awake, you damn fool!" Diego raised his voice first, noticing that his friend had collapsed to the ground without making a sound.

"He is still alive! He's still alive!" Meanwhile, Francesco informed him, immediately after analyzing the condition of his subordinate. "He must have fainted by shock. His life is not in danger!" He later added as he stood up again, calling to himself the attention of both Diego and Vittoria. " There' s no time to waste now! Get ready!"

Only then, however, he realized that he had left Linda alone. His wife had not followed them in their rescue attempt, choosing instead to provide cover and keep an eye on the creature. A smart choice, had she had more men to rely on at the very least. The monster, on the other hand, saw it as the perfect opportunity to eliminate one of the most dangerous prey.

And, moved by instinct, he asked for no better opportunity to jump into the fray with a movement of an agility and swiftness difficult to see in the human world. Linda managed to follow him with her eyes, at least a good part of the way. The wide turns he made almost made her lose sight of him, but luck remained on her side until the end. However, debilitated as she was, the woman was unable to draw on even a fraction of her real fighting abilities.

Forcing her to endure a direct blow from the creature from a disadvantageous position, where already only the impact nearly sent her flying away. In spite of this, however, she was nevertheless hurriedly pushed against the trunk of a tree, while with both hands she pushed with all her available strength the sword she held in her hands, now in the monster's jaws.

None of the group, even moving as soon as they were enabled, would be able to do anything for her now that she had been pushed into that position. The animal's fangs seemed to be made of the hardest metal, to the point where even the iron of their swords was deformed with relative ease. It would only be a matter of time before the entire blade broke completely off.

However, coming from somewhere, a stone like so many others flew with the speed and energy of a thousand arrows; suddenly smashing the monster's skull. A death so sudden and unexpected that even Linda could not realize it until after several seconds.

"Linda! Linda!" Her husband, on the other hand, witnessed the animal collapsing down and the violent blow that the stone, before stopping, generated once it reached the ground. In his mind, the creature's death was not a sure thing without possibility of error, but that still did not stop him from going to the woman and squeezing her tightly as soon as possible. All of the above, unfortunately, still with the tool flapping in the wind. Not that there was anyone capable of realizing that at the moment.

Meanwhile, dangling on a nice thick branch not too far away, another silhouette watched the scene in the distance, waving his right wrist in the wind a couple of times. Fascinated, at least from what it seemed to see, by the strange little group of unfamiliar people. An unexpected novelty, at least by his standards.