Xavier sighed deeply, his gaze distant. “It's probably a Berserker Wendigo.”

Klaus tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. “Berserker… what now?”

Without missing a beat, Xavier continued, his tone more focused.

"Yeah… You see, there's a kinda lore on this monster.

“The Berserker Wendigo is a rare and fearsome variant of the traditional Wendigo.”

“Variant as in a hybrid?” Klaus questioned with raised brows.

Xavier shook his head, his expression slightly pale. “You see… I won't call it a hybrid.”

Klaus stared blankly at Xavier.

"Oh- so now it isn't a hybrid.

“Alright. Then what's this monster we are dealing with?”

Xavier let out a light sigh.

“As I previously said. It's a rare variant. Much more dangerous than the regular Wendigo.”

Klaus snorted, eyes on the road. “Well, that was made obvious after watching that footage.”

“That was definitely no ordinary Wendigo.” Klaus further added in exasperation.

Xavier's expression turns pale.

"Yeah. You see, the berserker Wendigo shares many traits with its more common counterpart.

"Cannibalism, a predatory nature, insatiable hunger, and much more.

“But you see. There's a big difference between a Wendigo and a Berserker Wendigo.”

“And what's that?” Klaus questioned with a slightly raised brow.

“As you have seen from the footage. The Berserker Wendigo is more fearsome. It's Faster. Stronger and definitely more resilient.”

“Simply put — if a normal Wendigo has to be shot twice to kill it. Then we will need at least three times that amount of gunshot to take down a Berserker Wendigo.”

“Hmm… So basically, we have to impale more silver bullets into its damn skull or a more suitable option… Roast it to death.”

Klaus replied, his voice devoid of the slightest hint of fear, but his sweaty hands said another story entirely.

Xavier simply shook his head.

“The Berserker Wendigo definitely won't stay still whilst that happens.”

Klaus was silent for a while.

His brows suddenly got raised after a few seconds. Throwing Xavier a side glance.

“Yeah. Just remembered. You said something about the Berserker Wendigo not being a hybrid.”

Xavier exhaled sharply, his eyes darkened. "Well… Legend has it that the Berserker Wendigo was once ordinary.

“Oh- so what caused the further transmutation?”

“Well, the ordinary Wendigo consumes the flesh of other supernatural creatures. Gaining their strength, speed, agility, and seldomly… Their abilities.”

Klaus slightly frowned, “So basically it munches on monsters similar to it.”

Xavier nods his head in acknowledgment.

Whilst Klaus simply let out a light chuckle, trying to break the tension. “Well well. Guess we finally have our hunter among the monsters.”

Xavier deeply sighed after shaking his head.

“This act of cannibalism among monsters is said to have cursed it further. Changing the color of its eyes and amplifying their powers to a terrifying degree.”

“I see,” Klaus muttered in understanding.

Klaus grunted in acknowledgment but kept his usual bravado.

“Well normal Wendigo, Berserker Wendigo. What difference does it make… At the end of the day, we will still gank it.”

“...” Xavier stared blankly at his brother. Not knowing how to reply.

His mind drifted, his thoughts consumed by the grim reality of their task. His gut told him this hunt wouldn't be like the others.

“Hopefully, it all goes well,” Xavier muttered whilst staring out of the window as the car rapidly sped past down the road.

A few minutes easily clocked by before they made it back to Azure Hotel.

Both brothers immediately alighted from the car after Klaus turned off the car engines.

“We should get something to eat,” Klaus said after alighting.

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“Yeah.” Xavier nods in agreement. “We should probably find a nearby restaurant.”

Klaus nods his head in affirmation.

After a few minutes of walking whilst talking about various things: their day-to-day activities, human activities, and so much more.

They finally arrived at a rustic charming haven tucked away in the serene yet desolate landscape of the Desolate Wilderness.

The haven was surrounded by towering pines, and far into the distance stood a gargantuan, nightmarish mountain that gave off a white crystal-like glow with a mix of a dreadful dark glow; as though it represented the dark obsolete nature of life.

The mountain had a crystal-like waterfall falling into the stream beneath it.

Xavier and Klaus walked into the restaurant.

And they had to say. It was quite the sight.

It was extremely desolate with a mix of an eerie silence that would make anyone uncomfortable.

There was only a middle-aged woman in sight, who was too busy cleaning the dusty chairs and tables to notice the new customers.

“Seems we are a little bit early,” Xavier muttered.

The desolate surroundings sent cold chills down his spine. He couldn't just shake the feeling that something was wrong with this restaurant. As for what it's…that he couldn't really say.

“It's never too early to eat.” Replied Klaus, bringing Xavier out of his reverie.

Klaus slowly walked toward the brown wooden counter.

A light smile slowly crept up his face as he arrived before her.

The woman raised her head to see the figure… A figure that gave off a noble aura.

She stopped what she was doing, a light smile adorning her face.

“What can I get for you lads?”

“Can we have the menu?” Klaus questioned with a forced smile.

“Yes of course. Take this.”

She immediately handed over the menu to Klaus, who nodded and then proceeded to collect the menu.

He and Xavier found two seats among the wooden chairs and tables.

Klaus looked at the chair warily.

Xavier also had a slightly narrowed brow upon seeing the chairs in close view.

After some moments of hesitation, dread creeping in. They both sat down carefully.

That's… Whilst being filled with the dread of the chair suddenly breaking into pieces.

The woman finally saw this. Slightly shaking her hand, she chuckled lightly.

"You both don't have to worry.

“Those chairs have existed for a good twenty years my dear, and yet no causality has ever occurred.”

Well, isn't that an achievement? Klaus lampooned inwardly, his mouth slightly twitching.

“Who's to say that the causality won't begin with us,” Klaus muttered in a low tone, his voice devoid of emotion.

Xavier smiled before his gaze shifted towards the middle-aged woman.

"Thanks, Ma.

“I guess we were being overly cautious then.”

The middle-aged lady forced a smile before sighing deeply. “It's okay. New customers have done far worse than just being cautious.”

“Well, you can't blame them,” Klaus muttered in a low breath, receiving a stare from Xavier.

Luckily, the woman had returned to dusting the tables and chairs, so she didn't hear his remark. Xavier subtly shook his head, throwing a light smirk at his brother.

“But to be honest. It ain't really that bad.”

“Yeah… Obviously.” Klaus replied nonchalantly.

Knowing his brother. Xavier knew the comment was probably meant to be sarcastic. Well, it was indeed full of a sarcastic nature.

Xavier lightly shook his head before his eyes went through the menu in his hands.

He spoke up after a couple of seconds.

“I will have forest berry salad and well- a cup of coffee will do just fine.”

The woman nodded whilst smiling.

“An apple crumble, and two grilled bison burgers,” Klaus ordered; his eyes went through the menu before it suddenly lit up.

“Oh, and also, can I have one of this smoked trout dip?” He further added, receiving a nod from the woman.

“Let's see if it's as delicious as it seems… Looks to be.” He muttered in anticipation.

“Alright. Will get it for you boys.”

She turned towards a door behind her, her voice reverberating through the air.

“Amanda. You heard the guests right?”

“Yes, Ma.” A small petite voice replied from the other end.

“Hmm…” Xavier's brows got slightly raised.

“What a sweet voice. I wonder who that is.” He muttered with a poker expression.

“Probably the woman's daughter,” Klaus replied, winking lightly at Xavier.

Xavier forced a laugh, lightly shaking his head at his brother's ridiculous thoughts.

A few minutes later. A girl with long crimson hair that cascaded down her shoulders, akin to the ominous and dreadful yet enchanting and mesmerizing, her light crimson pupils and lips adding to her charm… Makes her a walking enchantress.

She seems to be around age eighteen, her flawless snow-like skin mesmerizing those who came in contact with her.

Seeing the slightly dazed expression of the brothers, who were quick to recollect themselves.

A reddish shade rose on her face as she couldn't help but wonder why her mum would allow her to attend to the customers.

On normal occasions, her mum would do that.

While she was lost in thought, she missed a footing, just a few inches away from hitting the floor.

Time seemed to have slowed down at that point. Xavier suddenly got onto his feet.

Within the blink of an eye, she felt a soft yet rigid hand wrapping tightly around her waist while one hand held the tray in hand.

A reddish hue rose on her face, whilst Xavier immediately removed his hold on her. A reddish shade adorned his face whilst he lightly scratched his hair.

“Thanks.” She finally said after a few seconds, her lips lightly trembling.

“You welcome,” Xavier replied smilingly. His hands behind him trembling ever so lightly.

She nods her head before turning back, immediately scurrying towards her safe heaven… With rapid footsteps, she opened the door behind the counter and immediately closed it.

Immediately disappearing from everyone's line of sight, including her mum, who chuckled lightly after giving her daughter a slight wink.

She could see that the young man was quite good-looking, charming, and possessed a strange demeanor.

As a mother, seeing her daughter without any guys or friends that were girls truly bothered her. Most of the girls were too jealous of Amanda to be friends with her, whilst the guys would most likely just be infatuated with her.

Yet somehow she had a strange feeling that this guy was different.

Ah… What am I even thinking about? He's just a stranger. She sighed deeply, her eyes regaining their focus as she returned to dusting the tables and chairs.

Xavier sat down on his chair, his mind still wandering back to the girl.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen her before- perhaps in a dream, or some distant memory. The more he thought about it, the more elusive the thought became, slipping through his fingers like a grain of sand.

Klaus smirked, a light chuckle pulling Xavier away from his thoughts. “You know you can have her if it pleases you. I am not really into underage girls.”

Xavier simply kept quiet. Refusing to reply to his brother's antiques.

Right now… He was trying to breach the memory gap. He was trying to dive into his subconsciousness and find out just where he had seen her and why he found her oddly familiar.

Yet, no matter how hard he attempted to remember, he wasn't able to remember anything.

It was as if something, an invisible thread of nature, was preventing him from remembering.

He sighed in exasperation before digging into his food.

And just like that, both brothers ate their food in an eerie, awkward silence, punctuated only by the occasional clink of utensils against plates.