The bear was horribly mutilated resembling a corpse more than a beast. The black fur untamed, wet and the roots fade from black to gray. Mixed with the fresh blood the bear was drenched in, thicker but pitch-black blood was drooping out of all the wounds. Its body had been cut open, slashed, and filled with holes where it wasn’t. Half of her jaw was missing like it was blown off, with the other half barely attached. Her claws were twice the size they should be, jagged and tearing viciously through the hard ground below. It was an undying beast.

But the bear was slow. She was just a meter away but I still had all the time I wanted to jump out of the way. She turned around, trying to swipe her massive claws at me but I moved out of the way. I stared into her eyes. They were completely white, devoid of any life. The bear growled and I understood what it said.

She wanted to die.

She stood up for a brief second, blocking out the sun as she towered over me. Roaring, she slammed her front limbs to the ground trying to crush me but missed again.

I held up the sword forward, taking my stance exactly how I practiced hundreds of times. Everything I learned up to this point led up to this. I wasn’t taught how to make any fancy moves or anything that would make me look cool. Claire taught me every place I should strike to kill my enemy as easily and effectively as possible. There was no room to play around and put myself at unnecessary risk.

I took a few steps back to give myself distance while the suffering bear took a moment to unstuck her claws off the ground. She charged at me again, swinging her paw towards my body but never got close to touching me. I piece Claire’s sword right through the middle of the skull. The bear wailed before falling limp in front of me. The black liquid it was covered in slowly evaporated, leaving no trace.

Despite the massive size difference, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. I thought it would take longer and be harder. It also felt that I was cheating by using Claire’s sword. It cut through the bone as if it was water. My regular sword could never do that.

“That went easier than I expected. Maybe a tougher opponent should do.”

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“It spoke to me…”

“Oh?”

“It wanted to die.”

“The bears back on the island, could you understand them too?”

“No.”

“Interesting,” Claire took back her sword. “Well? How was it? Did it live up to your expectations?”

“It was too boring…Where are the stronger ones?”

“They’re rare. This bear would start to mutate and grow larger if we let it continue its rampage. Luckily, it was only recently turned,” She explained as she examined the corpse. “The more curropted they become, the smarter they get. Smart enough to hide their existence.”

“The plague. I thought it was sealed away. How does it still infect the animals?”

“Just because something is locked up doesn’t mean it’s gone. The plague’s will and influence still slowly leak out. Lately, it’s been getting stronger. It corrupts anything that is in excruciating agony or despair. Usually, it happens when the will to live is lost or immense hatred takes hold of their heart. This bear lost her children. In her grief, she was overtaken, lost to cause even more pain.”

On the request, all known information was given out, most of the time the cause of corruption isn’t known, only hypothesized. Here, one of the farmers saw the bear running towards their fields with her cubs. They ran out of fear and desperation, not aggression. The farmer witnessed the cubs being impaled with wooden spears from behind, killing them instantly. Whoever did it wasn’t seen but the attack was purposeful.

The mama bear was still suffering even through her corruption. Its soul was still alive inside, slowly fading away. It asked me to end its life. It thanked me when I did. Even if I ended her pain, I still felt bad. I didn’t want to kill if it was this aware. But I had to. Otherwise, the bear was going to kill much more than it already had.

I wondered if Claire knew that they were still conscious.

“Are you going to stop it?”

“If I don’t, who will?”

“Then I decided!”

“Decide on what?”

“I’ll help you! This plague steals the souls of the animals! I don’t want that. I’ll get strong enough to help you defeat it!”

“I’ll look forward to it,” she half smiled but I could tell she was trying her best not to look somber. “Don’t expect future hunts to go this easy, you still need to get good enough to kill these things with a regular sword.”

“When’s the next one?”

“Whenever a new one is found close by. It might be a while. I still have a few things to do back in the city anyway.”