The Frozen Forest, a place renowned for its beauty and the peaceful atmosphere, became eerily silent under the cold light of a half moon.

The creatures that called this place home hide in their nests, dens and burrows as their instincts screamed at them to remain quiet.

Most of the creatures were in the first three realms of the beast rank or lower, the higher level ones having been culled by the Woads and their human masters so, even as they cowered out of sight, they still recognised the feeling crawling up their spines and causing their insides to churn.

The feeling when a predator, vastly superior, is on the hunt.

A loud masculine shout rippled through the air, along with the faint vibrations of what felt like an explosion suddenly broke the deceptively quiet night.

Underneath a giant ancient tree, four Woads, three female and a single male all sucked in a hiss of air as they stopped themselves from shouting as one of the many black tattoos on their bodies seemed to burn away in a puff of smoke.

After three hours of pursuit, they had momentarily stopped to rest at the base of the tree, trying to regain enough stamina to make it back to their meeting point when the sensation they all feared, yet subconscious knew was going to happen, erupted on their skin.

Each member of the pack had the others life tattoos engraved on their bodies. This was so they could tell the general direction each other were during a hunt, as well as if overall state of health. The dissolution of the marking only occurred with the aid of their high priest or, more common, when one lost their lives.

"Ailill... is dead." said one of the females as she stifled a sob, the bow she refused to leave behind had been shattered, and the many small wounds on her body made it seem as if she had walked through a whirlwind of broken glass.

"He sacrificed himself to buy us time, just like Aife," nodded the male, his eyes glittering with stubborn pride. "They shall enter the halls of our forefathers and sit alongside the Great Titan proudly."

Another female, much smaller and more petite than her counterparts, seemed to be on the verge of panic, her dark blue eyes darting around as if the shadows were going to come alive and swallow her at any moment. "That's if their souls haven't been devoured by the demon."

The others frowned as they looked at her.

"I heard that they don't only devour your flesh, but your immortal soul, refining it until there is nothing left but essence. A fate worse than a cowards death."

"Stupid girl," sighed the male. "You have too few seasons and have spent too much time listening to those pathetic traders. Demons are flesh and blood like us. They have realms and cultivate the same. Their spirit arts may be different, but the ability to impact an immortal soul remains solely in the realm of the gods, and they have already been exiled from the worlds of mortals. "

The man was not usually so chatty, but he was trying to reassure himself and the rest of his group.

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From many experiences, the old Woad knew that fear was often more deadly than any foe and so attempted to make the creature that had caused a shadow to fall across their hearts become flesh and blood.

"Like us?" the girl's eyes bulged in disbelief. "That thing tore through us like we were nothing more than human infants. All of us together, one of the top hunting packs, ambushing it couldn't even draw blood."

"Alys!" interrupted the last female, who was nursing a broken arm. "Calm yourself and remember the way of our people. Our ambush may have failed, but we also proved it is not omnipotent. If it were, we wouldn't have escaped."

Alys shook her head. "That's if it isn't playing with us."

"Alys!" frowned the female Woad, annoyance etched upon her relatively attractive features. "Silence. You will create a heart devil, and even if you survive this, your cultivation will stagnate for the rest of your life."

The girl closed her mouth and grimaced. "Yes, mother."

Alys' mother nodded once and looked to the others. "What should we do? The meeting point should be a few hours run but... is it really wise for us to go there."

The male nodded. "This creature is a true hunter and not the weak trash that we normally face. We left the dryad's territory after a few miles, used our escape arts and dove into the river to mask our scent and its still on our trail."

His features grimaced. "Not only that, it's incredibly smart. When we launched our ambush, the moment it realised that it could not fight us all at the same time, it pulled back and started to isolate and divide us, using the terrain and its abilities to completely suppress us. If Ailill didn't stand his ground and use his life essence, I doubt we would have all made it out of there. To bring such a thing to the meeting point, where our old and young are waiting, would be to fail our ancestors and bring shame upon our household."

The old Woad shook his head, his mind straining to identify a course of action that would not result in their total annihilation.

"But..." Alys stuttered. "Without the elders, we won't survive. Not only that, but they won't know that such a dangerous creature exists. Our sacrifices would be in vain the moment it discovers the others, and as we are all trapped in this barrier, it will only be a matter of time.

The young woman was terrified about losing her life. While the others had been hunters for many seasons, this was only her second, and so, she had not fully adopted the teachings of the circle of life.

"If one kills, they must be prepared to be killed," said the Woad's mother with a sad tone, looking at her daughter and regretting allowing her to join the hunters. Typically, it was relatively safe and an excellent environment to temper oneself but tonight had been anything but ordinary.

"What about the crystal?" Alys held out the white crystal, refusing to admit defeat. "When it tried to hit me with its tail, I held it out, and it pulled back. Could we try and barter with it? If it is intelligent as we think, we should be able to communicate with it."

"Bartter with a demon?" laughed the female with the broken bow. "Why don't you just strip naked, baste yourself in pig fat and lay atop a fire. I can ring the dinner bell."

Alys wasn't put off. "But it obviously values the crystal. It didn't appear until we took it. As the teaching state, only things of value can be a weakness."

The old Woad nodded. "Normally I would agree with Aythen but~."

He paused for a moment, deep in thought. "It might enable us to buy some time. Give me the crystal, and I will stay behind. The rest will run for the meeting point and alert the elders."

"But~" the females instantly objected, only to be stopped by the old Woad's outstretched hand.

"My brothers have already given their lives to get us this far. With any luck, I won't lose mine but worst case, I will buy you time."

Alys hesitantly raised the crystal, preparing to give it to the old Woad.

Everyone excluding Alys' mother's expression was reluctant.

While they knew they had no other choice and were hesitant to part ways, Alys' mother's eyes were locked on a dark, branch-like shadow behind her daughter.

Terror erupted on her face as she jumped toward her daughter at an incredible speed.