She lurked in the dark, in the shadows of trees, behind every large rock, even in the holes or mounds of dirt. The bright moonlight didn't even have a chance to shine on her. Every owl she passed turned its neck to see a rustling coming out of nowhere. Every wolf stopped howling just to try to figure out what was looming in the forest. But there was no way they could have seen her as she had sneaked around for the last few months so cleverly without anyone noticing.

Starting from crawling through the forest like a snake, flapping wings without a sound, to walking casually like a graceful woman. Every change she made was as easy as taking a breath, as automatic as the blink of an eye. It was impossible for anyone in this world to do it as perfectly as she did.

"Who’s there?" Frantically, a man brandished his hoe in all directions. Trying to scare away any creature that might come near him. His eyes widened in surprise when he heard the sound of a twig snapping behind him. "Show yourself now before I make you!"

The sound of shrill laughter immediately rang out, bouncing in all directions, making the man shudder and bend over his violently shaking body. As much as possible, he put his hand that was still holding the hoe in front, even though his eyes were tightly closed. His instincts told him to run, but the sound seemed to freeze his whole body so he couldn't move an inch.

“W-what do you want? Please! I'm just a poor innocent man who comes to the forest at dawn to find something to eat. My children are waiting for me at home," he begged. Shivering as a wave of cold wind swept past him. "Let me go! I won't be coming back here again! I-if you want, I can also tell the other residents not to set foot in here.”

Instantly, the squeaky laughter disappeared. The man thought that he had managed to get rid of whatever creature was originally aiming for his life. He fell to the ground. It was almost too late to avoid the hoe that had also fallen beside him. With a gasp, he squeezed the dry leaves around him to steady himself.

However, before he could regain his breathing rhythm, he saw a black shadow approaching him from the side. Then he turned his head so fast, that his neck was in excruciating pain.

A woman with long wavy red hair appeared before him. A beautiful smile curved on her lips making her look so dazzling. Especially with her cheekbones that curved upwards, eyes narrow like a crescent moon. Her reassuring gaze was like a roof on a hot day, making the formerly frightened man smile too.

He hurriedly stood up and tidied himself up. All fear and caution flew away with the wind. His eyes seemed to form a heart, mesmerized by the beauty of the odd woman.

"I've never seen a woman as beautiful as you," he said before whistling. After he ran his fingers through his dull hair, he held out one hand. “May I know your name, young lady? What are you doing here alone? It’s dangerous.”

The woman's smile faltered slightly. She took a step forward without breaking eye contact, but she didn't seem to have any intention of taking the man's outstretched hand. “I was just captivated by how beautiful the moonlight is tonight until I came here without knowing it. Now I don't know the way home."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Oh. You're lucky. I know this village like the back of my hand. I can bring you home in no time. You just need to stay close to me so I can protect you from any deadly creatures that could attack us without warning."

"There are deadly creatures here?"

“Yeah. You can't even imagine. People are disappearing one by one. I'm sure it's the work of a ferocious beast.”

"Oh, poor child," the woman's voice sounded very sad. Her face crumpled before her head lowered.

"I know. Our village is known for the kindness of its people. Too bad they ended up like that." The man sighed, acting as if he cared too much for the missing people. In fact, he only wanted to seduce this attractive woman by acting as if he were a man who cared about other people. Completely forgetting his miserable family he previously mentioned just to save his own life.

Step by step, he approached the woman while speaking words of comfort and persuasion to sweep her away. Meanwhile, the woman still lowered her head without making a sound.

Thinking that the woman was crying, without hesitation the man hugged her slender body.

"Poor children. They are blamed for my actions," the woman whispered quietly.

"Huh? What did you say?"

Before the man could confirm what he heard, the woman looked up. Featuring completely black eyes, as well as dozens of fangs lined up in her supposed to be mouth. Her lower jaw was so long, it seemed to split her face in two. Gone was all the beauty that originally bewitched the poor man. In a split second, the creature disguised as a woman opened its mouth and mercilessly devoured his neck.

The man didn't even have time to scream. He could only groan as all of his blood was forcefully taken away, along with his flesh.

***

"Is it true?" Adriel asked Warren worriedly. The Chief who was massaging his temples let out a heavy sigh in response. "We can't stay silent like this. We have to do something, Chief!"

"Isn't the night patrol still running?" Meyara asked briefly. Her crossed arms made it seem as if she didn't care about anything like usual. However, the wrinkles on her forehead made it clear how she felt, that deep down, this mysterious matter was starting to bother her.

At first she thought that this problem would go away on its own once whatever creatures that were hanging around were satisfied. But almost two years passed, and people continued to disappear one by one. “This is really getting out of control. What if one day mages will start disappearing too?”

"That's all you care about?" Adriel asked but not in an accusing way. Without waiting for a response, he looked back at Warren. “All residents are very uneasy because of this. Families who have lost family members have also suffered greatly. Is there really nothing that can be done? Maybe we should put up a magic fence on the border.”

“Whatever creature it is, it’s already here. There's no point in setting boundaries." Warren raised his hand when he saw Meyara about to protest. "Moreover, the King made it clear that we cannot act alone without permission.”

Meyara and Adriel were silent when they heard this. Knowing full well that there was no point in asking further. Warren was the wisest man in their village, and no one disputed that. Then there was no choice but to follow the man's words.

Therefore, even though Meyara was dissatisfied, she finally decided not to think about all those matters anymore.

"This has nothing to do with me," she assured herself. But somehow, she felt very uncomfortable. It was as if a great disaster was happening. She could feel it from every inch of her body.

***