The person standing before me was the most formidable elite soldier of the first Kingdom, his eyes filled with aggression and brutality. But I refused to be intimidated. I had to defeat him and move forward.

As we faced each other, I assumed my fighting stance. In a brief moment of aggression, we both backed away from Hiroshi and the other elite soldier. During our fight, when I jumped to one side to avoid an incoming attack, Aurt took advantage of it, snapped his fingers and a panther-like creature materialized in front of him.

The creature was similar to the description given by the king and the leader; it looked like a panther, but more ferocious and a little bigger. Its eyes glowed red and its mouth still had fresh blood stains. The longer it looked at me, the louder it growled.

Aurt then pointed his finger at me and ordered, "Pulan, shred him to pieces."

The creature rushed towards me, but I was prepared. I was waiting for it to attack, so I jumped as high as I could to stop it from reaching me. When I jumped, I dodged the panther's attack, but the hawk-like creature at the beginning of the battle managed to catch me in mid-air.

I thought he was going to pick me up and throw me away, but instead, he took me from the battlefield, brought me to the top of the valley, and left me there, face down. I fell on my knees, but I didn't suffer any damage. I slowly got up and saw Aurt coming up the hill with his other creature. I didn't understand how he had gotten here so quickly or why he had brought me here, but I knew that, unlike the others, he was a different kind of elite soldier.

I asked him, "Why did you bring me here?"

Aurt approached me and replied, "I just wanted to show you the chaos you've created."

At first, I didn't understand what he meant until he pointed behind me. I turned around and saw the people who had died in the war we had started.

Aurt looked at me and said, "See what you did? These people are suffering and dying because of you. You convinced the king and the leader to fight. You even dragged people you called friends into this. Do you still think you're right?"

I replied, "The burden of my sins is on my shoulders. I dragged them into this, but I had a reason."

Aurt retorted, "And what reason is that? To be a hero or to save someone you love? It's all just an excuse. Your friends may have been here by choice, but in the end, you will be responsible for their deaths."

I asked, "What do you mean?"

Aurt replied, "I've seen and experienced events like these before. I once had friends and a family like you, and we were happy and peaceful. But then, they died for no reason. My brothers and friends were killed, and I swore revenge. I asked the First Epic to help me gain strength.

He gave me more than I expected. I attacked those who attacked us with the power I got, and I killed them in pain, giving them and their families pain they never tasted before. Then I returned to my village, to my people. I was going to be called a hero when I came back, but instead, they saw me as a monster. No one looked me in the eye, because of fear, according to them, I was now just a person who lived only for getting stronger.

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And in a very short time, you will taste that pain too, you can be sure of it."

"You're just too blinded by your own beliefs," I retorted.

"Those who are at the top are destined to be alone, remember that."

I asked Aurt, "If you've already avenged your brothers, why do you keep doing this?"

Aurt replied, "The First Epic is the only one who understands me, and I owe him a debt. Also, the guard you killed was an old friend of mine. That's why I brought you here, to kill you myself. You won't leave here alive."

Aurt suddenly began throwing punches at me. I managed to dodge and block them, and then I kicked him in the stomach. He glided back a little and then snapped both hands, revealing his creatures. Both creatures attacked at the same time, working as if they were one mind.

I knew I couldn't escape or prevent the attacks of the creatures. So I threw myself into the narrow stone crevices in front of me to avoid their attacks. Though the gap was quite narrow, the creatures couldn't reach me even if they used their claws and paws. I was safe from their attacks, but I had nowhere to go.

Aurt shouted at me, "Everyone else is risking their lives. Come out and fight like a man!"

I climbed to the top of the crevice using my feet and had an idea. With all my strength, I pushed the giant stone in front of me and left it on top of the creatures. Then, I appeared next to Aurt and threw a punch at his stomach. But Aurt grabbed my arm and threw me towards the stone. Suddenly, the Panther jumped on me and knocked me down.

Trapped under the Panther, it roared at me and tried to bite me. I dodged its bite by moving my head to the right and left, but when it turned its head to my stomach, I couldn't move. So, I put my right and left arm in front of my stomach. The Panther bit my arms, and the pain was excruciating. But I managed to turn my arms to the left, and the Panther's head followed.

When I freed myself from under the Panther, I hit it on the head with mine to make it let go of my arms. Then, I kicked it hard in the torso and threw it onto the rocks. But my arms were shaking so badly that I was losing a lot of blood and having trouble seeing. Suddenly, I saw something approaching me from the air. It was the hawk trying to attack me again. I rolled and escaped its attack, but the Panther appeared behind me and clawed my back. I turned around and tried to hit it, but it dodged by throwing itself back.

The Hawk hit my shoulder with its claws and flew away before I could retaliate. They kept injuring me and running away until I was knocked down in a pool of blood. At the sight, Aurt approached me with slow steps.

"I told you so. I told you that you wouldn't get out of here alive."

"Even if you kill me, we'll win this war," I said confidently.

"And this is your weakness. Even at the moment of death, you think of others."

"What would be the point of all this war if I didn't think of others."

"You're very brave for your age, but like everything else, there's a time for that. Bye, Warrior."

Aurt pulled a knife out of his waist and swiftly stabbed me in the stomach. I couldn't even react in time to avoid getting stabbed. My eyes slowly closed as I felt my heart rate accelerating, and every vein in my body pulsating with pain. But then, I suddenly opened my eyes again, realizing that I was still alive and seeing. I felt a surge of anger and hatred, and it dawned on me that it must have been the second power of the Wolf Bloodline that Ronk mentioned.

After a moment, I regained my senses and struggled to stand up. Aurt was surprised, "It's impossible, you're supposed to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, I appeared next to him and landed a powerful punch on his face, sending him tumbling down the valley. I followed him, hitting him repeatedly until he hit the ground, his face disfigured beyond recognition. I grabbed him by the neck and effortlessly tore his left arm off his shoulder. He screamed in agony, but I kept hitting him, driven by an uncontrollable rage. The scent of blood only fueled my frenzy as I ripped off his other arm. Aurt couldn't summon his creatures, nor could he comprehend what was happening; it all happened in a matter of seconds.

When I finally stopped pummeling Aurt, I realized that he was dead. Tears streamed down my face as I felt a profound sadness, but at the same time, I was unable to control the power inside me.