After leaving the ruins of the Stargazer Tower, the forest once again swallowed the path to Graypine Village in boundless darkness.

  Karu and Bain walked shoulder to shoulder along the narrow trail, gnawing on dry bread as they made their way home. Their steps were still heavy, but now carried a faint trace of anticipation that had been absent when they first left the village.

  The silence stretched on for a long while.

  “Karu,” Bain finally spoke. “That wizard… can he really kill that thing?”

  He hesitated, then added, “He looks… no older than I am.”

  Karu didn’t answer right away. He lifted his gaze toward the sky, most of it hidden behind layers of branches, where only slivers of indifferent moonlight filtered through.

  “When the chief was young, he went to war with the lord,” Karu said slowly. “He said wizards aren’t like us. They live long lives, and they age slowly. You can’t judge their years by what you see.”

  Bain nodded, thoughtful. “Right… I think I’ve heard that before.”

  Karu swallowed the last of his bread, pulled a waterskin from his belt, and took a drink.

  “Have you heard of Alistair Vaughn?” he asked. “The Grand Wizard who serves at the Queen’s side—the one who helped her win the war for the throne.”

  “Of course.” Bain took the waterskin and nodded. “Grand Wizard Vaughn. They say he was already the Court Wizard back when the Queen’s father ruled.”

  “More than that.” Karu shook his head. “He’s been in the royal palace since the days of the Queen’s grandfather. Three generations of the royal house.”

  Bain froze. “Then how old must he be now?”

  “No one knows,” Karu said with a bitter smile. “I suspect even he has forgotten the count.”

  The wind moved through the trees, setting the dry leaves whispering underfoot.

  Bain kept his head down and kicked at a broken branch on the path. “The chief said that about a year ago, a wizard suddenly moved into that Stargazer Tower—the one that’s been abandoned for ages. Said he even brought a Two-Headed Hound with him. I thought it was just some country rumor… I mean, who actually keeps a Magibeast?” He paused, then muttered, “Didn’t think it was true.”

  A shiver ran through him despite himself. Those yellow eyes flaring in the dark were still too easy to remember.

  Karu let out a slow sigh. “I’ve heard talk like that in taverns in town. Some Wilderness Wizards keep small Magibeasts—like you’d keep a cat or a dog. But they’re not supposed to be dangerous. Not like that Two-Headed Hound.”

  Bain lowered his voice, hesitant. “Karu… do you think that wizard’s reliable? He won’t take our silver and then do nothing, will he?”

  Karu’s face tightened. “I don’t know. I couldn’t read a single word on that contract.”

  He walked on for a few steps, then said more quietly, “But… we don’t have a better choice.”

  The forest fell quiet again, leaving only the soft crunch of dry leaves beneath their boots.

  Karu let out a long breath. “All we can do now is pray the chief made the right choice. If not… sooner or later, we’ll all be running for our lives. The fields, the homes—none of it will hold.”

  Bain slowed his steps.

  “I don’t want to run,” he said quietly. “Father hunted these woods his whole life. Mother’s buried on the hill behind the village… If we can’t hold this place, then where is there left for us to go?”

  Karu did not answer.

  Just then—

  From deep within the forest came the sound of heavy, rapid footfalls.

  Every step crushed dead branches and sent tremors through the ground, rushing closer by the heartbeat. Birds burst from the treetops, wings beating wildly as they fled into the night.

  The steps crushed dead branches and sent tremors through the ground, rushing closer by the heartbeat. Birds burst from the treetops, wings beating wildly as they fled into the night.

  “What was that?” Bain edged closer to his brother without thinking.

  “Something’s coming,” Karu said at once. His body tensed, his right hand settling on the hilt of the short blade at his waist. “Stay sharp. Could be a beast.”

  The brothers moved back to back, stringing their bows in one swift motion. Their eyes swept the darkness, searching for the source of the sound.

  The sound of running drew closer, heavy enough to set the ground trembling beneath their feet. Cold sweat slid down from their temples.

  Damn it… had we let our guard down?

  There were tracks in these woods—and I missed them?

  Before Karu could finish the thought, a massive shadow swept over their heads, stirring a rush of compressed air. They jerked their heads up.

  A colossal beast, white as snow—The Two-Headed Hound.

  It vaulted over their heads and landed solidly on the mountain path ahead. Mobius and Chelorra were seated on its back, while Shadowling clung tightly to one of the heads, his tail whipping wildly in the wind.

  The moment Gru touched down, Mobius glanced back at them and raised a hand slightly. “We’ll go on ahead.”

  Shadowling waved a paw and shouted at the top of his lungs. “By—e—bye!”

  Before the echo of his voice had faded, Gru surged forward again, accelerating into the rolling forest terrain and vanishing from sight, leaving only a scatter of leaves swirling in its wake.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Karu and Bain stood frozen where they were.

  After a long moment, Bain snapped his head toward Karu, pointing in the direction the two-headed hound had gone. His voice trembled with barely contained excitement.

  “Karu—did you see that? That dog… that wizard! Maybe—”

  “Maybe this time,” Karu finished quietly, the corner of his mouth lifting, “we didn’t come for nothing after all.”

  At the first hint of dawn, a pale glow crept along the horizon. The sky shifted from deep black to a muted blue-gray. Within the forest, the air remained damp and dim, the morning mist still clinging to the trees.

  Gru had not slowed for a single moment through the night, charging relentlessly through the woods. Fallen logs, hidden pits, and treacherous mountain paths were all cleared with ease. Yet maintaining his enlarged form came at a cost—his breathing had begun to grow heavy.

  As for Shadowling, the shapeshifting monkey was far from a mere traveling companion.

  He made full use of his racial gift—shapeshifting—periodically transforming into a crow and taking to the air. From above, he scouted the path ahead, using his elevated vantage to ensure they had not strayed off course.

  At that moment, Shadowling spotted thin trails of smoke rising between distant trees. The faint outlines of low rooftops emerged from the forest beyond.

  “I see it!” he cried, spinning excitedly in the air before banking sharply and diving back down toward Gru.

  The crow burst into a small cloud of smoke midair. By the time it descended, it had already reverted to the form of a black-furred monkey, landing neatly on Mobius’s shoulder.

  “My lord!” Shadowling grabbed his lapel and shook him excitedly. “I can see the village! It’s just ahead!”

  Mobius followed the direction of his pointing. At the edge of the forest, the faint outlines of rooftops were indeed coming into view. He smiled. “Faster than expected. We’ll reach it before the sun is fully up.”

  He lifted a hand and gave Gru’s neck a firm pat. “Well done, Gru.”

  The Two-Headed Hound let out a deep, with a pleased rumble.

  Shadowling immediately burst into chatter. “So—do we finish the job first and then eat, or eat first and then do the job? I remember you saying rustic roast meat is rough, but—”

  “I was a Senior Wizard of the Wizard City, once” Mobius said, rubbing his aching lower back with a weary sigh. “And now I’m riding through the night for a handful of silver.”

  Seated behind him, Chelorra spoke evenly, cutting straight through his complaint. “If you didn’t spend money so freely, you wouldn’t have to take this commission.”

  “Magical research isn’t cheap,” Mobius shot back. “Ancient tomes, alchemical furnaces, rare materials, experimental spellwork—and the daily consumption of mana crystals…”

  Chelorra narrowed her eyes and interrupted, her tone faintly amused. “Does magical research also require silk robes with embroidered cuffs, imported Eastern black tea, and premium grain-fed beef?”

  Mobius faltered, a trace of guilt flickering across his face. “Ahem… well, those are… necessary for maintaining one’s mental focus—”

  In that heartbeat, Gru let out a low, threatening growl. Both heads snapped sharply to the side, eyes gleaming with a predatory light as his massive body went taut.

  The banter between Mobius and Chelorra cut off at once. Both of them turned toward the same direction.

  “Something—” Chelorra started.

  Gru reacted before the word could leave her lips.

  He pivoted mid-stride, throwing his weight sideways and launching himself into the air, forcibly altering his course in a single, violent motion.

  A split second later—

  A huge black shadow slammed down from the flank, striking the ground where Gru had stood only a moment earlier. The impact shattered the earth, dirt and broken stone blasting outward as the ground caved beneath the blow.

  As Gru launched into the air, Mobius reacted instantly. He clamped his legs tight, twisted at the waist, and raised a hand, his gaze cutting through the drifting strands of hair to lock onto the incoming shadow. At the same time, he began to chant—short, rapid syllables spilling from his lips, strange cadence rumbling like distant thunder before a storm.

  “Lightning… gather…”

  In that same instant, Chelorra kicked off from Gru’s back. She shot upward like an arrow loosed from a bow, twisting lightly in midair before landing soundlessly on a nearby tree branch.

  The sudden jolt sent Shadowling into a panic. With a sharp yelp, he sprang from Mobius’s shoulder, scrambling onto the nearest tree and hugging the trunk with all four limbs, his tail winding tight around the bark.

  The ring set with the red crystal on Mobius’s right index finger was already glowing. Thin arcs of lightning danced across its surface, snapping and writhing as if straining against a leash, poised to break free at any moment.

  Gru landed solidly on all fours and spun around, unleashing a furious roar. The three figures came to a halt at once—and only then did they clearly see the attacker.

  It was a hulking Magibeast. Its upper body rose nearly to the height of a full-grown man, while its arms stretched to almost twice the length of its torso. Its legs were short, yet packed with brutal strength, and its body was cloaked in coarse, dark-purple fur.

  Its oversized head bore an human outline, crowned with four sharp, leaf-shaped ears. Long hair hung from its jaw like a human beard. Yellow-orange eyes, a flattened nose, and a twisted face that seemed caught somewhere between weeping and grinning combined into a grotesque sight—like a human-faced demon draped in an ape’s body.

  A conclusion flickered through Mobius’s mind.

  A Grimface Ape?

  The shadow missed its strike and immediately sprang again—this time straight toward Gru and Mobius—launching a second attack without the slightest hesitation.

  At the exact moment the Magibeast left the ground, Mobius finished the final word of his incantation.

  “…Unleash.”

  He snapped his arm forward, releasing the lightning magic he wielded best—

  —Lightning Magic · Offensive Form · Whip—

  A blazing arc of lightning lashed out like a living chain, exploding with sharp, crackling thunder as it snapped through the air, fast and unerring. Suspended mid-leap, the Magibeast had no chance to alter its trajectory—no room to dodge.

  The lightning whip struck home.

  Violent current surged across the Magibeast’s body, crawling over its frame in jagged arcs. For an instant, a flash of white-blue light tore through the forest. Beneath the dark purple fur, flesh spasmed and twisted, and an acrid, scorched stench spread through the forest air.

  The Magibeast let out a shrill cry and crashed backward onto the ground, its limbs twitching uncontrollably. Residual currents still coursed through its body, leaving its muscles rigid and its movements sluggish.

  It had barely managed to prop itself up on one arm—

  A flash of cold steel.

  Chelorra was there, her figure rising behind it like a living shadow. A heartbeat ago she had been in the trees; now she stood soundlessly at the Magibeast’s back. Her shamshir was already drawn and raised high behind her head, her torso twisted to the right, the edge gleaming in the faint dawn light and the dying afterglow of lightning.

  Her wrist dipped, and she cut across in a clean, level arc.

  The blade bit deep into the Magibeast’s neck.

  But its bones were unnaturally dense. Even with full force, the blow failed to sever the head—the blade lodged fast, caught hard against bone.

  “Fall back, Chelorra!”

  Mobius was already moving. He drew his arcane rod in one smooth motion, preparing a second spell. At the rod’s crown, the mana crystal clenched in the silver serpent’s jaws flared to life.

  Before his incantation could leave his lips, Chelorra struck again.

  She wrenched the scimitar free and flung it backward in a single brutal motion. Blood burst forth as the Magibeast shrieked in agony, thrashing wildly. It clawed behind itself, trying to seize the woman at its back.

  Chelorra’s left hand was already tangled in the coarse hair atop its head, forcing it down with brutal strength. At the same time, her right hand drew a short blade. Using the twist of her body, she drove the short blade straight into the gaping wound she had opened moments before.

  The blade punched clean through the Magibeast’s throat bone, the force of the strike pinning its neck hard into the earth.

  Blood gushed out in a violent spray, soaking the front of Chelorra’s clothes. The Magibeast twitched, its hands grasping weakly at her arms before faltering—then falling limp.

  After a few final spasms, the body went still.

  Nearby, Mobius—still holding his arcane rod at the ready—felt the corner of his mouth twitch despite himself. He slowly lowered his hand, a single thought passing through his mind.

  She’s just as deadly as she was back then.

  …

  I should probably settle the wages I owe her… before worrying about that bill.

  — Janus Twelve