CH 44.2

She was running through the woods. The thought of why she was here quickly caught on to her.

Haa . . . haa . . . No. If I get lost here . . . no.

Seeing the sun go down over the horizon, her face went white with impatience. She immediately started running. She ran and ran through the snow-covered mountain roads, but the snow piled up to her calves slowed her down. She couldn’t reach far.

Her body that had been running forward for a while was tripped by a large rock. She stretched out her arms to break her fall. Before she knew it, the surroundings were clearly starting to turn dark. Even so, she didn’t stop. She had to live.

As the branch brushed against her cheek, she felt a stinging pain and something flowing. The cold wind was like a blade, and she knew later that she felt something flowing on her cheek. She tried to wipe away the smudged tears, but the back of her hand was covered with blood instead.

It’s . . . bleeding.

A terrifying roar erupted from behind her, piercing her chest when it smelled the faint smell of blood. As darkness descended and a dreary atmosphere came over her, her fears came terrifyingly.

She looked around where she was, feeling like she was running in circles several times. The endless forest was terribly dark, resembling her miserable heart.

The occasional screaming sound was so terrible that she had to cover her ears. A little bit of fear came over her. She knew that the true nature of this dreary noise was the sound of monsters waking up in winter and starting to move.

I have to get out of here.

She calmed her thumping heart, but she was already far away from the road people were walking on. No matter how much she walked, all she could see was frozen trees, stones and snow.

Where should I go?

She has been looking at the same sight for hours already. Although she regretted entering the forest so late, she couldn’t turn her feet again.

ROOARR!

Then a terrifying roar erupted and shook the entire mountain.

The hairs all over her body stood, and cold sweat ran down her back in the middle of winter. Fear took her breath away, so Anne stopped her feet. She hid herself behind a tree.

She silently held her breath as she watched the grass sway in silence. There was something inside that trembled. It was strange to hear a sound more terrible than that of a beast and the sound of something hard breaking.

Goosebumps ran up her spine every time she heard that sound. Her instincts told her who was frightened. You should never be caught.

Her breath stopped, and as she bent her knees. The dark figure from within the grass raised its body by a fraction of a second. Its entire body was black. It must have been crouching. As soon as it straightened its body properly, the height gradually reached the sky.

She was so startled that she stumbled backwards and fell on her hips. Hearing that sound, the hideous monster with red fur and big horns turned its head towards her, and their eyes met.

Monster.

Although it stood on the ground on two legs like a human, the face was so terrible that it was indescribable. Something was half-tucked into the big mouth, and when she confirmed the identity of it, she covered her mouth with her two hands.

Her body hardened like ice. A figure resembling a human was chewed into the mouth that was grumbling. She tried to run away, crawling on the ground at the horrid sight, but finding new prey, the monster came closer to her with its eyes burning.

The thought of running away was all over her head, but she couldn’t herself up. Tears streamed down her white cheeks in fear. She closed her eyes looking at the monster screaming and running like crazy.

It was then. The shaking of the earth stopped and a huge sound, like a heavy object falling to the ground, came.

She couldn’t feel the monster’s hand, which should have gripped her whole body by now. Anne quietly raised her eyes at the strangeness. The reddish arm, which had been rapidly reaching to her just moments before, fell at her feet.

And a scream, worse than the howl, rang through the empty winter mountains. The sound that pierced her eardrums was so terrible that she had to cover her ears. Her heart was beating like crazy.

When the monster’s movement, as it spasmed and the blood bubbles, stopped, a heavy sound of stepping into the snow came from behind. She carefully turned her gaze to it.

She wondered if another monster had appeared. When she opened her trembling lips and looked at it, a certain man was standing there. The eyes of the man covered in blood were exactly the same color as the blood that was splattered in front of her.

Ah . . .

A dazed sound that wasn’t even a word leaked out of her. The man gave off a terrifying aura, but his face was indescribably beautiful.

The man’s lips moved slowly. She couldn’t quite hear what he was saying, as her ears were deafened by the noise just before.

Very slowly. She was about to ask what he was talking about, but the scene in front of her disappeared in pitch black darkness.