The ground trembled as the roar got louder and louder.

  All the fighting stopped in a matter of seconds, and everyone's gazes moved toward the treeline, above the flames and smoke, and they all saw the same thing.

  A hulking form emerged, running on all fours. It was the size of a carriage, its body covered in sinewy muscle and patches of cracked, dark hide that glowed faintly with tendrils of dark mana. Its head was long and hound-like, but twisted, with too many teeth and a pair of curved horns jutting back from its skull. A tail hung from its back, edged like a spear.

  Its three eyes were locked onto two figures that ran right in front of it. Even through the haze, Rayne could make out who they were.

  John and Kesh had done it. They had brought the mana sniffer.

  A thick, rasping breath escaped the beast's throat as it stepped closer to the firelight. It jumped straight at the two running ahead of it and Rayne panicked. But they immediately dived to the side before making a run straight toward the burning camp.

  Its nostrils flared in rage. The air shimmered around it, tendrils of mana being drawn in like smoke sucked into a forge.

  It crept closer and closer to the flames until it finally paused. The sniffer inclined its head and the tendrils seemed to gain a life of their own as they turned a bright red from black, and its three eyes locked onto the center of the camp.

  Rayne followed its gaze and saw Marcus, who stood in silence and shock, holding his flaming blade as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

  He shrank under the beast’s gaze and realized the same thing Rayne had.

  The mana sniffer had sniffed him out.

  For a second, Marcus looked at him, but before he could say whatever he wanted, the mana sniffer roared again and jumped straight into the flames.

  The soldiers froze around him.

  Captain Baker, who had been fighting the last of the deserters, took one last look at the monster and shouted, “Get out in the wheat fields! Away from the sniffer!”

  The surviving soldiers didn't need to be told twice. They scattered toward the fields, ducking under the smoke and away from the monster. Rayne didn't move to run with them, eyes shifting toward the men still struggling on the ground, bleeding.

  “Don't just run! Take the injured with you!” he shouted and didn't wait to see if his orders were followed.

  He moved and pulled up an unconscious but breathing man from a pile of bodies before putting him on his shoulders and making his way toward the fields.

  On the left, he saw Jeff moving out of a burning tent, hair and clothes all burned, shouting orders. Jason and a few others picked up men from the ground and took them to safety.

  He saw more soldiers he recognized moving toward the fields and felt relieved that they were still alive. From behind, Marcus’s shouts and screams echoed.

  Rayne turned just for a second to see that the mana sniffer was already standing a couple of paces away from him, clearly having sniffed the mana coming out of him.

  Marcus held his blade in front of it, backing a step. The sniffer glared at him, opening its mouth and rolling its tongue as if looking at food. And that was exactly what was going on.

  If Marcus had any less pride, maybe he would have moved to run. Instead, the man stood right there, challenging the monster.

  Rayne saw it happen the next moment. The ground split under its weight and the sniffer lunged right at the spellsword, faster than any monster he had seen. Its claws came down at him, the tendrils moving through them.

  Marcus swung his blade, the flames lighting up in defiance, and the two forces collided in a burst of heat and mana.

  The sniffer’s claws slashed, meeting steel mid-swing. Sparks erupted. Marcus staggered back, the sheer force sending him sliding through the dirt. He gritted his teeth and countered, fire exploding from his sword, carving a wide arc of flame that scorched the creature’s chest.

  It howled, the wound glowing faintly before sealing shut in seconds.

  Marcus’s eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding—”

  The sniffer slammed its head forward. Marcus raised his sword just in time, but the impact sent him flying through a burning tent. Canvas and fire collapsed around him.

  The monster roared again and charged at Marcus, crushing any body that came in its path. Rayne stopped looking then, hastily moving as far as he could from the sniffer.

  He had no idea of its level, but it was certainly only below the troll warlord if it could throw around Marcus like that.

  For a second, he even wondered if he had made a mistake—if the monster would turn on them next—but then he shook those thoughts away.

  He needed to believe in the knowledge he had.

  Rayne moved deeper and deeper into the wheat fields with the other soldiers, far away from the flames. The howls and screams kept ringing in his ears, but he didn't stop until he was far enough to feel safer.

  He put down the soldier’s body, checking for his breathing. Only once he made sure it was stable did he look around at the others.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Most of his party seemed to have made it. John and Kesh were missing, but he had seen them running in the opposite direction and they should be fine if they managed to lure the mana sniffer all the way here. Jason, Heins, Quinn, Welix—all of them seemed to have come out with only minor injuries.

  Nate had been stabbed hard in the chest, but a potion had saved his life.

  Jeff was all scorched but was also drinking a healing potion. Captain Baker stood next to him, and when he caught Rayne looking at him, he nodded.

  Most of the garrison had also made it, and he was sure there were only a few unfortunate deaths, but only if they didn't have to fight the mana sniffer in the end.

  Rayne sure hoped not.

  Even as he watched the burning camp and barn, screams and shouts rang out with the faint hum of a sword moving through the air. They were always followed by guttural screeches and roars.

  The mana sniffer sounded angry, but Marcus was still fighting. He shouldn't be past the first breakthrough, but he was able to stand up to such a fearsome monster. He almost wanted to move closer to see what was going on exactly.

  But he stood rooted to the spot, sword hilt clenched.

  “Who do you think will win?” Jason asked suddenly, having crept next to him.

  Another howl made him flinch. He looked at Jason and replied, “I don't know, but I know if it comes to a battle, I would rather fight Marcus than that mana sniffer.”

  “Me too. And I thought the warlord looked ugly.”

  Rayne almost chuckled, but another scream took his attention. And he gulped this time, not because of how horrifying it sounded, but because the scream was human. It belonged to Marcus.

  His stomach twisted. He looked toward the burning camp just as another scream echoed, sharper this time, ending in a guttural roar. The wheat swayed violently as the ground trembled beneath them.

  Jason lifted his head, eyes wide. “The battle's ending.”

  Rayne nodded, looking at the others and shouting, “Get down. Cover yourselves!”

  He immediately crouched low and heard the sound of the wheat being crushed as the others did the same. More screams and howls rolled out of the deserter camp.

  No one spoke. The air seemed to still around them as a crash split the night. Something heavy hit the ground, followed by the tearing of fabric and the shattering of wood.

  Rayne rose slowly, the wheat brushing against his arms as he peered toward the camp. His breath caught in his throat when he saw movement beyond the fire.

  The mana sniffer broke through the burning tents, dragging a body with its tail.

  Marcus.

  The man was barely recognizable. His armor hung in pieces, his left arm gone, his once-proud blade dim and blackened. He still swung it around, trying to get out of the monster's grasp, but they were just flailings of a dying man.

  The mana sniffer suddenly turned around, finally out of the flames, and put Marcus down.

  The fire painted its body in harsh light, revealing wet patches of blood along its jaw and chest. Marcus twitched on the ground, still alive, his face twisted in agony.

  Rayne watched as the beast lowered its head over him.

  Suddenly, the tendrils on its body pulsed like veins, gaining a life of their own and reaching toward Marcus. They extended, thin and translucent, glowing brighter with every pulse.

  They latched onto Marcus’s chest and neck. His body arched, his mouth opening in a bloodcurdling scream. Then blue light began to flow from him into the creature.

  It wasn’t blood. It was mana. Rayne could see and feel it even from a distance.

  Streams of it coursed through the tendrils into the sniffer's body. The red glow along its veins flared to life, spreading down its limbs and into its eyes until it looked like a living conduit of raw power.

  Marcus’s screams grew hoarse, fading into gurgles. His armor rattled as his body convulsed under the siphoning force.

  Rayne instinctively took a step forward before Jason’s hand shot out, grabbing his shoulder.

  “Don’t,” Jason hissed. “Just stay down. It will be over soon.”

  Rayne clenched his jaw but nodded. Watching the mana sniffer was like watching a nightmare crawl into life. And even if it did exactly what Rayne wanted, it didn't make it less horrifying to watch.

  The monster gave one last pull, and Marcus went limp. His body shriveled slightly, being sucked dry of everything, and even from a distance, he looked like the corpse of an old starving man. The tendrils detached with a wet snap, retracting back into the creature’s hide.

  It stood there for a moment, silent, the light under its skin flickering like a heart that had just been fed. Then it threw its head back and roared.

  The sound was deafening, louder than thunder, a wave of fury that rippled through the field and shook the wheat around them.

  Rayne clutched his ears, as did the others, and he prayed to all the gods that the monster wouldn't see them. Wouldn't walk toward them.

  When the roar finally died, the sniffer turned. Its glowing eyes swept across the fields, slow and deliberate, scanning the dark. For a moment, Rayne thought it had seen them—their faint silhouettes among the stalks, the soft sound of their breathing—but then it turned away.

  It looked back toward the forest, its head twitching slightly, nostrils flaring as if tasting the air. Then, with a few leaps, it vanished into the treeline.

  The only sound left was the crackle of the burning camp.

  Rayne slowly straightened, chest tight, staring at the place where Marcus had fallen. The firelight flickered over the hollow corpse.

  The air reeked of blood, burnt flesh, smoke, and something incredibly foul. He had no idea what to feel right now. They had survived death, avenged the family that had been hanged. But he felt no satisfaction inside his heart.

  He only felt dread that such monsters lived in this world. Monsters that could kill him in seconds if they wished to do so.

  He only got out of his stupor when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, almost swinging his sword before seeing it was Captain Baker. Jeff and Nate stood behind him while Jason patted his back.

  “Your plan worked, kid,” the captain said. “Like you said, mana sniffers only hunt mages and spellswords. The monster wasn't interested in our flesh at all.”

  “And we managed to kill all the deserters,” Jeff added. “You’ll surely be rewarded once we report everything to the frontlines.”

  Rayne almost nodded, but only a sigh came out of him. He was too stunned to think about rewards or appreciation. His mind kept replaying his battle with Marcus and his eventual end at the tendrils of the mana sniffer.

  And with all those thoughts, one thing echoed the loudest: he needed to get stronger. Far stronger than what he was right now, or he would end up just like Marcus one day. A hollowed corpse.

  He looked at the others, then back at the camp, and finally nodded. “Let's go find Kesh and John.”

  ***

  A/N - Marcus has a knight type class, and he's the typical orphan trained by a former knight but he was so strong because he has trained mana skills for long. As to why he deserted, noble politics. But I won't go into it.