Could it be a dream?

Absolutely not. It wasn’t a dream, because the oppressive pressure that seized not only her body but also her very soul was far too vivid.

Rin’s heart, which had been beating calmly, suddenly began to race as if it were about to burst. Her senses sharpened, yet her body became stiff, and goosebumps prickled at the back of her neck.

The beastfolk's instincts rang alarm bells in her mind, loudly and insistently. Every fiber of her being screamed silently.

That thing is dangerous. You have to run right now.

But Rin couldn’t move an inch.

The aura of death weighed her down, suffocating her.

The chilling sae-gi (death energy) mercilessly crushed her lungs, making it difficult to breathe.

“Yip…”

Rin stumbled backward, her movements unconscious.

She warily eyed the reaper, scanning for an escape route.

The nearest one was the door behind her. Having lived her entire life running, she was confident in her ability to flee.

Crouching down to gather strength in her legs, Rin pressed her feet firmly into the ground, her toes gripping the rough wooden floor for the burst of speed she would need.

Tension filled the air as the reaper moved. The cold, sharp blade of the scythe swung down like the guillotine of an executioner, delivering a death sentence.

Swoosh!

At the same moment, Rin unleashed all the power she had been holding back, propelling herself forward in an explosive sprint.

The physical abilities of the beastfolk were vastly superior to those of humans. Even though she was young, her leg strength rivaled that of a human knight enhanced by magic.

With a crack, the inn floor splintered beneath Rin’s powerful leap as she shot forward.

A perfect escape!

Clank!

Except, it wasn’t.

“Keck!”

Her body was abruptly yanked back in midair. It was the chain. The sturdy chain Karamir had obtained from the blacksmith.

In her heightened state of tension, Rin had forgotten about the chain attached to her ankle. She crashed to the ground with a thud.

The scythe fell.

Thanks to the chain, perhaps, the reaper’s attack was aimed toward the door, as if predicting her escape route. Had the chain not stopped her, her body would have been cleaved in two.

But there was no time to feel relieved. The scythe’s strike didn’t end with just what the eye could see.

Shing!

A gust of wind tore through the air, as if the reaper had conjured something from nothing, manipulating the laws of the world. The wind blade was akin to the strike of a seasoned swordmaster.

“Yip!”

Multiple cuts appeared on Rin’s body, blood spilling out. The inn room was torn apart like firewood, and even the chain binding her was sliced through by the wind.

As soon as the chain was cut, Rin’s legs kicked into high gear, and she shot out the door like an arrow.

The reaper glided through the wall, silently pursuing the fleeing fox.

 

“Mmm…?”

Karamir woke up shortly after.

Half-asleep, his eyes suddenly snapped wide open as he took in the scene before him—holes in the wall, debris scattered across the floor, and the wind and rain blowing into the room.

But that wasn’t his main concern. It wasn’t his property, after all.

Rin was gone.

The door was open, and all that remained was the cleanly severed chain.

“What the…?”

Tap, tap.

The hurried sound of footsteps approached.

Seyra burst into the room, her face pale.

“Are you alright?”

“Uh… I’m fine, but what the hell is going on?”

“I came out when I heard the commotion and saw the pink fox being chased by a reaper. I thought you were finally getting your divine punishment, but unfortunately, you seem to be just fine.”

The inn room was a wreck, looking like a battlefield had torn through it, yet strangely, Karamir’s immediate surroundings were untouched.

“Rin is being chased by a reaper?”

“Yes. For a reaper of that magnitude to appear so suddenly… it must be the pink fox’s misfortune at work.”

Seyra had felt the reaper’s presence when it passed her.

Its aura had been so overwhelming that her legs almost gave out. The reaper’s presence was so suffocating that it drained any will to resist, even as death loomed near.

There was no doubt in her mind. The reaper had appeared due to Rin’s misfortune. And this was no ordinary reaper—it was far beyond what anyone could expect.

“What are you doing?”

Karamir was getting dressed, preparing to leave. Seyra stared at him, not understanding his intentions.

“We have to chase after her.”

“You’re going after that thing? You?”

“My slave is in danger. It’s only natural for the master to go and save her, isn’t it?”

Seyra, a wolf beastfolk, wasn’t particularly fond of dogs. Their barking annoyed her. And right now, Karamir’s words sounded just like that—useless barking.

Even if they found Rin, there was nothing Karamir could do about it. He was completely inexperienced in combat, which was the only reason he could say such foolish things.

“If you go, you’ll just become another victim. Stop being reckless and stay here.”

There were two rational options: either mobilize the knights to subdue the reaper before more damage was done, or wait for the pink fox’s misfortune to play itself out, leading to her death.

Boom!

The ground shook. Through the broken wall, dust billowed from the residential area.

“It’s over there.”

Ignoring Seyra’s warning, Karamir immediately sprinted outside.

She could only shake her head in disbelief as she watched him go. What kind of absurd confidence did he have? Did he believe he was invincible?

‘Whatever. Let him die if he wants.’

She’d done her duty by keeping an eye on him. If he crossed the line into danger, she could report it and return to her regular duties. But…

‘I’ll still need to report it accurately.’

Karamir, the habitual slave abandoner.

She would bear witness to his actions and document every one of his misdeeds.

With that thought in mind, Seyra followed after him.

 

“Huff, huff…”

Rin’s hurried footsteps echoed through the rain-drenched city night.

Unfamiliar terrain. The sensation of pavement beneath her feet instead of dirt or stone was strange, but even so, she put her lifetime of running to full use.

Her small frame and cat-like agility allowed her to slip into tight spaces, weaving through gaps and alleyways. Sometimes she twisted her body sharply, scaling walls to reach the rooftops.

Her movements were swift and instinctual, like those of a wild animal. Under normal circumstances, she would have been able to evade most pursuers with ease, but the reaper was no ordinary foe.

She didn’t need to look back to know.

She didn’t need to hear it to know.

The reaper was behind her, scattering the scent of death as it chased her. It was after her, and her alone. That scent sent her heart pounding like a bomb on the verge of explosion.

Why is it chasing me?

The thought crossed Rin’s mind. She had once believed that the yokai back in Baekwoongok were simply tied to that location. She thought that maybe if she escaped, she’d be safe.

But the reaper’s relentless pursuit dashed those fragile hopes.

Misfortune clung to her like an unbreakable chain, wrapped around her life like a noose. As long as she bore the mark of the pink tail, there was no escaping it.

Gasping for breath, Rin glanced behind her. The reaper, which had been relentlessly chasing her, was nowhere to be seen.

Where did it go? Did I lose it?

That was her mistake. What you see isn’t always what’s there. The scent of death still lingered.

Then—

Boom!

The wall beside her exploded in a cloud of dust. Cracked bricks and debris scattered in all directions, and from the wreckage emerged the reaper, cloaked in dark indigo.

Its scythe gleamed like a blade cutting through time itself, as it lashed out with a shockwave that engulfed Rin.

“Yip!”

Rin’s small body was flung into the air, tumbling down like a stone skipping across the surface of the ground.

She tried to stand, her body trembling from the impact, but collapsed again.

“Kiiing…”

A pitiful cry escaped her, her small frame looking so helpless that it could evoke sympathy from anyone—except the reaper.

The reaper’s cold, indigo eyes fixated on Rin. Its gaze seemed to pierce through her body, as though it wasn’t her flesh but her very soul that it was interested in.

It reached out.

Its skeletal hand slowly extended toward her, and Rin squeezed her eyes shut in terror.

“Now?”

“Now.”

Reflected in the puddle on the ground was a chimney, silhouetted against the moon. Standing atop it was a lone wolf beastfolk.

With her ash-gray hair streaming behind her, Seyra launched herself like a cannonball, partially transforming her arms into claws and slashing downward.

Slash!

She cut through the reaper’s arm. Taking advantage of the reaper’s momentary hesitation, Seyra grabbed Rin by the scruff and spun around with all her might.

“Catch.”

She flung Rin.

“Haha, you didn’t need to tell me to—Keh!”

Karamir, who had been waiting, spread his arms wide to catch Rin, but his fragile body wasn’t equipped to handle the force. He tumbled backward, crashing to the ground with Rin in his arms.

Sliding across the wet street, Karamir held tightly onto Rin, ensuring she wasn’t hurt any further.

“Kiiing…?”

Despite her body being cold and numb, she felt a faint warmth. Sniffing the air, she caught a scent that oddly reassured her. She looked up.

Soaked by the rain, his hair hanging down in wet strands, and his clothes a mess, there was Karamir, smiling down at her.

“You really know how to run, huh? But I’d rather you didn’t run away from me.”

“Kiiing?”

Karamir stroked Rin’s head and stood up.

Seyra, with nimble movements, dodged the reaper’s attacks, using its scythe as a platform to leap back, and landed gracefully next to Karamir.

“I did what you asked… but now what? That’s no ordinary reaper. Even if we summoned the entire knight squad, victory isn’t guaranteed.”

As Seyra remained on high alert, Karamir silently observed the reaper. From a distance, he had sensed something familiar, but now that he was up close, he confirmed it.

“Father, no matter what, you can’t go around swinging your scythe at my slave.”

“Father…?”

The reaper’s indigo eyes, which had been quietly observing Karamir, met his gaze.

The two locked eyes, and Seyra looked back and forth between them, utterly confused.

It was the reaper who broke eye contact first. It turned its head, gazing off into the distance before slowly floating away in that direction.

The tension that had built up to its peak dissipated so quickly that it felt anticlimactic. Seyra vaguely realized that the cause of this strange turn of events was Karamir.

“You…”

“Oh, look at you, all cold and wet. Let’s head back inside before the little one catches a cold.”

As Karamir walked back toward the inn with Rin, Seyra narrowed her eyes, staring at his back.

She needed to revise her assessment.

Karamir might be far more dangerous than the world gave him credit for.