With a thunderous snarl, the massive wolf lunged—fangs like daggers aimed straight for my throat.
Too fast. Too close.
I dropped instinctively. Its snapping jaws swept past my ear like a guillotine, so close I felt the spray of hot saliva streak across my cheek.
No time to think.
I hit the ground hard. The breath punched from my lungs, but I rolled, came up on one knee, and sprang to my feet in a low fighting stance.
The wolf skidded to a halt, claws tearing lines through the dirt, already twisting back toward me.
Before it could pivot fully, I launched forward and slammed a Muay Thai kick into its rear flank.
Crack.
The sound was sickening—but it only staggered, a monster of sinew and steel. Its body built for the hunt. Built to endure.
It whirled, faster than something that size had any right to be, foam flinging from its yellowed fangs.
Its claws carved the air in a sweeping arc—a blur of death.
I leapt back, but not fast enough.
Pain lanced across my chest. My shirt tore open, blood blooming in three furious red lines.
I staggered, but didn't fall. Couldn't fall. I gritted my teeth, forcing the scream back down into my ribs.
No weakness. Not now.
I surged forward, slipping just outside its strike range, moving on instinct honed by desperation and near-death.
It lunged—I sidestepped.
An opening.
I drove a brutal liver punch into its ribs.
Crunch. Something gave way.
The wolf let out a choked growl, reeling back, breath hissing from its fanged maw. Its eyes flared, wild and gleaming—but not broken.
Not yet.
With a roar, it came again. Faster now. No caution. No tactics.
Just raw, unbridled rage.
I spun aside, just in time, catching its shoulder with both hands, turning with its momentum.
An Aikido pivot. Its strength became mine.
The beast hurled through the dirt, a screech of claws tearing trenches as it skidded, gouging the earth.
It rose—slow, dazed, bleeding.
One eye burned with primal hatred. A predator refusing to die.
Then it began to circle.
Low. Silent. Calculated.
We danced—predator and prey, switching roles with every heartbeat.
Seconds stretched into lifetimes.
Then—it lunged. But different this time.
It wasn't rage anymore.
It was finality.
A pressure like a storm-front broke across the clearing as it charged.
Too fast.
Its paw connected with my ribs. The force was obscene.
I flew. Through branches, through pain, through screaming wind.
Through the edge of consciousness.
Crash.
My back slammed into the base of a gnarled tree. The impact crunched through my spine. My vision went white.
Broken. Battered. Breath gone.
I crumpled to the ground, twitching, choking on air that wouldn't come.
Memories surged like a tide.
Hiccup. Dad.
Each name stabbed deeper than any fang. Guilt exploded in my chest like shrapnel.
Tears came, hot and fast, cutting trails down my bloodstreaked face.
"Hic…" I gasped. My voice was cracked, shredded. "I wanted to come back stronger. Someone you'd both be proud of. But why—why is fate always so cruel to me?"
My body curled in on itself, useless. Ruined.
"I gave everything. Every breath. I trained for years just for a future—just to live again. All I ever wanted was a family of my own. A wife to adore. Children I'd die for."
"Hic…"
And then—her name burned to the surface.
Merida.
A wildfire ignited in my chest.
Not just beauty, but strength. Spirit. Fury wrapped in flame.
At the festival, I hadn't planned to win—just to prove myself.
Then I saw her.
Her arrows flew like lightning—flawless, focused, fierce.
She defied her mother with fire in her eyes. Even the king dared not interrupt her storm.
At first, I thought it was showmanship. A royal tantrum.
But it wasn't.
In the weeks that followed, I learned her. Day by day.
Her laughter—loud and unashamed.
Her pride—unyielding.
The wit behind her barbs—sharp, but never cruel.
The kindness—hidden, buried deep beneath years of armor and expectation.
And slowly—helplessly—I fell.
Not just in love.
I belonged to her.
And when I learned she loved me too, I made a vow beneath the ancient moon:
"I, Erik Horrendous Haddock, swear before gods and kingdom: In three years, I will return to Dunbroch and make Merida my bride."
The ring on my finger pulsed, hungry for purpose.
I gripped it with all the strength I had left, pouring mana into the stone until my vision blurred.
My voice rang out, forged of iron and steel:
"If I die—this ring will shatter.
If I fall for another—this ring will shatter.
If I fail—this ring will shatter."
Then, softer. But unshakable.
"But I swear to you, Merida:
I will not die.
I will not falter.
And I will never, ever love another."
My tears dried.
The pain remained—but it changed.
It became rage.
Wild. Consuming. Pure.
I screamed, raw and defiant:
"I REFUSE!"
ERROR. ERROR.
HOST: CALM YOUR MIND.
ERROR.
SKILL: [BERSERK] FORCIBLY ACTIVATED.
Skill: BERSERKER
— All stats +200%
— Pain: Nullified
— Rationality: Terminated
— State: [Destruction. Malice.]
My mind cracked. The world bled red.
And from the void—fire.
UNIQUE SKILL: [Fire Dragon Slaying Magic]
— Fire Immunity
— Fire Manipulation
My skin seared. The air warped around me.
Heat pulsed through my veins. A furnace made flesh.
Flames erupted from my palms, turning the shattered forest into a cathedral of ash.
Trees curled inward like dying beasts.
The wolf froze. Its hunter's instincts screamed at it to flee—but it was too late.
Wolf's POV
At last. The creature had fallen.
Small. Fragile. But unyielding.
It had cost me dearly. One eye gone. My ribs shattered. Blood leaked from every wound.
But I had won.
I limped forward, salivating.
"Hmph. Let's eat this one alive."
But then—something strange.
It was crying.
"Pathetic," I growled.
It whispered. Words broken by grief.
I didn't care.
But then—the air shifted.
Something ancient. Wrong.
It stood.
Shattered. Misshapen. One arm limp. The other clenched hard enough to crush stone.
It should be dead.
Then—flames.
The ground cracked.
Fire wrapped around it like a second skin. The sky turned molten.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
Then—it looked at me.
Eyes like furnaces.
And from its mouth—hell.
A gout of white-hot flame surged toward me. It swallowed my world.
Fur peeled away. Flesh blistered and screamed.
Then—it vanished.
And reappeared.
Right in front of me.
Fists. Fire. Fury.
Each blow shattered something inside me—bone, will, pride.
I bit down on its arm in desperation.
It grinned.
Then—exhaled.
Flame poured into my lungs.
I screamed smoke.
I staggered, dying.
This isn't prey.
This isn't a warrior.
I realized, in soul-deep terror.
This is a devil.
POV Ends
Host. Host...
It's not safe—please, wake up.
Host. Host!
sigh
I guess I'll do you a favor… just this once.