CHAPTER 66: CHAPTER 66: INTRUDER PART 3

Everyone’s face is going to be blank. No one understands who this old man is and when he is coming from the jungle. This makes everyone anxious for a little bit. The old man calmly said,

"Hey Kael, stop;

you’re just hyper from going too fast.

Control yourself; this makes you suffer many times,

huh!"

When John looked at the face of the old man, he saw a spunk on his face. A glowing smile is clearly showing.

The old man looked at John’s face and said,

"John, Eric’s son.

I know about your dad, the warrior lord of the village."

John asked,

"But you knew about me?

My dad was famous; I am not."

The old man started to laugh.

"hahahah,

You are the son of a lord, and you think people didn’t know about you. This was your mistake, little boy."

John thinks about it then. "Okay, but who are you? Why do you hold his hand? What are you both doing here on this dark night?" The old man simply said,

"I am Fenrick,

and he is my son Kael.

We both came here to gather some fruits to bring home for our family."

John says, "Where are you living? Village name? The old man replied, "We live in the village that stands on the end of this jungle. Listen, little boy, my son didn’t know about you, and he has some anger issues; that’s why he misbehaved with you. I hope you never mind.

I apologize to you, little Lord, for my son." John feels awkward. "It’s okay, I don’t mind, by the way. You didn’t tell me your village name!" Fenrick smiled. "In the village of King Merlin, there we lived with our family in peace. Even a grandchild the same age as you, little Lord."

John became happy to hear that "well, we will go there for work; King Merlin is my uncle, and his daughter was my childhood friend."

Fernick asked,

"Which type of work, may I know?"

John said,

"Yes, we brought Princess Elsa with us,

because my dad ordered us to bring her with us immediately."

Fenrick "Oh, I understand.

Me and my son are also going there so we can also join you." John agrees with them and accepts their proposal to get them along. John already forgot about the creature and red eyes for this whole incident.This matter was skipped from his mind. He became fully normal and calm as before. Then all guards, John, Fenrick, and Kael, started walking together by gossiping. Everything just looks like normal, but it’s not so normal; something is waiting for them that John didn’t expect.When they have been walking for almost an hour and dive deep into the last part of the jungle, a new memorable thing is going to happen now. When they all become busy gossiping, suddenly a sound catches their attention, but at first they don’t care about this.They continue their journey to reach the destination, but suddenly a wolf jumps from the other side and comes in front of all.Everyone is really scared to see this wolf. John noticed Fenrick and Kael weren’t even scared or shocked to see this dangerous wolf. The wolf does not look like an ordinary normal wolf. Its eyes are just as red as blood. His legs are much bigger than other wolves. His whole size is double that of two humans. More than this, his big tooth with a sharp blade just looked like it was growing, causing fear in everyone.Wolf’s saliva is the proof of his hunger; the hunting of humans is clearly shown. At this moment everyone used their flame of hand’s flambeau to tackle the wolf to get protection. But hush! This little trick can’t hit the mind of this wolf. The wolf started to roar, "rrrrrrr, arrrrrr, rrrrrrr." Suddenly he shouts, "Awwwwww, owaaaaww." His roar is much stronger than the wind.The sound wave of his feels like a wave cutting off the wind in a slice. The sound of his roar made the pass rumble.

The moment the wolf’s roar boomed through the jungle, the air froze still. Leaves quivered. Instinctively, the guards formed a circle around John, raising their weapons, eyes darting through the shadows. The flaming torches in their hands flickered wildly, light quivering like frightened hearts.

Then it happened.

The air was filled with the sound of a thunderous growl, and with gleaming blades for claws, the monstrous wolf leaped straight at John. Time stood still for a heartbeat. John barely had time to breathe when one of his experienced guards hurled himself forward, pushing John aside. The wolf crashed into the man with terrifying force. A scream tore through the air, pierced by the sound of the beast’s fangs sinking into his shoulder. Blood splattered across the fallen leaves.

"Hold the line!" another guard shouted, rushing forward with his spear. But the wolf was fast—unnaturally fast. It twisted its massive body, sending the injured guard flying like a broken doll, before lunging again.

John stumbled back, his heart pounding like war drums. This was no ordinary creature. Its eyes glowed brighter now—red as burning coals, its breath misting in the cold air like smoke from a furnace.

"Form a circle around the Lord!" one of the captains yelled. The guards moved quickly, their torches making a circle of light. Firelight danced off their swords as they hacked at the beast, but it seemed only to enrage it further; every slash healed in an instant, like the wounds were illusions.

The blade of John trembled in his hand. "It’s not...dying?"

The captain gritted his teeth. "No. This thing’s cursed!"

The wolf leapt again, this time slamming two guards aside with its massive claws. Their armor bent like paper under its strength. The torches fell from their hands, and darkness began to swallow the clearing again. The creature’s growl deepened—almost human, almost. sorrowful.

"What in the gods’ names is this?" one guard gasped.

Fenrick was standing quite still, his face impassive. Beside him, Kael watched wordlessly, his eyes narrowing. The fire danced, its shadows exposing an uncanny calm on the youth’s visage; one that did not fit into the bedlam at all.

John swung his sword at the wolf’s flank. The blade connected, but instead of piercing, it merely scraped against the beast’s hide. The wolf turned its head; its red eyes locked on John once again, its lips curling into a snarl.

Before it could attack, the guards threw their spears together. The spears struck true—embedding deep into its side. The wolf let out an ear-shattering roar, twisting violently, snapping the shafts like twigs.

"It’s not a normal beast!" exclaimed John. "It fights like a demon!"

Then—abruptly—the wolf was still. Its eyes flashed in Kael’s direction, something flickering in their depths, some sense of familiarity, as if the beast knew him. The air around Kael turned thick, strange energies disturbed in the night.

"Kael... stay back!" Fenrick’s voice boomed, but Kael didn’t move.

Kael stepped forward, face blank, voice low. "Father... it’s too late to stay back."

Before there was a single reaction to this, Kael sprinted forward toward the beast. The shouted guards, in a panic, tried to hold him back, but Kael moved faster than the human eye could see. He dodged the wolf’s claws with inhuman precision, his body gliding like a shadow between the beast’s attacks.

"What—what is he doing?!" John gasped.

Kael’s eyes shimmered, for a moment, with a faint golden hue. His muscles constricted and his movements blurred. The wolf lunged to crush him, but Kael caught its paw in midair-caught it-and twisted. A loud crack echoed through the jungle. The beast howled in agony.

"Impossible." one of the guards whispered. "He broke its leg. with his bare hands!"

The wolf was thrashing wildly, slashing through the air, but Kael didn’t back away. Suddenly he was moving lightning-fast-each strike calculated, without mercy. A blow, full of his weight, landed square on the beast’s chest and sent it reeling backward; the ground shuddered beneath their combat.

John was beyond words; he could only stare, frozen. The Kael who had once argued like a reckless youth now looked like something altogether different-a warrior born from shadow and fury.

The wolf’s jaws snapped mere inches from Kael’s face as it tried to retaliate; Kael grabbed its muzzle and wrenched it open wider, wider, until another sickening crack filled the air. The wolf’s roar turned to a choking cry.

Kael’s expression never changed. He twisted harder, his strength unnatural. The beast fell limp, its throat snapped clean. The silence that followed was deep and absolute.

Everybody was still. Torches burned low, the fire crackling softly as smoke curled up.

John stared at Kael, panting hard. "You... killed it... by yourself?"

Kael didn’t answer. He stood over the fallen creature, his hands trembling slightly. The blood of the wolf steamed against the cold night air. Fenrick approached slowly, placing a hand on his son’s shoulder.

"Well done," he said softly-but his tone carried something else. Not pride... but warning.

John looked between them, his eyes filled with confusion. "What are you two hiding?"

The smile that Fenrick gave was faint, almost sad. "Not everything that looks human, little Lord, truly is." But..