CHAPTER 38: THE ONE WHO RIDES ATOP A PALE HORSE

The man on horseback stared at me with a cold, scrutinizing gaze. His voice rang with a melody as he spoke. The words he uttered left me even more confused. My mind went blank; nothing he said made any sense to me.

"Why are you so weak?" he repeated. "Demogorgons are nothing but stray dogs that roam the abyss beneath hell. I didn’t even know they were capable of killing. And that form you took on... it resembles a creature from this Earth."

The spectre looked at me with disappointment etched on his face, and with it, a chill enveloped the night.

"Something has changed inside you. This isn’t what he promised from you."

The spectre tightened his grip on his saddle. Suddenly, more horsemen appeared around him. Only these ones had no heads. Their horses looked like zombies, with rotten flesh infested by maggots and bones protruding through what was left of their skin.

"Headless horsemen?" I muttered weakly. Suddenly, I remembered a tale my father told us long ago. It was a story about headless horsemen who traveled the night sky, bringing death with them. I remembered he called it ’The Wild Hunt.’

That was the only thing I remembered him saying.

"I can’t allow you to die yet. I’ll see this contract fulfilled no matter what."

That was the last thing the spectre said before he kicked his feet, causing his horse to gallop. The beast ran until it began soaring into the night sky, and the other headless horsemen chased after him.

"What did he mean by contract?" I wondered as my mind slowly faded away.

...

Time passed as I awaited my eventual death, but nothing happened. I watched the clock strike one and expected missiles to follow, but nothing occurred. It didn’t make sense. The soldiers claimed they were planning to blow up the university, but nothing happened. Could they have lied? No, something must have stopped it, but what?

Just as I questioned what had happened, I spotted something soaring through the sky. This time, it wasn’t the spectres as before. This one had wings resembling those of a bat and skin as red as blood. A reptilian tail flowed gently behind it gracefully as it soared through the sky.

The creature descended from the sky when it saw me, and for a second, I recognized its scent.

"Isabella," I pondered, but no, it couldn’t be, could it?

I gazed at the creature, then my eyes widened as I slowly recognized its facial features. It was her. She quickly rushed over to me when she saw my condition. Her face contorted in shock at the bloody mess I was in.

"Liam! What happened to you?"

I was so weak that I couldn’t even speak, but she understood what had happened when she finally saw the body of the giant demogorgon lying beside me. The thing I wanted to know was about the transformation. So this is what happens when a hybrid experiences a full moon.

Or could there be something more to it? A gut instinct told me everything was connected. I could feel it.

The giant wings on her back towered over both of us. It was a sight to behold, honestly.

"Let’s get back," Isabella said as she proceeded to lift me up and flew off into the sky.

The feeling of the night air on my face as we soared was a pleasant sensation. Her wings created a strong gust of wind every time they flapped. Her tail danced behind her as we travelled among the stars. We passed through the clouds, and somehow, being so high up and closer to the full moon, my wounds began to heal faster.

I wondered if this is how the Wild Hunt feels as they travel through the night sky on horseback.

"Can we stay up here for a bit?" I asked Isabella.

"Hmm? Sure, can I ask why?"

"The others will be worried if they see me like this."

My siblings see me as a sort of indestructible force of nature. For whatever reason, they thought highly of me. Seeing me like this would shatter the image they had of me.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked, to which she nodded.

"Yes, I managed to get everyone out safely. Derrick was injured but now he’s slowly healing. He should be fine. We found Liora and Lily waiting outside the gate for us."

"That’s good. You did a good job helping everyone. By the way, do you know what happened to Ivy?"

That shapeshifter disappeared the moment I started fighting the level 10 demogorgon.

"She left. She was the one who told me where you were after she helped us escape. All the others who were with Allison left too. They went to find their families."

"I see."

I would imagine they were eager to get back home.

As we soared through the sky, I activated my thermal vision skill. I wanted to see if there were any more demogorgons left on campus, but I couldn’t find a single one. Moreover, I spotted many of their corpses lying on the ground. Even the corpses that had embryos inside them didn’t have any heat signature.

It was as if death had washed over this place. I immediately knew this was the work of the Wild Hunt and the strange spectre that was leading the charge. Whatever they were, they seemed dangerous, and the man who led them spoke as if he knew me. For now, the only way I could think of to get answers was by asking my father.

My father was an anthropology professor at a famous university. He studied a lot about the supernatural world and would normally tell us stories regarding such matters. If anybody knew about the Wild Hunt, it would be him. Maybe he would finally answer some questions about my bloodline.

...

Several miles away from where Liam and the others were, inside a secret government base, several corpses lay. None of them showed any signs of injury. Death swept over them, and they all died of heart attacks. It happened just seconds before they were going to launch missiles at the university, Liam and the others were at.

The same thing happened to all high-ranking government officials all over the world. They all just died without any explanation or warning.