Silently jumping through the trees, I keep my eyes peeled for anything. My eyes can't see color anymore, but if anything tries to come up, I will be able to catch it. I will catch it.

My monster restlessly stirs up my heart rate, eager to find any demon scout that dares come into view. Or if I hear anything out of place, oh boy are they dead.

Frustration silently tugs at my chest, the others are walking quite loudly through the forest. They're being kinda stealthy, but I can pinpoint them on hearing alone. Not only that, but they're all wearing their old prison uniforms. They smell like demons, they aren't completely quiet, and I don't really like that.

I grin, not even ruffling the leaves as jump to the next tree. Not by sight or sound can someone spot me. Sure, I have white eyes that glow softly, but if I'm still, I'm sure they can be mistaken for stars. Other than that, I'm totally black. Black sweats, Lukas's black jacket, black skin, and dark brown hair that looks black.

My grin falls, my attention wandering to Lukas's scent drifting off his jacket. I snarl quietly and push the thoughts out of my head. Not thinking about that, much more important things to think about right now. I have to stay alert for any mischievous demons out and about.

If I'm remembering correctly, we should almost be hitting the road soon. Which means I definitely can't let anything compromise my focus. My friends are relying on me and I'm not letting an opportunity to kill a demon slip by. So any trauma and doubt can just take a hike! I don't want them and I definitely don't need them.

Olivia's instructions fill my ears, but I ignore them just as quickly to keep scanning the area. I know what to do, not all of my friends remember though. We all have to remain on point, can't let anything mess up on this one night. Nothing can.

Other than a few rustles, the forest remains in silence. I should be happy about that, I should be relieved that the plan is going well. Something though, something's telling me not to let down my guard. I'm not sure if it's my monster or if I've been a part of enough failed plans to stay on my toes.

Either way, nothing's going past my watch. Especially when my friends slip onto the road, Lukas cradling an arm to his chest and Axel limping as if they were both hurt. All of them are very good at looking bone dead exhausted and ran over by life. If this doesn't spark pity from the people, I don't know what will.

I glance towards Beacontown, its beacons shooting up to the sky. They decided it would be best to start their journey somewhat close, maybe to use the beacons as motivation or a guide, but far enough away for them to practice looking miserable. Which I can say they are doing a great job at.

Olivia's voice floats through my head, almost if trying to get me to remember the real reason why she choose this location. Not that I care though, my job is to make sure to kill any demon that dares interrupt this plan. That's all I needed to know to do so I ignored almost basically everything else.

They start moving, and guessing by how Axel squints at the trees no where close to where I am, I'm invisible. Well, I wish I was in invisible. That would make my job as demon hunter so much easier. Alas though, my monster can't do everything.

Grinning, I jump again. While I can't be invisible, I'm practically unnoticeable. Which is even better, unnoticeable means those stupid murderous demons won't even hear me coming. I'll cut them down.

I glance down at my friend, my stomach squirming in conflict. I shake it off and continue on. I'm doing my job, who cares what they would think about the way I'm thinking. Those demons are going down, anything that gets in my way of doing that is going down too.

My claws strain out, uneasiness fluttering st the edges of my conscience. There is a chance I'm getting psyched up for nothing, the demons might not even show.

A smirk stretches on my face and the doubt falls away without another thought. The demons just prove how scared they are by not showing up. If the demons aren't around right now then that means they aren't ready. They know how our strong we are, if they haven't tried an attack yet then they aren't ready. So this is just a warm up, a nice warm up. If they don't come, then I'm going after them. I'm not waiting for them to grow stronger as I just sit around in the Order Hall, I'm going go into their world and leave only death. I've let them live for too long now.

A whiff of sweat, salty in fear, swirls into my nose. I struggle to stamp down the blare of excitement, my eyes fixated on my friends. Their fears, hearts pounding with so much life and energy, grabbing at my attention. Prickles dancing on my skin at how enticing that is, how exhilarating it is to have control of that energy. To stop the chaotic fear.

I shake the thoughts out, quickly jumping between the trees. I try to jump quickly, going back and forth and even going a little ways away from them. Yet their fears don't leave me. They follow me, tangling themselves up in my head. All of them fiercely hissing at me to come after them. To go after them when their blood runs quickly sweet with fears.

It's even harder to ignore when my stomach rumbles at me, saliva beginning to coat my tongue. Huffing, I jump a few more trees away from them. Must be my hunger doing this to me, but I can't eat too much. I can't be drowsy in case a few demons decide to show up. Then again, I can't afford to be distracted either.

I scan the area below, jumping down to get a few scents of anything. A burrow steams with the sharp terror of a rabbit, perfect. Snatch a cowering rabbit, admittedly not the most exciting catch, but this time I'm actually going to catch it. This time there aren't going to be any interruptions either. I am going to catch this rabbit.

Without so much of a whisper, I thrust my hand in. Not catching anything, but whatever's inside bursts with its fear. I step back as the rabbit scurries out. It doesn't get two steps until I snatch it, killing it instantly.

It takes me mere minutes to eat it, leaving the bones and scraps to a desperate wolf. I lick my lips and jump back into the trees. That, despite being an incredibly boring meal to catch, didn't take long. I doubt the others even knew I left. Hopefully they got their fears under control, I can't keep eating to ignore it. Although at least my stomach won't disturb me again, that's something.

No leaves ruffles as I leap across the branches, following my friends. I glance up at the beacons penetrating the night sky, so close now. Just a bit further and people will decide whether or not to pity my friends. I should care, but with rumors of me no doubt as some terrible monster, I'm never going to fit into cities and towns ever again. I know this, and it doesn't really bother me.

In mere moments I'm looking down at my friends again, their fears even more potent. My heart thumps wildly, spurred by their anxiety. The air dances on my skin, the charged energy twitching excitedly in my muscles.

I jab my claws into the branch, growling softly against the temptation. A sudden movement below catches my eyes and I find myself staring back at Lukas. I growl softly again, smelling his fear and seeing his face broken in anxiety. Why must my friends be making everything so hard? Do they want me to lose control?

Closing my eyes, figuring that's the only part of me Lukas can even see, I try to accept the fact my friends are afraid. Accept it and then not let it affect me. Man though, their fears are practically physical. Just by breathing it in it's like a potion of strength running through my veins. I want more of it, so much more of it. I want it all.

A forced sigh steams out of my nose and with reluctance I open my eyes to keep jumping through the trees. With every jump I either want to hurtle down to the others and drink in their fears and control it and it would be so-

Sharply shaking my head, I drive out the fantasy. Although perhaps I can distance myself from them, that would be for the best. I won't have to deal with their very tempting fears, and well, I guess they don't get anything out of it. I would bet though they don't want me to pounce down on them, so they get that.

Just as I turn to jump away from this web of savory fears and energy, I catch sight of the beacons. My jaw clenches, teeth grinding against each other at how close we are. If I am to actually keep an eye on them so demons don't kill them, I have to stay as close as possible. Shouldn't be too bad, just a minute or so until they break the trees and I have to stay hidden. They drag their fear away from me so I can keep an eye out for demons instead of so focused on ignoring the hum of energy in the air.

After the longest minute ever, they walk from the trees. Petra turns back but I close my eyes, concealing my soft glowing eyes. I want to be a shadow, that's how I'll take down the demons. I'll snatch their life from them like how they snatched mine. They get one second to know that their entire life is now gone, and then their life is gone. It's the only fate they deserve, they won't even be able to scream.

I hear a clamor behind the walls, seeing people pour out from the gates to the others. Whispers of their astonishment, and then I catch my name with a trail of fear. Looks like my reputation will be giving them a hard time, but they're good actors. Olivia looked terror stricken, her one arm making her look uneasy and vulnerable. Axel and Petra just looked beyond exhausted but still with anxious eyes darting about, while Lukas seemed to have this mix of being stunned and wanting to bolt all at the same time. Gabriel and Ivor looked better, but they made their armor and faces battle weary.

I jump on the branches, still not rustling the leaps, becoming restless as I just sit here. Gabriel is doing most of the talking, but the townspeople don't sound afraid anymore. I guess the plan is already working. Shame, no demons decided to show up. Not that the others would even know any demon scouts appeared, since my entire job is to make sure the townspeople don't see them. Since there's not even a whisper of a rustle, I doubt the townspeople are even going to see a wolf tonight.

A sudden thought strikes me, lungs sharply inhaling. I snap my head to the forest, straining all my senses. I come up blank. No fresh scents, none of the nocturnal animals or monsters out and about. Why? I can't even hear zombies or pesky insects. Where did everything go? It's not suppose to be this still, even at night. I've been very quiet too, monsters and animals shouldn't be hiding because they smelled me. This has to be caused by something else.

I take a deep breath in, trying to find anything to give me some clues. There's still so much fear in the air, despite the others gone now. It must be from the animals, something must've terrorized all of them for the entire forest to have this light coating of it. But what? A couple of demon scouts couldn't have done this. I didn't detect anything wrong with the forest ever before.

My thoughts wiggle and squirm, my monster and I dividing. Its restlessness bristling, wanting to do something to find whatever's causing this. I soothe it, trying to convince it that I can figure it out if I just think about it. Surely there must be enough clues for me to figure out something.

First things first, this must be some sort of instinctual fear. Animalistic. Gabriel and Ivor looked exhausted, but they didn't seem as scared as the others. I've been feeding off the fear, since I'm half boss monster, but I knew it was there all the same. I just thought my friends were that scared about this meeting, but why would they be that terrified? As if about to lose a life? No, something else must be at play here.

Still, the question is what. What could do this? Rabbits I can see, anything can scare prey. There are no wolves about though, and how can my friends get scared? Lukas, part cat, technically has the most skittish animal, but cats don't exactly get terrified. Petra's a wolf and the greatest fighter ever, Axel's an iron golem while Olivia has spider blood in her. None of them should get scared by anything, they"ve stood up against a Wither Storm!

Growling, my thoughts aren't getting me anywhere. Maybe I should just go through the process of elimination. So what can invoke terror in everything, including other monsters, to go into hiding but not terrifying enough to where I don't feel any of that fear? Hmm, a Wither Storm comes to mind but-

Boss monster. I lift my head at my friends, everything's going fine right now, but only a boss monster can create this kind of terror induced stillness. So did the demons create a Wither? Perhaps they did it underground so they can have it burst out. Then in the mass chaos they can recapture us and kidnap more people.

I snarl, rage bursting from my heart. If those demons think they can just continue their twisted operation then they have another thing coming! I'm going to murder them all before they can even think about committing one more crime. They are going to pay, they are going to suffer.

I jump to the ground, tearing through the forest. Senses on alert for anything that comes from a cave. I lock onto the odor of rotting flesh mixed with just a touch of coal. Trees, black and white to my eyes, blurred into gray. The fear of the forest driving me on, begging me to put down these demons. I will have my revenge, and once I'm done here I'll go after them all. There won't be anymore of them left to carrying this corrupt goal of theirs.

The cave comes into view, another burst of energy rippling through my legs. I race to it, bracing myself to go from grass to stone-

I push my monstrous feet into the ground, dirt flying up while I skid to a stop. Finally, finally a fresh scent carried by a gentle breeze drifts past my nose. Almost as if it wasn't there at all, just a fragile wisp. Yet it has to be some sort of demon. I think. Maybe it is just a rabbit that had to flee its burrow? It smells like a rabbit, but it's not charged with fear.

Confusion races at the edge of my thoughts, and I quickly climb up a tree. Hopefully to get my thoughts in order, to figure out why things are so weird right now. Why-

I freeze, again. This time it wasn't my nose, but I think I heard something just now. I jump up to the top of the tree, hoping to hear it more clearly or to convince myself to get back to the cave. That this is nothing and I'm just delaying everything. That if the demons spawn in a Wither before I stop them then I've failed and they win.

Before I get to the top I already know I'm wrong. By the time I'm as high as I can be, there's no mistaking it. Wing beats. Not by some small bird either, something big. Really big. I can't exactly see the night sky, but I know it must be really big. Maybe I should lower myself, get down a bit so it wouldn't see me if it passes-

A shocked wail almost bubbles out of me, horror striking me at how I was nervous about it. I'm a wither and warrior, one of the strongest monsters is half of me. I should be scared of nothing, I am not scared of anything. I would like to see this thing try to take me on. I'll cut off each of its limbs before I even break a sweat.

Boss monster.

I blink, fighting off my crazed rage for a moment. Getting another whiff of a different scent, fresh and almost kinda like a horse. Not quite though, another scent so faint it's almost invisible.

Boss monster and a few animals can't even get close to taking me down, even when I have a smudge of fear.

The wing beats get closer, and a horrible thought pierces through every brain cell I have. In the same second I'm jumping between the trees and to the ground. Flat out sprinting once I touch ground. Praying that I'm wrong but knowing that I'm right. That this night has gone wrong in all the worst ways possible and I'm too late to prevent it.

I break the trees, the wing beats steadily approaching from far off. I race to my friends, not caring about winning the town over and not caring or if I scare the living daylights out of the people. Since I'm not the half humanoid half boss monster coming to kill them.

Oh no, I'm the one trying to save them. 

A scream attacks my ears as I sprint closer, and I stare at the group of people that are all shrieking at me. I can't stop though, those wingbeats were getting pretty close. This might be my only chance to get my friends to make sure the demons don't succeed. If my monster isn't even putting up a fight with this one, only driving tons of energy into my body, then it's time to panic.

"Jesse!" Petra whips to me with a scowl, Lukas turning to me a second after, the others trying to calm down the citizens. "What the hell are you doing? Things were going exactly-"

What meant to be a soft whine ended up bursting through my lips as a wail of alarm. Energy and adrenaline pushes at me as fear burns through my nose. People scream and yell at me, drowning out my ears to the wing beats. I screech again, panic trilling in my voice at how much I wish to scream the words pounding in my head.

Axel puts a huge hand over my mouth, silencing my wails. My muscles, crazed with mad energy zooming in my blood, spasms out and flings Axel back. Not bothering with my ears, the air only filled with screams now, I grab out. Talons wrapping around a furry arm as I whip around to point-

I blink, my monster rearing up as I find my talon pointing at the black shape blocking the stars and sweeping towards us while my eyes are stuck at the demons pouring out from the trees.

****

So did you really expect this plan to go off well? I mean, did you even allow yourself to hope that?

Anyway, and yep, ending is like, soon. Real soon. Although that's not probably to surprising since the end end of that book would probably feel like it would be ending even if you didn't know.

Ugh, and bad at these, never know what to say. Except just that I'll be back soon with the next new chapter!