Kalle carried Allen on his back and closely followed behind the mysterious woman. The moonlight deep in the forest filtered through the treetops and barely illuminated the path ahead.
Allen kept muttering in his sleep, cold sweat oozing from his forehead, and an uneasy pain flickering across his pale face. Kalle could feel his body twitching slightly, as if being tortured by some kind of force.
"How long can he hold on?" Kalle asked in a low voice. The burden on his back was gradually getting heavier, but his steps remained steady.
"If we hurry up, we might be able to temporarily suppress it before it fully breaks out." The woman's voice was calm, and she moved nimbly through the forest, as if she was extremely familiar with this place. "But you must be prepared. If the curse can't be suppressed, you may have to end his suffering with your own hands."
Kalle paused for a moment, gritted his teeth and said, "I won't let him die."
The woman heard the firmness in his voice, glanced at him slightly from the side, but didn't say anything more.
The silence around was suffocating, with only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the leaves. Suddenly, a low wolf howl came from a distance, long and mournful, echoing in the night.
Kalle instinctively gripped his short dagger tightly and unconsciously quickened his pace.
The woman stopped, and her gaze swept around alertly. "They're here."
Kalle looked up and saw that among the tree shadows in the distance, pairs of deep blue eyes were slowly emerging, like ghostly fires in the night, staring fixedly at them.
Those black wolves were approaching silently, without a sound but exuding a strong killing intent.
"Keep moving, don't stop." The woman said in a low voice and slowly drew out the dagger at her waist. The silver light glinted under the moonlight. "If they attack, protect Allen. I'll fend them off."
"Can you deal with them alone?" Kalle frowned and said in a low voice.
"We'll find out by trying." The woman's mouth curved into a slight sneer, and there was a bit more sharpness in her eyes.
Kalle didn't say anything more. He carried Allen and continued walking, but his hand always held the handle of the knife, ready to face the attack at any moment.
Dark shadows emerged, and the killing intent suddenly rose.
Just as Kalle took a few steps, a black wolf suddenly pounced from the side. Its fangs glinted with a cold light, aiming straight at his side waist!
"Damn it!"
Kalle quickly sidestepped and dodged the wolf's claws, but the weight of Allen made his
movement a bit slower. The black wolf brushed past his arm, and its sharp claws left three deep gashes in his sleeve, and blood immediately seeped out.
Before Kalle could react, the second black wolf had already pounced on Allen!
"Get away!"
Kalle roared, quickly turned around, and stabbed the short dagger fiercely into the black wolf's abdomen. The black wolf let out a howl and fell heavily to the ground, and blood instantly stained the ground red.
However, more wolf shadows emerged from the darkness, surrounding them and approaching step by step.
The woman's dagger had already slain two black wolves. Her movements were as swift as a ghost. As the silver light flashed, those black wolves couldn't get anywhere near her.
Kalle's gaze was fixed on the front, and his breathing became heavier. "We can't keep dragging this out. If we continue like this, we'll just be surrounded and killed."
The woman quickly dealt with the black wolf in front of her and said without looking back, "Hurry up, I'll cover you!"
"You..."
"Leave me alone!" The woman interrupted him coldly. Her eyes were as sharp as knives. "If I die, you two keep going and don't look back."
Kalle looked at her back as she stood alone in front of him and Allen, and his heart was shaken.
But at this moment, he had no other choice.
"Allen, hold on!" Kalle gritted his teeth, carried Allen on his back, and dashed towards the deeper part of the dense forest.
Behind him came the roars of the black wolves and the sounds of the woman engaging in close combat, but Kalle didn't look back.
He knew that if he hesitated for a moment longer, Allen would really lose his life.
At the end of the forest, the moonlight fell on an ancient ruin.
Kalle rushed out of the dense forest, gasping for breath. Allen on his back had completely lost consciousness, and his body was extremely cold.
Under the moonlight, the ruin looked extremely desolate. Broken stone pillars and toppled statues lay across the land, as if it were a long-forgotten holy place.
Kalle gently placed Allen on a flat stone platform, then knelt down on one knee himself, gasping and wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"You're here in time."
The familiar voice sounded again. The woman's figure slowly emerged from the forest. Her gray
robe was stained with blood, and her shoulders were trembling slightly. Obviously, the previous battle hadn't been easy.
"Are you okay?" Kalle frowned and looked at her injured shoulder.
The woman shook her head, walked over to Allen's side, placed her palm on his forehead, and said softly, "I can only temporarily suppress the curse. You have to be prepared."
Kalle stared at her intently. "Who exactly are you? Why are you helping us?"
The woman was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I used to be a hunter, killing werewolves and protecting the town. But now..." Her voice trembled slightly, and her gaze was a bit dim. "Now I can't go back to the town anymore."
"Why?" Kalle looked at her in confusion, trying to find the answer on her face.
The woman lowered her head and gently lifted up her sleeve, revealing a black scar on her arm, exactly the same as Allen's curse.
Kalle's pupils shrank slightly. "You've also been cursed?"
The woman gave a bitter smile. "Yes, I'm the same as him, struggling with the beast inside me."
Kalle fell silent, feeling extremely complicated.
He hadn't expected that this mysterious woman would bear the same fate as Allen.
The woman looked at the sleeping Allen and said softly, "I can't help myself, but I can help him. At least... I don't want to see someone follow in my footsteps."
Kalle looked at her and felt the warmth and sadness in her words.
"Thank you." He said in a low voice.
The woman shook her head and continued to focus on performing the ritual to suppress the curse. Under the moonlight, her profile was gentle yet determined, like the only light in the night.
In the dark forest, some people choose to sink, while others choose to become the light.