Chapter 26: Nightmare

Only after the two men left did Hazel dare to slowly open her eyes, pain tightening her brows into a frown.

“Will you go first?” She heard one of the men ask and her heart skipped a bit.

“I will try the tender one first.”

“You have to hurry up, we have to join the group soon. Don’t forget that the aim is to cause considerable damage before the Alpha arrives. After we are done, we can just kill the two of them and get it over with.”

“Then, let’s go at it together.”

‘Who were these people?’ Hazel wondered inwardly.

She has heard the term ‘leader’ two times already. Could they be bandits or local robbers?

But how come they were here?

Hazel knew that she could not just sit still.

She opened her eyes secretly and glanced around the cottage, but could not find any useful thing to defend herself with. All that met her eyes was rotten wood and that was all.

One of the men approached her slowly as he unbuckled the brown leather belt holding his pants.

Hazel pressed her lips together and prepared herself to fight to death . Just then, her eyes caught on the small, black dagger tucked into the man’s boots.

If Hazel had not been staring well, she would have missed it because the dagger was completely black and hidden away.

At that moment, the young girl beside Hazel finally opened her eyes. She glanced around in confusion and when she saw the man looming over her, a scream erupted from her throat.

“It’s even better that you are awake. This will be even fun.” The man said, quickly approached her and tugged at the shoulder of her dress, preparing to tear it off.

The girl struggled frantically, trying to claw at the man’s face, but with his many years of experience, she could not even touch him.

“Struggle. Continue struggling, I like it that way.” The man said, licking his lips with a lecherous grin.

The girl was pressed against the wooden wall, her hands pressing against her chest to keep her clothes from tearing.

Hazel waited anxiously for the second man to approach her, she was almost unable to suppress lunging at the man.

As the man stepped right in front of her, Hazel pulled the dagger from his boots and launched aggressively.

“Fuck…” The man cussed, but it was too late.

Hazel was ruthless, she plunged the dagger into his shoulders fiercely and withdrew without any expression on her face.

His blood spewed out of the wound, causing a trail of blood that followed the dagger in Hazel's hold.

The pain made the man quickly retreat explosively as he clutched his shoulder. The ruckus attracted the attention of the first man, and as soon as he turned his head, the girl acted quickly.

Because her legs had been pressed down by the man, she had been unable to struggle free. But now that he had lost his guard, his strength had lessened considerably.

The girl did not hesitate before she raised her leg and kicked him hard in the groin.

The man’s eyes widened instantly, pain flaring at that part of his body as he clasped his legs with a groan. As he retreated, the girl quickly stood up.

Hazel pulled the girl behind herself and held the dagger in a stabbing stance towards the two men in front of them.

“These slut dared to stab me?”

“If I don’t screw you over and over until you are broken beyond help, I will write my name backwards.”

Hazel glanced at the man as she and the girl slowly moved towards the entrance.

Then she shouted, “Run!”

Before her voice even fell, the girl had already taken off.

“Get them!”

“I will make them pay.”

Hazel and the girl ran with all their might, not even daring to look back. The two men cussed incessantly behind them, their footsteps erratic.

“This way.” Hazel told the girl as they rounded a corner.

“Who are they? They don’t seem like natives.” The girl asked while panting and Hazel turned to her.

“Oh?”

“Considering their dialects, they are not natives. I am afraid they might be rogues.” The girl answered earnestly.

Hazel furrowed her brows.

Rogues? In the pack?

Hazel had no idea why that thought gave her a very bad feeling.

Something was wrong!

Why would rogues be running rampant in a pack? Moreover, they were close to the market, what if…

Hazel’s eyelids jumped.

That was when a metallic scent wafted into her nostrils.

“Eh? Blood?” She murmured to herself. She couldn’t be any familiar with that scent. Not just that, but the noise was different.

‘Why does that sound like screams?’ Hazel wondered to herself.

After rounding another corner, they finally arrived close to the market, but what they saw made them freeze in their steps.

It was a blood battle and a living nightmare.

“Goodness. What is going on?” The girl exclaimed, terror making her eyes wide.

The stalls had been overturned, baskets of fruits crushed under heavy boots and bodies laid sprawled on the ground. Smoke rose from a distance, carrying the thick scent of blood and smoke.

Dark rogues.

Hazel finally understood where her bad feeling came from.

So that was their plan - cause as much mass destruction as possible before the Alpha arrives.

But at that moment, a piercing scream tore through the air.

Hazel’s head snapped towards the sound and saw that not far from them, a middle-aged woman had been pushed towards a broken stall.

A rogue towered over her, his morphed claws raised over her head.

The woman crawled backward, her palms slipping with her own blood. The rogue’s eyes twisted with cruel delight, as though the sight of her pitiful self excites him.

Hazel did not even think before charging over. Subconsciously, she used the speed spell and her steps became lighter.

In a second, she arrived close to the rogue and hurled the dagger in her hand towards him.

The dagger penetrated his wrist with precise accuracy and he retreated back, clutching his arm in disbelief.

“Who dares?”