LUNA ASTERBELLE’S POV
The distant sounds of endless gunshots were heard along with the weeping noise of the students, who were obviously desperate for this massacre to end. If only I had the power to instantly kill those wolves all at once, then they wouldn’t have the need to risk their lives just to protect where they belong.
I felt the bag getting lighter, which could only mean that I was about to run out of arrows to use. I guess there are only five left. And yet, the wolves still haven’t even decreased in numbers!
Worse, they kept on coming after one of them died, as if they had a hideout somewhere nearby.
I glanced around the area in search of Lizzy, and I spotted her just a few meters away from me. I hurriedly went over to her location, which shocked her. "I told you to stay put, Miss Asterbelle," she said as she pulled me towards a safe place that made us crouch in between the trees while their leaves were falling to us.
"Listen to me, Lizzy."
"What’s wrong?"
"Don’t you think it’s kind of weird how those wolves just kept on multiplying despite our efforts to annihilate them?" I asked, hoping that she’d agree.
Lizzy held her chin. "You’re right; it’s quite odd. What about it, though?"
I placed both of my hands on her shoulders to directly look into her eyes. "I think that they have some sort of hideout near the dorm or the academy. Do you have any idea where they might be camping?" I seriously inquired.
She tried to avoid making eye contact with me, so I tightened my hold on her shoulders, which forced her to revert her gaze on me. "N-no… Nothing comes to mind when I try to think of any place they can—"
"Okay, thanks. I found the perfect spot." I cut her off, then stood up.
Lizzy hastily caught my arm. "Where are you going? You can’t abandon your role here; we’re all going to die in vain if you leave!" Her voice was engulfed with angst.
I scoffed when I heard Lizzy’s terrible act of innocence, but I chose to feign ignorance and proceed to the dormitory without uttering another word to her. I solely relied on my instincts to bring me to where they were having their rendezvous. I consecutively jumped from one branch to another.
‘It’s in the basement,’ said a familiar voice that I always obeyed. ‘You shouldn’t go there on your own. Unless…’
"You shouldn’t underestimate me," I murmured in between my short gasps as I got exhausted from all the jumps I'd done.
With my eyes closed, I took a deep breath, then slightly bent one of my knees to brace myself for the impact as I focused a huge portion of my remaining strength on my legs as I sprinted as quickly as I could.
The path I crossed gave me goosebumps, making me slow down my pace even if the basement was only a few steps ahead of me. There wasn’t anyone nearby, and yet, my senses were telling me otherwise.
Left with no reason to back down, I made a turn to the corner with my hand brushing against the wall. I gulped the moment that I saw a small opening from the basement—the door wasn’t locked. I couldn’t perceive anyone conversing on the other side, though.
Grabbing the pistol from my pocket, I made up my mind to push the door open. "Don’t move if you don’t want to be shot!" I instantly warned the wolves, who were all surprised to see me. "Who gave you the order to make a mess here?" I asked, still pretending to sound intimidating.
One of the wolves with red eyes came to me, which somehow made me tremble, but I had to remain calm. If I let this lone wolf beat me to a battle of ferocity, then I might as well end up getting devoured by everyone else in this basement.
It shifted back to its human form. He tucked his gray hair behind his ears as he casually moved forward, totally unaware of how he was currently naked. "How did you find this place? Did Lizzy… Ah, yes, of course she betrayed us. That damn wench; I shouldn’t have trusted her right from the start," he said, full of annoyance.
My eyebrows furrowed. "Don’t blame Lizzy. I noticed the wolves’ pattern with regard to their spawn points, so I realized right away that you would be hiding in a secluded place." I defended Lizzy, even though she tried to lie to me earlier.
I still don’t understand how she managed to summon these creatures here; there’s no way that she worked on all of them by herself. There must be someone providing her support.
"Too late for that, miss…" The man smirked as he snapped his fingers to command the wolves. "That student, Lizzy, is dead," he added.
I clenched my fists after I saw how they trampled on Lizzy’s body on the ground. Some of them even bit on Lizzy’s legs and her arms, deep enough for them to tear apart her body. They were literally munching on Lizzy's limbs right in front of me. They couldn’t even bother to at least show some courtesy and do it later, once I had left.
"Disgusting…" I whispered to myself, and he made me repeat it, as if he hadn’t heard it the first time.
I intentionally aimed my gun directly at his forehead, which made him raise both of his hands in the air. "You’re seriously going to shoot me with that? Won’t you run out of ammos? Are you sure that I’m going to be worth your silver bullet?" He was obviously provoking the heck out of me, so that I’d actually consider sparing his life.
For all the years since I have existed, I have always been full of hesitation in my decisions. I was contemplating this and that—whether it was right for me to take action without being ordered by anyone to do so.
"I honestly don’t give a f*ck anymore. I just want to set myself free from these invisible chains that hinder me from doing what I want."
Staring straight into the man’s eyes, I finally cocked the hammer back, followed by an immediate pulling of its trigger.