Old San's Bakery

Start “Hurry! Inform the superiors that we need more reinforcements!”

“Ahhh!”

“He’s burning the whole forest!”

“Save him! Please, anyone! SAVE MY BROTHER!”

“KILL HIM! KILL THAT BASTARD LIRON!”

“DEMON!”

“MURDERER!”

“BRING HIS HEAD TO VENERABLE SUAREZ!”

Mount Baylan was a secluded mountain far away from the Capitol. It was shrouded with lush greenish forests that stretched for miles. Each forest had tall Narra trees protruding from the ground, covering whatever was beneath. Above it was the gentle coat of fog that intensified during early morning and coldly nipped against the skin during late night.

This was the usual state of the mountain. However, at the present moment, wildfire swallowed the majority of the forests. Heavy grey thunder clouds swirled violently overhead. Lightning penetrated the ground, followed by a deafening roaring succession of lightning strikes.

Some of the warriors sent by the greatest clan in the country had been stroke dead. Others were already fleeing, decreasing everyone’s morale. Only the warriors with slightly higher ranks had swallowed their fear and stood their guard.

In the eye of the maelstrom of thunder, lightning, and wildfire stood a young man.

He could have been considered a very stunning beauty if not for the insane amount of blood oozing from his eye sockets. His hair flew in all eight directions against the raging wind. His clothing matted with blood, unclear whether which was his, his allies’ and his enemies’.

He took a staggering breath as he stepped forward.

One step.

Two steps.

He sensed that the enemy had indeed received reinforcements. This made his pretty bloodstained face twist in scorn.

Leaving all sense behind, he bellowed out a monstrous roar. He wasn’t roaring out of anger, but of pain. On his forehead, two terrifyingly elegant horns protruded out and left a trail of blood. The blood stood out on his moon-white horns like a sore thumb.

The surviving warriors had sensed the danger.

“Everyone! Fall back! FALL BACK!” A high ranked warrior howled.

It was clear that there was no need to warn the others since they were all aware that they were pretty much doomed. The warriors on the front lines frantically fell back.

One of the seniors from the reinforcements had seen how the enemy suddenly gained horns. He muttered under his breath, “So the rumors are true.”

“Sir! What do we do?” One of his subordinates gave him an anxious expression.

“Report to Venerable Suarez to send all of his best fighters. Once this man fully transforms, I’m afraid we won’t even stand a chance.” The senior replied. His subordinate had already understood the critical disposition they were in and hurriedly fetched a horse to report back to the Clan Head.

Exceeding the senior’s expectations, the horned man had let out another earth-shaking roar as his body morphed into that of a serpentine creature, the young man from before nowhere to be seen. The creature’s length and mass continued to expand until it had to jump off the ground and glide in the air due to the forest being unable to contain the size of its body.

The warriors below couldn’t help but freeze in fear. Some had even peed through their pants. The man had actually transformed into his full form!

A majestic but terror-invoking creature was looking down on them from above, its eyes carrying no arrogance but boiling malice.

The storm clouds had abided a bit in the area that it had occupied for itself, revealing the glowing full moon. The scene looked beautiful but at the same time it looked horrifying.

The creature opened its mouth and roared one last time.

+++

“Someone’s broken inside!”

“What! Surround the building! Make sure no one takes a step outside!”

“Sir, yes sir!”

The sound of heavy footsteps hastily spread through the hall. The warriors intending to secure the location in order to trap the intruder inside.

Unbeknownst to them, a silent figure stealthily rendered the third floor guards to sleep. The figure cautiously proceeded to scan the hall, convinced that no one else would interfere with his business, he scurried to a room, not forgetting to lock the door behind him.

The room was an extra storage room. Boxes, parchment, books and brooms filled the empty shelves and cabinets. He swiftly scanned a shelf and moved it aside. He squatted and placed a palm on the floor. A heartbeat later, he pulled back his palm and formed a fist, striking the floor below.

“Did you hear that?”

“He must be on the upper floors!”

“Could he be after that man?”

The guards were quick on the uptake and unhesitatingly headed for the room where a captive was held.

They opened the door after unlocking several complicated locks issued by their superiors. They had expected the guards in the room to intercept the intruder, only to get the opposite outcome.

All of the guards that were assigned inside the room laid on the floor, unconscious. The culprit had caught their captive that the Clan Head had strictly ordered them to detain. An arm under the captive's thighs while the other hand clutched the back of the captive's head.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!” One of the guards ordered. Huh! As if he would listen.

The intruder looked at them coldly. His eyes gave off a frosty layer of killing intent as he clutched the body closer to his chest. He striked a fist against the wall behind him which then exploded into bits, spreading dust all over the place.

The guards marched forward, weapons drawn, coughing through the layer of dust. As the dust dissipated, the only thing that greeted them was a gaping hole.