Demon Being System

Kaden bolted back to where Jace and Lira were resting. His heart pounded as he saw Jace kneeling beside the beast, clutching the blade that Lira had handed him earlier.

"Jace, wait—don't kill it!" Kaden shouted, panic in his voice.

But it was too late. Jace drove the blade into the beast's neck, a clean strike meant to minimize its suffering. The beast let out an ear-splitting roar of agony that echoed through the forest.

"Shit!" Kaden cursed, his eyes wide with dread. He turned to Lira and Jace. "Run! We need to go, now!"

"What's going on?" Lira asked, alarmed.

Kaden pointed into the forest, where the sound of rustling bushes and guttural growls grew louder. Emerging from the shadows, a horde of Ratogores charged toward them, their crimson eyes gleaming with rage.

Lira's face paled. "Oh no…"

"Move!" Kaden barked, and the three of them took off, sprinting through the forest with the beasts in pursuit.

The ground shook under the weight of the charging horde. The sun blazed down mercilessly as the trio ran, weaving between trees and leaping over roots. But no matter how fast they moved, the snarls and snapping jaws of the Ratogores grew louder behind them.

"They're gaining on us!" Lira shouted, glancing over her shoulder.

"Any ideas?" Kaden asked, his voice strained.

Lira pointed ahead. "We can't outrun them much longer. We need to hide!"

Jace scanned their surroundings as they ran, then pointed to the left. "There—look! Ruins!"

Kaden squinted and saw it: a crumbling stone structure half-hidden by overgrown vines. It had a single arched entrance, offering a defensible position. Without hesitation, they changed course, sprinting toward the ruins.

They stumbled into the ancient structure, their breaths ragged. Kaden quickly scanned the interior. The ruins were empty, with cracked stone walls and shattered pillars scattered across the floor.

"Barricade the entrance!" he ordered.

They scrambled to pile whatever they could find—fallen stones, pieces of wood, and broken furniture—against the archway. The makeshift barricade was far from perfect, but it was all they had.

The snarls and howls of the Ratogores grew deafening as the beasts reached the entrance. Kaden pressed his back against the barricade, sweat dripping down his face. Through the gaps, he could see the beasts clawing and gnashing their teeth, their frenzy turning the horde into a chaotic mass of fur and muscle.

"They're trying to find a way in," Lira said, her voice trembling.

Kaden clenched his fists, the black veins in his hands pulsing slightly as he stared at the barricade. "Let's hope this holds… because if it doesn't, we're dead."

__________________________

The three of them sat in the dim interior of the ruin, their breaths shallow and their bodies tense. The constant sound of the Ratogores clawing and ramming against the walls reverberated around them. Each thud, each growl, sent shivers down their spines.

Kaden ran a hand through his hair, frustration etched across his face. "They're going to break in soon," he said grimly, his voice barely above a whisper. "We'll have to fight our way through."

"That's impossible," Lira said, shaking her head. Her hands trembled as she reached for the gourd strapped to her back. "I've run out of fire tears. The only ones I have left… are healing tears."

Jace, sitting beside her, wiped the sweat from his brow. "I could transform into one of the beasts now, but there's no way I can take on the dozens waiting outside. Not alone."

A heavy silence fell over them, broken only by the relentless assault of the beasts. The sound of claws scraping against stone was unyielding, each strike chipping away at their fragile hope.

Defeated, Lira sighed and pulled a small, rectangular device from her backpack. It was one of the emergency beacons the teachers had issued to all students in case of life-threatening situations. She pressed the activation button, and the device began to emit a faint, rhythmic pulse of light.

"I've sent a distress signal," she said, her voice flat. "But don't get your hopes up. There are thousands of students out here and only a dozen teachers. It might take a while before anyone even notices we're in trouble."

Kaden stared at the glowing device for a moment, his jaw clenched. Then his gaze shifted to the barricaded entrance. He could see the cracks forming, stones tumbling as the relentless pressure of the horde began to take its toll.

He stood, his fists tightening, the black veins on his arms pulsing faintly. "Time," he said, his voice low but steady, "is the one thing we don't have."

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Far from the ruins where Kaden, Lira, and Jace were trapped, a lone teacher stood amidst the dense forest. Mr. Duke, a man in his mid-thirties with a stocky build and a sly smirk, checked his emergency beacon. A loud beep pierced the silence, drawing his attention to the screen.

It displayed a flashing red dot with coordinates and an alert: Student team in danger. Immediate action required.

"Hmm," Mr. Duke muttered, scratching his scruffy chin. His eyes narrowed as he studied the location. It wasn't far from his current position. With a grunt, he adjusted his weapon—a sleek dagger with glowing runes—and began moving swiftly through the forest.

"Stay safe, students," he muttered under his breath as he sprinted, his boots crunching against the dry leaves. "I'll be there soon."

But as the wind rushed past his face, another thought crept into his mind, twisting his smirk into something more sinister. "I wonder if there'll be any females in the group," he thought. "Save her, comfort her, and maybe… get a little closer after the dust settles."

He chuckled to himself, his pace quickening. "Let's hope this trip isn't just about fighting beasts," he murmured. "A little gratitude can go a long way…"