Red set her sights on the Queen’s shell.

  Now that it was undefended, and now that the light of tree was accessible, she had free reign to take them down.

  “You yearn to be human, and yet, you carry a weapon capable of –!”

  “Ever heard of a knife, you thorny shit!? Stop with the mental gymnastics of this and that! Hell… you had bigger blades than me!”

  The Hunt Must Go On

  ATT : 750

  < Red. The light within the tree is not its core. Destroying it won’t kill the Queen >

  < It’s somewhere inside of its body >

  < But I still cannot find it! >

  < Target the tree now! >

  Red obeyed her commands and followed the illusionary white trail.

  She ran straight past the shell of the Queen.

  “No. I will not allow this forest – no, this soon-to-be garden of mine to fall!”

  Suddenly, as Red neared the tree – the shell that contained the Queen burst open, sending a tidal wave of black goop across the field.

  It swept red, taking her away from the tree.

  But that was not the only thing that came out from the false apple.

  “I require… a host. This premature birth… I cannot let it end like this! I must… TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE!”

  < [The Parasite In The Garden] >

  < One is not like the other. But when all fall and it remains alone, then will it still be considered the false one? >

  There, as Red chewed through a mouthful of dark maggots, she saw a dark bramble extend from where the false apple once resided. It was aimed for Snow, and the poor girl didn’t even have time to react to it.

  “Eh?”

  *Ding*

  “Brrr!”

  Rockie threw itself in the way, blocking it momentarily as even more fragments of its shell scattered in the air.

  “If it weren’t for that shell… then I would have merged with a lowly bug. I will smear you along this mountain for weeks on end when I finally attain the perfect body!”

  Rockie could not block the bramble anymore. The nature of the bramble meant that it could easily return to its pursuit of Snow, who had not yet managed to stand, let alone run.

  “SNOW!” Red shouted.

  The razor-sharp tip of the bramble hung overhead.

  It was over.

  “Become mine.”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Our memories will merge.”

  “It will all become mine.”

  “I promise you it will be painless.”

  The bramble grew an apple along its tip.

  The Queen’s intentions were as clear as day.

  However–

  *Bark*

  *Jump*

  *Crunch*

  “Three… Paw…?

  –Three Paw, who had been by Snow’s side this entire time, jumped from her shoulder and took the apple for itself.

  “No… No… NO!”

  “That apple was meant for…”

  The Queen’s voice became inaudible as a whimpering Three Paw was snatched by the bramble. Thousands more burst from the ground, wrapping the wolf up as thorns lacerated its body.

  “Why… Did you…?” Snow was left in utter despair.

  She had lost someone close to her again.

  The brambles grew. Mounds of flesh created a shell to stifle the whines and whimpers of Three Paw. The sounds Red heard, the way that bones snapped out of place, and how flesh was torn apart…

  “Give… Give…”

  Red’s lips quivered.

  Her heart ached.

  It should not have.

  Three Paw was a mere wolf.

  Yet her heart said otherwise.

  Because that wolf had not only saved Red… but also Snow.

  Her eyes trembled.

  Then, in a fit of fury, she rushed towards the newly formed apple with a terrible roar.

  The Hunt Must Go On

  ATT : 800

  “GIVE THREE PAW BACK! GIVE IT BACK!”

  Her blade could not penetrate through the shell this time.

  And no matter how hard she swung; she was left on the other side of the shell as she heard Three Paw’s whimpering intensify.

  Eventually, they became a gargled, horrific groan of misery.

  “One million wolves and one defect.”

  “Of all the wolves in the world, I was born as the one who was banished from the pack.”

  “I didn’t choose to become like this.”

  “I didn’t want to leave them.”

  “But I didn’t want to burden them either.”

  “Three Paw? Is that you?”

  Red’s question was immediately answered as the apple broke open, revealing an amalgamation of meat strapped together with brambles that appeared like barbed wire. A massive, eight-meter parody of a wolf stood before her, holding a scissor blade in its mouth.

  A thousand eyes were plastered along its body, mimicking scales. Its tail contained the other scissor blade. Unlike Three Paw, this wolf had four legs.

  However, one leg was entirely made from dark brambles.

  “I wanted to become normal.”

  “I was the parasite in the garden.”

  “Will I ever be able to change?”

  Suddenly, wolf carcasses rose from the ground.

  They were Bitter Thorns but were no longer humans. Like their previous iterations, they were slow, weak and hardly a threat.

  While Red was expecting to fight the Corrupted Three Paw head on, Three Paw instead reared its head into the air as though to howl. Then, it swung its head, and then its entire body to create a spinning blade that slaughtered the Bitter Thorns.

  “No. Why should I change? I… Yes. I hear you, Queen. I must become special. Only then, after eliminating my own kind, will I stand to be the only normal wolf.”

  “But do I have to eliminate humans too? After what they’ve done for me?”

  “Just… the red one…?”

  “Snow… SNOW! What’s the plan now!?”

  “… I’m seeing lights… Multiple lights. It’s throwing me off… urgh… Because Three Paw… They’re… They’re still alive!”

  “Three Paw is? Despite–!”

  “BLOCK!”

  “–Tch! Cheap shot! What else would I expect from a wolf!?”

  In the split second she took her eye off Three Paw, it swung its mouth-held blade down at her. Red, thanks to her immense ATT stats, was able to cleanly clash with this monster, enough where she did not skid backwards.

  Instead, she was able to stand on her own ground, wrestling Three Paw to the point where she threw the beast backwards. But it did not relent, and it went in for another rapid swing.

  “Fast as hell! Status!”

  //////// < WARNING > ////////

  < Three Paw will undergo Ego Death when his HP reaches 0 >

  < Once Three Paw becomes a Shell… He’ll be taken over completely. Please do not target those lights until we confirm which one belongs to Three Paw and the Queen! >

  Red couldn’t see it, but somehow, she could hear Snow crying within those words.

  Tears were used to write this message into the diary.

  Three Paw was family to Snow.

  But what was Three Paw to Red?

  “You’re a wolf… nothing but the lowest of all animals! But if Snow wants you alive–!”

  Red concluded a clash.

  As Three Paw was sent staggering backwards, she went in to press the advantage.

  “–Then I’m going to drag you out of there even if it kills me!”

  18 Chapters ahead over on the

  Discord! We have cute Vengeful Red emotes!