Snow Leopard chased Fannar and Aivar all the way into the snowy mountain area, filled with snow-covered trees and difficult, narrow paths.
"Running is all you can do?" Snow Leopard suddenly appeared right beside Aivar without making a sound.
Aivar was shocked and immediately tried to swerve away, but Snow Leopard was faster—she blocked his leg, causing Aivar to trip and tumble far across the snow.
"Ugh… damn, she's seriously fast," Aivar muttered as he got back up, still keeping his usual relaxed expression.
Fannar, who wasn't far away, immediately charged at Snow Leopard with his horns without hesitation. But Snow Leopard's reflexes were on another level—before Fannar could land the hit, she struck first, slamming into his stomach.
BAM!
Fannar crashed hard. Snow Leopard instantly followed up, claws ready to finish him.
"BRO, WATCH OUT!" Aivar shouted.
Luckily, Fannar still managed to deflect the attack with his goat-horn weapon.
He quickly got back on his feet and put some distance between them.
Snow Leopard stared at him sharply for a few seconds, then gave a thin smile. "You seem a little different from before… did you eat something?"
Fannar stayed silent and didn't answer. From behind, Aivar tried a quick kick at Snow Leopard.
But the kick was easily dodged, and she countered with a slash that tore into Aivar's leg, injuring him.
"Bro, be careful… we gotta work together, don't just attack recklessly like that," Fannar said, staying on guard.
Aivar stood up again, ignoring the wound, and smiled casually. "Haha… sorry, reflex. Pissed me off hearing her talk too much."
After that, they stood side by side, clearly planning something.
Snow Leopard didn't want to waste time and attacked again at full speed.
Aivar moved first—he scooped up a handful of snow and hurled it at Snow Leopard to mess with her vision.
Snow Leopard covered her face. "Trying to blind me?"
As the snow began to fall again—
only Aivar was visible.
Fannar had disappeared.
Snow Leopard immediately scanned her surroundings, alert for any surprise attack.
"Ho… planning a sneak attack?"
But suddenly Aivar planted his feet firmly, closed his eyes like always, and slowly breathed in the cold air.
Snow Leopard stayed on guard, knowing Aivar was preparing to strike.
This time, however, she was wrong.
She waited quite a while, but Aivar just stood there motionless. It started to annoy her, and she finally stopped caring about the hidden Fannar.
She charged straight at Aivar.
This time, Aivar's movements were much smoother.
He dodged every single one of her attacks perfectly and even countered with several kicks to her neck and legs.
Aivar slowly opened his eyes as he watched Snow Leopard drop to one knee from the barrage.
"Are you sure you can beat us…"
Suddenly a voice came from above.
"YOO!! FINALLY FOUND SOMETHING BIG!" Fannar shouted from the edge of a rocky cliff.
Snow Leopard looked up and saw Fannar standing next to a massive boulder.
"Huh? What's he planning?"
Aivar chuckled softly. "What else? He's gonna drop that rock on you."
Snow Leopard actually laughed.
"You're joking? You think I'll just stand here and let a rock that big crush me? How funny."
Aivar only smiled, then closed his eyes again.
In an instant, he moved fast and locked Snow Leopard in a powerful hold, completely immobilizing her.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU IDIOT! YOU'LL GET CRUSHED TOO, DAMN IT!" Snow Leopard screamed, struggling to break free.
But Aivar stayed silent and held her tight, giving Fannar the signal to drop the boulder—even though his heart was pounding like crazy inside.
Fannar took a deep breath and pushed the huge rock off the cliff, straight toward them.
The boulder rolled slowly at first, then picked up speed, gathering more and more snow as it came down.
"BASTARD! LET GO!!" Snow Leopard yelled, clawing desperately at Aivar's body.
It was useless.
Aivar kept holding her without loosening his grip even a little.
"FUCK!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! HEY, YOU DAMN DEER!!! IF YOU WANNA DIE, I CAN KILL YOU MYSELF IN A BETTER WAY!" Snow Leopard screamed, still clawing at him.
The boulder was right behind them now.
"No… no… DAMN IT!!!!"
BRAKK!!
The massive rock slammed into both of them, smashing them hard into the deep snow.
Aivar's body flew back—his arm broken, head bleeding. He lay completely still.
Snow Leopard collapsed, body limp and covered in blood from the brutal impact. Even though the boulder was covered in snow, the force was still devastating.
But she was still conscious and slowly tried to stand.
"Seriously… why did they suddenly get this strong… damn it, I almost died…"
Snow Leopard turned to look at the unconscious Aivar.
"Dead? Good… ugh… now just that damn goat left."
She lifted her head and stared sharply upward.
Her body was in excruciating pain. She coughed up blood.
"Just hold on a little longer… ugh… can't…"
Even with her body nearly destroyed, she forced herself to stand.
Then she reached into her pocket and suddenly remembered something.
She found a single capsule.
"Hm… ah, screw it! I have to kill them!"
Snow Leopard tossed the capsule into her mouth and swallowed it.
A few seconds later, her body began to react.
She convulsed briefly, her throat burning, and her movements started to change.
Her behavior was no longer human—it was like a real predator.
Her eyes sharpened, her breathing grew heavy, and her body lowered into a hunting stance.
She had truly turned into a real snow leopard.
Meanwhile, Fannar had climbed down and was ready to face her.
"Huh… she's still not down… hope this choice wasn't wrong," Fannar muttered, taking another deep breath.
Without hesitation, he charged straight at her.
"YOO!! COME AT ME, LEORAAA!!"
Snow Leopard responded with terrifying speed.
In a flash she was in front of Fannar—
and tore into him mercilessly like a predator hunting prey.
Fannar was shocked—he hadn't expected her change to go this far.
His body took heavy hits and finally collapsed to the ground.
Snow Leopard immediately stomped down on him hard.
"Grrr… any last words?" she said in a much more terrifying voice.
Fannar gave a faint smile.
"Yoo… I hope big sis Leora wakes up—"
Before he could finish, Snow Leopard's two claws stabbed deep into his body, knocking him unconscious.
"Die…" Snow Leopard said coldly.
She laughed softly, repeating the word over and over.
"Die… die… die…"
But she didn't realize—her own body was already breaking apart from the inside.
Her legs gave out.
She fell to the ground.
Still, she dragged her broken body slowly back toward the high-caste territory.
---
Several years ago…
In Niveria.
Fannar was climbing a cliff as usual. When he reached the top, he saw a woman he knew very well.
Her name was Leora. She was sitting quietly on the edge, staring into the distance.
"Hm, spacing out again?" Fannar asked.
Leora glanced at him. "We need to change our lives."
Fannar laughed. "Hahah, sis, come on! Aren't we doing fine here? Peaceful and calm… Niveria still has decent food supplies."
Leora looked annoyed. "Do you not understand what I mean?"
"I do, sis Leora. Why change? Change into what? Are you saying we should become killers?" Fannar replied.
Hearing that, Leora stood up, grabbed Fannar by the collar, and shouted, "KILLERS?! I'D RATHER BE A KILLER THAN A PATHETIC BEGGAR ABANDONED HERE!"
Fannar went quiet. "Sis Leora…? Wake up. We're not beggars… we're just asking for justice, right? What's wrong with that? We just need to keep being patient. Maybe they'll open their hearts someday."
Leora slapped him. "Enough with your nonsense. I wasn't born to be this weak."
Leora walked away and told Fannar not to look for her.
Fannar could only watch her leave with an uneasy feeling.
---
Back to the present.
Snow Leopard was in the middle of the road, unable to move anymore.
"Those useless memories keep popping up… is my stupid brain trying to make me remember her and feel sorry? Sorry, but I'm not that naïve…" she muttered, then passed out.
To be continued…