Jeremiah could feel it now.
Fear.
Not the kind born from uncertainty.
Not the kind soldiers felt before battle.
This was primal.Ancient.The kind of fear prey feels when standing before something far beyond its understanding.
The battlefield around him had become a nightmare drowned in blood and shadow. Fires spread wildly through the camp while screams echoed endlessly into the night. Bodies littered the ground, torn apart by claws too fast to follow. Even the soldiers who still lived no longer fought with discipline.They ran.And still they died.
Jeremiah staggered backward inside the command tent, breathing heavily as panic clouded his thoughts. Sweat dripped from his forehead despite the cold night air. His hands trembled uncontrollably around the hilt of his sword.
Outside…
The Shadow Wolf was coming.
Closer and Closer.
Each distant roar shook the earth beneath his feet.
Each scream reminded him that his army was no longer an army.
It was prey.
Jeremiah's eyes darted wildly around the tent, searching desperately for something—anything—he could still control.
But there was nothing left.No soldiers.No strategy.No power.
Only fear.
And then his gaze fell upon the child.The newborn infant rested nearby, wrapped weakly in bloodstained cloth, unaware of the horror surrounding her existence. Small. Fragile. Innocent.
Jeremiah's expression twisted instantly.
A coward's thought entered his mind.
Slowly, he reached down and grabbed the child with his left arm, lifting her into the air roughly enough to make her cry out weakly.
The sound pierced through the chaos outside.Jeremiah raised his sword with his right hand, the blade trembling visibly as he pressed it dangerously close to the infant.
"This…" he muttered shakily.
"This is my way out."
His breathing grew heavier.
"No matter what kind of beast he's become…" Jeremiah whispered to himself, panic breaking through every word, "He would not let his child die."
Outside the tent, shadows moved violently.
The ground trembled.
Then—
The Shadow Wolf appeared.
Towering beneath the burning night sky, Tiza's transformed body emerged from the smoke like death itself. Black fur twisted with living darkness across his massive frame while glowing crimson eyes locked directly onto the tent.
The pressure of his presence alone made nearby soldiers collapse in terror.
Jeremiah nearly froze.
His voice cracked as he shouted desperately:
"STOP!"
The roar of battle seemed to pause for a single moment.
Jeremiah raised the child higher with shaking hands.
"If you want this child alive," he screamed, "then stop this madness!"
The baby cried weakly beneath the edge of the blade.
"You beast!" Jeremiah shouted again, fear making his voice uneven. "If there's anything human left inside you, end this bloodshed now—or the next death will be your child!"
The sword pressed closer.
"And it will be YOUR fault!"
Nearby, Lara saw everything.
Her body lay collapsed near the edge of the camp, barely able to move after the agony of childbirth and torture. Blood stained the earth beneath her while tears streamed endlessly down her face.
Her arms trembled weakly as she tried to crawl forward.
"No…" she whispered.
Her voice broke.
"Please…"
The sight of her child in Jeremiah's hands shattered what little strength remained inside her.
"Don't hurt my child!" she cried desperately.
"Don't touch her!"
Her screams were weak now.
Fragile.
But filled with a mother's terror.
For one brief second…
Everything stood still.
The fire.
The screams.
The bloodshed.
Even the wind itself seemed to hold its breath.
And then—
The Shadow Wolf moved.
No hesitation.No fear.No mercy.
He vanished like darkness swallowed by lightning.
Jeremiah's eyes widened.
Too late.
A black blur tore through the tent faster than human sight could follow.
CRASH!
The entire structure exploded outward violently as monstrous force ripped through it.
Then came the scream.
Jeremiah's scream.
A horrifying cry of agony echoed across the battlefield as blood erupted into the air.
His left arm
The arm holding the child was gone.
Completely severed.
Torn clean from his body.
The infant disappeared from his grasp an instant before impact, caught safely within the monstrous speed of the Shadow Wolf.
Jeremiah's body flew violently across the camp like a broken doll, smashing through wooden crates before crashing hard against the muddy ground dozens of feet away.
He screamed uncontrollably, clutching the ruined remains of his shoulder as blood poured endlessly from the wound.
The battlefield fell silent.
Every surviving soldier stared in horror.
Because standing there…
In the middle of smoke and fire…
The Shadow Wolf held the child carefully against his massive chest.
Despite the claws.Despite the monstrous body.
Despite the darkness surrounding him—Not a single scratch touched her.