Six Months Later
[Bang!]
Sirus collapsed onto the grass with a heavy thud, limbs splayed like a fallen beast.
"Damn," he muttered, grinning as he stared at the cratered earth. "I swear, I feel stronger every day."
He sat up cross-legged, admiring the carnage. Trees bore deep fist-sized holes, bark shredded, trunks cracked like ribs.
"I made sure to cross the river first—ten minutes' sprint into the woods. No humans should hear a thing." He smirked, brushing dirt from his knees.
"Alright… let's shift gears. Time to focus on raw body training for the next few months. No point punching holes through trees if my body can't keep up." A flicker of excitement danced in his eyes. "I wonder what other monsters or fantasy creatures roam this world... something challenging."
Cracking his knuckles, he slammed his fists together with a loud snap, his blood beginning to stir.
He launched himself into another frenzy—blow after blow, tree after tree, each impact releasing a shockwave through the air. His fists began to bleed every half hour, black blood dribbling from torn skin, but he didn't stop. His body, though reinforced, was still young. Still becoming.
Hours later, surrounded by shattered wood and broken trunks, Sirus stood with trembling arms.
"Shit... might've gone overboard."
His eyes landed on a boulder in the distance.
"One more." He dragged his foot behind him and drew back his right arm, every muscle coiled. A single breath of silence—
[Swoosh]
[Bang!]
[Crack!]
Agony lanced through his arm, now slick with black blood.
"Fuck—" He laughed. "Well… at least it cracked. It's a start."
Exhausted but grinning, he turned back toward home. The sun dipped low behind the trees, casting long shadows.
"My body should be about three years and eight months old now. And I'm close to Jacob's height, 180cm roughly and I'm 170cm... Guess the hind legs add to my height…"
…
[Creak…]
The door swung open. Inside, Bella sat at the table playing with wooden toys. Emma stirred a pot over the fire—chicken stew by the smell of it.
"Ah… hello," Sirus said slowly. 'I think that's how humans greet each other?'
Emma turned, smiling warmly. "You're learning quickly. Come, sit—food's nearly ready."
He nodded and sat beside Bella, resting his head on the table.
[Drip… drip…]
"Sirus?" Bella tilted her head. "Why is your hand leaking black blood? It looks like oil!"
"O–oil?" Emma's voice cracked slightly as she hurried over. Her smile faltered.
'Why is his blood black? Is it even blood?'
She grabbed towels, pressing them to his hand. Bella kept poking.
"Bella, stop that! Manners!"
Sirus blinked, then yawned and stood, gently taking the towel from Emma.
"…Thank you." He bowed slightly and stepped out.
"Mommy, where's he going?"
Emma said nothing, her hand to her chest as she watched him leave.
"Shit… forgot to clean up." Sirus hurried to the river, his body aching. After rinsing the wounds, the bleeding slowed. He flicked water from his fingers and turned back.
Along the path, he spotted Jacob, face and hands smudged with soot.
A blacksmith, Sirus noted, waving. Jacob glanced over and gave a curt nod before heading inside.
"Rude." Sirus muttered.
Inside, Jacob slumped into his seat. "What's for dinner?"
"Chicken stew," Emma replied, setting out four bowls and half a loaf of bread.
They all sat—Sirus beside Bella, Jacob and Emma across. A quick prayer passed between the humans. Sirus, already eating, paid it no mind.
"How long's he staying here?" Jacob asked, glaring across the table.
"Not this again," Emma sighed. "He's done nothing wrong. Let him be."
"It's been over five months! He can't stay forever!" Jacob's fist struck the table, spilling broth.
"Jacob!"
"What?!"
[Screet…]
Sirus stood, lifted his bowl, and drank it dry in a single motion. Then he bowed.
"Thank you for your kindness. Even to a demon like me… I'll remember it."
He gathered his few belongings and left.
"Sirus!" Emma called, but he didn't look back.
"He's a demon!" Jacob snapped. "What if he's waiting to kill us? Or raid the village?"
"Mommy, why are you yelling?" Bella whimpered.
"SHUT IT!" Jacob roared, slamming the table again, sending dishes flying.
Bella fled upstairs in tears.
…
Outside, the cool wind brushed Sirus's face as he stared at the house behind him.
"…I should've left sooner," he whispered. "I got what I came for. Why did I even stay?"
He turned away, walking toward the river.
Then—he stopped.
The air carried something strange… a smell. Familiar.
"…What is that? Where have I—?"
"ARRRHHH!"
"What are you doing?!"
"If you refuse to—"
Screams. Firelight flickered in the distance—torches, shouting.
"…Knights?" Sirus narrowed his eyes, ducking behind a tree. "Are they after me? All this way?"
He clenched his jaw.
"No. No reason they'd come this far just for me…"
He bolted in the opposite direction, down the riverbank. To where? He didn't know. Just… away. Until—
"AHHHHH! MOMMY! DADDY! WHERE ARE THEY TAKING ME?!"
"Leave my daughter alone, you son of a bitc—"
"JACOB!!"
Sirus froze. Slowly, his trembling hands curled into fists.
"…Those motherfuckers."
The air shifted—his aura igniting like a storm of fire and fury, shadows writhing around him.
"I'll tear them apart. Limb by limb."