A man ran through the forest.
His breathing was ragged.
His body was covered in blood and fresh injuries, branches scratching at his skin as he forced himself forward. A metal collar was locked tightly around his neck.
He was an elf.
Long blonde hair.
Orange eyes.
And fear pushing every step.
"Get back here, you worthless wretch!"
A man's voice roared from behind him.
The elf didn't look back.
He just kept running.
Then—
CRACK.
A whip snapped through the air.
It wrapped around his leg and yanked hard.
"Ah—!"
The elf crashed to the ground, dirt and leaves scraping across his face.
"Ow…" he cried out weakly.
Heavy footsteps approached.
The slave owner loomed over him, sneering, whip still in hand.
"Stupid little wretch."
He grabbed the elf by the hair and slammed a fist into his face.
"You really thought you could escape from me?"
The elf coughed, blood dripping from his lip.
Then—
A voice cut through the trees.
"Longinus."
A black spear shot through the forest.
SHK.
It pierced straight through the slave owner's head.
The man dropped instantly.
Dead before his body hit the ground.
The elf's eyes widened.
Footsteps approached slowly from the shadows.
A man emerged.
Long white hair.
Crimson eyes.
Calm.
Composed.
Dangerous.
Elric.
He stopped in front of the fallen elf and looked down at him.
"You look useful," Elric said.
His tone was gentle, but unreadable.
"Tell me…"
He crouched slightly.
"Do you hate this cruel world?"
"The people who turned your kind into slaves?"
The elf glared at him from the ground, breathing hard as he shoved the corpse off himself.
"I just want…"
His voice trembled slightly.
"…I just want to find my sister."
He slowly pushed himself up onto one knee.
"I don't want anything else."
Elric studied him for a moment.
Then smiled faintly.
"I plan to create a paradise."
He spread a hand slightly.
"For people like you."
"For people like us."
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"For those the predators of this world have cursed and dragged into misery."
A second voice suddenly called out from above.
"Really, boss?"
The tone was amused.
"You're giving another sales pitch?"
The elf looked up.
Sitting casually on a tree branch was another man.
He had blonde hair tied into a ponytail and bright blue eyes hidden behind a bison mask. A cigarette rested lazily between his lips.
Most shocking of all—
He had no arms.
Yet he sat there completely relaxed, as if none of that mattered.
"Jericho," Elric said with a quiet sigh.
The masked man took a drag from his cigarette.
And smiled behind the mask.
"Well, come on, knife ears," Jericho said with a laugh.
He leaned back against the branch, cigarette smoke curling into the air.
"Don't worry. Our boss is super chill."
A grin touched his voice.
"You can trust him."
The elf's expression tightened.
"…Just help me find my sister."
His voice was desperate.
"That's all I want."
Elric stepped closer.
"Then tell me."
His crimson eyes remained fixed on him.
"What is your name?"
The elf hesitated for only a moment.
"…My name is Arlo."
He swallowed hard.
"And my sister's name is Azura."
For the first time, Elric's smile became warmer.
Slowly, he reached into his cloak and pulled out a dove mask.
White.
Elegant.
Almost gentle.
He placed it over Arlo's face himself.
"We will help you," Elric said softly.
"And in return…"
His voice lowered slightly.
"You will help us."
He stepped back.
"My dear Dove."
A new voice drifted through the trees.
"Yoo-hoo, boss~"
A woman approached from the shadows, waving lazily as if she were arriving at a party instead of a murder scene.
She dragged two corpses behind her with effortless ease.
The dead men were the slave owner's companions.
Both had been killed cleanly.
She had long red hair, silver eyes, and wore a beautiful black dress that clung to her body. High heels clicked against the forest floor, and a sheep mask hid the upper half of her face.
Elric glanced at her.
"Did you kill the rest of those wretches, Scarlet?"
Scarlet gave a proud little spin.
"Yup. Of course, boss."
She let the bodies drop with a wet thud.
"I'm much more useful than the armless bum over there chain-smoking."
She stuck out her tongue toward the tree.
Jericho's eyes narrowed.
Crystals began to grow from his stumps, reshaping into glittering new arms made of mineral and magical ore.
"Keep talking, you untrustworthy bitch," he said coldly.
"One of these days…"
His newly formed fingers clenched.
"I'm going to smash your face in."
"So, boss…"
Scarlet twirled a strand of red hair around her finger.
"What's the plan for the traitor?"
She tilted her head with mock disappointment.
"It's such a shame, really."
Her silver eyes curved with amusement behind the sheep mask.
"I'm going to miss Celestia."
Elric let out a quiet sigh.
"We cannot harm her."
His voice was calm, but firm.
"Pharos specifically wants her kept alive."
A faint tension entered his tone.
"And angering that monster would get all of us killed."
Scarlet pouted dramatically.
"Such a shame."
A soft, dangerous laugh escaped her.
"I really wanted to strangle that traitor to death."
Jericho snorted as he dropped from the tree branch and landed beside them.
"Honestly, I always thought you would be the first one to betray us."
Scarlet clicked her tongue.
"Please. I'm way too charming to be called a traitor."
Elric chuckled softly and turned back to Arlo.
"Forgive my allies."
He smiled faintly.
"They're quite… lively."
Arlo stared at them for a second.
Then nodded awkwardly.
"Y-yeah…"
A pause.
"I can see that."
Jericho suddenly leaned closer to him.
"Hey, newbie."
His blue eyes gleamed with mischief.
"Wanna see a magic trick?"
Arlo blinked.
Before he could answer—
Jericho snapped his fingers.
The metal collar around Arlo's neck instantly began to rust.
Cracks spread across it.
Then it crumbled apart and dissolved into reddish-brown dust.
Arlo froze.
His hand immediately shot to his neck.
"…!"
The weight was gone.
Completely gone.
His breathing hitched.
"How…"
He looked between them, stunned.
"How many more of you are there?"
His voice was quiet, uncertain.
"And are they all as… unique…"
He glanced at Scarlet and Jericho.
"…as these two?"
The group began walking through the forest, and Elric answered without looking back.
"We have one more member."
His tone was casual.
"His name is Roe."
"He wears a deer mask."
A small smile touched his lips.
"He's a bit of a meathead."
He paused.
"But I raised him like a son."
His voice softened slightly.
"So treat him well."
A beat.
"And forgive his carelessness."
Suddenly—
"Caliburn!"
A voice rang out through the forest.
A massive beam of light crashed down from above—
Aimed directly at Elric.
Arlo flinched.
Scarlet stepped back.
Jericho cursed.
But Elric merely smiled.
A barrier of dark magic formed in front of him.
The holy beam struck it—
And shattered into harmless fragments of light.
"It seems…"
Elric's voice was almost bored.
"…a member of the Inquisition has found us."
He lowered his hand slowly, not looking particularly concerned.
From the trees ahead, a man stepped forward.
He wore white robes lined with golden symbols.
In his hand he held a glowing sword, radiant with holy power.
"You are all under arrest."
The man stepped forward, sword raised and glowing with holy light.
"Surrender now."
His voice rang through the forest with practiced authority.
"I am the Judicator, Isaiah."
Jericho stared at him for a second.
Then sighed.
"…Seriously?"
He scratched the side of his head with one of his crystal arms.
"They only sent a Judicator after us?"
He clicked his tongue.
"That's boring."
Then he shoved Arlo forward with his foot.
"Hey, newbie."
"You deal with the mid-ranked loser."
Arlo stumbled a step and blinked.
"…Me?"
"Sure," Elric said casually.
His tone suggested he didn't see Isaiah as a threat at all.
"Give it a try."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"If you win, you can keep that nice artifact he's holding."
Arlo looked at Isaiah.
Then back at Elric.
"…Fine."
His voice hardened.
"But after this, you help me find my sister."
His orange eyes sharpened.
"I'll even make sure she joins you."
Elric's smile widened slightly.
"Deal."
Isaiah didn't wait for them to finish.
"Mirage."
Illusion magic spread around him instantly.
The air shimmered—
Then suddenly there were twelve of him.
Twelve Isaiahs circled Arlo from every direction, swords raised, holy light reflecting between them.
Arlo stood still.
Completely unbothered.
"Alive or dead?" he asked quietly, without taking his eyes off the illusions.
Elric answered without hesitation.
"Kill him."
His tone remained calm.
"He's too low-ranked to be worth torturing."
A pause.
"I'll save that privilege for an Executor like Orelia."
Arlo nodded once.
"Cyclone."
A violent gust of wind erupted around him.
Leaves, dust, and loose branches were torn into the air.
The twelve Isaiahs flickered—
Then vanished.
All of them except the real one.
Isaiah didn't panic.
Instead, he raised his glowing blade.
Holy mana surged into it.
Then he swung.
A beam of light crashed downward.
"Caliburn!"
Arlo calmly raised one hand.
"Sky Control."
The air in front of him cracked.
Not visually like glass—
But like the sky itself had been warped and broken.
The descending beam bent unnaturally.
Shifted.
Slid past Arlo entirely.
Isaiah's eyes widened.
Then the cracks in the air moved.
Turned.
Aimed at him.
He barely threw himself aside in time.
Even so—
One of the fractures brushed his leg.
The result was immediate.
His leg was shredded apart in an instant, flesh and cloth torn open as if space itself had cut him.
"Ghk—!"
Isaiah hit the ground and choked out a spell.
"Heal…!"
Light wrapped around his leg, restoring it.
But when he stood again—
His expression had changed.
The confidence was gone.
Now there was only fear.
Arlo didn't give him time to recover.
"Too late."
He raised his hand once more.
"Sky Control."
The air around Isaiah cracked again.
This time the fractures sealed around him from every side, trapping him inside a warped barrier of broken sky.
Isaiah screamed.
For a moment.
Then the space around him shredded inward.
When the spell ended—
Nothing remained of him except part of an arm and his glowing sword, both falling wetly to the forest floor.
Silence followed.
Jericho let out a low whistle.
"…Well."
He smirked behind the bison mask.
"Looks like the newbie's useful."
"Here."
Elric stepped forward, picked up the fallen sword, and held it out.
"Caliburn is yours now."
Arlo stared at the weapon for a moment before taking it.
The blade still glowed faintly with holy power, as if it resented being held by him.
Elric's smile remained calm.
"As for your sister…"
He paused.
"…she has been enslaved."
Arlo's grip on the sword tightened instantly.
Elric continued as if discussing the weather.
"A group of adventurers has been interfering with our plans."
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"And your dear Azura happens to be in their hands."
The forest went silent around them.
Arlo's fists trembled.
His breathing grew uneven.
The thought of it—
Azura being dragged around by humans.
Used like a shield.
Treated like an object.
It made something dark twist inside his chest.
A sharp, vicious anger he hadn't allowed himself to feel until now.
"I'll help you get her back," Elric said.
His tone was smooth.
Gentle.
"And while we're at it…"
A faint smile touched his lips.
"…we'll level the entire town."
Arlo lowered his head.
His fingers dug into the hilt of Caliburn.
"I'll kill them."
His voice came out low.
Shaking with fury.
"I'll kill every last one of them if that's what it takes to save her."
Jericho chuckled from the side.
Scarlet smiled behind her sheep mask.
Elric, however, only nodded.
Satisfied.
Then he spread his arms slightly, as if welcoming Arlo into something sacred.
"Welcome…"
His smile widened.
"To the Beasts of Prey."