How can Niff leave Arres in peace?

Niff slowed down his running pace when he arrived at the incline towards the Zelf cliff hill. He was out of breath after he had been running in fear that a wolf would follow him from behind to haunt him.

Throughout running towards Zelf's cliff, Niff couldn't get rid of the thought of how Arres was. He remembered the shape of the two wolves that had attacked the two of them earlier: big, stout, nearly two meters tall, with thick hair that covered the whole body.

Niff got goosebumps remembering the shape of the bodies of the two wolves that had blocked the distance between him and Arres.

Why was Arres so stupid as to give himself up to distract the two great wolves? Is there any guarantee that Arres will win and survive?

'Damn! Now I can't feeling calm because I think about Arres situation!'

Niff put her hands on her waist. In silence, he caught his breath as he looked around.

Silent atmosphere. Looks like Niff has entered the forest area deeper. The sound of leaves scraping together made a sound far different from the forest area where he and Arres had separated.

'Where else am I supposed to walk?' whispered Niff in his heart, realizing that there was no light at all.

Niff forgot to bring his Agyss ball. So he was forced to step up to the cliff of Zelf.

Niff's mind was spinning remembering one disturbing incident. Before he fled, he had witnessed Arres's Agyss ball glow and slowly change color.

This really bothered Niff. Up to this moment, Niff was thinking about the possible reasons why Agyss Arres' ball seemed to be changing color.

Moreover, when Arres said that Agyss's orb was only for royal and non-kingdom physicians, Niff felt strange.

"Can Agyss' orb to heal wounds be used with a spell that causes the ground to vibrate like an earthquake?" Niff said slowly.

No way, right?

Niff took a deep breath. Thinking about the things that had just happened to him, including when he suddenly woke up and was almost swept away by the current of the river, made him dizzy.

"If I don't—"

Scratch! Scratch!

Niff's words and steps suddenly stopped at the same time. His body stiffened for a split second. He frowned after hearing a scraping sound from behind him.

'Why does that sound resemble the scraping sound of the wolves I heard with Arres?' asked Niff in his heart.

Niff tried to sharpen his sense of hearing. But as time went on, between the sound of footsteps and leaves strewn on the ground, there was a small growl.

Very small, but Niff's ears seem sensitive to hear that.

Niff's heartbeat raced fast as an uneasy feeling arose. Niff closed his eyes to make sure whether he heard wrong or not.

'GRRRR...'

Niff immediately opened his eyes again after hearing a growl. This time the sound was clearer than before.

'That voice....'

Despite being scared, Niff looked back. From behind the darkness and the bushes, Niff's pair of eyes caught the movement of something.

The sight looks like the top half of a creature's body. The creature's body was covered in bushes that reached Niff's shoulders in height. The creature was seen walking sideways through the bushes.

Niff immediately swallowed hard. Somehow Zevana could guess what creature was walking slowly sideways there.

'Wolf!' Niff screamed in his heart.

Niff's feet stepped back very slowly. His gaze never left the creature he thought was a wolf.

Due to limited light, Niff could only witness the creature in silhouette. Every time it moved, the bushes swayed slightly as if their body was big enough to make the thick bushes move from side to side.

"Slow down, Niff..." Niff said to himself.

Shit. If he still met the wolf in the end, why did Arres tell her to run alone?

How many wolves actually roam here?

As the step backwards was a bit far away, Zevana immediately turned around and ran. As much as possible Niff did not make a sound of friction between his footsteps and the scattered leaves.

Unfortunately Niff's foot accidentally stepped on a fragile log.

'KREKKKK'

The sound of wood breaking made Niff freeze. He heard a growl behind him getting louder.

'GRRRRR...'

Niff turned his head, and in that instant he saw the wolf was already looking at him.

'Unlucky!'

Without further ado, Niff immediately ran faster than before. He knew perfectly well that his movement now would attract the wolf's attention—and sure enough, it was now chasing him!

"Arres..." Niff accidentally said that name softly.

'GRRROOAAAA'

Niff accidentally shrieked when he realized that the wolf was getting closer. In the dark atmosphere of the forest, Niff could see clearly the wolf's eyes were shining sharply. Looking at Niff as a meal that can't wait to be eaten.

'GRRROAAAA!'

The wolf started hopping in zigzags from one tree to another. Niff's breath accelerated rapidly. He could not increase his running speed because of fatigue that had not fully recovered.

Niff closed his eyes tightly in between runs.

'Arres! Arres! Why don't you come and leave me?' Niff screamed in his heart.

Niff looked back, he was wide-eyed because he saw the wolf jump at him.

Suddenly, Niff had no chance to dodge. He just stepped aside to the left, but it was too late.

The wolf didn't manage to hit Niff. However, one of his feet hit Niff's right shoulder so that his body was immediately pushed back quite hard.

Niff's body hit one of the big trees. He closed his eyes while holding the right side of his shoulder that was hit by the tree.

"Argh..." Niff groaned while holding tightly on his shoulder.

Incredible pain radiated from the shoulder to the entire arm. Niff sat limply, leaning against a tree trunk, feeling pain and fatigue mixed in his chest.

'Grrrr....'

Niff slightly opened his eyes. The wolf slowly walked up to her with a growling mouth. He could see the sharp fangs and the drool from the wolf's mouth.

It was as if Niff was fated to be eaten by the wolves tonight.

"Argh..." Too bad, Niff couldn't fight back at all.

Niff couldn't get up. He don't know why his legs are cramped now.

'Wretched. My life is so unlucky,' thought Niff.

However Niff tried to get up from his position, he couldn't. His body was too limp.

'Grrr....'

Gradually, the wolf's steps got closer to Niff.

There was nothing Niff could do now other than close her eyes.

He was ready if indeed tonight was his destiny. After all, he doesn't know how her life really is.

Even if he died being eaten by the wolves, at least Niff would close his eyes so he wouldn't witness his poor body being torn apart by those fangs.

Until then, fate doesn't seem to want Niff to die too soon.

'GROOOAAARR!'

Another wolf's voice startled Niff. When the woman's two eyes opened, the sight of a larger wolf lunging at the wolf's body in front of Niff from the side made her gasp.

The wolf that was about to attack Niff was blown away several meters. But his body immediately stood back up and growled at the wolf that came, as if he was deliberately challenging.

The only thing more astonishing to Niff was the wolf that came, now standing in front of him, becoming a barrier for the wolf that was about to attack.

Niff backed off because of a surprised reflex even though he was cornered against a tree trunk. His eyes couldn't escape from the wolf that had just come.

'What is this?' Niff thought.

'GRROAAAR!'

Niff was surprised when the black wolf attacked the wolf in front of him. Then the fight broke out, the gray wolf held the black wolf's body and carried her away, the two wolves toppled over without letting go of each other's grip, then straightened up to return to giving each other claw attacks.

The black wolf howled in pain as the gray wolf managed to claw its face.

Then the black wolf counterattacked from the side. The gray wolf dodged, brushed aside, after which it bit the black wolf's neck.

The black wolf purposely plopped down on the ground, moving its two forelimbs in a wormlike manner. Clawed the gray wolf's lower body.

Niff really couldn't stand watching the fight between the two wolves live. He didn't know what to do.

Meanwhile, the gray wolf, which had been scratched by the black wolf's paw, jumped to the side. Deliberately rolled over and threw himself down so he could get away from the claws of the black wolf's feet.

Not wanting to giving up, the gray wolf released its bite. He instantly received a brutal attack from the black wolf. However, all attacks of any kind from the black wolf were parried by the gray wolf.

'GROAAAAR!'

'AUUUUUMMM!'

The black wolf howled in agony as the gray wolf countered the brutal attack. Its paws clawed without stopping, jumped out of the way and then kicked the black wolf's face from the side, and lunged without warning.

Caught off guard, the black wolf finally fell and was successfully dropped by the gray wolf in a position where it could not resist.

That second the gray wolf froze in the position of biting the black wolf's neck. The black wolf's body grew more and more helpless. Dark red blood flowed slowly from the gray wolf's bite.

From where he was, Niff squinted when he noticed something familiar about the gray wolf. The position of the gray wolf facing towards him made a necklace hanging around his neck visible.

Niff widened after realizing what necklace was on the gray wolf's neck.

A few minutes before the royal soldiers attacked, Niff saw the same necklace wrapped around Arres' neck.

That necklace ... why they both look the same?