DIVINE BANE-Chapter 73: the story of werewolf

The sky was blood-red, painted with streaks of black like cracks in the heavens.

The stench of death was thick in the air, putrid, choking.

Flies swarmed, but even they seemed hesitant.

Not even scavengers dared touch the bloated corpses that littered the land like discarded leaves.

Skeletons lay tangled with flesh, armor rusted into their skin, weapons frozen mid-swing in a battlefield long silenced.

This was no graveyard.

This was a monument to carnage.

And at its epicenter, rising like a wound upon the world, stood a black castle.Its spires tore into the sky like jagged fangs.Crows circled endlessly above it, their cries sharp, hateful.

The castle's entrance yawned wide, a mouth ready to consume.

Inside... the air was colder. Still.

Lit only by a pale red glow pulsing from the walls.

And there, chained against the central wall of the great hall, was a giant.

A being taller than any man, muscle bound and twisted, his skin gray like stone, runes burned into his flesh.

Three massive swords each of a different color, one gold, one obsidian, and one bone-white pierced deep through his chest pinning him to the ground.

Rhu energy bled from him in slow, rhythmic pulses, drawn into the swords like leeches drinking from a titan.

His arms were bound in glowing chains, enchanted runes flickering across their length.

He did not scream. He no longer had the strength.

His head was bowed, hair long and tangled, a broken crown of horns poking from his skull.

And yet his eyes remained open, burning red even through the suffering.

Waiting.

Watching.

Somewhere deeper in the castle, footsteps echoed.

Slow. Methodical.

A new presence approached.

She moved like a shadow, her bare feet silent on the cold stone floor. White hair cascading down her back like a waterfall of snow, skin pale as moonlight. Eyes the color of storm clouds, grey, cold, eternal yet now they shimmered with unspoken pain.

Amaris, the ghost who haunted monsters.

She stood before the chained giant, her gaze locked onto the face that once brought kingdoms to ruin.

Her hand trembled as she reached out, touching the side of his weathered face .

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The giant stirred.

Chains clinked. The swords hummed.

Then, his cracked lips parted. His voice was gravel, a low rumble of ancient thunder.

"Amaris... how long has it been?"

Her voice was no louder than a whisper, but it echoed like a chorus.

"One thousand... six hundred and sixty-six years, Yaksha."

The giant—Yaksha, let out a rasping laugh, low and slow, as if even mirth hurt.

"That long, huh..." he coughed, blood-black mist leaking from the side of his mouth. "If you're here, free... then that means..."

Amaris nodded, the tears in her eyes finally falling.

"Yes. The prophecy... our Lady's prophecy... has begun its march."

A silence fell.

Even the crows outside quieted.

Then she continued, voice heavy with centuries of longing and dread.

"Kaal is dead. And the next Divine Bane... has shown himself."

For the first time in over a millennium, Yaksha grinned.

It was cruel.

It was proud.

It was terrifying.

"Heh... so it has began...""Tell me, Amaris. What's his name?"

She looked up into his crimson eyes.

"Zed"

***

The morning sun filtered gently through the old wooden shutters, painting the room with soft amber light.

Alex lay quietly on a modest bed, his upper body wrapped in bandages, signs of the previous night's battle still visible in the faint bruises and scratches peeking through. His build, while slim and toned from training, still reflected that of a ten-year-old, lean but not overly muscular, with a young warrior's frame still growing into its strength.

Beside him, Rina sat slouched in a chair, her head resting on the edge of the bed. She was still in her robes, her staff leaning nearby, and signs of exhaustion clung to her face even in sleep.

Alex stirred first.

His eyes fluttered open, taking in the unfamiliar wooden ceiling and the smell of herbs in the air.

"...Where...?"

The door creaked open.

The elder woman stepped inside, holding a bowl of warm water and a cloth. Her expression softened as she saw him.

"Good. You're awake."She approached slowly. "You need rest, child. You're safe now."

Alex sat up carefully, wincing from the soreness."The werewolf. Where is it?"

Before she could answer, Rina jerked awake, blinking at him in surprise.

"Alex! You're okay!"

The elder gave a reassuring smile.

"Thanks to both of you. You've done more for us than we could have ever asked."

But Alex wasn't distracted. His tone was calm but sharp.

"You didn't answer. The werewolf, did it get away?"

The woman's smile faltered. Her eyes dropped for just a second."No... it didn't. But it's best you come and see for yourself."

He and Rina exchanged a glance."Guess we're not done yet," Alex murmured as he carefully rose, adjusting the cloak around his shoulders.

Together, they followed the elder out, into the quiet aftermath of the storm.

Rina walked slowly through the village path, her arms wrapped around Alex's shoulders as she supported his weight. He was still weak, each step making his bandaged limbs ache, but his eyes remained sharp.

Ahead, a commotion. A crowd. Shouting.

They emerged into the village square to find a mass of people gathered, forming a ring around a tall wooden pole. Crucified to it was a man, his body limp, his head bowed in unconsciousness. Bloodied, beaten, and barely clothed, the man's form was barely recognizable... but Alex knew exactly who he was.

The werewolf.

Only now, he looked... human.

Rocks flew. Bits of wood. Rotten fruit. Shouts of fury.

"Monster!"

"He killed my brother!"

"Let me gut him!"

"String him up for real!"

The mob's rage was fevered months of fear and suffering boiling over.

"ENOUGH!" The elder's stepped forward, his voice cutting like a blade. The villagers froze. His eyes swept across them, stern yet weary.

"You have your justice. Let it be enough."

The people murmured but lowered their hands.

As Alex and Rina approached, a hush fell.

Then, someone whispered:

"That's the boy..."

And just like that, a wave of quiet awe rolled through the crowd.

The anger once meant for the man on the pole vanished, redirected into gratitude for the one who had stopped him. Alex.

"Thank you!"

"You saved us!"

"Bless you, brave one!"

Alex tried to lift his head, but his body sagged against Rina. He simply gave a weak nod. Rina, despite her own fatigue, held him up proudly.

They stopped just in front of the crucified man. Alex looked at him, really looked. The enemy from last night. The beast. Now just a man, broken and silent.

The elder's wife spoke softly beside them."You'll want to hear what I have to say about him. It's... not as simple as it seems."

Alex narrowed his eyes."Then let's hear it."

And the villagers stood silent once more, waiting , some for answers, some for judgment, and others... for closure.

The elder's wife stood before the crucified man, her eyes distant, as though pulled back into painful memories.

"His name was Edric," she began, her voice soft but heavy. "He was one of us. A good man. Lived a little deeper in the forest than most, close to the riverside bend. Quiet, humble, always the first to lend a hand when someone needed it."

She looked at Alex and Rina, then back to the crowd.

"He had a wife, Mira. Gentle as the wind. And a daughter named Lyra. Just seven. They were his whole world."

A murmur passed through the villagers. Some lowered their eyes, the memory of the family still fresh in their minds.

"Three months ago, Edric came running to the village, breathless, eyes wide with fear," she continued.

"Said he'd seen something tall, fast, watching his house from the tree line. He said it was a werewolf."

She exhaled slowly, a tremor in her chest.

"We believed him the first time. Gathered a few of our best and went searching with torches and silver-tipped blades. But there was nothing. No tracks. No scent. No signs."

Alex's expression darkened. Rina held her staff tighter.

"Then he came again. And again. Same story. Every time, we searched and found nothing. Some of us began to laugh. Others got angry. Called it paranoia... or cruel pranks. He stopped coming after that."

A pause.

"Then one moonless night... the howls came."

She closed her eyes.

"We found what was left of his home the next morning. It was torn to pieces, walls slashed apart like parchment, blood soaked into the floor. Mira and Lyra were... they were unrecognizable." Her voice cracked. "And Edric... Edric was gone. No trace of him. We thought the beast had taken him too."

The crowd fell silent, a deep weight settling over them all.

"We buried his wife and daughter with tears in our eyes, believing we'd lost all three. But... a month later, the attacks began again."

She turned back to the unconscious man nailed to the post.

"Animals were found gutted in the fields. Then people. One by one. Mangled. Shredded."

Her voice trembled now.

"And when the full moons came... the villagers started seeing him. Edric. Or what was left of him."

Alex and Rina looked at the man again but this time not as a monster, but as a broken soul twisted by a cruel fate.

"He became the very thing he feared. Maybe... the beast got him that night. Bitten. Cursed. Or maybe the rage and grief awakened something darker inside him. Whatever it was... he wasn't Edric anymore."

She looked up at the sky, then at Alex.

"But you stopped him. And for that... you've given this village more than you know."

Alex said nothing, but deep inside, his heart ached. Not just for the battle fought, but for the life that had been shattered before it ever began.

Rina wiped a tear from her cheek, whispering,"He just wanted to protect his family..."

The elder nodded.

"And in the end, maybe that instinct never truly left him."