Kai held Markus close, his arms trembling as the chaos of battle gave way to silence. Blood soaked his uniform. Ash clung to his skin. But none of it mattered.
Markus was breathing.
"…You idiot," Kai whispered, voice barely audible. He pressed his forehead against his best friend's, eyes clenched shut. "You held on… just like always."
Markus didn't respond. He was unconscious. Barely alive. But alive nonetheless. Kai held him tighter, burying all his fear, his grief, his rage… into that single, quiet embrace. He didn't show it on his face—but inside, he was burning with joy.
Behind them, the Starry Child descended at last, lowering itself to the ground with a quiet hum of thrusters.
Medical staff swarmed in an instant. Blitz gave sharp, urgent commands as a glowing pod opened with a hiss. Markus was gently secured inside. His vitals were unstable. Bones shattered. Heart nearly stopped. But he was alive.
Arnik stood nearby, his armor battered, his breath still heavy. He stared into the pod.
"…Markus is alive," he said firmly.
Aika stepped closer, tears glittering in her eyes. She nodded, a soft smile breaking through her exhaustion. "Yeah… he is."
Rose stood behind them, her arms crossed, watching the scene. She didn't say a word—but the smallest tremble in her lip gave it all away. Her eyes softened. Just a little.
Kai turned to the horizon. The battlefield still burned in the distance. The forest beyond looked untouched, as if it didn't belong to this war.
"I didn't think anyone could live out here…" he muttered. "No records. No shelters. Maybe… the Spirit was watching over him."
Arnik nodded once. "It's a miracle he survived."
They stared toward the trees in silence.
Then—
Footsteps.
Fast ones.
Kai's eyes sharpened. "Wait—someone's coming."
A figure burst from the tree line, sprinting toward them with reckless speed. Wind whipped her long ginger hair, tangled and wild.
"MARKUS!!" she screamed.
Everyone spun toward her.
Kai stepped forward, but Rose cut in first—arms outstretched like a wall.
"Hold it! What's your relationship to him?"
The girl stumbled to a stop, panting, eyes wide with shock and urgency.
"I—I'm his doctor!" she cried. "I've been taking care of him for five months!"
Kai's brows furrowed. "Doctor…?"
Rose's expression darkened into something mischievous.
She leaned in close, lips nearly brushing the girl's ear. "Tell me somethin'… are you his lover?"
"WH-WHAT!? NO!!" the girl shouted, her entire face lighting up red like a firework.
Rose leapt back, hands in the air. "Eeeeh~? No need to yell, sheesh—"
Bonk!
Kai chopped her lightly on the head.
"Cut it out, Rose."
"Owww!! Meanie!!" she whined.
Arnik approached calmly, kneeling beside the girl. His voice, quiet but warm. "Thank you… for taking care of my soldier. I'm Arnik Handerfall."
He offered a hand. She took it hesitantly.Arnik smiled gently, the tension finally loosening from his features.
"You can tell the rest of the people… that they're safe now," he said. "They can come out."
Iris blinked. Her gaze lingered on the medical pod, on the faint rise and fall of Markus's chest within the glass. Her lips parted, but no words came.
"…R-right," she finally said, though her voice was soft and hesitant.
Her feet didn't move.
She didn't want to leave him.
Arnik noticed. With a calm step forward, he reached out and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her messy ginger hair with the same care one might offer a frightened child.
"I promise you," he said quietly. "We'll make sure he's alright. You have my word."
Iris's eyes widened. Her breath caught. Then slowly, she nodded—eyes glistening.
"…Okay."
***
Aboard the Starry Child
The medbay hummed with quiet life. White lights glowed softly above. Monitors pulsed gently. Tubes pumped strange liquids through Markus's healing body.
He lay inside a reinforced medical pod, chest rising and falling steadily—no longer weak. His wounds, once fatal, were now sealed. Muscle reknit. Skin restored. Even the burns had faded.
Kai stood just outside the pod with arms crossed, his brows furrowed in disbelief. The rest of Angel Squad lingered near—watching, waiting, silent.
"…How?" Kai muttered. "This isn't possible. Demi-Wolves can't use magic… So then what is this?"
A soft ping sounded.
The pod's seal released with a hiss of air.
Markus's eyes snapped open.
"—!?"
Before he could even sit up, Aika launched herself at him.
"MARKUUUUS!!" she cried.
"Aghhh—Aika—!" Markus winced.
She clung to his chest like a vice, her face buried deep into him. Her sobs were loud, raw. Tears streamed down her cheeks and soaked into his hospital gown.
"You're alive… You're alive!! I'm so happy—!"
Markus blinked, confused… then slowly smiled.
Arnik stepped forward with a slight laugh, arms crossed. "Aika, maybe a little less rough. He did just wake up from nearly dying."
But Markus raised a hand, placing it gently on Aika's back.
"No worries…" he breathed. "I actually… feel stronger."
Everyone turned.
Markus exhaled—slowly—feeling the blood in his veins surge like wildfire. His fingers flexed. The power wasn't just there—it was alive. Writhing. Evolving.
"…Way stronger. Like… there's power in every drop of my blood.""That's because you're the Blood Wolf now…"
The voice came from the entrance of the medbay—cool, calm, and laced with a crooked grin.
Everyone turned.
Malrik Crowne stood there, arms folded behind his back, his long black coat swaying slightly with each step as he walked forward. His presence alone made the air feel thinner, heavier—like gravity itself leaned toward him.
"The Blood Wolf…?" Kai repeated, brow furrowing. Even Arnik tilted his head.
All of Angel Squad looked at one another—uncertainty on every face.
Markus sat up slowly, still supporting Aika as she quietly sniffled into his chest. He looked directly at Crowne, eyes narrowed.
"…What is the Blood Wolf?"Crowne's boots echoed against the metal floor as he walked into the medbay like a stage was set just for him, his coat flaring slightly with each exaggerated stride.
With a gleam in his eye, he spread his arms dramatically, as if announcing the arrival of a god, "THE BLOOD WOLF!! Oh, it's something so magnificent!" His voice rang out like a twisted preacher's sermon, dripping with both reverence and madness. He dragged his gloved hands down his face with theatrical flair, shivering as though recalling a masterpiece no one else could see.
"Allow me to tell you the story…" he said, eyes sparkling. "A tale that only a select few ever learned. A tale your blood remembers, even if your mind does not."
Markus narrowed his eyes. "How do you know this?"
Crowne gave a sly grin. "I just so happened to know your father."
That stunned Markus—but before he could react, Crowne threw one hand up, snapping his fingers. A small puff of blood-colored flame burst from the air.
"NOW LET ME TELL YOU THE STORY OF THE BLOOD WOLF!!" he roared, spinning once before stopping and pointing a single finger at Markus with a wicked smirk. "You, my dear boy… are what we call—a cursed child."
Markus blinked. "What?"
"Shhhh!!" Crowne hissed, sharply pressing his finger to his own lips. "Don't interrupt the story."
The room fell silent. Not even the beeping of Markus's vitals dared to continue.
"Mutations. Magic." Crowne stepped forward with every word, pacing like a teacher in a twisted lecture hall. "That's what the world knows. What it accepts. But what if I told you… there's one more?"
He slowly raised a finger.
"…Curses."
A silence swept across the room like ice.
"They are neither magic… nor mutation," Crowne whispered. "They are something older. Something foul. Something vile. A force of nature, yes, but also… a punishment. A permanent stain—engraved into your very DNA from the moment of its creation. And once it begins in a bloodline…"
He snapped his fingers again.
"…it never stops. It festers. It waits."
Kai's eyes narrowed. "How is that even possible?"
Crowne gave him a proud nod. "Excellent question! You see, magic—true magic—flows through the mind. The stronger your connection to the mana realm, the more powerful your spellcraft becomes. Mutations, however, dwell in the heart. The stronger one's soul, the greater their mutant strength."
Then, he leaned forward, voice now low and sharp like a dagger.
"But curses?" He smiled wide. "They flow through your blood."
The temperature in the room felt like it dropped ten degrees. Even Arnik shifted slightly.
Crowne slowly walked toward Markus, his voice laced with something more somber now. "Your curse—your birthright—was sealed into your family's bloodline long ago. It's why you regenerate. Why your blood is alive. Why pain makes you stronger."
Markus's hand trembled as he looked at his own arm.
Aika looked up at him, eyes wide.
"And do you know how a curse forms?" Crowne turned to Kai, whose curiosity overrode his caution.
"…How?" Kai asked, barely above a whisper.
Crowne's grin widened. He stepped into the center of the room, spread his arms once more—
"It's the offspring… of breeding with a DEMON."
The words hit like a thunderclap.
Silence. True silence. Eyes widened. Breaths were held. The kind of silence only pure, unfiltered shock could cause.
Markus's pupils shrank. Aika's hands clutched at his arm, trembling. Rose stood frozen, for once with nothing to say. Arnik's eyes narrowed, unreadable.
Crowne spun around, arms raised like he was conducting a choir of gasps.
"YOU, MARKUS—" he bellowed, pointing like lightning cracking the air—
Arnik turned to Markus, his eyes searching him carefully. "…Markus?"
But Markus wasn't listening. His gaze had gone distant, locked somewhere far beyond the medbay walls.
Demon blood… In me…I'm related… to that thing…
His fists clenched around the edge of the medical pod, veins standing out against his skin. A thousand thoughts raged through his mind—memories of his family's slaughter, the monsters that tore apart his world, the hatred that burned him alive every night.
This shouldn't matter… he finally thought, feeling his heartbeat steady.My goal is to slay demons…So I will continue doing it.
He looked up, his crimson eyes burning with resolve.
"This changes nothing."
Crowne threw his head back and laughed, his grin wide and unrestrained. "Ahaha! I expected nothing less from you, Markus! Nothing less!"
***
In the command chamber aboard the Starry Child, Vayne sat across from the village chief—a thin, weathered man with lines etched deep around his eyes. His hands shook faintly as he held his old wooden staff.
Vayne folded his gloved hands on the table before him, leaning forward, his silver hair catching the lamplight.
"It's amazing…" he said softly, almost admiringly. "How you are descendants of that fateful incident… Absolutely elegant."
The chief nodded slowly. "Yes… We are fortunate to exist at all." His eyes glistened as he looked up. "Please… listen… we can't survive much longer out here. My people… they deserve better lives."
Vayne closed his eyes, exhaling a deep sigh through his nose.
"I will not."
The words fell like iron.
The chief's eyes widened. "Please… we… we won't survive much longer out here…"
"I cannot, in good faith, transport you," Vayne said, opening his eyes to meet the elder's desperate gaze. "There is a war beyond these forests. One that will decide the fate of humanity itself. Out here… is the safest place for you. Lionel doesn't even know this place exists."
Silence filled the room, heavy and suffocating.
"But," Vayne continued softly, reaching into his coat, "I will not leave you here without the means to survive."
He withdrew a stone—small, cracked, but glowing faintly with a soft azure light. He set it gently on the wooden table. The faint hum of magic filled the chamber.
The chief stared, breath caught in his throat. "That… that's—"
"It is the same type of stone Mars used to sustain life," Vayne said, voice calm. "Its power is greatly diminished… but it will be enough for your people. It was entrusted to me after the fall of Mars."
Tears welled in the old man's eyes as he reached trembling fingers toward it. Vayne placed a second hand over his.
"I will also leave you with a great deal of supplies—food, medical resources, water purification systems. That should allow you to live here far longer."
The chief clutched Vayne's hand tightly, tears streaming down his weathered cheeks. "Thank you… thank you… thank you…"
Vayne smiled faintly, his expression soft but distant. "Now… go tell your village the news."
He sat back, folding his hands again as the chief rose shakily to his feet.
"They will have to live here a bit longer…" Vayne said quietly, his gaze distant, "but at least… they will live."