Chapter 82: The Fog Island [22].

As they approached the root of the disturbance, every one of them realized it had not occurred as close as they had thought. They walked roughly five whole minutes before they found the exact area. And as they saw what lay there, a chill ran down their spines. There were three things they witnessed, each more dreadful than the last.

Firstly, the beast responsible for the earthquake-like steps and the desperate growl they heard was a Butcher Yeti. A type of humanoid, frost-coated monster whose breed can reach a height of five to ten meters. Their limbs are thick as logs and covered in silver fur; their faces are similar to a human’s but with round, pitch-black eyes and a tiny, narrow nose. Two big horns protrude from their heads, and although they do not have ears, they can hear as keenly as a bat.

Their name was given due to the similarities they share with the creature ’Yeti’ depicted in ancient tales. The real ones, however, are called butcher yetis because of their insatiable thirst for blood. They hunt indiscriminately; monsters, animals or humans, they are all prey for the butcher yeti.

And as if that were not worrying enough, these beasts were also in possession of Time Fragments. It remains unknown whether their species has always existed as it is now or whether, like Black Wolves, they were once a different breed that evolved into abominations because of the Fragments.

That alone presented an impossible challenge for the four of them, but there was one detail that made this particular encounter so hope-crushing. Butcher Yetis were Red-Class monsters, and some of the strongest species among those in that category.

Aldrus had never seen one in person before, as they typically inhabited the caves deep in the mountain chains found way past the borders of the northern nation. He should have known the island was the only other place where they could be hiding.

Now that he was looking at one face to face, he tried to imagine anyone able to defeat such a creature in battle. Of course, Sir Ludgwig and Sir Zorum were the first ones that came to his mind, but as he went through other powerful people he knew of, he eventually thought of Miss Leona. He envisioned her standing there in his place, but, chillingly, he could not honestly say he would bet on her victory.

The second thing they witnessed made their current discovery seem like a harmless joke. One thing about the Butcher Yetis was that they are highly intelligent and live in packs. And here on the island, that was no exception. In front of the four youths there was not just one but at least twenty Yetis that they could count, each slightly different in height.

That sight alone was enough to explain why multiple Second-Ranked Holders had lost their lives in that place; if monsters of such caliber were routinely roaming around the island, then either the Yetis themselves or something else could very well have been their executioner.

But all of that paled in comparison to the third and most terrifying thing the group witnessed. The wind carried the smell of blood; they had sensed it from far back along the way they had come, and it only grew stronger and nastier the closer they got to the source. Aldrus had his gaze fixed on the pack of monsters before them as a sickening memory flashed into his mind. That memory of a bloody, dragging trail in the mire—carved by what had seemed at the time to be a large and monstrous body. The path he had chosen not to follow.

What his eyes were seeing now was not much different from that filthy furrow. Because every single Yeti there... was dead. All of them. Massacred like cattle in an abattoir. Both clean and jagged cuts, deep and shallow, covered the whole surface of their imposing, massive bodies. Their limbs and bones, durable as diamonds, were chopped up and scattered all over the place. Frozen puddles of their blood. Jaws, fangs and horns reduced to pieces. Everything made for a worthy entrance to hell.

It was clear that whatever was to blame for the slaughter had merely passed through the place and chaotically killed everything in its path. No sign of effort, resistance, or fighting was apparent. Twenty Red-Class monsters had been wiped out in the blink of an eye at the hands of a much deadlier force.

The group had no time to sit and talk about their next move. Their bodies took over like a wild animal’s; their most primal instincts kicked in—the fight-or-flight response. But in their case, there was no fighting to be done. They forgot everything about being discreet and crawling past the danger. Instead, they ran straight through the mutilated beasts and deeper into the woods with their hearts pounding violently against their chests. All the pain and hunger meant nothing.

They kept on running until their legs gave out, and stopped only once the sun had set. The temperature dropped in a matter of minutes to a dangerous degree. The biting cold was unforgiving; it made breathing an aching task. The four of them clung onto each other tightly, covered in cold sweat, trembling below the void of the night sky.

"Huff... Hahhh... What... What do we do? Where do we go now?!" either Cedric or Aiden said; Aldrus could not tell who. His ears were buzzing, and his head ached terribly, as if an icicle were growing from inside his skull.

"Hurry... Ghh, we need to hurry and go. If we keep walking we’ll reach the coast in a few hours," Alice said.

Aldrus jolted upright and exclaimed, "But what about that thing?! W-What if it left and is now ahead of us? We can’t risk stumbling upon it!"

"We’ll die either way! We cannot stay here, Aldrus!"

"Did you fucking see that, Alice?! What are you talking about?! We can always push through later, but if it sees us, we’re dead tonight! Hey, please! Guys!"

"No, we need to keep going. If we die, so be it."

"Cedric! You crazy bastard!"

"Don’t start with me, Aldrus! We’re fucking freezing! We need to move right away!"

Damn... Damn! They just don’t listen!

"Calm the hell down! We’re being too loud!" Aiden snapped. "Aldrus, we will keep going. I’m sorry."

Agh... Fuck me!

"Huff... huff... Fine, then! But as soon as we find that monster, we’re using all three fucking gems of that thing!" Aldrus said, pointing to Alice’s necklace.

Alice eased her breathing and said, "...Don’t you worry; I’ll drain this thing dry before whatever that beast is gets within a hundred meters of us."

Aldrus shook his head.

"Make it a thousand."