Silence hung over the devastated clearing for a few seconds after Albedo’s question. The wind rustled slowly through the broken trees, making loose leaves tumble across the ground like small green ghosts. Strax stood in the center of the destruction, observing every detail with the calm of someone accustomed to analyzing battlefields. Shura, on the other hand, continued sniffing the air, moving slowly among the marks left in the ground like a predator trying to reconstruct an unseen prey.

Albedo crossed her arms again, still looking around the destroyed clearing. "A fight of this size would have been heard for miles," she said, analyzing the fallen trees and the craters in the ground. "Even if the animals fled, someone on Asgardian patrols should have noticed something." Her tone was thoughtful, not irritated as before; now her mind was completely focused on the mystery before them.

Strax tilted his head slightly as he observed one of the trees uprooted from the ground. He ran his hand over the broken trunk, examining the crushed wood fibers as if they were pages of a book. "Perhaps it was too fast," he commented calmly. "Or perhaps whoever fought here made sure not to draw attention." His dark eyes moved slowly across the clearing, following the marks left on the ground.

Shura walked a few meters ahead of them now, her snout low close to the ground as she analyzed every scent present in the environment. Her enormous body moved carefully among the wreckage, avoiding fallen logs and scattered stones. Suddenly, she stopped completely. Her ears perked up and her body stiffened like a statue.

Strax noticed immediately.

"What is it?" he asked, looking in the tigress’s direction.

Shura didn’t answer immediately. She took another deep breath, as if trying to single out a specific scent among dozens of others scattered across the clearing. Her snout moved slightly from side to side as her golden eyes narrowed.

"There’s something here," she finally said.

Albedo moved a little closer, curious. "Demonic energy?"

Shura shook her head slowly.

"Not exactly."

She took a few steps to the right, still sniffing the air.

"It’s... a strange smell."

Strax raised an eyebrow.

"Strange how?"

Shura continued walking slowly through the clearing, following something invisible to the other two.

"It’s metallic... but also burnt." She inhaled again, thoughtfully. "And it tastes bitter."

Albedo frowned slightly.

"Doesn’t that smell like blood?"

Shura stopped again and sniffed a specific area of ​​the ground. Then she raised her face.

"No."

She turned her head to one side of the clearing.

"It’s different."

Strax observed the direction she was looking.

"Can you follow it?"

Shura didn’t respond with words this time.

She simply began to walk.

The tigress’s white body moved between two broken trees at the edge of the clearing and entered the dense part of the forest again. Strax and Albedo exchanged a quick glance before immediately following her.

The forest seemed even quieter in that part.

The branches above them intertwined, forming a dark canopy that blocked much of the sunlight. The ground was covered with ancient leaves and twisted roots that emerged from the earth like fingers trying to escape the soil.

Shura walked slowly now, guided entirely by her sense of smell.

She stopped from time to time to sniff the air or the ground, then moved forward again a few meters. The trail she was following wasn’t clear to the other two, but to her it seemed increasingly evident.

Strax watched everything with interest.

"You said the smell was metallic," he commented as they walked.

Shura replied without stopping.

"Yes."

Albedo was walking beside them now, his eyes alert.

"This could be demon blood."

Shura shook her head again.

"Maybe."

She stopped suddenly.

This time it wasn’t just a pause.

Her whole body tensed.

Her ears perked forward and her golden eyes focused on something among the trees.

Strax immediately noticed.

"What did you find?"

Shura took a few steps slowly.

Then she stopped before a crushed bush.

The smell there was strong.

Much stronger.

Strax and Albedo arrived right behind her.

And then they saw.

Something was lying on the ground.

Or rather...

What remained of something.

The carcass was partially hidden among the leaves and broken branches. The body seemed to have been thrown there forcefully, crushing the surrounding vegetation. The creature was large, bigger than an ordinary wolf, but its form was unmistakable.

A dog.

Or something very similar to one.

But this was definitely not a natural animal.

Albedo was the first to recognize it.

Her eyes narrowed immediately.

"Demon dog."

The creature was dead.

Its body was twisted in an unnatural way, as if it had been crushed by a brutal force. The black skin, which seemed made of solid smoke, was torn in several places, revealing dark flesh and broken bones.

The creature’s red eyes were still open, frozen in a blank expression.

Strax crouched beside the carcass.

He examined the body carefully while running his hand over his chin.

"Interesting."

Albedo approached as well.

She reached out and let her fingers hover over the creature’s body without touching it.

"It’s recent," she said.

Shura brought her snout close to the corpse, sniffing again.

"That’s the smell."

Strax looked at her.

"So that’s what you were talking about."

Shura nodded.

"Yes."

Albedo frowned slightly as he examined the animal’s wounds. "This wasn’t a normal fight."

Strax tilted his head. "Wasn’t it?"

Albedo pointed to the demon dog’s chest.

There was a deep mark there.

As if something had pierced the creature’s body with monstrous force. "This wasn’t done by another dog."

Strax observed the mark closely. Then he looked at the enormous footprints they had seen in the clearing.

His smile slowly returned. "So our creature decided to fight back."

Shura looked at the dead body again. "That means there are others."

Albedo nodded. "If one of them died here, the others are probably still hunting."

Strax stood up slowly, looking again at the deep forest. His eyes followed the invisible trail of demonic energy that continued ahead among the trees.

"Then let’s continue." He glanced briefly at the demonic dog’s body on the ground. "Looks like we’re in the middle of a hunt."

They left the demonic dog’s carcass behind.

Silence returned to the forest as Strax, Shura, and Albedo continued advancing among the ancient trees. The trail was now easier to follow. Even for Shura, who previously relied solely on his sense of smell, the metallic and burnt scent was growing stronger as they went deeper.

Strax walked with the same composure as before, his hands back in his pockets as his eyes followed the invisible trail of demonic energy that snaked through the trees. To him, the path was almost as clear as an open road.

Shura advanced a few meters ahead, guided by his sense of smell. His muscles were tense, and his steps had become even more silent. Each movement of the tigress was calculated, as if she were slowly approaching prey that could react at any moment.

Albedo followed closely behind them, now completely focused. The sullen expression she had previously carried had vanished, replaced by a serious and analytical gaze as her demonic perception scanned the surrounding environment.

"The trail is getting stronger," she commented as they passed a tree with a deeply scratched trunk.

Strax nodded slightly.

"Yes."

Shura paused for a brief moment to sniff the air again. Her snout moved slowly as she analyzed the scent, which now seemed almost fresh.

"She passed by here a short while ago."

Strax raised an eyebrow.

"She?"

Shura replied naturally.

"The scent is different from the dogs."

Albedo tilted his head slightly.

"You can tell the difference?"

Shura nodded.

"Yes."

She started walking again.

"The creature’s scent is... strange."

Strax smiled slightly.

"That word’s been coming up quite a bit today."

Shura ignored the comment.

"The scent is strong, but it’s not like that of demon dogs."

Albedo seemed interested now.

"Different how?"

Shura thought for a few seconds as she continued following the trail.

"More... pure." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Albedo frowned slightly.

"Pure?"

Before anyone could say anything else, the ground trembled.

It was sudden.

A deep impact reverberated through the earth as if something enormous had struck the ground with force.

The leaves on the ground vibrated.

Some birds that were still hidden in the trees immediately took flight, fleeing the area.

Strax stopped.

Shura froze in place.

Albedo raised his head.

Another tremor.

This time clearer.

THOOM.

Something had hit the ground again.

The three looked at each other.

Shura was the first to react.

"There."

She turned her head toward the impact.

Without hesitation, the tigress shot through the forest.

Her white body disappeared among the trees as she ran toward the sound.

Strax smiled slightly.

"Finally."

He started running too.

Albedo spread his wings slightly and advanced right behind them, moving with surprising speed while dodging the trees.

The forest rushed past them as they followed the echoes of the impacts that continued to surface in the distance.

THOOM.

Another tremor.

Now it was close.

Very close.

Shura crossed a clump of bushes and leaped over a fallen log. A few seconds later, the trees began to part again.

A new clearing appeared before them.

But this time it wasn’t silent.

The ground was trembling.

When Strax stepped out of the line of trees and into the open space, he immediately saw the source of the impacts.

And for a moment even he raised an eyebrow.

"...Well."

Shura stopped beside him.

Albedo arrived right behind.

The three stared at the center of the clearing.

The scene before them was... strange.

Very strange.

In the middle of the clearing were three enormous demon dogs.

Each one was the size of a horse, with muscular bodies covered in black fur that looked like it was made of living smoke. Their red eyes gleamed with brutal ferocity as low growls echoed from their throats.

But that wasn’t what was strange.

What was strange was what they were surrounding.

In the center of the clearing, between the three gigantic monsters...

...was a small creature.

Very small in comparison.

It stood on two short legs, its body covered in a light coat that looked almost silvery in the light filtering through the trees. Two pointed ears perked up atop its head, trembling slightly as the creature watched the dogs surrounding it.

It didn’t seem big enough to even face one of them.

Much less three.

One of the dogs lunged forward.

Its enormous body leaped forward with a ferocious roar, its fangs bared as it tried to crush the small creature under its weight.

The ground trembled as it fell.

THOOM.

But at the last second...

The small creature moved.

It simply took a step to the side.

The movement was quick.

Natural.

Almost lazy.

The demonic dog completely missed its attack and crashed to the ground with brutal force, opening a new crater in the earth.

Strax crossed his arms slowly as he watched.

His smile was returning.

"...Ah."

Albedo narrowed his eyes.

"That..."

Shura tilted his head slightly.

In the center of the clearing, the small creature slowly turned its face toward the two remaining dogs.

Its eyes gleamed.

Then it raised a small paw.

The ground trembled again.

But this time...

It wasn’t because of the dogs.

It was because of her.

Strax chuckled softly.

"Now this is interesting."