The Fallen Death Dog

The room fell silent as the shout from the boy; despite being overwhelmed by fear, he still grits his teeth and speaks his mind out loud for everyone to hear. His action invoked a bit of admiration and shock, but things got worse for the boy. 

"Aakh!".

The boss man, who was holding out his temper to kill someone, pulled his hair further. A blue streak of vein appeared on his temples, and he took out his cigar from his mouth. A sinister smile appeared on the boss's face. 

"You better tell me, kid, because you don't want this to get planted on your pretty face, would you?".

"!?".

Fear washed away the boy's mind, turning his face pale. However, the boy kept his mind firm, not wanting to reveal where the crystal was. Probably deep down, the boy already knew that when he exposed where the crystal was, he would also escape their wrath.

So, instead of despairing, the boy waited. He hoped someone would save him from this situation. 

Cain, whose face darkened, bent his body slightly further to let Noir get a better position to chew the rope binding him. Thanks to the boy's bravado, all eyes were gathered upon him while their mind was focused on the crystal's whereabouts. 

After regaining the freedom of his hands, Cain hurriedly opened up the rope in his feet, but a gust of strong wind blew from his side, and he witnessed Noir lying on the side a few meters from him. 

"Noir!?".

His body stiffened upon noticing a huge shadow looming over him, enveloping his shadow itself. A threatening growl rang behind him; it further roused his fear within. Slowly, he turned around and found the wolf had stood behind him with its ferocious face right in front of him. 

Its movement was silent and unnoticed, and no scent wafted through the air. The beast before him was the definition of the Grim Reaper. It could easily take people's lives in a second. 

Before the wolf attacked, Noir lunged at the wolf, but the wolf easily dodged its attack. 

*Woff!

Noir warned Cain to focus on himself, and he did that; he pulled off the rope binding his feet and was finally free from the restraint; he stood up, 

*Grrr! 

From his side, Cain's hair stood to no end when he found out the hyena, with its aggressive approach, rushed toward him with his jaw open wide, ready to bite off his flesh. Alerted, Cain jumped to his right and rolled to regain his footing. 

In front of him, Hyena growled in anger, still remembering the humiliation it received earlier. Cain keeps his focus ahead and occasionally peeks into the boy's situation. 

Apparently, they noticed the commotion here, and they enjoyed watching the show while the boy was still in the boss man's hand clutch. Cain gritted his teeth and moved away to the side. 

His eyes never tired of looking at his surroundings, trying to gather information or find something that could help him. 

*Hau!

'Tch, persistent beast!'. Cain looked up behind and watched the hyena follow him. 

The Hyena sprang up, opening its jaw wide to rip Cain's throat, but Cain noticed that and dodged to the side, entering a steel container that opened on both sides. While entering inside, he didn't forget to pull the lever to shut the door with a 'bang'. 

Cain ran forward and soon met the end of the container when the leader of the four men stood waiting for him. The man snickered while cracking his fists. Cain frowned, and once the two had gotten close enough, he slid down and escaped under the man's between legs. 

"Tsk, slippery brat".

'Shut up, you stinky old man!'. Cain continued further and stood up, continuing his escapes. 

'That is!'. His eyes caught the same stick the boy used when he was assaulted earlier. He rushed to the place and took one that seemed a bit shorter than the other. 

"You brat!".

*Hau!

Together, the man and Hyena, doing a pincer attack from both sides, entrap Cain in between. However, Cain kept his calm and observed which one is the most open for counter. 'There'.

After calculating everything in his plan, Cain ran to his left toward the Hyena and Swung the steel stick downward. His move was awkward, but thanks to his enhanced state for being awoken as a resonator, when the stick hit the Hyena's head, it resounded 'thud', slamming its head to the ground. 

"You dare!".

Cain jumped off the Hyena's body and resumed his running. However, all of a sudden, his heart tightened to the point of pain. His left hand grasped his chest, which seemed to drum intensely. 

His lungs began to burn, and each breath he took felt labor. Sweat began to tick down his forehead, and for the worst part, he lost strength in his limbs. The lingering nightmare of agony returned; it bit down the side of his abdomen, contorting his face. 

His gaze flickered for a moment before he dropped down on all fours. He exerted a bit more strength on his limbs, trying to stand up, but it was so heavy that he couldn't believe that the limbs were his own. 

'Shit, not now!? Move, hurry, move! Guhk!'. Cain felt another jolt from his other side. 

The man who chased him earlier now had caught up and kicked Cain's abdomen once more, leaving his body sprawled on the floor. 

"Gahak!".

"Not tough enough, aren't you? Take that!".

"Gukh!".

Cain received a stomp which blasted away the air in his lungs. His nerves were screaming for help, asking to stop this madness. But the man kept raining down with kicks and stomping his back. With each blow he received, Cain could feel his bones cracked over and over again. Also, the feeling of his flesh tearing tortured his mind, and he was crying without knowing. 

"What? Already over, boring!". A mocking tone came from the man standing above as he saw Cain was in tears. 

He had no willpower and strength to resist; his body was in taters and trembling nonstop. Cain's body was dragged by the Hyena, who bit his jacket and treated him like a trophy of its hunt. 

After his body is dragged toward the Bossman's place, the boy's eyes widen, and horror starts to gnaw at his heart. A deep regret filled his innocent heart, which caused the demise of a kind person who always helped him despite not knowing each other's names. 

The hyena throws Cain's boy with its sheer power, making him let out a bit of a groan. 

"...Big brother!?".

Tears started to accumulate in his eyes after the fear that slowly corroded his will and the guilt that clouded his heart. However, not all of the tragedy had ended. Instead, it was just getting started. 

*Eep!

The sound of a whimpering beast echoed throughout the place. Everyone's eyes turned to the source and found the wolf biting the dog's feet and dragging it to its master's side. All color drained from the boy's face, and Cain, who saw it with bits ody lying down and face to the side, shuddered in fright. 

{Noir, return to the shadow!}

Cain desperately issues an order to his partner, but alas, there is no response. Dread begins to clench his heart bare, his body shakes, and Cain slowly moves to get close to his partner. 

"No…ir!".

His weak voice echoed within the muted place. The wolf seemed to understand Cain's sentiment, so he purposely threw the dog's body near him and approached its master. 

"Huhu, huhuhahahaha,,, Ooh, what a touching scene, am I right boy?".

The boy's eyes turned blurred, and a single tear streamed down his cheek. He deeply regretted his wishful thinking to keep his brave front when he couldn't do anything, and yet only involved someone unrelated to the point of dying and dragged his guardian beast within. 

A sob escaped his trembling lips, and light began to disappear from his eyes with resignation. The boy's lips opened. 

"It's right ther…!".

"No!".

The sharp outburst came from Cain, who now embraced the dog in his chest, shielding it with all of his body. From within his chest, he could faintly hear Noir's resolve, and Noir's faint growl, which resonated with his chest, gave Cain a bit of strength to his dimmed will. 

'Right, this is not over yet, right Noir!' Cain, under everyone's shocked eyes, tensed all the muscles around his body and desperately stood up. 

"Kuh!".

His shout reverberated not only in the surroundings but also in the hearts of everyone present; their hearts shook in fright at the sheer willpower of the boy, which made them falter for a moment. However, the leader, who gripped a steel stick in hand, swung it down and stuck upon Cain's nape, cutting off his consciousness.

"What a noisy brat!".

"Big brother, no, please wake up! Big bro, Akh!".

The boss man pulled the boy's hair harder, letting him face the boy's gaze head-on. His lips parted in a hideous manner, and it sent chills around the boy's body. 

"Look boy? You choose that boy's life or hand over the crystal; it's easy, right? The truth is. I abhor raising my hand to a child like you, but you leave me no choice, and this time, I am truly low on my patience! So, you better tell me before I wreck both of you!".