The Cabin in the Woods

The wind whispered through the trees, carrying the intoxicating scent of blossoms that captivated Adi as he walked through the forest.

The sky, a vast expanse of watery blue, appeared even more distant and serene against the backdrop of scattered clouds.

High above, faint black specks chased each other, their occasional piercing cries revealing them as eagles.

Golden sunlight slanted through the canopy, painting jagged shadows on the ground carpeted with withered leaves.

Tiny, shimmering motes of dust danced in the air, tracing hazy paths of light.

Walking through the autumn woods, Adi could even discern the intoxicating aroma of ripe fruit hidden within the decaying foliage.

‘What a glorious day,’ he mused. ‘Perhaps today will bring a good harvest.’

The young hunter, gazing skyward, entertained this thought.

However, upon spotting a cloud shaped uncannily like a wine bottle, a fleeting image of a certain lazy individual drifted into his mind, prompting a fresh wave of complaints.

“That old drunkard,” he muttered. “I truly wonder how he managed to live before. His hair isn’t even fully white yet, and he can barely hold a bow, yet he still boasts about being a legendary marksman who never missed a shot.”

“And he claims to have once encountered an evil god, battling them for three hundred rounds? What a joke. I’ve been in this jungle nearly a hundred times myself, and I haven’t seen a single hair from any evil god.”

“Sometimes, I genuinely wish I could just ignore him entirely.”

A memory flashed through the young hunter’s mind: his father pushing him on a swing when he was a child.

“Still, what can I do? He’s my father, after all.”

Adi offered a smile, a mixture of helplessness and warmth.

A rustling sound broke the silence.

A low patch of grass suddenly swayed, and from within, a grey rabbit’s head emerged.

“Squeak!” The alert rabbit looked up, saw a human wielding a longbow, let out a terrified shriek, and instantly darted back into cover.

“Don’t run!” The hunter, having missed his prime opportunity due to his momentary daze, slapped his own head in frustration.

He shouted, then gave chase!

Leaves and branches rustled loudly, scraped by his rapid movements.

Adi, shielding his eyes with one hand and pushing aside obstructive vines with the other, pursued the swiftly rolling grey furball ahead.

“Damn it, just stop and become rabbit stew!”

“Squeak!” [Rabbit: Only an idiot would stop!]

“Behold, the divine arrow I’ve mastered!” Whoosh!

“Squeak!!” A mournful shriek pierced the air as the rabbit fell, struck by an arrow.

‘Hmm, the training I paid for certainly proved useful,’ he thought. ‘The rabbit’s fur isn’t damaged at all! Though Teacher Billy’s smile always seemed a bit off.’

Adi grinned triumphantly, approaching the rabbit that had been struck in its rear.

A dark shadow swept past.

The rabbit was gone.

“Ahhh! Who was that?! My dinner! My rabbit fur hat!”

“Awoo~”

A massive black wolf, standing on a rock, held the arrow-pierced rabbit in its jaws.

It cast a disdainful, sideways glance at the hunter who gazed up at it.

‘As the most promising hunter in the village, I’m actually being scorned by a wolf,’ Adi fumed.

The black wolf, clutching the hard-won prey, indeed had eyes filled with disdain.

In that moment, Adi felt as if something had snapped inside his mind.

“Heh heh,” he said, a dangerous edge to his voice. “Come here, and I promise not to beat you to death!”

The black wolf, seeing the hunter’s bloodshot eyes and the dark aura emanating from him, shamelessly cowered.

With a whimper, it turned and fled.

The chase resumed in the forest, though this time, the object of pursuit was the black wolf, still clutching the rabbit.

[Adi: Ah ha ha ha, don’t run! Black Wolf: Mama, humans are terrifying!]

The pursuit continued, one chasing, one fleeing, for an unknown duration.

Finally, the hunter was on the verge of grasping the rabbit thief’s tail!

“Hey!”

The hunter lunged!

The black wolf suddenly tucked its tail between its legs!

The hunter missed!

The hunter landed face-first!

The black wolf vanished through the bushes!

Scrape…

The sound of flesh scraping against earth echoed.

A faint, meaty aroma seemed to waft through the air.

“Damn it… that hurts like hell! Hiss~”

Adi’s normally handsome face was now caked with mud, mixed with nosebleed, making him look like a demon crawling out of hell.

As he rubbed his throbbing nose, Adi drew the dagger strapped to his thigh.

Moments later, the hunter, still carrying his bow, cautiously pushed through the very bushes where the black wolf had disappeared.

Adi, who had expected an ambush, froze in astonishment upon emerging from the bushes.

Beyond the thicket lay a relatively open clearing.

At its edge, a waterfall cascaded down from the ridge, its clear waters collecting into a pond that mirrored the sky.

The majority of this forest clearing was occupied by a picturesque lawn.

In the center of this small grassland, nestled against the exposed mountain wall, stood a white manor house.

Though not large, it exuded an undeniable elegance.

In front of the house were two flowerbeds, a riot of vibrant colors and fragrant blooms amidst the emerald grass.

Above the gravel path, which bisected these vivid patches, a grape arbor laden with fruit and entwined with verdant vines stretched across.

Adi could even detect the sweet aroma of grapes mingling with the floral scents in the air.

If the vibrant grassland, still full of life in late autumn, had merely puzzled Adi, and the manor house in its center had surprised him, then seeing the figure seated in a wicker chair, a faint smile gracing his lips, completely blanked his mind.

His dark attire accentuated the pristine whiteness of his skin.

Shoulder-length hair, stirred by the gentle breeze, shimmered like spilled moonlight.

Slender hands, adorned with white gloves, were crossed over his abdomen, and his head was bowed.

His long-lashed eyes were closed, yet it was easy to imagine what beautiful stars they would reveal if opened.

Even in slumber, his noble aura, like a magnificent violet, and his elegance, like a secluded orchid, remained undiminished.

Adi’s keen eyesight allowed him to discern the figure’s countenance, and his sharp senses made him perceive his unique temperament.

This pure, almost inhuman beauty left him lightheaded and struggling for breath.

Suddenly, a black silhouette appeared in Adi’s rigid field of vision.

This dark figure was stealthily approaching the exquisitely beautiful person on the wicker chair.

It was that shameless wolf!

As the sharp wolf claws drew nearer to the ethereal figure, Adi felt as though his chest would explode.

Boundless anxiety and fury surged within him, finally coalescing into a single utterance that burst from his lips:

“Look out!!!”

The loud shout startled every living creature in the clearing.

In the blink of an eye, countless wolf heads emerged from rock caves, from the grass, and from the bushes.

Dozens of wolf eyes, glowing eerily, fixed upon this unwelcome intruder in the heart of their territory.

A chilling, bloodthirsty aura enveloped the young hunter, threatening to drag him into the abyss of fear.

The hunter swallowed hard, a bitter taste rising in his mouth.

‘This time, I’m really done for,’ he thought grimly. ‘What’s with that ‘young girl’? Building a house right next to a wolf den? Does he have a death wish?!’

Just then, the ‘young girl’ in the wicker chair finally stirred awake.

He looked around with a hint of confusion, then noticed the black wolf trying to sneak closer and the young hunter surrounded by the pack.

“Don’t mind me! Run!”

Adi yelled urgently at the still-confused ‘young girl’, wanting him to quickly escape the black wolf’s clutches.

“…Eh?”

The ‘young girl’ in the wicker chair tilted his head, looking even more bewildered.

‘Oh, this fool…’

Seeing the black wolf extend its claws and open its maw towards the ‘young girl’, Adi closed his eyes in agony.

“Hegel, you’re not being a good boy~”

After a moment, neither the imagined roars nor shrieks materialized.

He didn’t even feel any pain himself.

The bewildered youth opened his eyes.

He saw the black wolf obediently lying at the ‘young girl’s’ feet, an orange fruit clutched in its mouth, while the ‘young girl’ gently stroked the wolf’s back.

“What in the world?!”

The hunter was dumbfounded.

“Everyone, go about your business,” Kovit said, waving a hand at the wolves surrounding Adi. “This young hunter is a good person, no need to worry!”

The wolves immediately lost interest in the human within their encirclement, turning and walking away.

“You—you—you… Th-th-this… I—I.”

The hunter pointed at Kovit, then at Kovit again, then at himself, clearly in a state of mental disarray.

“My young, kind hunter, if you find yourself a bit confused, why not sit down and we can talk?”

The warm smile and magnetic, languid voice made the hunter feel breathless once more.

“…Alright.”

With stiff steps, the hunter slowly approached Kovit, eventually sitting on the opposite side of a stone table.

Observing the young man across from him, who sat with his head bowed in reserve, Kovit smiled and spoke:

“Young hunter, is there something you need? It’s no easy feat to reach this deep part of the dense forest.”

“Ah… well, I followed that black wolf next to you in here!”

The faint, lingering scent of roses at his nose made Adi restless.

Hearing the question from the person opposite him, Adi paused for a moment before quickly pointing to the black wolf lying on the ground.

“Oh, Hegel, what have you stolen from someone this time?”

“He stole my rabbit! Wait… how did you know he stole something from me?”

The white-gloved hand gently tapped the black wolf’s head, then pointed towards the mountain wall, instructing it to retrieve the stolen goods.

“My apologies,” Kovit said. “This child is actually very kind-hearted, though he often plays little pranks. Even fully grown, he still has a child’s temperament~”

Kovit lowered his head towards the hunter, offering an apologetic smile.

“No, no, no, it’s nothing at all. It was just a rabbit, I can hunt another one…”

The now clearer scent of roses and the shifting, silvery gaze of Kovit’s eyes threw Adi’s thoughts into disarray once more.

The young hunter waved his hands frantically, his face flushed crimson.

“Heh heh, you truly are amusing…”

Covering his mouth with one hand, Kovit chuckled softly.

His brilliant silver eyes narrowed into crescent moons as he watched the hunter’s flustered gaze with amusement.

Adi felt utterly mortified.