The Oldest Dream of Eternal Night

"I'm staying with you."

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Yuki shook his head firmly.

"No. Kaiser's already in a bad mood, I'm not putting you in danger too."

Hannah frowned, displeased.

"Don't talk to me about him."

Yuki sighed: "I guess he said something crazy again... I'm not getting involved in your relationship."

"What? What are you talking about? He's just an arrogant, boring jerk. There's never been anything between us!"

"Huh? I never said I was talking about that kind of relationship..."

Yuki fell momentarily silent, as if he'd had a realization.

"Ah... Anyway, I'm not a kid, I can—"

"No, Hannah. It's too risky."

He locked eyes with her, his tone more serious than usual.

"If something goes wrong, we won't be able to protect you and deal with the ghoul at the same time."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he raised a hand.

"Please."

She finally sighed and handed him the bag, her shoulders tense.

"Be careful."

Yuki nodded and looked at Hassan, who was adjusting the last of the trap bindings.

The sun was slowly setting, painting the sky orange. The air was still heavy with heat, but the night promised to be icy.

Carter, perched in a tree, scanned the horizon for any movement.

"I hope the scent doesn't attract other creatures."

He glanced at the smoking meat that filled the area with an unpleasant metallic smell.

"If it does, we'll improvise."

Hassan stepped back and dusted off his jeans.

He pulled out his phone and moved slightly away.

"You leaving?" Carter called from his perch.

"I'm going to ask Ben for his math notes. Since we weren't there today, I didn't follow anything. Be careful, guys."

"You should just say you're scared shitless. And you're running away like a coward."

"That too. Ha ha."

Without waiting for a reply, he disappeared into the growing dusk, leaving Yuki and Carter alone, suspended at their observation post, the smoking meat awaiting its terrible guest.

***

Night had fallen for some time, enveloping the forest in a heavy silence. A light mist hovered just above the ground, making the atmosphere even more oppressive. Perched on the thick branches of an old oak, Yuki and Carter held their breath, watching the shifting shadow slowly approaching the bait.

Carter felt a cold sweat trickle down his neck. He gripped his baseball bat so tightly his knuckles turned white. Every sound seemed to echo in the forest's silence.

Then, a sticky, irregular sound emerged—a sucking noise, as if something was dragging a wet body across the leaf-covered ground.

The ghoul finally appeared.

It was a frail creature, its body emaciated, its gray, slimy skin resembling that of a mollusk. Its limbs seemed too long for its skeletal frame, and its fingers ended in oversized claws. Yet, despite its nightmarish appearance, it retained a vaguely human form. Its face was twisted with hunger, its sunken eyes glowing with dilated pupils from excitement.

But what froze Yuki to the bone were its teeth.

Sharp as razors, thin and jagged, they glinted in the pale moonlight. The creature sniffed loudly, its chest heaving in spasms as it inhaled the scent of blood soaking the meat placed a few meters away.

Then, without warning, it pounced.

It landed on the bait, tearing the flesh with an unhealthy greed. Sounds of sucking and chewing filled the air, and Carter felt his stomach churn. He swallowed hard, trying not to give in to panic.

"Now!" Yuki whispered.

Carter threw the bottle containing the homemade napalm. The mixture narrowly missed the monster's back.

A deafening explosion echoed.

Flames erupted suddenly, devouring everything in their path. But the ghoul, faster than they'd anticipated, narrowly dodged most of the fire. Some of its flesh was hit, though. An inhuman scream burst from its throat as the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

Then, in uncontrollable rage, the creature charged at them.

"Shit...! It's coming this way!" Carter shouted.

With a leap, the ghoul tried to climb the tree where Carter had taken refuge. Its agility was terrifying. Its claws tore into the bark, leaving deep gashes.

Carter, paralyzed by fear for a fraction of a second, snapped back to his senses just in time. He gripped his bat and, as soon as the creature was within reach, he struck with all his might.

The impact pushed the ghoul back slightly, but not enough to stop it.

Seeing his friend in trouble, Yuki made a risky decision. He jumped from the tree and landed softly on the ground.

"Over here, asshole!"

He sprinted across the clearing, hoping to lure the creature toward the traps. But he hadn't anticipated one thing: the ghoul was faster than he'd imagined.

It tore through the traps one after another as if they were mere twigs. The steel cables snapped under its strength, the reinforced nets couldn't hold it for more than a few seconds.

Then, the creature leaped, and Yuki felt a searing pain in his arm.

He looked down and saw the ghoul's fangs buried in his flesh.

A scream escaped him under the excruciating pain, but something strange happened.

The creature suddenly released its grip and let out a piercing shriek.

Its mouth began to melt.

Its flesh sizzled, its tongue disintegrated as if it had come into contact with a powerful acid.

Yuki, gasping, watched the scene in stunned disbelief before a thought struck him.

"Shit...! My blood is poison to Wunder... If I'd thought of it earlier, I would've used my own blood as bait!"

He tried to pull his arm free from the dying creature, but the ghoul, though suffering, refused to let go.

Carter, seeing his friend in danger, ran toward him at full speed.

But as the ghoul struggled against the pain, a volley of arrows burst from the darkness.

The projectiles pierced the creature from side to side. The wounds weren't fatal, but they destabilized it enough for Yuki to deliver a kick to its chest.