"The night of the hunt... so this isn't the normal state of the Fog Moon Kingdom?" Faust asked, glancing at the blood moon hanging in the sky.
Upon entering, he was told he had stepped into a hunting ground and needed to start killing, which made him fear the Fog Moon Kingdom had become a lunatic's paradise where bloodthirsty maniacs just brawled with beasts.
However, based on Alkin's words, the Fog Moon Kingdom should still be functioning normally—at least well enough to go out for a meal, right?
Alkin shook her head.
"Of course not. The night of the hunt only begins on the nights of the fullest moon. On these nights, the minions of the Ancient Ones launch attacks across the kingdom, with frenzied beasts and monstrous beasts surging from the depths of the forests to invade the lands of civilization."
The white-haired wolf girl gestured for Faust to follow her as she explained, "Our duty as hunters is to block the attacks of the frenzied beasts during the night of the hunt and hunt them down to the last... that includes humans who have turned into beast-shifters under the curse."
At this point, Alkin furrowed her brows involuntarily.
"In every night of the hunt, killing wild beasts is fine, but the purging of beast-shifters is truly... It was precisely to avoid those annoying matters that I left the city to specialize in handling the beasts in the forest."
Seeing this, Faust asked, "Is it because executing humans doesn't feel good?"
Are you also kind-hearted and can't bear to see suffering?
"Hmm..."
Alkin tilted her head.
"Yes and no. If they are simply victims of the curse, it's regrettable, but they must be slain. Beasts are the great enemy of civilization and must be purged. What truly bothers me are the sordid affairs of the wolf pack."
Since it involved the internal secrets of the Fog Moon Kingdom's wolf pack, Alkin didn't intend to go into detail, and Faust didn't press her.
Even though their first meeting had a high level of favorability and he likely would have gotten an answer if he asked, Faust wasn't the type of guy who lacked romantic tact; he immediately steered the conversation away.
Alkin remained quite enthusiastic, talking incessantly along the way.
"The night of the hunt isn't purely a disaster, because the gods bestow blessings upon the brave who hunt the beasts—strength, healing, wealth, knowledge, and even miracles. It's said that in the first hundred years, the night of the hunt did cause significant damage, but now, it has become a feast for hunters."
"The great families of the kingdom even hold a Hunting Assembly. The one who wins the crown is granted the title of 【champion hunter】 and receives their own unique moniker. Faust, do you know who the champion of the recently concluded Hunting Assembly was?"
Faust saw Alkin's lake-blue eyes blinking repeatedly as she looked at him expectantly.
This girl's intentions are a bit too obvious...
The Qingxi prince had no choice but to follow her lead and ask, "Could it be you?"
Whether proud of her glory or wanting to show off in front of the handsome prince, the white-haired girl placed a hand over her heart and nodded elegantly with her eyes closed.
"That's right. I am the champion hunter of the previous assembly, known by the moniker 【Little Red Riding Hood】."
Though he had already confirmed it, seeing the wolf-eared girl admit it herself made Faust nod.
"This nickname... where did it come from?"
Alkin pulled up the hood of her hunting gear.
"Every time I dance to my heart's content, my clothes are stained red with blood. Wasn't the image just now quite fitting?"
"Then why not just call yourself 'Red Clothing'? Wouldn't that be more fitting?"
Alkin replied as if it were common sense.
"Because too many champions throughout history have used the moniker 【Red Clothing】. The first 【Red Clothing】 was a genius, but the second 【Red Clothing】 can only be considered mediocre. As for 【Little Red Riding Hood】... it sounds much cuter."
Faust nodded emphatically.
"I think so too. It's a great moniker. One can tell just by hearing it that you're an innocent, lively, beautiful, kind, brave, and strong girl."
Since the prince's words came from the bottom of his heart, Alkin's wolf ears twitched, and she couldn't help but start humming.
"La la la la..."
She led the way, humming a little tune and performing a cheerful dance step.
After walking for half an hour, the two finally emerged from the forest.
Faust finally saw the towns of the Fog Moon Kingdom. Under the shroud of the blood moon, the entire city looked solemn and majestic.
Gazing from a distance, whether it was civilian housing or solemn cathedrals, everything featured steep gables, sharp spires, and ornate eaves... extreme luxury and complexity. Yet, high-rises stood tall on both sides of the wide avenues, and streetlights like white jade pillars cast a dim yellow glow onto the asphalt roads.
"The Fog Moon Kingdom... seems a bit modernized."
Faust had thought the Fog Moon Kingdom would have a more ancient and traditional appearance, much like the Midwinter Kingdom.
But he soon stopped dwelling on it. He had seen many cityscapes in this fairy tale world; the differences between kingdoms were quite vast. Some were orthodox medieval worlds of swords and magic, some resembled the Victorian era, and others could be compared to modern metropolises.
There were even floating cities with futuristic styles.
Faust had long since realized that the great hand of fate was quite playful; to diversify the scripts, it even decorated the stages in such a multifaceted way.
At this moment, the city was shrouded in a blood-red hue. Beasts scurried through narrow alleys, only to be precisely hunted and slaughtered by hunters.
Unlike the frenzied beasts in the forest, these beasts were smaller and swifter. Many even retained human forms, with grotesque muscles and fur bulging out, looking half-crazed.
This appearance actually matched the beastmen Faust had imagined earlier.
Aside from that, the entire town was remarkably quiet—excessively quiet, as if only hunters and beasts existed.
The white-haired hunter seemed to sense Faust's confusion and said, "On the night of the hunt, only hunters are active outside. Ordinary people must stay home, ideally entering a dream under the guidance of the Great Moon to escape the terror."
"What if they stay awake?"
Alkin shrugged.
"It doesn't matter if they're awake. At most, they'll spend a night on edge."
She opened her pocket watch and watched the hour hand tick second by second until it finally reached the six o'clock mark.
"Because when the sun rises, yesterday will be forgotten."
Boom—
As if reaching a threshold between the imaginary and the real, within a few breaths, the blood moon faded from the sky, and the steady drizzle stopped instantly.
Sunlight pierced through the dark clouds.
The morning mist shrouded the city like a veil of gauze. The water's surface shimmered with light, and the buildings were bathed in the pale gold of the morning sun. The carvings on the pillars appeared and disappeared in the mist, and the finely detailed domes were not yet fully saturated with sunlight, yet they already exuded an undeniable solemnity and grandeur.
The early morning sun broke through the clouds, scattering like crushed gold. Various tulips bloomed beside the stone steps of the gardens, and tall palm trees stretched out their lush branches.
All the damage in the town was repaired under the first ray of morning light, and all the remaining corpses and bloodstains of the beast-shifters were wiped away together.
The scale of the change made Faust daze momentarily, until the white-haired wolf-eared hunter tugged at his sleeve.
"Let's go. I know a shop nearby where the coffee tastes excellent!"
Rate on N.U.
