Even from the bunker underground, Gervase could hear the wolves scratching the surface above him. Although he had blocked the entrance he doubted it could be of any help since there was no mud on it. He kept holding his knife, hoping he would kill a wolf of too when he heard sniffing on the trapdoor.

After the sniffing, he could hear the scratching on the trap door. Then there was a pause as if the wolf was thinking. Soon, it howled, making other wolves aware of its discovery.

Gervase had his eyes on the door when it broke.

A wolf landed in the tunnel by its back. Gervase could tell it was in pain due to the fall but its pain vanished as soon as he saw Gervase. It showed its canines and stepped forward.

Gervase threw his knife at it. The knife hit it on forehead. It bled but did not flinch. It only showed any kind of expression when a huge sword came from the trapdoor and impaled it.

An armor descended from the trapdoor. After it, came Saer.

"Come." Saer held Gervase's hand and took him out of the tunnel.

Gervase saw the armors circled around them as soon as his head came out. However, Saer came out before him, once again, giving him his hand. Gervase caught his hand and while being pulled up, he realized how dangerous situation he was in.

The armors had surrounded them from all directions and fought the wolves. Thousands of wolves.

Wolves jumped over the armors and ran, stepping on their shoulders. Some got impaled by the swords of those armors while one of them managed to get into the depth of the formation. The wolf came from behind, not letting Saer know it was already there.

But Gervase could see it as it was coming for it.

An armor swung its word and cut it midair like butter. The part where his head was somehow flew all the way to Gervase's feet. Even while it was dying it bit air and ran its claws to snatch him.

Saer sank his sword in its head to end its movement altogether.

Still, there were more to go. In the darkness, Saer only had howls to guess how many of them were beyond the circle of armors. But entire forest echoed in howls as if no other creature except wolves lived there.

Even the sound was making Saer nauseate. He felt a kick in the gut when he saw the wolves climbing on the trees. They positioned themselves on the branches and leaped only to be shredded by the armors.

When more wolves glided down from the branches, one of them bit off an armor's arm. The wolf did not get to live long but died with a demonstration.

Saer spun around, watching the hills embedded with yellow dots. The glowing dots disappeared and reappeared without any uniformity holding them together.

Instead, the dots descended down in great speed.

Spinning, his eyes met with Gervase who did not react like him in the situation. To his surprise, there was no fear in his eyes. If there was anything Saer could read from his dropped face then it was hopelessness.

"Leave me here." Gervase said.

"No." Saer barked.

"Look around, when those wolves reach here, the armors won’t help us."

"They will. I shall change the formation, the strategy –" Saer paused, "Why are you laughing?"

"My father." Gervase's laughter perished, "He cared for me even at the time of Wutke."

"Don’t overthink. He is safe."

"He tried to save me even when he is struggling for his own survival…."

"Wukte hasn’t reached Winstrova yet."

"Then you wouldn’t have been here."

Saer opened his mouth but glued his lips again.

"I remember meeting my mother in the woods the last time." Gervase gazed at the sky, "She had come to see me that night when Rikilda had fainted."

Saer tilted his head.

"Since then she stopped coming out. And I had to resort with letters once again." Gervase looked down, "But I got to write only one. And even what I had written there seems like a lie. A promise I couldn’t keep."

"What did you promise?" Saer touched his shoulder.

"I had promised her that I would leave this forest and stay with them once again. But look, Wernh'An's men caused havoc in the day and now Wutke." Gervase broke down, "I just wanted to give my father a surprise."

"Gervase, please."

"For my life, I have never been a good son to him, never understood him and never had a good conversation with him." Gervase pressed his eyes by thumb and index finger, "And even in my last moment, I am disappointing him."

"You are not." Saer pulled his hand down.

"Leave me here and take the armors to Winstrova with you. Death of one Calajhan won't bring Great Invasion but death of two will." Gervase's voice changed, "My family needs them more than me."

Saer stared at him for a long time then walked backwards, reaching for the femurs. He then lifted them for a tap.

"Saer," Gervase said, "Tell my father I loved him."

"I will." Saer tapped the bones, "HOLD EACH OTHERS."

The armors did as he said, stopping to fight with wolves. Saer also touched an armor closest to him as the wolves ran on heads and shoulders of the armors.

Saer rubbed the ring.