Chapter 3: Prologue(3)
Leaving the stranger for dead, Dray and George ran straight into the woods. Terrified, they didn't understand how the monster had found them. After all, the monster had lasted almost an hour, torturing the lifeless Mark. When they reached the woods, they stopped and began to hesitate. Dray turned and asked
"Are you sure? We have to run somewhere else... A forest full of monsters..."
George was scared out of his wits and turned around and grabbed Dray's collar. He put out his hand, wanted to hit him, but hesitated and asked
"And you think it's better here? What will happen when that creature catches up with us? He might not even think to look for us in the forest. But it is guaranteed to find us if we run across the plain."
Together they stopped and looked out into the dense forest. Although George spoke boldly, he was also afraid to go into the woods. As students of a magic school, they knew that the forest was full of dangerous monsters, and only a group of advanced students, teachers, or adventurers could survive in it. George shook his head and started running full speed through the forest, with Dray running after him. When he turned around, George realized that Dray was behind him. So he waited for Dray to catch up.
"Hurry up, we'll run through the woods and get to the town. We'll be safe there! Run as fast as you can!"
"S-sorry, I'm running out of air... Please don't rush... I can't run so fast..."
Dray is a fat guy, and since he rarely exercised, it was difficult for him to run such a long distance at full speed. His clothes were already soaked with sweat and his lungs ached with every step. He fell while running, and George stopped running and came over and helped him up.
"Man, you've got to start exercising."
"I know... Who would have thought we'd be in this situation?"
"That asshole Mark, if only he'd leave that guy alone... This would never have happened. What the hell did he get himself into"
George wiped the sweat off with his sleeve, grabbed Dray's arm, and started to hurry her. If Jake caught up with them, it would be over. Especially since they're now in the thick of the woods and there are other monsters here. They are in the middle of nowhere, where there are more dangerous creatures, such as night wolves, demon cats, stone bears, giants, goblins, and other creatures. But seeing that Dray was barely standing, he checked the area with magic. When he realized that no one was around, he sat down on the ground.
"He didn't tell you? Mark hated that guy. He always thought that Jake would become his rival. But Jake didn't even want to be friends. Truth be told, if Jake's grandparents hadn't forced him to be friends with other kids, he wouldn't have left home. When he was kicked out of the friend group, he must have celebrated. And that infuriated Mark."
"C-could it be that all that time, Jack... was a monster?"
"Maybe, I heard from the neighbors that even as a child he didn't want to be around people, hardly ever showed any feelings. You don't remember, even when Mark was torturing him, he didn't scream or show emotion. The only time we saw emotions... When Mark broke all his bones and left him for dead and even then… it was just a creepy smile."
After sitting for a couple of minutes and catching their breath, they heard the crunching of branches. It was a sign to run. With all your might, without stopping. They ran until they could barely move their legs.
*Meanwhile*
"Ara? Is that it? I thought you'd endure more, sir. I overestimated you. Well, I can't help it. Your eyeballs were amazingly delicious. I thank you for the delicacy. Well, it's time for the main course."
Getting up off the man's body, Jake's legs lost their balance. He staggered and fell face-first to the ground. He still had trouble controlling his broken body. He sat down on the ground. Jake slowly put his broken bones back in place. He daydreamed for a couple of minutes, and slowly got up.
"I wonder where those two monkeys have gone. This chase should be over soon because I won't be in control of this body for long.*Tsk* I suppose playtime is over."
*Devil's eye - Activated*
Using the devil's eye, Jake began scanning the area. Nothing escaped his eye, not an animal, not a bird, not even a bug. Three kilometers to the east, he saw the exhausted Dray and George. With his last legs, he moved forward. But it would not be enough. For the monster they had summoned was already moving towards them with indescribable speed.
"Hehehe! I can see you, losers! ~"
Jake's face was beaming with a bright smile. His teeth were stained blood red, the gums shrunken, exposing teeth that looked unnaturally long. Especially the fangs, which looked like vampire fangs. And the red-eye that watched the boys' every move. Jumping from tree to tree, he quickly caught up with the boys.
Exhausted and red-faced, two boys slowly dragged their feet. Sweat was pouring down in rivers, but they had not even reached the middle of the forest. Every twig snap made them shudder. As they moved forward, they felt a sense of dread. It was as if someone was watching them, breathing down their necks. Dray lost consciousness as they moved slowly because they ran as fast as they could without stopping. George shook Dray when he didn't wake up and slapped him across the face.
"D-Dray, please wake up... It's not safe here!"
Jake giggled as he stood on top of the tree. But the branch he was standing on broke off, and he fell, breaking all the branches along the way. Jake was covered in mud and branch debris when he fell and lay still with his eyes closed. After lying there for a couple of seconds, Jake stood up expressionlessly and shook the mud and branch debris off him.
In front of him, stood a shocked George holding Dray's limp body. When he realized what had happened, he decided to leave Dray and save his life. When he heard Jake's voice, his legs went numb and he became dizzy.
"Well, that was embarrassing. Good thing no one saw this!"
Without looking at the two guys in front of him, he fixed his rumpled clothes. He began stretching and after some exercise, he started walking towards the guys. One of them was frozen with fear, the other was unconscious. Jake showed his bloody teeth again and walked towards the guys and said
"You see, I'd probably leave you alive... But... I already told you that nobody saw me... And I... Don't lie!~"
Quickly realizing what was happening, George began to look for a way to escape. However, his body no longer listened to him. Fear, not reason, ruled his body. Unable to run, he decided to persuade Jake.
"O-our parents are rich... If you let us go...W-we'll pay... And I swear, no one will know what you did to Mark... And if they do... We'll say it was self-defense..."
Jake stopped walking and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Unable to believe what this idiot was saying, he sighed lightly. He walked over to the stump and sat down, scratched the back of his head, and asked.
"You'll pay, huh? How much? How much do you think your life is worth?"
"H-how much will you ask? Money's no problem. I promise, no one will know about today's events!"
"OK. Good. You can go. I was supposed to kill Mark, not you anyway. It was a fun game, we'll talk about the price later."
"Really? You're letting us go? Thank you! I swear, we had nothing to do with Mark and his psychoses. He wanted to trample you, we were just there."
"I know. That's why I'll let you go. My advice would be to go back the way you came. Unless you want to reach the middle of the forest."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
George bowed and thanked Jake. Then George picked up Dray to slowly drag him out of the forest. In his mind, he was already planning how his father would send a group of mighty adventurers to catch this monster. And when he caught it, he would cut it to pieces, castrate it and lock it away. And George will be there to watch it all happen. At the very thought, George couldn't hold back his smile.
Jake smiled, baring his bloody fangs. He relaxed and stared at the two guys. He watched them every muscle move, and his mouth watered. But he didn't chase after them. For one simple reason. On the side where the boys had gone, a multitude of monsters appeared. If not for the danger of losing control of Jake's body that would end up in the dangerous territory, he would have torn the two guys apart himself. A minute later, he heard two desperate screams. 'My job here is done, hey god, release me. I want to reincarnate now.'
"AHHH, No, stop! HELP!!! AHHHHH!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Red_Venerable
Red_Venerable Ready for the author's thoughts?
Great. Introducing my new project 'Project: Satan'. As I said, this is a project, and whether it becomes my permanent novel or is finished soon will depend on the activity of my readers. So, thank you for your attention, and if you like what you read, comment, write reviews, and in the end, when the novel is approved, vote with powerstones. Have a great day.