Morning came with soft gold light bleeding through the stone window.
Axel opened his eyes instantly.
Kyra wasn't beside him.
He sat up fast.
"Black Wolf, exit sleep mode."
With a hiss, the armor spread out from the gauntlet, wrapping his body in sleek black steel in seconds. His HUD flared to life.
"Black Wolf, increase sensor awareness."
Walls became translucent in his vision. Heat signatures pulsed through the buildings. Dozens of trolls. Movement. Clattering hooves. Roasting fires.
And there, outside.
Kyra.
She was playing hopscotch.
With troll kids.
She laughed as she skipped across chalky stones, her brown hair bouncing. One of the trolllings tumbled trying to mimic her, and they all burst into laughter.
Axel sighed.
His armor hissed down into standby. He stepped out of the room.
As he reached the open plaza, Kyra saw him and waved. "Axel! I taught them how to hop on one foot!"
"You're supposed to ask before leaving my side," he said, voice steady but firm.
Kyra tilted her head, then nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry." Then beamed. "Wanna play?"
The trolllings all stared at him, wide-eyed.
Axel folded his arms. "Play what?"
"Hopscotch! Duh."
He hesitated.
Then stepped forward.
The ground barely groaned under his armored weight as he crouched and followed the steps Kyra had drawn with a stone shard. The trolls watched, open-mouthed, as the Black Wolf himself hopped, single-footed, through her path.
They cheered.
Kyra laughed. "Told you he could do it!"
Then one of the smallest trolls poked him in the leg. "Throw me!"
Axel raised an eyebrow.
Then picked him up, gently and tossed him into the air.
The little troll squealed with joy, spinning as he landed back into Axel's hands, laughing. Another ran up.
"Me! Me!"
Axel picked them up one by one, tossing them skyward and spinning them before catching them again. Kyra laughed so hard she had to sit down.
For a moment… things felt right.
Then he saw Brakar.
Standing across the square.
Next to a cage.
Inside were human children.
Dirty. Thin. Scared.
They looked up as Axel approached, hand still holding Kyra's. One boy gasped.
"It's him."
The other kids crowded the bars. "That's him! That's Axel 26! The Black Wolf!"
"He's gonna save us!"
"He's gonna kill all the monsters!"
But then... they saw Kyra.
Still holding his hand.
Their excitement faded into confusion. And fear.
Axel's jaw tightened.
He turned to Brakar. "What's your plan with the children?"
Brakar crossed his arms. "Vampires pay heavy coin for pure-blood humans. Especially the young. These'll sell well."
"Slavery," Axel said quietly.
"Commerce," Brakar replied.
"I'd like you to release them."
Brakar didn't speak for a moment. His jaw shifted. Muscles flexed.
Then he looked into Axel's eyes and grunted.
"...Out of respect," he said. "For what you showed yesterday."
He pulled a lever.
The cage door creaked open.
The children didn't hesitate. They ran straight to Axel, clinging to his legs.
He didn't smile.
He knelt and pulled a small puck from a slot in his leg armor, flat, black, with a single red button.
"Press this," he said, "only when you're outside the village. And don't say where you got it. Don't mention me. Don't tell the other Exterminators anything."
The kids all nodded.
"But why are you helping them?" one girl asked, looking at Kyra.
Axel looked her in the eyes.
"Because monsters aren't the only ones who take children."
She didn't understand. Not yet.
But she would.
The children turned and bolted into the forest, disappearing into the trees.
Kyra looked up at Brakar. "So… will you stop kidnapping now?"
Brakar gave a tusky grin. "No. I hate humans. And they're profitable."
Axel didn't say anything.
Just turned and walked away.
Kyra followed quietly, her hand sliding back into his.
The village faded behind them, trolls roaring, the scent of fire and blood in the air.
But Axel's eyes were forward.
And every step away from that cage burned like iron in his chest.
The trees rustled with a warm breeze. Leaves whispered secrets.
Axel walked with Kyra perched high on his shoulders, her small fingers gripping the edges of his armor.
"I just don't want to walk anymore," she said, smugly content.
"You're getting spoiled."
"Yup."
They moved at a steady pace, the sun above filtering through the canopy like broken glass. But Kyra's mind was elsewhere. She looked down.
"What if they press the button inside the village?"
Axel's jaw tensed.
"They won't," he said. "But if they do… I caused the death of everyone in that village."
Kyra looked forward, thoughtful. Then quietly asked, "But… demons are evil. They love killing. I think you made a mistake."
Axel was quiet. At first, his certainty held strong.
But then...
He thought of what humans had done. Of the children in cages. Of fire dropped from ships. Of how he was made, not born, into this role.
He didn't answer.
Not right away.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest...
The children were hidden in a ring of roots and leaves, crouched beneath a hill's edge. One of them, Jaren, the eldest, watched the trees nervously.
"That was him," one whispered. "Axel 26. The Black Wolf."
"He was holding hands with a goblin," another said. "He didn't kill any of the trolls."
"He didn't even try," Jaren growled. "He's been mind-controlled. Enchanted. Corrupted."
A third child held up the puck Axel gave them.
"Maybe… we shouldn't..."
Jaren snatched it. "No. We have to save him. If they turn a demon loose, nobody's safe."
He slammed his thumb onto the button.
The device beeped once. A red blink.
Then silence.
Seconds passed.
Then a rumble shook the canopy.
The trees cracked. Leaves scattered.
A gunmetal ship tore through the clouds, descending with blistering speed. Its hull was sleek, triangular, painted with the icon of a fanged halo wrapped around a bullet, Unit designation R-13: Blood Reign.
The ramp dropped with a hiss of pressure.
Five Exterminators stepped out.
All rookies. All lethal.
But hungry for glory.
Unit R-13: Blood Reign
The leader Xarin-09
Suit: XR-13 "Dusk Tyrant" — built for brutal efficiency, with a skull-like helmet and cloak of shifting nano-filaments.
Weapon: "Sundering Fang" — a pulse halberd that vibrates through armor.
Ability: "Execution Window" — slows down his perception of time during a kill-mark.
Second-in-Command Vessa-42
Suit: VX-42 "Phantom Wraith" — near-silent movement and stealth camo.
Weapon: "Whisperthorn" — dual chain-daggers laced with venom nanites.
Ability: "Ghostframe" — can vanish from all sensors for 10 seconds.
Sniper Telric-18
Suit: VL-18 "Ridgewalker" — high-altitude adaptability and motion-synced targeting HUD.
Weapon: "Blue Widow" — rail sniper that can pierce exo-core shields.
Ability: "Windlock" — makes micro-adjustments to hit even through environmental shifts.
Assassin Kreeva-66
Suit: KA-66 "Bleeding Seraph" — fitted with retractable mono-edge blades in arms and heels.
Weapon: "Kiss of Silence" — wrist-mounted triple daggers.
Ability: "Heartbeat Veil" — slows her pulse and sound for perfect kills.
5. Rogue Ekkor-71
Suit: RK-71 "Storm Ravager" — shock-resistant, speed-oriented suit with reflex thrusters.
Weapon: "Ripjaw" — electrified chain-claws.
Ability: "Spasm Step" — short-range teleport through solid objects.
The kids stumbled toward them as the squad moved out in perfect sync.
Xarin knelt.
"Where is he?"
One boy pointed. "That way. He left with the goblin girl."
Xarin's helm hissed as it slid open slightly, revealing only hard eyes and a clenched jaw.
"Get in the ship," he ordered. "Stay inside. Do not look back."
The squad turned toward the direction of Axel's trail.
Vessa whispered, "We kill the Black Wolf and we're not rookies anymore."
"Forget rookies," Ekkor growled. "They'll make songs about us."
Xarin activated his halberd.
"It's exterminating time."
They stepped into the troll village.
And behind them…
the ship's door sealed shut.