Cursed System-Chapter 119: Wolves 3

Curses child POV...

"Vicious wolves!"

That scream ripped out of my throat like my soul was being dragged out with it, raw, hoarse, and absolutely pathetic, but at that moment I truly did not care, because I was running—running like my life depended on it, because it did.

Every frantic step dug into the burning sand beneath my feet as I tried, desperately and foolishly, to put as much distance as humanly—or monstrously —possible between myself and whatever monstrous horror was chasing me from behind.

I could hear myself screaming, loud enough to tear my own ears apart, my voice echoing across the dunes like a dying animal’s final wail, and I didn’t need a mirror to know my face must’ve been twisted into something ugly, something filled with pure, undiluted terror. My chest burned, my lungs screamed, and my heart hammered so violently I thought it might explode right out of my ribcage.

Then it happened.

A massive surge of sand rose behind me, like the earth itself had gone mad—an overwhelming sand tsunami roaring forward with murderous intent. No matter how fast I ran, no matter how hard I pushed my trembling legs, I could feel it—closing in, the gap shrinking with every heartbeat, every desperate breath. That was when dread truly settled in my gut, thick and suffocating.

In my panic, I tried to activate my cursed ability, fumbling like a fool, and in that exact moment I felt it—hot, filthy steam brushing against the back of my neck. My blood ran cold. Slowly, stupidly, I looked back.

The sand tsunami... was gone.

Vanished. As if it had never existed.

Before I could even process what that meant, my feet tangled beneath me, my balance betrayed me, and I crashed face-first into the golden sand. The impact was brutal. Sand filled my eyes, my mouth, my nose—scraping, burning—blinding me completely as I crawled on all fours like some helpless animal, sobbing and choking.

I barely had time to wipe my eyes.

In the very next instant, a gigantic shadow loomed over me, and a massive maw lined with rows upon rows of grotesquely sharp teeth appeared out of nowhere, snapping shut with terrifying speed. My body reacted before my mind could—I pissed myself, pure humiliation mixing with absolute terror, as I tried to scream.

But the scream never came.

Something wrapped around my throat, crushing, tightening, and then—rip.

Pain exploded for a fraction of a second before everything went dark. My plea for help died inside my torn throat, and I died without ever truly understanding how.

From the outside, my expression must have looked pitiful—eyes wide, face frozen between despair and the desperate will to live—but no amount of struggling could change the simple truth. I was nothing more than meat on a chopping board.

When the sudden silence fell, a few other cursed children froze mid-run, instinctively turning their heads. The moment they saw what remained, their faces drained of color, turning ghostly pale. None of them lingered. Without sparing another glance, they pushed themselves harder, activating their abilities, fleeing as if death itself was nipping at their heels.

Another child ran past, tears streaming endlessly down his face, screaming nonstop. Later, I’d realize it was the first time he had ever seen something more terrifying than the steel knights. His voice cracked as he cried out over and over again:

"Mama! Mama! I want my mama...!"

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RAGNA POV...

"Truly pitiful."

I had already reached the horse carriages. My entire body trembled uncontrollably as I took in the chaos unfolding before me. Every instinct I possessed screamed at me, raging and howling, furious that my potential meal was being stolen by some bastard monsters, but I forced myself to hold back with the last shreds of reason I had left.

Then, as if the world itself had decided enough was enough, seven dark shadows burst out from the horse carriages.

They moved like death incarnate.

Each one wielded a sword, slashing forward with terrifying precision, their blades slicing cleanly through the air and into the charging vicious wolves. Heads and bodies flew backward, blood spraying, limbs severed. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The black steel knights, I realized, my eyes widening.

My surprise was short-lived. Doubt crept in as I turned my gaze outward, toward the countless sandy storms forming from every direction. Hundreds of them. Surrounding us completely.

Even a handful of vicious wolves nearly breached the carriages before...

With this many...

A dangerous thought slithered into my mind.

Perhaps today... I’ll finally get to devour flesh while no one is paying attention to me.

One of the black steel knights swung his sword forward, leaving a faint white arc in the air as the blade sliced a vicious wolf clean in half, as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter.

"Not bad," he muttered.

He licked the blood from his lips and spat it out, completely unsurprised by the carnage he had just caused. Something ignited in his golden pupils, his aura turning violently ferocious.

"Pathetic creatures."

"Th-Thank you, sir!" cried a cursed child who had been saved—face soaked with tears and mucus, shaking uncontrollably. It was the same boy who had been calling for his mother earlier.

"Are you an idiot?" the knight snapped coldly.

"Get inside now!"

He didn’t even spare the boy another glance, already charging back toward the wolves.

Only after the knight left did the child snap back to reality and stumble toward the carriage.

"Hurry!" another black steel knight barked.

"Arrange the carriages in a circle! This is our last defensive line! Cursed alliance members stay behind—everyone else, activate your abilities, grab your weapons, and form a defensive perimeter!"

"Alright!" I responded immediately, leaping onto a carriage.

"Get ready," I muttered to my fellow cursed ones, especially the pair of brothers beside me. "If you don’t want to die, then fight like your lives depend on it—because they do."

Scanning the battlefield, I noticed something important.

Thanks to my warning, my alliance had suffered the least casualties. Aside from a few minor injuries from tripping in panic, there were no deaths.

For now.

And I knew—this nightmare was only just beginning.