CHAPTER 376: CHAPTER-376.

She slammed her knee up into his stomach.

Air exploded out of him; spit and blood flew past her cheek.

Before he could curl in, she stepped to the side and smashed her forehead into his nose.

Crack.

His head snapped back, a fresh spray of blood staining the floor.

The jackal reeled, eyes unfocused, one hand clutched to his face, the other swinging blindly.

Kaya didn’t give him time to find his feet.

She kicked hard at the side of his knee; the joint buckled with a sick sound and he dropped onto one leg with a strangled howl.

His claws scratched uselessly at the air between them.

"Stay down," she muttered, more to herself than to him.

He didn’t.

Even half‑broken, he tried to throw himself at her again, teeth bared, eyes wild.

That dead look was still there under the rage—like he’d already accepted whatever came next.

Fine.

Kaya stepped in close, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and yanked his head down while driving her knee up into his face with all her strength.

Something crunched; his body went slack for a heartbeat.

She let go and let him fall.

He hit the floor hard, chest heaving a few more rough breaths before his limbs gave up and lay still.

Blood pooled slowly under his cheek, spreading out in a dark halo.

Kaya stood over him, panting, knuckles stinging, her scratched palm throbbing with every beat of her heart.

For a second, the room was just the sound of her breathing and the distant noise from outside.

Then she tore her gaze away from the fallen jackal and looked back toward Sparrow and Cutie.

Kaya had no idea who this unknown Sparrow was, but she knew one thing—she needed to get his body away from the middle of this mess, fast.

She glanced at Cutie. He had things under control... or so she thought. Both beastmen in his grip were already unconscious, hanging like dead weight as he finally let them drop to the floor.

Kaya bent down, reaching for the small, broken Sparrow on the ground.

Her fingers had just brushed his feathers when—

Crack.

Slap.

"Ugh—"

A pained groan ripped through the room, low and raw. It was Cutie’s voice.

Kaya’s whole body trembled. She jerked her head up, turning toward him—

—and in that one second, something slammed into her from the side.

A rough hand clamped around her throat. Another shoved her shoulder. Her back hit the floor hard, her skull cracking against the wood. Stars burst at the edge of her vision as the air was crushed out of her.

Fingers dug into her neck, squeezing, cutting off her breath.

Kaya’s hands flew up, clawing at the grip on her throat as she forced her eyes to focus on the face above her. Strange features. Different scent. Not a jackal. But those ears—

She’d seen ears like that before.

Mongoose.

Of course. Fast, slippery little bastard.

She tried to twist her body, but he pinned her hips with his weight. Her kicks barely scraped his side. Her lungs burned, vision tightening.

Fine. If speed wasn’t working... then use the basics.

Even if you’re a beastman, a man is still a man.

Kaya dragged one leg up between them and snapped it forward with everything she had.

Bam.

Her heel crashed right into his groin.

"Ghh—!"

He folded instantly, a strangled sound tearing from his throat as his grip on her neck broke. He rolled off, curling on his back, hands between his legs, face twisted in pain.

Kaya rolled to her side, coughing hard.

"Cough—cough—damn... bastard..."

Her throat burned. She could already feel where his fingers had sunk in—a ring of bruises that would turn dark by morning, fingerprints stamped on her skin.

The mongoose pushed himself up again, rage burning in his eyes. He raised his hand, ready to smash it down on her face.

But Kaya wasn’t scared of ’that’.

She grabbed his wrist, yanked him off‑balance, and the two of them crashed back to the floor, rolling and grappling, punching, elbows and knees hitting whatever they could reach. It was messy, ugly, close‑range fighting on dirty wood, both of them snarling under their breath.

Kaya wanted to finish this fast. She wanted this mongoose out of her way so she could check on—

"Damn it... damn it... no, no, no..."

Her gaze flicked past his shoulder—and her blood ran cold.

Right in front of Cutie stood a wolf beastman. Bigger. Stronger. His claws were already lifted, about to come down.

That still wasn’t the worst part.

Blood.

Cutie’s blood was running down the side of his head, soaking his hair, dripping along his jaw. He was on one knee, one hand holding his head, eyes glassy as he tried to focus on the wolf, like he wanted to stand and fight but his body wouldn’t listen. That wound was not light.

Something inside Kaya snapped.

She had never, in her entire life, lost her temper like this.

It was like darkness just poured over her eyes, over her vision. The room, the bodies, the floor—all of it vanished. All she could see was red. Cutie’s blood. The wolf’s claws.

The mongoose grabbed at her again, trying to drag her back down. She didn’t even think.

Kaya drove her fist into his face with one free hand, knuckles crunching against bone. His head whipped sideways. She used that opening, shoved him flat, and threw her weight over his chest to pin him.

Her other hand closed over a piece of broken wood lying nearby—a sharp, splintered chunk from the ruined chair.

Without hesitation, she raised it and rammed it down into the side of his neck.

His eyes went wide, pure shock flashing across his face.

Blood burst out around the wood, hot and dark, seeping down his throat and soaking his collar. He gurgled, breath stuttering, body twitching under her.

Kaya knew from the angle and depth—it wouldn’t kill him fast. But it would make sure he couldn’t move, couldn’t fight, couldn’t crawl anywhere for a long, long time.