The Deer King

A decade after the Zol Empire absorbed Aquafa, one place resisted their advance: Fire Horse Village, where the lethal Black Wolf Fever erupted. The outbreak was believed to have been wiped out—until a sudden attack at a Zol-run salt mine leaves devastation in its wake.

Van Gansa, a prisoner of war condemned to forced labor, is bitten during the assault by spirit-like wolves, as is a young girl named Yuna. They escape as the mine’s only survivors, and investigators conclude the wolves carried Black Wolf Fever, explaining the rapid deaths among the guards and workers. Hoping to reclaim a quiet life, Van flees with Yuna to a small farming village, unaware that his survival has made him a target—hunted by those who seek his blood as a cure and by others determined to prevent that cure at any cost, as a looming crisis threatens to spread beyond the nation’s borders.