Cain huffed deeply as he stared into the dark forest.

Turning around, he found Ambrosia still standing at the cave entrances he had just walked out of, waving at him.

He was still for a moment before chuckling and waving back.

Then he turned around and began walking away.

The conversation with her had been truly insightful indeed.

"She is one intelligent beast, isn’t she..." A voice whispered from the shadows surrounding him, traveling right into his ears.

The murky darkness in front of him twisted to produce an enchanting beauty.

Cain shrugged and walked around Evangeline,

"She is."

Evangeline followed behind him and leaned forward,

"So? What do you think?"

Cain was silent for a moment before answering,

"I guess you could say they are much more reliable allies than I initially thought."

"But do you think they can be trusted?" Evangeline asked subtly.

Cain’s reply was full of confidence,

"For what it is worth, I’m sure we don’t have anything to worry about for the time being. My concern is the other variable that exists on this island."

He tilted his head forward.

Now, he would be making a semi-lone journey to the Redscale Colony to have a little chat with Anathe.

Besides coming to resolve the issue with Roc and Ambrosia, he had come to hopefully create a resolution with Anathe as well.

In the worst case scenario, he wished to accomplish a compromise.

However, recalling the words she had said to him at their last meeting, he couldn’t help but feel like things were going to be much harder than he had anticipated.

Evangeline huffed lightly then turned to face the sky as well.

The depths of her eyes seemed to reflect the boundless sky as well, same as his.

"In that case, I’m willing to help you out a bit. For old time’s sake."

Cain raised a brow and snorted,

"Could it be that I have misjudged you all this time? Are you just a closet sloth who hates doing things?"

Evangeline suddenly stumbled over a tree root. She was quick to right her posture, but such a blunder could not escape Cain’s gaze.

He stared intently at her for some time until her fair checks reddened.

A teasing smile appeared on his lips.

Just before he could capitalize on it, however, her gaze turned serious,

"What’s that?

Cain raised a brow and turned.

He was perplexed to see absolutely nothing but the wind and a stretch of darkness to his side.

He turned back to face Evangeline, and just as he thought, she was gone, hidden deep within her shadow world.

He was motionless for a while minute before bursting into a fit of laughter. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Such a thing was truly a breath of fresh air. Most of the time, he felt like he couldn’t quite understand the enigmatic girl. But that little blunder made her look more human than he had ever seen her before.

He let out a sigh then continued walking.

***

Traveling through the dark forest meant he was sure to encounter several terrors of the night.

Swelling to existence right in front of him was a large mammoth beast.

Its yellowish eyes were trained on him with smoldering bloodlust.

A deep, resonant groan came from the beast, the sound so powerful, it crushed the rocks beneath its feet.

Cain grimaced.

This would be his first major battle after the sealing of his mana and magical abilities.

Still, it was a good opportunity for him to know the limits of his current capabilities.

He sucked in a deep breath.

A shimmer of radiance sprouted forth from before him, briefly illuminating the darkness of night,

The enormous frame of {Eidwyrm} appeared in his grip, moving swiftly like a shadow.

Cain took a stance, the ground beneath his feet cracking into spiderwebs.

’It is large, which means it shouldn’t be too fast.’

The details of the beast before him was laid bare.

It had six large tusks protruding from its head.

Its body was covered with large wooly bristles that extended from the surface of its skin. It walked on all fours, but its crown broke though the canopy of trees. It was obvious this creature was one that prioritized brute force more than anything else.

However, brute force was not enough to survive the dangers of the night within this forest.

Cain exhaled sharply and burst into motion, a streak of crimson trailing behind him.

The groan of his sword cut through the silence of the night as he bust into motion with a violent flourish.

BANG!

Cain’s eyes widened from the incredible impact that traveled through his arms.

He shot back, slamming into a darkwood tree.

Picking himself up immediately, he rolled out of the way to safety just before the beast came barrelling forward.

Cain’s eyes widened at the pure destruction this rather aggressive beast left in its wake.

’Terrifying.’

He couldn’t help but remember Ambrosia’s words.

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

In the end, even if he no longer saw Ambrosia and Roc as just beasts, holding them to a much higher standard, he could deny that beasts still existed. And they were as powerful as they were dangerous.

Both situations couldn’t be treated the same way.

From that single clash, he could tell what made this beast an appropriate existence for this horrifying nightscape.

’Its wooly bristles harden upon impact. The greater the force, the more its defenses increase.’

’That is bad news.’

Although {Eidwyrm} was a rather terrifying weapon, its main strength was to make use of pure brute force and power to cut through intricate defenses. The edge of his sword was designed to shear through with might and nothing more.

Such a creature was a bad match up.

And considering he was currently unable to use skills and spells that could offer a more dynamic edge, he would probably be in for a difficult fight.

Cain ran his tongue over his lips.

’It is a bit exciting, I guess...’