Liam didn't respond immediately to Charlotte's words. Mainly because, to him, there was nothing cowardly about what she had said, and that was the interesting part.

He looked at it from her perspective and understood it.

Charlotte's words carried practicality and self-preservation.

A clear understanding of her own priorities.

And Liam respected that far more than reckless courage.

"You're very honest about it," he said at last.

Charlotte smiled again.

"Of course. Lying about wanting to live is stupid."

She took another bite of the deer meat, chewed, then spoke again after swallowing.

"People act like survival is some noble thing. It isn't. It's ugly. Selfish. Sometimes embarrassing."

She leaned back slightly on one hand.

"But it works."

Liam's gaze remained on her for a moment before he finally spoke again.

"Tell me something," he said calmly. "What happens if I decide to go east?"

Charlotte went still for a brief moment.

Not in a dramatic or fearful way, but her body clearly reacted to the question.

Her eyes moved across his face, searching for something.

Maybe hesitation.

Maybe uncertainty.

But she found neither.

Then she laughed softly.

Not her usual teasing laugh, but something quieter. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"You're serious."

Liam didn't answer.

Charlotte slowly shook her head.

"Of course you are."

She looked toward the fire, then toward the crevice entrance, before finally looking back at him.

"If you go east, I'm not promising I'll follow you all the way."

"That's your decision," Liam replied calmly.

"Good," Charlotte answered immediately. "Because I was going to make it anyway."

For a split second, Liam almost looked amused.

Almost.

Charlotte caught that tiny shift and smirked slightly.

"But..." she continued, "I might follow for a bit."

Liam tilted his head slightly.

"Why?"

Charlotte's smirk widened just a little.

"Because now I'm curious."

"That contradicts what you just said."

"No, it doesn't," Charlotte replied smoothly. "Curiosity is fine. Dying because of curiosity is where I draw the line."

She raised one finger.

"There's a difference."

Liam remained silent.

Charlotte continued, her tone returning to its usual ease, though the sharpness beneath her words remained.

"I'll help you gather information. I'll help you track whatever scent trails are still there. I'll even tell you exactly when the forest starts feeling wrong again."

She leaned forward slightly.

"But the moment I feel like staying near you lowers my chances of surviving more than leaving you?"

Her golden eyes locked directly onto his.

"You have my word that I'll leave immediately, bae."

There was no hesitation in her voice.

No guilt.

No apology whatsoever.

Liam stared at her quietly for a moment before giving a single nod.

"Fair enough."

Charlotte blinked slightly, almost surprised by the response.

"You're not gonna call me selfish?"

"You are selfish," Liam answered calmly.

Charlotte's lips parted slightly before her grin slowly returned.

"Well damn, bae. At least pretend to be gentle with my feelings."

"You said it yourself," Liam replied. "You like yourself more."

Charlotte stared at him for another second before laughing quietly.

"Okay, that's fair."

She took another bite from the deer meat, though her eyes never really left him.

"But just so we're clear," she said after a moment, "whatever you're looking for out east..."

Her tone lowered slightly.

"...it's not normal."

Liam's gaze remained calm, almost as though he already knew that to some extent.

Charlotte's teasing faded once again.

"I didn't see it directly," she said. "But I saw what it left behind."

"What did it leave behind?" Liam asked calmly.

Charlotte didn't answer immediately.

For the first time since this conversation began, she looked genuinely unsettled.

Not afraid.

But unsettled.

"There was a clearing," she said slowly. "Not just a normal clearing either. The trees there were ripped apart, the ground was torn open, and bodies were scattered everywhere."

"Demons?"

"Mostly," Charlotte answered. "Advanced Horrors especially."

Liam's eyes narrowed slightly at that as pieces of information within his mind began connecting together.

Charlotte continued quietly.

"But they weren't eaten normally like how demons usually are."

A brief silence settled throughout the chamber before Charlotte looked Liam directly in the eyes.

"Their chests were punctured open," she said. "And their cores were gone."

For a long moment, Liam said nothing.

The only sound between them was the soft crackling of the fire.

Then slowly, his gaze lowered toward the flames as a strange stillness settled over his face.

Charlotte noticed it immediately.

She didn't know exactly what he was thinking, but one thing became obvious to her.

That detail mattered.

A lot.

"Bae," Charlotte said carefully. "What exactly are you looking for?"

Liam remained silent.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes slightly.

"No more harmless questions," she said. "If I'm even considering going back east with you, then I want to know what kind of nightmare you're trying to walk toward."

Liam looked at her through the firelight.

For a moment, he considered how much he should say.

Then he answered simply.

"A Berserker demon."

Charlotte stared at him as the playful expression on her face disappeared completely.

Then she slowly lowered the deer leg from her mouth.

"A what?"

Liam's voice remained calm and steady.

"I'm searching for a Berserker demon."

Charlotte continued staring at him for several long seconds.

Then she slowly exhaled and looked toward the ceiling of the chamber as though silently asking the stars for patience.

"Of course," she muttered. "Of course the one person I decide to follow is actively hunting the exact thing I was smart enough to run away from."

Liam didn't respond.

Charlotte lowered her gaze back toward him.

"You do realize that makes you insane, right?"

"Possibly."

"No, not possibly," Charlotte immediately replied. "Definitely."

She pointed at him with the half-eaten deer leg.

"Like seriously, what exactly do you hope to achieve from encountering a Berserker?"

"There's something I want to learn from it," Liam answered calmly.

Charlotte let out a humorless laugh.

"Learn?" she repeated while chuckling lightly. "You've got to be kidding me, bae. What exactly is there to learn about something the academy has already taught us?"

"Something about them that the academy hasn't taught us," Liam replied calmly.

Charlotte stilled slightly as she processed those words.

"Wait..." she muttered. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Some time before this assessment began, I found an unofficial book in the academy library that talked about Berserker demons," Liam explained calmly. "And one thing that stood out to me was the claim that Berserker demons are actually evolved Advanced Horrors."

Charlotte blinked.

"Wait, hold on..." she said, visibly surprised now. "I thought demon evolution only happened to Horror-class demons and below. They never said anything about Advanced Horrors being capable of evolving."

"Exactly why I'm intrigued," Liam replied. "Because according to the book, their evolution isn't normal either."

His crimson eyes reflected faintly in the firelight.

"Unlike lesser demons, Berserkers evolve through cannibalism. Mainly by devouring the cores of other demons."

That final sentence made Charlotte go completely still.

Her mind immediately drifted back to what she herself had described earlier.

"The puncture wounds around the core areas..." she muttered quietly.

"Yeah," Liam confirmed calmly. "What you described matches what I read almost perfectly."

Charlotte remained silent for a while, absorbing everything.

Eventually, she spoke again.

"Wait a minute," she said while raising a hand slightly. "Even if what you're saying makes sense to some degree, don't you think the academy should already know about this and told we, the students, about it?"

"But they haven't told us," Liam replied simply.

"I understand the point you're trying to make," he continued calmly. "There's no way a book containing information like that could exist inside the academy without the higher-ups knowing about it."

"Exactly," Charlotte agreed. "So what could the academy possibly gain from keeping something like this from the students and then throwing them into a realm like Nalim?"

As she asked the question, she suddenly paused while staring at Liam.

Something within those calm crimson eyes made realization slowly hit her.

Charlotte scoffed softly before smirking.

"Because this is the Dark Knight Academy," she said simply.

Her smirk widened faintly.

"And they would never limit a test to simply surviving in this hellhole."