There were many dangerous creatures in the Dark Lands, especially those that talked. Toruf may have been weaker than Edvin, but as an Arisen Grade Beast with an open mind in some regions, he could be the strongest.

Each had their own unique abilities just like humans, in fact, they were not much different from each other except for appearance. 

So, the cat that was sandwiched between Toruf and Zayne, realized how dangerous his situation was. Zayne had noticed the cat's disguise, so now they could easily deal with the spy.

"Zayne... I don't think our new friend understood you at all. Maybe I should get involved to show how serious your intentions are?" Toruf said calmly, but his voice was threatening, making the cat's fur stand on end.

At the same moment, dense red energy began to emanate from Toruf, spreading around. This was the kind of skill he wanted to use when he thought Edvin was an enemy and a serious fight awaited him.

"Wait!!!!" The cat exclaimed, realizing that there was no more delay and it was time to surrender, "Don't kill me! I'll do anything you ask!"

Zayne and Toruf exchanged glances, then they nodded slightly and Zayne pushed even harder on the cat's tail with cold eyes.

"Ouch! What the hell are you doing!" The cat exclaimed, with a scowling expression turning to Zayne.

"Shut up." Zayne said calmly, leaning towards the cat, a palm's length away. His eyes were focused on the cat's ones, completely absorbing them with his gaze.

Zayne had been through a lot and maybe he wouldn't have acted so aggressively in any other situation, but now he was in the Dark Lands. He couldn't remain careless or too kind to his enemies. This Zayne no longer existed.

"I just went through a pretty tough fight and I'm not quite sure what's going on with my body, but... One thing I know for sure, all this time you've been watching us, haven't you?" Zayne uttered, pinning the cat's tail even harder to the ground.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! That's right! But, I didn't mean to kill you or steal from you or anything! In fact, what happened was your fault!" The cat exclaimed, trying to hold back from screaming in pain.

Zayne glanced at Toruf, whose eyes went wide.

"Damn, Zayne, he doesn't understand the situation he's in at all. I'm starting to wonder if this is a cunning plan or if he's just an idiot." Toruf tilted his head as if he was actually pondering this.

"She!" Cat exclaimed, "My name is Kota and I'm a girl!"

Zayne raised an eyebrow, "Fine, but, you still haven't said anything. I'm giving you ten seconds to correct yourself or you'll have to say goodbye to your tail, for starters."

"Sure! I just don't know what I'm supposed to say!" Kota was alarmed.

"This is starting to get annoying." Zayne shook his head, "Answer me, why were you following us!"

"It just so happened! I was here before you!" Kota exclaimed, still trying to pull her tail out from under Zayne's leg, "I was just sleeping, then you showed up with your loud laughter and fighting! What's more, when it was over another scary type showed up, what did you think I was supposed to do?!"

Kota continued, "Just run away as soon as I saw you? In that case, you would have run after me, especially the third of you! He's a real monster!"

Zayne tilted his head and looked at Toruf, giving him a questioning look.

Toruf sighed, "Zayne... You said yourself that you feel unusual, especially looking at your black veins. All of this happened after you woke up, but I wasn't the one who cured you."

"Hmm? What...? Then who?" Zayne asked, puzzled.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly the ground shook as all three of them looked back. Gradually, a massive, oddly shaped silhouette appeared behind the trees, causing the crows to fly off the branches of the dry trees.

The silhouette was narrow and thin at the bottom, while strangely wide and long at the top, even if it was some kind of monster, it definitely had anatomy problems.

Then, a calm and infinitely confident voice rang out.

"I am." Pronounced a man with crimson shoulder-length hair, stepping out of the shadows and revealing his face.

Edvin methodically stepped forward with a serene look. He didn't have an apple this time, as both of his hands were occupied with something else. He was carrying a huge crocodile with two tails, a long sharp jaw with sharp teeth, and tough red scales.

The crocodile was big enough to bite off a large part of Toruf's body with a successful attack. An ordinary man could be swallowed whole at once by such a monster.

However, all this did not help the crocodile to deal with Edvin, who had no wounds on his body. It was as if he didn't go hunting but on a normal walk.

"Who are you...?" Zayne muttered in a daze. Although he was not yet an Awakened One like Toruf, he could partially feel the powerful aura that emanated from the already dead crocodile. However, from Edvin, he sensed nothing, as if he was a ghost.

"Your savior. That would be the most correct definition, as well as your mate, at least I want to think so and for you to think so as well." Edvin uttered before throwing the crocodile off of him, dropping the huge carcass to the ground.

A cloud of dust rose upwards, with a violent shake as cracks went down through the black soil, struggling to support the weight of the crocodile.

Then, Edvin looked at Kota, "Oh, looks like you too didn't waste any time and participated in the hunt. Well, your prey isn't as impressive as mine, but Misty Cats, pretty tender meat, not bad."

Kota's eyes went wide as well as goosebumps ran through her body in waves. She was ready to run, to fight, and maybe even to be caught and tortured. However, even in the Dark Lands, she wasn't ready to be eaten!

"No! No! No! No! I'm not lunch! Right?" Kota looked hopefully at Zayne, she felt that only he could help her in her situation, otherwise, Edvin would skin her. 

After a pause, Zayne nodded, "Yeah, I think one crocodile will be enough."

Kota felt strange, for she had expected a slightly different answer. In that case, Zayne was just saying that he had no appetite for two beasts, but then things might have changed.

"Maybe in that case I'll go...?" Kota suggested with a slight smile, "I mean... I'm not your enemy! I ended up here by accident in the first place! This is all the result of a misunderstanding!"

Zayne nodded, "Well, maybe later, but for now you're staying here."

Zayne lifted his foot, releasing Kota's tail. Right now she had an opportunity to escape and she was going to take it. Kota could be very fast and agile, enough for Zayne to lose track of her in a few seconds.

However, as soon as Kota took one step back, her whole body was shackled with chains of fear from the powerful pressure that came from Edvin.

He didn't say anything, just silently stared at her with a cold gaze.

Kota gulped, then she headed forward, towards the others. She realized that unless Edvin decided to let her go, there was no way she could get out of here.

"Fine, in that case, let's make a fire. Zayne, do you have any skills with the fire attribute?" Edvin asked, with a glance at the crocodile.

Zayne rubbed the back of his head, "Well... I have one such skill, however, its flames aren't hot at all, so I won't be able to help with that."

Edvin raised an eyebrow slightly, Zayne's words reminded him of someone who was known for such a skill.

"Hey! You don't have to worry about that! There are enough dry branches, or rather too many, so under these conditions, I can easily do it!" Toruf said with an excited expression.

Toruf was initially wary of Edvin, as well as Zayne, but now that he realized that no one here was an enemy of each other, he enjoyed the situation. Toruf was the kind of man who liked large groups and especially campfires in the dark and cold woods.

"Good, in that case, I will prepare the trees. It won't take long." Edvin said calmly before channeling energy to his hand.

Then, a bloody sphere appeared in his palm, slowly rotating. Edvin let out a light sigh and swung his hand.

In a heartbeat, the sphere stretched out, turning into a whip, long and thin, but most importantly sharp like a real sword.

At the same moment, dozens of trees were cut almost to the root, perfectly straight as if by a skilled surgeon.

Edvin nodded, "I may have gone a little overboard, but it's a cold night, so a big fire would be a great addition to our fellowship. Zayne, will you give me a hand?"

"Sure!" Zayne replied quickly. He hadn't had a chance to ask who Edvin was yet, but he could clearly see the tattoo of the Shattered Moon on Edvin's neck that he wasn't trying to hide.

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